#these are just different ancient fanfics of the same myth.

[divinelycrazy]

More "fun" facts about ancient greek mythology

Why, because I can.

1. Zeus took on many different forms while banging his lovers, some stranger than others. These forms included, but are not limited to; a bull, a swan, golden rain, a Satyr, an eagle, and his daughter Artemis.

2. Eros, in some interpretations, is not a son of Aphrodite but one of the primordial gods that were created at the start of the world.

3. Another fact about Eros is that he could be considered one of the most powerful gods of the Greek pantheon since not even Zeus could escape his influence and manipulations.

4 Boreas, the god of the Northwind, has a wife named Oreithyia and 4 known children, the winged twin brothers Calais and Zethes, Khione the goddess of ice and frost, and Cleopatra(no not the Egyptian one).

5. The greek god of bread is named Deipneus.

6. One of the war related things that had a deity associated with it was the war cry. Their name was Alala.

7. Eros and Psyche had a daughter named Hedone, goddess of pleasure and delight. Her name is the root word for the words hedonism, hedonistic, and hedonist.

8. There actually is an overlap between Norse and Greek mythology, as both feature a tree with golden apples that grant the gods their eternal youths. One difference is that the apples of Iduun keep the gods alive while the apples of the Hesperides keep the gods looking young.

9. Believe it or not, Hades is actually one of the nicer gods you could find in the greek pantheon. Also, the greek underworld and hell are not the same place. Stop comparing them....please.

10. In a certain myth, Aphrodite is described to actually have spent some time in the ocean after her birth. During that time, she had a lover named Nerites, who she turned into a shrimp after not wanting to go to the surface with her. He did get turned back by poseidon and presumably became his boyfriend afterward.

11. Circe, the witch Appearing in the Odyssey and Pasiphae, the mother of the minotaur are actually sisters with their dad being Helios, the Titan of the sun.

12. In some versions of Arachne's myth, she actually committed self unaliving before Athena took pity on her and turned her into a spider.

Thats all...bye.

[sleepnowmychild]

Since hades 2 early access is out and people are talking about it, here’s my 2 cents on myth retellings.

Personally I never really like Greek myth retellings, because they get so much wrong and some border on straight up disrespectful, but hades is one of the few that actually does it right. I played the first game in 2020, and I’m a console player so I’ll have to wait to play the second one but I’m one of those autistics that likes spoilers so I know what to expect. And I’ve been DEVOURING the spoilers. I think the reason hades works when so many others don’t is because they 1) actually do their research 2) don’t erase the inherent queerness of Greek myth and 3) don’t modernise anything. It’s set in Ancient Greece and it stays in Ancient Greece. A lot of modern retellings just don’t work because there’s aspects of these myths that don’t translate well to the modern day. Researching the culture of the place and time is important to a faithful retelling, retellings like PJO and LO don’t work for me because they’re basically a wattpad American high-school/CEO AU fanfic.

I think a modern retelling COULD work, but you’d have to be a damn expect on the source material and Greek culture to make it work.

Another point: Greece and Rome have a big overlap in their mythology and ancient worship, but there are still differences. If you’re going to draw from both, you need to know those differences and be educated on how both cultures used their overlapping myths. My Italian ass heard varying stories from my Italian family, and my school when we did Greek myths in class. I was able to recognise they were the same source, but they had differences. That’s something you have to take into account for retellings too.

TLDR: the hades game series is one of the few that does Greek myth retellings right. And I like their depiction of Hypnos (he’s a fictive in my brain I mean-) he embodies the more childish mischief side of his characterisation from source myth.

[msbunnat]

sorry if you’ve been asked this before but how do you interpret Zeus in Greek mythology?

I know you like to keep the details of your comic a secret but can you at least elaborate on your perspective about his canon?

Like me personally, I see Zeus as kind of a force of nature, probably cuz he kind of is. He’s the man made character created in order to further understand that which man did not know, like all the gods. And also like the other gods his actions are hard to rationalize cuz they’re so dam inconsistent. One moment he’s treating women as disposable then the next he’s giving Hestia the respect and permission to never marry without any question.

sorry for the Yap sesh lol, love ur art and ur comic btw!

I think this is the first time someone has asked this and I am very happy to answer!

*THIS IS TO BIG SORRY!! ;-;

First, I need to make it clear that the Zeus of ancient myths and my Zeus will be different, even though its based on mythology. I am just contributing with my two cents to this range of fanfics that have existed since ancient times.

I truly believe that all the myths we love and explore are basically fanfics based on a religion and that people in the past used them to spread knowledge, comedies, tragedies and just to have fun while keeping the image of their gods alive. That is why the gods are so inconsistent in mythology, since we have many variations even of a single myth and it will always depend on who is telling the story (I wish it were easier to make fics like this about my religion, but I am afraid of the reaction of extremists).

I interpret Zeus in mythology like all the other gods, I no longer make a distinction based on the prejudice of him being a compulsive pervert, he has many sides. As all gods re natural forces, natural as in animal and plants, but also human feelings and urges.

Zeus has some basic pillars that myths tend to respect: He is THE father, he is the fairest one, he is the executioner, he is seductive, he is good-humored (sometimes he makes some bad jokes kkkkkk), he defends natural balance more than anything and he respects the will of others (this seems ironic, but calm down!!). After reading more myths about him and different interpretations, I understood that this modern view of him as a player is completely distorted and ignores all the other myths he participates (I understand that it became his joke, but… some people take it to seriously). So I started to form my own view of his myths.

Most of his adulteries are consensual and when they are not, they remain in that confusing area of ​​what was once consensual, since it is always mentioned that he seduces (for example, how he turned into an bull or a shower of gold because he knew that his potential partners really liked those things - and I find it hilarious that it seems like he didn't even intend to get Danae pregnant kkkkkk, but it ended up happening). This doesn't mean we can't understand that some of these seductions are abusive (like taking the form of a husband to have a night with Persephone or Alcmena), but saying that he discarded them doesn't seem right either. He often protected his lovers and bastards in the most intelligent way possible and sometimes he just walked away too for the good of others. And in a way, as the father and lord of the sky, he is always watching. I also hate how we take away any woman agency when it comes to Zeus, like, there re myths that they wanted a casual nigth with a god... stop ignoring that!! (the bad thing is that Zeus is also a pilar for fertility ;w; so if he sleep with someone with a uterus... they will get pregnant).

Going to the non-literal side, we have to remember that Zeus is a god and his adultery should not be seen as the same as that of mortal men. He cant acuatlly be with a mortal on the mortal realm and be a husband there... I also want to say: Hera wasn't that jealousy (I think she herself knew that Zeus needed to spread his blood/goodness in the world - yes, a strong interpretation is that Zeus' affairs are a metaphor for spreading goodness). On the contrary, she respected the bastards who faced their challenges and thus deserved to be close to them on Olympus. Hera tested the heroes for two reasons: So they understood that she and Zeus were in charge (so that no one would think they could usurp the throne, and she protected both her and Zeus, as well as Zeus do his best to also prevent the bastards to die and have some help - both Zeus and Hera do all this from a distance, they want to be fair with eachother) and to see if they deserved to be with the immortals.

It seems ironic today, but Zeus respected everyone's will, but it was in the Greek terms (more of in atenians terms, bc we don't have much of the other states). He accepted the decisions of Hestia, Athena, Artemis… I don't remember seeing him laying a finger on them or wanting them to get married. On the other hand, we have versions of him as father of Persephone, 'selling' her (but the myth was about an arranged marriage and I think it makes sense that it's Zeus, since the focus ends up being Demeter's suffering and this encompasses more complex feelings when losing her daughter because her 'husband' gave her away, while he is still respected and loved socially).

Now the bad side of Zeus in how fair he is. He punishes Apollo in some situations, even though I understand why he needed to do it… But he is not shallow enough to be evil for the sake of evil… It left a impression on me when he killed Asclepius and hurt Apollo (obviously), it is sad and I doubt he enjoyed killing his grandson, but if he didn't do it… the balance of the cycle of death would collapse and he is the one who sustains this cycle with the greatest respect. In fact, my theory is that he doesn't face Nyx, not because he fears her, but because no matter who wins the fight, the world will end (if Nyx dies, the night and everything that comes from the night, for the Greeks like sleep and death, will be disturbed / if Zeus dies the throne will be empty and no other god would do what he does, maybe Athena, but the world was too sexist back then to let her become sovereign and I also think she would be colder than Zeus when making decisions and would have no descendants…). But sometimes he just wanted to prank and have fun! So like, no straight answer here.

In the case of Ganymede, I believe that his myth is more one of those in which Zeus is merely a narrative tool, more than an active role. People just started shipping them and that's when the pederasty boom happened, but before that Ganymede was just a boy who was handsome and got a 'dream job' (poor thing…).

[kirkwallguy]

the percy jacksonification of dragon age is so reallll like this is not what dragon age is about is it. i think what would make things better (and to redeem the story after what ir became since inquisiton) is that solas isn't fen'harel and fen'harel's place in the story is same as the other elven gods; dalish stories. they're not super duper mages who owned slaves and deemed themselves as gods but just what they meant to be; mythological figures in dalish stories and belief.

solas could just be what original solas is pretending to be. a really apostate (who's apparently a city elf) mage. and to spice things up, has a tension with the pride demons (i was really expecting veilguard to at least touch on that. or maybe they did but i missed it whilst i watched it) and man that would change a lot of things. his character, his knowledge, dialogues, interactions, his opinions on the dalish. his future. im kind of like mourning this idea of solas cuz he will never exist in the story lmao

so, the story of inquisition would start and continue on a different road. no personificated elven gods stories, but focus on what makes dragon age, dragon age. and by god let the elven pantheon be where they're meant to be; to belong in tale-like stories and in dalish worships in the game. the only thing that is interesting that is more than that is mythal-flemeth at least

im just sitting here with a big ass "why" on my face for end trespasser events.

it really is percy jacksonification LOL, solas/mythal is like hades and persephone to me. compelling the first time you hear the myth but then you find out the person telling it writes fanfic about them and is working on a modern retelling and it gets weird. then again i have this same issue with a lot of fantasy media lol, making gods or 'higher beings' tangible characters is the most boring thing you can do with fictional religion imo

their biggest mistake really was making solas an Actual God, it feels like a twist that was floated in the writer's room that everyone was kind of into and then they just kept bending the story around it without really looking at what they were doing. because if you say "hey, what if the people who have been historically oppressed for their religion and aren't allowed to worship it in some human cities are actually wrong about their gods and they're just evil slaver ancient mages (these people are also currently oppressed by evil slaver human mages) <3" it sounds like you're being evil on purpose. and i know it was a room full of white canadians doing this but surely someone would have been able to realise that it sounds bad right.

and god yeah. demons and spirits that feed on / perform strong emotions are SOOOO underutilised in dai and dav. imagine if solas was a pride demon! the very first big thing we fight in inquisition AND in veilguard! then they could have their hubris storyline and eat it too! but no instead we get uhhmmm...compassion is there to further varric and solas' character arcs and spite is there to do a silly voice and maybe make lucanis sad at some point. AURGH. where is justice can someone bring him home to me.

[rorja]

❝ 𝐒𝐎, 𝐆𝐔𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐖𝐄’𝐑𝐄 𝐀 𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐌 𝐍𝐎𝐖 ! 𝐖𝐄 𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐃 𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐃 𝐀 𝐂𝐎𝐎𝐋 𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐄 ! ❞

（ a genshin impact jjk au ）

❝ SHE SAID ‘AD ABSTRA ABYSSOSQUE’ AND PROCEEDED TO GIVE US TWO MORA ! TWO MORA FOR SEVEN PEOPLE— ARE THEY REALLY THAT STINGY ? ❞

synopsis : three archons out of the seven has disappeared. the chief of each nation of Teyvat had gathered around to discuss what occurred and to find a possible solution together. one way out, the most desperate and absurd one, is the legend of an artifact that gives the opportunity to talk to Celestia directly. so the order is passed to the adventurers’ guild all around the world: support each adventurer who is brave enough to start looking for their sole hope.

disclaimer : we often insert two readers (one for geto and one for gojo) to explore both the relationships in the same universe, amongst the same cast in order to not repeat the same contexts over and over again. In this way, we can also explore the platonic side with the different characters. for this same reason, we usually give them names to use instead of repeating y/n.

contents : characters introductions !

a/n : this was a very fun thing we came up with just to kill time, but we’re seriously considering into turning it into something a oneshot or fanfic. so look out because we might have something in store for this au 🐥

▏ ❛ 𝓒ALLING ALL THE ADVENTURERS ! AS ESTABLISHED BY THE CHIEFS’ OF THE SEVEN NATIONS OF TEYVAT THE ADVENTURERS’ GUILD WILL FINANCE EACH BRAVE ADVENTURER AND THEIR GROUP READY TO SACRIFICE THEMSELVES FOR THEIR NATION. REACH OUT TO THE NEAREST GUILD TO JOIN. YOU WILL BE PROVIDED WITH THE STANDARD EQUIPMENT AND BUDGET, ASIDE MATERIALS ABOUT THE LEGEND OF THE ARTIFACT.

BE AWARE THAT THE BUDGET MAY WARY OF THE PEOPLE (IN YOUR GROUP) AND THE CITY YOU COME FROM ! ❜

main characters :

⟣ GOJO SATORU

cryo — catalyst

• Satoru grew up in a small orphanage in Mondstadt. He always loved adventures even as a young kid, so it was to no one’s surprise that he became an adventurer as soon as he got out of that place.

• His vision manifested itself when he was just eight years old.

• He doesn’t feel particularly attached to Mondstadt and its people, being aware that deep down his roots lie somewhere else.

• Every night, he has troubles sleeping. This happens because his dreams seems to center around a very specific scenario, wherein a city is being destroyed amidst the screams of its inhabitants running away from the rubble in panic.

• When he first sees the Adventurers’ Guild flier, it happens in the middle of one of his many journeys. Of course, he didn’t need to think twice before grabbing the flying paper and shoving it inside his bag.

⟣ YURIKO

hydro — bow ; paired with gojo

• Yuriko was born and raised in Mondstadt. She is passionate about Teyvat’s history, notably about its legends and myths way long before Celestia took over. For this very reason, she likes to study ancient runes and languages.

• An introvert. That doesn’t mean she will sit prettily and follow orders from other people— no, she is incredibly stubborn when it comes to situations she deems worthy. This side of her reflects also in her friendships, showing a more caring side to the people she loves.

• Yuriko tends to instruct the others, along with Geto, about the route they should explore, easily getting along with him due to their similar personalities. She's seen as leader-like by the others thanks to her habit of giving valuable advices or to call the others back onto their mistakes.

• Her relationship with Gojo starts with lots of head butting. Satoru’s continuous jokes and teasing to get a reaction out of her are the cause of her daily stress. She hates his lack of collaboration, or his requests to spend more time in the city they’re currently at instead of thinking about the ongoing mission. With time Gojo will be the first one to fall for her, being able to discover Yuriko’s caring and selfless personality.

• She is not weak to his extravagant ways, often putting aside the heavy mask of the rigid, responsible person she is forced to wear.

⟣ GETO SUGURU

electro — claymore

• Geto comes from a small village— Konda Village, precisely. His parents are humble farmers.

• In the village he was known as the ‘golden boy’ for his kindness and altruistic behavior. When he received his electro vision, everyone thought that the mighty Raiden Shogun blessed him.

• During his teenage years, he decided to join a group of samurai which goal was traveling around Inazuma to help the next person. Unfortunately it didn’t last long.

• When their Archon disappears, the group of samurai he was a part of begins to succumb to darkness in order to survive. From that point onwards, Suguru starts his independent journey.

• But it really isn’t a secret how the shift affected him. So much, that he begins to doubt the powers of the Archons.

• When Suguru learns about the adventure in Mondstadt, he accepts it with the hope to find himself again.

⟣ MARJA

anemo — polearm ; paired with geto

• Marja comes from Fontaine. She is not a noble, but her parents are two famous lawyers in the whole country, which contributed in growing her dream to be just like them. It was thanks to them that she departs for this mission.

• She chose the Mondstadt expedition because in her eyes they are more laid-back with the rules and regulations.

• To no one’s surprise, she is an ambivert: she is easy to adapt to any situation at hand. Overall her personality is on the bubbly side, even childish at times. That doesn’t mean, though, that she isn’t capable of being serious and responsible.

• Thanks to her knowledge and understanding of the rules of every nation’s codex, she is tasked with getting the group out of trouble if needed. Marja uses her skills to obtain whatever she wants, able to talk for hours just to confuse the person she’s talking with.

• She has a crush for Geto, born from his responsible side (which she lacks in) and the way he takes care of the group. Often times she’s on the receiving end of advices from him, other times it is his scoldings whenever she makes mistakes. Another scenario that happened is when her decisions tends to backfire and worsen up the situation.

⟣ NANAMI KENTO

geo — sword

• Nanami’s family is originally from Mondstadt. His surname well-known in the city because of their past as hunters.

• His parents ended the tradition shortly after having him. Nowadays they run a bakery shop together, located in the city centre.

• Normally he wields a sword, but truth to be told, he holds to his heart a machete gifted by his grandfather.

• His parents has always been loving and supportive of him since he was a child, and they are the main reason he ended up studying aetiology at Sumeru’s Akademiya. Nanami belongs to the Vahumana Darshan. He wants to make his parents proud, but deep down he longs for a simple life running the bakery shop they own.

• When Nanami hears about the expedition, he leaves the studies behind to protect his friends that are taking part of this journey— one of them is Haibara.

⟣ IEIRI SHOKO

dendro — catalyst

• She was born and raised in Mondstadt. The majority of her family studied at Sumeru’s Akademiya, so it was only a matter of time until she enrolled too— she’s currently pursuing the Spantamad Darshan, elementalism.

• Don’t get her wrong, she’s happy her life is already planned by her parents. Every time her teacher asked her what she wanted to be when grown up, she would always shut her mind and say nothing.

• Still, when Haibara asked her to accompany him in this absurd mission, she couldn’t refuse. It’s not really a secret how Shoko has a soft spot for him.

• Again, she’s quite content with her life overall, yet when Haibara comes and explains the mission, she acts on her impulses. It would’ve been a waste to not take this chance. This opportunity served right in front of her.

• And thank the Archons she embarked on this journey, for every time the group would end up fighting over the smallest thing, she would be the one to bring back peace.

⟣ HAIBARA YUU

pyro — polearm

• Haibara is actually from Liyue, but ever since he was a baby he would travel together with his grandparents in their commercial trips to the neighboring nations. That’s the reason behind his current staying at Wangshu Inn.

• Even to these days he would accompany his grandpa around. Given his grandpa’s elderly age, nowadays the trips focus primarily around Mondstadt.

• It was thanks to these trips that he met and befriended both Nanami and Yuriko. Because of his relatively closeness with the border, their meetings had increased.

• Once he received his pyro vision, he re-discovered his passion and deep love for traveling. Especially when he get to help the people he meets on his path.

• He joins the expedition as a ‘first aid’ specialist. Just in case something would go wrong (he hopes it doesn’t).

⟣ AMANAI RIKO

hydro — catalyst

• Riko is the only daughter of the Amanai family, the one who is in charge of the Church of Favonius. Raised under a bell jar, she is very well mannered thanks to the private classes and the high level of education her parents provided her with. As expected from the only Amanai heir.

• It is told with greatest pride by her parents, that one day, amidst the usual afternoon mass, Riko got possessed by what was left of an old Archon who was able to spoke through her body. From that day on, her parents and the whole church believe that she is blessed— she’s the chosen one.

• However loved and kind she is, Riko hides a rebellious attitude, wanting to go explore the world instead of singing choir music. For this very reason, she ends up begging the head of the Adventurers’ Guild, Masamichi Yaga, to be part of the expedition.

• Needless to say, she joins it and successfully runs away from her family.

• Riko is the youngest one of the group. That’s also thanks to her fiery personality and endless energy, aside from the enthusiasm of finally achieving her dream. Still, even with such personality, she tends to listen those she deems responsible in the group— namely Shoko and Yuriko.

[deacblues]

mr. blues, how would you rip off a superhero? I really like speedster-type characters and love the design of golden-age flash, but I want to do my own thing instead of fanfic and avoid all the issues that come with using a pre-established character

I come to you since I believe you have a really good understanding superhero designs and would be able to give advice on how to get that kinda vibe right

You're in luck, because plenty of artists and writers have wanted to do this exact thing! Greats like Alan Moore, Rick Veitch, and Kurt Busiek have put out great Superman comics, each featuring a legally distinct man of tomorrow.

Their costumes are cut from the same cloth as Superman's (full-body tights, regal cape, chest-emblem), but use new details. A new reader might see True-Man and think "oh, he looks like Superman," which is probably just what Rick Veitch wanted. So, if you want to make a Flash story without using The Flash, that could be the way to go.

Or maybe you're just trying to make your own original speedster, and The Flash is just one of your inspirations. How could your design allude to the scarlet speedster without just copying him?

You could look at the inspiration behind The Flash! Jay Garrick, the golden age flash, sports the same helmet as Mercury. You could try borrowing different elements from Mercury, like his staff, or his flowing robe (I bet that would look great flowing behind him, mid-sprint).

And, while not as explicit, Garrick's costume (tights, sweater, helmet) isn't too far from what a college athlete in the 1940's might've worn. Remember, Garrick was introduced as "a scrub on the football team".

You can really wear your influences on your sleeve too! When designing Robin, Jerry Robinson drew heavily from N.C. Wyeth's Robin Hood:

Or you can let those influences filter naturally through your own sensibilities. Captain Britain and Jack Staff are both symbols of Britain, but they don't look very alike!

Inspiration could be anywhere, so look everywhere! Fairy tales, ancient myth, modern sportswear, high fashion and beyond—it's all up for grabs! Just keep it bright, keep it simple, and keep it fun!

[lunaryarn]

Multi-SMP Fanfic: Which Fate's Fairest To Us All - Ch 2

Multi-SMP Fanfic: Which Fate’s Fairest To Us All

Afterlife SMP, New Life SMP and Empires SMP S2 crossover combo!!! I'm back with more MythicalSausage meets MythicalSausage shenanigans!

Characters: Mythical Sausage (1st), Rusty the Copper Golem, PearlescentMoon, Scott Smajor (1st), Mythical Sausage (2nd), Hermes, Mythical Sausage (3rd), Scott Smajor (2nd), Rocky the Goblin, and a couple of briefly mentioned cameos at the end!

WARNINGS: Character death (but they get better because Afterlife/New Life rules are in play), body horror

Chapter Summary: Sausage and Hermes enter the strange portal in the Ancient City. Meanwhile, Myth needs to be convinced to use the one Smajor leads him to. Later, Hermes finds himself alone, but not for long; he picks up a new friend, and soon after meets another version of his father, who in turn has found a relic left in the labyrinth from an entirely different universe…

Sequel to Mirror Tenfold, Beyond the Wall and follows sometime after the events of Thou, O Kings, Fair Be You All (“sometime” being relative to how much time passes in each universe)

(Also available on Ao3!)

[ Chapter One ]

Chapter Two

Regardless of having tamed Dolores, Sausage hadn’t found a way to establish a rapport with Wardens in the wild despite a few attempts, so he and Hermes stuck to careful movements and whispers when they reached their destination.

Hermes absently squeezed the straps of his backpack as he stared up at the portal. “This thing is always so intimidating up close. I’ve always wondered why it’s so big. It’s like something made to accommodate Ghasts if they flew in and out of portals regularly. Or maybe the Deep Dark equivalent of a Ghast. Can you imagine what a sculk-infested Ghast would look like? …Uh-oh… That just made me think of Ghasts that produce a sonic shriek like a Warden. They could level cities doing that. Maybe that’s what happened to the people who used to live here…”

Sausage hummed in agreement, amused by how his son had apparently picked up his penchant for rambling off a stream of conscience, although at the moment Sausage was more focused on comparing the gemstone in the Staff with the ones in the portal frame – yet avoiding holding the Staff too close. He had begun to wonder what other powers Sanctuary’s magic had imbued the Staff with. He murmured out loud, “They’re definitely the same. But these are… pulsing with energy. I never paid that much attention to them before to notice that, but I was kinda busy watching out for Wardens most of the time, eh-heh.”

Hermes glanced over at him. “Maybe because they’re part of what activates the portal, while that one was only meant to point us in the right direction?”

“Maybe… But this portal itself isn’t active right now. I don’t feel any trans-dimensional energy coming from it. Only from the gemstones.” Sausage continued to scrutinize the gems as well as the stone they were embedded into.

Hermes curiously studied his father instead of joining the portal examination. “I don’t often see you being this serious.”

“All the times I’ve been called on for Guardian of Reality duties have always been dire. I have to keep track of any detail that might be important for stabilizing whatever is wrong in the multiverse. Make note of that for your training, by the way.”

Hermes mimed writing on paper. “Got it, Dad.”

Sausage took a deep breath then let it out in a pensive exhale. “All right. Time to test my first theory.” He slowly lowered the crook of the Staff toward the empty air above the bottom frame of the portal. A bright turquoise spark leapt from the Staff to the surrounding gemstones, creating a chain of sparks along the sides that continued across the top until halting at a spot near the middle.

Sausage squinted up at it. Hermes quietly scraped the heel of his right sandal against the floor, triggering the godly-blessed wings on the sides of both sandals, and took flight to make a closer inspection. “There’s one missing,” Hermes reported.

“Right,” Sausage muttered. He glanced at the crook of the Staff, then drew it away from the portal and gingerly touched the gemstone in it. “I get the sense we’ll be needing this, so I don’t think we’re meant to remove it and place it into the frame.”

Hermes studied the indentation where a gemstone would have been, then hovered just above Sausage and held out his hand. “Let me try something.”

Sausage considered for a moment, trying to discern Hermes’ plan without asking, but handed him the Staff anyway. Hermes returned to the top of the portal and very precisely angled the crook so that the gemstone could be pressed into the matching indentation.

There was no audible sound like a Nether or End portal would make, but they both felt a pulse ripple through the air. Small, pale blue particles began to waft from the portal. Hermes cautiously drew the Staff away from the frame. The portal remained active. The gemstone remained in the Staff.

“Good work,” Sausage complimented with a smile. “The official father-son team sets off to protect all of reality! Stay close to me once we’re on the other side. Oh, and let’s get that wool ready, just in case there’s more sculk sensors wherever this takes us!”

~*~

Myth saw right away what could potentially be a trap for him in the Ancient City that Smajor had led him to. The only thing stopping him from releasing a fireball or growling any louder was the risk of Wardens. “If you think I’m setting one foot closer to that portal—!”

“It’s to hold back the sculk vein!” Smajor hissed in response. They had a glaring contest as Myth pointed to the mycelium that lined the area around the base of the portal. “It’s been spreading like crazy every time I come down here to try to think of an approach to this rescue mission! That isn’t normal! Something is wrong with the sculk in this world. It’s a type of fungus, but one I can’t commune with.”

Myth peered around at both the sculk and sculk vein that was on the other side of the supposed barrier of mycelium. Although he couldn’t put his finger on it, he realized Smajor wasn’t lying. “So, how do you want to approach this? Do we enter at the same time and try to find each other first, or do we use that as an automatic ‘split up to cover more ground’ tactic and look for them?”

“The second one. I mean, if we find each other on the way, great, but…” Smajor trailed off as a thought occurred to him. He then sighed in resignation. “I’m putting my trust in you to not leave me in there if you find both of them before you run into me.”

The corners of Myth’s mouth curled upward. “I don’t think I can make that promise.”

Smajor stared blankly at him. “I guess that’s fair. Just keep in mind that when I do find the exit, I might just go through the first portal I find.”

The mirth evaporated from Myth’s face. “No, all four of us get out, because after that we need to sort out what happens to us extras.”

“Good. Yes. Exactly. Now, one idea I had was—” Smajor abruptly went still, only his eyes moving as he looked at something over Myth’s left shoulder. Then he pointed and hissed, “There! See! The sculk vein!”

Myth frowned with mistrust again, but turned his head a little to try to glimpse it from the corner of his eye. But he quickly – and accusingly – darted his gaze back to Smajor. The fungal mage continued to point. Myth reluctantly turned further around to get a real look.

He then saw several strands of sculk vein actively flailing around the side of the portal frame as if intending to get purchase on the front of it and reach in.

Smajor stepped past Myth and swiped his hand upward through the air. The mycelium at the base of the portal surged up over the deepslate beside the frame, converting it fully within seconds. The sculk vein shriveled away and collapsed into dried up clumps of blue-black, the spots of glowing turquoise extinguished.

Smajor stifled a gasp, swaying, but kept his feet firmly on the line of mycelium. “S-See… Th-That’s… Oh, going that fast really eats up my mana…” He took a moment to catch his breath. “I noticed it creeping toward the portal more and more each time, and thought it was merely some random zombies falling victim to the Warden, but then I realized it was definitely moving toward the portal on its own. You saw it… That’s not how sculk vein spreads.”

He paused to allow Myth to affirm the observation, but the phoenix only stared back stone-faced. Smajor continued,  “So, I did what I could to slow it down. I can’t convert whatever the frame is made of, but by backing up the natural spread of mycelium with a boost of my own power, I can convert types of stone with it.”

“And am I to believe that you aren’t actually controlling the sculk vein because it doesn’t spread on its own, and it is a type of fungus?”

Smajor sighed. “I know you’re never going to fully trust me ever again, but can you at least see the bigger picture – that there’s a bigger threat? Maybe we were sent here, specifically, to bring an outside perspective and save this world from what others don’t see happening right underneath them. Since, you know, we spent so much quality time around sculk, right underneath everything in our world.”

“Don’t tell me you’re homesick.” Myth rolled his eyes, then gave a half-hearted smirk. “Do you miss your cell? You were safe in there from the sculk, oddly enough.”

Smajor scowled at him. “I think you let yourself get infected with it. You seemed hell-bent on accepting some kind of punishment for becoming a cursed angel—”

Spits of flame flared off of Myth’s body. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll shut the—”

“Shhh!!” Smajor tried to hush the phoenix before looking around in a panic. “Enough!” he then whispered in a harsh tone. “Too much talking. It knows we’re here. I can feel some new vibrations.”

Myth doubted this claim, yet he did go silent to listen for himself. He then noticed for the first time that there weren’t even any sensors or shriekers in the immediate area. He did, however, pick up on an approaching sound that was quite familiar to him, but likely not to Smajor, so he uttered a quiet laugh and turned toward the staircase that led up to where they stood.

The trundling footsteps were a far cry from the stomping of a Warden, or even of the taller, iron cousins of the copper construct that crested the edge of the platform. Myth shook his head with a mild scowl before whispering, “Rusty, you shouldn’t have followed me down here. You would be safer at home with your buttons to keep you busy.”

Intuitively enough, Rusty also kept his voice down. “Are you sure about this?”

Myth’s expression became puzzled; he was unable to discern the meaning behind the word choice this time. He decided to ask. “Are you saying that because you were worried about me, or do you think it’s not safe at home?”

Rusty didn’t get a chance to reply. A sudden surge of sculk vein appeared over Smajor’s layers of mycelium, strands of it even grabbing at Myth’s feathers and trying to tangle around his legs – as well as around Rusty. Myth grabbed the little copper golem and held him aloft while directing flames from the bottom of his wings to try to burn it off – or at least discourage it from trying to grasp at more of his feathers.

Smajor planted his stance wide on the mycelium at his own feet, now the only section remaining free of sculk vein. He made a motion with both hands like if he was pulling on a rope. The sculk vein was yanked from Myth’s wings and legs. “Go!! I’ll hold it back! Find them! I can’t do this alone! I’ll go back in the cell when we get back to our world, if that’s what you want!”

Myth glanced at the portal. Yet then he narrowed his eyes at Smajor once again. “You were able to use power over that sculk vein. If I go without you, that leaves you to run free in this world. You were quick to take on vampire powers again – maybe that renewed your thirst for world conquest, and with this fungal power you could also reshape the world any way you want! And I’m the only one who knows how much of a threat you are!”

Smajor glared back at Myth bitterly. “So smart, thinking you figured it out. I wish you remembered the time when I was a vampire and you were a wither, and we worked together. Even if it didn’t last long. Even if everything went to hell for us after that. Even if I still hate you and want nothing to do with you ever again. But we keep getting pulled back to each other.” He was beginning to look visibly haggard from the effort of fighting the sculk vein with his magic.

Smajor continued, “Gods, but I would have loved nothing more than to go to the opposite side of this planet and never see you again. But I couldn’t. The question of my double was eating at me. Something kept burrowing into my brain, like the fungus itself, like spores infecting my thoughts to turn them toward wondering why. Why did I end up here? Why this world? Why did I become this?”

He tried to gesture to himself, but the drain on his mana made it too painful to do more than spread his fingers. He winced. “…And why, when I died, did I come right back to life the same? If you want to witness that, then go ahead. I’m about to die from overexerting my mana. But for those precious seconds that I’m unconscious until I revive, the sculk will overrun you and your little friend. You can make a choice, Myth – or I can make it for you!”

Smajor’s face twisted in agony as he forced his left hand to move upward. Myth felt the ground shift under his feet. First it turned into mycelium, then a small red mushroom grew – and then it abruptly sprang up into a full grown, tree-sized mushroom, flinging Myth upward and at just enough of an angle to throw him and Rusty into the portal.

The last thing Myth saw before the portal’s magic swept him away was Smajor collapsing to the ground. The phoenix’s thoughts on the matter clung to the question of whether it was all an act or not, but then the world turned into swirls of blue-black and he resigned himself to merely hoping that Rusty didn’t count as a flesh-and-blood entity so they wouldn’t get separated.

~*~

“Dad? Dad??” Hermes called out in confusion. He knew he should keep his voice down in this strange, dimly-lit place, but having landed on the other side of the portal only to find himself alone made him worry.

In fact, he didn’t even see the portal he would have exited from. The solid wall at his back was devoid of any markings or indication that it even was where he had exited from. Hermes gazed upward, wondering if he had fallen; the wall was certainly tall enough for him to be unable to see if a matching portal was on top of it. His connection to the skies could have been what saved him from a splattery fate on the floor, but his human father wasn’t going to be as fortunate.

Hermes listened, but didn’t hear Sausage calling from elsewhere. He scuffed his heel against the ground and began an attempt to fly high enough to get a glimpse of what might be above.

He saw no colors except for dim blue-black. He spotted a few drifting particles, but they were everywhere, rather than concentrated near a portal. And the top of the wall still kept stretching upward… Hermes set his face in determination and let some demi-god power flow, his eyes glowing slightly as he summoned a boost to get higher. He couldn’t maintain it in a place like this, with apparently no atmospheric currents to grab hold of – only an oppressive, unseeable ceiling somewhere even higher up above – but he did clear the top of the wall before the boost ran out.

Hermes’ eyes widened in shock. Dismay flooded his stomach.

A gigantic labyrinth surrounded him on all sides with uninterrupted lines of the same towering, taupe walls disappearing into the distance. A split-second reflex had him lunging forward to grab the edge of the wall just as he began to lose altitude. He pulled himself onto it and huffed for breath, bent over from the brief adrenaline rush caused by what appeared to be an insurmountable task.

This was no time to feel overwhelmed. It was time to plan.

He already had the advantage of being able to view the place from on top of it. He would have no trouble jumping over the gaps between walls. He could leave a trail of markers to keep track of where he had been. Even though the ground was far away, his eyesight was godly; he was confident he would be able to spot his father below as he searched.

What did worry him was how Sausage might hold up in the meantime. Would he be worried about his son despite Hermes’ experience visiting other realities? Would being in a place like this raise concerns about Hermes’ ability to navigate, or would Sausage be struggling to fathom the size of the walls while worrying about tracking his supplies, or…

Hermes’ consolation was that his father would at least still have the Staff of Sanctuary to aid him if necessary.

He hastily built a marker using the wool he had brought along, choosing four different colors for each cardinal direction and placing a torch in the middle. He hopped across the nearest surrounding walls to extend the directional indicators, then gently clasped the earring with a pressed flower inside before murmuring, “Magic of Sanctuary, if you can hear me in this place, please guide me to the magic of the Staff.”

He would have chosen the words my father, but it might be better to invoke the prime source in a dimension that felt so closed-off.

Hermes shut his eyes and waited to feel any kind of tug or general whisper of magic. It came across fuzzy, so he wasn’t completely certain, but he turned to his left and opened his eyes to survey the layout of the walls ahead. He then set off, leaping from one top edge to the next, occasionally setting down a correspondingly colored marker while constantly observing the ground below for any sign of his father.

After what could have been half an hour, he began to consider making a tall marker to denote where he had stopped so he could turn back and try a different direction. He happened to take one last glance downward and saw something moving below – the first time he had seen anything at all besides the occasional crumbling statue or dried-up fountain.

Figuring that he could fly back up if it turned out to only be one of this dimension’s inhabitants – whether sapient or not – Hermes leapt from the wall. His sandals slowed his descent as he neared the ground, allowing him to land without a sound.

Hermes pondered the small creature he was now looking at. He was reminded of his robotic sibling, Sunny. But this smaller metallic creation was made completely out of copper and reminded him of an iron golem. “Hello there, coppery little fellah. Are you native to this dimension?”

The little construct didn’t immediately respond. The antenna on top of its head bobbed up and down.

Maybe it was trying to process his words?

Of course, there was no way of telling if it had any of the same capabilities as Sunny. Which would actually put it closer in relation to an iron golem, after all.

Hermes decided to keep talking. Maybe some key word would register. “Did someone happen to send you out to guide me around? I’m trying to find my dad at the moment. We got separated when we entered the portal and I haven’t seen any trace of him in this massive maze yet.”

The copper golem abruptly looked up at him. “What did you say?”

Hermes smiled in delight. “Oh, you can talk! That’s helpful. Do you know the name of this place? I’ve traveled to a few different dimensions, but I’ve never seen this one before. It makes you wonder why or even how someone built a place like this! Maybe it was originally for the Wardens, before they ended up in the Overworld. Reminds me of another legend from ancient history… Huh! Well, they are called Ancient Cities, after all!”

“Are you sure about this?” asked the copper golem.

“Well, they aren’t called Modern Cities, now are they? At least where I’m from. Or did you mean the theory about the Wardens?”

“No.”

Hermes thought back on everything he had just said. “Are you here to guide me?”

“No.”

“Are you native to this dimension?”

“No.”

“Did… you come from the Overworld?” Hermes now realized this might have been one of those times where he should be careful about which details he revealed about himself.

“Yes.”

The young man did a little more thinking. While he was busy with that, the copper golem started to walk off, continuing in the direction it had been heading. Hermes followed for the moment, trying to figure out which standing empire might have the technology to build a sentient construct. His first thought would have been that it was sent by his godly parent for the exact purpose of being a guide – for who else but a deity could have sight over a gigantic labyrinth? – however, copper was an odd choice for a god who favored gold the most.

The goblins were inventive creatures and would certainly have a steady supply of copper that they had mined up, and this fellow was around their height. On the other hand, Cogsmeade was known for technological advancements…

Hermes glanced ahead to see their path was about to take them into an intersection. “Hey, so—” He dashed in front of the copper golem to stop a possible random turn. “—Can you tell me where you’re going? Or if there’s someone you’re looking for? I can scout around a bit.”

“That’s an odd thing to say.”

“Well, I don’t mean to brag, but I have a few useful powers to help with that. What about you? Any tools or sensors in there telling you where to go?” Hermes was hoping to find out something about this golem.

He was caught off guard by the sadness within the reply. “…No…”

“Oh. I see… I’m getting the feeling that you’re as lost as I am.”

“Yes.”

“Poor little fellah. Here, you know what?” Hermes leaned over to grasp the copper golem under the arms and picked it up. “I’ll carry you for a while, and we can cover ground faster! In fact, if you’re not afraid of heights—”

“What’s wrong with you?!” The golem began to wave its arms around, forcing Hermes to adjust his grip.

“Hey, hey— easy now! I’m just trying to say that I can fly. I can get us on top of the walls to get a better look around! We might spot your person and my dad more quickly!”

The golem immediately stopped struggling. “Okay.”

Hermes gave a relieved smile. He wasn’t in the habit of lugging robots along on flights, and having one flail around at the same time didn’t make the job convenient. He waited, however, until they had passed through the intersection, sparing a glance through the other passageways before sticking to the direction that the golem had been heading, then performed his trick to reach the top of the wall again. This time he aimed to land on top rather than grabbing it like last time.

He almost fell short despite his plan; he felt slightly light-headed afterward, so he made sure to wait a moment before he started walking. After that, he remained on the same wall for several minutes rather than jump across right away. He wanted to ensure he would still be steady on his feet, plus it might help the little golem get used to being carried around.

Hermes couldn’t contain his curiosity for very long, though. “Can you tell me if you have a name?”

“No.”

“Do you even have one?”

“Yes.”

“But you can’t tell me?”

“No.”

Hermes ruminated out loud, “Hmm. Might be one of those things where I need to guess the correct phrase.”

“No,” the golem replied with insistence.

Hermes chuckled. “Mate, you’re an odd one.” He paused to glance toward the ground. He was feeling better now, so he hopped across the tops of the next two walls then glanced down again.

Onward they went, not seeing anything much of interest, until they came across a wall that had partially collapsed in one spot. Hermes leapt down to check out the rubble below – if just to distract himself from his mounting worry about how long it was taking to find his father.

There was the initial pile of rubble but also larger chunks of the wall that looked like they had been flung in both directions down the passageway. Hermes set the copper golem down to scrutinize the scene. “Seems something knocked it down, and either the same thing – or something else – threw parts of it… off? Did someone try to bury something? No way of telling how long it’s been like this. If someone was trying to stop a hostile creature, they might have succeeded, and it freed itself later. I’ll stick with that theory. It sounds more positive. Right, my coppery friend?”

Hermes looked around and saw the golem seemed to be making an investigation of its own by staring at the ground just past one of the larger pieces of the wall. Hermes went over, not seeing anything right away, but it was as good a direction to head as any.

Then he saw the scorch marks on the floor, which was apparently what had caught the copper golem’s attention. “You worried about fire, little fellah?”

“Yes.”

“I could understand why, since you’re made of metal.”

“Are you sure about this?”

Hermes laughed quietly. “As far as I know copper is still considered to be a metal.”

“That’s an odd thing to say.”

“Is it really?” Hermes wondered if the construct considered itself to be made of flesh.

“Yes.”

Hermes was suddenly struck by a realization. “You’ve got limited speech programming!”

“Yes.”

“Well, that will do it, then! I’m sorry I didn’t notice sooner. Is that why you can’t tell me your name?”

“Yes.”

“I see, I see. I’ll keep it in mind. Should we have a gander at where this trail leads? I have some experience with the aftermath of an environment being burned, so I would say this didn’t happen recently, which means we’re probably safe from whatever caused this. No promises about anything currently around that might be shooting out flames, so we’ll be careful.”

The antenna on the golem’s head bobbed almost in an excited manner, although its reply was a calm, “Okay.”

The line of scorch marks varied as they followed it, as if it had been created by uneven blasts. The largest singe mark marring the ground was at the end of the passageway, which led out into an open area with a fountain in the middle.

There was also plenty of evidence that a massive battle had taken place here at some point in the past.

There were smashed pieces of a giant statue scattered around and some of the surrounding walls had holes in them. Some looked like more partial collapses, but also appearing as if something had been thrown right through them to dent the next wall behind them.

Hermes recognized another type of scorch mark that danced over the vertical surface of a wall that was just past the fountain. He walked over to touch it, murmuring, “Lightning… and a… trident impact…”

A strained cough rent the air, then a quiet yet hoarse voice rasped, “Who… Who’s there?”

Hermes let out a soft gasp and spun toward the fountain. A figure wearing a dark red cloak was seated against it. He hadn’t noticed them among the unmoving debris. The person coughed again. It sounded like… “Dad?” Hermes whispered.

The thing stopping him from hurrying over was the question of where his father would have gotten the red cloak from. Neither of them had packed one, and Sausage had been wearing his dark blue one when they entered the portal.

The golem then proclaimed, “Yes!” and ran over to the figure. It waved its arms in the air while dashing back and forth in a semi-circle, shouting, “What’s wrong with you? What’s wrong with you? What’s wrong with you?”

“R-Rusty?” the person said, the voice now definitely sounding like Hermes’ father. “Shh. Rusty, I’m happy to see you, too – well, ehhh, sort of but not really, I’ll explain in a minute – but keep your voice down!” They coughed again. “There’s something living in this labyrinth and it’s not pleasant!”

Rusty went still, then stepped up close and seemed to gently place a hand on the person’s knee before whispering, “What’s wrong with you?”

The figure pulled down their hood. From where he stood, Hermes saw a full head of hair and a beard that matched the color and style of his father’s when he was younger.

Well, that changed everything. This man must be one of his father’s alternates from another reality. Hermes swiftly made his presence known, coming over to stand three steps behind Rusty. “Um, hello, sir. I found this little guy as I was searching around this place for my dad. I figured I could help – Rusty, was it? – find you, it seems. Are you all right, by the way? Did you get hurt, or… do you just happen to have a cough? I’m Hermes, by the way.”

Blue eyes with black sclera and what appeared to be runny mascara lifted to meet Hermes’ gaze. That was the face of his father alright. Hermes smiled, albeit awkwardly.

It was always a little weird running into doubles of his parents in other realities.

“Well, hello there, Hermes! I’m Mythical J. Sausage. The ‘J’ is silent.” The answering smile looked weary as the man tried to push himself up using the fountain to brace against. Hermes grasped the other’s arm and helped him stand. “Whoa! Strong grip there! Well, you do look the part of a strapping young god. What type of hybrid are you? I’m a Ghast Mage.” He held out his hand, palm facing upward. Small wisps of smoke rose up from his skin. His smile faltered when it was all that appeared.

Hermes was too busy puzzling over the word ‘hybrid’ to comment on the lack of example, although the context clues of smoke and Ghast made him guess there was supposed to be some kind of fiery explosion involved. “Um, I guess you could say I’m a storm hybrid. I can summon lightning among other atmospheric-related things.”

“Oh, that sounds awesome!” The Ghast Mage’s eyes lit up, taking on an orange hue, but then they squeezed shut as he coughed. “Sorry. Yes, I am kind of hurt, actually. I, uhm, got a dose of my own fireball medicine.” He leaned on the fountain again while Rusty rushed to his side, waving his little arms in the air again.

Hermes watched with a faint smile. The little golem’s concern was endearing. “Sorry to hear that. You said there was something living in this place? I haven’t seen a trace of anything yet except a wall back there that came down in one spot, which is what got our attention to come over this way.” He paused to glance around. “It sure looks like a fight went down here, but I can tell those lightning strikes are old.”

“Oh, speaking of lightning!” The Ghast Mage leaned to his right and picked up something that scrapped the floor with a metallic sound. “I found this while searching for the best place to hide! It was really dusty and I can’t tell if it has any enchantments, but maybe you can use it! I just kinda used it as a walking stick to make it over to here.” He smiled as he held out an ordinary-looking trident.

“Thanks! Actually, that’s very helpful.” Hermes took the trident while trying not to seem overexcited; a trident was just what he needed to augment his power. He held it underneath the tines while running his other hand over the haft. “Hmm. It feels like there’s… something imbued in it. But, like… in its core, not cast upon it… It’s like… someone very powerful once touched it.”

“I’ll trust your stormy senses on that. And I’m just as surprised as you to see a spot like this! I stumbled on it while running away. This is one of the few places I’ve seen so far that isn’t half-covered in sculk. Or what might be sculk? It’s the wrong color – like someone combined sculk and mycelium!”

Hermes’ brows lowered in consideration as he thought back to all the areas of the labyrinth that he had seen on the way. “I haven’t noticed anything like that in the direction I came from, but I was checking for a person, not the color of the floor.”

“You would notice it, believe me! Sculk makes sense, because the portal was in the Deep Dark, but mycelium is only on Mooshroom Islands!"

“Tell me more. I was beginning to wonder how this place could be so empty. Sounds like I just happened to be in the most boring part of it.” Hermes sat down on the side of the fountain to listen to the Ghast Mage tell of his time in the labyrinth. It could give him an idea of what to expect out there when he resumed the search for his father.

To Be Continued in [ Chapter Three ]

[gust-jar-simulator]

Half of what makes Ganondorf so compelling for me is the mythic impact of him. He’s The Guy. The red to the blue and green. The Din to the Nayru and Farore. The man, the myth, the legend. I genuinely love the way the LOZ series is set up, so a character can have so much type because you know who this is even if you don’t know who he is in the context of a new story. I’d prefer if it wasn’t totally relied on, but hey. He’s the Demon King.

With that in mind, since I really want to write Vaati as an actual threat as opposed to an extremely angry rat (it’s tempting though), I might as well take notes. Vaati isn’t Ganondorf, and I don’t want him to be, but he is a legendary enemy. It’s difficult because it’s hard to see his overarching impact- Ganondorf has a presence even outside of his own actual actions, due to the presence of his culture and impact on history.

Vaati doesn’t have that. The Minish are in one game, and the other children of the forest are either fairies or kokiri/koroks, which have different associations in the fandom consciousness. Wind magic is almost never used. Even if I stretch it to say music is a type of wind magic, off the top of my head that leaves us mostly with Wind Waker and Cadence of Hyrule. It’s difficult to give Vaati a presence because he has no impact outside of his own games, and in his own games he’s kind of got Saturday morning cartoon villain motives.

So the final way I can think of to make him intimidating is to work on his motives and methods, and I can definitely do that, but. C’mon. He’s an ancient demon. He came from a race that can only be seen by the pure of heart and turned himself into a dark god, that’s cool as hell. He’s even a recurring villain. How do I give him some weight, some terror, some oh shit impact?

Anytime I see him in a fanfic, I’m delighted by his presence, but he’s rarely actually intimidating in the same way Ganondorf effortlessly exudes. Maybe because Vaati has this… desperation, this need to be a god, that’s harder to take seriously compared to Ganondorf’s more methodical destruction. Vaati needs you to take him seriously, while Ganondorf doesn’t care if you do.

I’ve been working on puzzling it out, and I think I have the start of a detail to tease out- Vaati comes from a culture where kindness is innate. Cruelty is literally a foreign, alien concept to the Minish, from what I can gather, and he was learning magic in an academic context, so I could easily see him wanting to make a study of the concept. He chose cruelty, for one reason or another- maybe he hated the “servile” position of his people, maybe he wanted to see what happens if you use cruelty as a magic base instead of kindness, maybe he started researching things he shouldn’t and when he got negative feedback he lashed out because you don’t understand, I’m learning, isn’t that what’s important here? Why don’t you support me? I thought our whole wretched culture is about that.

Something about “nobody leaves home unless home is the mouth of a shark”. He’s the wind, I think the thing most likely to set him off is limitations. He’s an eye, endlessly observing, studying, watching, learning. He’s a bat, a crosser of boundaries. Of course you have to seal him with the four elements. If it was just one, steel and stone, he’d figure a way out. Of course you have to seal him with the primordial forces of nature. He’s a child of nature, in the end.

I think if I want to make him terrifying, I need to give him a simpler, more elegant motive than “rule Hyrule as a god, an angry god”. The major motivations of people are: money, power, fame, sex, and the desire to be great. Vaati might kidnap maidens and call himself a god, but I think those are expressions of a need to be great, not motives on their own. He wants power because he wants to break his limits, all limits, wants to become something more, and that is rooted in a small child’s memory where he was told by his teacher that there are some things one Shouldn’t Do. If he hates limits, the simplest solution I have for why he hates Ezlo so deeply is because the man tried to limit him. Whether it was through implying people don’t love a monster, or just saying that he’s a Minish and he shouldn’t study cruelty because of his species, or something else.

He’s conscious of his own cruelty in a way a lot of villains aren’t. Even a few incarnations of Ganondorf are doing what he does for his people, because Hyrule is an active threat and he wanted his people to live. Vaati doesn’t give a shit about good intentions, he doesn’t need them or want them. He just won’t be limited by anything ever again, mentors or mortality.

Too bad for him the Four Sword exists. I wonder how furious that makes him.

[mandala--moons]

Hello! Thanks for reading. This is part of a collection of head-canon postings I wanted to make regarding my current fanfic’s universe and lore. The fanfic takes place in an altered omen!verse, along with bits and bobs from the alternate ending of Episode Ignis, as well as when FFXV was still Verses XIII. I’ve always been super fascinated by the Omen trailer, and what would have to occur for said trailer to end up happening. Also, I deserve to be self-indulgent. This is a VERY personal, non-factual imagining of my own headworld regarding FFXV and is really not meant to be taken as a legit theory. Please don’t come for me I’m just a nerd. 

——

The origins of the Six, as gods of the Cosmogony are murky at best given the lore we’re exposed to within the game, only giving us bits and pieces through Noctis’ eyes. However, a theory I’ve always liked and enjoyed is the idea that the Six are not innate protectors of only Eos, but have traveled to and fro from various worlds and planets, where they deem themselves needed, or perhaps out of necessity. 

It’s been stated I believe, by a few producers and directors, that FFXV, FFX, and FFVII all take place within the same universe. (FFXIII is probably in here too, but I’m not done playing the series lol)  It’s never really been truly elaborated too much about what this means, or in what way. A popular speculation is that all of these games are within the same universe but, different planets. We see, in the only opportunity we really have in the ruined Insomnia that both Spira, and Shinra are mentioned. It could of course, be written off that these are just winks for final fantasy fans, and implications, I however like the idea that FFX, and FFVII are different instances of the same planet, different time periods. 

I present to you this idea FFVII’s Midgar, is in fact XV’s ancient city of Solheim.

I don’t particularly have any hard evidence for this, mind you, just a collection of loose brain worms that have been clunking around in my mind since XV’s release. 

For my fanfic, the first human, upon whom Ifrit bestowed his gift of fire to, was a longstanding predecessor of Rufus Shinra, and that it is remnants of Shinra’s technology, that form the civilization of Solheim. 

And thus, this introduces us to the real meat of our head-canon/theory, where the six come into play. We see the Six deities, Ifrit, Shiva, Leviathan, Bahamut, Ramuh, and Titan appear as materia summons in Final Fantasy VII initially. The timeline for FFXV calls the period of Solheim, the Cosmogony, the Age of Myth, so let’s start there. 

THE AGE OF MYTH 

I’ve always been a big fan of the idea that the scourge was something infecting the planet, perhaps due to the gods themselves. A lot of people posit that the gods traveled from world to world, and while I like this idea, I imagine gods spend quite a long time on their particular world, and that civilizations don’t particularly seem all that long to them. Shiva and Bahamut in the 2nd FFXV Comic Anthology compare humans to flowers, and state that they’ll only grow if cultivated correctly like particularly grouchy botanists. 

I believe the Six and their messengers and minor deities arrived in a similar fashion to Jenova (I have another head-canon post planned bearing the similarities between the Goddess Eos from Verses, and Jenova and think that they MAY be one and the same)

 they both got lil weird wings. lol The gods are quite eldritch and almost unfathomable in their states in XV, which is one of the things I really like about the series, and I like the idea that the parts of them we see, are in fact their true forms. The summons in VII are more minor forms of the Six that we know and love, perhaps like the way grecian gods interacted with the world around them in their own myths. 

It’s loosely possible, that this was the the beginning of the starscourge, and that even directly interacting with minor forms of the Six could transmit the parasite known  as Plasmodium that causes the scourge. We’re shown in XV that even interacting with the gods for long periods of time had detrimental effects on Luna’s health, and that was her whole bloodline’s purpose. Who’s to say ancient Midgar/Solheim stood a chance.

 However, as Shinra became more more corrupted, and post advent children the more these magical crystals or Materia were used for humankind’s own ends. Ifrit believed this to be a betrayal of mankind, and was a denial of the sacred bond between humans and their deities, thus igniting the war that struck FFVII’s world to ruin, the gods warred over this, and eventually slept to allow themselves a clean slate. Jenova, or Eos, was then imprisoned in what we know as Pitioss. 

Afterwards, the gods then slept, awakening next to bestow the ring upon the Lucis Caelum line some centuries later. 

I'll be updating this with a part 2 soon!

[ultfreakme]

You must be in a tumblr bubble because how have you never seen posts with thousands notes claiming most classical literature is actually fanfiction of bible and the rest is of mythology. Like, this isn’t a hot take on tumblr, unfortunately.

Probably because I have a life outside of tumblr and curate my experience, but yes, I have seen posts about how Paradise Lost is just Bible fanfic and Dante's Inferno is self-insert fanfiction, but mostly from people who watch OSPD videos and say it as a joke. It's a major simplification of about a dozen concepts but okay, if you look at it from the point of definitions, yeah, Paradise Lost & the Divine Comedy are technically fanfiction; they are based on pre-existing work, with Dante there's irl people in scenarios they've never been in, etc etc.

Although I have never seen anyone saying any particular fanfic is a literary masterpiece that must simply be taught in academic settings, which is what that OP's post was actually implying.

And here's the thing; I think fanfic has the potential to be considered a classic. Because, what makes let's say, the Divine Comedy so important? It's not because it's old, but because it struck a nerve among the masses, it did things against the societal structure no one dared to do before, it transformed the Italian language as we know it, it's this carefully, excruciatingly crafted work in terms of sentence structure and is primarily a theological exploration. Now this stands out also because the og canon content, the Bible, is MASSIVE in influence. That thing STILL shapes social norms, conventions and expectations.

No current fanfiction now will ever come to be seen as a true classic unless the canon thing the fic is based on reaches Bible levels of influence on society, which is going to take centuries. Same can be applied to Greek Myths in general(also in both these cases the canon thing is also tied to social structure and religion which large portions of the world follow). We don't want to equate the term 'fanfiction' to that stuff because it feels like it's beyond that but technically, yeah. It's fanfiction.

But the term fanfiction itself is extremely recent, it was said first in 1939 and therefore carries temporal contexts and definitions. It's why it feels juvenile and uncomfortable assigning such a new, and initially frowned-upon term to classics. Being angry about what is and what isn't fanfiction depends entirely upon how you view the term 'fanfiction'.

For me, it is value-neutral and doesn't immediately denote lowered quality these days because at the most fundamental level, fanfiction is literary work based on pre-existing media. But if you add the current cultural context in which fanfiction is primarily written, ie., posted online by anyone and everyone with a desire to write, mostly to fulfill shipping fantasies or certain character scenarios canon didn't provide, then I can see why people would consider giving the label of fanfiction to the classics an insult or "shooting too high".

Maybe 'fanfiction' isn't fitting because of all the social stigma around it, maybe it doesn't apply because it feels like trying to apply modern story beats and terms to ancient mythology. What specifically, is making someone uncomfortable about the term 'fanfiction' on the classics? What the hell even is "fanfiction" in the first place because you could argue that The Song of Achilles is canon-compliant POV change fanfiction but its advertised as a retelling. Pride & Prejudice & Zombies also counts for fic. I think there's a good discussion to be had on what makes "fanfiction" as we know it now what it is because even I think assigning the term to Divine Comedy or Paradise Lost feels wrong. Maybe it's about intent? The classics are written with the need for social change or to make people see things different; art for life's sake. But most fic these days are purely art for art's sake- it is peak self-indulgence and self-expression.

I'm looking it up and people keep narrowing the definition of "fanfiction" as like

Amateur writing

Based on copyrighted characters

Without permission from og creator

Now that whole "copyright" concept complicates things because Romeo & Juliet? Not originally by Shakespeare. Dude borrowed characters from a different play, pretty sure he changed Juliette's name, and he wrote it when the og was only recently made. The concept of "copyright" and "author permission" is also VERY recent. What even counts as actually "amateur" because Van Gogh is considered a pro now but when he was alive he only sold one painting apparently so back then he could've been classified as "amateur"?

I have fully derailed. I forgot what I wanted to say-- Okay yeah I'm aware people say the classics are fanfiction, and in a way, yeah, it is, depending on how the individual defines "fanfiction".

[alatismeni-theitsa]

https://at.tumblr.com/gothhabiba/i-wonder-how-many-of-the-people-beginning/693hipjn05t1

isn't the situation basically the same here?

Kind of but also not exactly I think. I personally resort to arguments like "I don’t know how to explain to you that Dante’s Inferno is not the same as your 100k word slowburn enemies-to-lovers Destiel pornographic coffeeshop AU" because these types of people think so simplistically that they are not going to grasp it otherwise.

I mean, they can't even separate the context of fanfiction from the context of a culture organically developing its traditional stories imbued with local spirit. When they equate the two, they clearly haven't researched how cultures value ancient stories and why they keep them. And I don't owe them a full education on the matter, since the simple thought of another culture being different from theirs never crossed their mind. So, cue the above argument.

I support and value fanfiction, and I very much consider it literature. Good and valuable literature. Masterpieces have been written on fanfiction sites. And sure, fanfic can show us a lot about the modern age. For example... it can tell us that many modern westerners writing Greek myth fanfiction don't give a shit about Greek culture and the gods and other heritage figures, and how this notion spread to other countries through uscentrism 🤷 Just because it can be researched, it doesn't mean the results will always be noble and wholesome.

I also think that saying Greek ancient works and stories are "a bunch of classics written by old white men and canonised by other old white men" has misogynistic undertones because it doesn't acknowledge the big role of women in oral storytelling. Like, c'mon hasn't your grandma ever told you a local fairytale or the story of a saint from her community??

It isn't the whiteness or the maleness that makes these stories valid. Like... for real?? That's such a USian take. How tf cares. We value them because it's our damn heritage, because, no matter what, that's all we have from our ancestors! People, just swift your point of view, okay? Not everything must be understood on your own terms. Sometimes... foreign people exist. If you can't see their way, if you can't accept their values, how tf you are gonna write something about ancient foreigners and the beings they revered the most???

Aaaanyway, my point is, I am not on any of the sides completely. I just want people to get some context when I use that argument.

Ok guys, you won. In 2023 the Mahabharata has the same cultural value as Destiel Coffeeshop AU. Case closed. 🎇🎇🎇🎇

[writingdesknashu]

Write What You Like

Whenever I get self-conscious about my writing, I think about this nugget of advice. It's one of those things that's easy to say—a classic Step 1 in the list of writing wisdom.

But it’s also easy to forget.

In some way, big or small, we create to get recognition. Regrettably, we want to be seen and appreciated for who we are. The less you're like everyone else, though, the harder that is.

And writers?

Yeah, we're different.

Hell, we’re different from each other, even. Even when we like the same things, we build totally different universes in our heads.

Take me, for example. I grew up on Sailor Moon, Powerpuff Girls, Spider-Man, DBZ, Digimon, and Power Rangers. I’d bet the last breath of one of my haters that you've seen something inspired by one or more of those mashed together—but you wouldn’t know we had the same influences. Why? Because we all take different parts of what we love.

We might create similar things, but we’ll never create the same thing. Even when we’re working in someone else’s universe (looking at you, fanfic writers!).

So, when it comes to recognition, we’re stuck with two options:

Conform or Persist.

Conform, and make your universe the same as everyone else’s. People might not look at it otherwise.

Or...

Persist as you are and keep waiting for some sudden, magical change.

Which brutally cynical path do we take?

Well, that depends on what we want.

And that brings me back to one of the simplest pieces of writing advice:

“Write what you like.”

Because it’s just like being yourself.

In fact, it is being yourself.

You could conform, lose track of who you are, and find comfort in fitting in...

Or...

You can persist as the person who picked up that pen all that time ago.

But let’s be real: that doesn’t put bread on the table, right? Not without showing up for yourself. And when you write what you like, that’s exactly what you’re doing.

In conclusion? Read my novel Dark Orange: Revive! It’s a post-apocalyptic story about gods and ancient knowledge.

Also... check out The Other Side of Myth on RoyalRoad! It’s a shonen-inspired portal fantasy about a scarlet-eyed girl tangled in the fate of two worlds.

But above all, know this: I like my stories. I’d never write them any other way.

And I like liking my stories.

Because honestly? I couldn’t write them otherwise.

[shoecrabs]

! long-ish post !

I'm not good at talking about this stuff and I'm no expert but here's my piece.

Unfortunately, yes.

As a non-American, picking up on the sheer Americaness of Rick's works was easy, even as a younger kid ngl and that's fine.

However, what saddens me the most about Rick's portrayal of the gods and our culture is the unapologetic whitewashing of them. I understand why he simplified the figures and stories and can therefore pass it off as him simply teaching the mythos for kids to get interested in the real history and culture and such, but the American imperialist undertones stop me from fully embracing his world without a bitter taste in my mouth.

For example, the USA being the centre of a 'western civilization'in tLT didn't sit right with me at all. If understand if it was the gods being ethnocentric but nope it was American pride from distinctly Not American beings. This kind of thing is pervasive in the whole series as language keeps being appropriated to fit foreigb societal moulds. And honestly? some of the community continue this trend in the opposite. I remember years ago someone calling Rick's choice for Medusa to have a head scarf racist despite many traditional (not ancient) Greek outfits having a form of headscarves (especially within our older generations) which is how i interpreted her design so theres more grey area on this one. And even within the LGBT+ community (hello fellow fruits) who insist that Patroclus and Achilles were dating without considering the nuance of cultures, or those who jump onto the 'they're Greeks of course they're all gay' tidal wave that's hit the internet.

from my observations, It's a common thing within the USA and the UK to jump onto anything Greek and/or Roman to build (usually whitewashed) ideas and standards to claim as their own so it gets everywhere haha. They love to claim this as their legacy, normalizing the impacts this does to both us and them. So I believe Rock's exposure lead him to unfortunately chosing to present Greek myths as an American Dream-like Fantasy rather than with something more accurate and respectful. Annoying, but not unexpected.

tldr:

No, We don't have the same interpretations as the USA/West, and we did not hand them over a blueprint for a ""Flame of the West"" for the gods to fly around and land somewhere convenient for the author to write about.

It gets irritating dealing with them taking our stories and reading them through rose tinted glasses but what's been done is done

I really do hold a special place for these books in my heart and really enjoy the mesh of modern and ancient in Rick's reinterpretation. I just wished more people remembered the difference between the Funny Mythology Fanfic vs the Actual Myths and how to make it more authentic to the actual stories. Hopefully what Rick has done was unintentional bias that's going to be sorted in the show.

So I was recently searching through academic essays and I found a really interesting one about the Americanization of greek mythology in Percy Jackson. I had to post a part of it here because more people need to read this:

"Slowly by looking at the structure of the stories, the narration technique and the perspective that Riordan has used to narrate the whole story of Percy Jackson and his friends, is actually Americanization of the Greek ways, culture, traditions and thus its mythology as well.

Mythologies of different cultures are like collections of many stories that have been

created by keeping in mind the roots, traditions of the culture in which they take shape. Though these stories evolve, they always possess the essence of the culture that they belong to. When a person from another culture looks at it, tries to analyse it and then rework it, he/she knowingly or unknowingly ends up putting his/her own perspective into the interpretation of these stories. The main reason behind this is, that the person belongs to a particular culture and thus his/her perspective, beliefs, faith, tradition etc. play a major role in the way he/she looks at the myths of the other culture. Such a person is also called an Ethnographer.

The bigger problem arises when an ethnographer not only reworks the mythology

but tries to super imposing his/her own culture over it. It is a possibility that his/her culture overpowers the culture of the mythology on which he/she is working. Here the whole perspective of the gazer and object of gaze plays a very important role. The ethnographer becomes the gazer and ends up colouring the object of his/her gaze by his/her own culture. This tendency to work in the field of Ethnology and try to become an expert of other culture is mostly western(...)

We see a similar relationship between Rick Riordan and the Greek mythology which

he reworks in the Percy Jackson series. There is no doubt that Riordan has taken the Greek mythology as the base of this series, but simultaneously, we can see that slowly and tactfully he Americanizes the whole Greek culture and he clearly brings forth the American culture as the culture that is more powerful, responsible, strong, moral, ethical and thus better than any other culture of the world. We can see that Riordan emerges as an ethnographer who seems to have studied Greek culture and its mythology. He incorporates it in his series and reworks it and shapes it into an American mould. This series eventually ends up reinforcing the fact that American culture is trying to colour other cultures, ways of living and even their mythologies. Thus American culture clearly emerges as the dominant culture in and trough this series(...) "

Source: https://www.academia.edu/resource/work/41896665

[antiloreolympus]

5 Anti LO Asks

(Note: All of these asks are before episode 206 (Season 2 finale) so some may be dated.) 1. I literally thought Hebe was Hera in the recent release 😐 That goes to show how uncreative Rachel is at designing her characters.

2. Ok, what I’m starting to see a lot of from both the anti-LO side and pro-LO side (and the mythology fandom in general) is people tend to treat the original myths like they are some kind of book series with established lore and timelines. It’s doesn’t really work that way. Ancient Greece was a large place with many different religious sectors with their interpretations, versions, and even their own Gods. Not all of ancient Greece believed in the Olympian Pantheon for example- which is why you had separate cults and mysteries for specific Gods and Goddesses.

Basically, where I’m going with this is that the Abduction of Persephone does indeed treat Hades as a bad guy - a minor antagonists if you will (the main one was of course Zeus). However, other myths do not and that is why many assume that Persephone and Hades had a good relationship - in these myths, Persephone was always the Queen of the Underworld - never the goddess of Spring. Even the Adonis myth has Persephone as basically the sole Queen of the Underworld with no husband, falling in love with him.

So, basically, the Persephone of the Abduction tale that was popularized by the Eleusinian mysteries (which even the mysteries came from an even older religion) is not technically the same Persephone from other myths. The abduction is a belief system that focuses on Persephone and Demeter as life and death Goddesses - which is why they are the heroes and Zeus and Hades are villains. However, not everyone believed in this version and just thought Persephone as the Queen of the Underworld and nothing else.

There is no established lore and timeline - these are separate stories that share similarities only because the people lived in close proximity with each other and shared them. This is why there are so many versions and so many different interpretations of the same ‘characters’. The only reason we have a sort of ‘canon’ interpretations is because they were the only ones we could recover because these were written down unlike so many others. 

3. LO fans love saying the comic is full of diversity when it has taken more than 3 years to actually include “diversity”…

4. Just to correct that one anon: WT is slowly upping the prices to all FP from 5 to 7 (thanks economic inflation!) but they didn't announce it until AFTER people noticed and complained. If they were upfront about it from the start people wouldn't have been as upset, but they didn't so now it's biting the first creators who had this happen to in the butt. Apparently a fair few LO fans stopped FP-ing it because of the lack of transparency. There's a lot to critique RS on but this is WT's fault.

5. Ya know, I'm not opposed to obvious self insert fantasies, ore power to you, but the issue is RS wants to claim LO is very much NOT that and she's actually this deep, nuanced writer who is more legitimate than the actual Greek poets with a deep epic of a story with complex characters and it's like ... yeah no you can't claim that when the story is lazily mashed together fanfic tropes, countless retcons, and everyone is bent over backwards for the stale wafer known as Y/N - I mean Persephone.

[lokisknife]

¶Welcome to New York – Loki Odinson

Summary: Everyone got a red string around their pinky that leads to their soulmate... Well, everyone but Y/N, that got a golden line that goes straight up.

Word count: 4.7k

Warnings: not sticking to cannon; 2012! Loki; cursing; mentions of sickness; me bullying the shit of Loki (I love him that's okay); one sex joke; angst

Author's note: yes I'm naming all of my fanfics after Taylor Swift songs. Yes, I could have named it "invisible string" but it's too obvious. Also the original was just so long (up to 6k words) so I decided to split this in two, so I'm posting it vvvery soon.

Tony's version.

Liked my writing? Consider donating on Ko-fi!

Gif's not mine.

Since the beginning of human life on Earth, there have been records of the existence of invisible strings (at least to the general population regarding the strings of others) that connect two people that are fated to be together. The Mesopotamians, Ancient Greeks, Egyptians, Romans, and many other folks had countless myths that served the purpose of explaining why that happened: some people said that these so-called soulmates were made of the same clay, the same stardust or maybe they were created as one singular soul that got split in two. The skeptics firmly believed that "soulmate strings" could be collective hallucinations induced by pheromones that persisted since prehistory, but the fact that everyone had a special someone was undeniable.

Whatever the reason, everyone in the whole world that ever existed has or had a red string on their pinky finger that led straight to their soulmate. Still, no religion, philosophy, or science could explain why Y/N was different than anyone else. As a kid, every visit to the doctor's office was accompanied by a complaint about their soulmate string that - quoting by the then 6 years old Y/N - "worked wonkily": they have learned about red strings that lead to your future spouse in school, but their own string was golden and pointed straight up, just like a helium balloon. Uncountable health professionals claimed they have never seen something like that, but it shouldn't be a reason to worry: soulmate's strings have never malfunctioned before, so it wasn't possible. Well, they hoped at least.

Not only the doctors but every person Y/N ever encountered commented on the golden circle around their finger (that being the only visible part of the string by third parties) and close friends even joked about their soulmate being a deity or an alien. Y/N always laughed and was considered to be someone with a good sense of humor regarding their own problems, but the truth is that all the remarks about their condition ached like a stab on a previously infected wound. The whispering and bewildered looks people shared when staring at Y/N's hands were a highly effective reminder of the possibility of a loveless life. Sure, they did not have an entirely loveless life: they had friends, family, hobbies, and many sources of joy. But the love they felt for life when looking at a puppy at a park couldn't compare to dancing in the rain with someone you fancy. The love they felt for life when buying pretty flowers for their nightstand was nothing next to cuddling in bed past noon.

Experts didn't have a clue about what was going on with their soulmate or the lack thereof – or even "Schrodinger's soulmate" as Y/N called it – but they couldn't put a stop to their running thoughts. As they spent their whole life thinking about it, they couldn't help but feel special: every single individual had an "other half" but them. Maybe their string pointing to absolutely fucking nowhere was Universe's way of saying "hey Y/N, you don't deserve love, maybe next time!".

Y/N observed their string that pointed at the sky as they walked to work, imagining how it would be to witness life with someone else's eyes. How does the world present itself with a vibrant red string that resembled a treasure map, in which the X represented the most wonderful feeling a human can feel? The girls that shared candies on a bench, the guy that served their coffee, and the receptionist of the building, all of them had the assurance of following a straight path to their lovers if they wished to. They all knew they could be loved and cherished and kissed on the spots they were most insecure about. They knew the person they were destined to spend their whole life with was safe somewhere. But Y/N knew they could marry the atmosphere, for what was possible.

The newly graduated scientist decided to put a stop to their introspections on frivolous matters like love – of course, this being a total facade they presented to people to seem unbothered by it – and focus on their obligations for the day. After spending years burning every single brain cell on difficult equations and acquiring student debt of the size of the moon, one could imagine that being an astrophysicist would be more glamorous: planetariums, telescopes, discovering new galaxies. Sure, someone who works at a fancy university, NASA, or Stark Industries could have all of that, but not Y/N. Don't get me wrong, Y/N was very grateful for their job, but sometimes they wondered if the right choice was made by trading the big companies of space-related technology to learn with the genius Dr. Erik Selvig.

Working with the Swedish scientist promised never-ending knowledge of Einstein-Rosen bridges and many other wonders of theoretical physics. Still, it said expectations were instead met with long lists of required research on nordic myths. Jane and Darcy already explained in detail all their discoveries of the past year when Thor - yes, the god and Foster's boyfriend, as crazy as it may seem - appeared out of nowhere in New Mexico and changed all humanity's knowledge of the universe forever and of course, as someone new on the field, Y/N found it very exciting. Even as a newbie, they were curious and capable as everyone else on the team, so reading borrowed dusty books about old deities felt like a waste of potential.

They trusted the professor with their life, but since the god of thunder made a special appearance on Earth, he has gone a little bit...lunatic, for a lack of better wording that could sugarcoat the actual state of his mind. Working with him on day to day basis made Y/N feel like a coadjuvant on Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: in one second the blonde concentratedly wrote equations of the highest difficulty related to multiverse theories on the whiteboard, and in the other, he was shouting nonsense about Asgard, Midgard and hidden knowledge on the old texts; what bring to Y/N and the infinite paper stack on their table.

Okay, to be fair, Y/N would be lying if they said that they absolutely hated this part of the job, as it was much more entertaining than getting hot-headed over seemingly dead-end physics equations. Reading everything from the genesis of Asgard to its imminent end at Ragnarok and every single character that existed in the between, the scientist couldn't help but choose favorites. Their colleagues, Darcy, Selvig, and mostly Jane drooled when talking about Thor, his magic hammer, and long blonde locks. Even though Y/N could feel he was a nice guy and all, their attention was focused on his younger, quieter brother.

The stories put bad lighting on Loki Odinson, describing him as a mischievous, trickster, egocentric person but the feelings transpassed to them was of so much compassion that their heart must as well explode when reading about him. Yes, he was the God of Mischief and was always creating chaos in his realm, but couldn't you understand his motives? Just imagine how it must felt like growing up in his older brother's shadow, with every single person - including your own father - diminishing his achievements to magnify Thor's popularity even more! Well, everyone's entitled to have an opinion, and Y/N thinks raven hair is nicer than golden and magic is more interesting than muscles. Simple as that.

The scientist's head started to pound heavily, their eyes burning holes inside their skull and their stomach was sick to the point it felt like it was turning somersaults, as it always did when they spent way too much time curled over all the parchment covered-in dust obsessing over Loki - disguised by scientific research, of course. The whole week went like this and Y/N always downed some medicine down their throat and continued to work hard, but the migraines were getting stronger every day. Complaining to themselves about how the ache in their temples made it so hard to focus and form coherent trains of thought, they glanced at the clock on the wall. Only one hour and a half left of the work journey, good enough.

They quickly organized their table and talked to Dr. Erik, who, despite his urgency in advancing the research, was very comprehensive. So, work: check. Next step: finding a pharmacy while trying to not throw up from all the pain. Good thing Y/N lives in New York City and there are stores everywhere you set your sight on...and if they couldn't hold back the vomit, it's not like people are going to judge them so much right? C'mon, it's NY, at least it wasn't going to be that unusual of a thing.

As an astrophysicist and Dr. Erik Selvig's favorite intern to pile work on, they didn't have enough time or money to go to the hospital to get every "stupid symptom" checked. Y/N felt like dying, sure, but you and I know that no matter the illness, they would step out of the doctor's office with a flu diagnosis. So the smartest decision is, obviously, to get medicine for all the wrong stuff going on in their body. Only relaxing from all the rush of trying to not puke, faint, or cry from the headache when handing the cashier their debit card, the sight of their own hand hits them like a brick.

How great is the human mind and all of its levels of complexity, its delicate and intricate gears allowing conscient, external responses to subconscious perceptions. The golden thread, the subject of most of their worries that would otherwise be constant in its position, was leading somewhere out of the door. Their heart dropped, focusing on the inviting leaded path, their queasiness becoming just an annoying thought at the back of their mind. The string changing wasn't even an option for them, that being such an impossible scenario that Y/N didn't ever fantasize about it. They always took for a fact that they didn't have a soulmate, so the line basically pulling them towards someone was absolutely dumbfounding.

Tucking the meds under their arm, they ran after the thread feeling like a kid expecting to meet a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Y/N didn't know what to expect: to be honest, they didn't even know if they weren't hallucinating. Did their soulmate string lag all these years? Was their soulmate an older astronaut, who spent all of Y/n's life in space? Or worse, what if their soulmate were just born and they would have to wait decades to meet them? God, that's so weird, they sure fucking expected that they weren't running after a hospital or something like that. Wait, what if their soulmate was dead and some crazy scientist resurrected them?

Their head, still throbbing from the pain, spun in circles just like their thoughts. What if, what if, what if? Just what ifs, no plans, no logic, no focus. Their head was so full of "what ifs" that were no room for other feelings than concern. Having an abnormal soulmate thread resulted in so much pain their whole life but the worries that came with the scenario of finally having someone were nothing that Y/N ever heard of. The path could be leading to an abandoned warehouse in the middle of the creepiest forest to encounter Frankenstein's monster himself, and the only thought crossing their mind would be: does he like me?

Quietly thanking the Universe or whoever was in charge, Y/N sighed in relief when the string pointed to a large crowd on a busy street. It would be awful to find their one when there were dozens of people gathered together, but at least they could be sure that they weren't destined for Michael Myers hiding in the woods. The scientist takes a deep breath in order to calm down their soulmate-induced panic and looks around to form a tactical plan, but instead of locking eyes with a handsome someone, they met terrified looks. No one batted an eye at the astrophysicist, their wide eyes locked on something - or someone - way far ahead of them, their bodies frozen in place, unsure of every movement. New York, the city that never sleeps, whose streets were always booming with movement, fell dead silent. But no, Y/N couldn't call a uber from work and go straight home, they absolutely had to waltz themselves into this mess. Way to go, Y/N, what a great way to read the room.

Even though the little devil at their shoulder begged for them to tiptoe their way out, their feet seemed glued to the floor. They were completely clueless about what was happening and what they could and could not do. C'mon, you're a scientist, you work for one of the smartest men alive, you can work out some solution for this shit. Looking around again, they choose the youngest person in a three-foot circle, praying that this choice reflected a lesser possibility of being ridiculously rude to them - considering that absolutely no one dared utter a word - and nudged at a 17-ish boy's shoulder. Shooting him an apologetic look, Y/N mouthed a "what's happening?".

"I just got here like 10 minutes ago, but at the front is a very creepy weird dude with an even creepier scepter with blue lighting on it and he is shouting at us because he wants to be king or some shit like that. I thought he was just an anime nerd who thinks he is god because he is wearing really weird clothes, but looks like he is using magic to control people? That's all I know". He let it out in only one breath, in a voice barely above a whisper. "I'm so tired of living in New York man, I thought we were done after the Iron Monger/Obadiah Stane mess in 2009. All these weirdos wandering around... If I survive, I'm moving to California".

Y/N answered with a discrete smile. Okay, five minutes ago they were trying to convince themselves that they are smart and capable of making clever decisions but, for the first time in forever, they had hope. What horrible timing to finally meet their soulmate in a hostage situation by a (probably) Reddit user who thinks he is superior because he watched American Psycho a bazillion times and could pull off some magic tricks, and honestly, it's a shame that Y/N didn't give a single fuck to their plans. Their soulmate string was pointing to someone, the weirdo's superiority complex could wait, I guess. Passing through the crowd as they followed the golden path as if they were trying to get the best spot at a Taylor Swift concert at Madison Square Garden, they were increasingly ahead of the crowd. If they did have a soulmate, their soulmate was sure dumb to be that close to the psychopathic geek.

Now, in literally the middle of this mess, Y/N could see the wannabe-villain face and... This is so embarrassing. The teen's description was right but didn't do justice. The man had an unusual style, yes, but in an almost theatrical manner. A golden horned helmet lay on top of his long dark hair and framed his face perfectly, the contrasting colors making the man even paler, contributing to an eerie, power-hungry king look. Even though Y/N never laid eyes on someone like him before, he looked familiar: like an old childhood friend, an actor in a play you once saw, or someone you met in a dream. The type of memory that is stored in the back of your mind you can't quite make it hit the surface. Despite the situation - if you can ignore it - he looked beautiful. His power was mesmerizing and they couldn't look anywhere else. The man didn't sense their stare and continued his speech, which Y/N didn't catch the start of.

"Kneel before me" He shouted, some people in the crowd obeying his command. "Is not this simpler? Is this not your natural state?"

The astrophysicist rolled their eyes and stood still on their feet. He was gorgeous, but it's no excuse to kneel... Well, his act was absurd and he didn't pay for dinner beforehand, so at least not tonight. The man up front opened his arms, his big gestures reflecting his big ego.

Y/N felt a slight pull on their string, reminding them that they were there for a reason, they had a purpose to fulfill. They didn't have a clue about how the thread worked, but maybe their soulmate got ahead of them in the crowd and tried to get their attention. Maybe their soulmate wanted Y/N to make the first move, maybe they were in a spot where they couldn't move that much. Jesus, the astrophysicist knew for a fact that purposefully being knee-deep into this shit was a dumb move, but you always could be...dumber, that's the word to describe it. Maybe common sense fell out of their bag at the drug store, being that the last place they have seen it. So, breathing heavily from the anticipation, Y/N squeezed their way closer to the front.

No one in the crowd struggled to maintain them farther away, complying rather quickly with their efforts, keeping their eyes glued to the golden thread afraid if they blinked, it may change again. Searching for their one was the main focus, the only thought on their head, the concentration was so great that Y/N slightly stumbled on their feet when the mass of bodies that prevented them from walking freely disappeared. Nothing obstructed their view, the path was clear. No frightened people, just the granite floor, the man, and the golden string connecting them.

His full image in front of Y/N made everything fall in place, as it is scary as one may think of this situation. A character that fell out of an old book, the raven hair that reflected the light of the buildings around among with his golden horns, the mischief of his eyes, and the scepter holding into what the scientist recognized as the Tesseract not only hinted but confirmed his identity. Loki of Asgard surely wasn't on Earth as part of Odinson's family trip.

They felt stupid. They should have felt this before based on their actions tonight, yes, but they felt stupid. And anxious. And scared, so scared. But, most of all, stupid, because everything seemed so predictable now. Fate, an arch-nemesis, played the game beautifully in leading Y/N in this time and place. Inexplicable hyper fixation on Laufey's son and his story, the pounding head, and the knot on their stomach while even thinking about him this week. Intuition, premonition, gut feeling. The abnormal string was actually pointing to the right place, doing its best to lead to another reality realm. If Y/N's friends had a penny for every time they joked about how one of them was destined to a deity... they would have one penny and a crazy story.

"It's the unspoken truth of humanity, that you crave subjugation. The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life's joy in a mad scramble for power, for identity". Loki didn't seem to notice either the thread or the dumbfounded Y/N.

As soulmate strings, the question "why do humans cry when they feel strong emotions?" has been raised tirelessly from the beginning of time. Even though it's way out of their research field, the subject did also fascinate Y/N, who learned on research that, up to the 1600s, the prevailing theory was that all sentiments heated the heart, consequently generating water vapor that would escape from our eyes. In modern days we know that this belief it's invalid, but they couldn't feel like it didn't have some truth in it. As their eyes watered and their vision became blurry, disappointment, anger, and nonconformity rose in their heart and heated their chest.

On Soulmates 101 you don't really learn what to do in this type of situation. Sure, there are cute stories about soulmates who absolutely hated each other when they met, soulmates who were so different that they both thought that it was a mistake, and so on. But being fated to a God who happens to be enslaving Earth's population as a boost of ego... well, that's a first. Not that Y/N isn't used to having problems about their destiny.

Learning so much about Loki in the past months made them sympathize with him. Understand his motives, understand his personality, and understand his background. Understand, at least to the surface level, who he is. But this is too far. Mischievous tricks and pranks on the Asgardian royal family were a classic move, but this? Plotting a cartoony evil plan to be the king of the world? And all of that on a Friday night when a hot shower and a warm bed are waiting for them back home?

"You were made to be ruled". He went on with his megalomaniacal speech, making a pause and looking around, checking if he got the impact he was waiting for. His vision set a stop on Y/N. Their eyes locked for a beat of time that seemed like an eternity, sharing an unspoken understanding, knowing that wasn't the time or place. His eyes, marked in craziness, soften for a minute. He breathes shakily, fully filling his lungs. As he dry swallows, only the scientist ahead of the crowd gets a glimpse of a frightened, destroyed man. "in the end...you will always...kneel".

Should they do something? Could they do something? But, do what? Was it even logical to scream at the top of their lungs, begging him to stop, like the lame white love interest of an action movie who keeps saying "babe, stop! You're not like this!" in the middle of a fight scene? But who had the power to change his mind if not his soulmate? God, this isn't fair at all. Most people meet their soulmate at 20-something in a coffee shop and spend their whole lives happily together. But here is Y/N, debating internally if they should stop their meant-to-be (whose existence wasn't known up to 40 minutes ago) from being a tyrannical king. Not fair at all.

A sudden loud noise behind their back put a stop to their thoughts, the crowd splitting in half like the red sea in order to let its source walk freely to Loki. Like a god ex machina, red, white, and blue came into their vision: Captain America stood tall and confident, loud footsteps from his heavy boots contrasting with the sepulchral silence. Relief and panic washed over the scientist a the same time, like an electric shock right into their nervous system.

"You know" he annunciated "The last time I was in Germany and saw a man standing above everybody else, we ended up disagreeing".

"The soldier" Loki chuckled, the laugh didn't meet his eyes. Y/N felt like the mass stopped breathing at the same time as an individual living organism. "The man out of time".

"I'm not the one who's out of time".

With that and the aircraft that unexpectedly appeared in the night sky, pointing a machine gun toward Loki, hell breaks loose. The scientist's head spun like it was part of Disney World's Mad Tea Party, the previously quiet and submissive mass of people running around, bumping into their body uncontrollably. Their shoulders ached, but their legs stood glued to the floor like blocks of concrete - Y/N thought they deserved to know what happens to their soulmate after all this time. Police ushered them to run to a safe spot, but their eyes were glued to the fight happening just a few feet away.

Loki shooted a blast of blue lightning from the tesseract at the aircraft, which maneuvered just in time for Captain America to throw his shield at the Asgard prince. Y/N's throat felt tight, wanting to scream "watch out!" but knowing it wasn't the right thing to do. The right thing to do was to run away as soon as the avengers showed up to save the day. The right thing to do was to not follow the golden thread to this mess. The right thing to do was to focus on the job and not spend hours reading about nordic old myths. The right thing to do was to take a better-paying, less interesting workplace. Maybe, the right thing to do was to never leave their bed until soulmates are not real anymore.

The golden thread that linked them together jumped in place with Loki's movements as he battled with Steve Rogers, fists meeting flesh, scepter meeting shield. The metallic sound of the clashing, the grunts, and the screams muffled Y/N's hard breathing, trying to contain their sobs, keeping their tears at bay. The world didn't care about their feelings, didn't care if they would ever get their happily ever after.

Their movements are way too fast and complex for someone out of the fight to comprehend, the violence looking like a choreographed waltz, the sirens sounding like an orchestra. The God of Mischief threw the soldier to the ground, swatting the bright collared shield away. Standing tall over the blonde, he grabbed the scepter tighter, pointing to the sharp end of the blue helmet. Y/N knew Rogers's abilities were extensive and he wasn't a hostage to his gadgets, but it was also part of their knowledge that Loki was a powerful sorcerer. But it was impossible for a newbie astrophysicist to know for a fact who would win in a battle between a deity and an enhanced super-human.

It felt so useless, discussing between doing what is right or doing what feels right when both weren't even an option. They were destined to be together and there was nothing Y/N could do: their presence and the presence of the next person were the same in this situation. The golden line wrapped around their finger stared back at its owner almost in mockery - the couple has never been so close, but the scientist has never been so unhopeful, even when they didn't even know about his existence. They surrendered to the gut-wrenching feeling that rose from the pit of their stomach, spreading like oil on a lake, making everything darker, lifeless, polluted.

The memory of the pull of the string by Loki's gesticulation flashed in Y/N's mind. They had as much understanding on soulmate threads as a kindergarten kid, only knowing the theoric part and having no experience whatsoever, but perhaps, just perhaps, they could do something. Y/N watched attentively, heart in hand. Not what they wanted to do, no, but what they should do. If what they wanted to do was on the table, they would have cried out to the raven-haired man, begging for explanations, the moment they set their eyes on him. But, who cares about what Y/N wanted? They had moral obligations, that sat above everything else.

"Please, let this work" the astrophysicist muttered. They rolled their wrist, grabbing the invisible thread like a rope in a Tug of War game, yanking it down in hopes of controlling the other side's movements like a ventriloquist.

Much to his surprise, Loki's hand falls, the scepter falling on the floor. The Captain didn't demonstrate his confusion at the prince's sudden change of behavior but took advantage of it, getting out of his passive stance and forcing Loki to the ground. Their team got him cornered while a policeman finally lost his patience with Y/N, grabbing them by the waist and forcing them out of the scene. Both were being talked to, but the scientist couldn't discern any words out of the cop's ramble even if their life depended on it.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I had to. I'm so sorry, I didn't want to" Y/N struggled to get the words out, their throat hurt from the contained sobs from before. Now, they didn't have any reasons — or strength — to fight their emotions. They sobbed like a child, the tears feeling like waterfalls, a powerful unstoppable force of nature. They knew that Loki couldn't hear them, but they hoped he could understand their motives.

His ice-blue eyes stared at Y/N, not showing any emotion. Just a stony, indifferent stare.

[taranodongirl]

My Pokemon Headcanons part 1

Pokemon Headcanons

Livestock and normal animals exist in the Pokemon world, just not all the ones we have on earth and they are either in special farms for food, in the wild but not noticed because people care more about catching pokemon than mice, or are kept in protected areas for study. - For example, We have seen characters eat meat and regular chicken eggs, Carnivine’s Pokedex entry says it likes to eat small insects and animals, and in the early episodes of pokemon, regular fish have been seen a lot. - While in one episode Ash and Brock imagined eating a sushi dish that looked like it was made from a Magikarp, this could’ve been a dish that was made to look like a Magikarp. - Many cooking techniques in the real world can make a dish look like animals and in Pokemon Cafe Remix all the foods are based on pokemon and even look like them.

The Giant Kangaskaan that was in the early seasons of pokemon (Ep: The Kangaskaan Kid) was a variant of Kangaskaan that can grow bigger than the ones caught by trainers (like how the Indian and African elephants are different sizes).

I believe that Baby Pokemon sometimes look different than the adults. For example, Pokemon that are usually large in size are smaller as babies and don’t have the same features that the adults have (ex: Newborn Trophus are the size of a medium dog and don’t have their fruits yet but they get them as they grow up.). It’s like how deer are born with spots but lose them as they grow. I plan to use this in a fanfic I want to write.

The backpacks that pokemon trainers have function like Marry Poppins’s magic carpet bag. We always see characters with just one small backpack, handbag, or camping bag and yet they can pull out pokemon eggs, tents and sleeping bags, food, cooking equipment, tables, etc.

Time moves differently in the Pokemon world (Ash is still 10). My theory is that they have more weeks in a month, more months in a year, etc. As a result, people age at a different rate than we do, and the Planet Earth in Pokemon is a lot older than our Earth.

Much of the messed up or scary Pokedex entries are outdated theories or based on urban legends. (example: Greavard’s Pokedex says that it absorbs the life from humans, but I like to believe that is an ancient myth that was proven false and that instead, it absorbs energy or heat) I like to think that these were proven wrong, but kept in the Pokedex to encourage trainers to stay safe or investigate if they’re true.

Social issues are still a thing. We know that the Pokemon world isn’t perfect due to the criminal organizations it has, but from what episodes I’ve seen so far we haven’t seen any human slavery or racial discrimination (other than Johto being scared of other cultures but that is just a reference to Japan). I like to think that if there is extreme discrimination, it’s more directed to disabilities, rich or poor social standing, addiction, or if someone has/had a family member that did a crime.

Disney movies, Earth Holidays, and Fairy Tales exist in the Pokemon world, just in a different form or with different endings. - In one episode of pokemon, Misty was in a play about a Mermaid so we know that fantasy creatures are a thing, plus Fairy is a new Pokemon Type, so maybe there have been old stories about fae and cryptids, but some were discovered to be Pokemon. - Also there have been a few Christmas specials, one even with Santa and in Pokemon X and Y there are some references to 101 Dalmations and Saving Mr. Banks.

Charmander and its evolution's tail flame isn’t connected to its life like if you blow it out they die, but more like if they die their tail goes out. - Plus, I doubt their tail flame is so delicate that goes out as easily like if it gets wet in the rain or drags it on a snowy ground. But the Pokedex does mention that its flame gets weak if they are in poor health, so I do believe that it can be at risk if the Pokemon is sick, completely submerged in water, or is at risk of freezing to death. -Basically, the tail flame functions like a heart monitor and is a way to let it and others know if it’s in poor health and is as strong as the pokemon is.

Some forms of Pokemon science, such as vivisection, are illegal and that is why most of the villains are evil scientists that steal or hunt Pokemon from trainers rather than just catch them in the wild. Because they want to use the stronger pokemon for their experiments.

Pokemon can learn more than 4 moves, they clearly do in the anime. Maybe in the game universe, trainers are only allowed to use 4 of their Pokemon’s moves to prevent cheating or too much injury?

No one has seen a female Marrowack breed or a Cubone lose its mom. So no one knows how Cubone got its mom’s skull and it is illegal to breed them to see what happens because no one wants to intentionally make a baby an orphan.

Kids younger than 10 can start their Pokemon journey, it’s just not encouraged and some might need special permission. In the game, there are a lot of NPCs that are clearly younger than the protagonist and in the anime, we have seen a few kids younger than 10 that while not on their journey, have at least 1 Pokemon.

Mewtwo hasn’t completely forgotten Amber and could remember her one day.