#so much reylo art and edits

[reylo-solo]

I’ve joined the blue butterfly app if anyone wants to follow me there, I’ll follow back! ☺️ this app reminds me of the early days of the reylo fandom here on tumblr atm lol it’s very nice 👌

[marklikely]

the results of that "is fanfic a book" poll have shown me one thing and its that this site never graduated past that absolutely insufferable phase in 2013 where everyone acted like every book is the single most sacred thing on earth

[rappaccini]

do you ever think about how it's now a trend that every decade or so a fandom accidentally yields an incubator for writing talent.

like, how the 2010s were inundated with often-female ya authors who introduced book after book with magic systems based on the classical elements, got the ball rolling on popularizing non-western european fantasy settings for young people, creating a space for female-centric fantasy stories and tend to feature enemies-to-lovers storylines.... and author after author has cited atla and specifically the zutara ship as inspiration. and zutara was one of the first Big Ships to organize fanweeks, which are at their core, about encouraging a community to produce and support art for itself. that art is fun! it's a great way to bond with your friends! it's also practice.

or how the current 2020s wave of myth and classic lit retellings, romance, romantasy and fem gaze new adult fiction is being ridden by women who started out in the reylo fandom in 2015. like, thinking back to how the reylo fandom started as a bunch of nerdy women writing metas applying star wars to legends canon, folklore, fairy tales, and the heroine's journey model, they accidentally predicted the one consistent element of the sequel trilogy years before tlj and they wrote an everest-sized mountain of fanfic in between movies.... and ten years later a ton of them are now bestselling published authors. yup. sounds about right. they literally taught themselves about writing and storycraft through fanfic, they formed critique groups to help each other improve, and after about ten years of practice they're taking the training wheels off.

at this point i'm fully expecting another massively popular tv show or movie series to spawn another intensely literary female subfandom that essentially trains itself through fanfic and story analysis into another cohort of authors. this is gonna keep happening.

and it has to be a particular kind of fandom:

large and organized: the fandom must be of a property that's (usually sci-fi or fantasy, and) popular enough to draw the numbers to make an impact, and they should be close-knit enough to develop the communities necessary to create relationships to make and respond to their art and analysis

analytical: they have to be interested in interpreting the text as it is via metaanalysis, identifying tropes, and making comparisons to other canon and other works of fiction. the work is either deep enough to yield this analysis, or it gives the illusion of depth.

creative: they produce art, fanfiction, video edits, gifs...

transformative: they like the canon, but they do not worship it. they recognize that it can be improved or altered, and they want to do it. odds are, because it isn't giving them what they want or need.

fem-gaze oriented: related to the previous, the fandom's probably gonna be female-dominated. not only because transformative fandom tends to be where women hang out (and they tend to be kicked out of curative fandom)-- but also because the fandom itself is centered around a certain female character and a ship with her as one player in it. there's a mix of appreciation of the female character herself, of herself plus her relationship, and of tolerance of her as a stand-in for the audience in order to ship themselves with her love interest. regardless, it's about women and what they want: both the fictional female character, and/or the real female fans.

but not necessarily feminist or subversive: ... look, the favored character/relationship is always straight, she favors her male love interest over any female characters, and the preferred ending is pretty much always happily-heteromarried-with-biokids. the favored character/ship is usually monoracial white people, they tend to disregard poc love interests who are rivals to the Big Ship, or if poc are involved in the favored ship itself there's a questionable vibe to the fandom's perception of them and their dynamic. the fandom's hope for their fave is a story about how they don't really overcome their world's usually patriarchal structure so much as they become the exception to it or find a way to exist happily within it. usually through finding The One Man Who's Nice (and even then. is he, or is he just hot?). i didn't say this phenomenon isn't without its problems! maybe it'll change someday! but it can't change if the problem isn't acknowledged!)

motivated: and they're either disappointed about canon going a different direction and eager to reinvent it... or vengeful about their canon burning them. either way, they're gonna channel that into writing fix-it fic, and then their own stories. if they're satisfied with the canon, they won't want to build on it. so something can't measure up along the way.

so. who's next? my money's on the daemyra shippers. there was a zutara to reylo pipeline in 2015, there was a reylo to daemyra pipeline in 2022, people are still mad about the ending of game of thrones and have adopted rhaenyra as dany jr. and they're gonna get mad at house of the dragon when it goes a certain way. i bet in 2030 we're gonna be inundated with adult high fantasy stories about morally ambiguous dragon queens in questionable age gap romances with even more morally ambiguous men who are undyingly loyal to them and supportive of their interests in between committing war crimes.

or hey if fallout keeps growing, it might be the ghoulcys who take it. the reylo-to-ghoulcy pipeline is pumping, i see what's happening there. and fem gaze postapocalyptic scifi westerns with death-and-the-maiden romances? i'd be into that. guess we'll see!

regardless it seems like the trend took a while to grow up. ya at first, with a lot of usually-female ya authors being barred from making the jump to older readers. then new adult now that the category's starting to gain ground, and ya authors are finally being allowed to age their writing up. i'm thinking adult sf/f is next.

[shitthyantireylosspeak]

Stylesmilky?

Avy. Or better known as Haley is Known as somone who is just a horrible anti reylo. They constantly bully with one girl who is so good at edits and stole her art.

They are just a horrible disaster. They say it's because they where in a toxic relationship. But I'm pretty sure that she (Haley says they use THEY/THEM.)

But she changed it so much we know she is just faking Pronouns. To hide her tracks. Please watch out for this horrible person.

She also ships real people. Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson together even though they aren't together.

They also had a few friends making fun of someone's art. Together they did this. They were also a larrie.

Watch out.

[sammyshuno]

ᴵ'ᵛᵉ ᵍᵒᵗ ᵗʰᵉ ˢᶜᵃʳˢ ᶠʳᵒᵐ ᵗᵒᵐᵒʳʳᵒʷ ᵃⁿᵈ ᴵ ʷⁱˢʰ ʸᵒᵘ ᶜᵒᵘˡᵈ ˢᵉᵉ ᵗʰᵃᵗ ʸᵒᵘ'ʳᵉ ᵗʰᵉ ᵃⁿᵗⁱᵈᵒᵗᵉ ᵗᵒ ᵉᵛᵉʳʸᵗʰⁱⁿᵍ ᵉˣᶜᵉᵖᵗ ᶠᵒʳ ᵐᵉ ᴬ ᶜᵒⁿˢᵗᵉˡˡᵃᵗⁱᵒⁿ ᵒᶠ ᵗᵉᵃʳˢ ᵒⁿ ʸᵒᵘʳ ˡᵃˢʰᵉˢ ᴮᵘʳⁿ ᵉᵛᵉʳʸᵗʰⁱⁿᵍ ʸᵒᵘ ˡᵒᵛᵉ ᵗʰᵉⁿ ᵇᵘʳⁿ ᵗʰᵉ ᵃˢʰᵉˢ ᴵⁿ ᵗʰᵉ ᵉⁿᵈ ᵉᵛᵉʳʸᵗʰⁱⁿᵍ ᶜᵒˡˡⁱᵈᵉˢ ᴹʸ ᶜʰⁱˡᵈʰᵒᵒᵈ ˢᵖᵃᵗ ᵇᵃᶜᵏ ᵒᵘᵗ ᵗʰᵉ ᵐᵒⁿˢᵗᵉʳ ᵗʰᵃᵗ ʸᵒᵘ ˢᵉᵉ

[jackpotgirl]

[catfishcafe]

Because I’m incapable of answering questions concisely, a not-quite-comprehensive guide to my favorite video essay channels:

Lindsay Ellis Video essays on film and and film trends. You may have seen the one on Disney’s Hercules floating around several years ago when it was published. Some of my favorites:

Love Never Dies: A Magnificent Musical Trashfire Sequel to Phantom of the Opera

Why is Cats?

The Death of the Hollywood Movie Musical

Overly Sarcastic Productions Videos split between the two hosts Blue and Red on history and literature/myths respectively. Red’s “Trope Talks” series further broadens the topic to all media that uses the trope that is discussed. The channel name is both misleading and not, as the scripts employ a distinct punchiness and irreverence. Far and away my favorites here are the Journey to the West videos, which, with the amount of original drawings, are less a summary and more Red’s personal abridged adaptation of the book. Also absolutely delighted to discover just now that Red’s reading of My Immortal is still up. A couple other favs:

Failed Assassinations - History Hijinks

Halloween Special: H. P. Lovecraft

Miscellaneous Myths: Dionysus

Jenny Nicholson Discussions of various media presented as off-the-cuff rambles, but definitely scripted. A lot of Star Wars discussion, but the very best are “esoteric things that Jenny is very passionate about” Some favs:

The Applejack Problem

This Is DEFINITELY Not A Published Reylo Fanfic Novel

THE Vampire Diaries Video

Folding Ideas Essays about particular films and their filmmaking technique, later shifting to channel hosts own documentary videos. If you are like me and didn’t understand NFTs and saw that his video about them was 2 hours long and thought “finally, some fucking food,” then this channel is for you. Som favs:

The Art of Editing and The Snowman

The Nosalgia Critic and The Wall

Weird Kids' Videos and Gaming the Algorithm

(Okay at this point I’m admitting defeat and not including specific favs anymore because this is taking forever, but these next ones are still good and you can probably jump in anywhere:)

Design Doc All about video game design, by a graphic designer. The “Good Design Bad Design” series would be worth it just for the luscious “good design” title cards and hilarious “bad design” ones, but is also a great intro to the channel.

Todd in the Shadows Music review channel started to review current pop songs, but now mostly featuring 2 series: One Hit Wonderland, reviewing a specific one-hit wonder while looking at the band’s history, and my personal favorite Trainwreckords, looking at albums that could be argued to have killed an artist’s career.

Babish A cooking channel, but this is my list so my rules. Demonstrating cooking is kind of like an essay. While “Basics with Babish” is exactly what you’d expect a high-quality YT cooking show to be, “Binging with Babish” has the added gimmick of recreating food from particular movies and TV shows. I recommend picking one from that list, but the LotR 2-parter is one of my favorites. 

FilmJoy More excellently crafted essays about films, with an emphasis on celebrating rather than taking down. Often tear-jerkers.

Xidnaf Easy-to-digest videos on my personal favorite area of interest, linguistics. This is the kind of stuff I wish was required in school.

Captain Disillusion Debunking viral videos with an emphasis on encouraging critical thinking; pretty much the Mythbusters of special effects

zefrank1 Nature-documentary-style videos on various animals, but with a layer of snarkiness and butt jokes.

[kylorens]

★ My edits / gifsets tag is #.my work ★

In this blog, you might find various content, including but not limited to mainly Star Wars, DC & Marvel comics+media, Doctor Who, Stargate, Metal Gear, Yakuza.

I might share content suit for mature audiences so beware!

I try to tag everything I can. You can reach all my tags on my navi page.

-> You can call me Mel

-> If you somehow found me from my art account be ready to be disappointed, roam at your own risk

-> If you don't want to see my ramblings in your dash, you could silence #.me talk (+ #thoughts just to be safe).

-> I will fix the navi page on browser one day just trust me :)

Some thoughts on my fandoms that I think could make you rethink your decision if you really want to give me a follow...

First of all, I am a multishipper. I don't really care what anyone ships. I just care about mine.

STAR WARS: I don't think the sequels were that bad. Fandom's treatment of TROS is too overreacting imo, that movie was just trying to pick up the shambles left from TLJ. I've shipped Reylo ever since TFA dropped. I also love FinnRey a lot. Luke and Obi-Wan are my favorite SW characters. Ahsoka is overrated. SWR was awesome and it's one of my favorite animated series. I silenced DinLuke so take what you want out of that.

DC: I didn't like The Batman (2022). I like my Riddler corny and campy. Gotham and Stargirl are my favorite DC series but I also enjoyed most of Smallville. I ship Batman with like everyone but my favorites are with Superman, Wonder Woman, GL (Hal). The only ones I don't really prefer are with Selina and Talia. I love Silver Age stories - BATB was so good. I also love JSA a lot. Love Clois also.

MG: I don't participate in the Kojima circlejerk - I am grateful for him to give us a series like this though. I particularly have a problem with his handling of some stuff, especially female characters in his stories. I love Solid Snake and Raiden the most and will do everything to defend them lol. I also love Liquid Snake and think Solidus is hot. I don't really care that much about Big Boss and the games surrounding him tbh. Otasune is canon also Ocelhira is a lot of fun. BBKaz just for angst purposes, I like it.

Yakuza: Kiryu Kazuma is my mans. I love him with all my heart. I also love Date a lot. I ship Rikiryu the most I guess, but I don't really mind other ships. If you think Kiryu is boring... idk what to tell you.

[crypticpatterns]

The Darkness Without You - A Post-TROS Fancomic

part two

Thank you for reading my fancomic! I'm a newbie artist, and I'm well aware my art isn't perfect, so I'll ask you to please take it easy on me. But I was inspired to draw this, so I hope my less-than-perfect art style doesn't detract from the experience too much.

This fancomic started out as a fic I was going to post on Ao3. But I'm already writing a Star Wars AU and a Ben Solo series, so I didn't have the time and mental energy for another book. Plus, it just wasn't working out the way I wanted it to. The fic was wordy and lacked the je ne sais quoi it needed to feel...right.

But then I had the idea to make it into a fancomic, and suddenly, the pieces fell together perfectly. This is the first part of at least eight of varying lengths, and I have a sequel fancomic planned as well--in essence, what I'm saying is this is going to be long.

Now, for the Huge Disclaimer: as you can probably already tell, this isn't going to be like most TROS fix-its. Ben's not coming back for a while, and Rey's on a path that's...less than what you'd expect from a Jedi, I suppose. There's going to be a LOT of suffering and angst in this series before we get to the happy parts. But to be clear: THIS WILL HAVE A HAPPY ENDING. I promise!! If you stick with me you won't be disappointed!

The reason for this is that personally, while I like Reylo fix-its, they're often very fluffy and don't explore the darker implications of TROS. As such, they've never felt...right to me. They don't fulfill the need I have to see the consequences of what I feel TROS did to Rey and Ben.

If you don't want a fic that goes dark and explores those implications many fix-its gloss over, this one won't be for you. But if you're like me, and want to see Ben and Rey wrestle with their demons before finally conquering them together, then hopefully you'll enjoy this.

Finally, I would like to commentate on the comic so far, if you don't mind me doing so too much.

As you can tell, Palpatine is in Rey's head. In TROS, Palps tells Rey that if she strikes him down, he'll enter her body. And then...she does exactly that. In this fancomic, he kept his promise. I will clarify the details on how exactly this happened in future parts, so stay tuned for that.

Yes, BB-8 was a stowaway. Poor droid didn't know what they were getting himself into when they boarded Rey's ship and were sent to Tatooine for a year. Poe was livid.

Poe on one of their holocalls: You better be taking care of my droid!

Rey: Of course, Poe--

Poe: I bet they have sand all over them. Their joints are probably all clogged up!

Rey:

Rey: Poe. They're a ball. They don't have joints.

The next part will be Rey in the World Between Worlds! I'll be editing this post and adding a link once it's posted. Thanks so much for reading all my jabber if you're still here, and please share this if you liked it! <33

[zellerysworld]

Hey! I loved your Levihan headcanons! Can I ask for some for Mikenana? Thanks!

SKSKSLS EJDNEKSBEKS YES

OMG YES

I’m so glad you asked for them LMAO-

I literally love MikeNana so much. They are the ultimate couple and I so believe they are actually canon.

Okay anyways I hope you like! Sorry I’m not being as professional as I usually am. We have a snow storm coming in (I live in the south) so my brain is all kinds of jumbled right now.

MikeNana Headcanons

If you’d like to see more of my content, follow me and submit your fanfiction or Headcanons request.

Contains sexual themes. Edited photos not by me.

_________________________________

Mike Zacharius

Starting gaining an interest in Nanaba when he got her scent

He thought she smelt the best out of everyone at the survey corps-

Mike is a pretty weird ass dude but nanaba treated him like any other normal human and he appreciated that alot

Loves to shower her with gifts of things he makes, such as his own handmade flower bouquets.

Has a very “sensitive” love towards nanaba

Mike only ever ate his mothers food but when he meant nanaba and tasted her cooking, he now only eats her cooking

He dreams of owning a dog sanctuary with her and raising multiple dogs there

One time Nanaba caught him talking in his sleep about his wedding vows to her

Honestly the mans can’t wait to give her his last name

He just adores her and wants to be partnered with her so bad it’s not even funny-

When they have days off together, he makes a meal and surprises her each time with having a picnic at a different place

He loves to do art things with her and actually taught Nanaba how to paint-

10/10 has painted a portrait of her. More like multiple-

He doesn’t like to fight Nanaba with his full force because she looks so frail and gentle to him and doesn’t want to hurt her

She could give less of a shit about how strong he acts when he fights Her

But he is a giant ass teddy bear anyways so-

Mike acts super emotionless in public but he is super needy towards nanaba

Like he’s a very emotional human with horrible attachment issues

Nanaba doesn’t mind though, she deals with it and still loves him regardless

He is always the big spoon-

When he is feeling passionate, Mike likes to top her and overstimulate her to the point she sc r e a m s-

Overall he is a very passionate person in bed. And nanaba l o v e s this. He makes sure all of her needs are meant and praises her for every little she does

He loves to kiss every single part of her. Like e v e r y part.

They have been dating for years. Ever since she first came to the survey corps and he was an elite cadet.

Like they were smitten way before he was a captain-

Anyways- Mike makes sure to tell her that he loves her every single night before they go to bed

Also they sleep in the same bed and have been doing so for the past year

They have only ever gotten into one fight and it was when Mike accidentally shaved a line down his head and had a giant bald line in the middle of his head

Nanaba scolded him about being a fucking idiot and he got upsetti

But they worked it out and just shaved the entire head to let it grow back out evenly.

Yet he constantly bickers with her about seasoning in food and it makes them sound like an old married couple-

_________________________________

Nanaba

She spends a lot of time reading books about food with Mike

Is a lot more emotionless than Mike and has different ways of showing her love

When Mike isn’t feeling as passionate as usual, she tops THE FUCK out of him-

Like she gets a g g r e s s i v e and Mike loves it

Nanaba makes sure they have at least one cup of tea together each day

Although Mike is more emotional, Nanaba gets stressed very easily and this causes her to have bad social anxiety

Because of her social anxiety she tries to avoid loud public places, so Mike makes sure they go to quiet towns and villages whenever they go for picnics

Mike also has social anxiety, which comforts Nanaba because it makes her feel like she isn’t alone

Nanaba L O V E S to dress him up- like she uses him as her own practice doll and he doesn’t mind one bit

She does makeup on him to practice and see if she likes the look before doing it on herself

In exchange for Mike doing her hair since she can’t cut it worth shit, she gives him the best goddamn blowjobs known to man

She also adds extra seasoning when cooking for Mike

Nanaba agreed to have a dog farm with Mike if they can have at least two children

Although she isn’t good with emotions, children make her heart go soft like Mike does so she really wants more children in her life by having her own

Mike painted a concept of what their kid would look like and it made her get the worst case of baby fever-

Plays the piano to serenade Mike

She nudges his hand with her head to show she wants her back to be rubbed when they are laying down together

Although it makes Mike annoyed, Nanaba loves to bite on his chest very gently and leave hickeys

It’s just satisfying to her-

She wears only soft fragrances that are fruity or clean so that it doesn’t hurt mikes nose

Her hair is always super silky and layered, which Mike loves to play with

One time nanaba accidentally shaved off half her eyebrow and she cried about it- so Mike shaved off half his eyebrow to make her feel better 🥺

Honestly that’s when nanaba knew she would marry him lmfao-

If they lived in a modern world, Nanaba would totally be a photographer and constantly take blurry asethetic photos of Mike doing something dumb like wearing fairy wings

She wants to have a private wedding with him, only the closest of friends invited

Would be the one to have to comfort Mike during a scary movie

Would be the nerdiest of the two-

And would probably force Mike to reenact Reylo scenes-

Loves candles so much, and it’s her biggest turn on to have in bed. Mike knows this and uses this to his advantage-

She’s very elegant/proper and Mike likes that about her. They both hold themselves to standards of people to be, so they relate to each other in that way

She also doesn’t like to show PDA besides holding hands when in town. Otherwise they keep their romance very secretive

100% have bickered about the wrong and right shampoos to use on their dogs, but usually nanaba just gives up because of how mikes nagging can be when it comes to animals

_________________________________

Thanks for reading!

[taylor-reads-books]

Time for October’s Owlcrate unboxing! October’s theme was Wield Your Blade and it was fantastic! Check it out •—————————————————————————————• ⚔️ a Shadow of the Fox inspired candle by my favorite @flickthewick ⚔️an acrylic display of Aragorn’s Poem from LOTR designed by @sakurainked ⚔️ a Spin the Dawn inspired sewing kit that is SO STINKING CUTE! The tin was designed by @stellabookishart ⚔️ Reylo art print created by @jemlin_c ⚔️ A Call Down the Hawk inspired puzzle designed by @_saintdri ⚔️ Monthly pin by @_iceydesigns ⚔️ This month’s book pick was Jade Fire Gold by @junescribbles. This edition has an exclusive cover, with exclusive sprayed edges (finally green edges!!) an exclusive foil design on the hard cover and exclusive art on the reverse dust jacket by @pinktofu_art My favorite items are the sewing kit, the puzzle, the candle, the LOTR display for sure.. so pretty much everything.. again! 😂 pretty typical with Owlcrate boxes, I just love them! •—————————————————————————————• This was a great box! I’m always excited to get a puzzle because I can do it with husband and it’s small enough to for my attention span! 😅November’s theme is Dreaming in the Dark and sounds wonderful! There will be a reading planner included (LOVE!) and the last book tin in the Darker Shade of Magic collection! I’m so excited! Use my code TAYLOR to save 10% off your first box! •—————————————————————————————• #owlcrate #owlcrateunboxing #subscriptionbox #subscriptionaddiction #bookbox #bookishbox #yalit #yabooks #yabookstagram #beautifulbooks #bookmerch #bookishmerch #bibliophile #bibliophilelife #jadefiregold #bookish #reader #readersofig #ilovereading https://www.instagram.com/p/CWY3hCMr74J/?utm_medium=tumblr

[alatismeni-theitsa]

Yea there’s a lot of so called “greeks” and/or classics phd claimants in the LO fandom to excuse everything in it despite giving no proof otherwise. I’m not saying there aren’t Greek fans or people with higher education who read it, but it seems the ones who claim to be either (or even both!) seem to love to come to its defense and just make up whatever with fake credentials to justify it as the most perfect thing ever and actually it’s better than the actual Greek poems and hymns. You see this a lot in fandoms where the product just isn’t very good or is full of “toxic positive” fans (see: reylo fandom, marvel fandoms, Sherlock fandom, etc). LO fandom, as opposed to say the Hades Game fandom or Hadestown fandom who don’t cause any drama it seems, can’t and will not accept it’s not an accurate retelling and thus has to make up scholarly sources and scholars to justify it. It’s rather sad in a way. No one cares if you like a trashy romance comic loosely about Greek gods, but the fandom seems to have this insistent need for it to be deeper and more grand than it actually is and attacking others (including Wikipedia! A bunch of fans got banned from there for trying to edit the actual gods’ pages with stuff from LO as fact!) which has created a rather mainstream hatred of the comic itself, mostly created the fans being /that/way and people rightfully getting annoyed with it.

Ooooh yes I have a lot to discuss here so prepare yourselves xD

The Disclaimer

For starters, let me repeat, I and anon don’t have a problem with people who enjoy LO in general. We have a problem with those who claim it’s “the most perfect thing ever and actually it’s better than the actual Greek poems and hymns”, as anon said. And a big chunk of the audience is twenty-somethings and the creator herself is forty years old, so they had more knowledge and time for research.

The Doctors

I usually believe what people tell me and show me but I have seen people saying inexcusably stupid shit while supposedly having a “Classics PhD” so many times I am starting to think “this person is full of bs”. First of all, in my opinion, if you are closed to arguments and theories all the time, you are not an academic. If you have such a high degree and you can’t see why LO isn’t accurate, then you are not an academic. OR you are a very bad academic who only learned how to parrot stuff and has lost touch with what context means.

OR you are an academic who ignores interrelatedness between different fields. Perhaps you are a sociologist thinking “wow! see that Persephone isn’t abducted now? This is definitely a good work for our modern society” while closing your ears to the archeologists and classics professors (and to Greeks and Italians outside the field, when they can recognize some errors). And this leads us to the next section:

The Greeks

I can’t speak for the Italians and since most of the claimants say they are Greeks, let’s focus on them. As I mentioned before, I can’t scream “bullshit” that easily and I am inclined to believe many are indeed Greek. However, just being Greek or having a Greek heritage doesn’t mean that you know everything or that you can make a good analysis.

I’ve heard adult Greeks say “Zeus is a dick” because their exposure to the god was very superficial. I’ve heard adult Greeks parrot the “Persephone went down on the Underworld on her own” version. For a long time, I thought the Aethiopia of our ancients was the modern country of Ethiopia.

And if you enjoy LO and you are Greek, that doesn't mean it’s accurate. (And ofc you can recognize it’s not accurate and has its faults and still read it). Most Greeks enjoyed the Percy Jackson movies very much when they came out. I enjoyed the books when I read them. Does that mean they are accurate and have any Greek elements there? Nope.

In fact, Greeks are so used to being excluded when it comes to the Greek pantheon, they don't even notice it. If you think I or anyone else Greek in Greece was looking for representation when they consumed PJ media, you’ll be wrong. Perhaps there were some, but I never heard any Greek in the country say it.

You have to actively try and get out of a certain mindset in order to connect your heritage to those gods in the blockbusters. And many people don't do it because they don't have the time or because it hurts to discover how inaccurate everything is and how nobody gives a shit as long as everything looks aesthetically pleasing to the West.

And last, but not least, having a Greek heritage doesn't mean you know a lot about it. As Greeks in Greece don’t know a lot of things, so many Greeks of diaspora don’t know a lot. Sometimes they know even less, because of their special circumstances (assimilation, cut from one part of the family, Greek family members dying etc).

This isn't to shame people who happen to have little information about their heritage but those who don't have information and still want to play the heritage card. Heck, I can’t even play the heritage card. The heritage card rarely works alone because there are always academics who know more. But you can use your “experience in a culture” card and if this happens to overlap with your heritage, that’s great. For example, a Norse person having eaten baklava full of syrup can tell you NOT TO PLACE IT ON A NAPKIN, SMYTHE

The toxic part of LO Fandom

Some of you may have seen how I didn't like part of the design of the gods in the Hades game. Since many people liked the game and I didn't like that specific thing, I expected lots of hate in my asks or, at least, some arguments. Strangely enough, I got nothing.

There was one person who suggested I played the game despite this flaw and I though “I can’t believe it! Nuance! A Tumblr user accepted you can not like one thing and like another! And they approached me KINDLY!!” But it wasn't just that person, it was the whole fandom it seems. As you said, it's more level-headed and they know it’s a game (which is still a work of art, but not, like, Homeric Epic worthy).

While a part of the LO fandom is like: “A bunch of fans got banned from there for trying to edit the actual gods’ pages with stuff from LO as fact!” Which I hadn't heard and I want to unlearn immediately.

This was posted by a fan of LO in the Lore Olympus Reddit, and the overwhelming majority agreed. I think those who changed the wiki did it just for fun, I refuse to believe they actually thought LO is “canon” 😩

And we also have those people who mean well but they don't understand how culture works.

I am sorry but an Australian woman who doesn't even worship the Hellenic gods and just writes a webtoon with 2 Greek elements in it, is not the continuation of our traditions. 

(tell me if I need to blur the names. I don’t know if it’s a bad practice or not. In any case, don't send hate to those people)

Others use the phrase “nothing is canon in Greek mythology” as an excuse to fuck shit up. “Well, we haven't seen anywhere that Apollo DIDN’T rape Persephone, so we can very well believe he did”.

And others who, because they see the gods in a modern setting, try to apply modern and human morality to their ancient myths, deeming them “problematic”.

As the Hellenic phrase goes “from where to catch it and from where to leave it?!?!”  😂😂😂 Meaning in whatever place you touch something - aka the toxic part of the fandom - you will find different bad things, and even when you leave those bad things off your hands, it’s as bad as touching the bad things. Think of it like moving sand where you are doomed while touching it and not touching it.

All my brain juices went to writing this “sheet” of text (here we go, back to Greek xD) and I don’t have any for the epilogue. Imagine one yourselves.

[writingwife-83]

Creator meme

RULES: it’s time to love yourselves! choose your 5 favorite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc.) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you brought into the world in 2020. tag as many writers/artists/etc. as you want (fan or original) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome works <3

I feel like I’ve been tagged in many different things in recent weeks and I’ve done like none of them lol. So I’m finally playing along with something! Thanks for tagging me @elennemigo. 😘 here’s some 2020 fics of mine that I was pleased with...

Alliance- this Reylo fic I wrote with @thisisartbylexie was SO fun and satisfying in many ways for both of us. I loved seeing how much other enjoyed it as well.

All In- I still feel like this sherlolly fic deserved more than I gave it, but I really loved the idea overall. The friendship of Mary and Molly is something we all would have loved to see, and the idea that it played into the canon and even fixed things that made us sad was pretty fun.

Only Human- I was happy to write something to cheer a fellow sherlolly shipper going through Covid at the time, and also I just enjoyed the tone. Did I romanticize illness and caretaking in the Victorian era? Yes. But did I enjoy the feels? Also yes. 😁

Restoration- I’m kinda proud of this AU. It was my first real attempt at a full blown modern setting for Reylo with parallels and all. And I felt like it was somewhat new and interesting, at least as much as it could be in this ship that’s bursting with fics all the time lol.

Then Don’t- a post TFP scenario for sherlolly where I also get to stick it to Moffat for something he said about Molly? Yep that ticks all the satisfaction boxes lol.

I’m not sure who has and hasn’t taken part in this yet so please consider yourself tagged if you see this and want to share some of your 2020 creations! 💕

[politicalmamaduck]

creator tag meme

Rules: It’s time to love yourselves! Choose your 5 (ish) favorite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc.) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you brought into the world in 2020. Tag as many writers/artists/etc. as you want (fan or original) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome works!

Thank you so much for the tag, @itslaurenmae! This is a wonderful meme to celebrate light in the darkness that was 2020.

This year I wrote 15 fanfics and the first draft of my original fantasy novel.

Between the Sun and Moon: (moodboard) An adult high fantasy novel, featuring an enemies to lovers arranged marriage.

Originally on opposite sides of a war, powerful magic users Edan and Kazmera fall in love while they fight for revenge and justice to save the Realms, despite their arranged marriage.

the dark night of the soul: Empress Rey x Knight of Ren Kylo, my 2020 @reylofanfictionanthology piece. (moodboard and playlist | mystery moodboard by @shmisolo)

Kylo Ren, Master of the Knights of Ren, swears his life to defend his Empress. After her grandfather, the Emperor, orders him to train her in the Force and for the two to journey to Mustafar, something unexpected occurs.

Aníron: Reylo genderswapped Aragorn and Arwen AU. (moodboard)

“Do you remember when we first met?” he asked, tracing her cheekbone. “I thought I had strayed into a dream,” she murmured, looking up into his eyes.“Long years have passed; you do not have the cares that you carry now.” He sighed, looking down and burdened for only a moment. He looked back up at her, focusing his powerful gaze once more. “Do you remember what I told you?”She could not meet his gaze. She knew the words; they were etched on her heart. Yet she still could not believe them, could not believe that he had said them in the first place, let alone held himself to them all these years later. “You said you would bind yourself to me, forsaking the immortal life of your people.”

your love is my immortal crown: Reylo genderswapped Hades and Persephone.

A young woman makes a choice and ascends her grandfather’s throne, becoming a goddess and a queen to save her lover, the god of spring, who will stop at nothing to return to her.

as certain dark things are to be loved (Part 4 of On the Hunt): Dark Rey x Smuggler Ben, in moments.

Lady Rey, Master of the Knights of Ren, makes a choice. She chooses Ben Solo.

I shall tag, with no obligations, and I would love for anyone who sees this to play along: @shmisolo, @arcticelves, @batbrucewaynes, @ennaih, @southsidestory, and @redbelles!

[thousandsarrows]

Brought colors to our lives | My Tribute to @strongyu 

I decided to reupload my old post back from early 2015. I remembered making this specific graphic inspired by the works of Gyu, but I don’t know what makes it looks that way. Maybe the way she use colors in her edits, or the way she empowered us to contribute something to the fandom.

We maybe joined the shipping through different meaning, and different ways. Strongyu’s connection to each one of us is unique.

One thing for sure, she impact us deeply in our heart. Through her works and arts, driven by her passion of the fandom, whether it’s Jelsa or Reylo, draws us closer and connected with each other. Which made Gyu’s legacy, even more colorful.

We never met, we only met through our screen, virtually. But through the same interest and same feelings, she touches us.

This next one I will mostly talk about my friendship with Gyu.

Back in 2014, I was fairly new to the world of GIFs and Graphic. I got through this shipping by scrolling through endless arts and GIFs circulating on this website. Lots of them are special, and one of the art blew my mind straight away, and it was Gyu’s.

Along with others, she is one of the giants of the shipping community, lots of friends and fans loves her art, and I thought there’s no way she would noticed me with my mediocre gifs. 

Yet somehow, in mid-2014 she noticed me and followed me. My mind blew away, it’s like one of the famous person follows you. We talked and straight away I feel connected. And because of her magnificent arts, I thought: “Since she followed me, I have to level up my edit game”.

And since I made some edits throughout 2014-2016, I always cherished every response I’ve got, but when it comes from Gyu, there’s a certain value that makes my heart even more pumped to do more.

We then expanded our connection through other social media, particularly Instagram. We say hi and keep up with each other news for quite some time. To this day, she and @royalefrost​ are the closest friend from Jelsa’s community that I have been keeping up with in the last two years.

She lives in Thailand, I lives in Indonesia. It’s within reach and same timezone but it’s still hundreds kilometers away. But through Instagram, we keep connecting with each other. The way she still supports me through my art on Instagram is heartwarming.

And on our very last conversation, when I’ve just done watching Frozen 2, I joke with the edits of Jelsa from @nobodypunk​ saying that I watch the wrong Frozen 2. Straightaway she responded, and for me it’s like a nod, that we didn’t forget where we came from and how we still loves that ships. Even when we became older, the toxicity surrounding art theft, and how the shipping made us who we are today.

It’s really sad, that she passed away in such a young age. Knowing that she motivated me to do so much more, and to make one of graphic that compliment her art style is one of the tribute that I could give to her, even though I made it 5 years ago.

To see her respond, is always a special feeling. Feelings unlike any other.  It’s noticeable, when I joined the Discord for Jelsa’s community. That Gyu’s brought colors to our lives in unique ways. There’s always different experiences, and different story. 

I apologized for being too self-centric. It’s just, I want to spill it out, the way Gyu’s impact my lives. But I am positive that she influenced your lives as well, and has the same value and meaningful experiences.

We never met, we only met through our screen, virtually. But through the same interest and same feelings, she touches us.

We want to say thank you, deep from within our heart. For bringing colors to our world, for accompanying us in our time, for your lovely personality. And finally, for your passion that makes us connected and makes us feel alive, so that we can see more colors, in our ordinary lives.

We will meet you up there @strongyu!

[kaedix]

2020 Creator’s Self-Love Extravaganza

Boy howdy, but it has been a year. So much so that I felt the need to dig up this meme so I can lavish myself with a little TLC, ‘cause you know what? I deserve it! And so do you. This year has been tough, and even in the best of times it can be a real struggle to remember that, instead of being your own worst enemy, you should strive to be your best cheerleader. Remember to be kind instead of cruel, to forgive rather than condemn yourself. Creativity is hard, and it is always a journey, never a final destination, so let’s take a moment and sight-see where we’ve been this year, yeah???

Rules: It’s time to love yourselves! Choose your 5 favorite works (fics, art, edits, etc.) you’ve created this year and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you’ve brought into the world in 2020. If you don’t have five published works, that’s fine! Include ideas/drafts/whatever you like that you’ve worked on/thought about, and talk a little about them instead! Remember, this is all about self-love and positive enthusiasm, so fuck the rules if you need to. Have fun, and tag as many fellow creators as you like so they can share the love! <3</i>

I didn't post a lot this year, but I did write a lot!

In love with the monster (under my bed): I got this idea like 3 weeks before Obiyuki Week after looking through various prompts. I knew I had to work on it and quick if I was going to get it out on time, and I DID, so - I'm proud of that. It's such an interesting and weirdly intimate premise, I would love to explore it more if inspiration strikes.

What lies beneath (only the truth): This prompt was in my inbox for two (?) years, and every time I came back to it and would start writing it, I didn't like anything that I tried. I finally got some inspiration and busted this one out in about a week. I've come along way from like, 4 years ago when I struggled to write a kiss between Obi and Shirayuki because there was too much pressure to make it amazing. I'm way past that, and the fact that I just threw in a kiss at the end with no issue is just. It's great.

All that's best of dark and bright, chapters 7 & 8: I worked on these two simultaneously, so when it was time to post they came pretty much right after the other. This story has such a special place in my heart, and I love it every time I get enough emotional energy to write it. It's my first fic that I actually have planned out through the end, like an actual structured story. It's not perfect but I'm proud of it!

Unnamed Izanayuki Prompt (not posted): I don't write Izanayuki often, but when I do I get super in my head about it - except this time. I've only written angst for them so far, and this time I'm going a very lighthearted route. I'm excited (terrified) to share it when it's ready.

Unnamed reylo mechanic AU (not posted): I know nothing about cars yet here I am, writing it anyway. That's something to be proud of. This one is a comfort story that I go to write whenever I need to relax. I wrote it during a really difficult time early this year and it brought me a lot of healing. 

I tag @fleur-drae @ccprovolomies @k-itsmaywriting @ruleofexception and whoever else wants to participate! ❤️