#so a lot of people compare it to being like persephone which ended up making its name be malogranatum

[genericpuff]

Who is your favorite LO character? Who is your favorite LR character?

i feeeeel like my answers change every time i get asked this question JFDSKLAFJSDALK but that's okay because it just means i'm constantly finding new ways to analyze and explore these characters >:3

LO faves: Minthe and Hephaestus.

Minthe because she obviously gets such shit treatment in the comic and subsequently from the fanbase, but she's a lot more relatable than 99% of the characters in the plot, she feels like she has actual depth and a real character arc, even if that arc ended with an unceremonious whisper. It goes to show how great of a character she was that Rachel practically had to nerf her out of the plot, because it was often only ever at its best when she was present. Funny how as soon as she was written out, there was nothing interesting going on with Hades or Persephone anymore - the plot was literally so boring without her that Rachel literally tried to create a Minthe 2.0 through Leuce, and we all know how well that went /s

As for Hephaestus, nothing super specific, I just like his vibes. Maybe it's just my absent older brother issues, but I would love to just like, hang out with him, game in the same room as him, just autistic parallel play stuff, I think he would be into that. Only complaint is the design flaw of giving him running blades as the default prosthetic, that can't be comfortable for his hips and joints. But that's not his fault u.u and that's basically my only complaint about him which makes him a winner in my book, esp compared to the rest of the cast. He might not be in the comic all that much, but that was clearly to his benefit because it seems the more attention Rachel pays to a character, the worse they wind up being in the long run due to poor writing. Hephaestus is in the comic just enough, not too little, not too often.

So yeah, Minthe and Hephaestus are both 10/10 characters written by a 0/10 writer. They did the best they could... not Rachel of course, she did literally the bare minimum of "representation" which often came across as ignorant white knighting at best and blatant stereotyping / stigmatizing at worst, I mean that Hephaestus and Minthe did the best they could as genuinely interesting characters with unique circumstances and disabilities who were being written by an amateur Wattpad-level writer with a privileged white guilt complex lmao

LR faves (within the cast that's currently been introduced): Persephone and Dionysus.

I know, very different from my LO choices, esp considering Persephone herself within LO is literally one of the most insufferable characters by the end, but I'm frankly having a great time rewriting her in my own way, especially in regards to her specific role as the "wrathful side" of Kore. I know I've gotten questions regarding the interpretation of Kore as a DID system, and while that interpretation is totally valid, the angle I always approached it from was that repressed trauma and emotional bottlenecking. Obviously those two things are, in and of themselves, contributing factors to DID, so far be it from me to tell people they can't identify with Kore / Persephone as DID representation. It just motivates me even more to give her the character arc she deserves and never got. It's gonna be messy. It's even gonna be downright ugly at times.

But I hope, in the end, that anyone who identifies with her struggles will find closure and comfort in the resolution of her story. It's certainly a challenging tightrope to walk, between honoring the themes of her original myth, retelling a version of her that almost existed in LO (a version that I was hoping for and never got), and dissecting the implications of my own version of her throughout LR's narrative, but it's a challenge that I've been having a great time undertaking and all I can hope for is that I can meet and possibly exceed my own expectations - as well as the readers - in the end. This is Kore's story - it's also Persephone's.

As for Dionysus... he's just a very, very fun character to write, and someone who I had the advantage of introducing before he was depicted in LO. It wasn't intentional but it sure as shit paid off because even though I'm sure some will assume that this is my own re-interpretation of Rachel's version of the character, myself and anyone else who was there at the time can vouch that Dionysus was aaaalllll me, baby LMAO

All that said, we're obviously going at it from a VERY different angle than how he was tackled in LO, but I'm hoping people enjoy his presence in the story, especially as he becomes more involved (which is very, very soon wink wink) The roles have definitely reversed here with Dionysus taking on more of a "parental" role to Kore rather than the other way around. I feel like his characterization has only grown stronger in hindsight compared to what we got in LO, especially where he's one of the only characters who beat LO to the punch and wound up being in a sort of arms race with Rachel's depiction ─=≡Σ((( つ•̀ω•́)つ

[pendwelling]

You can’t tell me the first thing priest Dokja does when transmigrated to TWSB isn’t locking himself in the royal library and refuses to come out

(Crown prince YJH and Priest KDJ is the funniest image, and obviously HSY is in the background causing problems)

Meanwhile poor Yeseo is on the verge of a panic attack in ORV

(Yeseo trying to parse through his sisters tear filled rambles about her favorite book and therefore being the weirdest prophet know to man while Cedric and Christelle are just there wondering what is up with him)

OOOHHH KDJ locking himself in the Imperial library would be so KDJ of him to do HAHA, tho the main obstacle for that is to first get permission from the Crown 🥲 which, sadly for him.... would mean cozying up in some way to either whoever is the Cardinal and/or Empress/Emperor in this AU (it could range from Persephone and Hades, to Namgung Minyoung, or to even Kyrgios [but I think he fits Johann's role more], etc etc)

((Unsurprisingly I'm gonna go off on a tangent bc anything TWSB related makes my Freak™ show—)) (I JUST LOVE SOOKYM'S WORLDBUILDING SM.... IM SORRY I CANT HELP IT.....) 😭😭😭😭 but libraries—or rather books—actually have a rather important part to play in TWSB, or at least, in showcasing a noble family's strength, power, and prestige. In the Divine Kingdom of Venetiaan, the general populace has an incredibly purposefully low education and literacy rate (due to Queen Lilianne's plan of using the population's dumbification to manipulate their blind curated religious beliefs into having them conscript for her war), so owning books is seen as a symbol of wealth and high education, and the more wealthy a family is, the bigger they would represent that in their family's library. The Riester Empire is different in that education of the common folk is NOT something that they purposefully deprive them of (in fact, we've actually seen the Imperial Family invest in academies for different sorts of talents/skills that could accept even commoners as students), but the significance and importance of books and libraries is something both countries share!

ANYWAY, small tangent over wkdjdkd But all that is to say, a diplomatic hostage like Jesse Venetiaan (and KDJ in this AU) would not have casual permission to use something as precious as the Imperial Library sadly :')...... Which is unfortunate for our Reader bc in a lot of Fantasy AUs the library is a place that KDJ commonly escapes to WKWKKWKWK (IT'S ONE OF MY FAV TROPES NGL...... 😫😭 library lurker KDJ who eventually catches the eye of [usually Crown Prince or Duke of the North] YJH who is entranced by the peaceful figure KDJ makes, backlit from the light of the window and focused on whatever trashy novel he's reading......)

But assuming KDJ knows his chatacter's original fate in the original story (dying during the Riester-Venetiaan war), just like he does in ORV, I bet he would be the type to know exactly what to do and what to avoid, and how to achieve the perfect most "ideal" ending for the story. He's a scheming lil bastard and I trust his survival abilities (well..... until he dies. but he'll come back like the rat he is LMAO...) But considering his personality (at least with The Audacity that the Fourth Wall allows him to have), I think he'd head straight to scheming his way into the good graces of people that he could benefit from (and gaining access to the Imperial Library for some good reads def feels like an essential benefit wkwkwkk) with as much liberties as his complex position as a diplomatic hostage could allow him.

AND OHHHHHHHH YEAH..... POOR JUNG YESEO...... It's such a sad sad SAD image to think about, but also....the though of him frantically trying to organize hundreds of chapters of a repetitive regression scenario story VIA his little sister's tear-filled incoherent hyperfixated ramblings is. kinda funny in a very mean way (LMAO). CedChris would ask him/wonder if he's actually a prophet but when compared to /actual/ prophets like Camille Bacary, they'll kinda look at his sweating face and go "🤨😐 right... prophet huh....". Though it should be said that Yeseo is actually crazy smart when he wants to be/when the situation requires it, so I trust he could do his best to help his companions in an apocalypse with any valuable information he has absorbed thru osmosis via his sister. (And in the case of the "Acciddentally-took-Eunseo's-phone" scenario—canonically, Yeseo managed to get through all 302 chapters of QPB's part 1 in a few days, but it was mostly skimming haha but you can assume he'd be somewhat of a quick reader....... though the stress of scenarios would definitely make him a zombie over Eunseo's phone.) But regardless, considering the personalities of these kids, I still feel like an orv!TWSB(or rather QPB) would be more lighthearted(as lighthearted as it can be) to reflect its targeted Reader: Eunseo! Think of an Action Fantasy Regression novel with a persevering main character like Ham Ga-in Christelle who gets through difficulties with as much stubbornness and cheer as she can (though this would naturally dim throughout regressions, but the core of her character is still important). Idk how far into TWSB you are so I don't want to say much wkdjkdkd but yeah..... KDJ's relationship with TWSA and Eunseo's with QPB are SO similar and yet so different, and that difference can partly be traced back to the type of people they are, which is reflected in the type of genre their favourite respective novels are (which also reflects on the characters in said story too) TT

HAA.......... Somehow, I think I end up writing way too much in response to my Asks sometimes, but ANYWAY WKFJKDDKDKD

Thank you Anon for feeding into these AU thoughts, they're always fun to think about and hear what others have to say!!!!!! 🥹 SORRY THAT I KEPT GOING OFF TRACK. CERTIFIED TWSB YAPPER HERE....... 🥲

[myburntwritings]

Day 25: Ever been to the parties? Which was your fav?

I attended all of the official parties and Remix events. I didn't attend any of the Peep Lates, due to timing.

I can think of reasons why each of these events could be my favourite, and it's incredibly difficult to pick between them.

New Years' Eve Remix was not only the first Burnt City party I attended. It was the first Punchdrunk party. It also came at a time when I had spent the majority of the previous 2 years big dates at home on my own due to Covid. Holiday seasons had been spent at home or without big events, so going to a huge party in what was quickly becoming one of my favourite places with a number of my favourite people was not only exciting, it was a comfort I had been missing for a long time.

Similarly, Last Rites in September 2023 was a hugely emotional affair. This would be the last party/big event we had in this space. We had a week left of shows, and then I would undoubtedly not see many of the people I had come to adore so deeply. Or, at least, I would not see them as frequently, and I wouldn't turn up to find we were unexpectedly at the same shows. Everything would need to be planned in advance for the most part. The joyful chaos was ending.

The performances at Last Rites were incredible, and the inclusion of karaoke in Klub was a joyful one. By this point, Punchdrunk had a great grasp on what their audience wanted from a party, and were offering a wide variety of entertainments. I was also more familiar with the format, and so I managed to catch everything I wanted to see.

The Lipsync battles after Remix in August was so unbelievably fun and entertaining. I wish we could have had more evenings like this. Sunday nights where everyone can let loose a bit, enjoy some madness. Even without Remixing the show, having events in Peep once a month or so, and on Sundays where they wouldn't have had to go into their late-night quota, would have been spectacular, and I certainly would have paid extra for a Sunday ticket more frequently if they included post-show entertainment like this. It was such a simple idea, and yet it worked so unbelievably well.

But, for me, I don't think any of them can quite compare to Ascension in April. This comes from a combination, I think. It was the second party, meaning I still had the initial excitement to explore the set and take photos (trying to ensure I captured photos of things I'd only managed to get blurred pictures of at the last party.) But, being the second party, Punchdrunk had learned a lot from the first, and had incorporated a lot more.

The performances at Ascension were not only stunning from a visual, audio, and talent standpoint, but they were so themed to this idea of the religious festival for Persephone's Ascension for Spring, that they took on a mythical, mystical cult element.

As the audience, we stopped being something as mundane as a variety of individuals seeing a fiction theatre show. We descended into a fever dream. We ascended to a place where we became a cohesive and bonded cult of worshippers to this religion within the Burnt City. We celebrated our religious holiday with food and drink, with singing and dancing. We wore the ceremonial colours and made every effort to present ourselves looking our best to worship at the altar of our Underworld Goddess for our most sacred holiday.

Persephone ascended for us, and we were going to make damned sure she knew how much we appreciated it.

[evanpotterrainbows]

I just wanted to give my take on this as with Olympus High, its kinda in a weird position compared to other adaptations of mythology, such as Disney's Herclues or Lore Olympus.

My version is a modern retelling, in the sense the dates are still accurate timeline wise but the gods/goddesses are all (mostly underage besides some seniors, so already the fact a lot of the Olympians in my take are minors really does change things up a bit) teenage high school students that dresses up and uses technology (that were the inspiration FOR OUR HUMAN TECHNOLOGY, the gods ended up creating all of this earlier, thats a whole nother conversation) and while Hades is a emo teenager with a temper, he's not inherently a bad guy/bad kid. I won't spoil too much of the story as this is one of my main projects if anyone is interested, but him and Persephone meet as friends turn high school lovers gradually and my Olympus. lets say, has a morality system similar to that of our own, where despite being TECHNICALLY above morals power and authority wise, in actuality, they are treated just like we humans are and are at the end of the day just their own "people" as well, if that makes sense.

I seen the argument for both, and honestly I don't think ANY of the greek myth gods are completely innocent in ANY version of the story. It varies from version of who is good and who is bad, and at that point you can pick which version of the story/characters you like - speaking as a general Disney fan and Lore Olympus fan.

"Hades was completely innocent"- Yeah... No!

Hades is arguably the most misrepresented greek god in all pieces of media. And that because people are usually choosing two extremes when thinking about him:

a) "He was pure evil and the devil himself because he's the God of the Dead so he must be a bad guy" (Hercules, Clash of Titans, Percy Jackson)

b) "He was a sweet, completely innocent god who never did anything bad in his entire life" (basically any Hades and Persephone modern retelling)

Many people already know that the a) isn't true, so let's talk about why b) isn't true either.

While Hades was technically less problematic than many other gods and in the original hellenistic lore he isn't depicted around any other woman besides Persephone, that doesn’t mean that he was Mr. Nice Guy or a completely innocent god either.

1. He Kidnapped Persephone

The myth of the seasons is the most famous one from Greek Mythology, but also the one where people allow the most amount of misinfirmation and misinterpretation.

On one hand, there are those people who consider that this is a gruesome, completely disturbing rape story. Which isn't true, because nowhere in Homeric Hymns to Demeter it is implied the fact that Hades raped Persephone. He even told her before she was about leave that as his wife she will be a feared and respected queen and that he would try to be a good husband to her.

On the other hand, there are those people who completely romanticize this myth and turns it into a fantasy love story, to the point where they would claim that 1) Persephone went with Hades on her own will, 2) Persephone tried to escape from her overbearing mother and 3) Persephone ate the pomegranate seeds on her own will, only to retrieve Persephone's agency and girlpower energy.

But in reality, in Homeric Hymns to Demeter it's emphasized that 1) Hades took Persephone against her own will, 2) Persephone missed her mother during her time into the Underworld and 3) Hades forced/tricked Persephone to eat those pomegranate seeds. Or at least that's what she claims to be the truth, because that passage from the hymn was lost and there's a major dichotomy between her dialogue with Hades vs. with Demeter.

Also, there's a strange thing about this myth. When Hermes tells Hades that there's an entire global famine on Earth because of Demeter's grief, he acts as if he didn't know that. But he is literally the king of the Underworld, so he should've observed that all the souls who are now entering his realm are dying due to similar causes, or at least that there's a sudden increase in the number of mortal souls. Are you really going to tell me that he had absolutely not idea what was going on?

2. The Myth of Sisyphus

Look, this is one of those myths with 1000+ versions, so it's pretty hard to pick up the most "accurate" one.

But in one of these versions it is said that in order to make Sisyphus surrender and turn back into the Underworld, he asked Thanatos to take everyday the soul of someone whom Sisyphus has cared for throughout his life, until he took the souls of his wife and children. In other words, he was ordering the death of lots of people before their time. Which means that he cared more about his own ego and beating Sisyphus at his own game rather than what the Fates have decided.

3. Hades didn't allow Heracles to take Cerberus so easily

Some people claim that all Heracles did in order to complete his last labour was to ask Hades for permission before taking Cerberus and he simply accepted. However, in the original myth Hades told Heracles that he would allow him to take Cerberus only if he manages to "tame" him with his bare arms, without using any weapons and without harming him. Also friendly reminder that Cerberus is a giant three-headed hound with venomous snakes on his back. Do you find this an easy task?

Also, some poets emphasized the fact that after Heracles left the Underworld Hades paid a short visit to Hera, telling her that there would be harsh consequences directly on her if she ever sends any other mortal on his realm for such requests.

4. Asclepcius

In the myth of Asclepcius, after he found out that the demigod started to bring people back to life, Hades visited Mount Olympus and told Zeus what's going on, claiming that Asclepcius is "openly mocking Death". In some versions of Asclepius' myths, the reason Zeus killed the famous healer was because Hades was going to unleash his wrath on Apollo himself or destroy Asclepius' entire city.

5. Hades as a god in general wasn't the individual you would like to instigate in any way

Hades was usually described as a very stoic and cool-headed person, who remained unbiased when judging the mortal souls and is one of the most reasonable gods who generally doesn't screw around in mortal affairs. That being said, his dark and dour nature also means he's incredibly well-suited for his job.

Zeus flaunted his authority of the other gods very often. Poseidon constantly feuded with other gods for power and Zeus in particular. Hera was usually domineering and vindictive with her power as the Queen of the Gods. But for all of that the one thing that Zeus, Poseidon, Hera and nearly all of the other gods agreed upon in their massive family feuds was not to pick a fight with Hades. Every deity knew better than to attempt any measures of ego against him.

Furthermore, I think it should be pointed out the fact that every human being eventually becomes his subject, so the main reason why he rarely punishes any living mortal is because he KNOWS that sooner or later everyone will enter his realm.

So instead of trying to depict him either as the devil or a saint, perhaps people should acknowledge the fact that he, like any other god, was a complex character, with his own virtues and flaws.

[completelyclevername]

mālogrānātum n (genitive mālogrānātī); second declension

a pomegranate

[minthe-lover]

I agree with you the style can certainly be nice at times and when there is some actual effort, the composition can be good as well (tbh so are most of the Webtoons, I’ve yet to see one that truly has “bad” art in it) but here, at least, a few issues as to why the writing/art has fallen so rapidly (apologies in advance bc it’s long)

- the early style was, tbh, far more simple than it is now, but the lineless idea kinda bit it in the butt, since that seems to be the biggest time consumer art-wise. This could have been fixed with line art that is colored to their skin, or even just light lineart to begin with, especially as they’re basically using it now anyway. Tbh the lineless look actually makes it look worse in a lot of cases compared to the lined stuff. You can still get the same look as long as the coloring is the same.

- the cast is simply too big. If it were a limited cast (HxP, Zeus, Demeter, Hecate, Hermes, Thanatos, Minthe, maybe Hera and Eros/Psyche + Aphrodite and that’s it) then suddenly now everyone has a fairly distinct look, and now there’s more time to develop their relationships and stories and maybe have some cameos here and there, but that’s not the case here. There’s just too many characters to keep track of, and with the lack of color variation and same faces/bodies, it becomes even harder to tell people apart, especially the main character who by all counts SHOULD be the most distinct yet isn’t for ?? Reasons?? It’s not great Minthe is one of the few actual distinct characters and she’s one of the bad guys.

- it’s fairly obvious there’s no planning in involved. So many plots and characters are dropped and add at any moment: Kronos came out of nowhere and is taking up far too much time, Persephone’s act of wrath and it’s retcon via Eris is just stupid and tbh removed any true agency Persephone could have ever had, Apollo was a disgusting use of SA to push a romance along and was somehow fixed in a single therapy session, and much more. The HadesxPersephone myth is very ABC about how to adapt it and can especially be used well in a modern setting, but that’s not what’s happening here. It seems more like Rachel throwing whatever idea she has at the wall and whatever else is getting attention on Webtoons and being like wait, I can do that too! But that’s doesn’t show a sign of a good writer, it shows a lack of creativity and a lack of confidence. She needs a real break to actually work with her editor and make sense of all of this instead of ignoring them and trying to think up the next plot line to keep it going. You’d much rather try and scrap together a half way decent ending over dragging it along like it is now with no end in sight and no sense of direction. Sure, it makes her money, but it’s not going to matter when her life’s work is see as rushed and poorly made. The whole story doesn’t need to be planned down entirely nor does it needs to be Shakespearean quality, of course, but it’s not great you can tell she, along with others, are simply winging it. That’s not good.

- the art direction is all over the place and doesn’t make much sense. I understand The Underworld is so dark to where Hades often blends as sort of visual cue he belongs there, but then doesn’t that say Persephone isn’t? Since she sticks out so badly? The reverse can be said for Hades on earth, where it’s all pink for … some reason? The colors are also never consistent (you can eyedrop the colors to any random episodes and see Persephone especially changes color a lot despite no time passing nor light changes) and for some reason either far too saturated that it looks amateurish (neon needs to be used sparingly) or so desaturated that everything looks washed out, which combined has a visually unpleasant look with little to no visual harmony. Not to mention some of the visual cues are very strange and even off putting. Why does Hades and Persephone look like carbon copies to Kronos and Rhea, a doomed, toxic relationship and his literal parents? Why go on and on another how uniquely beautiful Persephone is yet have all the women look exactly like her, especially the nymphs and gene random underworld citizens than even Hades gets them confused for her? Why is there so much comedy out into what should be serious moments? What is there so much visual and written time making Hades and Apollo parallels? I could keep going, but I’ll be here all day.

Anyway, I have more to say but it’s getting too long. I’m not saying there’s not a lot of good in this comic, but there’s frankly too many art and writing issues that are both Webtoons‘ mismanagement but also self imposed by Rachel’s lack of planning and/or care that drags it all down.

Yeah I fully agree with you, don't know what else I could add. It's all some great points!

[millenniumfae]

Hades (2018) Headcanons

❀ The game takes place in the early years of the Classical Era. The codex describes Exagryph’s aspect of Lucifer in the past tense; As he fell from grace, he nonetheless fought back in all his defiant fury. Unlike explicitly futuristic aspects like Guan Yu, who was in office from years 219-220 AD. This places Hades (2018), at the earliest, 1200 BCE. But Achilles is described as being an older shade, and Alexander the Great is not referenced at all - so the Trojan War is old news while Hellenistic Greece is a whiles away.

❀ The on-going surface war is the The First Peloponnesian War, taking place between 431–421 BC. Characters like Thanatos say that mortals are currently dying in droves because of ‘some war’, and going by our timeline, that’d mean the conflict between Athens and Sparta.

❀ Achilles despises onions not just ‘cause of his personal taste, but also because of his soldier career. Onions were one of the vegetables that made up the bulk of an ancient Greek soldier’s diet whilst on the field, along with cheese and garlic. The Athenian comedy Peace has the soldiers sing “Oh! joy, joy! No more helmet, no more cheese nor onions!” to celebrate the end of war. Achilles would have eaten a lot of onions in his life; tough on a man who probably didn’t like them in the first place.

❀ All Hidden Aspects of weapons will be/has been used by their namesakes ... including Lucifer and his laser ray gun. It’s explicit in every other aspect, after all; Rama has his famous bow, King Arthur his Excalibur. Lucifer used his ray gun during the condemnation of the King of Babylon.

❀ Translated to mortal years, Zagreus would be 25, Thanatos would be 32, Dusa and Megara 28. Zagreus feels stuck living with dad and struggles with responsibility. Thanatos is more in-tune with his life compared to the others. Dusa and Megara also have established careers, but they both feel unaccomplished and caught in work-related hurdles. Achilles died at age 36, Patrocles 45. Hades and Persephone are roughly the same age, but Hades looks a lot older ‘cause of work-related stress.

❀ In Asphodel, all the walkable areas are on the tippy tops of hills and mountains. The lava had flooded the area to that extent. Eurydice had built her home on the peak of a cliff. All the naturally-occurring river creatures of the river phlegethon are now roaming around everywhere. Most of the residents had to be relocated. Those ramshackle rafts Zagreus takes to each room, the Barge Of Death, those are the equivalent of emergency disaster relief, quickly slapped together with nearby materials (which are, in this case, bones and skulls).

❀ Asphodel is flooding, creating an exodus of the population, as a response to a evolving sense of human morality and who’d ‘deserve’ to be sent to Tartarus, Asphodel, Elysium, etc. The devs of Hades (2018) probably made this area a lava level to make it visually distinct from Elysium, and they never really explain why phlegethion flooded, only mentioning that it’s never happened before; AKA, this is the first time human morality is shifting in the Hades ‘verse. All regions of the underworld will have their own versions. This is the first time it happens, and it’ll happen again and again as society changes.

❀ Going by the character models, Zagreus is 6′0 (183 cm). Both Achilles and Patrocles are taller than him, and they’re Bronze Age people whose average height was shorter than our own. He’s head-to-head with Theseus, who was known to be tall, but not freakishly so. At 6′0, he’d be taller than mortal men of the Classical Greek era, but not by ‘deity’ standards. If he grew up in our time, he’d be the same height but all his relatives are 6′5 and above.

❀ When the shades are lining up to talk to Hades, they’re essentially representing themselves for parole or pardon. Everyone is given opportunities to argue their release from Tartarus; the successful ones are those who prove their act of murder was in proper, morally-sound self-defense, or that their lifetime of theft was because they literally had no other choice as a poor undocumented refugee or war, etc etc. They can be relocated to Asphodel or even Elysium if Hades thinks it appropriate. One could even think it proof that Hades was the only one fit for ruling the underworld, even if he resents the job, because he has a proper sense of justice, unlike his brothers.

❀ The game doesn’t call them this, but Achilles, Orpheus, and (maybe) Dusa could be considered slaves. Ancient Greek society had a huge slave industry. The population of Classical Athens was 40-80% slaves. A middle-class household had an average of four. Slaves consisted of prisoners of war, various lawbreakers, debtors, and those born into it. This is assuming, of course, that the morality of Hades (2018)’s gods would be okay with slavery, which they likely aren’t.

❀ Zagreus’ feet are burning at an average of 1,700f (940c, 1,150k). That’s how hot glowing metal is. And since its his feet, the heat burns upwards, so when he’s jogging around on bare grass, he’s not starting several bushfires. But if you invite him into your house for a cup of tea, be prepared to have perfectly foot-shaped holes burned into your carpet within several seconds.

❀ Afterlife in Elysium isn’t actually just endless battles. That’s how Patrocles and Zagreus describe it, but I think they’re just being bitter about this supposed ‘heaven’, and the population of Elysium are actually pursuing more fulfilling endeavors, too; Zagreus just never sees it ‘cause his father is canonically hiring especially bloodthirsty shades to stop him, and Patrocles has his jade-colored glasses on. Elysium is supposed to be a place where souls can do whatever they wish. There’s little hints that Elysium has an actual life - outside the Colosseum boss room, there’s multiple stands displaying fruit and snacks, and people in Elysium try to find and admire the seamare fish.

❀ If Zagreus ever wanted to have children, he’d find it near impossible. The Fates’ prophecy of “Hades never having a living heir” extends to grandchildren and so on, as heirs could be of any generation. Whether he tries producing children on his own (like Nyx does), or with a partner, he’d run into the same problems his own parents did. Any that would survive, they’d just be as rebellious towards Hades as him.

[antiloreolympus]

10 Anti LO Asks

1. There's one specific LO ad from waaaay back in 2018 of three vertical panels (yes the repurposed porn logo was in the middle, anyway) and persephone and hades looked?? normal?? like it was the best they were ever drawn, only to you to see how they actually look in comic and it's instead a stretched out chibi for persephone and the weirdest aggregation for a man for hades. like why did rachel's style end up regressing so much since 2017. it's really weird??

2. No but seriously, Why Eris looks like she lost the bet at the NFL Fantasy Football and the bet was shaving her head with the exception of one chunk of hair in the middle, I get that it implies the "Golden Apple" thing in mythology, but honestly it's a very odd aesthetic choice :l 

3. The fact RS seems to think the only way to make sure Hades is the most viable love interest is by making sure he's barely better than a literal r4pist is by far the most bizarre thing in the comic. Like girl really? How is that the best he can be? That's not remotely how you play with the "love triangle" trope at all?

4. I love when LO fans use anecdotal tidbits as "proof" stuff like LO like the massive age gap is normal like that's cool that your parents are happily married despite being 30 years apart in age, I know someone who got struck by lightning twice, it doesn't make it common place and normal though.

5. What I find so annoying about basically every HxP retelling (including LO) is they don't seem to realize a big part of the drama was NOT telling Demeter what was going on, and ultimately to get even a semblance of a happy ending requires them to compromise with HER, not her compromising to THEM. It won't happen in LO of course, but Demeter's demands should be met and she should be shown her daughter is in good hands, not her being lied to and having to bend over backwards for Hades' wants.

6. I think RS really wants to come across as a Serious Writer™️ but even beginning writers will say how important it is to have beta readers, multiple drafts, and collaborate w/ others (especially editors), all of which RS openly does not do. Apparently even the art team doesn't get to read the scripts because she adds the dialogue in later, so they can't help either. If RS want to be a better writer then she has to be open to collaboration & even critique, which we know she's strongly adverse to.

7. if it's misogyny to dislike/critique LO then why is it literally a fandom thing and even marketing tool from Rachel and Webtoons to slutshame and get off of the misery and torture of Minthe, Thetis, and Leto for the benefit of two privileged women and a literal king who owns slaves? Why did they make misogyny a part of their story and fandom then if they're apparently so against it?

8. was just on a random twitter thread joking about if zeus or some random rapper had more kids and deadass saw some 19 year old reply "zeus does. read lore olympus fr" and i wanted to die lmao. doesn't "zeus" in lo only have like 8 ish kids at most? this comic is actively dumbing the kids down in real time and it's honestly a bit off putting.

9. I think a lot of people incorrectly compare hadestown and LO because they both have HxP and modern aspects in it, but hadestown Hades only went down his route of capitalist greed to try and give Persephone everything she could want but it corrupted him (he’s the villain in this story and this greed/abuse is why their relationship is failing) meanwhile in LO hades is a greedy asshole with Persephone never pushing back and even embracing the system she’s supposedly against. That’s not the same.

10. Something that pissed me off about the trial was that hades was considering suggesting community service for Persphone’s punishment because a couple things

I feel like Zeus is a god of the mortals, so it wasn’t just hades domain when Persephone killed a river of people

Demeter Hermes and Persephone still lied and covered a crime up (which I understand why they did but still broke some law)

Comparing the crime to Apollo and Artemis, they were rewarded for it because they didn’t hide it and did it in the name of their mother.

Eros’ example should have been used since he was so close to actually facing consequences but Aphrodite saved him.

Persephones act of wrath I felt like was poorly stitched together. In the first season we get hints and that Persephone wants to bring back mortals not nymphs. In the second season when she explains it’s her nameless friends who died and then laughed at her first meeting with hades, felt added in. My assumption for that plot line was still Persephone and Demeter fighting but Persephone saying she’s better at controlling spring or stronger/more talented than Demeter gives her credit for and goes into a fit of rage that harms the mortals without reason or the mortals were saying she wasn’t helping out with the crops something little after a fight with Demeter and Persephone blows up. I just feel like with the act of wrath, Persephone cannot do wrong and the blame for anything on Persephone has to be as small as possible. Like yes Persephone killed those mortals but they killed her best friends so it’s equal (as they weren’t even mention by name till late season 2)

The last thing I hate is that hades and Persephone never question each other. Persephone didn’t talk about the ledger and he wasn’t mad she was hiding her kill count (he yelled at her for trying to save mortals and then made out with her that one time) he just knows it’s gotta be justified. They trust each other blindly. They talk about infertility before the first date, they live together before the first date, hades meet her family for real and not super drunk. Persephone is more mad at Minthe for yelling at hades (when he’s firing her and treating her like an inconvenience) than the fact hades didn’t tell her he was going to propose to her OR THAT HE HAD AN AFFAIR with HERA HER ROLE MODEL. 

[sweetchup]

Okay, Serious Talk

Hello everyone so I decided to create a post to talk about things. For anyone who has been on this blog for a while I’m sure most of you guys are either a HxH fan or Record of Ragnarok Fan. And I’m sure most of you guys are here for my Bivalve story especially as it’s my most popular fic/story on here.

And, I’m sure you guys have notice Bivalve hasn’t updated for a while. And I’ve also been getting a lot of questions about when it’s coming back. What’s happening next, how long the series will be, if I’m working on the series at all, etc. So just to make it easier on myself and all my readers, I created this big post with all questions I’ve gotten over the last few months.

(You don’t have to read everything on here (I would suggest it though))

Why hasn’t Bivalve been update?

Okay, so this is the most asked question I’ve gotten. I can’t even count the amount of times I’ve had this asked. To put it simply Bivalve hasn’t update because I’ve simply been… Busy. I know it’s like huh? What? That’s it? But I’m sure once I go into further detail you’ll understand why I haven’t updated it.

So, I’m a college student (which I’m sure 50% of tumblr people relate to) but more specifically I’m a Film and Business (Finance mostly right now) Dual Major. And If you guys don’t know, Business major write a shit ton and film majors do a fuck ton of story/plot telling. So I’m sure you can understand once I’m done with college stuff for the day, you can kind of guess that I don’t want to do those sort of things in my free time. So I don’t really want to update Bivalve or write fanfics at all. Plus in addition to College, I have a part time job. Which is another huge time commitment.

Of course, this pans into the next questions you guys are probably asking.

Why have you been updating fics but not Bivalve?

Well, 1st as I’ve stated in a previous post the only fics I’ve posted since being in college are all old rough drafts. I’ve been on tumblr for about 2 years (maybe 1.5) and so I have a bunch of old fics I never posted before because I simply didn’t like them or didn’t know how to write them.

2nd, compared to all the other stories/series I’ve written, Bivalve takes a lot more time to write. Bivalve is completely Non-canon compared to other series and takes a lot of world and character building in order to write one chapter. Think about it, things like Amphtrite, Persephone, Orion, Triton, Atlantis, structure of gods, etc. don’t exist in canon and I have to plan and write them out in chapters. I also have to read and refer to mythology since it’s an important part of Record of Ragnarok. So it can take hours in order to plan and write certain chapters. The quickest I’ve ever written a chapter for Bivalve is likely 3 hours, it’s not easy work.

Plus, take this in perspective, think about how my previous work schedule was. I used to post 2-3 times a week, that means at a minimum I would dedicate 6-9 hours (more likely 12+ hours) a week just to Bivalve. I dedicated a huge portion of my life to this series and I simply don’t have the time with how my schedule is right now.

Have you worked on Bivalve all?

Of course, it’s not like a left Bivalve high and dry. I’ve kept up with the Manga and have been planning out world building when I actually feel in the mood.

Over my two semesters at college, I have been slowly making documents to keep the series of Bivalve in order. Especially as I will be picking up writing it after a long hiatus. I have the whole series from Ch. 20–End planned out. I have yet to done chapter by chapter but I have a general idea of what each chapter will include.

This planning will also ensure Bivalve can easily be written and picked up when I have the time.

When will Bivalve be back?

Bivalve will be back once I’m done with my spring semester of college. For those non-college people, Bivalve will be back sometime in May. Perhaps early May? I have to see how fast it takes me to settle back in.

However once I am settled, Bivalve will be back on. I’m mostly working the summer and visiting friends so with college out of the way, Bivalve will have much much more time to be dedicated to it.

How long will the series be?

I’ve said this 100 times before, even while writing this series, and I’m honestly not sure. It says on the description on my general masterlist that Bivalve is a “Slow Burn”. And honestly I use the term slow burn with a grain of salt. This is because my “slow burn” is going quite fast for something in the slow burn genre. Most slow burns are about 30 chapters long before they even hold hands.

So,… it’s going to be a while before this series comes to a close.

Why don’t you respond to messages?

Honestly, I have a pretty good reason for not responding to peoples messages. It’s not that I want to ignore you, I appreciate your “how are you doing” and “I hope you are doing okay” but I just won’t respond.

To put it simply, I’ve had bad experiences talking to people through messages. To put it even simpler. Minors.

I can’t even count the about the amount of times I’ve gotten an explicit message talking about how hot Poseidon (or any character really) is and then I go to check their profile and I find out they are a minor. It’s just… no. I understand, I was a horny teenager at one point but just don’t go talking to me, a grown adult, about it. It makes me very, very, uncomfortable.

So, I’ve sort of stop responding to people through messages. I found that it stops people from messaging me or leading to conversations about explicit things if I am known not to talk to them.

How can I contact you if I can’t talk to you through messages?

Use my ask me or put messages on my posts. Honestly. I keep my ask me and comments on at all times. I also get a notification whenever someone sends it in.

Also please comment over sending in asks, I’m more likely to take your thoughts into considerations, I literally review and write down questions people ask when I’m writing my next chapters. Asks me’s get lost in my feed and it gets clogged in my ask me box easily.

Are you taking request? Why?

I’m not taking request. I don’t have time. Refer to question 1 for reason.

When will you be taking requests?

Probably sometime in the summer. I want to focus more on my series before I do requests. I have a love hate relationship with asks. I love the people asking them but 90% of the time it’s about writing a smut and I don’t really want to write that as much anymore.

Are you updating any other series? (HxH, Kakegurui, etc)

Yes. I’ll be trying to post updates to Helping Hands and my Rin Obami series (I can’t remember the name for the life of me right now). Just not as frequent as Bivalve.

As for the Family series I’m 50/50. It’s the first fic I have ever written on tumblr so I love, yet also hate it at the same time. It was my way of trying dark yandere writing and I’m not really that type of writer. I love my Feitan side of the story, I’m obsessed with those fics don’t worry. But if I ever continue Family, I’m going to have to rewrite Chrollo’s first part of the story. I just can’t stand how I started off that series.

Any other questions that were not answered, please put them in the comments below. If you are wondering why I’m not being my jolly self in this post, don’t take it personal; if you had to repeatedly answer these same asks for about 5 months in a row, you would be in the same position.

[percabeth4life]

Nico and Percy

Okay so I’ve received a lot of asks about Nico and Percy and how Percy treated Nico and someone else sent me a link to a post that had more stuff.

90% of the stuff I’ve seen is either inaccurate or taken out of context.

Lets start with the choking scene.

This scene happened right after Nico lied to Percy to trick him into coming to see Hades so that Nico could learn more about his mom. They were meant to go to the Styx in order to give Percy the Achilles Curse so they had a chance at winning the war. This resulted in Percy being locked up by Hades.

Nico did not intend for this to happen, but he did knowingly lie to Percy. Percy understandably did not trust Nico after that.

The mountain of darkness loomed above me. A foot the size of Yankee Stadium was about to smash me when a voice hissed: ‘Percy!’

I lunged out blindly. Before I was fully awake, I had Nico pinned to the floor of the cell with the edge of my sword at his throat.

‘Want – to – rescue,’ he choked.

Anger woke me up fast. ‘Oh, yeah? And why should I trust you?’

‘No – choice?’ he gagged.

I wished he hadn’t said something logical like that. I let him go. (The Last Olympian page 60).

As you can see, the initial action was taken before Percy was even awake. After he was awake, and got through his initial anger at the betrayal with Nico’s comment, he released Nico and they escaped.

He acknowledged silently later that he didn’t trust Nico anymore and Nico was aware that his actions meant he wasn’t trusted.

So the choking scene: not Percy being unreasonably cruel to Nico.

Threats is another common thing I see people bring up and... I’m genuinely baffled by that one. The closest I can think of is the scene I quoted above? But that doesn’t seem to fit? Anyone want to quote some threats Percy made to Nico? Because I don’t know any.

Next up! The claims that Percy said they should leave Nico to suffocate. Funnily enough he actually says the opposite, multiple times.

Percy stared at his jelly donut. He had a rocky history with Nico di Angelo. The guy had once tricked him into visiting Hades’s palace, and Percy had ended up in a cell. But most of the time, Nico sided with the good guys. He certainly didn’t deserve slow suffocation in a bronze jar, and Percy couldn’t stand seeing Hazel in pain.

“We’ll rescue him,” he promised her. “We have to. The prophecy says he holds the key to endless death.”

Is this first time kind? Not necessarily. But it’s certainly not saying to leave Nico. For multiple reasons, he didn’t deserve, Percy didn’t want Hazel to hurt, and (what he says outloud) Nico is an important figure in the war.

Percy also makes a comment later when they feared they’d be too late

The vision zoomed in again. Inside the jar, Nico di Angelo was curled in a ball, no longer moving, all the pomegranate seeds eaten.

“We’re too late,” Jason said.

“No,” Percy said. “No, I can’t believe that. Maybe he’s gone into a deeper trance to buy time. We have to hurry.”

Funny, this doesn’t sound like someone advocating to leave Nico to die. In fact it sounds like someone almost desperate to save him, or at least hoping strongly that they’ll succeed.

Interestingly there were comments about leaving Nico, but not from Percy. They came from Jason and Leo.

“Uh…” Leo shifted in his chair. “One thing. The giants are expecting us to do this, right? So we’re walking into a trap?”

Hazel looked at Leo like he’d made a rude gesture. “We have no choice!”

“Don’t get me wrong, Hazel. It’s just that your brother, Nico… he knew about bothcamps, right?”

“Well, yes,” Hazel said.

“He’s been going back and forth,” Leo said, “and he didn’t tell either side.” Jason sat forward, his expression grim. “You’re wondering if we can trust the guy. So am I.”

Hazel shot to her feet. “I don’t believe this. He’s my brother. He brought me back from the Underworld, and you don’t want to help him?”

Frank put his hand on her shoulder. “Nobody’s saying that.” He glared at Leo. “Nobody had better be saying that.”

Leo blinked. “Look, guys. All I mean is—”

“Hazel,” Jason said. “Leo is raising a fair point. I remember Nico from Camp Jupiter. Now I find out he also visited Camp Half-Blood. That does strike me as… well, a little shady. Do we really know where his loyalties lie? We just have to be careful.” (Mark of Athena page 125)

How interesting that they’re the ones making comments about leaving Nico...

Next of course I’ve heard the wonder bread brought up? And I had to key word search wonder bread in the books to figure out what that was about and it appears to be a single thought Percy had while they were trying to rescue Nico.

Nico started to crawl away, groaning. Percy wanted him to move faster and to groan less. He considered throwing his Wonder bread at him. (Mark of Athena page 357)

Percy did not actually throw the bread for anyone wondering, and I hardly see how the panicking thought of trying to get them all out of there and keep Nico from being noticed by the people he was escaping from is even something for you to hold against him.

Finally the thing I hear the most, Percy calling Nico creepy and spreading rumors.

Creepy is used in MoA 5 times, in HoH 2 times, and BoO 8 times.

In MoA it’s used by Percy once, and that time is describing Persephone’s garden, not Nico. This comment is also only made in his thoughts, not outloud.

Funnily enough Leo does mentally refer to Nico as creepy in MoA

Nico and Hazel shared a look, maybe comparing notes on their Hades/Pluto death radar. Leo shivered. Hazel had never seemed like a child of the Underworld to him, but Nico di Angelo—that guy was creepy. (Mark of Athena page 396)

In HoH it is used once by Jason in regards to Nico, not at all by Percy.

Nico gave him a thin, creepy smile. ‘Ah … that legend.’ (House of Hades page 164)

In BoO it’s actually used by Nico about himself.

By now, Will Solace realized just how creepy and revolting Nico di Angelo was. Of course, Nico didn’t care what he thought. But still …  (Blood of Olympus page 317)

And once by Reyna about Nico

Reyna had stitched up the gashes on his biceps, which gave Nico a slightly creepy Frankenstein look, but the cuts were still swollen and red. (Blood of Olympus page 140)

So uh, no Percy did not call Nico creepy. And I have found no evidence of Percy spreading rumors so like with the threats, feel free to find me quotes proving that claim.

Concluding all of this I will point out that prior to book 5 (TLO) Percy was doing everything in his power to find Nico and protect him. After book 5 Percy only had one physical altercation with him (when he was half asleep and right after the betrayal occurred) and otherwise did not hold it against him beyond having his trust broken. As time went on we know from Percy’s thoughts that he doesn’t trust Nico, but he makes no comments saying such and agrees to help rescue him and does everything he can to do so.

Their conflicts are understandable due to their history. Percy’s feelings on Nico are complicated but understandable and he has not let it interfere with their jobs, if anything it interfered in a negative way making them risk the quest to save Nico (though Nico was a key figure needed to succeed in the end).

Overall I don’t know where these claims come from beyond people wanting to find issues with Percy (to the point they make stuff up).

[cipheress-to-k-pop]

Hello there! Can you write hcs for Tim with a demigodess!reader please? Congrats on your 600 followers btw^^

Tim Drake x Demigoddess!Reader

A/N: Thank you so much! So I’m totally dense about greek myths and stuff and I was gonna make her Thor’s daughter at first but then I forgot about that I did Hades but when I remembered it was already written so oh well

You were the daughter of Hades and Persephone

You had kind of a weird childhood

Don’t get me wrong, it was a great childhood

Being princess of the underworld and the daughter of the only sane people in all of Olympus had its perks

But compared to everyone else, it was weird

Hades was extremely protective of you because you were a mortal

Meaning that you could die

The thought of having to greet your soul when you died filled him with so much grief

So, he kept you sheltered, kept you safe

Never letting you lift a finger

As princess you had everything you ever needed and everything your heart desired

Since birth you had been trained by Athena and Aries under your father’s watchful eyes

When you were 16 and you finally wanted to see the rest of the world, you begged your parents to let you go to the mortal world

It took months of begging and when they said no, you’d get so upset that all the flowers in the underworld would wither

Persephone seeing how much you wanted to see the world

So, she convinces Hades to let you go

And he agrees but just as long as you promise to visit

You go to the human world and you’re so oblivious about human life that it’s concerning

Walking around in a floor length dress wondering why everyone else wasn’t dressed the same way

This is how you meet Diana Prince

She recognizes you immediately when you arrive at the Smithsonian, looking mildly confused

Your eyes light up when you see a familiar face

You stay with her for a couple of days before she decides that you’d be better off at the cave

That’s exactly what happens

Even though you whine a little and say you want to stay with her

She just knows it’s because you’re nervous about being in a new place

You know that if you were in any real danger your parents would inflict rage on the mortal world

Feeling mildly comforted at the idea

Diana doesn’t tell them to add you to the group

She just tells them that you need a place to stay and someone to help you find your way around

The first people you meet are Batman, Nightwing and Robin

Immediately being comforted just by looking at them

Batman reminded you of your dad and Nightwing of your mom

And Diana trusted them so you did too

You end up following Tim and Dick around for the next couple of days like a lost puppy

Dick finds it amusing

Tim is kinda unsettled but thinks you’re stupid for some reason

It isn’t until he actually talks to you, he realizes you’re much more profound than he gave you credit for

You don’t officially join the team

You just live there

Everyone thinks that you have no training whatsoever

And that you’re just a princess

Which you technically are but

Until you’re watching them train one day and then remember the days you would spar with Athena

It looked like so much fun

Immediately you wanted to join in

Some of them rolled their eyes and thought you were wasting their time

The others were happy to let you join in

They wanted to make Bart spar you but you looked around contemplatively before pointing at Tim

“If it is alright with you, I wish for you to be my partner.”

Tim blushing because what you said sounded like you were choosing him as a life partner, rather than sparring partner

Of course, Bart teases him for it as well as the others

When Tim walks up to the middle, Dick subtlety tells him to take it easy on you and he nods

The match is over before he can even make a move

You had the speed and strength of a god, it wasn’t a surprise

Not to you at least

To everyone else, kind of a huge surprise

Standing over him and giggling

“I want a rematch.”

“But of course.”

Spending the rest of the day sparring with him

He doesn’t beat you even once

And the others just watch you throw him around for an afternoon

After a while it stops being funny and Nightwing is almost concerned

It kind of hurts his pride but you still acknowledge him

“You know, for a human, you’re very skilled.”

“Uh, thank you?”

After that you go through the other members quite quickly

Some of them gave you a little trouble, like Conner

But you managed to be undefeated

They all think you should join the team after that and you agree

Spending more time with Tim that way

Always talking to him about your family’s history and stuff

Telling him all about your parents love story when he asked to hear about it

You talk so fondly of it and he’s honestly just kind of shocked that Greek Mythology isn’t mythology

I mean, he knew it was real because of Diana

But he never really understood how real these gods were

He falls for you

He loves the way your eyes light up and you smile at him

He loves the way you’re always eager to learn

He loves that you’re so kind and gentle but can also beat people up without even trying

He asks you out but it didn’t go as well as he was hoping

“Do you want to go out with me?”

“Yes, a walk sounds lovely.”

“(Y/N), I like you.”

“Aw that’s so sweet Tim, I like you too, friend.”

Everyone else starts enjoying the way he crashes and burns all the time

And Tim would stop asking usually

But he knows it in his bones that you like him too

But he has no other way to tell you aside from marching up to you and kissing you

Makes that Plan B tho

Plan A is getting you a bouquet of your favourite flowers and telling you that he likes you

Romantically

Not platonically

You grin widely and tell him you like him too

Kissing you just as the sun set that day

It’s one of your favourite memories

His too

Everyone being extremely happy and supporting of your relationship

You can tell Batman is trying to threaten you

But your father is god of the underworld and you have a three headed dog

So, when you and Tim are caught kissing in some hidden crevice in the cave by him and he tries telling you off, you can’t help you smile adorably

“Don’t worry Batman, I have no intention of dishonouring your son.”

Batman is like ???

And Tim is either like “Please don’t speak like we’re in the 1800s.”

or “Please dishonour me.”

He buys you pomegranates as a joke but then you prank him saying that if he eats them, he has to return to the underworld with you

Dick (Nightwing) approves

You like falling asleep in his arms so more often than not you plead with him to stay at the cave and sleep with you

He knows relationships in Olympus generally move a lot quicker so he ends up having to sit you down and explain everything to you so you know his boundaries

Totally accepting them and never going farther than he wants

You appreciate the small things

Like sitting in his lap and eating breakfast

Or being the small spoon

You become the team’s resident couple

Being part of a team, a family is honestly so much fun

Everyone thinking your invincible and practically indestructible

Until one day you’re hurt on the battlefield

Everyone freaking out and getting you back to the cave so you could be treated

The next morning, Tim goes to check up on you and finds something shocking

He’s not sure what to be more surprised by

Cerberus napping at the foot of your bed

Or you crying

Even though the giant, three-headed dog freaks him out, he still sits beside you and asks what’s wrong

“My father demands that I return home. He cannot stand the thought of me being hurt.”

His heart stops

He likes you so much, even bordering on love

And he doesn’t want you to leave

But who was he to stop the God of the Underworld?

Comforting you when you cried, hugging you tightly

“Shh it’s gonna be okay.”

You return home after that and it breaks Tim’s heart

You don’t officially break up but it’s kind of implied because you can never return back to the mortal world

Him being depressed for the next few months but he hides it well

Even though everyone knows how he’s feeling

Things aren’t any better on your end

Your heart aches with every second your away from him

Until one day it happens

Your soul wants to be with Tim

So, it tries to leave your body

You have a heart attack that night and nearly die and it horrifies Hades

He goes all the way to the mortal world to find Tim

Tim doesn’t quite understand how you could have a heart attack from missing him

But is still worried and agrees to go to the Underworld to see you

When he gets there, you’re in so much pain

But once he brings you into his arms you feel sated

When he kisses you, everything fades into a dull ache

Hades wants Tim to stay in the Underworld after that but you argue and tell him to go back to the land of the living

This wasn’t the place for him

“I’ll give up on you, I promise, but you can’t stay here any longer my love.”

“I don’t want to leave your side.”

“I’m sorry, but you know we can’t be.”

Tim goes the next morning and it breaks your heart but you know that it’s for the best

You spend the next few weeks in such sorrow that all of Persephone’s plants die

Hades and Persephone both see how much you love Tim and they are reminded of themselves when they were younger

Making a joint decision to let you go back to the mortal world

But you have to live a long life

That’s the one condition

You running into the cave and crashing into Tim’s arms

Kissing him there and feeling everything go right in the world

You fulfil your parents wish

And live a long, happy life by Tim’s side

Forever Taglist:

@simonsbluee

DC Taglist:

@emmacata

@p--e--a--c--h--e--s

@sometimeseverythingsucks

@sokkas-honour

@unstable1902

@lostgirlheart

[genericpuff]

I’m gonna have to disagree with you that Kaos is any better than LO. It’s all the same bull crap.

Kaos just seems like live-action LO, both having a boring storyline with bad or fetishized characterizations of the Greek Gods and figures, and both looking artistically beautiful and some cool concepts, but badly executed. The only difference is that Kaos has more LGBTQIA+ themes than LO, has a tiny bit more Greek references, and gets much darker. That’s pretty much it.

As a Greek who studies our myths and stories extensively, I’m tired of the west trying to take and rearrange our stories and retell them ‘with a modern, western lense’. It’s exhausting and infuriating.

It’s time the west gets over its fascination with us and move on.

Fair opinion! Honestly, the initial post I made about it was after only watching the first couple episodes. Now that I've finished it, I can definitely see actual glaring issues with it, both in their characterizations as well as in how they kind of lose the intrigue after a few episodes of the setting and elements of them being gods. Which are all issues that LO have as well.

Though I will say, LO has those issues far more than Kaos does, but what really separates LO from Kaos, in my opinion - the creators of Kaos aren't pretending that Kaos is more than it is. To me, Kaos isn't in any way a singular Greek myth retelling, more so a fun "Greek epic" style story featuring the gods in a modern setting, the way LO could have been if Rachel hadn't tried to make it into something bigger than it was (and if she didn't put herself on a pedestal as a "self proclaimed folklorist"). I can watch Kaos and appreciate it as a fun Greek myth inspired piece of media because that's pretty much all it's trying to be. Meanwhile LO gives us middle-school-level writing with very little real Greek myth influence (aside from what it benefits Rachel to do so) that even goes so far as to outright disrespect the myths that they were based on... all the while people praise it as the greatest Greek myth retelling ever.

I think Kaos is miles better than LO because it at least tells a more coherent story than LO ever could have, with a lot more attention paid to the stylization of a Greek epic (compared to LO which tried and failed to implement those same things, such as the Fates, self-fulfilling prophecies, and witty narration as to retell a story that's already happened).

Granted, that story still takes a lot of liberties with the source material (some that I enjoyed, others not so much), but in that regard, I refer to the above - Kaos isn't trying to be an actual retelling like LO did, so I view it the same way I do as something like Hercules or Hades, where the people who made it clearly love Greek myth and wanted to do some Greek myth-inspired story with their own twists on the narratives, and it paid off in a story that, in spite of their flaws, still feels intentional and thought out.

LO, by comparison, is just a mess of ripped off half-baked ideas thrown at a wall and filled in with self-fulfilling power fantasy garbage written by someone who claims to have deeper knowledge of the myths but clearly doesn't. It's hard to enjoy LO in spite of its flaws because it's all flaws and they're so deeply-rooted in the context of Rachel's own biases and sexual preferences that you really can't separate it from that once you know if it.

I do have some criticisms of Kaos and some of its more creative choices - Hera cheating on Zeus with Poseidon (literally wtf lmao), Persephone still being the "I went down there willingly!" archetype (though at least she's not 19 in this, the casting for her and Hades was great), as well as the fact that things weren't wrapped up by the end of the first season which really bums me out because now it's up to the mercy of Netflix to give it that second season - but ultimately, from a story-writing perspective, Kaos absolutely did accomplish having an actual narrative with themes and goal-driven writing that LO failed in having. That comparison doesn't make Kaos a 100% perfect show without flaw, but I made the comparison initially anyways because much of what I enjoyed in Kaos was what I expected from LO (and ultimately didn't get).

That's just my own two cents though! And I need to make it clear - I am not a Greek person! I have no say or merit within the discussion regarding Greek myth and how it's been appropriated!! - so ultimately... my opinion of these things really aren't as valuable as someone who actually is Greek or studied heavily in it.

So that said, I can completely see the merit in your own arguments that a lot of these "modern retellings" tend to miss the point of the stories they're trying to retell (esp with the criticisms I outlined above) and are often chewed up through a Western lens. The lesser of two evils is still evil. But if we're purely talking Kaos vs. Lore Olympus here as modern entertainment that are both attempting similar things... I'd be way more likely to rewatch and recommend one over the other. Plus there are a lot of adaptions out there made by Westerners / non-Greeks that are incredible and are, at the very least, amazing stepping stones into the world of Greek myth for those who want to learn more about it. Out of the pool of ongoing modern Greek myth retellings/inspired works - Blood of Zeus, Hades/Hades 2, Kaos, Epic: The Musical, Hadestown, Hercules, Percy Jackson & The Olympians, and Lore Olympus - it's not hard to guess which one I'd be the least likely to recommend as gateways into Greek mythology. If those titles were organized in a list of best to worst, Kaos isn't at the top of that list, but it's sure as shit higher than LO 💀��

[box5intern]

Unlike my previous extended monologue about the Jeremy/Emilie/Jordan phantom experience from which I will never recover because I didn’t know I could feel like I did when I saw it for the first time…I think I can keep this one relatively brief? I mean for me. Bell curve. If you would like the TLDR up top it’s that the actors playing Orpheus, Eurydice, Hades and Persephone were so good that any one of them is worth the price of a ticket. I thought the entire cast was wonderful but those four just blew me away.

I loved seeing shows at the Globe during my “I am exactly like every other girl” semester in London. Some of my favorite theatre experiences have been little to no sets, few props or no props. Several times today I thought “this case could perform with no sets, no props, and I would be riveted.” All I would say about the set is much of it is still lovely and makes an impact, however adjustments had to be made for the tour and to fit in various theatres. There are a few scenes that didn’t hit for me the way they did on Broadway, and that’s okay. Some scenes impacted me more. It was just a stunning performance overall.

Orpheus has never been my favorite character. I just tend to be more interested in the others. Chibueze Ihuoma was breaking my heart from the jump. His Orpheus is so sweet, so funny, so earnest, such a stunningly beautiful voice. Usually I’m sympathizing with Eurydice more, but today it was equal. I can’t say enough about what a gift it was to see this performance, and I can’t wait to see what else he does. I know how the show ends, clearly, but I was starting to feel so upset as the end approached. His performance just really got to me. There are songs I sometimes skip that I was riveted during.

I still love the cast I saw in New York and I also didn’t think about them once during the show today. Morghan Siobhan Green is just…wonderful, I’m going to overuse that word a lot, sorry, but I don’t know what else to say. Her voice, her inflection, her chemistry with Chibueze. I don’t even want to compare her to Eva, just two absolutely beautiful and completely different performances that I’m so grateful to have seen.

I was vibrating in my seat waiting for Patrick to appear in November, I just really like him, right? I’d see him in anything so just — a really high bar. Kevyn Morrow’s Hades is just so different and has such chemistry with Kimberly Marable that I was UNWELL. Just so charismatic and everything I want to see in Hades while being completely different than what I had already seen and loved. And since I mentioned Kimberly — I don’t know how to pick a favorite in this cast but it was extremely hard to focus on anyone else while she was onstage. I know a lot of people get attached to originators of roles but both of them, especially Kevyn, have just created these takes on the characters that I wasn’t expecting that were…perfect, and they are just so, so good together. I think I was even more emotional when they danced than when I saw it previously. To be clear I was sure they’d be great, I didn’t go wanting carbon copies of the Broadway cast, but the way Kevyn just…owns the stage whenever he’s doing what he’s doing. WHEW.

Last but I promise not least, Levi Kreis who I was really wanting to see as Hermes because I’d heard his voice and really liked it. I continue to really like his voice and it was a delight to finally see him. I really loved how he played off each different character he was interacting with — I think it was a subtler performance than I was expecting in some ways, but his energy was the perfect balance with everyone else and it was so unique to whoever he was playing off of in that moment.

It’s not to compare people to the Broadway cast, just to say that some of those original actors are so distinctive that it would be understandable to me to wonder “how does this work with someone else.” It just really, really does. These are such completely distinctive performances in their own right that it was almost like seeing it for the first time again, if that makes sense.

The fates, orchestra, chorus — all just incredible and special shout out to the chorus because they were REALLY making up for some of the set changes with how captivating they were.

So two weeks apart I had the experience of watching shows I’d seen before and am quite familiar with, and being absolutely riveted because each of the leads was so dynamic in their own way that I almost didn’t know where to look. And I am gushing, I know, but I also began by crying through most of “Road to Hell” because I was just so happy to be there.

She’s emotional folks. Also…lol nope we did not keep it short.

[solena2]

So.

Tommy isn’t Theseus. Every time I see Techno’s analogy about Tommy being Theseus brought up I’m filled with endless rage and I’ve DECIDED!

That it’s about time I explained just why it’s so objectively incorrect.

-

First: a bit of backstory on Theseus, because I doubt many of you actually know much about him beyond what Techno said in his “so you want to be a hero” speech, which left out a lot of relevant details.

Theseus was a demigod with two fathers and one mother. His fathers were king Aegeus of Athens and the sea god Poseidon, and his mother was Aethra, Aegeus’ wife. Aethra raised Theseus on her own, far from Athens to avoid him being assassinated.

Aegeus left him nothing but a sword with the Athenian crest and a pair of sandals, buried under a rock so no one else could get them.

When Theseus came of age, he took the sword and sandals and headed up to Athens, slaying various monsters along the way. (It pains me to abbreviate it that much, but Techno left out everything before the Minotaur so it won’t help me much in debunking his analogy.)

Once he got to Athens, he met up with his dad, chased out his stepmom Medea, (yes, that Medea) and killed some people. Then comes the relevant part.

Crete had won a war against Athens a while back, and because of this, every seven years Athens was forced to send 14 tributes to be killed by the Minotaur. (Yes, this inspired the Hunger Games)

Theseus decided he’d volunteer and kill the Minotaur, thus ending the tribute system for good and getting one over on Athens. He promised his dad that if he won, he’d come back in a ship with white sails, as opposed to the standard mourning black that signified the death of the tributes.

So he went to Crete, met king Minos and his daughters Ariadne and Phaedra, and got sent into the labyrinth. Ariadne gave him a magic ball of string that kept him from getting lost, allowing him to find the Minotaur and then safely get out afterwards, providing he could kill it.

He killed it, led his other 13 tributes out, and sailed back home. On the way, Athena told him to leave Ariadne stranded on a tiny island in the middle of the ocean, so he immediately did so, because Theseus was an asshole.

He got home, his dad committed suicide because Theseus forgot the white sails and his dad assumed he’d died, Theseus became king and married Phaedra, and then the fun began, because again, Theseus was an asshole.

First, he cheated on Phaedra with Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons, so she left and took the kids. Next, he and his other asshole friend Pirithous decided to kidnap themselves some new wives. Theseus decided on Helen of Troy, who was a child at the time, and Pirithous decided on Persephone, which resulted in both him and Theseus getting stuck in the Underworld for a while due to pissing off Hades.

Once he got back up, he killed his son for fucking his wife, which is messed up on many levels, and then left Athens because his people were rightfully not super okay with that.

Then he goes and meets Lycomedes, who throws him off a cliff.

-

Next, let’s talk about Techno’s speech a bit.

He starts off by accusing Tommy of being a power hungry dictator (paraphrased), before asking him if he wants to be a hero.

Then, he provides what is apparently the archetypal example of heroism, something often associated with selflessness, kindness, and generally giving at least one singular solitary fuck about other people.

Theseus! Heroic hero who does heroic things, like, uhhh *checks notes* cheating on his wife, kidnapping children with plans to forcefully marry them, leaving people alone on tiny islands with no supplies, killing his kid, etc. etc...

So we’re off to a great start.

Then, he gives a short summary of Theseus’ life and times! He skips the first part of his life completely, which is hilarious to me because it’s the only time Theseus ever did anything actually heroic or selfless, and gets straight to the meat!

“Let me tell you a story, Tommy. A story of a man called Theseus. His country was in danger, he sent himself forward! Into enemy lines. He slayed the Minotaur! And saved his city. You know what they did to him, Tommy? They exiled him. He died in disgrace, despised by his people. That’s what happens to heroes, Tommy.”

-Technoblade

So first off, he doesn’t mention... really anything other than the Minotaur and the exile, which is leaving out a lot of relevant details, like why Theseus was exiled. (You know, killing his son in cold blood?)

Second, he doesn’t give details in general. Not that he should’ve given a full telling, or anything, but I’m always surprised by the shortness of this speech when I go back and listen to it. He pretty much just gives the barest bones of an argument and expects his audience to take it at face value. (Which they do, but it’s still bad practice)

From the more accurate (if still brief) summary if Theseus’ life I’ve just given, I’m sure you can see why this might be more than a bit dubious, as an analogy. Given cc!Technoblade is literally an English major, and doubtless knows significantly more about the myth than I do, I’d imagine this was never intended to be taken at face value.

Over and over again, c!Techno proves himself to be an unreliable narrator, and over and over again, the fandom at large takes his word as gospel.

-

Now, as far as a more in depth argument for Tommy as Theseus goes, I will attempt to debunk that as well, because there are some genuinely good points to be made.

First of all, most people make Dream out to be the Minotaur. Given the time this speech was made, I imagine Schlatt was the intended target of that, but with latter events in mind, Dream does make much more sense.

I’d say this is honestly pretty fair, but I don’t think Tommy takes the role of Theseus in that narrative. I’d argue he’s much more analogous to the role of Ariadne, giving the tools required to defeat Dream but ultimately not doing so through his own power, but because someone chose to take those tools and make use of them. This also provides the very interesting characterization of Punz as Theseus, which is an incredibly unique take that I hope some a Punz enthusiast does something with, because I don’t know enough about his lore to make a good analysis on that.

The idea of Schlatt as the Minotaur, as was probably intended by Techno at the time, makes much more sense, though I still think other characters fit the role better. Firstly, Schlatt wasn’t killed, he died of a heart attack, and if someone had killed him I think it’s more likely to have been Wilbur or Techno who did it than Tommy, as Tommy was still very hopeful and idealistic at the time, at least compared to his character now. You could posit Tommy as Ariadne again in this situation, given he was the one to mastermind the final charge, and though I think Tommy as Ariadne is an idea that’s worth further exploration, I’d say Fundy futs the Ariadne role here much better, with him giving the spy’s diary before being effectively shunned and left out in the cold by both Pogtopia and Manburg, much like Ariadne was abandoned in the original myth.

I’d posit the Theseus in this scenario as Techno, Wilbur, or possibly Philza, as they were the ones to actually kill things in the 16th, though Techno and Wilbur’s killings were more in the metaphorical sense, taking the second life of L’manburg.

As for the exile, Tommy exile was alike to that of Theseus only in concept. Both were sent from their kingdoms for a crime, resulting in a falling out with someone close to them, and had a precarious relationship with heights while they were gone, but that’s about where the similarities end and even then they’re superficial.

First of all, Tommy’s exile was far more because Dream was looking for an excuse to do it than because briefing actually means anything on the SMP, given how Dream had been griefing bases and blaming Tommy for it for a while before it went down. (Fun fact, Bad and Skeppy were going to burn one of his discs over this, but one of them got sick so they had to cancel the stream.)

Theseus’ exile, on the other hand, was entirely deserved, especially when you consider how serious a crime killing family was in Ancient Greek culture. It was pretty much the biggest no-no in existence, and I’m almost surprised he wasn’t just straight up executed for it.

Second, Tommy’s falling out with Tubbo was almost entirely due to outside forces, (Dream) rather than because anything Tommy had done. Though Tommy’s cavalierness towards the trial and attempts to threaten Dream with Spirit doubtless didn’t help things, Dream surrounding L’manburg in obsidian walls and threatening them to exile Tommy was entirely his own choice, and not something that can be pinned on Tommy, no matter what the apologists may say.

Meanwhile, Theseus’ falling out with Phaedra had begun long before his exile with him cheating on her. Him killing his son was merely the last in a long line of dominos to completely destroy their relationship.

Last, Tommy nearly killing himself is very different from Theseus being pushed off a cliff. Tommy’s near suicide was the direct result of physical and emotional abuse at the hands of c!Dream for what was canonically, I believe, several months? (Correct me if I’m wrong on that one.) Tommy almost jumping off a pillar because he was deliberately isolated from his support systems is nothing like Theseus being killed because he was a cocky asshole who thought he was god.

-

So that’s why I don’t think Tommy is anything like Theseus, and why I’m filled with endless rage by the completely uncritical acceptance of this parallel, but it’s not the whole reason it pisses me off.

It also pisses me off because, as stated earlier, cc!Techno is an English major. He knew what he was doing with this. The fandom’s insistence on refusing to acknowledge his character as an unreliable narrator is, in my opinion, acting as a massive kneecap to what could be a great analysis of how he thinks.

Specifically: why does c!Technoblade think Tommy is like Theseus?

Of all the Greek heroes to pick, why that one? Was it just the tantalizing opportunity to parallel Schlatt with a horned monster, or was it because c!Techno has some genuine in-character reason to think this myth specifically applies to Tommy.

Now, we all know people in the SMP have a habit of analogizing Wilbur and Tommy. The assumption Tommy wanted to be president, the belief that Tommy nominated Tubbo directly, the belief that he was intentionally deceiving Techno about Pogtopia’s intentions regarding Manburg... all of these stem from Wilbur. There are more cases of this, of course, but several analyses have been done in the subject already, and this is long enough without more padding.

So why does Techno think Tommy is Theseus? Well, it’s simple, isn’t it?

Wilbur is Theseus.

To be continued, because this is already too long and my brain hurts.

[sayuricorner]

Miraculous Ladybug x Twisted Wonderland salt prompt: The ladybug's lonely lord

Warning: English is not my first language so sorry if it’s confusing.

Warning 2: This prompt content salt don’t like don’t read!

Times ago, I posted a suggestion for a Miraculous Ladybug x Twisted Wonderland salt fanfic with Idia and Marinette as the main ship.

The idea stayed in my head for a while so in the end I decided to write a whole prompt idea about it!

If you want to use this prompt you can! just credite and tag me in return please! :)

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

Prompt concept:

So, the prompt take place after ML, Marinette is 16, Hawkmoth/Gabriel Agreste had been defeated and arrested by the police, Marinette managed to take back Duusu and Nooroo.

Unfortunatly not everything end happily: Adrien, to not be paint as his father’s accomplice, was forced to reveal he was Chat Noir, much to all Paris’s and Marinette’s shock, Marinette as Ladybug wanted to reveal her identity as well in support of her partner but Adrien told her to not to ‘cause according to him Paris needed her before giving her the black cat miraculous. And because his father was arrested Adrien was forced to move in England to live with his aunt and cousin.

Lila managed to not be arrested by lying and ancting like the poor girl brainwashed by Hawkmoth and everyone believed her, the class even forgiving her and presuring Marinette to do it as well when she know the liar isn’t genuine.

And when Alya constently presuring her to contact Adrien and to comfess to him despite Marinette not having feelings for him anymore and wanting to move on, the young girl never feel so sad and lonely. 

But her life get a unexpected turn when one day mysterious circonstences spirited her away, with the miracle box, to the Night Raven College in the mysterious world Twisted Wonderland.

Forced to stay in the school until the headmaster Crowley can send her back to her world, Marinette will engage into an adventure which will lead to face overblot students and magic misadventures.

And more surprises came when Marinette begin developping magic abilities due to the magic of Twisted Wonderland mixing with the miraculous magic, making Marinette eligible to become a official student, and first female student, of Night Raven College.

But despite the difficulties, Marinette will get friends who will be by her side and even find a new love.

Prompt details:

-Class salt

-Lila salt

-Bustier salt

-Adrien sugar

-Chloe redemption

-Class redemption, a part having a redemption or none of them having a redemption.(You choose)

-Good friend Luka

-Good friend Kagami

-Good parents Sabine and Tom Dupain-Cheng

-Marinette developping a new “Ladybug power” which permit her to purify overblot people.

-Leona trying to be his “threatening self”/rude self with Marinette but in the end not so much ‘cause he was raised to respect woman and was kinda impressed when Marinette, who’s rather small compared to him, reveal to had a character and talk back.

-Marinette managing to had a better control of Grim than Yuu in the game.

-Marinette, Ace, Deuce, Jack, Epel and Sebek forming the first year squad.

-Idia Shroud and Marinette having a “Hades and Persephone”-like romance.

-Divus Crewel, when finding out Marinette is a aspirant fashion designer with a lot of potential, being like “Must. Take. That. Pup. Under. My. Wing!”.

-Marinette being sometimes very annoyed by Ace’s, Deuce’s and Grim’s stupid sheningans.

-The Twisted Wonderland main characters becoming unknowingly step by step part of the “Marinette protection squad”..

-Rugi and Marinette becoming food buddies.

-Flyod giving to Marinette not harmfull “squeezy hugs”.

-Malleus and Marinette being best friends.

-Sad Marinette at the start but healing through the story.

-Marinette having PTSD from her fights against the akumas back in Paris.

-The Kwamis hanging out in the Ramshackle dorm outside of the miracle box.

-Marinette having a new soulmate ice-cream from Andre Glacier: curacao syrup for his hair, lemon for his eyes and blue raspberry for his lips.

-Marinette developping magic and officially transfering to NRC when she find a way back to Paris.

-The class being noisy and Alya not accepting Marinette move on from Adrien and fall in love with another boy.

-Lila trying to ruin Marinette’s life but end up exposed and getting karma.

-The Twisted Wonderland special events happening after the TW main story.

-Ship: Idia x Marinette, for other ships you decide.

[honey-dewey]

The Prince’s Dogs

Pairing: Oberyn Martell/Reader

Word Count: 4,171

Warnings: None!

Permanent Taglist: @phoenixhalliwell @star-wars-hell

Upon leaving your small village and getting a job in Dorne working for the two princes of Sunspear, you had no idea how much you’d miss one very small yet very pivotal part of your life. The rain. However, being the dog trainer for Prince Oberyn might beat the rain. Might. 

A/N: Have I watched Game of Thrones? Nope! But I’ve started reading the books and read a bit of book 3 with Oberyn, so that’s what this is based off of. Oops. 

Of all the things you missed about home, the rain was what you missed most. Dorne was a fine kingdom with ample sun and the intoxicating smell of salt in the air. But rain was scarce this far south in Sunspear, and you longed for a day where the skies opened and wept, showering the earth.

But the rain was something you could not have, so you settled for a life many would envy. A position in the Dornish palace, dressed in fine clothes rather than your worn out linens. You dearly missed your old home, with the smell of wet dirt and the muddy ground beneath your bare feet, but when your parents had passed, you needed to leave, finding work and income to keep yourself alive.

And you’d found it. You were a servant for the Martell family, although you rarely saw your masters. Doran was always busy, and his younger brother was typically nowhere to be found when he was needed. You’d never met Elia, but the stories were prominent, even to your people. Anyone south of King’s Landing knew all too well the story of Elia Martell.

The Martells treated their servants well. When you’d arrived, they’d put you to work immediately in the kitchens, scrubbing copper kitchenware until your hands were red. The woman who oversaw your work was impressed. Apparently most ended their days with bloodied fingertips. You’d told her you worked with animals day in and day out where you’d come from, and your hands were well prepared for harsh conditions. However, despite the grind, you wore soft clothes. A linen shirt you’d refused to give up, brown pants, and a deep yellow robe you often never wore. You were built for the cold, and Dorne was hot as an oven. A robe would only serve to boil you alive.

You sighed, scrubbing a large cooking pot and dunking it under the water again. Your face was finally legible in the surface, warped and coppery, but legible nonetheless. You hung it to dry alongside the other pots you’d cleaned, turning back yet again to the pile of dirty dishes. You were elbow deep in soapy water when someone exclaimed, “My Prince! I did not see you there!”

“It’s fine my dear,” a honeyed voice said, thick with a Dornish accent. “I did not mean to scare you.”

Hanging another pot, you finally turned to see your visitor.

Prince Oberyn Martell stood by the fire, the flames dancing in his onyx eyes. He smiled at you, and you felt yourself flush. “And this must be the one who keeps my dogs. I’d recognize those hands anywhere.”

You nodded. Once she’d learned you worked dogs in your past, your overseer assigned you to keep the prince’s dogs when you weren’t busy. He had five, all of whom were slender and fast and well trained thanks to you. All the dogs sat by your feet during meals solely because you fed them scraps of your food, and apparently the prince had taken notice. “Yes, I am. Is there a problem with their training?”

Oberyn chuckled. “Quite the contrary, in fact. The girls are swift as ever, and have no hesitation while hunting. Tell me, how did you train them to run through rivers?”

“Food.” It was a true answer. You’d taken the dogs to a shallow pond and baited them across the water, working your way up until you were baiting them across the deepest river you could find. Compared to training dogs in pelting rain, which you had done before, training the dogs to swim fearlessly had been simple.

“Ah,” Oberyn said with a smile. “Food, of course. I suppose this means you’re also the reason Nyx and Artemis are looking a bit rounder than usual?”

You raised an eyebrow. “Your dogs are all in perfect health,” you said sternly. “And if two of your ladies are looking too well fed, then I should not be confronted, because I had nothing to do with it.” It was a blatant lie, and you both knew it.

Oberyn put his hands up. “I was merely making an observation,” he said lightly. “I’ll be leaving you to your washing up.”

You did as he left you to do, washing each dish until it shone and then heading to the doghouse. It was big as your old house back home, and all five dogs rushed to the door as you opened it.

“Hello girls!” You said eagerly, kneeling down so they could all nip at your ears and fingers. “How are we today?”

The dogs all dispersed after that. It was late and there was a warm fire, so three of the dogs curled up to sleep. Nyx and Athena stayed awake, wrestling for a toy before Athena grew bored and trotted off to sleep with her sisters. So Nyx found the next best thing to play with. You.

You wrestled Nyx for the toy, rolling around on the ground and laughing as she growled at you. You growled right back, shaking the toy and coaxing Nyx to drop it. She did, and you tossed it across the room for her to chase after. Nyx was the leader of the pack, the biggest and the oldest. Her muzzle was streaked with grey, but her black and white coat still shone with youth and her eyes sparkled when she was playing. She would always be a puppy at heart.

She returned the toy to you, and you took it. Nyx snapped her jaws at you in an attempt to take the toy, but you pulled it away quickly. “Absolutely not!” You said firmly. “We don’t snatch.” You made Nyx sit, her eyes trained on her toy the entire time. When you finally threw it again, she caught it and trotted right past you with it, dropping it obediently at the feet of her master.

You stood quickly, nearly tripping over yourself as you did so. You knew you looked a mess. Covered from head to foot in dog fur and saliva, your sleeves were still damp from washing dishes and your feet were bare, as they always were. Your hair, which you’d grown long upon arriving in Dorne, was a mess of tangles. Your morning’s braid was long gone.

But the prince didn’t seem to mind. Instead, he scratched Nyx behind the ears and tossed her toy, sending her joyously chasing after it. “I figured I’d find you here,” he said. “The guards said you liked to put the dogs to bed every night.”

You nodded, relaxing a bit as Oberyn sat on a bench and gestured you to his side. Nyx followed you, sitting practically on your feet as you sat. You absently scratched under her ornate collar, hearing her foot thump the ground as you found the sweat spot to scratch. Oberyn smiled as Nyx squirmed under your hands. “You work the girls well.”

“It was my job back home,” you admitted. “I worked the hunting dogs. They were stockier and slower than yours, but could take down anything they wanted. Training them was a task, especially during the rainy season.”

Oberyn nodded slowly. “My girls are bred for speed,” he said. “Their mother was a gift given to my sister, and she bore me my puppies.”

You tried to imagine Oberyn cradling a tiny puppy. His hands were bigger than yours, and a puppy would probably fit in his palm. “Is the mother still alive?”

“Died of age years ago,” Oberyn said. “Right after bearing Persephone’s litter.”

The beautiful dark red dog looked up when Oberyn said her name, but went back to sleep shortly after.

“And what happened to the other puppies?”

“I got pick of the litter,” Oberyn said, smoothing a hand over Nyx’s head. “And the other puppies were given to knights or to houses who’ve sworn loyalty.”

You nodded. “These five were incredibly lucky.”

Oberyn smiled. “Two of them were the youngest born, and one was a runt.”

Both of your gazes went to the dogs curled around the fire. “Was it Artemis?” The blue dog had always been smaller than her sisters, but she had never been any less impressive.

“No.” Oberyn stood, sitting cross legged beside the fire and looking warmly at his dogs. “Athena was the youngest born in her litter, but wasn’t a runt by any means. Nyx was my first dog, the biggest in her litter of course. Persephone was a middle born, and I chose her for her fighter’s spirit. Artemis, bless her, was second youngest in her litter but she was an average size. No, it was Hestia who was a runt. She was so small, we all feared she’d die in the night. I fed her myself, with a rag soaked in milk, for months.”

You nodded, sitting on the other side of the fire and stroking Hestia’s silky ears. She was the best suited for hunting, with her dark brindle pattern and keen blue eyes. “She’s a magnificent dog.”

“She is.”

For the better part of the night, you and Oberyn sat in silence around the fire until it was nothing more than embers. All the dogs were long asleep, and the only reason you didn’t join them was because the room was stiflingly hot. Oberyn looked at peace in the heat, and actually seemed surprised when you got up to sit next to the cracked window. “Are you warm?”

“I’m boiling,” you said. “Dorne is a beautiful place, but must it be so damned hot?”

“Oh? And where do you come from that would justify Dorne being hot as the ovens you work in front of?” Oberyn asked, tipping his head ever so slightly.

You tucked your feet up under your body, leaning against the windowsill and looking out across the Sea of Dorne. “I come from a place where no man rules. My people have been there for generations and will remain there for generations. The land is firm beneath our feet, it’s why we all go barefoot. We have three seasons. The winters, the summers, and the rain. Each turn, between the winters and the summers, it rains. It rains a lot. No one is ever deterred by the rain, as it’s warm, so unlike the freezing rain in the mountains. We were barely fifty houses strong when I left, but our land stretches as far as the eye can see. Flat expanses of green, and in the summers the fields bloom with every kind of flower imaginable. It is a beautiful sight, and if you travel far enough east, you can see the shadows of the Dornish Mountains.” As you spoke, you grew only more homesick, wishing you could plant your feet in the mud and breathe, just breathe in the open air. Dorne’s air smelled of ocean and fish, and you craved the wetness of the petrichor smell you’d grown up with.

Oberyn joined you by the window, looking out at the glowing moon hung high in the sky. “What would you give to return?”

“Everything.”

It was an answer that seemed to stun the youngest Martell sibling. He blinked, still gazing at the moon. “Of course,” he said softly. “Of course.”

The next day, you spent all morning in the great hall, feeding the dogs under the table and reading a book you’d bought in town. Doran and Oberyn sat at the head of the hall together, arguing, but you couldn’t hear them, nor did you care to. You merely flipped a page in your book and fed Hestia another scrap of bacon.

Halfway through your day, you were interrupted in your washing of linens by the lake. Oberyn rode up to you, two horses and all his dogs by his side. “Come.”

You stood, dusting off your pants. “Where to?” You asked. “I doubt I’ll be much use on a hunting trip.”

Oberyn handed you the reins of a horse you’d trained early in your days of working in Dorne. “I’m taking you home.”

You went eagerly after that. You may have been wary, but Oberyn was sincere enough that you trusted him. The dogs followed you, ever the obedient hunters you had trained, as you and him rode hard northward, stopping to make camp as the sun began to dip below the horizon.

“Why are you joining me?” You asked once you’d made camp. “You could’ve sent me on my way, alone.”

Oberyn considered your words, turning meat over the fire. “You fascinate me,” he finally admitted. “You want for nothing in Dorne, and yet you are more homesick than anyone I’ve ever met. You talk about your home as if there is no better place to be. I want to see if you’re right.”

You grinned. “You’ll need firmer clothes than that,” you said, gesturing to Oberyn’s ornate robe. “It’s nearly rain season. Anything that isn’t made to stand up to the water will be ruined.”

Oberyn ran the fabric through his fingers, nodding. “What should I wear?”

“There’s a town not far from my home,” you said. “We’ll find you some suitable clothes there.”

The town in question was a three day ride away. While you rode, you and Oberyn got to know each other. He talked happily about his daughters, never favoring one over the other and seeming proud to have bore them all. In return, you told him about your parents, despite both of them being deceased. He was a good listener, hardly ever interrupting. As the weather grew colder and a wet chill filled the air, you felt yourself getting more comfortable, more at home.

The town finally loomed in the distance after three days on horseback, only stopping to rest the dogs or the horses. You were familiar with everyone, happily chatting to the townsfolk while you browsed thick clothes for Oberyn. He kept the hood of a roughly made cloak over his head, concealing his identity as he watched you make decisions. Finally, you walked away with a sturdy linen shirt that matched yours, reinforced brown pants, and a thick robe that mimicked the Dornish style while also remaining functional. It didn’t fall to Oberyn’s ankles as his vibrant yellow one did, the new faded deep green one stopping just above his knee. He grumbled about the color, but you hushed him as you donned a similar coat in faded burgundy.

As you continued east, the threat of rain grew stronger. You could smell it now, the rain heavy clouds a swirl of deep blue grey on the sky. Artemis whined when a distant rumble of thunder sounded, but you hushed her gently and nudged the horse forward. “We’re not far off. We’ll beat the rain.”

You were right. The village came into view before the rain started, and you quickly ushered the five dogs and one Dornish Prince into your family’s home as warm summer rain began to fall.

Oberyn stared at the ceiling in wonder as the rain began to pound. “Will it hold?”

“It’s held for three generations,” you said, putting logs into a fireplace and looking for your flint. “It’ll continue to hold, that I can swear.”

Once you got a fire going and some food set out for the dogs, you went outside. Oberyn tried to stop you, but you ignored him, opting to stand out back of the house instead. Rain soaked you to the bone immediately, but you didn’t care. The rain was warm and comforting, like being hugged by an old friend. Your hair slicked to your head and your clothes were sticking to your skin, but you simply tipped your head to the heavens and smiled.

You were out for a surprisingly long time before Oberyn braved the rain. He shielded his eyes and stood beside you, shoulders hunched. “Are you going to come back inside? You’ll catch a chill if you stay out here much longer!”

You shook your head. “No I won’t,” you said, looking over when a crack of thunder interrupted you. “Relax Oberyn, it’s only rain.”

Eventually, Oberyn loosened, standing next to you and admiring the rain. When he spoke again, his voice was full of wonder. “You worked in these conditions?”

You nodded. “Sometimes, the rain lasts for weeks,” you said. “We need to hunt, eat, and gather, so yes. I worked in the rain a lot.”

A bell sounded in the distance, and Oberyn looked over, shielding his eyes. “What’s that?”

“Dinner!” You said eagerly, taking his hand. “Come on. You want to see what I love about home? I’ll show you.”

The dinner hall was a sturdy building, bigger than the others. People filtered in, all soaked from the rain, so yours and Oberyn’s wet state wasn’t unusual.

“The dog keeper is home!” Someone said cheerily, seeing you showing Oberyn how to quickly towel his hair dry. Immediately, people began to crowd you, hugging you and asking why you’d returned.

“Oh,” you said, squeezing water out of your coat. “Someone asked me where I came from that would justify me calling Dorne hot as an oven. I felt compelled to show him.” You looped an arm through Oberyn’s elbow, and he looked at people you’d spent your entire life surrounded by.

“Is that Prince Oberyn Martell?” Someone finally asked in a hushed tone.

You shrugged. “Maybe in Dorne he is,” you said. “But out here, he’s just Oberyn.”

Oberyn seemed grateful, and you pulled him to a table. Food was passed around, and the conversation picked up once more. With the warm fire blazing at the front of the hall and the fall of rain against the roof, you felt more at home than you’d ever been. The people around you were your age, and they pushed you for questions about Dorne.

“Oh it’s beautiful,” you said, stirring your stew and dipping your slice of bread into your bowl. “But it’s so hot! I don’t know how those Dornishmen survive the heat in their robes!”

“We’re born there,” Oberyn said, bumping elbows with you. “Unlike you, that heat is all we’ve known.”

You grinned. “I will say, they let me play with the Prince’s dogs, so it’s not all bad.”

“Play?” Oberyn said, stunned. “You trained all the dogs! Let me tell you,” he said, turning to the people around you. “I’ve never met a better dog trainer in my life. If they weren’t so insistent upon working in the kitchens, I’d have promoted them to full time animal trainer already! Lord knows our horses need the firm hand.”

The people around you began to tell Oberyn about your past while you ate, happily telling him about how you’d once trained the village dogs to hunt in the pouring rain by slathering yourself in animal fat and racing through the woods while they hunted you down during the rainy season.

“Is that what you did with my dogs?” He asked when the story was done.

You shrugged. “More or less,” you said. “I take bits of my own breakfast and bait the girls. I told you, that was how I got them to swim so fearlessly.”

Oberyn nodded. “You know you could just ask for more food if you’re going to be sacrificing your own breakfast for my dogs.”

Another shrug. “I don’t mind.”

“Did you bring the dogs?” Someone asked, and you nodded.

“Of course!” You said. “I’ll let the young ones play with them tomorrow if this rain lets up. Although, it is what I missed most.”

“The rain?” The person sitting across from you asked. “Does it not rain in Dorne?”

You sighed, mopping up the last remnants of stew with bread you’d taken from Oberyn. “Not enough,” you said wistfully. “The most it’s rained since I moved there was an hour’s worth of mild rain. And it only rains once every month! It’s hell.”

After dinner came dessert, a sweet pastry filled with oozing red berries and topped with sticky honey. It wasn’t something that was made very often, and you ate yours quickly, savoring the flavors. Oberyn was more hesitant, and was a bit more dignified. However, no amount of dignity saved him from the fruit juices dripping down his chin and you laughing at him while handing him something to wipe his face.

After all the food was eaten, you bid everyone goodbye and braved the rain yet again. It was lighter now, and the children were chasing each other around, happily shouting and playing with the sturdy village hunting dogs. There was no rush for anything, and you didn’t hurry home. Instead, you walked slowly, despite the light rain, taking in all that you’d lost when you left. Oberyn held your hand, the hood of his robe pulled up over his head. He looked at ease here.

When you reached your house, the rain was no more than a light mist, and you eagerly pulled Oberyn around back. The sun was almost gone, but the final rays soaked the land in gold, illuminating the rolling hills and picturesque plains.

“Take a deep breath,” you said softly, seeing Oberyn’s eyes go wide. “And tell me what you smell.”

Oberyn took a breath, staying silent for a moment. “I can’t describe it,” he said, voice soft with awe. “It smells like earth and water and something not of this world.”

“It’s called petrichor,” you said. “The smell of rain on dry soil.”

A delicate silence lapsed over you two, bound only by your connected hands as you watched the sun fully set. Once the sky was dark, you pulled Oberyn inside, handing him a towel so he could dry off.

“How long are we staying?” You asked, stripping out of your soaked clothes and hanging them to dry on a line.

Oberyn, who was in another room for privacy, made a small noise. “I don’t know. A week? I must return at some point.”

You smiled, pulling on a linen shift and tossing another log into the fire that the dogs were surrounding. “I agree. I suppose the girls I work with will be disappointed if I don’t return.”

Oberyn came out of the room wearing a shift identical to yours. He began to hang his clothes beside yours. “It’s nice here,” he said. “I don’t know why anyone would ever want to leave.”

“I didn’t,” you reminded him. “If I’d been able to, I would’ve stayed here all my life. But then I would’ve never met you or your dogs.”

Oberyn smiled, sitting beside the dogs and gesturing you close. You sat with him, facing the fire. Hestia woke up, set her head in your lap, and fell asleep immediately after. You stroked her ears, humming to yourself. “Thank you for bringing me back.”

“Thank you for allowing me to come along,” Oberyn replied.

As you grew more and more tired, you finally relented and stood to go to sleep. “You’re welcome to join me,” you said to Oberyn. “I apologize, but there’s only one bed.”

Oberyn stood. “It’s fine. We can share.”

You took the right side of the bed and Oneryn took the left, you giving him an extra blanket when he started to shiver. His chills never faded, and you did the only thing left. You shifted in the bed, curling up against Oberyn’s chest and wrapping your arms around his middle, giving him your body heat.

“Your Dornish blood is at a cruel disadvantage out here,” you said softly, and you felt Oberyn chuckle.

“I’ll just have to adapt,” he murmured.

The next morning, you woke to no rain and a perfectly blue sky. Oberyn stayed asleep as you got dressed, made breakfast, and let the dogs out to play with the eagerly waiting children. As Oberyn’s dogs raced off to entertain the kids, you sat beside an open window, waiting for Oberyn to wake up.

When he finally did, he sat across from you at the tiny table and slowly began to eat, blinking sleepily at you from time to time.

“Good morning sleepy head,” you said finally, once the food had all been eaten and Oberyn looked a bit more awake. “How’d you sleep?”

Oberyn looked up at you. “Great. Where are the girls?”

“Outside with the kids,” you said, pointing out the window, where you could see the dogs running around with the children. “We’ll hunt them later, but for now, let them have their fun.”

“Ah.” Oberyn nodded. “Okay. So what do we do?”

You shrugged. “Typically, I’d have been working for a while by now.”

“We could work.”

“With those hands?” You said, taking Oberyn’s hands in your own. “Your skin isn’t accustomed to my kind of work, it would split immediately.”

Oberyn smiled. “So what do we do?” He asked again.

You squeezed his hands. “Whatever we want, Oberyn.”

“What if I want to go back to bed with you by my side?” Oberyn asked.

“Well then.” You stood, shedding your coat. “I guess we better get going.”