#*dodona sumner

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nothing just eloise being completely mortified after being way too abrasive with dodona's godson, ernest garber.

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Got an ask and I don't really wanna post it, but Dodona is not a "Voodoo Queen". The Marie Laveau archetype is one people often use. It usually depicts an older black woman, who's blind or has her eyes covered, wears a headwrap and other beaded adornments. It's existed long before Dodona and is not at all her influence. That archetype is usually a mash of stereotypes about Vodun and Romani culture and never depicted accurately or respectfully. (AHS, The Princess and the Frog, etc. Also Marie wasn't blind LOL) I've studied African Spirituality for years during undergrad and have spoken about that before. So, I hold an immense amount of reverence for this spiritual practices and religions. Vodun is a closed practice ATR. There isn't a way to accurately or respectfully depict it since that ATR does not allow it's practices be shared openly. That only comes with initiation. (And even with initiation, practitioners cannot freely share that info.) It would be incredibly irresponsible for me to include that in Lykaia. "It's not that serious. It's just a show." Black religious and spiritual practices across the diaspora are often demonized and disrespected. Even in media, they deserve to be revered and not used to perpetuate sinister and/or negative tones. Cough, AHS.

Dodona's influence comes from Hoodoo. Which is never to be used interchangeably with Vodun because they are two different practices entirely. Hoodoo is a closed spiritual practice not a religion. As an African American with family in the deep south and the Carolinas, it is a practice I am familiar with and grew up with. It may share some similarities with other ATRs in regards to divination and how our ancestors are honored which you'll see present in Dodona, but it is not Vodun. Most of what's seen is a watered down version anyway, because Hoodoo's preservation relies on it staying within the community. (Certain groups of African Americans, not all.) So, I can't really talk about it. I have to keep it vague. Since Lykaia is inspired by Greek Mythology, Dodona's influence is also drawn from oracles and Hellenism. It's a good mix of the two. With that said, Dodona has no ties to Vodun at all and do not refer to her as such. So, people can't copy that 'cause that's not what's being presented lol.

Every blind older black women ≠ Voodoo Queen. Like.. let's not start that lol.

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behind the scene shots of S3E1 "Honor".

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i love dee. expect even more of her in s3.

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Does Dodona have a champion? Did Hattie have one too? And do all oracles have one like a mate?

This comes up in the series pretty soon, but it’s no big secret so I’ll tell it now. Having a champion doesn’t come with just being an oracle. It comes with working as a priestess. There’s other oracles and the scope of abilities is large; however, most of them have abilities on the lower end of the range. Meanwhile, Imogen’s is quite a bit higher considering who she got her gift from. She just doesn’t know how to work it yet beyond getting a hunch about a situation here or there. That’s what opens the role up as priestess to her. She not only inherited Hattie’s gift, but her job also. As for the champion part- it’s not uncommon for people to be divinely guided together but it isn’t at all like a mate. Most times it’s just based off of friendship. If you asked Dodona, she’d say romance has no place in a relationship between a priestess and their champion. That stems from her own experiences in the past though. Since she isn’t technically working anymore, Dodona doesn’t have a need per se for a champion but she still has one. It’s Lucian, of course. Dodona helped him raise Annisa, so in turn he promised to always look out for her. Their relationship has always been platonic. Considering how old Dodona is, Lucian is a child to her basically. After her first few years of priesthood Dodona made it a practice to only have a champion she has a friendship with. Hattie also had champions, but hers weren’t exactly platonic. There was no love there. Except for one or two. It was mostly sexual but we haven’t gotten into that yet. Also, in saying that, let me emphasize that although Dodona calls it a job when talking to other people, the dynamic between priestess and champion is friendship based. It’s not a boss/worker relationship. The two are on equal footing. A champion might risk their life to protect a priestess, but a priestess may be just as willing to risk hers for her champion.

[ophernelia]

'Cause maybe you wanna just jump in at Season 3 and that's okay too. So, here's a quick synopsis of seasons one and two for each major character. Spoilers below!

Lykaia is a dark fantasy series that stems from one of my gameplay saves. Content warnings can be found here. Season 1 was just meant as a means for me to practice filmmaking. It wasn't too lore heavy or thought out. Somehow it's developed into this. I've made everything up as I've gone. Only taking a real shot at writing a script during season 2.

SEASON 3 OF LYKAIA PREMIERES ON YOUTUBE APRIL 5TH

IMOGEN SUMNER: Quiet and somewhat psychic Imogen moves to Copperdale after her eccentric grandmother dies. She finds out her childhood best friend, Lou, is a lycan. The girl Lou was pursuing prior to Imogen moving to Copperdale, Eloise Tinsley, comes from a family of hunters who take over the town with the help of the mayor. Imogen and Lou develop romantic feelings for one another. The two begin dating the following summer. Lou marks Imogen claiming her as his mate. Imogen helps Lou and his friends (who are also his pack mates) move out of Copperdale to San Francisco once the former becomes too unsafe for them to live in. Season 2 Imogen struggles with fully integrating into the friend group, but ultimately does so successfully. Lou and Imogen quietly get engaged. She aids Lou in helping him find his dad. Upon helping Lou meet his father, Imogen meets her great aunt, the oracle Dodona. Imogen finds out Hattie died after passing her abilities onto Imogen.

LOU HOWELL: Lou is the only child of a physically abusive and neglectful single mother. He was often left to roam outside on his on. This habit is what led to him meeting Imogen. Lou had no knowledge of him being a lycan prior to the first time he shifted as his mother hid it from him. The summer he turned was the same summer that Imogen's grandmother Hattie died. After his first shift his mother kicked him out. With no guidance and no where to go his friends brought him to Rory. Rory took him in and trained him to control his shift. Lou had feelings for Imogen prior to her moving to Copperdale and quickly became enamored with her after her move. In season 2, Lou becomes extremely attached to Imogen and begins to neglect his other friendships. This causes a rift between him and Owen specifically. Lou also decides to search for his father during this time. At the end of season 2, Lou's relationships are mended and he finally meets his father and older sister.

RORY OAKLOW: Rory runs and lives on a campsite in Copperdale that's home to several in-need lycans. She reluctantly decides to take Lou in after he's brought to her by Savannah, William, and Owen. Eventually she comes to think of him as her younger brother. Ultimately, she's pushed out by Eloise Tinsley's family business, Aconitum, as they bulldoze the campsite in order to erect a warehouse for their company. Imogen's family provides Rory with a place to stay. She refuses to be pushed out of Copperdale and bolsters her strength by having her mate, Ceres, join her pack. Pissed off by the events that transpired, Rory digs into Aconitum's dealings by breaking into the mayor's office and stealing sensitive documents. This event ultimately leads to this sector of Aconitum's downfall in season 2. After Ceres' pack is killed, Rory and Ceres get injured during a night out, Rory decides it's too unsafe to stay in Copperdale and moves to SF. The two decide to marry upon moving to SF. In season 2, Rory and Ceres' relationship is turbulent due to his meddlesome sister, Celeste. Rory moves in with Imogen's cousin and Savannah's current girlfriend, Kaila. Ceres and Rory break up briefly but ultimately get back together. Rory steals Kaila from Savannah and enters into a polyamorous relationship with the two. Rory's family comes to visit for the holidays and her mom decides to move to California to be closer to her and her father, whom she has a horrible relationship, does as well. By S2's end, Ceres and Rory marry. The pair are still with Kaila.

OWEN ELLISON: Owen is a background character for the better part of season 1. He plays the role of Lou's loud best friend who will sleep with anything in a mini skirt. He's also the reason Lou shifted early after playfully knocking him off the pier during a full moon. In S1 Owen joins Rory's pack and she takes him through ritual so he is fully able to shift. In season 2, Owen and Lou's friendships becomes strained after Owen develops on a crush on Imogen. He also becomes angry with Lou for the amount of time he spends with Imogen. Mistaking his jealousy as a genuine dislike for the new Lou. Ultimately, Owen comes to terms his feelings and recognizes he in fact is attracted to Lou and not Imogen. He's able to mend his friendship with Lou and Imogen after the realization and begins exploring his sexuality. At the end of S2, Imogen introduces Owen to her new friend, Grey.

SAVANNAH ROBINSON: Savannah also plays a background character for the better part of season 1. She becomes significant when she starts dating Eloise Tinsley as a means to get information out of her. However, Savannah does have genuine feelings for Eloise as they briefly dated prior to Eloise pursuing Lou. Savannah is the catalyst in Eloise's decision to disrupt Aconitum. In S2, Savannah discovers that Eloise tried to rekindle a relationship with Lou while they were together and the pair break up for good. In an attempt to cheer her up, Imogen hooks Savannah up with her cousin, Kaila. Still hurt by the events that transpired, she briefly has a squabble with Imogen after becoming annoyed with her relationship with Lou. The two make up quickly. After Rory moves in with Kaila, Rory tells Savannah of her interest in Kaila. The two briefly compete for Kaila's affection, leading to Kaila cheating on Savannah, but the two split amicably as Savannah decides Kaila isn't worth the effort. By S2's end, Savannah and Eloise mend their friendship and she tricks her friend group into going to visit her. Upon her arrival in Redwater, Savannah meets Eloise's current fling Savannah. Sensing chemistry between each other they decide to remain in contact without Eloise's knowledge.

WILLIAM ROBINSON: William also plays a background character in season 1 and most of season 2. He is the most unproblematic of the group, only getting involved to mediate Owen and Lou's squabble and to support his twin sister, Savannah. In season 1, Will joins Rory's pack and she also takes him through ritual so he is able to shift. (Though Savannah is his twin, female lycans mature faster than males. They're usually able to shift by age 13 while males cannot shift until 20 or so.) In season 2, William is busy happily living in SF. He begins seriously dating another lycan, Indiyah Atwood, while his sister and friends are busy with their drama. By S2's end, William decides to take his relationship a step further with Indiyah and take her as a mate.

ELOISE TINSLEY: In season 1, Eloise attempts to date Lou and is ultimately turned down and dropped when Imogen comes to town. Out of disdain for her and Lou, she doesn't tell him about her father's plans to take over the campsite. Shunned by the friend group for this, Eloise decides she wants to ruin her father's business. By S1's end, Eloise becomes a full fledged hunter and joins her father on his endeavor to alleviate Copperdale of it's lycan problem. Though Eloise has ulterior motives the entire time and only wishes to see how the company works in order to sabotage it later. In season 2, with most of the lycans gone from Copperdale, Aconitum begins to fail. This causes a severe rift between her father and Mayor Tarentino. Eloise influences her father to question her grandfather's capabilities in deciding how profitable a sector is going to be. After going away to college and dating a new guy, Eloise decides it's time to report her father and Tarentino to the feds. Eventually an investigation transpires which forces Copperdale's mayor to step down and Eloise's father to shut down his sector. Eloise's grandfather, Arenthal, joins them in Copperdale to help fix the situation. After pissing off the mayor, Eloise's family is forced into hiding and they move to Redwater, Texas. By S2's end, Eloise has to rescue her father and her mother from Mayor Tarentino and his partner, Vasily. Eloise is only able to save her father in time and her mother is killed. She develops a close friendship with AJ, Lou's sister, and the two move in together. Though their friendship is disrupted when Lou and Imogen come to town.