#thats where the guardian form originated

[obsidian-art04]

UHHH have a one piece oc for your enjoyment?

Old her art-

[stick-ball]

Hi! I'm about to end my whole career!

Here goes the Riko rant that dear @capcavan asked, demanded and begged for.

You know, I get it.

So here's the thing. I get it, Riko sucks. He is the bad guy we all got hung upon. Why? Because he is a rival for our protagonist. He is an angsty, young guy, born into wealth that came from money laundering and human trafficking. It's despicable, the Ravens are bullies and he himself makes lots of bad things happen. Yeah sure, I get that, whatever.

Being raised as a superstar must've been really, really difficult for you.

But I want to really dig deeper right now, this is a Riko rant after all, and you need to really know your fighters. So, to start: a huge trap in toxic families is that the children, even when grown up, will refuse to identify their parents and guardians as negative and toxic people. Not even outside influence can really sway them, usually. Kids that get away from a sinister situation can later tell they were abused, that it wasn't right, but still, they don't get the specifics of what and why, and they are doomed to repeat the same abuse and call it good. Call it right. And sometimes that's substance abuse, sometimes thats domestic abuse, sometimes that's racism and sexism and xenophobia they will grow into believing as the way the world works. Sometimes, thats nepotism and sadism. Only thing that can help is therapy and an environment removed from the control of the original abuse, lots of therapy, lots of space, years of it. A perfect case of a typical toxic family is Aaron.

A perfect case of that could also be Riko.

And here you can call bullshit because Neil had such a fucked up, abusive father and he *knew* it was wrong. Yes, he knew it was wrong for his father to hurt him to the measure he went. Why? Because his mother protected him, because his mother feared his father, not adored him. Because his mother took him away and kept running. A mother, a role model a child feels very strongly about, subconsciously.

Riko was taken from his mother. He was pushed aside by his father and left in the care of a family member, who was easy to glorify for an impressionable child. Because he was a legend. In fanon I often see Tetsuji's character taking a very background role in everything, and sure, he seems pretty background to Neil, because every bad guy seems background to Neil in comparison to his Father - besides Riko, who is the one dangling that threat in front of him. Tetsuji just wants his property back, Riko is playing with fire though. So yeah to us, reading the story, Tetsuji is a total asshole among many such men in the book.

But to Riko he must've meant almost everything for a long time. A crucial thing about Tetsuji is, he is a sadist. Oh sure, sorry, it's only called sadism when done against his team, right? Against Jean or Kevin or Neil? When it comes to Riko, who was in his care for all of his formative years, it was just strict childbearing right? He is a Moriyama after all, so he is evil from birth.

Yeah, I must've mixed something up about Riko being beaten to unconsciousness several times being mentioned in extra content. You think that was a one, two, third times the charm occurance?

Always a commodity, never a human being, not a single person in your family thinking you’re worth a damn off the court— yeah, sounds rough.

I always wondered how sarcastic Neil was saying this. I mean, he definitely meant to land a punch where it would hurt. And he actually knew Riko as a little kid, so he knew more than most.

Stockholm syndrome is very common among victims of childhood abuse. I would know, anyway. It's like the most logical option - the survivior is living in a dual reality. These people are my family, the care for me. They provide for me. They want me to be the best. They also abuse me. They hurt me, but it's for the best. Hurting me is a expression of love. I am grateful to them.

I often wonder how many people who read the books know what a commodity is. A commodity, in the most basic terms, is a basic good that can be used in ccommerce to interchange with goods of the same type. A commodity is not a king, or a queen, or a bishop or a knight, or even a rook. It's a fucking pawn. It's cannon fodder.

Riko is worthless to his family. Riko is just a tool to Tetsuji to generate profit. Riko wants to be worthy to his family. Riko most likely loves his uncle and is ready to do the most insane thing if only it gives him the one thing he desires, which is being seen as worthy by his family.

Kevin and I talk about your intricate and endless daddy issues all the time.

Then there's grooming. Grooming is more obvious when it's done by a stranger who sees the child randomly or in some intervals of time. It's much harder to resist when it's constant. To Riko, Tetsuji is a good person, he is a hero, he is his family, he cares for him, they have a common goal. Riko wants to be what Tetsuji wants him to be. There is a price to pay for it, of course. There is a price for everything. But the price doesn't matter. Riko wants to pay the price he has to pay, to be what Tetsuji wants him to be.

And the thing is, do you think Riko learned how to use his money and crime connections to control others? How to gain power through fear and pain? You think spending his whole life locked in a fucking stadium he taught it to himself how to break people in body and spirit? That torturing them was his special interest? Or maybe are you forgetting that amongst valid responces to trauma, besides fight, flight and freeze there is also fawn? Don't you think it's much more likely, being groomed and enamoured with his captor (bcs thats what Tetsuji is to me, their captor) he impersonated him to the best of his ability? That he learned every leaf in the book from him, because he was his only connection to the family, to his father, to his brother. He was a legend, the creator of exy. Wasn't he always trying to be worthy of him? To be good enough to be loved and wanted? To be great full enough?

I am not saying this absolves him of any of the things he did, but people do insane things under lesser influence, things they would never do otherwise. And I am not talking of people groomed from early childhood, I'm talking of sane adults, being dragged into dangerous and destructive ideologies.

I know it’s not entirely your fault that you are mentally unbalanced and infected with these delusions of grandeur, and I know you’re physically incapable of holding a decent conversation with anyone like every other normal human being can, but I don’t think any of us should have to put up with this much of your bullshit.

Because it isn't, is it? The things HE does ARE his fault, definately. But the reason why? That is not that easy to pinpoint. And Riko is so unstable it hurts. He is so far removed from real life he is completely incapable of conversation. He is a child brought up in a grave, but...

Pity only gets you so many concessions, and you used yours up about six insults ago.

To me Riko is besides all other things, wasted potential. All the things he dreamed of? He could have had them. He was talented, he was determined and had a lot of courage, but all of that was utterly wasted in the violence and malice he was soaked in. In all the violence and malice he created in return.

So please, please, just shut the fuck up and leave us alone.

The most interesting thing about All for the game though is, that in every other book Riko dying would've been the big bad wolf being defeated. But here, that's just a bleep on the radar. Because Riko was a product, not the producer. What I love about All for the game is it shows none of the madness and evil in life started or ended with me or you, with Riko or Neil. Not even with Keylight or Tetsuji. Fuck it did not even end with Nathan dying. It all ends how it begun. With a deal with the devil made in the back of a car, bought with blood money.

[hearteyedbunny]

okay i want to attempt to summarize and talk about my original story and some of my ocs! i dont rly have a name for it but we'll just refer to it as "the heavens" because thats usually what i call it. this might be a little long.

i guess i'll start and say that in my story there is a celestial realm (gods and angels) and earth (same as modern day earth). they are connected, but humans are not aware of it. the gods in my story are inspired by greek mythos, where the elements on earth each have a god in control of it (ie god of war, god of fire, god of nature, etc).

the two main gods that i focus on in my story are Saturna (god above all the other gods. they created earth and the celestial realm) and Adoryx (god of love, who created my characters Abaddon and Luvrina). there are more but these two are currently the most important in my story.

angels are created by the gods, and are basically servants to whichever god created them (though they ALL serve under Saturna, regardless of who created them). they have ranks: seraph being high ranking, and demons being low ranking. demons are ostracized and looked down on (important for later in the story).

lets actually get to the main character of my story, Abaddon! (i usually call them abby for short)

(human form on left, angel form on right!)

abby was created over 1000 years ago to serve under the god of love. they are impulsive, self absorbed, and care little for anyone around them. for a few hundred years they were obedient to the gods, even being a high ranking seraph, but felt suffocated under their bootheels. their only respite was when they were allowed several trips down to earth to fulfill their duty as being a guardian angel. they loved earth, and dreaded when they would finish their missions and be forced back to the celestial realm.

one day they got into a scuffle with one of Saturna's personal angels (THE most powerful, high ranking, and respected angels in the realm), ending in an intense fight where Abby lost control of their own strength and ended up killing the other angel. Saturna, enraged at the news of their dead angel, went to kill abby in retaliation, but was stopped by Adoryx who begged them to spare abby. So, instead, Saturna broke Abby's halo (horns that curve up into a ring) and demoted them to demon, banning them from ever stepping foot on earth again.

several hundred years pass and by some miracle, Adoryx has convinced Saturna to give Abby another chance to be a guardian angel on earth. Saturna agrees, saying that if Abby is successful and obedient that they will restore Abby's halo and high ranking. but if they fail, well...

heres the poor sucker human that abaddon is in charge of watching over! a christian priest named Thatcher Black!

Thatcher is a man in his mid 30s. hes a very kind, caring, and compassionate and empathetic person. hed do anything for anyone, but this also tends to allow people to take advantage of his kindness, and he is rarely able to tell people "no". he also tends to be very anxious about things, but hes doing his best. hes a devout christian, and tries his best to spread support and love within his sermons, instead of anything negative.

so, he believes in angels and the singular almighty God, but when he is approached by Abaddon who explains to him that his worldview and beliefs are not actually what they seem, he begins to spiral a bit. its a lot to take in, that the God you preach about and the book of scripture that you take inspiration from is all fake, that youve been lying to people all along, but, well, hey. angels are real at least! and heres one to be your guardian for some reason? Thatcher has too much anxiety to deal with this, but it seems like he doesnt have any other choice. he takes abaddon into his home, and they are possibly the worst roommate of all time.

i havent worked out the odds and ends of these two's entire story, just bits and pieces. abaddon is more interested in living it up on earth while they can instead of taking care of thatcher. the two form a...bond, i suppose you could say. thatcher falls head over heels for abby, while abby uses his feelings against him to manipulate him into doing whatever they please. their connection is neither romantic nor platonic, but a third, even worse thing. i always call them my toxic yaoi because honestly, yeah.

major spoilers i guess? but thatcher dies at the end. i debated on making this "canon" for a while, but i think it has to. after having a complete mental breakdown over his religion, being manipulated by abby for so long, and finding out just what kind of shit abby is in, thatcher sort of...breaks, i guess. he knows he cant hurt them, but still his dumb little brain cant help but snap and attempt to attack them. abby, once again not knowing their own strength, kills thatcher on accident. and in turn, fails their mission. i dont know what the aftermath of this is, ive played around with the idea of abby trying to find a way to bring thatcher back to save their own ass, but i dont know. this story is always growing and changing so eventually i'll get there.

thank you!!!! to anyone who reads this!!! i love this story its very dear to me and ive been working on it for years. its not super fleshed out but i just like clanking my barbies together and seeing what happens lol.

[malewife-yoomyeongwoo]

I need to talk about an idea i’ve had for a while regarding Yoojin’s title “Perfect Caregiver”.

As we all know, its a skill that influences its target so that they see HYJ as their caregiver (the LN states that it makes their target associate HYJ with someone they see as a caregiver in their mind, but, if there is none they associate as a caregiver, they just see HYJ as HYJ). Its described as a one way influence, However, I’m starting to think that this skill goes both ways; that it affects HYJ just as much as it affects his target.

Despite intending to use his targets for his personal gain, HYJ ends up, again and again, acting as a proper caregiver for them and, instead of chaining his targets to him in order to reap the fruits of his labor, lets them have the freedom they need to leave if that’s what they desire (he lets YMW do his own thing rather than forcing him to be stuck with him after gaining is SS class skill and he, instead of taking advantage of the contract with BYM, makes sure to make a contract that is fair). We all know that HYJ isn’t above manipulation and murder, so using people or chaining them to him for his benefit wouldn’t be so unusual, but, when it comes to his influenced targets, he just. Doesnt.

Not only does he properly take care of them —he goes above and beyond for them and gets angry when anyone harms them and will, usually, get revenge on their behalf (consider how he handled the guild that forced YMW into an unsavory contract and the fact that he became BYM’s guardian so people wouldn’t take advantage of her). He even feels bad about the idea of taking advantage of them as he’d originally planned. Sure it could be argued that he started to actually care for them, but, based on the amount of time that had passed, it hadn’t been very long before YMW and BYM got to the point where he could start benefiting from them. It wasnt long enough for him to form a deep connection that would warrant him “risking his life” for YMW (when he saved YMW from that loan shark guild) or personally dealing with BYM’s uncle (as he does in the LN).

He rationalizes his behavior as being the thing that would benefit him the most, but its easy to come up with a logical reason to explain why youre doing something; its much harder to uncover the real thing thats motivating one to act a certain way. He’s acting, for their benefit, before he has the chance to rationalize his actions.

He’s soft with his targets in a way that a proper caregiver would be: even though it annoys him how clingy they get with him, he handles it like a parent who’s kids want his attention and handles it in ways that a parent would (in the LN, when YMW and BYM first meet, he says something along the lines of “i like people who diligently do their work” when theyre arguing about who HYJ likes more instead of giving them a proper answer). He doesn’t get mad at them or show his annoyance towards their clinginess. It could be cause of guilt he feels about it (the LN explains that he lets HYH’s extreme behavior go because its only worse cause of his skill), but he was letting HYH be extreme without making a big fuss about it or getting mad at him about it even before he’d realized that it was due to his skill (he did try to escape but he hadnt been harsh with HYH).

To further emphasize this point, consider his whole interaction with blackie/inky. He spent 30min bonding with this salamander monster and applied the keyword on it. Normally, one would be sad about an animal they bonded with dying on their behalf, but, not only did HYJ try to fight so that they wouldnt have to die, he expected that blackie/inky would most likely die and still tried to make it so that they wouldnt have to die when he could’ve just waited to take advantage of final gratitude rather than getting in harms way. When blackie/inky died, he was already regretting the fact that theyd passed, but became even more distraught after receiving their memories saying that “(final gratitude) it really was a skill that shouldnt be used”. Blackie/inky had felt affection towards HYJ and HYJ felt the affection towards blackie/inky as a caretaker would.

Of course, HYJ didnt let the guy that killed blackie/inky live peacefully or die without pain.

So, my theory is that the “Caregiver” title makes it so that HYJ genuinely starts caring for his targets the way a caregiver would once its target has been influenced. HYJ doesnt think or seem to know about his skill affecting him so that he ends up genuinely caring for his targets, but, again and again, even for targets he’s only recently acquired (spoilers: Noah) he ends up being really soft and yielding towards their needs. He’s like a parent who gives in when their kid begs for candy.

HYJ is no doubt self centered and manipulative; but he really puts in the effort for his kids (whether he realizes it or not). It’s in his nature to be a caregiver (not a lot of people would drop out of school to work and support their younger siblings education). Being a caretaker is all he knows and, really, its all he truly wants (he’s at his happiest when hes able to live peacefully with his kids). Whenever he has the chance to talk about his kids, he does so lavishly with unending praise and affection. He automatically likes people who speak well of his kids and actively dislikes anyone who speaks ill of them. His kids are his entire world.

He laments over the fact that monsters arent allowed outside after seeing how happy peace is to be out of his room and in the bigger training area, and actively lets peace play to his hearts content. He plays with a rope in a tug of war game with peace cause its what peace wants to do even though its the most tiring thing for him (to the point where he needs to wear a lot of gear in order to play with peace in this game) and thinks “if you like it, so what if its a little tiring”.

This is coming from the guy who constantly talks about living the rest of his days in a lazy fashion without much work involved. He also is shown thinking, in the LN, about getting things for HYH cause HYH might like them or cause they might help his dongsaeng.

Even his skills are all centered around being supportive in nature. And who is he supposed to be supporting? His kids of course. He laments not having any offensive skills, but its literally in his nature to support others and care for them. You could also look at is as his caregiver title influencing the types of skills he gains so that he can use them to support his kids.

At his core, he’s a doting parent who loves being able to support his kids, so the caregiver title just increases the potency of that, as well as creates a fast pass, for those he ends up influencing.

I think theres something to be said about titles and skills and how they relate to one’s nature or personality but this is what i got for now.

[somberine]

How do you come up with your creature designs for specific characters?

It really depends on the vibe I get from the character I can't fully explain my reasoning uhh. Let me think up a thought process I go through with this whole thing. Gonna add a keep reading since its gonna get a lil long.

Wayfaring Stranger's "bad/burnt" design didn't always look like this

The original idea I had was maybe something a bit contorted/distorted and creepy looking. A creature with a weirdly unsettling long neck and liquid always ever pouring from its mouth. While the design was fun, it certainly wasn't Exactly the vibe I wanted for Wayfar himself.

Said design originally looked like this!

After a bit of thinking on it, and a bit of exploring Wayfar as a character, I just...hated it?? Don't get me wrong its a Very fun design, but not something thats Wayfar.

Wayfaring Stranger at his core is not a dangerous person, despite being a purifier. His whole thing is that he tries to avoid hurting anyone and tries to hear others out before inflicting violence. He's so very against violence, he uses the add-ons as a form of attack rather than attacking himself, because in his head "its not me attacking, it can not be helped."

After idea bouncing in my head I went back to Wayfar himself and eventually made a ref without his clothe. This is him <3

Wayfar's got weak lungs, they're burnt, he has a burn over his heart. The burn itself becomes bigger over time with added stress but can be reduced depending on if one can get him to relax. Taking this into consideration, I decided "Obviously Wayfar's entire bottom half as a burn/bad beast Needs to be black/burned because thats where the burn itself starts."

I dabbled with this idea a little bit, and came to conclusion that maybe if he was more dog like it would fit as well. Wayfar's behavior to me is that of a livestock guardian dog. Also I drew Lonicera as a weird creature and it made me start thinking about it a bit more.

Now this all in mind. And also with Forxen as well as a design to reference from (because Forxen when I made him all those years ago was also very 'beast but sort of dog' despite the term 'xen equine' heh) I landed where Wayfar is now.

A much more appealing and easier to translate design than where I started with him! And it fits Wayfar.

Its scary, but its got soft edges. Its something you'd look at and go "This could hurt me" but not a creature that would immediately hurt you unless it felt threatened in the moment. His chest, tail, belly, and arms are all burnt! His top half is not, because thats not where the burn is. The 'black liquid' concept was kept in some way with the idea instead that its smoke emitting from his mouth. The orange was just a nice touch since Wayfar's design itself isn't the standard black/white design and I gave him orange to match an earlier drawing of the Batter because I figured it was a fun little detail.

All this to say, creature designs take a lot of time. And work. And throwing things against a wall. I don't ever know where I'm going to land but I do know however it turns out in the end, its gonna be bangin and I'm gonna like it :-] Its always fun to experiment with what you can do! You know?

No reason not to go crazy with it.

[084392]

more quick ideas for legends/mythicals based on protags. as well as human characters based on the main legends/mythicals....

roaming red legendary? with some kind of ice type form that is only found on mt silver(in johto games), doesnt have a cry. green mythical pokemon that considers itself the red ones rival, may or may have a rivalry related ability idk...leaf fakemon that was introduced in gen 3 but was a beta pokemon in gen 1......ngl i kind of like the idea of giovanni being a ground type legendary and mew being a mother and an unethical scientist of sorts tho....maybe the legendary birds would take the place of the protags?????

johto legends, ho oh=ethan and kris=lugia. they have more or less the same roles as the legends?????(maybe) BUT at the very least they look different. also lyra is a mythical that has kind of sudowoodo(ik sudo isnt a legend/mythical but you get what i mean) type vibe were they like tricking people...silver was a clone pokemon created by mew(using some giovanni fakemon dna?) before she was defeated?...but ho oh and lugia are older trainers from ecruteak. lugia moved to cianwood a long time ago tho...maybe celebis the protag idfk...

i think i gotta go the obv route with archie and maxie replacing kyogre and groudon and vice versa. but may and brendan more or less replace latias and latios and have a more important role(in theory)...wally is a psychic mythical that got injured(???) but is roaming in an effort to get stronger/find a good trainer?? lisia is just one of those cute mythicals.....

dppt trio would be a legendary trio a la lake guardians style but their scarves would be used as a way of tying their designs together??? idk this regions legends are wild thats all i got

hil dragon was originally part of a mythical quartet? with cheren and bianca mythicals(who had somthing to do with truth and ideals??) but became a legendary when it combined its two halves(hilbert and hilda) to defeat an evil force from a long time ago(n dragon???) current day it has not been seen in unova for ages but there have been sightings around the rest of the world...no one can really comment on the authenticity of these sightings tho...and ok ik i linked the post where i drew reshiram and zekrom as teenagers starting a journey but i kind of like the idea of them being older trainers in opelucid or being connected to the legends somehow instead....i think they still have "friend group drama" with kyurem tho. idk maybe the protags would be some of the other mythicals... i dunno.

[lotusmuses]

Genshin Theory: The Scarlet King and the Three Magi (unorganized)

AA THAT'S AMMIT (Edit: it's actually Sobek) AND HORUS THE ELDER

and cyno is anubis (weighing of hearts using the feather of ma'at) so i guess his "temple of silence" affiliation is the hall of ma'at

and candace is osiris (being the ruler/guardian of aaru)

more under the cut!

but is there a thoth character?????? (wait maybe al-haitham since he's a scribe?? but... he doesn’t seem related to the desert at all- Edit: there was an original thoth god but idk if he has a reicarnation)

WAIT SINCE THE SCARLET KING IS A "SON OF THE SKY" THAT'S NUT (SKY MOTHER GODDESS) so he's osiris (candace having that role as his descendant)

but the eremites are trying to bring him back which would cause chaos in the desert... THEY'RE NOT RESSURECTING OSIRIS- THEY'RE RESSURECTING THE SKY'S OTHER SON: SET, the god of deserts, storms, and chaos (Edit: i think scara matches that description now minus the desert part)

so scarlet king was osiris.. lost the flower goddess. went mad and became set and his people are ressurecting him in his dark form... oh dear (Edit: he actually sacrificed himself so that theory is debunked)

but also??? i think together cyno and candace are representations of Harpocrates (also known as Horus the Child) who is the god of silence, secrets, confidentiality, hope, and the newborn sun, rising each day at dawn during the Hellenistic Period (remember in that other post where i said that the akademiya is greco-roman? and this is during when they conquered egypt? yeah thats the hellenistic period so it matches. Edit: Hermanubis is mentioned so i was right about sumeru being in the hellenistic period!)

which makes sense since she seems to be night and him being morning

especially seen in this picture:

Meaning... Nilou should be the representation of Isis, a healing goddess and very related to rites and rituals

also Cyno and Candace both have a Staff of the Scarlet Sands (described as "a paired set of sceptors fashioned from obsidian. legend has it that these staves grant the right to lead the people of the desert") considering candace is a scarlet king descendant i feel like cyno has to be as well - there's too many connections between the two (Edit: So he's actually a descendant of Kasala, the Scarlet King's priest. That's was completely unexpected to me tbh- still love it though!)

So:

Scarlet King: Osiris / Horus the Elder (makes sense as some people considered them the same god one in life and the other in death)

Eremites Scholars are ressurecting making a god: Set (Mad Scarlet King Scaramouche)

Cyno: Anubis (specifically Hermanubis) / Harpocrates (+ Eye of Ra)

Candace: Nephthys / Harpocrates (+ Eye of Horus)

Nilou: Isis (+ Hathor???? i think the goddess of flowers might be hathor- but i'm gonna add her to nilou since it looks like these 3 are the modern/reincarnated kings of sumeru minus rukkhadevata who turned into kusanali)

So these 3 might be the THREE MAGI (Edit: the three magi are originally thoth, sobek, and khnum/amun in which case i think cyno, candace, and nilou represent them in that specific order)

[cherrytea556]

Original stories im working on if anyone's interested

Dreamland - Its a story inspired by alice in wonderland about three kids that fell into a hole that sent them to dreamland, a odd non sense world where they have to get out of as the three kids form a connection. Its themes are centered around connection, escapism and loneliness.

Lilac, Lucas and the journey to whatsalot - Another story thats inspired by alice in wonderland except its specifically inspired by the 1988 czech adaptation loosely. Its centered around two kids (lilac and lucas) in a home both are recently in with their guardian having a new partner that looked 'strange'. At night, lucas and lilac discover a secret in their home and accidently end up in their guardians closet, where they find their partner strangely going to somewhere at night. They both follow him and end up in a strange world that makes no sense and try to find where that partner is. Unlike dreamland, it doesnt have a specific theme going into it, maybe the two leads developing a friendship? But thats really it.

Andrew and Alya's adventures ForU - Basically a parody of ForU's leo and layla with it criticizing the right wing in a left/apolitical perspective.

Bloody Hell with this Rain! - This one is more of a short story i wrote though want to do more of. Its these two guys who did a crime together to someone and as a result of it, have to stay in that persons area as their helpers. The relationship between the two are undefined, not romantic nor platonic which is the main reason why i would want to continue it, along with it having potential.

What's going on in cheers hill? - Now this is a story based off one game from the garten of ban ban creators ('my teenage simulator') though the inspiration is only loosely for the atmosphere of the game because i think it has potential for a mystery/horror setting which is what this story technically is. Its of this guy who moved to this town with his mom from the city and is curious of its atmosphere of its backstory. This is something i really want to finish just because i want people to see the idea/plot, whether its good or not (which i always make sure its at least decent for all of my works)

Theres more but they havent been developed yet. Just sharing my stories out there as a start.

[aura-bug]

If given the chance to make a game based on yo-kai watch, what would you do for plot stuff, gameplay, characters ect?

ooooooo this sounds fun :0

If I were to make a YKW game, it would pick up where 3 left off bc I know nothing about 4 lol. So uhhhh this one's kinda Yo-kai Watch 3.5

-First of all, I'd want to combine all the areas available in 2 and 3. Old Springdale, Gera Gera Land, the Infinite Inferno/Divine Paradise, and the Infinite Tunnel all come back, as well as New Yo-kai City and BBQ bc I'd want my boy Buck to make an appearance <3

-ALSO KATIE IS A PLAYABLE CHARACTER

-I can't decide whether I want 3's battle system or the original wheel, I like both but the wheel has a bit more points for nostalgia

-For characters, Hailey and Buck both come back because them and the MC form the best trio ever. Also Buck can have his own yo-kai friend. As a treat. Idk who though. It'd probably be a 'Merican yo-kai.

-Idk how I'd make the "switching back and forth between BBQ and Springdale" thing work story-wise, but who needs coherence when you have the funny southern american boy haha am I right !!

-Also I'd want to add more classic yo-kai based on other japanese folkloric creatures!! I want a yo-kai based on the Nobiagari SOOOO badly. or the Amabie. or the Ao Andon. Or the Karyobinga!! I could literally go on and on forever. maybe I'll make some fake yo-kai art idk

-Plus some 'Merican yo-kai based on some American mythology too. Bigfoot, mothman, etc. maybe Noko can have a 'Merican counterpart based on the hoop snake and that'll be ykw3.5's token unobtainable streetpass Noko

-As for plot, if I've made anything clear, I want Lucas to be involved. I want him to be involved soooooo badly. And he has to be at the FOREFRONT of this damn plot, none of that showing up at the last second shit. Maybe the MC trio have to protect him from a Big Bad trying to kill him, ORRRRR maybe HE'S the one that turns evil and its up to the MCs to stop him for committing evil little boy crimes. Is it too obvious that I want evil lucas? I want evil lucas btw.

-Also I think it was mentioned in ykw1 that Venoct was kinda put in charge of "protecting" Lucas/acting as some sort of guardian for him, and then in 3, during part 1 of that enma note quest where Lucas got thanos snapped, Venoct says he feels like he's "missing something important." expand on this. I am begging. expand more on venoct's whole bodyguard arc

-theyre probably not gonna do anything plot-wise but I just want the wicked yokai to be there. for funsies lol. I just like them theyre so scrurngkly

-BRING BACK FORGOTTEN YKW 1 BOSSES. WHERE IS TARANTUTOR. WHERE IS PHANTASMURAI

-I'd make Lina and Zoe's Ghost Club plot relevant bc out of all of Nate/Katie's classmates, those two and their weird little freak club is the most interesting, also the fact that Lina BEFRIENDED A BOSS YO-KAI?? Insane. love that for her. theyre interesting I like them a lot

-also maddiman is befriendable now

-I'd make another yo-kai watch CEO guy and his name would be Sealon Musk (seal) and he'd invent the new watch for ykw 3.5. It's called the SpaceWatch and it sounds cool and interesting but all it does is explode. Also it costs 8.2 million dollars and whisper had to sell all of your medals and also jibanyan's soul on the black market in order to get one, and that's how the medallium gets reset this game

if I get anymore ideas or like an actual coherent plot ill probably add on later, but I think thats it for now lol

[definitelynotshouting]

if you haven't sent a picture of that stuffed dragon i would like to sea it pretty please 👀 i have a childhood stuffie thats been with me forever and your poetry really hits (sorry im not super coherent rn :P) - 🍁

im so glad you liked the poem!!! :D ive sent a picture of him once already but i'll never say no to sending more of my special little guy!!! Here are some glamour shots lol

His name is Silverwings and the story behind him is quite special :] i was gifted this lil guy at a ren faire when i was 9, and he stayed above my headboard as a room guardian for quite some time. When i turned 20, i ended up in a situation where i lost 95% of everything i owned, including Silverwings. Seeing as i'd had him for 11 years at that point, i was pretty heartbroken, and searched with little success for 6 whole years to see if i could find the person who made him. But eventually, with a stroke of pure luck, i found the maker's etsy!!! and i was able to buy a very similar version of him back (and even sent her a very heartfelt and teary note about it when i did), and now he's home again❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

The poem to me is ultimately was about how even though he isnt made from the original material as the toy i lost, i still consider him to be the same dragon; hence the last line about the ship of theseus. Ive always kinda felt that people come at that question from the wrong angle, tbh; to me, it doesnt matter if the material is different. It's still you if thats who you feel like. Its still the same ship if you regard it as the same ship. Its still the same dragon if you decide its the same stuffed dragon. In the end, i think what really matters is the spirit of whatever's in question, in whatever form that happens to take❤️

[cloudninetonine]

-Brings the AU out from the Hive-Ideas Chanel- I HAVE 3 DIFFERENT PLAYERS COMBINED FOR ONE 1 FIC, SUE ME (I will slander First to)

and im thinking another AU in where a third god (player) existed and she was the original guardian of the triforce, and Demise little sibling, but they were the inocence in person, and Hylia was jealous of them, so she gaslight them into giving her the triforce, making Demise mad, so he tried to avenge his siblling, the war happend, he lost, Hylia manipulate history, First new the truth, so thats why she let him die in the surface, player had to make a deal with Hylia, player will take care of Hyrule, but can't save Hyrule if this one is treathen by a god or a monster, but they can help a little, so they became the guide of the heroes, never revealing their identity to the heroes, until they end in Ender's (Link form last hero AU) Hyrule and Diana (Villain of the last Hero AU) reveals the true, and Ender actually knows player, but she always mistake them for a priestess that watched over the triforce and looked after the welfare of Hyrule when Ganon came back.

Fuck Hylia honestly.

All my homies hate Hylia.

Love this au though!

[catsareliquiddd]

melatonin will not get the best of me tonight. anyways random thought since i started properly rereading wings of fire recently. the books are a lot different than what i remember ??? especially the last couple of times i read the first book was in the graphic novel form.

its like so much was cut out and it doesnt feel that similar anymore. the dod siblings had genuine issues with eachother and even fought and that was barely in the graphic novel? there was even a whole scene in the original book where glory and tsunami faked glory running away just to see if clay actually cared about her. and that just wasnt in the graphic novel. feels like there was a lot of emotional stuff between the siblings that we missed out on.

random extra thing but i swear to god im not the only person that thought dune webs and kestrel were called guardians and not minders right? like i swear when i read that it was like someone stole my book and rearranged the words.

i also distincly remember queen scarlet being 126 years old i have no idea where that number came from but its been one of my most vivid memories about random background information ever.

speaking of that i remember like 2 or more seperate times i had a dream about wof where i was like in the book but also reading it,, like in the way where i think back and think "oh yeah that happened in the books. oh wait, no it was that weird dream i had a while back wasnt it" thats probably where scarlets "age" came from actually.

i have so many weird wof stuff i could say esp since ive been reading it for like half my life wow been that long already

[davekat-sucks]

I got quite a bit of responses about the post where i made a joke about the striders wanting to fuck Rose blah blah davepeta x Jasperose blah blah "incest" joke. I have mentioned my confusion before about the ectobiology, if we're counting slime touching eachother then ALL of the beta kids are related if not the only people i can consider to be related to them are their guardians respectfully. But thats my headcanon and i honestly dont know. Anyway someone had mentioned Dirk commenting about Janes body, honestly i like to think he may have had a small crush on her with him drawing art of grabbing her tit then having a small argument with caliborn about how he wanted to keep his hand there. Then there's how his gift giving was more genuine and deeper. Idk it seems like he thirsts for her. One time i saw this small fanfiction where Jane an Dirk were in an argument and Dirk had stated he only dated Jake to make her jealous because he felt like he couldn't get her because of her crush on Jake, then she slapped him across the face. I thought this was hilarious and kinda in character considering Dirks manipulative tendencies and Janes anger issues.

I can see a teen drama like that happening between Jane and Dirk, yeah. When making parallels to the Beta Kids, Dirk and Jane would be the Dave and John for the Alpha Kids. So it would make sense that not only does Dirk have respect for Jane, but would also have some feelings towards her. Like Dave, how he shows it is difficult for him and tries to be the cool guy in the group. He may not have said The Batterwitch/Condesce causing him trouble like Roxy was, because he knows Jane would be skeptic without seeing it firsthand and maybe worry that this situation will make him be seen as weak and having to put up a front for so long just to lose it, it would be bad that someone this close to him would see his vulnerability.

With the ectobiology thing, I still think both Alpha Kids and Beta Kids, are technically related to one another. They are all made from the ghost imprints of the original guardians. Sure the DNA goo were separate in tubes. But the rest when it comes to creating them, means some of their biological coding must have crossed paths with one another in some way or form that we are not able to see or control. So pairs like DirkJake are still considered incest in a way. And that's trying not to think that John would be the father towards his friends.

[unoriginalmess]

A Second Mask: Chapter 4

Did that just happen?

Hello guys! It's me. I'm finally writing again. Sorry about the delay. I'm going to explain more at the end of the chapter, but I'm just going to keep the beginning short. So here is chapter 4:

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To say Adrien was concerned would be a huge understatement. He was downright disturbed. Its been weeks and still Marinette hadn't changed back to the happy, peppy, nice girl that he knew. AND SHE WOULDN'T EVEN TALK TO HIM ABOUT IT!

He tried to talk to her for a whole week after her original trasformation, but after the repeated firm rejections, he stopped altogether. He figured that maybe with some space, she might be able to work through whatever she was going through, but at this point, he's losing hope.

When he is feeling this distressed about something, he usually turns to his lady, but she has been acting weird too. Ever since she suggested they start sparring, she's started to show that she is going through kinda a rough time as well. She is the same ladybug when everyone is watching, but when it's just the two of them, she looks sad and tired. She has also started saying some concerning things while they are sparring. She has started talking about how she has started taking being Ladybug and the Guardian more seriously, and how she has less distractions now, which would be a good thing if she didn't say them so sadly.

The good thing is, the sparring has given him a chance to get out his aggression because of the whole Marinette-situation and his anger at his father in a safe environment. He didn't like the idea of hitting Ladybug at first (especially in the face) but with her not holding back on her hits, he felt more comfortable doing the same. It has helped them fight better too. He hopes that whatever Ladybug is going through in her civillian life will work itself out soon, but until then he will be there for her. He just needs to figure out how to be there for Marinette.

•••

Felix was making good progress with Marinette. After they first asked marinette about (insert fashion question of your choice here, I legit know nothing and I didn't have time to research anything for this chapter), she had started answering their questions on a daily basis. After a couple of days of that, she had started to rant to them about different things in the fashion world that were bothering her, exciting her, or confusing her that particular day. In response to that, they had started to respond to her rants with their own opinions on the subjects and even start their own rants.

It had gotten to the point where Felix would now consider them to be friends, though they know that Marinette would never call them as such, it was fine with them. They know she has trust issues, and they can understand why, so they are fine with being friends in everything but a name.

Felix was looking forward to their daily banter as they waited in their seat for Marinette to arrive. When she did, she was followed by a very pissed-looking Alya. Felix turned to look at her and noticed that she had what looked to be tears forming in her eyes. What they didn't notice was the little black butterfly that had entered through the window in the back of the room, and was making a beeline towards her.

•••

Marinette walked to school in yet another one of her newest fashion creations: a pair of oversized grey ripped jeans and a navy blue sweatshirt. She was actually really liking her new look, and the comfort that it offered was just an added plus.

She was actually feeling excited to talk to Felix about Gabriel Agreste's newest fashion flop. They were the only person that she had met that actually cared about fashion as much as her. It made her happy to talk to them. It kind of scared her how excited she was. Shouldn't she be distancing herself from everyone? she thought to herself. No. Felix isn't my friend, they aren't close to me, they are just someone I talk fashion with. Like a coworker, yeah. Totally. Felix is just a coworker. ("Liar" says the inner voice in her head)

She was shocked out of her thoughts when she was pulled to the side by someone as she entered the courtyard. Her mind immediately thought of an akuma, when the person spoke.

"Marinette! Girl," Oh it's just Alya. Wait Alya? "How long are you gonna keep up this cry for attention? Are you really THAT jealous of Lila? I know that Adrien likes her, but that doesn't give you the right to act like this! And you are hanging out with Felix, who accused her of sexually harrassing Adrien on their first day here-?" She looked absolutely furious at her, but Marinette had heard enough. She cut Alya off in the middle of her presumably long rant.

"ALYA!" Said girl jumped at both the inturruption and the tone of voice used, "First of all, this isn't a cry for attention, if anything its a cry for leaving me the fuck alone. Second of all, I'm not jealous of Lila. I'm not in love with Adrien anymore, and haven't been for a while. You knew that I was dating Luka right? Why would I care who Adrien likes? Lastly, I am allowed to hang out with whoever I choose, whether you like them or not. It's none of your fucking business Alya, and if you think that I'm just some jealous, attention-seeker why do you even care?" With that last question she stormed off to the classroom, leaving a speechless Alya behind her.

When marinette sat down in her seat, she just kept thinking about how Alya was just talking to her. How could she think that about her? They used to be best friends, and Alya wasn't even concerned about her not talking to her anymore, she was just concerned about her being "jealous of Lila". It made her so furious that she could feel tears trickling down her face. She sees the black butterfly out of the corner of her eye and without hesitation grabs it out of the air.

(Next part is taken from this post by @bigfatbreak)

"Go ahead and akumatize me- See what happens, Hawkmoth!" She screamed the words with a slight madness that the energy of the akuma was giving her, "Every leash has two ends! I just have to pull until I find where you're holding it!"

At this point, the entire class was frozen in place watching her and listening to her crazed-sounding voice threaten an actual terrorist. Marinette felt Hawkmoth's confusion and terror through the bond. What in the- She's sensing me through the Akuma?! The akuma then started to fly away, and when it couldn't it zapped her hand like it was made of lightning and fluttered through the same window it came from. Marinette felt like she had failed yet again and collapsed down on her desk, muttering, "Uuuuggghh. It escaped anyway... What a waste. I didn't realize that Hawkmoth was such a coward. He usually likes grandstand..."

She was startled when her hand was picked up by Felix's, "You likely scared him off by managing to locate him like that... A risky move, I should mention. I would ask that you not attempt that a second time. No one knows what his akuma is truly capable of. You'll want to keep off of this hand for a while, too."

"Oh, are those the doctor's orders? Why, Felix, it almost sounds like you care about meeee." Marinette was all too amused by Felix's concern for her. She also liked to tease them... AS COWORKERS DO.

"I have an investment in your presence. Now don't be cheeky and let's get you to the nurse's office," They said while holding her wrist and gently pulling her in that direction.

Marinette scoffed, "'An investment in my presence'??"

Felix chuckled while still semi-dragging her by the wrist towards the front of the room, being careful not to hurt her injury even worse, "What did I just say about being cheeky?"

On their way out of the door they passed a VERY distressed-looking Adrien. He seemed to be sharing the sentiment with the entire class of: Did that just happen?

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And thats chapter 4. It is VERY LATE! I know. I've been swamped with work, and when I went to write it, I had zero ideas on how to write this chapter. I never ended up getting those ideas. I just went where my writing took me, so if it doesn't really match the characters that's why. I will try to be better at updating regularly, but it probably won't happen. Sorry to everyone with a normal sleep schedule, but this is the time that I write things. Also I didn't have my outline with me while writing this chapter, so it might not have everything I planned to write in it.

I would like to thank you all for all of the support I've been getting on this fic. Despite all of the chapter delays, you guys have stuck with me through all of it, so thank each and every one of you. I love seeing so many people loving this au as much as I do. Without you guys this story wouldn't exist, and I would've stopped writing it after the first chapter.

As always, constructive criticism is always accepted. I love being able to improve my writing whenever possible.

Thank you for reading. Have a nice day/night/whenever you are reading this. See ya next time guys, gals, and non-binary pals.

Taglist

@queer-illusion @apasponsor @heckinggremlin @1-ahiro-1 @hewantedbeefintheparkinglot @sassakitty @lennauts @rianoel @dorkus-minimus @khneltea @welp-that-was-unexpected @mlnchlymrshmllw @lovelyautumnsunflower @chariphrasis @lovesbooks @komatsuna-yuki @polyvirnl @innocentlyguiltyfrenchfry @qhobias @ive-tumbled-down-a-rabbit-hole @hammalammadamdam @cloudydaysomewhere @alcoholic-barney @basenikon @xxbehindthemaskxx @corporeal-terrestrial @shadowymemoirs @moonlight-densetsuu

[claitea]

I love your second chance au so far!! Do you have any other info on it?

! i do indeed!! its pretty much a completed au actually, its timeline is complete, i just didnt have plans to release it All in drawing form since just the parts i posted seemed enough

volo in the present day is a librarian. its a simple quiet job where he doesnt really need to interact with people too much, plus his obsession with research translates into a general love of books so he'll often stay after hours when he's supposed to have closed up just to read. he's still very good at the whole fake nice guy act so his few co-workers love him and think he's the best senior the library's ever had but he's sitting there like "they don't know i tried to end the world once"

i havent thought about his team much but i imagine to lower suspicion and not draw attention to himself he strays from using the same pokemon as cynthia. he's already been asked if he's related to her a few times and he's just had to try pass it off as a coincidence so people stopped asking. he keeps using the togepi line though they're his lil buddies and he adores them actually

the au's timeline is simple. volo gathers together emmet, barry and dawn to go find a way to reach hisui to bring back ingo and lucas so that volo doesnt have to keep seeing their names pop up and get reminded of how he Failed so bad at his original plan. its just salt in the wound to keep seeing lucas's face after volo vowed all those years ago to keep trying to meet arceus, but he still hasnt succeeded 200 years on.

at first, volo tells them barely anything. he doesnt even explain why he knows ingo and lucas are stuck in the past. so combined with his grumpiness around them they all initially distrust him, especially emmet who's just become a cool uncle and was trusted to protect barry and dawn. this trio's general cheeriness eventually rubs off on even volo and he cant help softening up after a while of traveling. thats where the guilt sets in for him, really slowly, he doesnt even realize he's getting too attached for his own good until its too late and now suddenly he's starting to develop Empathy again. so eventually he'll at least say he's from an ancient sinnohan lineage that granted him immortality and thats why he knows where ingo and lucas are. hard to believe at first but also dawn remembers that one story about the immortal guy in kalos so like. this might as well be happening

they find a way to timetravel eventually, they track down the lake guardians to (safely, unlike team galactic) summon dialga. a little before he lets them go to hisui, its been so long since they started travelling and the guilt's chipped away at him so much he comes clean. admits the whole past ordeal with giratina and why ingo and lucas were taken was because of him - ingo was direct interference since it was his rift that pulled ingo through, and even arceus itself was forced to call the only person strong enough to stop him, lucas, into hisui. he expects them to hate him after that and was fully ready for it but, while they're shocked and angry, they... still want to be friends with him. they've come to understand volo's changed for the better since his hisui days, they've travelled with him long enough to know that for sure and its not just volo being really good at the happy chirpy friendly facade. they dont forgive him for past deeds, i mean can you really excuse trying to wipe out the Entire Universe, but they at least give him a much needed second chance (roll credits)

emmet, barry and dawn get to reunite with ingo and lucas, everyone goes home. from there i was actually tossing up two ways volo could go: one becoming a researcher again, maybe moving to other regions to help out there. the other becoming a pokemon trainer, pokemon journeys are all about broadening your horizons and connecting with others so volo could benefit from it probably. also cmon he has three friendship evolution pokemon, even if he used to call himself a "wielder" he probably actually cares about his pokemon a lot very deep down. maybe emmet even invites him to be a special guest final opponent on the multi trains with him sometimes.

[iiceddorklatte]

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

okay before i get into this a couple of things:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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