#we were all prophets lmao

[raayllum]

Callum is so right about Rayla never doing anything for herself. You could say freeing Runaan was for herself but she also treats it as her "sacred promise" and chose him for Ethari too (shows how great her heart is). You think sparing Callum will finally count as her doing something for herself? Choosing her future and her love for him over the "greater good". She couldn't get her og parents back‚ this girl keeps losing and suffering she seriously deserves more wins

God, I could write an entire meta about that line - maybe one day when I'm feeling self indulgent. In regards to your actual prompt, re: saving Callum will count as something for herself -- a big yes, absolutely, I think! Though I think freeing her parents is something she deeply wanted for herself, too ("I miss you so much" / "so I wanted to do something for yourself for you") even if it was something she was continually putting off till the Aaravos situation, as far as she knew, was resolved

Prior to S6 I went back and forth on whether the show would frame Rayla's end of the possession plot line / trying to get Callum back as either "It doesn't matter what happens to me (again) I just want to save him" (which is what leaving in TTM and other moments was about) OR whether it'd be framed as "I refuse to sacrifice him / something I want (again)" and therefore be character development. I leaned towards the latter for reasons outlined here since the two have the chance to be even more thematically codependent than they already are in terms of their senses of identity:

As long as Callum is Callum (not possessed, or she has reason to believe he’s still in there), Rayla likely won’t be able to bring herself to kill him. This is from an emotional / characterization standpoint, of course, but from a thematic standpoint, we can see where it stems from Callum and Rayla continually being each other’s main connection to their sense of identity. As long as Callum is Callum (“you’re the destiny is a book you write yourself guy”), he’s worth saving. As long as Callum is Callum, she can be Rayla (“Rayla’s brave. She saves people” / “Rayla. My name is Rayla, and I’m going home”). As long as she’s Rayla, he can be Callum. Because if Callum isn’t Callum, then he’s dead, and if he’s dead, she can kill him. And if Rayla kills him, if Callum is dead, then she won’t be Rayla anymore. Because to literally kill Callum would be to simultaneously symbolically/emotionally kill herself.

This goes both ways of course - Callum can't/won't sacrifice Rayla because to do so would be to sacrifice a fundamental part of himself (namely his deep and Pure devotion to others which means he'll never go entirely down the negative side of Viren's path, and keep to the positive - leaving Aaravos, breaking free, etc). This was subtext prior to S6, but now it's actual text (she's his light/truth/hope of salvation, etc) so it goes double going forward. This is true for Rayla too — Callum is her guiding light and her star, he's one of the people who's taught her the most about how to love and the person she wants to be.

With all that in mind, yeah, I do think that Rayla will choose to not sacrifice Callum for the right reasons. Part of this is scaffolded under witnessing Callum not sacrificing her No Matter What prior to her won choice, and realizing "what [she] most deeply desires" isn't just Callum's survival even, but specifically the life they can have together, which she needs to stick around for and thereby not sacrifice herself. Runaan is also explicitly remorseful over the actions he took towards her where he choose duty over love, so Rayla realizing she should choose love over duty ties into them growing together as well in a positive way. We also see her realize some of this I think in choosing to let Lain and Tiadrin stay together rather than separate them specifically because of the Moonphoenix bracelet Callum gave her as well.

"I risked losing the best thing I ever had" because of her own duty turned revenge vs "I refuse to lose either of us like this" and finally fully accepting an assassin was never who she was and never who she Should be, in sacrificing others' lives or her own included. Them both Choosing each other above everything else was exactly what I was hoping for as soon as the "I need you to kill me" plot line started / wrote in my first CHET fic pre-S4 years ago:

She has two options as she pulls away. She can make a grab for her swords and go out, swords blazing. Kill Viren or Aaravos if she can as the sky splits open, purple and thrumming with magic; die with a sword in her hand in all likelihood. The release spell has already started. Or she can help Callum up, and they can live to fight another day—together. Rayla grips the back of his jacket. Presses her forehead to his neck for a second, tears building her eyes. “I’m sorry,” she says. His arm tightens around her, like he’s braced for her to go. “Rayla—” “I’m so sorry,” she repeats, sobbing. This is all her fault, but she can’t do that to him. “We have to get out of here.” [...]

Callum is staring at her when she pulls back and she swallows hard. She doesn’t know what to say. It’s both a blessing and a curse when he speaks first. “You chose me,” he says, not quite softly; she can tell there’s a lump in his throat. An edge of anger that not doing so was even an option. “Yeah, well. It was about time,” she says quietly. “I—”

So uh, here's hoping!

[nomairuins]

so funny civilization . im friends with 6/7 of the other leaders and the one guy im not friends with looks like this in the diplomacy panel

[amandabe11man]

had the most insane dream about how Saw XI would go and it was so spectacularly bad that it reminded me of reading SNK's last chapter 😭 there was one cool part, but it was made pointless a couple minutes later

[fandxmslxt69]

The idea that eliminating religion would solve this issue is bizzare and dumb because hey guess what- it won't do anything. Especially since religion is such a big influence in the culture of this country.

Those rooted in getting rid of religions to solve this genocide are more or less following the guidelines of Get Rid of The Jews And The Muslims. Tried it. Didn't work. It won't ever work. Religion has been at the very basis of our identities as humans and although many have evolved past it- many many others haven't. Getting rid of it is not the answer.

And yeah- the issue isn't Jews vs. Muslims. Don't listen to what the media has been tryna feed everyone. Jews and Muslims have lived side by side for many centuries actually. We share a lot in common. We've been neighbours for ages.

The issue is the oppressive "state of Israel" that wants to completely erase Palestine's identity and voice and culture from this world.

That is the issue. But of course, people just want to jump to "the big words" and ignore everything else.

Saying the solution is no religion/getting rid of religion as the solution to Israel/Palestine is antisemitic and Islamophobic.

That's a horrifying take and absolutely not the point. The war isn't Jews vs. Muslims. Plenty of Jews and Muslims are friends, neighbors, family, couple, etc. I have 2 really good Muslim friends that are so precious to me.

Religions does play a part and I am no expert and don't claim to be so I won't spew out a bunch of shit I might be incorrect on, but I need you to know that any rhetoric that advocates for getting rid of religions is a red flag for me.

If you say anything to this effect, you mark yourself as an unsafe person for me.

[burningvelvet]

36 chapters into moby dick. some thoughts:

- take a shot every time he expresses his love for nantucket or whaling trivia

- i know everyone said it was queer and usually i've come to expect that as hyperbole but this time they weren't joking

- CHILDE HAROLD REFERENCE?!?!?!?!?! BYRON QUOTED?!?!?!?! not surprised bc it is the romantic genre which byron & chp helped inspire & he was the best selling writer in early 19c usa & is noted for his oceanic refs & he & esp childe harolds pilgrimage esp are both noted on wikipedia's "nautical fiction" page but like. i had no idea they were immortalized in moby dick

- "Better sleep with a sober cannibal than a drunken Christian." AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH

- does gay cannibal tumblr know about queequeg & ishmael?

- utterly obsessed with captain ahab for numerous reasons but does anyone else notice how similar he is to captain flint from black sails? like he's literally him but a bit older & combined with silver's leglessness.

- the part where ahab calls stubb a dog lmao

- ishmael getting worried for queequeg when he couldn't find him omg...

- "Where's that girl ? — there, Betty, go to Snarles the Painter, and tell him to paint me a sign, with — 'no suicides permitted here, and no smoking in the parlor;' — might as well kill both birds at once." MRS. HUSSEY!!!!

- i'm sure that all the focus on queequegs spirituality & his consultation with his god yojo wherein he was informed that ishmael had to pick their boat bc yojo demaded it TOTALLY won't prove to have any prophetic and symbolic consequences later on or anything

- love how the chapters are nice and short but on the flip side that means theyre tricking me into thinking i have less to go than i actually do... as long as i get more ahab i'm good i guess

-melville, at random: and now we take a break from our regularly schedule programming to give you . . . WHALE FACTS! [whips out multiple books on the history of whales and whaling, begins to recite]

[all-too-unwell-13]

the seven (+ nico and reyna) if they were children if minor gods/goddesses

percy - i'm not gonna lie, it was so hard to find a minor god for percy. the best one i found is basically just another god the sea: nereus. he was a son of primordial gods; gaea (sorry for that, percy, omg 😭) and pontus, primordial god of the ocean. anyway, nereus was also a god of wisdom, prophetic visions (so it would kind of make sense for percy to be a 'prophecy child' if his dad was a prophecy god ig), and change. also! nereus valued loyalty (and, if we excuse demigod children lmao, he was loyal to his wife), and loyalty is percy's fatal flaw.

annabeth - themis, the greek goddess of justice, order, and overall fairness (not unlike nemesis), which are all values that i think annabeth holds close to her. themis is also depicted to be extremely wise (and sometimes she's also called a goddess of wisdom), another trait that annabeth believes in.

jason - aiolos, roman god of the wind (the greek version is aeolus). he's also known as the 'keeper of the four winds,' meaning he also controlled storm winds, so jason would likely have similar powers to children of jupiter. also, his name means 'quick-moving.' jason already has powers relating to storms and winds (those are his main powers, other than lightning), and being a son of aiolos would likely just increase his power over wind.

leo - i honestly couldn't find any minor gods that suit leo, but i think pallas, greek god of warcraft/handcrafts (and in some cases - 'useful arts,' which i'm taking to mean machines/mechanics, etc.). pallas is often also related to athena, goddess of wisdom, but i believe he's depicted as more of a 'quick-thinker,' which suits leo a lot.

piper - psyche, greek goddess of the soul; she's described, in mythology, as a mortal-turned-goddess whose beauty rivalled aphrodite's. the goddess represents passions, as well as misfortunes. this means piper could likely still have charmspeak because of psyche's close relation/similarity to aphrodite.

hazel - i feel like this one's sort of obvious; hecate. not only is she goddess of the mist and magic, but also ghosts, so hazel would have similar powers to a child of hades/pluto. hazel is already shown to have powers over the mist, and hecate is often associated with gemstones/crystals, which hazel can also already control.

frank - i really couldn't find many gods for frank, but i think honos, the greek god of honour, works well. he also represents glory, and in some cases, bravery. these are all some of frank's best qualities - ones that he himself actually values a lot too. additionally, honos symbolises victory and achievement, which are more qualities that frank would need for his role as praetor, etc.

nico - ok. so. the best one i could find was erebus; primordial god of shadows and darkness. he's also the god of a particularly dark part of the underworld, so it's likely he'd also have control over ghosts and bones (like nico does). this probably also means children of erebus could shadow-travel. and, although he isn't always perceived as powerful, erebus is. one interesting thing about erebus - even though he is not explicitly evil, his name is often used interchangeably with tartarus (which, if we're talking about experiences with tartarus: this could be an added factor as to why nico went to tartarus so confidently. if he didn't know enough about his father, he might've assumed he could be okay through tartarus.)

reyna - fides, roman goddess of loyalty and trust. fides is said to represent everything 'required for honour and credibility.' throughout the heroes of olympus, it's clear that honour and trust are two things reyna values deeply. it's also said that fides embodies everything needed for soldiers in rome, which, as praetor (for a long time), reyna is to be considered a soldier of new rome. additionally, loyalty and faithfulness are two qualities valued by artemis and her huntresses.

[paradlselost]

i am so glad im finding another person who writes for far cry :)) if possible, can we see a jacob seed x gn!deputy who replaces pratt as his prisoner? it ends with jacob being their one and only, (even if its dubcon)

WIND — UP TOY

jacob seed x gn!deputy

⎨ 𝐀𝐍 ⎬ ty for being my first submission ! jacob and his region lowkey scare the shit out of me lmao 🙏 kinda a little fucked up but I mean it’s jacob seed . also sorry this took so long ); smut below the cut

no use of y/n , reader is referred to as ‘ deputy ’ . gender specific nicknames are replaced by ‘ pup ’ . not beta - read

⎨ 𝐂𝐖 ⎬ blasphemy , deputy is treated like a dog , implied forced cannibalism , implied death of a minor character , brainwashing , jacobs his own warning isn’t he ? smut : dub - con , degrading , oral ( m receiving ) , soft - ish sex , penetration , dacryphillia , one - sided orgasm .

It always crept up on him when he least expected it; when things began to have a sense of normalcy. His days a haze and his nights clouded with gunfire and explosions, dreams marred with blood and the guts of former comrades and men who died far too young. For what?

What is the American dream when the world is going to end anyways? What are the soldiers overseas fighting for when the rivers will soon flow with blood and the ground tarred with ash?

His hand runs over his face; rubbing tired eyes. Demons of his past prey on him while he sleeps, turning him weak. Two to three hours is good enough for him, leaves him rested enough for his eyes to focus on the maps in front of him.

Being the leader of the army of Eden’s Gate wasn’t an easy job, though he held it with pride - a cardinal sin - but Joseph would forgive him as long as the prophecies his little brother had bouncing around his head came true. Jacob didn’t know if he believed in anything, really, it was hard to imagine God was with the soldiers that clutched cross pendants behind HESCO barriers.

But where he might’ve drifted from the true meaning of the cause further and further, where he might’ve argued the existence of a higher power with Joseph; one thing grounded him to his purpose and place in the cult. The Deputy.

Joseph’s ramblings were insane to the layman and gospel to the believer - but it seemed right now they were damn prophetic. Everything he said the Deputy would do; they did, and left bodies in their wake. Sometimes, he would watch whatever the cameras picked up of them on his screens, how they traversed the Whitetails with an almost practiced knowledge.

Sometimes, he felt like the eighteen year old new enlistee again when he watched them. The blood, the gunfire. Jacob Seed was a tough man, righteous and brave, but he would look down at them in their cage and feel the fire on his skin from the ranch he burned all those years ago.

He hated the feeling, wanting to drive his pocket knife into his chest and carve out every semblance of memory he had. But then his music box would rewind, and he would hear the sweet sound of the Platters crooning through the wood and metal and maybe, just maybe, things would be okay for him.

So he watched the way the Deputy writhe behind those thick steel bars against the cold soil, not afforded the luxuries even the most depraved prisoners received. Weak and idiotic for attempting to save their friend; but a mind that could be molded with the right tune.

Staci Pratt was a good pet; Pavlovian in nature and willing to do anything for the oldest Seed brother, so maybe that’s why Jacob began to grow bored of the man. Maybe that’s why he entertained the cracks beginning to show in the conditioning, how Pratt’s eyes softened at the sight of their co-worker being taunted by the Herald and yet knowing there wasn’t anything he could do about it.

An escape plan, of course he knew about it, he had eyes and ears everywhere and could always tell when one of his dogs stepped out of line. A perfectly timed truck, the siren going off to alert that a prisoner had escaped, catching Pratt as he allowed the Deputy to leave without him. It was almost sweet, but moreover vomit-inducing, like a lamb.

Sheep are creatures controlled by their own nature, that’s why dogs have to herd them back into formation - like a general in charge of new recruits. Intolerables are discharged, lambs are taken to the slaughterhouse. Nature, the circle of life, the bad meat is thrown out for the poor and needy to pick through.

“Eat. You wouldn’t want to fall sick, would you?”

A tin was placed in front of the Deputy, they had been through this before. Starved for however many days Jacob deemed necessary - usually ten - before they are given nothing but raw meat to eat. Never did they think they would yearn for the peanuts and beer served at the Spread Eagle, but there was no position to argue about what they were being given here.

Some fell over the side as greedy hands shoveled clump after clump into their mouth, covering it in a pitiful yet successful attempt to keep it down. Never did they ask what kind of meat it was, choosing to instead assume it was from one of the many cow farms in the valley.

“You’re hungry, aren’t ya, pup? You’re lucky, that’s a nice cut of meat.” A grin played on his face as he leaned against the metal bars, fingers grazing over his music box. There wouldn’t be any culling today, no, he had a much better idea in mind.

“Where’s Pratt?”

“Not even a thank you for my generosity, aren’t you fierce?”

“Where is he?”

“Peaches’s little act of rebellion earned him a punishment, I mean; that’s only fair. In a war like this you can’t go sympathizing with the devil, no matter how well you knew them before.”

It’s not an answer, but there’s an unspoken understanding that that is the closest thing the Deputy will get to knowing. A huff falling from their lips, ever the ungrateful dog; but their bowl is licked clean and what more can Jacob ask for?

A soft tsk fell from his lips, cold and condescending because how could he be anything but? Did the thing below him deserve care and kindness? Maybe at some point when they were strong, when their mind was still their own, but now they were nothing but a lamb being fattened for the slaughter.

His fingers grasped their chin, forcing eye contact and no doubt leaving marks that would form bruises. How much had they been through? Chest slashed with the markings from Jacobs little brother and mind already foggy from the bliss that grew in the Henbane; but there was a certain pride he took in being the one to break them.

How much time had passed? Had anyone come looking for them? Jacob had often taunted them, used the fact that they were immobile against the conditioning he had given them to contact anyone. The rebellion would fall without their snake, maybe it already had, how would the Deputy know?

It wasn’t their place to think anymore, to simply let the oldest Herald put a leash around their neck and sit beside like a good dog. Their mind wasn’t their own, now it belonged to him and they had no room to complain.

“Look at’chu, open your mouth.” But he didn’t wait for them to comply, instead he bullied his fingers against their tongue, exploring over their gums and teeth. They could bite him, certainly, but they didn’t - wouldn’t.

Who was Jacob Seed but their owner? He had saved them from themselves, from the blood and the gore and the fire that threatened to burn the world to nothing but ashes. Joseph had greeted them in their new form, John had shown up to pout, but their eyes only ever stayed on the eldest.

“Such a good pup, ‘ did a wonderful job training you, huh?” He asked as if they could answer, as if they weren’t preoccupied by the fingers that traced their mouth like he was mapping them out.

A hum passed from his lips as he removed his fingers, instead moving to undo the buckle on his belt. Even in this state, the Deputy wasn’t stupid and could very clearly tell what was coming next. So, to hopefully avoid any wrath from him, moved to help undo his pants.

Leaning back in his chair and observing as they removed his pants, fingers trailing over the growing bulge in his boxers. Jacob was a stoic man, never did the Deputy know if they were really doing good, but he didn’t scold them so there was no stopping.

Hands smoothed out the black fabric a bit nervously, playing with the hem for a moment before a soft grunt from the Herald alerted them. Knowingly, their fingers hooked underneath the waistband and pulled it away from his freckled skin, letting it pool at his ankles along with his pants.

Wrapping around the base of his still hardening cock, their eyes fluttered up to meet his gray ones. A silent beg, a plea that they were doing alright and there would be no punishment later. All they got in return was a small nod; though there was no love or care behind it. More like a drill sergeant instructing a particularly moldable soldier.

Gentle, unsure licks placed against his tip, hand working against the base; fingers brushing against veins that worked overtime to pump blood to his dick. Jacob Seed was not one for taking his sweet time, his fingers tangled in their hair as he pushed their head down on his aching cock.

A soft gag fell from their lips, hands moving from him to settle on his toned thighs. A heavy breath leaving their nose as they tried their hardest to relax, nuzzling against his untamed ginger hair. He relished in the warmth of their throat, the tightness eliciting a groan as he pushed his hips up.

Their gagging was the sweetest sound he had ever heard, the soft whimpers and tears that emitted from the Deputy as they tried their hardest to just breathe through their nose. He loved the power he held over them, how those pretty tears fell for him.

“Cmon pup, look up at me.”

Fighting between lifting their head to meet his gaze and keeping their mouth wrapped around his cock, the Deputy managed to tilt their head up enough to see him. His smirk widened, cock throbbing against their throat as he watched the tears continue to fall from them.

Another few thrusts to the back of their throat before he groaned, pulling their head off his dick with a small ‘pop’. A trail of saliva still connected their lips, pre-cum mixed in with it. He couldn’t help the laugh that emitted from him at the sight of their swollen lips and heavy breathing.

“Poor thing. Don’t cry, I take care of you, don’t I?”

The Deputy couldn’t do anything but nod, and maybe it was a bit true. Jacob did care for them in his own sick and twisted way. In the back of their mind they wondered if this was how he treated Pratt behind close doors; more like a prized trophy than a lover.

His hands grabbed at their hips, pulling them onto his lap. The small barrier of whatever clothes they had been wearing on their lower half before was quickly removed, giving him access to everything he wanted.

Burying their face into the crook of his neck and wrapping arms around the back of him, the Herald lifted their hips once more to guide himself inside their needy hole before pushing them down onto him. Stretching, pain emanating from the sudden intrusion, he could feel the tears that fell from them and landed against his skin.

He cooed, a grin still wide on his face. His hands still settled on their hips, guiding them up and down on his cock. Gentle movements at first that quickly devolved to an almost feral extent. His pre-cum marred the inside of their hole, creating wet and sticky sounds everytime he fucked in and out of them.

It felt like a dam was about to break by the time Jacob decided he was finished. Loud sobs wracked their body as they cuddled closer to him, so close yet so far. His hips continued to move for a moment; stuttering and shifting a bit before he released inside of them, filling them with his cum.

The Deputy finally leaned back after a moment, tears still flowing from their now red eyes, sniffling - but they still attempted to move their hips over him. To get any kind of release as the Herald caught his breath. Needily grinding against his lap, hands clutching his shirt in a pitiful attempt that only made him laugh more.

“Oh, look at’chu. Pup needs to get off too, huh? Don’t worry, I told you I’ll take care of you.”

[likeapriceless-wine]

Night Terrors

Guess what !! You can respond to this in character (if you want)! And if someone has already responded you can backtrack and start from the beginning with your character or slide in whenever you please the timeline is whatever we make it babes. Jump in wherever you see fit

Tw for sa implications and just general trauma and nightmares. This one may not be great for those with emetophobia as well, though I tried not to be too graphic bc I'm emetophobic too lmao

@glowsticks-soda-and-magic @cabin-12-resident-daddy-issues @dawn-lovelace @im-always-highhhh @childofthewargod

C.J woke up with a start, his eyes wide and his hands clutching the blankets so hard his knuckles were white

Dreams were never fun for demigods. They were almost always nightmares, sometimes damn near prophetic ones at that. Some were replays of past events that felt so horribly real that you had to do a reality check when you woke back up, and others seemed like they meant something, like something horrible was on it's way

Tonight's unconscious trauma movie that played in C.J's head was the casino. Gods, he fucking hated that place. The lotus in the air that earned the establishment it's name had long since worn off, and C.J remembered damn near everything that happened in there, whether he wanted to or not

He felt dirty handprints on his body, on his back and his chest, trailing all the way down to areas his pants covered

He heard disgusting, seductive whispers that made him feel like his last meal was coming back up his throat. He could feel the name 'Hermes' being whispered in his ear, and that finally did it

His stomach churned and he whispered a few curses under his breath and involuntary tears welled up in his eyes

Of course he had to be nauseous. After all, a nightmare wouldn't be complete without him hyperventilating, throwing up, or laying awake the rest of the night because his brain wouldn't let him risk another nightmare. Or some godsforsaken combination of the three if he was particularly unlucky

Tonight was looking like one of those nights

Most of the beds in the dionysus cabin were pushed together to make one big mattress, and Marjorie tended to use him as a pillow, so it was a bit of a struggle to scramble the way he was without waking anyone, or kicking Klaus in the gut

He ran off to the bathroom as quietly as he could, covering his mouth as his breathing started to get shaky

"Fuck fuck fuck" he murmured to himself as he shut the door, turning on the faucet and getting his empty flask out of his pocket to fill it with water

Drinking water would help, right? He at least hoped it would. He sipped it slowly, trying to calm down his breathing

'Cmon C.J, in through your nose out through your mouth. You're fine, you'll probably never even see him again' he thought to himself

'Goddammit, C.J, breathe or you're gonna hyperventilate and throw up or somethin!'

He tried humming Kate Bush's Army Dreamers to try and knock some sense into himself, but nevertheless he ended up throwing up in the sink

"Fuck" he whispered to himself, bracing his elbows on the edge of the sink and burying his face in his hands, wiping his mouth

He slumped down into the floor and pulled his hoodie up over his head, pulling the drawstrings in the hood to tighten it around his face and block out the light that was stinging his eyes

Great, it was gonna be one of those nights

[venomspecs]

Favorite character from Greek mythology + favorite myth from Greek mythology?

Ooof both really hard to answer!

I like a lot of characters so here's just a few

Odysseus is definitely one of, if not my favorite, one of the most complex and fleshed out characters in myth imo. Ofc the Odyssey is where we get most of his characterization so to speak, but I really enjoy his appearances in other sources.

Achilles is also a pretty interesting character, I find that the general public has an idea of Achilles as a perfect warrior but there's so much stuff to talk about with him. I particularly enjoy his relation with the themes of fate and glory in the Iliad, and I think his appearance in the Odyssey is a very good continuation of those themes.

Ajax and Teucer have got to be my favorites in the Iliad though. Their dynamic with each other and Teucer's Trojan heritage and all that entails are fascinating, really underapreciated characters imo. Sophocles' Ajax only increased my love for these two.

Agamemnon and the whole house of Atreus are also super interesting. Something about cursed bloodline just clicks with me. (I also think Agamemnon is vilified a little too much by the "fandom" but you didn't hear that from me).

Athena. There's so much more to her than "stern, no-nonsense war goddess" as some modern adaptations would have you believe.

As for myths, the Odyssey has my heart, though that's probably not a fair choice since it's a poem containing myths. So here are a few off the top of my head

The Polyphemus encounter. Definitely one of the most iconic points of the Odyssey, a good subversion of a key theme of the poem and an excellent showcase of who Homeric Odysseus is a person. I also find the concept of a pastoral community of giants really neat.

Another concept from the Odyssey I like (last one I'll mention I promise) is that of an old seal shepherd prophet, so Menelaus and Proteus' scramble is another myth I enjoy. Plus I think it's a part of the Odyssey that many adaptations neglect to include and that's just a shame.

I also enjoy the myth of the infidelity of Aphrodite with Ares, for more personal reasons. My grandparents on my father's side were blacksmiths and they had a print of Velazquez's painting "The forge of Vulcan" framed in their house, so I'm really attached to that painting, and by extention to Hephaestus. Add that to the character list ig lol.

The myth of Orpheus and Eurydice is another one that sticks out to me, it invokes a lot of emotions

This is my no means a comprehensive list and I purposefully left out a bunch of Odyssey characters I really like so as not to clutter this post with Odyssey stuff lmao. I may add some more myths down the line

[anamericangirl]

Hi, you are aware 99% of ppl condemning the colonizers are also condemning past colonization yes?

I condem the settler state of Israel. i conem them for what they have done to Palestine,i condem them for how they treat holocaust survivors.

I condem them for using the genocide of their ppl as a reason to cause genocide.

I condemn them for Bombing hospitals full of the sick elderly frail and young. Saying that a building AT OR BELOW SEA LEVEL can have tunnels. (Fun facts we all have “tunnels” it’s called SEWWERS)

You know that they have indiscriminately killed off some of the oldest CHRISTIAN bloodlines yes? Because your savior, the prophet son of god, Jesus was a Palestinian. A middle eastern man. So Ofcourse his first followers, and their descendants would be living in Palestine.

Jews and Muslims and Christians lived and coexisted in PEACE for millennia. And then Israel was formed as a way to get rid of the Jews from Europe in a “humane” manor. As a way to put a western agenda in the Middle East.

I condemn what Jesus would condemn.

And this is not to say I’m gungho Hamas. But if you were constantly being curb stomed. Killed starved imprisoned. You too would get to a point where you would consider violence.

It's amazing how you guys manage to get literally every single fact wrong. It's ok not to know things or not even to know everything, but to know nothing about a cause you are advocating for? And more than that, every single claim you make is false? That's inexcusable.

"I condem the settler state of Israel."

They aren't a settler state. You don't know what a settler state is so you should not use that term until you can do so correctly.

"i conem them for what they have done to Palestine."

What have they done?

"i condem them for how they treat holocaust survivors"

How do you think they treat them?

"I condem them for using the genocide of their ppl as a reason to cause genocide"

You are a massive fucking hypocrite. You acknowledge their people are under threat of genocide without condemning Hamas for trying to genocide them and then you condemn Israel for a genocide they aren't even guilty of.

They are not causing genocide and you're pretty rotten to condemn them for a genocide that's not happening while you refuse to condemn the genocide that you admitted was being attempted.

But I guess you don't care when it's a genocide of Jews, huh?

"I condemn them for Bombing hospitals full of the sick elderly frail and young"

They didn't do that you moron. Hamas, the terrorists you simp for, LIED. That is a verifiable fact.

"Saying that a building AT OR BELOW SEA LEVEL can have tunnels"

lmao glad to see you condemn Israel for this but not Hamas for lying, attempting genocide or using children as human shields you ignorant little terrorist apologist.

"You know that they have indiscriminately killed off some of the oldest CHRISTIAN bloodlines yes."

Prove it.

"Because your savior, the prophet son of god, Jesus was a Palestinian. A middle eastern man. So Ofcourse his first followers, and their descendants would be living in Palestine."

Jesus wasn't Palestinian you ignoramus. Palestine didn't exist. Jesus was a Jew.

"Jews and Muslims and Christians lived and coexisted in PEACE for millennia"

That's bullshit. Muslims have been starting wars with Jews and Christians since they came into existence.

"And then Israel was formed as a way to get rid of the Jews from Europe in a “humane” manor. As a way to put a western agenda in the Middle East."

Again, that's bullshit.

"I condemn what Jesus would condemn."

You don't condemn what Jesus would condemn because you're lying about a country and people under attack and supporting their genocide and Jesus wouldn't do that. Don't use the name of Jesus to try and justify your filth and lies. That's blasphemy.

"And this is not to say I’m gungho Hamas. But if you were constantly being curb stomed. Killed starved imprisoned. You too would get to a point where you would consider violence."

You are gungho Hamas. Everything you accuse Israel of doing to them they have done to Israel and you justify their unjustifiable violence and then lie about Israel. What Hamas does to Israel on the daily is magnitudes worse than anything Israel has ever done so shame on you for standing behind them and lying about Israel to justify the slaughter of Jews. Hamas is lucky to have a moron like you at their disposal to spread their lies and anti-semitism for them.

If Hitler was alive right now you'd be kissing his ass too.

You got nothing right. You are a liar. You are just a nasty, repulsive person who hates Jews and supports terrorism and genocide.

So, from the bottom of my heart, fuck you.

[bee-ina-boat]

HI FRIENDS!!!! so i got into cult of the lamb around january and in that time i have worked on a bunch of art and only JUST finished this MONSTER of a project. its taken alot of time because of how slow i am, plus life stuff and other art projects aswell- but MAN IM JUST EXCITED TO FINALLY POST THIS LOL!!! :D!!!!!

so this is my concept art for my lamb characters! i have like 6 different aus already and a few of em has their own version of the lamb and i love them sm- heres some background info on em if ur curious!

Lambert - the Sacred Lamb - genderqueer, they/them - demiro/demisexual - Valais blacknose sheep - weapon of choice: sword based off of my interpretation of the canon lamb and their story! silly, merciful, kind to their flock, but also a tad fucked up. silly lil guy!! silly lil goober! i love them! :D!!! they also have the "vessel and god to enemies to friends to lovers" pipeline with narinder, and lemme tell you when i finally get to drawing art for them its OVER for yall

Sherpa - The Zealot - agender, they/them - demiro/ace - Scottish blackface sheep - weapon of choice: dagger the idea of them was: "what if the lamb had a very unhealthy obsession with religion and their god and was so incredibly fucked up about it" and thats how sherp was born baybeyyyyyyy their story includes alot of dark religious themes and it gets really sad and messed up. their relationship with narinder is reallllll toxic. at first at least. kinda. idk their au has 2 endings and in one it gets better and in the other it gets. alooot worse lol. we love that for them <3

Laramie - The Black Sheep - pengender, they/he/she - pansexual/panromantic/polyamorous - Shetland sheep - weapon of choice: axe so basically. they were inspired by the term black sheep. theyre a lil failure who cant do anything right, has horrible self esteem, and cannot handle being the "prophetic lamb" at all. they die all the time, and many followers ended up losing faith in her early on, its a mess lmao him and narinder dont actually have anything romantic going on, their relationship in this au is moreso a mentor and student type thing. also laramie has a huge polycule by the time narinder is freed. and she also gets downbad for heket when she shows up dfjljhdsfsdfgb

im so excited to do art for the au's i have aaaaaaaaaa, but rn im finishing up some bishop art!!! so look forward to that!!

anyway closeups are under the cut :D!!!

[bl00dlight]

Helaemond antis gotta be some of the most boring bitches

All they do is complain and gaslight us all into think we are delusional for picking up what the actors legit did themselves

Hmmmmmmmmmmm yessss I think alot of the antis come down to two camps;

-book purist reddit dudes

-self inserter girlies who love alysmond/helaegon

Prove me wrong.

Yea yea yea there are other bullshit excuses people might give. And sure they may be valid. But both Alys x Aemond and Helaena x Aegon are SIGNIFICANTLY more like... morally questionable. Oh okay, so we got the 40-400 year old witch who may or may not be a master manipulator fucking an 17-18 year old who is criminally insane and possibly has taken her as a sex slave after Ethnically cleansing her entire House, whom he also abandons and then decides to come back for as an afterthought...

And we got the martial rape/neglect poster Child Aegon who rapes young serving girls paired with the deeply traumatised Helaena.

And yet the idea of the doomed bpd Aemond x his prophetic neurodivergent sister where they find a shared understanding of being deeply neglected and then she watches him descend into darkness despite the fact he still ultimately loves and care for her - so basically.... Padame and ANAKIN LMAOOO or half the books popular on tik tok.

That is the one which is egregious? The only ship which has been even acknowledged by the actors to have weight in the theory that Helaena and Aemond share a bond? I mean like the show itself validates us, young aemond wishing he was betrothed to her, defending Helaena, the actors implementing the character relationships, the fact Aemond is the one to even clock Helaena is a dragon dreamer - the entire balcony scene.... also remember all those pre show leaks that discussed Aemond x Helaena x Aegon being in a Aemon x Naerys x Aegon parallel and uhhh young Aemond leaks about him supposedly being in love with his sister on the character descriptions?

Like there is plenty there for people to grasp onto lmao.

I think people were really fucked off about the whole 'the kids were his' thing, but personally I just thought that was fun speculation. Fan theories are a staple in this world? Also personally I've seen very few Helaemonds who died on the hill without question the kids were his.

Helaemond is probably the least insane ship, espeically when you think about the fact people ship.... Luke and Aemond.... uhhhh. Also... Aegon and Aemond. Idk about yall, I don't really think I've ever seen a moment between Aemond where he reasonably loved either Aegon or Luke. But he did move in front of Helaena when Rhaneys attacked the dragonpit... so... and he also did say as a kid he lowkey would marry her. And then also begged her to come with him to Harrenhal. So clearly there is uhhh some connection.

People also act as though the idea of Aemond and Helaena is so preposterous as if the entire show isn't about hypocrisy and external martial affairs.

They also act as though Targaryen siblings ain't constantly been getting into messy ass love triangles where they sucking or ATTEMPTING to suck and fuck one or both. Cough cough.

Visenya x Aegon x Rhaenys

Bittersteal x Sheira x Bloodraven

Aegon x Naerys x Aemon

And honourable mention to Baelon x Alyssa + this diva Viserra trying to suck and FUCK on Baelon???

So like.... not really so sure how it's such an outrageous concept.

Again most of the time the critiques of the ship aren't valid other than the fact that 'It isn't canon' - but it's like what the fuck constitutes as canon? And why does it only apply to Helaemond. No one cares that Rhaenyra x Alicent isn't canon. No one cares that Rhaenyra x Mysaria isn't canon. Daemon x Alys isn't canon AT ALL, like Daemon legit doesn't think twice about Alys. And Helaena and Aegon aren't canon either - they are just in a fucken marriage with each other to which the actors have stated they don't really love each other? So is it a canon romance? No. Are they married? Yes. But Rhaenyra and Laenor were married too, I don't see anyone shipping them.

I legit don't care who people ship. But it's always obvious it's a THEM thing when they haven't got any real points other than virtue signalling or just being hateful. Like I said, Helaemond is probably the least problematic logistically. And is not out of the question in world (as said by the actors and proof by canon have it be a theme amongst targ siblings). They mad cause they jealous, they mad cause it doesn't align with THEIR personal wants/desires etc.

For example you cant sit here and tell me Alys is a healthier choice for Aemond or Aegon a healthier choice for Helaena? At worst it's equal. So anyone who pretends to give a fuck is just like... annoying.

Which is a big factor. Many in this fandom are annoying as fuck. They are rude to actors, rude to other fans, hateful, and take it so seriously that it literally sucks the joy from it. Like seriously, it's not that fucken deep and people DO need to chill. I've seen fans on twitter get called BAD PEOPLE for shipping Helaena and Aemond??? Like that's crazy.

I'll sit here and admit I love toxic and messy ships cause it's interesting. I don't fucken like boring fluff. Go watch Bridgerton or whatever the fuck, HOTD is not for those ships. So it would be alot more fun if people would just admit to wanting to see some messy and fun shit instead of posturing morality over fictional magical dragon flying people.

The point is, people hate Helaemond because it has the most plausibility in the show to become a thing. And it did. People don't get that most Helaemonds don't really care nor did we expect a romance. We just wanted interaction with subtext... and uh.... we won. Hoes mad on tumblr cause they wanna self insert. Hoes mad on reddit cause they wanted a documentary instead of a prime time TV show.

But helaemond?

We won. Pay them no mind. We been out here doing it for helamond and they mad cause it worked.

Oop..

[dozyrogue]

I enjoy morally sound characters

Like the characters that no matter what they been through what they believe in is what they believe in

Its one of the main reasons I found purgatory so cool because it kinda showed that when push comes to shove people can and will changed,, I mean look at bolas.... That's it LMAO

no but seriously cellbit was someone most of the island would turn to with their mysterys and federation problem or just anything unusual because of the head he had on his shoulders

Everything about Phil lol

But these people who were highly respected on the island ended up on purgatory and the eye told them this is a test and that they will lose themselves, and they did all of that. bolas fucking lost their shit. I've mentioned this before (I think) that the only time we really got to see remnants of other island Phil is the battel with him and tubbo.

Anyways what I want to talk about is tubbo (not a big surprise for me lmao)

in purgatory 1 tubbo was a good leader made good strategies but was very naive and some would say foolish for making deals that hurt his team or even put his team in danger. I'm pointing at the blue/green tie thing like his team could have literally been bye byed then what???

But now in purgatory 2 hes leader again, and purg 1 mans was changed don't get me wrong b u t in purg 2 hes still himself maybe a little tougher (mans went c r a z y with the chainsaws it was great) and still wants to play mostly fair. he gave an opponent his shield during a fight to even out their fight for no reason but hes playing dirty as well, he found cellbits and bagheras waystone tped into raccoons base took their water bottles and kept it pushing.

Today in the capture the flag game apparently before hand aimsey made a deal with cyan that they would cross team. basically they wouldnt get kills from the other team and avoid killing eachother but they could still get the others flags.

When tubbo finally showed up aimsey tried to explain this and that "shubble promised" and was desperately trying to convince tubbo that they would keep their end of the deal.

But tubbo have been through this before, he knows deals and betrayals like the back of his hand, he kept repeating and repeating that it won't work out kinda falling on deaf ears and the moment cyan tried to kill orange he immediately retaliated.

He was right he was the prophet I guess, but he did respect his team and waited until they turned on him and went for them immediately. Its just very cool to see him be the one to give the warnings and aimsey acting like him in purgatory 1

He respected their efforts let play through even tho he knows the game to show them first hand that this is purgatory maybe??

I just think its cool that even after everything hes been through, hes been through so much, purgatory tried to break him, change him, make him a sinner. Even then he would keep his morals even if it is shifted some.

Hes himself to a fault and he will trust his team no matter what.

[inkdemonapologist]

OK, I was reading through past posts about the escape au. What's all this about Sammy being a murder suspect? I understand him being ex-prophet, but that was ink people... right?? Right???!!!

NOPE. This is based on book canon; in DCTL Sammy is responsible for murdering Norman Polk and at LEAST two animators in preparation for his attempted demon-appeasing ritual. Sammy disappeared for some time just before he went full murder-cultist, and was actually reported missing, so THE POLICE SHOWED UP AT JDS to investigate...

I think BatDR has pretty effectively jossed this, but I also had a headcanon at the time I created Escape AU that Sammy had been responsible for Jack’s murder, as well. They were so close, why would Sammy NOT want to make Jack a part of the salvation he’d found?

I haven’t read Fade To Black as of yet (I'm hoping to read it pretty soon so do not send me FtB info please lmao), so no idea if this gets addressed there, but like 4 or 5 people disappearing mysteriously immediately after police were tipped off about a missing person seems REAL HARD to make fly under the radar, and once you’re investigating you might run into other missing people (Jack, the violinist) who were connected to JDS, too. But somehow JDS didn’t get shut down for any crime reasons, it just went bankrupt. So… I think the easiest possible way out would be if the disappearances ended up pinned on Sammy. Lots of people saw him acting explosively volatile before he stopped coming into work, he already had A Reputation for being Very Strange even before the ink, and it sure would not be hard to imply the tragedy of a Mad Genius who must’ve just Lost His Mind And Finally Snapped for reasons definitely completely unrelated to workplace conditions. Even if Joey didn’t lean the narrative in this direction himself, SURELY it would be a suspicion, at least in retrospect? The police ask questions, nobody is particularly kind to Sammy’s character and likely paint a picture of someone who is absolutely the kind of guy who would murder a bunch of people. He stops coming into work, makes a huge mess of his department, and then 4 people disappear. Joey shuffles the ink machine to New Jersey for a lil bit for ““““““repairs”””” and the police are able to investigate JDS to search for bodies they will never find. It’s a cold case, but like… Sammy would be your biggest suspect, right? Because it’s not Joey! He’s eccentric in DCTL but he’s not MURDER eccentric! And the music director was SO clearly troubled. You’d just kind of assume that Sammy probably did it and if we had ever found him, we might know more about why and how he did it.

So I think if Sammy Lawrence in Escape AU turned up in the public eye again, that would immediately be the question: Did you kill all those people? And the answer isn’t quite “no,” ("I did, but I was under the influence of magical demonic ink") and Sammy is, unfortunately, incapable of answering this question in a way that doesn’t make him sound very suspicious.

[emblazons]

cut because I still remember that anon that said they prefer my fencesitting LMFAO

We as a people really need to spend some time with our byler elders (@kaypeace21 and co) because I promise you they figured out Mike was gay years before the "uppity" analysts of today did....and have pulled out / contextualized evidence even I think is crazy to read considering it was based on S3 alone 😂

Like? The fact that someone, arguably the strongest of the analysts of the fandom in their day, was writing “why I think Mike is gay and not Bi” and "what Mike said was projection of him not liking girls" in August 2019 with shit word for word bar for bar telling you the framework that brought us S4 Mike…friend you were a prophet before your time, and they maligned u for telling the truth, and now that we all see your vision people still think its debatable LMAO

[queenlua]

amusing bits from Martin Luther: Renegade and Prophet so far:

* "What sparked [Luther's] anger, so he later reminisced, was the preaching of a Dominican friar, Johannes Tetzel, in the nearby town of Jüterborg, who went so far as to claim that his indulgences were so efficacious that even if a person had raped the Virgin Mary they would be assured complete remission from Purgatory." used car salesman-ass strategy lol

* "...the wealth of material that has survived on Luther is so great that we probably know more about his inner life than about that of any other sixteenth-century individual... His collected works, the famous Weimar Edition, extend to 120 volumes, including 11 volumes of letters and 6 volumes of his dinner-table conversations"

holy FUCK. truly a poaster before his time. like would the median tumblr blog fill 120 volumes jeez

* "In the early years of the Reformation, for example, [Luther] talked constantly of invidia, or envy, attributing it to his opponents—though it is hardly likely that they would have envied a penniless, powerless monk, while he, on the other hand, had every reason to be preoccupied with those he envied." lmao. mean girl who goes "they're just jealous" every time ppl hate on him

* "Extraordinarily, in an age when letters were routinely passed from person to person, were forged or intercepted, and when every chancellery filed drafts, Luther kept no copies. This gave his correspondents huge power, because they alone had records of what he had written, but Luther was relaxed about this, joking that he could always deny his own 'hand,' a remark that reveals his remarkable confidence."

i will have to look into this later but this is lowkey fascinating??? it hadn't occurred to me the 16th century world would've, like. written out copies of every damn thing. to support audit trails and such. just because the overhead of producing all those damn copies seems really high. suggests fun possibilities for intrigue and mailfraud shenanigans lol

* "It was popularly believed that when of the counts [in the town where Luther grew up] commissioned an altarpiece for the chapel depicting the Crucifixion, he had the thief on Christ's right painted as his most hated co-ruler

LMAOOOooo. also reminds me of the funny story that the tobacco magnate who funded the creation of Duke University Chapel asked that the stained glass depict the 12 desciples smoking cigarettes, and the dude had to be talked out of it... though i can't find any reference to the story on the internet, sadly. did the duke chapel tour guide MAKE UP LIES to me

* Luther grew up in a family that owned a mine & it's sort of hilarious how bad all these 1500s miners were at economics. they're like. running whole mining operations but with only the haziest idea of, like. where capital comes from. how to not resource trap your way into fuckedness. etc. i dunk on economists a lot but y'know there are some concepts here that actually were p worth formalizing

* our dude Luther was a fucking DRAMA QUEEN let me tell you:

"[Luther] joined the Augustinian order in Erfurt on July 17, 1505 [...] Luther sent his academic gown and ring home to Mansfeld, telling his parents he had drawn a line under this part of his life. He sold some of the fine legal textbooks his father had bought him and donated others to the monastery. Then he invited all his student comrades to a lavish meal, with music and entertainment. At the height of the party, he told his shocked companions of his decision to become a monk, announcing melodramatically, 'Today you see me and never again!' He then left for the monastery, accompanied by his sobbing companions." bet those dudes never forgot that party

* though Martin Luther's dad sure could match him for drama queen-ness (and apparently never stopped resenting Luther becoming a monk instead of a lawyer):

"At the ensuing feast to celebrate [Luther's first mass a priest], for which Luther's father, always the man for the grand gesture, had given the sum of twenty guilders, the breach was still evident. Luther asked whether his father now accepted his decision, and in front of everyone at the table, Hans Luder replied, 'Remember the fourth commandment, to obey father and mother.' 'What if it was an evil spirit' behind [the storm that convinced Martin to become a monk]? he asked. It was a very serious charge, made at a point where Luther had just acted as Christ's representative on earth for the first time."

* Luther was in one of the more hardcore monkish orders, and said order had a pretty rigorous schedule of prayers that involved waking up in the middle of the night... but apparently you could just pay other monks to pray for you if you just Didn't Feel Like Doing It one day? lmao. and in particular Luther did the strategy of "i'll just get them done ALL IN ONE DAY" instead of, like, doing them throughout the week (going without food or sleep, working that day & night to get them done)

* our dude could definitely be a poor lil meow meow / woobie if fandom got their hands on him. this boy is constantly having literal panic attacks about WHAT IF I MISINTERPRETED THIS PART OF SCRIPTURE AND NOW WE'RE ALL GOING TO HELL, when he's in Rome one of the things that bothers him the most (besides the famous indulgence thing) is the fact that they SPEEDRAN masses over there and he's like "oh no though, i spend SO MUCH time on the masses i run, i'm so afraid of doing it without true feeling... who are these speedrunning fucks with no respect goddamn," his confessor gets tired of him because he'll spend UP TO SIX HOURS AT CONFESSION agonizing over shit that doesn't matter... (this is part of the reason he went into academia, actually, his confessor was like "boy you have got way too much anxiety for the purely monastic life, go get a degree or something i stg")

* i do kinda love it when theologians get sexy with it:

"[Staupitz] wrote of different 'stages' of union of the soul, the first being that of 'young maids in faith,' the second that of the 'concubine,' the third, the 'queens': 'They are naked and copulate with the naked one. They taste that outside Christ there is nothing sweet and they enjoy [his] continuous sweetness. For the naked Christ cannot deny himself to those naked,' while in the fourth stage, which Mary alone experienced, Jesus 'sleeps naked with her naked and he shows other signs of such love.'"