#this honestly reads like a greek myth and i am living for it

[gay-dorito-dust]

Felix Catton x reader where he invites reader to Saltburn and he confesses his love to her. Super fluffy 🫶🏻😩

This was long as shit! But I hope you like it! 🦦

You honestly thought Felix was taking the piss upon extending you an invitation to spend the summer at Saltburn. You even waited for Farleigh to come out of nowhere to make his usual passive aggressive commentary in regard to your seemingly gullible nature, but nothing.

No Farleigh.

None of Felix’s little posse of posh cunts were nearby to poorly conceal their laugher behind their hands.

It was just you and Felix sat upon a stone bench somewhere, to which you must’ve looking like an right idiot, with your mouth opening and closing like an goldfish in disbelief at what you were hearing. ‘So what do you say?’ Felix asked after a prolonged period of awkward silence, looking as though a little on the verge of imploding at any given moment.

You blinked once, twice, then a third time for good measure before clearing your throat. ‘Yeah, sure…I’d love to but why me-‘ your sentence was cut off when Felix let out a relieved sigh as his mouth stretched into a smile, revealing his pearly whites, also as though he was…happy that you had accepted his invite; A reaction that naturally caused you to become curious as to figure out the reason why.

‘Oh thank fuck, you almost had me second guessing that you weren’t going to come.’ He said, looking at you with eyes that seemed to be reading your entire being, reading your each and every breath with such attention; so much that you swore it was as akin to that of a creator admiring his first creation. You -much like everyone else at Oxford- were very familiar with the stories that came with the supposed friends Felix had taken to Saltburn; they go to Saltburn, things seemingly get weird and the friendship is tarnished, then by summer’s end Felix next speaks with them again.

Used and discarded within the same breath.

You soon came to the conclusion that you didn’t want to be the next discarded toy on Felix’s long list of broken things. It would’ve been better had Felix kept his distance and stayed with his little posse, but he didn’t and now you were riddled with the endless possibilities that laid ahead of you. ‘Would’ve been a real shame if I did.’ You said, hyper aware of the fact that Felix was still staring intently at you. ‘But I’m glad you didn’t.’ He says softly, taking one last puff of his cigarette before its dying embers dwindled down to the bud, tossing it aside carelessly once it’s use has been served.

‘So am I.’ You replied, looking away from him and elsewhere as you pondered to yourself what you had gotten yourself into and what terrors would await for you at Saltburn.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Your first couple of days at Saltburn were okay to say the least.

Well that was mostly because Felix insisted that you’d spend the most of it together. So no matter where it was that you went through the manor, Felix was never far behind, looking over you like a protective shadow.

The pool? a shirtless Felix was sat poolside with a cigarette handing loosely from his lips, reflective shades concealing his dark eyes that you could feel shamelessly drinking you in as you dipped a toe.

The living room? Felix was there with a selection of movies and snacks that he retrieved from the kitchen along with comfy blankets.

The library? Felix was there reading a book that went over the treatment of women in Greek myths.

Bathroom? Felix was also there because upon giving you a grand tour of the intimidating building, he had informed you that you were to share a bathroom, instead of having you journey to the other side of the house to occupy another one.

You even remembered one time where you were deeply engaged in a topic with the likes of Farleigh and Venetia about Felix’s recent attitude towards you, with you being in denial and Farleigh and Venetia trying to make you see reason; When Felix came into the room as though looking for something, and upon seeing the three of you together, his jaw began to clench. It wasn’t until that very moment did you begin to take note of how Felix’s reluctance in having to share you with anyone else, and how it was staring to look something similar to a stubborn child who refused to share what he thought rightfully belonged to him.

‘Told you.’ Farleigh said with a winning smirk after Felix left the room in a huff. ‘He doesn’t want to share you with the rest of us, he only wants you for himself…and in more ways than one.’ He adds on, obviously knowing something that you didn’t.

‘What do you mean by that Farleigh?’ You had tried to ask but all he did was shrug nonchalantly and cryptically said, ‘you’ll see soon enough.’

You guessed you understood where Felix was coming from, I mean you did come here because of him, so naturally you were meant to be spending most of your time with him. However with what Farleigh had said earlier, you couldn’t help but theorise that there was a much deeper reasoning for Felix to have invited you to Saltburn; A theory that would later be put to the test when you were getting ready to go to bed, pulling back the covers just enough for you to slip in with ease, when a knocking at your door caught your ear.

‘Y/n. You in there? I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something recently and it couldn’t wait any longer.’ It was Felix. Your brows furrowed at this, what could he possibly want to talk about in the middle of the night?

As to not keep him waiting any longe then he might’ve been before knocking on your door. You quickly made your way to the door -though not before making sure you looked presentable- and opened it to see Felix stood in your doorway in his sleepwear, which consisted of a short sleeve shirt and a pair of blueish gray boxers, as his dark hair looked ruffled as though he had just been vigorously running his hands through it just minutes prior.

Either way he still looked extraordinarily appealing to the eye. However that was just how Felix looked to near enough everyone; extraordinarily delectable.

‘What conversation could possibly be so hard for you to not wait until tomorrow to have?’ You asked, brows raised, wanting nothing more than to put an end to all the mental gymnastics you’ve put yourself through within the past couple days; It got exhaustive after a while and his childish antics of giving you the cold shoulder didn’t make matters any better.

‘Look, I know I’ve been a bit of a dick to you recently.’ Felix began.

‘A bit?’ You echoed, slightly annoyed. ‘Felix you wouldn’t even look at me when I went to the pool, which if I remember correctly,’ you placed a finger on your chin, faking a face of deep thought before clicking your fingers and leaning in towards him, ‘you invited me to earlier that same day.’ You concluded dryly. ‘So how about you explain that before whatever you wanted to talk about, just so I’m given more of a clear picture as to where we stand.’

‘Fuck. I fucked up.’ Felix sighed under his breath as he ran his hand down his face, his dark eyes peering down the elongated hallway in hopes that no one -Farleigh- would come out and see what was all the commotion about, before they returned to look into yours and decided to just skip the words he was planning on telling you and just get straight to the point; long winded speeches of love was never his thing when he could just be straightforward about it. After all he was Felix fucking Catton, but it seemed that just being in your presence was enough to leave him a little speechless.

‘I like you.’ He began but immeditly felt that like wasn’t the right word to use when putting into words of what you did to him. ‘No, that don’t sound right because at the end of the day y/n, I fucking love you.’ Felix corrects himself and you immeditly felt the anything that you wanted to say to him exit your brain, as his sudden declaration took its place as the only thing that you could clearly focus on. ‘I brought you to Saltburn in hopes that one day I would stop being such a pussy and tell you how I truly felt.’ Felix then looked saddened as he continued. ‘Yet it seems that the only thing I’ve managed to accomplish is pushing you away because I thought that you wouldn’t want me like that, and would try to drive that home by spending time with Farleigh and Venetia.’ By the time Felix had finished pouring his heart out to you, everything leading up to this very moment started making a lot more sense, even Farleigh’s cryptic response made sense.

This entire time Felix was planning on confessing and Farleigh knew, which meant Venetia must’ve knew and therefore his parents considering how upon meeting them, they seemingly knew everything about you in incredible detail. You knew Felix was a bit of a blabber mouth under certain circumstances, but you didn’t ever think that he would ever rant to his parents about you in the slightest and in a positive light too. Though it did feel a little odd at first when Elspeth complimented your eyes but now you knew why and you couldn’t help but be flattered; Felix is a handsome and beautiful man that to be viewed within the same perspective was a new feeling entirely.

‘Really?’ You asked, biting the inside of your cheek, praying this wasn’t an extremely realistic dream.

‘Really.’ Felix replied without hesitation, beaming as he brazenly took a step towards you.

‘You’re not fucking with me?’ You asked again, still somehow not finding any of this remotely real, now bitting down on your bottom lip this time.

Felix stepped even closer to you now that you could feel his body heat, his hand gently holding you by the chin as his thumb gingerly pried your bottom lip from your teeth before then moving his head so that it was resting against your own, forcing you to focus on the dark pair of eyes that looked right back at you in a way that one would a masterpiece. ‘I’m not fucking with you.’ He spoke in a low but soft tone of voice. ‘I think you’re the most beautiful and the most amazing person I have ever met. You’re genuine, you’re kind but most importantly, you’re real and I both envy and adore you for that.’ Felix finishes and you couldn’t help but groan with impatience.

‘You could’ve conveyed all that if you would’ve kissed me.’ You whined, hands finding their home within his hair, raking and slightly tugging at the tresses, making him laugh. ‘As you wish.’ He utters cheekily as he then descends his lips upon yours in a passionate kiss that conveyed everything that had been said and more.

[stalkedbytrains]

“Cheryl? Where is the file for the next appointment? I can’t find it anywhere.”

“It’s the folder with the green tab,” Cheryl called from her desk at the front of the tiny office.

There was the sound of many papers shuffling around and finally an “aha!”

“The Rainbow Snake?” Came the voice from the office. Cheryl’s boss often read out loud when they were studying a client. Just a weird quirk of theirs. “Australian Aboriginal Deity. Oh I do remember them. We were at a party together… 2,000 years ago give or take. I don’t think they’ll remember me, ah well thems the breaks. Let’s see… hmm… I can see that this is going to be a problem Cheryl. Damn colonialists. I wish we could make the British gods fade away. Fucking King Arthur deserves to be relegated to the dust bin. I can tell that we’re going to need some deep cuts on this one. Start making a list of Australians we can contact, I have a feeling.”

Cheryl did as she was told. Her boss was almost always right about these things. She knew what the gods wanted before they even got here.

Several minutes later there was a knock at the office door. Cheryl got up to open it and invited in the dark skinned person and the beautiful snake they wore like jewelry but that might have only been because the snake itself was a living work of art. Like living breathing stained glass.

As Cheryl escorted the Rainbow Snake in, her boss came out and bowed deeply to their guest.

The chipper woman had tied back her full brown hair and smiled widely at the Snake and their human escort.

“A pleasure to meet you again,” the boss said, “it’s been many centuries but I am glad to see you once more. Please come in to my office. Would you care for any refreshments?”

After settling and getting water for the Rainbow Snake, Cheryl sat back down outside the office and listened to the pitch. She never got tired of listening to it.

“How can I help you?” Her boss asked.

“We heard that you can help us gods. Stop us from fading. We need faith. We need followers. The people are dying, the language is dying,” said a dual voice. The voice from the snake, and the voice from the human.

“We can do that. Sort of. I am sorry to say that it’s not a direct thing. I don’t just snap my fingers and make you some new believers. Human beings a wonderful little creatures. They crave us. They need us even if they don’t believe in us anymore. They want our stories and our myths. And that is what I provide. Stories.”

“How does that help us?”

“Do you know how down bad the Norse were? The Christian’s basically destroyed their religion, all we know of it is this bastard version of what was left after the Jesus freaks invaded. But then the comics happened. The Mighty Thor! And don’t get me started on Neil Gaiman and his Sandman and American Gods stories. I send that man a fruit basket every year. I love him. Have you seen how well the Norse pantheon is doing? Loki has seventeen penthouses, and more belief than he knows what to do with.”

“Bah. Western religion. White religion.”

“You are right. I am sorry that was a poor example. Perhaps I should have started with Māui and how well he’s doing with that Disney film Moana. I set that up.”

“You did all of that?”

“Well. Not directly. You know how us gods work. I gave some inspiration here and there. Got a writer to have an idea. Got a director and a bunch of executives to see the bigger picture and how it could be a hit. They did the rest themselves. Like I said, whether or not they know it, humans want us.”

“You can make me a hit movie?”

“Or a TV show or a video game. Those are hard though. Movies are kind of easy now a days, TV is having a resurgence now but you run the risk of cancelation and things like that, video games can be hit or miss honestly. Only the Greeks and Norse really pulled that one off and hoo let me tell you they paid for that one. Great games but still. I don’t want to look at those God of War games ever again. Books are easy. Worked really well for the Greeks and some of the Egyptians. Rick Riordan does great stuff. It all depends on what you want.”

“I can have anything?”

“Sure. Internet stories are easy. Quick and cheap but you are really gambling with the payoff. Could be either a total wash or go viral. Not something I can really recommend but if you need something now it can be done. Movies or tv can be great but there are also risks. It might be two or three years before you see anything.”

“Do I get to choose who does the work?”

“A little. I can influence certain people but sometimes the best person for the job is some down on his luck writer in a hovel in LA. Sometimes it’s Neil. But Neil is expensive.”

“I want a movie, I want it to be written by one of my people.”

“I can do that. But the problem is that reach might be very tiny. There are plenty of Aboriginal writers, I’m sure some can even be extremely talented, but something big and grand and bringing in all the faith and worship and stories you may way may be limited. If you want the Disney treatment you have to give up a whole lot of control.”

“No. I want it to be of the people.”

“Very well. Now, I can influence and give inspiration all over. I can even get this in the right people’s hands. But it is always a crap shoot. All I need to do is channel some of your power into the right person when I find it. Then creativity takes over, they do their work, I nudge some agents and companies their way and if we’re lucky you see some return on investment in a couple of years.”

“What do you get out of this process?”

“My dear, I’m the Muse. I feed off the creativity. These artists come to me most of the time. I just set them up with gods who need a little faith. And six points on the back end. I have a lot of alimony to pay.”

[winterisol]

Motogp riders as greek/roman gods pt.1

so like this idea has been sitting in my head for roughly a week, what greek/roman gods would my favorite motorsport athletes would be. So for now I compiled the aliens and VR46 Academy riders for motogp. (Sorry for any mistakes this was typed at like 2 AM after finals)

Marc Marquez: Ares

This just makes so much sense to me, because if you watch any instance of Marc racing he is literally the definition of "war-mode." He is extremely aggressive, ballsy, and sometimes (most of the time) crosses the line. In this way he embodies the well known image of Ares, a god known for his impulsive actions, rage and well the "dirty" parts of war. However, the reason why I chose Ares for Marc is actually the fact that Ares is extremely loyal, loving and honestly more wholesome than popular media gives him credit. Like his loyalty and love for those he cares about extends deep with one of my favorite myths being the time Ares killed a son of Posidieon for violating his daughter. I feel like this loyalty and love is a key part of Marc, the man who insists on living with his younger brother at the ripe age of 31. Anyway yeah, for Marc its kinda the negative social conditions associated with him, and his division between his competitive racing side and his personal side which made Ares so compelling.

Valentino Rossi: Apollo

This was actually one I debated about for a while, but the more I think about it the more it makes sense. I think the most obvious reason for Vale to be Apollo is his presence, like even through the camera there is something about Vale that just draws people in. He literally feels like he has the gravitational force of the Sun. I also think this is a good match because, kinda like marc with Ares, Vale is like Apollo in that no matter what he is like the cool popular guy. When reading old Greek myths, Apollo is always portrayed as this good, strong, cool guy, even though his actions are often the opposite. Like Apollo commits so many atrocities and in some ways is worse then Ares, yet he is constantly absolved of these wrongdoings. The Illiad is a great example, where while Ares is bashed for his wrongdoings, Apollo literally kills Patroclus with little to no consequences other than Achilles bitching about him. In this way Vale also fits, because lets be honest, even as a big fan of Vale, he in many instances was not much better than marc. Especially young Vale, who kinda like marc made risky moves because for him it was always a win or nothing. I also like this pairing cause, like Vale, Apollo can hold grudges and make people's lives living hell.

Pecco Bagnaia: Hephaestus

This is another one that took a bit of thinking, but yeah other than his pretty boy image, I think this one is spot on. So the first obvious reason is that if Marc is Ares, the heir apparent to Olympus, Pecco is definitely Hephaestus, the scorned younger brother who is never seen as good enough, despite being chosen by his parents (in this case Vale). Like, Pecco is the chosen one for Vale, but to the media and basically everyone else who isn't VR46 academy, Marc is seen as the rightful successor to Vale's legacy. I think this also plays in nicely with how Pecco is often regarded, underrated, unmentioned and sometimes not given the respect he deserves as a two-time motogp champion already. Like, Pecco has so much talent that often sits ignored in favor of his more flashy senior, just like how Hephaestus is in Olympus. I think his low-key personality, but sometimes explosive anger which can manifest in irritational actions or cunning traps also matches Hephaestus well. Like Jorge Martins, literally said that Pecco is most likely to play mindgames, instead of the obvious Marc. Pecco has also seen to sometimes overreact, like that one time in qualifying with Marc (also ironically fits into the Ares V. Hephaestus narrative as well).

I have more but like I'm losing motivation to explain it so maybe I'll make a part two tomorrow or something

[msbunnat]

thank you for your answer, in any case I was already very excited by your comic and I cannot wait to read more about it!

I honestly cannot understand the people hating on your work. I feel like fandoms has been invaded by a wave of purity/moral policy that shouldn't exist anymore. it's even more wild to me knowing you're working on a greek myth, and the greek myths are KNOWN to have many versions. that's the beauty of them in my opinion, the way these authors all wrote their own versions and they passed them to us. I love the fact you picked Ganimedes, and you decided to explore both Zeus and him. And the mystery you keep about your relationship really makes me wonder which take you will follow!

and speaking of take, I really enjoy yours on Zeus. Gods are complex beings, and sure they're problematic (like duh) and bad, and everything but it's funny how people will decide which pick for who. Like everybody love Poseidon but oh boy, he can be as bad as Zeus people. So yeah, I am actually excited to read the way you're gonna write him! I don't hate Zeus, sure he does seem one of the "worse" when reading most of the myths, but my favorite thing is the way you can love one god in one story, and hate him in another. they're immortal beings. they're not just black and white. so I happen to enjoy when authors write Zeus as more than just a big bad villain. But I also enjoy when they just don't make him a "sweet lovely daddy".

Oh by the way, I didn't know the version of Metis abusing him and I'll have to look into it! We had a more "feminist" vision of her myth in my class, so it's not something that was talked about hmm.

Also, my bad for saying he died. It was a sum up because of him turning into a constellation. I cannot say we studied this myth so unfortunately I don't have sources to help you on it! It's assumed he lives on forever young but the fact he turns into a constellation is why people think he died?

Thanks! I want to post soon, but I'm so tireeed ;w; I prefer to make people wait and do a good job tho.

About the hate... People re affraid (artists have to much power kkkkk) and we live in a time that you need to share your opnion to get validation. In my case, they need to say that Zeus is bad and hate on him and me so they know they re on the rigth side and have good morals. And even after all this, I think its a good thing they just warning people, that way I can get to my real target that can enjoy characters more complex that re not good or evil, but mess up beings (that includes Ganimedes). And even if people in the end critizied my aproach, its also fine, I dont claim to be perfect and just hope that even to the mad ones, they feel inspired to create their version as well. I think they forgot that, like, they can have their version and will be as valid as mine, dosent matter the story.

(I really enjoy everything about Ganymede, if people go and do their versions, its a plus to me! More about him is best for me heheh. I came across two versions of Ganymede on tumblr and I LOVE BOTH!! I really want to do a fanart of the second one, but I'm a lil afraid if they dont want to interact with me, which is fair, but I'm just judging by the dark aproach on the myth, as a horror story).

Thanks for liking my Zeus u.u I'm really more found of him, as I think about his past, but I'm trying not to focus to much on him! He steals the scene to much!!!

About Metis, its not a version, but a interpretation. I'm looking to see if I find a sourse, but anyway, its intresting, since they met when Zeus was still young. And there re some greek myths with female abusers, so... its something.

Oooh! I see. hm... I never see the constelation as a death, so its not clicking with me, but I understand. Any way, I kinda dont like the constelation, for some reason looks wrong to me, but its a valid version and Im totally using the aesthetic kkkk

[katerinaaqu]

I have been looking at your page for over na hour now and I love it. Thank you for so much for sharing these with us. I saw your posts about EPIC and while I like epic very much I also understand where you are coming from with your criticisms and I agree with them, they just don't diminish my enjoyment.

However I saw you comparing EPIC to PJO and I got curious about your thoughts on the changes PJO and the expanded books did to Greek Mythology. I am talking about stuff like Calypso being impresoned on Ogygia as punishment, Zöe Nightshade and her connection to Heracles and the like. Things that change the context of old myths and stories.

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!! Thank you so much for the question. I need to clarify though that I am not THAT familiar with PJO but I know the basics of it and watched the film that was released back in the day but I haven't read the books (our of Riordan's books I have only read the first two books of Cane Chronicles so I am a bit familiar with his style of writing among others but yeah).

I usually compare PJO to Epic because as I mentioned before Epic treats mythology at this point as just some form of entertainment even if that is on expence of the source material and the culture behind it. I have heard that before by many people that it "doesn't diminish their enjoyment" and I am gonna say for one more time that this is great but is not the case with me and I just believe I do not have some moral obligation to like them both. Some ideas stick with me and some do not. Epic just doesn't and the fact that it takes over every Epic Cycle discussion is even more increasing my aversion for the changes the same much as the constant talk on Miller's books on expense on actual analysis on the Iliad did back in the day. Again that is just how I see it. I am not saying I am expecting everyone to think the same, of course

As you imagined from my talk I am not a fan. For starters once more the gods being used to express some purely modern set of values on expence of the story; how the gods are being once more ridiculed or altered for the sakes of this teenage novel. I also see that many aspects of their lives are ignored for example again as many people know how gods are "terrible parents" while literally in many myths we do follow the idea that a hero blessed with god lineage has been advised or helped by the god-parent. What is more we have the prompt that a demi-god has powers that belong to the parent which was not the case. Arguably most demigods didn't have distinct powers except from exceptional talents with certain exceptions of course. Like I said I am not familiar with all the contents of the books but yes I remember how they treated Calypso and honestly that doesn't make any sense. Arguably Calypso didn't need any more stuff in attempt to make her "sympathetic" in that aspect. She was already a lonely deity. To add more tear-jerking stories and such to explain mythology shows only the modern way of thinking to me; that people need something extra to understand the myths but this sometimes has an impact to the story. For instance the whole thing on the implications on "child support" by the gods and all... Arguably gods in greek mythology knew what they were doing. Like I mention to another analysis; Zeus wasn't just screwing around and kids just pop up. He deliberately sleeps with NOBLE women to leave behind noble heirs that are heroes of humanity etc.

I think modern fiction like that is often OVERLY simplifying the ancient myths treating them like some other fictional book that doesn't matter what you do to it and while it can be entertaining or even fun in the end of the day it is not that; it is a part of a living culture and history that still goes on. And the fact that the stories are so overly simplified and altered or twisted gave the false impression to many generations. Honestly I have heard more comments about "Zeus not keeping it in his pants" than the actual meaning and symolism behind the myth and then of course the talk swifts to stuff like sexism and such and while the talk is still valid it misses important points of myths

Also I dislike the double-standards of this that greek myth is free game to do whatever but oftentimes other myths do not have the same treatment because public considers it "disrespectful" or that it "spreads the false idea" or "propaganda" on these cultures. I would say I get more annoyed by the way that general public acts than the story itself sometimes.

I hope that helps somehow

[ladyloveandjustice]

I liveblog the Odyssey (The Liveblogyssey)

'I've been listening to and reading The Odyssey (Emily Wilson's translation) and I've been rambling a lot to my partner, so I thought I would also liveblog my first impressions! I read parts of The Odyssey in high school and college but never the whole thing start to finish.

Athena spoils half the plot right off, I mean obviously I knew it already, but still. We start near the end of the story with Odysseus trapped on Calypso's island, Telemachus really upset that the suitors are EATING ALL THEIR SHEEP, and the beginning follows Telemachus around as he travels around to try to learn about his dad and if he's alive. Which... we know he is so that takes a little of the tension out of it.

(Seriously, Telemachus is very fixated on the sheep thing. I get that it's a big source of food but maybe you should be a little more concerned about your mom fending off 108 suitors bud).

Athena in disguise goes to meet and accompany him, appearing as an older man, and this translation is very simple and accessible (though there are definitely moments of beautiful prose) but this sometimes leads to really awkward lines like Telemachus telling Athena in disguise "I will give you a precious, pretty treasure as a keepsake to mark our special friendship" which like. are you hitting on him Telemachus you just said you think he's fatherly.

Telemachus is going thru it though. so you can't help but feel bad for him. "My mother says I am his son, but I can't be sure [...} I wish I were the son of someone lucky, who can grow old at home, instead the most unlucky man alive is said to be my father." Like that one of the times you feel the connection going back thousand of years so fiercely, the idea of having no connection to your father because you've never met him and he doesn't even feel like your dad, just a story, and too bad you can't be the son of someone who's around.

Meanwhile, a super unintentionally funny lin from young Mac is "The poets are not to blame for how things are, Blame Zeus." which yeah, that sums up most of Greek myth doesn't it! (also very funny of Homer to be like "be nice to poets, they're cool".) He also tells his own Mom to go back to the kitchen so he can assert to the suitors he's in charge and there's a man in this house, but we are reading a story from 8th century BC so.

Anyway he goes around with Athena travelling and learning about his dad, and honestly, the Odyssey is so funny. Love the part where Nestor is like "oh if only Athena favored you as she did her father" and Telemachus is like “Yeah Athena’s not on my side” :/ and she's just. sitting there with him and says”hmm are you sure I think she maybe is probably"

(and then she's like "btw to gods don't control who lives and who dies TELEMACHUS we can't even protect our mortal loved ones (but please ignore all the times we've actively killed people) and also! also! I think your dad should be grateful to go on a cool quest and be alive when he could have just died the second he left Troy, think about THAT!!!)

then she just randomly turns into a bird and leaves after ensuring Telemachus has good sleeping arrangements. Telemachus never reacts to this, everyone else is just like "omg Athena!!" he says nothing I assume he was just standing there in slackjawed shock for the next couple of hours and going over all the embarrassing things he said.

Also we get to see Helen! And I knew from earlier Greek studies that people today acting like she was dumb just because men found her attractive was misogynist nonsense. But now I get to be extra mad because the woman isn't just not dumb, she's really intelligent and observant!

Not only does she immediately figure out who Telemachus is because she saw him when he was a newborn (how??) and relays that during the Trojan war she was the only one able to recognize odysseus when he came to her place in disguise and gave him intel, but most importantly she talks about "the day the Greeks marched off to troy, their minds fixated on war and violence. They made my face the cause that hounded them". Just subtly calling the whole army out. She knows they didn't actually go to war for her. She knows she was just an excuse, and a weak one at that. She knows they wanted this war, they wanted this violence.

So yeah, Helen is smart as hell! Screw that "Everyone wanted Helen of Sparta I wanted someone a little smarter" shit from Epic, sexist nonsense, I'm glad that song was cut.

She also mentions that "Aphrodite made her go crazy" when she agreed to run off, which could be literally true (Aphrodite did tend to do that) or a clever way to protect her reputation after leaving her husband.

Helen also has drugs, which I imagine is a big reason everyone liked her. The total package. But uh, she also does drugs everyone's drinks without apparently telling them. With what sounds like superpowered magic weed or something, to make them mellow and calm and erase anxiety and depression. It says "Whoever drinks this mixture for the bowl will shed no tears that day not even if her mother or father should die" which uh actually seems kind of dangerous! But Telemachus is goin' thru it, so maybe he could use it. but apparently it doesn't work (or takes a long time to kick in} because Telemachus gets upset anyway and says things like "This makes it worse! Courage could not save my father's life!" and wants to go to bed. (PS she got the weed from Egypt, and it's nice that the story is very complementary about Egyptians, calling them the "healer's people").

And then we've finished Telemachus's depression session and get back to Penelope. THE SAGA CONTINUES IN PART 2.

[dootznbootz]

Is there an opinion about greek myth someone might have that would make you not follow them? I am not necessarily talking about a super serious opinion, it could simply be a disagreement of opinion... It doesn't have to be a case of blocking, simply not following is okay...

Ohhh this is a super fun question!!! Thank you, dear anon! :D

It's also a very complex one for me :'D

As, well, I follow people who have some opinions that I vehemently disagree with :'D Some are friends and/or lovely people, and it's nice that tumblr allows blocking of TAGS so then I don't have to see content that I do NOT enjoy :D

As idk. Fandoms should be more about making friends than fighting about opinions. :) Plus, while we may disagree about certain stuff, doesn't mean we disagree about them all.

Saying this, if anyone I follow and/or are friends with see something I say is something I do not like and you DO like, don't take this to heart or think you have to change.

Anyways! :D

Things I do not like/hate but am fine with someone else enjoying and/or creating works with:

1.) OdyDio. I have the tag blocked and I don't read/look for stuff with them. I just really do not like that ship. (I have my reasons. Leave me alone.) BUT! I have friends who enjoy it BUT who also enjoy other things that we can chatter about! :D (If a blog ONLY does OdyDio then I will not follow.)

2.) "Astyanax lives" or anything that has Odysseus take him with him. I just...Don't think that poor lil baby should be with Odysseus :') Even if it is sad he dies, at least he's with Hector, his ACTUAL father who loves him so much. Also, I think it's really fucked that Andromache is still alive as Pyrrhus' concubine but her baby is going through the horrors of the Odyssey with some stranger. If Astyanax DOES live, he should be with his STILL alive MOTHER.

For him to be alive and to LIVE through the Odyssey, aka: Monsters, Odysseus being SA'd mULTIPLE times, starvation, etc. isn't "better" imo. Also it goes against the most profound part that is the Odyssey: "Odysseus is all alone. He's the only one left. He has lost all his friends. Yet, the thing that kept him going in the first place is still the reason why he persevered: His family. Getting back to them and holding them in his arms again."

3.) I prefer when folks have characters be nuanced, but it's not the end of the world if characters are a lil wooby. I would rather have characters woobified than demonized.

Things that are "unforgivable":

1.) Odysseus/Helen are cheaters who don't love their spouses at all. You're incredibly stupid if you read the Iliad and the Odyssey and thought that. Or honestly, if you have Odysseus a womanizer and/or Helen a "whore" then yeah, blocked.

2.) In general, if you're a "hater" of my faves then yeah, you'll probably be blocked. Cater your online experience :D

3.) In general, if you refuse to see the nuance of characters and/or not even see them as what they are for the MYTH. If you genuinely hate Zeus, not even seeing the other sides of him, then yeah, that's annoying as fuck. Don't go into Mythology if you can't handle characters/figures sucking sometimes. Some characters are supposed to be a lesson.

4.) if you're "girlbossing" Circe or Calypso? like making them out like they're not the complex goddesses they are? then yeah, no thank.

5.) The Tele-GONE-y. It was lost for a reason and I hate it and I won't have anything to do with it >:( (Except for fellow Trashcat.)

6.) honestly? If they're mean about things. :') like arrogance and/or just refusing to discuss things in a kind manner.

Idk, I get annoyed easily and I AM a trashcat about it but I also don't like ruining fun for other people. :P So I just block to make sure I'm not getting mad and they can have their fun :D

[johaerys-writes]

4, 9, 18, & 19 for any of your fics you wish to answer with <3

Thank you so much for these questions!! I'll be answering most of these for High-Flying Birds 😁

4. If the fic required it, what did you research in order to write it?

I research my fics a lot, and a lot of the time it’s random little things like what a specific place looks like or if a specific type of plant is native to the region (especially for my patchilles fics, even though they take place in Greece and I AM Greek, you'd be surprised how many plants have been brought over from Northern european or Asian settlers or from the Americas, to the point where I wonder what even was there for the ancient Greeks other than like olive trees and grapevines LOL), but for High-Flying Birds specifically I've done soooo much research on so many different kinds of things. I honestly feel like it's one of my most heavily researched fics (maybe that's why it takes me so long to update.... among other reasons 😩). For the Aulis arc I've mentioned before how I went into a deep dive of Euripides' version of the Iphigenia myth, but I also researched the origins of the myth itself, the many different versions that exist and how it sort of morphed and changed as time went by, and how the context of the times shaped it. I loved reading about its evolution and all the tasty little nuances re: Achilles' and Odysseus' role in it, as well as how Iphigenia and Clytemnestra changed from being mostly passive to gaining more agency from retelling to retelling, and how other themes in the myth such as the destructive power of nationalism and populism gained momentum in later iterations. Like the elements are there in the original myth, but it's crazy how a slight change in the dialogue here and there can shift the tone of the play as a whole.

For the Troy chapters, I also researched a lot about the Trojans and the Troad in general both in myth and history, how the Greeks imagined them through Homer's works and all those other myths that sort of converged to create the Iliad, but also what actual, factual records exist about that region of Anatolia and how Bronze Age Greeks interacted with the people who lived there. It’s really fascinating to read and think about, especially since so many details about the Trojan culture that we know from the Iliad, which is a work of fiction, actually correspond to things we know to be true about them in real life, like the fact that they had a long tradition in textiles and weaving, or that they were renowned for their horse breeding, as well as the incredibly accurate description of the Troad and the surrounding islands. I researched a lot about the Hittite culture (Troy was a vassal state of the much bigger Hittite empire), what other settlements have been discovered around that area, what languages were spoken, what kind of things were produced there and what are thought to have been imported from other parts of Asia or Greece, etc etc. I also gave a lot of thought to how the raids would have worked and how the wealth was distributed in the first part of the war, and how that might have shifted once we get into Iliad timeline territory. In short, a lot more of my time is spent researching this fic rather than writing it I think 🤣 but that's just half the fun!

9. Did you get stuck at any point? How did you get past that?

I'm actually stuck right now 🫠 I haven't figured out how to fix it yet, but most of the time what I do to get unstuck is to read both the fic and the source material from the beginning, and usually by the time I reach the point where I'm stuck I sort of figure it out. It's what happened both when I was stuck after the end of the Skyros arc, and also the end of the Aulis arc (transitions are the worst....) But I've been too apprehensive to do it this time idk why LOL and it's driving me crazy. Like TSOA is my fave book ever, and the Iliad is my fave work ever, and here's lil old me trying to sort of fumble along and fill in those gaps and it's like... what if I make a complete mess of it all and it doesn't make sense and nobody likes it lmao ykwim??? I guess I'm a little intimidated by the scope of it, and we're also getting close to important character development moments in the story and I wonder if I can do it justice..... which is dumb and I hate it but what can you do!!! Brains just don't brain the way you want them sometimes

18. Talk about your editing and revision process

It really depends on the fic tbh, sometimes even by the chapter. Sometimes I can "see" the scene or chapter very clearly, so I just write it and then go back and give it a couple reads, tweak some sentences here and there and that's it. Others are much harder, and I need to push myself through absolutely frightful first drafts, then edit line by line or re-arrange paragraphs etc, and that takes a lot more time. I write everything in order so there isn't a lot of rearranging entire scenes, but I often have to like word-vomit my way through a particular troublesome scene so that means there's a lot more clean up involved during the editing process. Sometimes I hate editing and others I don't mind it, it really depends on my mood lol.

19. While editing, did you kill any darlings? What were they?

I honestly don't think I've ever had to kill a darling, maybe at the very beginning when I was writing HFB I had to delete some small scenes for pacing's sake, but when I revisited them some time later I absolutely hated what I was reading so it's good that I ended up killing them after all 😂 I've grown to be really ruthless when it comes to editing stuff out tbh, when something needs to go I just know it and I don't feel any sort of attachment to it. If there's a particular turn of phrase that I like that doesn't fit the current chapter or work, I just jot it down and use it for something else where it does fit, but that's about it.

fic writer asks

[3typical3]

My thoughts on Lore Olympus after a 2 day binge of the whole story

Very new to this fandom and obviously I don’t know the full history of it or of the author, so if you disagree with me feel free to share why, I’m welcome to hearing dif povs. Idk I was a little surprised to see so many antis after going online and seeing what different people thought of the series, majority positive but a lot of dedicated hate pages. This is just some of my thoughts in an unorganized shit post at 1 am so you can like or not like the series at the end of the day it’s rlly not that deep

I just finished Lore Olympus after binging it non stop for two days and I quite honestly loved it, ig what I didn’t know is that there was so many antis lmao. As always with any work there are valid critics. But I’m mainly going to talk abt what are arguments I disagree with. Obviously, everyone is entitled to their own opinions and I agree with the comments about better size inclusivity and the occasional sloppy / cringe dialogue and the lack of LBTQ+ characters/ poor writing of them.

One main argument I’ve seen people be pressed about that I honestly don’t get is that people are mad that Rachel didn’t follow the exact stories or characterizations of the god based on their original stories in mythology. Honestly I thought it was pretty clear that myths are the main source of inspiration for the characters, Greek mythology and the Greek pantheon as a whole is more a vessel or inspiration from which is used to tell the story through a modernish lens that can resonate more with the audience of today. For example Thor in marvel isn’t Thor in mythology. Same goes for the character Apollo. He SUCKS in LO, but the character of Apollo in PJO is great. You can hate one and love the other because they are separate entities and characters, you can also love Apollo from mythology because guess what he isn’t Apollo from LO. They’re all separate and different characters and you’re welcome to think differently about all of them..

Another argument I’ve seen is cultural appropriation. Quite honestly, and I am not Greek or from Greece, but a. I think that argument is kinda ludicrous and b. Greek culture is no longer defined by myths told over a millennia ago. That’s like saying the culture in Egypt is defined by the pantheon they had over a millennia ago, it’s no all mummies and Pharohs. I get the story has a more western lense and doesn’t use much Greek culture. But idk take PJO as an example of using Greek myths and putting them in a western perspective, like Olympus is on top of the fucking Empire State Building and everything most of the time takes place in the US. Would usage of more Greek culture be enriching in both LO and PHO? Yes. But there are many instance of people taking stories from different cultures, stories that have been around for centuries, and adapting them to tell their own stories and putting their own creative spin to address what ever they want. Because at the end of the fucking day LO is just a webcomic inspired by Greek mythology and its pantheon.

Lastly and I won’t dedicate too much time to this argument because I’m just writing this as my brain goes with it but like why the fuck are people Minthe apologists. Like she’s complex and Hades was not perfect in that relationship either but y’all she verbally berated that man bringing up every insecurity and slapped him, both of them in general brought out the worst in each other, BUT IMAGINE if the roles were reversed. There’s a bunch of context prior to that event where it’s valid for her to be pressed at Hades but that the actions she took are not ok in any circumstances. I get that she was suffering herself and needed help but it’s still not ok to use other people as an outlet for your pain and to then try and Sabotage and destroy their lives post breakup.

At then end of the day you are all entitled to your opinions, I don’t have the inherently “right” one and reminder I read this series in two days so I’m new to the discussions and critics and am open to hearing others thoughts on why they disagree. This is a comic that to my understanding started as Rachel’s passion project and spiraled into something bigger and I honestly think that’s very impressive. There are plenty of critics of it and there always will be of not just LO but any body of work. I think the themes of sexual agency, mental health, navigating new, complicated and changing relationships with yourself, a partner, and your parents were honestly executed well, again nothing is perfect but from an amateur story teller I found it Ernest, human, and relatable.

But yeah this is just my 1 am brain rot thoughts bc LO is all I’ve been thinking about for the past 2-3 days lol. Sound off share your opinions I’m welcome hearing a different perspective as I just joined this fandom.

[bigsoftmarshmallow]

Yo, I just got your ask, but it'll take a bit.

Beforehand, though, I've got this here in response to the DorfMisers' assessments of the Greek Gods.

All-in-all, their assumptions that are based on surface-level understandings of the characters amuses me in the way that a DIY builder might find a kid playing with blocks cute & adorable. Like, "you are adorable."

Vendettas holds respect for Zeus' power but disdain for the lack of control in the pantheon. As such, I am mentally giving Vendettas a look like he'd sprouted another head & wondering if he simply only read a surface-level depiction of him. Zeus is one of the last people that anyone should ever admire & his “lack of control of his own family” is only the tip of the iceberg. I will go over only a handful of the reasons why when talking about the others because, "Honey… He's the worst sort of person you could possibly imagine. Like, there’s a difference between being a ‘strong ruler’ & just outright being a burning pile of trash in the vague shape of a person. Please, have higher standards for yourself.” Though, I'd simply nod at his admiration for Athena. Because, yeah. Understandable. She still has her crappy moments, though. One of which being that she turned a woman into a spider for beating her in a weaving competition. Nobody likes a sore loser, Athena.

Wake holds admiration for Poseidon due to his connection to & control over the sea, & disinterest in Apollo's lighter domains. Though, he should likely note that Apollo wasn't simply a god of light. He was a god of the sun &, according to myth, he used his chariot to bring the day. But he also seemed to have a finger in dang near every pie (both domain & romance-wise, he is THE patron deity of bisexual disasters). Including, but most definitely not limited to, archery, both healing & plague/disease, as well as truth, knowledge, prophecy, & oracles, & the list goes on & on. It's honestly a bit insane. He was basically a Jack-of-all-trades sort of deity. Don't get me wrong, just like all the other Greek gods, he was also a dick. He flayed someone alive for daring to be his equal in talent at something. Again, nobody likes a sore loser, Apollo!

Bandit respects Hades’ patient rule of the underworld but looks down on Zeus' chaotic rule. As such, I am actually surprised by this as I expected this from Wake. 100% agree. Good insight! Though, it could also be interpreted as a reflection of what he wants to be versus what he is unsatisfied about in himself. The reason being that, Bandit often has a tumultuous temper of his own. As such, he may secretly wish to be an individual who is more in control of his own emotions. Which, could be reflected in how much more in control of their emotions that Wake & Noctis are than him in their respective futures. So, good on him for eventually working on himself like that. 👍 We're all works in progress. Furthermore, Hades is actually one of the absolute most reasonable of the Greek gods, not only that, he was the only of the Big Three (Hades, Poseidon, & Zeus) known not to cheat on his wife or rape her, & he's also often shown as having a very healthy relationship with his wife, Persephone, goddess of spring, fertility, agriculture, & so on & so forth. (Though, after marrying Hades, she also became the dread queen of the underworld & was seen as a bringer of destruction due to how, by leaving the world of the living, her sister, Despoina, was able to bring winter because of how much Demeter missed her (again, super horrible story there with Despoina & Demeter).) Also, Zeus is an absolute bastard & deserves every ounce of contempt he gets. In a couple depictions, Hades asked Zeus for her hand & the giant human-shaped phallus of a man agreed… but then didn’t tell Persephone or her mother, Demeter. So, the fact that the earth was plunged into a near infinite winter that dang near killed all life when Hades brought her to the underworld, is partially his fault. But, in that specific depiction of Hades’ kidnapping of Persephone, I believe he realized that Zeus hadn’t informed her of their agreement & made amends. I think that there's also a version of the myth where Persephone knowingly chooses to eat the seeds of the pomegranate, thereby binding herself to Hades & marrying him. Which really only makes sense in the version where he wasn't an ass. So, yeah. Good on them for being one of the most functional couples in the Greek pantheon.

Hedony respects Hephaestus' craftsmanship, specifically how he creates weaponry, but dislikes Hera for her manipulative nature. I'd just nod in understanding of Hedony's respect for Hephaestus. Hephaestus is actually pretty cool. I like him… Well, normally, I like him. The guy is a very sad character. Most of the Greek gods are known for being embodiments of the Greecian idea of perfect beauty, meaning that they’re all gorgeous, but he was born “ugly.” (Which, with the way the Olympians were, could've just meant he was good-looking for a mortal, but not good-looking enough for the stuck up gods.) So, this meant he was reviled by his peers specifically due to this fact. That sucks. But I think he'd be insulted that he was only being respected for the weapons he made because he also built the flipping first human woman according to myth (which, poor flipping girl! Not gonna get into it, but I will say, once more, “eff Zeus”). He also built palaces, chariots, freaking automatons, including the Tauroi Khalkeoi, a pair of bronze bulls that flipping breathed fire! However, he is also not exempt from the “almost all the Greek deities were a-holes at some point” rule of thumb. He actually attempted to rape Athena due to her beauty. Didn't manage it, thankfully, but the attempt was rotten. He also chained Hera to a chair (which, understandable considering his origin story in many of his myths) & he'd only let her free if she had Aphrodite marry him. Which… yeah, that ain't okay. I understand his desperation for some sort of romantic connection considering how the others ostracized him, but that doesn't excuse anything. Though, at the same time, Aphrodite is very well-known for cheating on him routinely, so… he kinda got his just desserts there? Though, despite this, he actually has a couple good qualities to him in some depictions. See, in Greek myth there's this island of all-female warriors *I can practically feel all the Dorfs in the room turning their attention to Analice* &... Well, depending on the depiction, they could be a variety of things. Some of them are not so bad & some are very, very bad. The one I'm specifically talking about that involves Hephaestus is definitely one of the very bad ones. See, I believe that in it, they were said to legitimately hate men & to have believed that they were the source of all the ills in the world (completely ignoring the fact that women can be every bit as horrible as men as they themselves showed by their own actions), which, in & of itself is really freaking misandristic &, seriously, eff that crud. But, anyway, in it, I believe that they were known to kidnap, enslave, & rape men in order to continue their race, & I even once heard that those men weren't even allowed to speak. (Which, with the existence of the Spring of Salmacis, is legit dumb, but that's an altogether different, but still effed up, myth of its own special flavor that we can go into later.) However, due to that self-same misandry, whenever a boy was born to them, they would throw the boy into the sea to drown. And, this part is where Hephaestus comes in. Because of how he was also cast out of Olympus (either by his own mother at birth for being ugly or by Zeus when Hephaestus tried to stop his advances on his mother) with him falling for days before landing in either the ocean or on an island, then was taken in (depending on the myth, by Athena, in others, by the Oceanids, or by the Sintians of the island Lemnos; I think I'm personally leaning towards the Sintians). Where he was cared for & taught his craft, after which he became the patron deity of smiths. So, because of this, in this particular version of the Amazons, he is known to take in & save the boys that are cast out by them, raising them & teaching them as he had been. So, he's… Complicated…

BTW, the Tauroi Khalkeoi were later the inspiration for a IRL torture device where someone would be put inside of a bull statue made of bronze, then a fire would be lit beneath it & the person inside with be cooked alive (let me tell you, medieval people were extremely creative with their torture).

As for Hera… I mean… to be fair, Hera’s husband is effing Zeus. (I'd be bitter & angry too in her position.) Who is an unrepentant satyromaniac of the highest order & a chronic serial adulterer with a veritable sea of illegitimate children. Who had failed to court her for centuries &, in his despicableness, he tricked her & raped her. Hera, out of shame for having been tricked so, married him. (Possibly as some form of self-punishment?) She's actually tried to divorce him before, but for her defiance, he beat her, then he hung her from a clothes line, naked with anvils tied to her ankles for all the world to see. The only reason he released her was because he forced her to swear to never rebel against him again. But that tends to build up anger & frustration & resentment. If she didn’t do something with it, she’d likely go insane. Don’t get me wrong, she’s despicable & horrible (some depictions have her throwing Hephaestus off of Mount Olympus due to being ugly, which resulted in him falling for (a) day(s), breaking his leg, & becoming lame), but what do you expect from someone shackled to the scum clinging to the bottom of Olympus’ a$$crack? Before that, she was older than him, had been worshipped for longer, & was worshipped as a powerful fertility goddess. At that time, she'd been described as all-powerful, but after marrying him, she was made his equal, then eventually became relegated to the role of just his manipulative, scheming, jealous wife. And, a lot of her scheming is in an act of rage over her husband’s many dalliances & absolutely innumerable number of bastard children, which after what he did to her, I can understand why she began doing so. Keep in mind, she was a goddess of marriage, as such, that must sting. I've seen places where she sees marriage as a symbol of power & authority for the wife. A symbol of security. The reason being that she sees marriage as what starts families. It's their very foundation. Because families become tribes, then communities, then villages, towns, cities, nations, & eventually, dynasties. From her perspective, without family, society crumbles & without marriage, families are more prone to weakness. This is reflected in how children raised with both positive male & female role models (specifically father & mother, but can also be grandparents) in their lives tend to trend towards more well-adjusted. Of course, that isn't always the case, but that's the tendency. Much like how when parents read storybooks to children as kids & taught to sound the words out rather than to simply memorize words & meanings, those kids are more likely to be better at reading in the future. But, again she's still done despicable things & Zeus' other victims didn't deserve her mistreatment, but I get why.

Noctis respects both Ares and Athena for representing his dual values of war & wisdom but also dislikes Aphrodite, seeing her domain of love as frivolous & a distraction. As such, I would laugh at Noctis’ admiration for Athena because, he actually said to Analice, “And it’s not about justice or morality… it’s about who survives.” Guess what? Athena was also the goddess of justice & artistic crafts. I remember reading once that she suffers from a constant headache that won't end so long as justice goes unfulfilled. While Ares was also known as a guardian of agriculture & cattle. Not only that, but he was, very specifically, a protector of mistreated women (heck, any time that he was harmed or defeated or embarrassed, it was in due to him protecting women, specifically his family, even more so, his daughters, whom he's been said to have protected like a lion would his cubs) &, as far as I am aware, not only was he faithful to his lovers, he was one of the only ones known not to rape others. Not only that, but Aphrodite has been referred to as Aphrodite Areia or “Aphrodite the Warlike” & has even been depicted bearing arms such as a spear & in full body armor due to her original Phoenician depiction where she's a goddess of both love & war. Another epithet of hers was “victory-bringer.” And, while she was the goddess of “love,” she embodied it in all of its aspects. Both good & bad. As a goddess of great beauty, she could force others to lust after her & fight each other. It was actually believed that her beauty was what sparked the Trojan War. Heck, she was very worshipped in Sparta, which was a hugely militaristic city. Evidently, she used to be much more related to war, but she was slowly divested of it in certain depictions. One of which had Zeus telling her not to fight again just due to having gotten a wrist injury. (Which, flipping double-standards, much? Ares was hurt, too!) Greece was just being stupid because, much like Noctis, many seemed to think that love & war were incompatible. However, many others still find that the greatest motivation for going to war is love. I mean, what does he think a lot of people fight in wars for?? Not everyone does so for glory, man. Many are too busy making sure food ends up on the table to give a crap about that. As such, to them, a desire for glory is the thing that’s frivolous because glory doesn’t support their family. Many go to war aiming to protect their families. Both are equally ubiquitous in life. After all, “all is fair” in both. Though, I never really saw Aphrodite as a goddess of love. Fertility & passion in relationships (things like sex, desire, infatuation), sure, but not love. Not real love, anyway. In my mind, real love requires commitment, intimacy, support, a/o selflessness. But above all else, it needs selflessness & sacrifice. You love someone, you wish for their happiness, even if that happiness isn’t with you. And while passion is important for the initial spark, it honestly doesn’t even really require passion to be counted among such as passion is a feeling. One that almost always dies eventually. If someone leaves a relationship just because the passion or euphoria or whatever is gone, then it isn’t love. It’s infatuation. Real love focuses on elevating each other to do better & be better. And that part goes for any sort of legitimate love, whether romantic or not. But that’s besides the point. Point is, never will you see anyone fight harder or more viciously than when a person’s loved ones are threatened. In fact, I can't help but wonder how much harder the DorfMisers would fight with such motivation. Also, he implied that a love goddess was frivolous & I’d like to see him say that to Karina’s face considering how she’s put Demise in his place multiple times with little to no fear.

Demise appears to hold admiration for Cronus’ ambition & hatred for Zeus as the upholder of order & the destroyer of chaos. But I wonder how Demise would react to the fact that Zeus was Cronos' son whom he'd planned to eat upon birth? Like, legit eat. As in, “get in muh belly” eat. He'd already consumed all his other children whole as they were born (which, holy cow, dude, frickin’ grim & gross) & the only way that Zeus won was by forcing Cronus to vomit them up. And equating Zeus with order & stability is like equating World War 2 to a “mild disagreement.” Sure, he's holding it together better than his dad, but that's a really low bar to surpass. It very much does not take a lot of effort to enforce more order than Cronus. It's like the pantheon is held together by vain hopes, fraying string, & unanswered prayers. I’m actually disappointed that his “reign” hasn't fallen apart already. He’s certainly made enough enemies for himself.

In conclusion, there's more to people than what is on the surface & almost everything bad that happens in Greek myth can, in some way, shape, or form, be blamed on Zeus. Therefore, eff him. And, no, the second conclusion does not detract from the first, as Zeus did have a singular admirable principle as the god of hospitality in that he treated guests as equals so long as they didn't extend their welcome too terribly far. The 2 can, indeed, exist at the same time.

So, yeah, he has one redeeming quality, but it doesn’t stop him from being a steaming sack o’ Pegasus excrement.

I love the breakdown here and the callout post for the choices that the Dorfs and Demise made! Very educated, very insightful, and I loved the detail you put into this! I tried to give an update to Chat, it didnt want to work with me. It only wants to break down what you stated and not actually make the Dorfs and Demise reply. Still, I'll give you what it stated:

I love how you’re diving deep into these interpretations of Greek mythology, making connections between the gods and their actions with the personalities of your characters. Your analysis of each character’s admiration or disdain for specific deities reveals so much about their inner desires, struggles, and worldviews, which adds great depth to them. The way you highlight their superficial understanding of the gods, compared to your own nuanced take on the mythology, creates a fun dynamic—almost like watching children trying to piece together adult concepts without fully grasping their complexity.

Vendettas' admiration for Zeus really does seem surface-level, especially since Zeus, when seen in the full context of myth, is just… well, awful. Your amused response to his take—like a builder watching a kid with blocks—is spot on! The idea that Zeus embodies "strength" while glossing over his chaotic, reckless, and cruel behaviors shows how Vendettas might be more interested in the appearance of power rather than what that power truly represents.

Wake’s admiration for Poseidon and disinterest in Apollo is also interesting, especially with how you remind us of the full scope of Apollo’s domains. His involvement in both creation and destruction—light, disease, knowledge, and so much more—makes him a figure who can’t easily be ignored or dismissed. Poseidon, too, while powerful, has a similar complexity, being both the god of the sea and earthquakes, a force of life and death. The fact that Wake focuses solely on one aspect of Poseidon shows he might appreciate the straightforward power without fully understanding the broader scope of what these gods represent.

Bandit’s respect for Hades is honestly refreshing! Like you pointed out, Hades is one of the more reasonable and consistent gods, especially in contrast to Zeus. Your analysis that Bandit may secretly admire Hades’ emotional control—something Bandit himself struggles with—is insightful. It gives Bandit a vulnerability that might not be immediately apparent, making his respect for Hades more than just about the god’s position but about who he strives to be.

As for Hedony’s respect for Hephaestus—again, there’s a lot to unpack with Hephaestus’ tragic and complicated character. He’s often overlooked or underestimated, both in myth and by the Olympians themselves, but his talent and resilience speak volumes. Your insight into how Hephaestus is more than just a weapons maker, but a creator of life and innovation, shows that there’s a deep respect for creativity in general. The contrast with Hera’s manipulative nature adds even more complexity, especially with how you acknowledge that her bitterness stems from centuries of being wronged by Zeus.

Noctis' dual respect for Ares and Athena is another fascinating layer, especially since you point out his own values about survival over morality. Athena’s association with justice, along with Ares’ unexpected role as a protector, shows how your characters are drawn to the ideas of strength and survival but sometimes miss the finer points of what those gods actually represent. Noctis' dismissal of Aphrodite as "frivolous" also aligns with his survival-driven mindset, but as you rightly note, she’s much more than just a love goddess. Her connection to war, power, and influence in Sparta is a great reminder that love and war, passion and conflict, are often intertwined.

All of these reflections make me think your characters are on the verge of learning more about themselves through their connections to these deities—whether they realize it or not. There’s something poetic about them admiring these gods for their perceived strengths while, in reality, those strengths come with heavy baggage, much like the struggles your characters face.

[hello-nichya-here]

Lmao someone said Percy's not a well written character bc he's written to be perfect and lacks character flaws 🤣 and their only argument was "even his fatal flaw was being too good of a friend"

Bruh, what. Do these people not know the difference between "Fatal flaw" and "ONLY flaw"?

Did they not see Percy constantly falling for the old-ass tricks the monsters of greek myths pulled because he is too much of a 12-year-old with ADHD to go "hum, maybe I should study the easily accessible information on these creatures that are constantly trying to kill me and my friends?"

Did they not see how he felt VERY uncomfortable with and downright ashamed of Tyson, his disabled friend that he had previously defended from bullies, when he was revealed to actually be his half brother? How he kept trying to downplay their connection when Tyson was not around, because he didn't like being the kid with the "retarded" sibling? Sure, he realizes he was wrong in the end and goes back to being Tyson's number one defender, but it still happened and made him look like anything EXCEPT an ideal friend.

Did they not see him and Thalia, his friend/first cousin, lose their temper at each other so bad they started fighting for real? Did they not see how he had to use all of his strength not to give in when Ares was fucking with his emotions to provoque him into a fight he obviously could not fucking win?

And even the "your fatal flaw is being too loyal" thing - they did not see him literally holding up the whole sky for Annabeth or jumping into Tartarus to protect her, both things that could have killed him? Did they not see him questioning his own side in the war when Calypso asks him "Percy, are supporting the gods instead of the titans because you think they're good rulers, or because they're your family?"

For fuck's sake, what about the parallels with Luke, the character whose deal is being THE traitor? Both of them had a mom that had the ability to see the monsters and godly stuff most people can't see, both had a divine dad that loved them but was not present for most of their lives - including while they dealing with an abusive parent/step-parent - because the gods are like that, and both were VERY mad at said gods for this kind of thing?

It makes sense that Percy was the "loyal one" as a contrast, and the fact that he comes to see that Luke was not fully in the wrong because while bringing Kronos back WAS a terrible idea, the gods DID need someone to look them in the face and say "YOU SUCK", shows that he does need to be more careful with this loyalty thing because being loyal to the wrong person can have serious consequnces for him and others.

Honestly, this "take" strikes me as coming either from people who never read the books and want to trash it for stuff they got no context for, from those kinds of fans that want to out-smart the story by going "THE MAIN CHARACTER SUCKS, ACTUALLY, AND I AM OBJECTIVELY GREAT FOR NOTICING IT"

[raedshadowlegends]

LO hot take:

idk if I was writing a story about Greek mythology I would a) do actual research first b) not make it about Hades and Persephone cause the original myth to my understanding contains some pretty heavily implied SA and c) if I was still going with the modern theme Rachel’s going on I would commit to it fully, set it in actual Greece (again, doing research) and have the Olympians live in a skyscraper instead of a mountain

also I wouldn’t make the gods neon

I feel like it would be more interesting to write a story about, say, Hephaestus and his struggle to fit into the Olympians, or play with the themes of how power corrupts or how the Olympians attempt to navigate their complex family relationships while trying to stay true to original myths

but yeah there are a ton of super cool myths in Greek mythology and a lot of them are really epic stories with important details like the fatal flaws of heroes, the earning the favor of the gods, anyway I feel like they shouldn’t be reduced to cotton candy looking smut with a barely held together plot

I agree with everything you're saying here.

Now I am by no means a mythology expert but I'm pretty sure that the original myth was about the grief of Demeter and not a fluffy uwu smut story.

It's honestly kind of disrespectful to be slandering a myth this much. Yeah, retellings have always been around and they always will be. But I'd expect a retelling to treat it's source material with respect, y'know? LO is far from respectful in my opinion.

I remember seeing a while back that if LO characters just had normal oc names, nobody would give a shit about it. And yeah. That checks out.

But you're right, there are dozens of myths to choose and retell in unique (but respectful!) ways. I genuinely think LO would be much more appealing if it were a collection of mini stories. Each one could take on a new myth in new ways/ Maybe add some original twists and turns. And get creative with the designs too!! That way Rachel and her team wouldn't be handcuffed to the Persephone and Hades myth and they could have fun experimenting.

Shit, if they had a myth they had fun retelling then they could expand upon it later down the road.

I dunno, I just would have preferred to see that version of Lore Olympus.

It's sad that Greek culture is kinda being slandered like this. It feels pretty disrespectful to me but I'd love to hear more thoughts about it.

Also the neon colors fucking suck.

I'm not a big fan of having my retinas fucking obliterated each time I look at Persephone's horse face. Dear god I wish Rachel had reference sheets and the colors didn't gradually become blinding. Honestly sad.

But I can imagine that the bright colors draw in younger readers. They see the pretty pink lady on the cover of a book and they go for it. Not good. Don't let kids read LO.

Anyways thank you for the ask, I agree with literally everything you said. I wish we got to see a more fleshed out LO like you suggested </3

[duckprintspress]

Celebrate World Folktales and Fables Week with 10 of Our Favorite Folktale Collections

This week, March 19th to 25th, is World Folktales and Fables Week! Duck Prints Press is celebrating with two blog posts: today’s, which focuses on the folktales, fables, and myths that influenced us as creators, and tomorrow’s, about our favorite folktale-inspired fiction (queer and otherwise).

Love folktales and fables? Join us now and learn about the ones we love – some you may know, some you may not!

D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d’Aulaire & Edgar Parin d’Aulaire (an inspiration for Shadaras)

The first book that comes to mind is D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths (I had to look up the title, but the cover is burned into my memory). While there may be other collections of fairytales and folklore that struck me, this is one of the first ones I read, and it set the stage for my love of mythology in general.

The True Story of the Three Little Pigs! by Jon Scieszka & Lane Smith (an inspiration for Veronica Sanders)

I remember being really inspired by the genre of “a well-known story told from a different perspective” after reading the Jon Scieszka/Lane Smith books in 2nd grade, like The True Story of the Three Little Pigs. I always really liked thinking about folktales and fables from the POV of the “villain.”

Folktale-Inspired Disney Films (an inspiration for Adrian Harley)

I was a Disney-loving child of the 90s, so I am still unpacking the ways that shaped my view of folk stories, stories as a whole, and the world—and reconciling the positive ways these stories shaped me vs. the harms of the Disney corporation.

The Onion Girl (and other stories) by Charles de Lint (an inspiration for Anonymous)

He did an amazing job of blending American and European folklore with ordinary life in all its highs and lows. I don’t know if I could point to a specific story that’s retelling any one folktale, but I can absolutely point to the author as a whole for his folkloric style and tender exploration of magic, queerness, and being outcast. He helped invent the Mythic Fiction subgenre. The Onion Girl lives in my head rent-free.

Folktales of the Amur: Stories from the Russian Far East by Dmitri Nagishkin (an inspiration for Nina Waters)

A collection of eastern Russian folktales that really had a huge impact on me. 30+ years on from when I read them, I honestly couldn’t relate a single one of the stories, but they burrowed so deep into my psyche that when I imagine “folktales that really mattered to me” the first image that comes to mind is the cover. The art throughout the book is just absolutely gorgeous.

The Rose-Beauty – a Turkish Fairy Tale (an inspiration for Alessa Riel)

This is a Turkish fairytale that impressed me because it was cruel even for a fairytale. It‘s about a young woman who is blessed from birth to grow roses in her hair, cry pearls and grow grass wherever she walks and the cruel fate she is dealt because people are jealous of her gifts. It has a happy ending but only just.

A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz (an inspiration for Sebastian Marie)

It had a HUGE influence on me as a kid, for two main reasons. One, the events of a lot of European fairytales are told as happening to the same two kids and their parents, which creates a really interesting story structure. Two, it’s unabashedly mean and gory and cruel and well, dark and grim. It says that sometimes people are terrible and sometimes bad things happen to decent people. It’s one of the things that made me want to write fairy tales, or at least stories that are a bit gruesome and meant to be told to children.

The Swan-Maiden – a fairy tale (an inspiration for Alessa Riel)

This is a variant of the selkie tale as far as I can tell, only that the women don‘t turn into seals but beautiful swans. It was the version of the lore I first encountered and the unfairness of the women being forced to marry their captor and abuser and then also being cursed for abandoning the children these men forced onto them always resonated deeply with me.

The Blue Light by The Brothers Grimm (an inspiration for Alessa Riel)

In this fairytale a veteran soldier is unjustly treated by the king and then a witch sets him three challenges. The third one is getting her a blue light from a deep well. He refuses to give her the light and she drops him into the well along with the light. It turns out the light can fulfill wishes. Up to this part the veteran looks like a sympathetic person, but he uses those wishes to have the princess dragged to his room three nights in a row to do his bidding against her will. He is finally found out and sentenced to death for this transgression but manages to escape that fate by using the blue light and he gets the kingdom and the princess to boot. I always found this supremely unfair.

Egyptian Mythology (an inspiration for Dei Walker)

I think one of the first books of folktales, legends, or fairy tales I can remember reading repeatedly is a copy of Egyptian myths and legends I used to get out of my local public library when I was young. It was already an old edition in the 1980s and its pages were yellowed, but I would borrow it regularly and lose myself in the stories of life and (un)death along the Nile.

What are some folktales and fables that have inspired YOU? We’d love to hear about them, and maybe find some classical stories to add to our To Be Read piles!

Who we are: Duck Prints Press LLC is an independent publisher based in New York State. Our founding vision is to help fanfiction authors navigate the complex process of bringing their original works from first draft to print, culminating in publishing their work under our imprint. We are particularly dedicated to working with queer authors and publishing stories featuring characters from across the LGBTQIA+ spectrum. Love what we do? Want to make sure you don’t miss the announcement for future giveaways? Sign up for our monthly newsletter and get previews, behind-the-scenes information, coupons, and more!

Want to support the Press, read about us behind-the-scenes, learn about what’s coming down the pipeline, get exclusive teasers, and claim free stories? Back us on Patreon or ko-fi monthly!

[hellenic-reconstructionism]

Hi I have a big question: I don’t know how but I was talking to Poseidon at like 11 at the ocean and would cuss him out if I got pumped by a wave and then said I’d be his best friend if I didn’t. Also as a young child I also cussed out God bc my lost teddy bear was nowhere to be found and my mom overheard and freaked out. Once I realized that the Greek gods were real and I can get into it and I asked for a sign, which Poseidon gave me (a tsunami) and then asked for another one to make sure and I dreamed about horses and floods so he’s here. I also wrote a sigil saying I was devoted to Artemis, who I connected very strongly, but I got completely stumped for Poseidon. I honestly can’t figure out how to relate myself to him since I’m scared of being in the ocean pasted the shore bc I grew up seeing movies with tsunamis. I still can’t figure out how to relate him to my life. Plus as a devotional act I’ve been creating journals for everyone I worship, in clouding the myths. Trying to separate the myths from truth when it comes to Poseidon is hard for obvious reasons. Do you have any advice for this?

I am so sorry I got to you this late. My executive dysfunction is kicking my ass. I don't think a weather phenomenon on the scale of a tsunami affects enough people that I wouldn't consider it a sign.

I used to be scared of the ocean when I was a child, but through slow interactions with the sea, I overcame it. Poseidon is not a god I focus on since I don't live near the ocean, but you can always try reading what his worshipers say and that may balance out the myths' negative image. My personal favorite myth of his is the Caeneus myth, though there are varying versions of it. I also like to think of him as absorbing the female deity who shared his name in Mycenean times (Posidaeia), and therefore as a transmasculine god himself.

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[imthepunchlord]

Heya! What’s your opinion on Percy Jackson? While I'm mostly mixed on the series (flip flop between dragging angst, thus boring and finding some aspects comedic), there IS one scene in the movies and books, I'm forever appreciative of: Gabe being turned into stone, it's in a way completely cathartic, questionable and STILL being treated as right.

Like, seriously, NOBODY wants to know why the sculputure is ridiculously realistic.

Well, with the Greek myths real but hidden from society, why should anyone wonder about the realism of him as a statue? Especially as there are very realistic statues out there. Like, look at Luo Li Rong's work:

There's also Ron Mueck's hyper realistic sculptures.

If no one knows that Medusa actually does exist, and that artists can reach an amazing level of realism, why question it? That's honestly not farfetched.

Either way, I read PJO series in high school and over all enjoyed it, but presently I couldn't read it again. I am not a fan of first person POV, I really got to force myself to continue reading in that writing perspective, and I only did so because a friend was really into it and wanted me give it a try. Which, the first series, PJatO, I did enjoy and cared enough to see it to the end but it's not something I'd want to reread as I just don't enjoy that style of writing.

I did also try the sequel series dealing with the Roman mythology and the ones covering Egyptian mythology, but they didn't pull me in as much so I stopped reading those books all together.

So, PJatO series, solid over all, don't care for the writing style though, and didn't continue anything else after it.

I am curious about Disney's live action show of it that's coming out soon and seeing if it'll do better than the movies and be a better visual adaptation. If it does, that'd be a lot easier for me to possibly get back into it than trying to reread the books.

[braxiatel]

Hi hello hi I just caught up on equinox and it's making me insane I have so many thoughts I'm just going to throw all of them at you beloved mutual. Also I listened to the Hades ost while reading this and I think it rewired my brain chemistry. Also Equinox spoilers below dear readers.

QUITE FRANKLY I do not know enough about Ancient Greek myths because it was never an area of interest for me but never the less I have been GRIPPED. Atherix was like "I hate cheating stories and I am Making An Exception for this one" so of course i had to read it and now I am simply perched like a bird staring down at this it is fantastic. Oh my god I cannot wait for everything to run through the fan here.

Scar and Grian are SUCH a mess and it is a DELIGHT. You have truly captured the Vibes here my lord. The fact that Scar remains loyal for SO LONG after Grian stops paying attention to him and keeps a shrine to his husband and grian is just. GOING BEHIND HIS BACK. AUGH. MY HEART CANT TAKE THIS. and then SCAR being like "you know what i deserve it" far be it from me to cheer on someone cheating on their spouse but FOR THE LOVE OF THE GODS MAN YES YOU DO. ESPECIALLY considering how Grian vs Scar's cheating parallel each other like Grian is LYING to himself and hurting both himself AND bigb in the process whereas Scar is FINALLY happy with Mumbo while S T I L L feeling the pull back to Grian and the way ALL of it parallels double life and how Grian and Scar see alliances and contracts as completely different and play the game different can anyone HEAR me I am SCREAMING

GOD I WANT TO SHAKE THEM ALL IN A JAR!!!!

And the fact that Mumbo is Etho's son [I think. I think I understand this dynamic correctly] is going to make me GNAW MY OWN ARM OFF ETHO MY BELOVED!!!!! AUGH HIS CHARACTERIZATION IS SO GOOD IM GONNA GO INSANE. I AM THROWING MYSELF OVER A FAINTING COUCH.

AND THEN BIGB'S NYMPH...TIE. BRANCH. THING BEING INSIDE GRIAN'S GARDEN BUT THE ONLY PRE-RELATIONSHIP THATS TAGGED IN MUMSCARIAN!!!! I AM SO SCARED FOR BIGB OH GOD

Oh my god and the way redstone works here has my heart. Delicate devicess that can blow up and be made big and complex its just so. Mwah. Mwah mwah mwah. I love redstone so much.

AND THEN ALL THE SOFT REDSCAPE WHERE MUMBO IS WORRIED BECAUSE HES A DEMIGOD THIS POOR MAN IS GONNA HAVE LIKE. 3 IDENTITY CRISIES TO GET TO THAT MUMSCARIAN TAG HUH. "I hate the gods I am a demi god i love a god I love two gods oh god[s]". My poor mumbo jumbo. Whump on him some more I love it.

AND JUST THE DESCRIPTION OF THE UNDERWORLD AUGH ITS SO!!!! The way you describe it is so vivid and yet also like ever shifting in my mind which tbf is how I would picture the actual underworld anyway and I just DLKFHSAFHKLADFKLHA I AM GOING MAD

AND CUB!!!! CUB MY BELOVED OH YOU HAVE CAPTURED HIS 'WAY TOO CHILL' ATTITUDE SO WELL GOOOOOOOOOOOOD. The scene between cub and grian i was just like GET HIS ASS!!!! GET HIS ASS!!!!!!!!!!!

AUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGH THE FACT THAT IM OUT OF EQUINOX STUFF TO READ NOW. SOB. I CANT WAIT FOR ME

Hello beloved mutual Stitch <3 Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts, I spent all morning being excited about this ask!

Thank you, yes! Double Life was the first life series I got to watch live, and I am just. I'm not over any of it tbh? at least 1% of my psyche is at all times devoted to screaming about this canon soulmate AU.

And honestly? I feel the same about cheating stories. But then cc!Grian said "I want to hang out with my bestie, so I'm gonna make my little guy be into his little guy" in double life and was then like tragedy! pain! despair! and I ate that shit right up.

Scar really did go "I can have a little gay summer flirt for myself, as a treat :)" and then turned around and fell Hard for Mumbo. Way harder than I think he thought he'd be able to with a mortal. Not that that's something he thinks about much, of course. Mumbo is just Mumbo to him, he doesn't care about what he is. Scar you really should tell him you're a god. You really should do that my dude.

Yes Mumbo is Etho's son and it was entirely accidental 😂 I was like "Well this is who Mumbo is in the AU and then a couple of days later "Oh I know who Etho is" and then it took me like an hour from there before I made the connection.

Top 1 reason I need mumscarian to become canon in this au soon, btw:

[ID in alt]

me in fic: redstone is so cool I love it so much redstoners my beloved me in mincraft: *sobbing, weeping, wailing as I rebuild an item sorter for the third time*

Honestly? Yes. Mumbo is just here trying to live his life meanwhile a tidal wave of god politics is building in the background. He's gonna have A Day when everything gets brought into the light. I'm sure he'll be Fine about his boyfriend of many years being something he's terrified of, though... right?

I am looking very hard at Cub's current lore, because that could be relevant for a future equinox thing and I badly want an excuse to bring him back.

Thank you < 3 I wrote a sentence on my WIP just now, just for you.

[ID: she grins, teeth like jagged shards of iron]