#and in my opinion it doesn't matter how you get into mythology

[cannellee]

TOKYO REVENGERS OMEGAVERSE (mythological au!) ☆

୨୧ demigod! alpha! tokyo revengers x omega! reader (pairing : kazutora, mitsuya, baji, mikey, takemichi, shinichiro, izana, ran, draken, taiju, kokonoi, kakucho)

— a mix of what cabins they would be in and how they would be like with their omega (cabin = which god/goddess would they be the son of)

my masterlist : ☆

(I just finished watching the serie 'percy jackson' on disney+ and I just thought it would be an interesting idea to explore! of course it's purely my opinion and it might not be really representative. it's also fine if you don't know anything about percy jackson! I didn't add any details about the plot/storyline)

(+ if you've read my other headcanons, some of them might be similar to what I've already posted.. I hope none of you will mind!)

(+ I'm thinking about making it a serie : about a huge harem probably? or separated stories about omega!reader's life inside the half blood camp pls tell me what you think!!)

ALPHA! KAZUTORA (aphrodite)

he's a hard one, like all the others, but I remember seeing a post in which kazutora was described as fairly attractive and that he was quite popular with the girls. seeing just how deceiving he can be with a charming smile on, convinced me to put him under the banner of aphrodite.

with the omega he wants to court, kazutora has no shame making use of his powers to woo her. he'll manipulate her emotions so she can only find comfort in his arms. despite being an alpha, kazutora has a pretty delicate scent which makes you want to trust him. he's aware of his charm and makes a good use of it whenever he considers necessary.

he's hopelessly devoted and indulges in his passionate love a 100%, so he often comes off as intense and overwhelming. he doesn't care though, he loves his omega with a burning passion and you need to know it. people also need to stay put, as he's pretty jealous. he's not the son of love itself for nothing, if an opponent arises, he's quick to get rid of him.

as I said, kazutora is willing to manipulate you in order to get you under his watch. he wants to supervise his lover. as an alpha, he's even more protective and possessive, he's terrified of losing you to someone else. he'll shower you with compliments and affection, inevitably forcing you to let your guard down because he's just so kind. this will make it easy for him to keep you under his influence, whether you know it or not.

as a child of aphrodite, kazutora wants to make you fall in love with him, it doesn't matter if it's with a false image of him or if he had to manipulate you. he just wants his pretty omega by his side, the only one worthy of his love and worship.

kazutora still is a toxic person, he'll exploit your vulnerabilities and the trust you place in him, for his own gain. he could use guilt-tripping, gaslighting or emotional blackmail ; he has no morals. he wants you for himself and he'll use any ways he sees fit to achieve his dream of being the only one you think about. you're the only one on his mind, it should go both ways, otherwise kazutora will feel betrayed.

you often get confused at his behaviour. how can someone be so kind, soft and attentive to you, just to end up messing with your mind like that. you don't know what to think anymore and you're just left with kazutora as your compass, as he successfully got rid of anything susceptible to drive you away from him. you didn't even realise – with how sweetly overbearing his presence is – that he managed to make your cute little brain forget about everything else. your feelings, all over the place because of his sickly gentle smiles and words, made you solely focus on him to the point that you just couldn't find happiness in anyone else but him.

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ALPHA! MITSUYA (hera)

I think he could be a child of hera ; he's a great cook, responsible and reliable, independent and has his priorities straight. it's also confirmed that he's one of the best boyfriends of toman and I know alpha!mitsuya's dream is to build a family. the way he looks after his little sisters, despite his exhaustion, is a sign of how family oriented he is.

mitsuya is just so kind with his omega, reassuring, and a strong power you can count on. you don't fear anything when he's here, he's a protector and a provider. he has a deep sense of duty which compels him to keep you healthy and happy.

his omega is his joy, he's happy if you are. mitsuya is committed and view your relationship as something extremely serious he would never let go of. he expects the same devotion from his omega, as he values loyalty above anything else.

he wishes for you both to marry each other as he thrives in your presence. you can expect a merry domestic life with him, he takes care of you and keeps the relationship going with cute and funny date ideas. he has everything planned along for you, he wants to secure your future and make sure everything goes smoothly.

he also provides a stable environment for you, he approaches conflicts calmly and rationally, so you never stressed out whenever you have one of those rare arguments. your couple is healthy and lovely, mitsuya cuddles you each day, calls you whenever he has time and he's away ; he wants nothing more than to keep you safe, showering you with tender affection.

you'll never feel unloved or unsafe. hera is fierce and protective, she's also a jealous deity who sees her couple as almost sacred. mitsuya will eradicate any threats that might come your way. he'll go feral should his omega ever feel scared and distressed. it would mean that he failed as your alpha and mitsuya would feel more than defeated, crushed and will be desperate to make it up to you, to show you you can still rely on him. please give him a chance.

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ALPHA! BAJI (zeus)

baji is a son of zeus. he might not be the leader of toman, but he does have that central position with a ton lot of leadership qualities in him. he kind of is a mediator in a way, and cares for the people around him a lot, and they also look up to him, which gives him a lot of authority.

he's controlling and will absolutely get mad in the right situations. baji doesn't let just anyone near his omega, but he tries to take your opinions into consideration. he might be an alpha and therefore know better than you about whether something or someone is dangerous, but he'll let you do your own thing as long as he's there to watch and protect.

he wants a bit of control over you as well. as I said, his protective instincts are strong and very sensitive, he isn't delusional the way kazutora could be, but he's weary and suspicious. one wrong move and that man you were talking to is done for.

it might come out as small bursts of aggressiveness and anger, throwing earth shaking thunders whenever his omega's well being and honour are threatened. this behaviour of his truly is a shocking contrast to how soft and enamored he is with you. people are cautious around him, scared even, like they are walking around a volcano ready to burst. but you just have that privileged relationship with him, which allows you to let your guard down and jokingly mess with him. he lets you do about anything you want and accepts everything you do with a straight face and a satisfied scent.

baji wants to claim you. not just for everyone to see but to feel a connection with the one he devoted himself to. you're his whole world, you offer him stability and a place he can finally let go of all his worries and responsibilities. he wants nothing more than to solidify that strong link between the two of you.

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ALPHA! TAKEMICHI (hermes)

without any surprise, takemichi definitely is a son of hermes. be it the way he time travels, his smart personality (yes) ; he can think quickly and make the actual best decisions even if he doesn't realise it. despite being awkward, he communicates well and makes friends everywhere he goes, he's a people magnet and charms them unknowingly.

takemichi was able to court you with his naturally funny personality and playful banter. he's awkward ; and that's a good change you love to see in an alpha. he's not overwhelming and gives you your own space. he's respectful and values your opinions so much to the point that you might as well be his moral compass.

he has great principles and you would never abuse his kindness and dedication to you. but you can't help but notice how tamed he becomes whenever you're talking to him. if you tell or ask him something, he complies without a word.

in his eyes, you're glowing and smell so divinely good. are you sure you're not a goddess yourself ? because takemichi just can't get enough of you, as if he's hypnotized.

despite being surrounded by so many people, takemichi's eyes are solely set on you. he lives to make you laugh and is very sensitive about your emotions ; whenever you're down and feeling stressed, he quickly becomes a huge support. he calms you, reassures you by drowning you in his scent and praises. he knows exactly what to say.

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ALPHA! MIKEY (ares)

I don't think it surprises anyone as well, but I see him as a child of ares. although with his complex personality it's hard to rank him under a god for sure, but he shares the most traits with him, especially with his "dark impulse". he likes to fight, get into trouble and doesn't actively respect hierarchies. and not only does he love throwing hands, but he's particularly good at it, to the point of sparking fear and respect to his comrades and enemies alike.

mikey's personality as the son of ares isn't exactly that far from the reality. he's often violent, and for no particular reasons. but he's even more reckless whenever it involves his omega. along with provoking such violent urges, it also gives him another reason to beat someone up and he would never dodge that chance.

still, he's charismatic and despite everything, you find yourself drawn to him like a moth to a flame. he's so confident, jumping into any battles without an ounce of fear that your instincts can't help but feel at ease with him. you know you have nothing to fear ; mikey will protect you at the cost of his life. and his reputation also works like a charm to keep danger at bay.

mikey is jealous, and will become enraged if you were to show interest or affection for other men. instead of confronting you, he'll just erase them directly. that way, you have no other choice than to turn to him. if mikey keeps eliminating all of his concurrency, you'll soon come to realise that no other alphas can compare to him. you'll look at him with just as much love and desperation as he does. he doesn't care if he has to use his power and influence to keep you by his side, he'll do it with little to no regard for consequences. so what if you're mad or devastated, it was the right thing to do : a good alpha can't let bugs crawl around his omega.

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ALPHA! SHINICHIRO (apollo)

I hesitated between apollo and hephaestus, but I figured the only think he really shares with him is his ability to create, his love for machines and his technical skills. so I settled for apollo! shinichiro is a peaceful mediator, kind and compassionate, he sees the good in everyone and doesn't tolerate people without any sense of morality. he might not play any instrument and doesn't have a particular taste for music, but he has that healing and positive aura that draws people to him, kind of like takemichi.

in shinichiro's eyes, you're a joy to be around and he wants to keep that merry personality of yours by his side for as much as you'll let him.

I like to imagine alpha!shinichiro similar to who he was during the first timeline : a fierce and great fighter, with an abundant love for his family.

shinichiro nurtures an ardent affection for you, unwavering and he borderline worships you. he won't let anyone harm you, he'll fight for you, threatens anyone for you and do so much more. he has a sense of responsibility now that you're his, he can't let you down nor disappoint you. you'll see just how much of an infatuated man he is.

apollo is cruel and vengeful ; shinichiro doesn't tolerate any negative intentions towards his omega. he's observant and doesn't let second chances : if you disrespect his lover, you'll pay, end of story.

just remember apollo's love life, he's passionate and romantic. it goes beyond death and he's loyal to a fault. shinichiro knows you're the one, you make him believe in love at first sight.

just as any other god, apollo is jealous. this trait of his passed down to shinichiro, who actually acts out on this feeling secretly. he won't ever let you see such a bad side of him ; he's supposed to be your unshakable partner, calm and collected. he'll just claim you, scent you, appears more often with you during social outings. and if that still doesn't work, he'll have no choice but to be more violent. but you'll know none of this ; he'll remain confident and positive, with soft smiles and tender kisses.

he provides such a comforting space for his omega, soothing any of your worry with a radiant smile. you know he has everything under control, so you can abandon yourself completely to your alpha.

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ALPHA! IZANA (hades)

izana could be associated with so many deities but I'll settle for hades. his deranged thoughts and past actually make up most of his personality and explain his whole behaviour; he can't let go of any of his burdens and remains absolutely crushed and tortured by them. he feels lonely, betrayed and has so many negative emotions circling around him. he has trouble connecting with other people the way any normal person would, he's rude and direct, and you can even think he doesn't actually care about his comrades because of his aggressive actions.

contrary to hades, izana does let out his emotions a lot. he actually can't quite control them and is often a slave to his own feelings. he's crazily jealous and possessive, his instincts are all over the place, forcing him to keep you locked away somewhere he considers safe enough.

he hates those lusty eyes people have whenever you come by, he wants to just tear their faces apart. still, he does nothing, too preoccupied by the image you might have of him.

he's violent and pitiless, but there are times when he's self conscious and would hate himself if you were to tremble and cry from fear of him. sure it does help to keep you in check ; his omega should listen well, stay put and pretty, ready to obey him. but there's a limit he's not mentally ready to cross. don't hate him the way others do, don't look at him with a consuming fear he's so familiar to see in other's eyes.

you're one of the few people, if not the only, he lets himself be vulnerable around. he expects a devotion and willingness on your side to just do anything he asks. he won't hesitate to force you into submission, coating you with sweet words contrasting of his actions ; he doesn't know how to love and it will feel suffocating at times. but you manage.

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ALPHA! RAN (dionysus)

an easy one. dionysus is the god of wine and parties and likes to be the center of attention, although this could be more accurate for bonten!ran era. ran just loves to indulge in pleasures, participate in what one would consider as immoral and unholy. he actually couldn't care less about other people's opinions and simply enjoys what life has in store (brothels, alcohol, murder... you get it). ran is a red flag and he just enjoys chaos, he doesn't care about stability and just want to have fun. he's intense and often hard to decipher, making him a complex person.

ran is absolutely infatuated with you, he finds you intriguing, ridiculously pretty and your scent is intoxicating. how can he not desire your presence ?

being with you feels like a drug, you just can't leave his mind and that's why he can't let go of you either. he indulges fully into the pleasures of life and you just so happen to be the perfect embodiment of all the joys he seems to crave so openly.

he is sociable and there always seems to be a flock of people around him. he loves the attention, but yours particularly, to your surprise. you don't know what about you charmed him, why you of all people considering how popular he is. but here you are, glued to him and not exactly out of your own will.

ran wants you by his side, so you'll stay. simple as that. he's constantly burying his nose in the crook of your neck. you just smell so nice and every part of you is to die for. he extends predatory hands out to you, exploring your body shamelessly without any concerns for how you feel. he just wants to touch you, feel you and own you.

he's a great talker, he knows exactly what to tell you to make you behave the way he wants. if he doesn't like you around someone, he won't tell you directly, although he could, considering the power he has over you. but he'd rather make it fun : not letting you have any control over the situation and making you act a certain way all because he decided of it. like a puppet, you'll be under the good will of ran, you don't have a word to say.

despite this complex personality, he doesn't like when things get too complicated. yes he might enjoy tricking you and messing with your head, but he's all too open to fun and pleasure. so he's someone who'll spend his time having fun with you, never letting anything get boring.

as I said, he's possessive. he's an alpha and a demigod. you're both his plaything and partner, and he absolutely despises whenever someone tries to turn you away from him. just like how he looks for you first in a crowd, his omega can't have wandering eyes. he gets annoyed quickly when his fun is ruined by a stupid alpha, so he'll also get rid of the problem just as fast as it appeared. no time for gloomy and uncomfortable feelings !

he doesn't know any limits and doesn't seem to understand why you might have any. he'll let you do about anything to him, use him to satisfy any urge you might have, relieve your anger and envy however you like. just use him, just like he does with you. that's his definition of love and he can't help but levitate around you like a magnet. it's stronger than him.

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ALPHA! DRAKEN (poseidon)

I'm not satisfied with this pick, but draken works well as a son of poseidon. he's big and tall, imposing, but never goes too far, he knows how to regulate his strength as to not abuse it. he's protective and loyal, calm at times and especially when it's needed. he's a pillar to his team, toman, and people know they can count on him. he's stoic and you would never guess what's going on inside his head, although it doesn't mean he's aloof ; as I said, he's attentive and caring, he's both a shield and sword to his friends.

draken here is a bit similar to what I already wrote about him on my blog so I'll be quick.

it's painfully obvious you're his omega and you're not to be messed with. he's stable like the sea and you can't help but wish he'll let you stick with him. luckily, draken has heart eyes for you only, so he lets you have your own privileges.

it's sometimes so subtle you might not notice it. but draken does have a soft spot for you ; constantly checking up on you, asking you where you've been, what you did and with whom.

I know poseidon has a bad temper, he is proud and competitive. draken is all of the above but in a reasonable way, he doesn't go overboard. when he's in a stable condition, he knows he has the situation under control and doesn't even feel the need to keep you away. you're an omega sure, but he trusts himself enough that you don't need to be hidden.

as I said, he appears calm, but whenever he does get angry, albeit not that rare, it's always shocking and terrifying. he's so intimidating, he has that dark look which makes you want to lower your gaze, and his scent forces anyone to recognize his power.

he's so protective, gently cradling you in his arms if you're feeling scared. even if he knows you have nothing to be scared of – since he's there – he won't allow any negative emotions to crawl their way up to you. he's your shield to this particularly cruel world.

he will never judge you for how you feel : he's aware that omegas are more sensitive than alphas. he will therefore make sure you're never exposed to too much at once. he'll just assert dominance, both to keep you safe and to inform others that he's what they'll be confronted with if they ever approach you.

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ALPHA! TAIJU (ares)

another son of ares! I can't see him as anything else than that, taiju literally is the embodiment of war and violence. he has a quick temper, he easily gets annoyed and wants things to go his way. his solution to problems is to use his fists carelessly and he's not that reassuring, no matter who you are to him (friend, family, comrade or enemy). and I just know this man has a massive breeding kink, which would totally fit with ares, as he's a symbol of virility and masculine potency. this guy wants a lineage and to exert control over his omega.

same for him, I already described him pretty well in other posts so it will probably be repetitive.

taiju is unsurprisingly aggressive and thrives whenever he's surrounded by violence. he wants nothing more than to taste blood and feel the adrenaline a good fight gives him.

he wants you to look at him, to see just how strong your alpha is. be proud and feel safe. taiju is sending you painfully obvious messages of what will happen if he was to catch you cheating. you can be sure he'll never let it slide, he'll beat the hell out of anyone who looks at you and anyone you look at. by now, you learnt to never cross the eyes of anyone else for their own sake.

he's suffocating, his love is mean and jealous. you're his precious possession, don't leave his sight. he likes to see you look so small, he towers over you like he could crush your frail form if he didn't pay attention to how much pressure he was hugging you with.

this difference makes him feel in charge in the best way possible, he knows you can't resist him anyways. he loves that vulnerability of yours, how naive and dumb you can be. let taiju be the master of your decisions. as an alpha, he's way better suited to guide you than you are. please stay quiet and cute, just like always. he can't have his adorable omega tainted by unholy thoughts and disgusting people. you're so pure, you need to stay that way.

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ALPHA! KOKONOI (athena)

I was tempted to associate him to dionysus, but he doesn't have that extravagant personality and tendency of falling into the excesses. so athena is a pretty good pick I think. he's calm and collected, deeply loyal and ready to sacrifice himself for his loved ones, even going as far as giving up his morals. he's extremely smart and understands how everything works easily, he never strays from his goal once he has his mind set on it and his role as a money maker in his gang proves just how much his members trust him and recognize his reliability. moreover, he's not just brains, but knows how to fight pretty well, making him a great opponent.

he's cool headed most of the times. you're automatically attracted to him by his honesty and steadfast love for you. he wants the best for you and he'll give it to you in a heartbeat.

yes he does care about good and evil, what is right and wrong, but with his doe-eyed omega right in front of him, it's easy for him to just forget what morality is. he tries his best to add you into his virtuous life, but he often strays off from his righteous path if your safety is involved.

he's oftentimes composed and keeps his emotions his check, he doesn't get easily affected by the sorrows of others. but you're his weakness, and he hates your crying face despite everything. it bothers him so much to be this affected by you, but he slowly came to embrace his love for you, and life has never been easier.

he's so faithful. there's something about the both of you being so committed to one another that drives his mind crazy. he recognises you as one of his own, you're his omega and therefore, all of the people he interacts with need to show you the same respect he harbours for you.

just like athena is a defensive force, kokonoi has a strong sense of duty : he protects you without any fear. if he can't do that correctly then he has nothing to be proud of. it's a life rule at this point ; no harm should come across your silk-like skin.

he's possessive and does scent you a lot, but he doesn't want to come off as suffocating and too overpowering. he gives you your own time and space, letting you go away to cool off if you ever get mad at him. it does kill him to have you so far away from him and to know he's the reason of your annoyance, but he also knows what's best for your relationship and he doesn't want to risk anything he carefully built with you for so long.

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ALPHA! KAKUCHO (demeter)

I know this one will make a few brows furrow, but I just think it fits. demeter is kind and compassionate, just like kakucho. he has that protective role in the gang, especially towards izana and he's ready to ignore justice, morals and virtue in favour of his loved ones. he's similar in this way, to how protective demeter is with her daughter persephone. kakucho loves deeply and his fierce nature serves others, not his ideals or own goals.

kakucho is a kind alpha! he has no dirty thoughts and bad intentions towards you. he simply loves you and wish you would reciprocate his feelings.

he won't force anything on you, while being deeply involved in your relationship. he admires you and your generous personality. he thinks you're out of his league but still, he'll try to win your heart by exceeding every of your expectations.

just like demeter who's overly protective of her daughter, kakucho's main concern is his omega. it's getting repetitive but you need to know that an alpha mixed with a god can be nothing else if not possessive and protective.

kakucho reminds you of a warm home and you're always more than happy to jump into his arms, excited for his comforting hugs. he kisses your temple softly, whispers praises words of how pretty you look and caresses your knuckles with his thumb whenever he holds your hand.

it's literally written on his face that he loves you more than he values his life. he gets shy when you mention it but never denies it. contrary to some alphas, he isn't embarrassed to affirm that he indeed listens very well to his omega. he, who is supposed to be all big and intimidating, melts into a puddle whenever you call him over with a baby voice. god, he loves when you treat him so sweetly.

demeter also has a temper of her own and could become very fierce when angry. kakucho has that vibe as well, the feeling of a sleeping storm, awaiting the moment when someone will mess something up to burst.

he usually doesn't let his emotions control him, but when someone threatens him to steal you from him because he supposedly can't take care of you, he just explodes. kakucho will give anything he has and doesn't have for you, what right does a stranger have to quality him as competent enough or not ? although when his wrath has passed, he'll feel a bit self conscious and scared that some truth was hidden in his words. but if you do a great job at reassuring him and telling him how safe and giddy kakucho makes you feel, then he'll be fine as well.

[antiphilosophia]

Crowley's pre-fall name is BARAQIEL (THEORY)

THIS POST MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS OR RATHER CLUES FOR GOOD OMENS SEASON 2 CONTENTS, PROCEED WITH CAUTION 🤍

Very well. Who doesn't love the Crowley is the Archangel Raphael theory (I am certainly of those people who do). During my first watch of Good Omens S2 I was even somehow almost confident that that was the case.

However, my second, more careful, viewing of this lovely (but equally heartbreaking) season made me change my mind, likely for good. In episode 4, Furfur's book "Demon's Guide To Angelic Beings Who Walk The Earth" shows us a name of a certain angel Baraqiel. (see photo below) Knowing Good Omens that can hardly be a coincidence.

Unfortunately, the very text is quite unreadable. One thing, other than the name, which is pretty clear is the subheading "Angel of the Sky" and since the episode 1 lets us take a look at how Crowley did indeed take part in creation of what is to be seen in the night sky, one can hardly find that entirely non-fitting. One other sentence I was (at least I think) able to read is "Often draped in red."

(On a different note but certainly worth noticing are scribbles that generally just roast Crowley – his suspiciousness, hair and name (though I am not absolutely sure of the latter) "His hair is bad!" Wow, Furfur really does hate Crowley.)

Then there is something written above the name of Baraqiel, unfortunately in none of the picture frames does it get a bit readable. I wonder though, couldn't it be "former"? Since it comes precisely after mention of Crowley to whom should one report on Aziraphale.

Crowley is very powerful. Dominion

A word that is not exactly readable but can be deduced from its placement (it is situated just as Aziraphale's "Principality") is Baraqiel's rank – Dominion Angel. It should be noted here that I very much lack proper knowledge of either Jewish or Christian mythology and I would hate to provide any incorrect claims. I therefore think it is better for me not to overly state things, even more so since everyone can look into it on their own and figure out what that might mean for our beloved demon. What I will say, however, is that they are (as I understand it) very powerful and, placed within the 2nd triad in the angel hierarchy, ranked higher than the Archangels. This would go well along with the emphasis that was in my opinion laid on Crowley's powers quite a lot this season.

For example: "A miracle of enormous power happened last night. The kind of miracle only the mightiest of archangels could've performed," said Shax to Crowley, to which he replied: "How'd you know I didn't do it?" He didn't get an answer.

What I think (and I may be very wrong, obviously) is that a miracle of this vastness wouldn't have happened simply because of a regular angel and a regular demon did together half a miracle each. What is also worth noticing is that the tool with which Crowley created the Nebula is the same as the one he used to temporarily stop time at the end of season 1 right before Satan's arrival. So much to the size of his powers.

Baraqiel, lightning of God. Fallen angel

Finally, to Baraqiel himself. My lack of knowledge concerning this matter still stands and frankly I don't even know where to find valid information about angels and such on the internet. Baraqiel should, however, stand for "lightning of God" and is also regarded as the angel of lightning. In season 2 there are (as far as I remember) two occasions where Crowley is put in correlation with lightning. (1) His poor anger management issues in episode 1 and (2) his not at all better matchmaking in episode 3 ("I haven't done weather in ages"). Furthermore, Baraqiel is considered to be the one who taught astrology to people. Nevertheless, what points to Crowley and Baraqiel being one even more is that Baraqiel is indeed a fallen angel.

•

So... That is probably it. I usually tent to theorize about stuff in quiet, in fact, this is the first time I've used Tumblr for anything other than reading Neil Gaiman's posts. I didn't even think that I would actually post it but then I've searched on Twitter, TikTok and here on Tumblr if anyone else has already come up with this theory. The only post I could find (hopefully I haven't missed anything) was by @valaza_04 on Twitter (click here) where they refer to the same frame shot as I do here.

Now I know, we are still recovering from heartbreaking (but if you ask me, absolutely amazing) finale and the main thing currently on our minds is figuring out why would Aziraphale choose as he did and the many wonderful theories that come with it. However, considering the utterly virulent look that Metatron shot at Crowley before walking out of the bookshop with Aziraphale and also his "Well, [Crowley] always did want to go his own way. Always asking damn fool questions, too." makes me think that he absolutely does not care for Crowley and whichever angel he was before the Fall. And I reckon it won't remain unnoticed in season 3 and might even be really important (or that is just me wishing for more pre-fall Crowley scenes). Hence I decided that I will post this. And it doesn't matter if no one will see this in the end, it was quite fun to write. However, if there is someone who will read this all the way through, I hope they will accept my apology for the mistakes I have most possibly made (English is not my first language) and also for the ridiculous length this post has come to gather. It turns out, I am just as chatty of a writer as I am speaker.

Well maybe I will come around to write one more post about this theory, only with a proper research this time. Till then thank you and, please, support this season by streaming as much as you can so we can have season 3 of this masterpiece of a show. And be kind to those bringing it to us in your comments regarding the ending, even though it is very frustrating and heart-shattering, it is also maybe the best ending we could have hoped for with the prospects of season 3.

Thank you for letting me talk my heart out, Tumblr.

[broomsick]

any tips for starting out when working with deities?

Hi, friend! Thank you for the ask, and sorry for the late reply. I've posted tips for beginners many times in the past, most of which you can find via links in this post. But now, since we're talking about working with deities more specifically, I'll list a few quick tips in a point form!

The golden rule to deity work, in my opinion, is respect. Everyone interacts with their deities with varying amounts of familiarity, but one quality always remains no matter the worshipper, and that is respect. But that goes without saying, right? 'Treat others how you want to be treated' makes no exceptions, even with non-human entities.

To me, the first step to respecting a deity is acknowledging their depth and multi-faceted nature. Mythological sources may describe this or that deity as the 'God of this or that', but in the context of religion, they are much more. The believer views the God as more than a mythological figure, but as a complex existing being.

For this reason, another tip I'll give is to get to know them. Learn as much as you can about them, and never stop learning. Not only about the deity/deities themselves, but also (and I think it's crucial not to neglect this!) about the cultural context in which they were first worshipped. I can't stress enough how big of a difference this makes when it comes to understanding a God. If you're interested, I've linked here a few of my favorite sources pertaining to nordic cultures, religions and history!

To me, offerings are not transactional. That is just my own belief, of course, but I don't adhere to the idea that 'one must give to the Gods in order to earn blessings and vice versa'. Paganism is not a trade market, but rather a way to experience spirituality. I believe in making offerings when you can, if you can, as a gesture of gratitude and not as a way to somehow 'earn blessings'. As a pagan, you do not "owe" anything to the Gods they do not "owe" you anything either.

Do not be afraid to simply spend time with them. While we may not always feel their presence, you can have faith in the fact that they watch over you. And for this reason, it's perfectly okay for you to sit down at your altar, or in the outdoors, to simply talk to them, symbolically sharing a drink/meal, telling them of your troubles or of how they inspire you. Developing this habit can help make you feel connected to a deity, even on a tight schedule, or during times when you feel disconnected from your spirituality.

In the same vein, it can be fulfilling and fun for you to dedicate certain activities to a deity of your choice! For example, practicing your instrument in honor of Bragi, or hiking in honor of Jörð, etc... What's more, whenever you dedicate an activity to a deity, you can invite them to partake in it, as I've described in this previous post!

Start to notice what things in your life reminds you of them. Maybe a certain smell? Or a song? What animals, meals, stories of else bring this deity to mind? Either because of the similar feeling they instill in you, or because you think this or that deity might enjoy them.

As a beginner, you needn't feel bad about how many deities you work with, or which deities you reach out to (so long as they are not part of a closed practice). I've always thought it weird how in some books centered around witchcraft, they'll rank deities in order of 'how experienced you need to be to reach out to them'. If you want my own honest opinion, anyone is free to reach out to any deity. No God is more difficult to work with than others. It all comes down to the individual, their values and the way they choose to work with the deity in question. I'm also not a big fan of such sources encouraging calling out to a deity during a ritual/spell like they're a tool for a magical working, if the practionner doesn't plan to really get to know them. But that's a topic for another day.

It can be greatly fulfilling as well to simply ponder a deity from time to time. What do they teach you? What can you learn from their example? What do they represent in your life? I listed in this post a few ideas of questions to ask yourself in order to better understand a deity and their presence in your life.

Take it step by step, day by day, and don't feel bad if you think you've made a mistake. We are all constantly learning. The Gods know we are human, and they reflect us in that way: they themselves have their strengths and weaknesses.

I hope this helps, but please do keep in mind that these are all my personal views on paganism, and that not every practionner will resonate with them. In any case, don't hesitate to ask if you have any other question(s) regarding practice or belief in the nordic path. Have a good day, my friend.

[hollowed-theory-hall]

what's the one harry potter pairing u like that u mentioned in the tags of your hinny post?

Anonymous: Can I ask who that minor character you ship with Harry is? For some absurd reason my mind jumped to Stan Shunpike lol but it's probably not him.... Or is it?

Okay, so this is kind of a funny story. Like, my pipeline through hp pairings was a weird one. Like, I used to read a lot of Harry pairings, still do on occasion (some make more sense than others). None of them were ones I would point at and say: "that should've happened in the books"

One day, I was innocently writing a fic (canon divergence of GoF), and it was just for me, for funnsies, never posted it anywhere and not planning to. And I planned to pair Harry with someone there (honestly, I don't remember who because I didn't write the plan down) but when writing, Harry ended up with a different character. And it was so strange to me because that never happened.

Like, how do you write a ship accidentally?

But I did. I wrote Harry into a ship by accident. So I went back to the books to try and figure out why the hell would my subconscious decide that's the way to go.

I'll also preface it by all this being my subjective opinion and I do read other Harry ships in fics, this one just quickly became my favorite to write (and the only one I write). Also, I don't actually think this is a pairing that should've happened in the books, it's place is in fic and that's where I like it.

So, the character I accidentally shipped with Harry is... *drumroll*

Stan Shunpike!

Not really, it's:

Theodore Nott

Now, you might look at the name and go: "Who the fuck is that?"

And you'll be correct. Theo has 0 speaking lines in the entire book series. His name appears twice. He, himself, as a person, only appeared on page, like, 3 times in the background. The scene that gives the most information about him is other characters talking about him. He isn't even present.

That being said, I'm very good at extrapolating a lot of information from very little evidence. So allow me, to walk you through who is Theodore Nott and why I ship him with Harry.

Basic Information

So, let's start with the most basic overview before I pull out the quotes and go any deeper.

We know Theo is a Slytherin student in Harry's year. So he likely shares a dorm with Draco, Blaise, Crabbe, and Goyle.

Theo's father is both at the graveyard at the end of GoF and in the Department of Mysteries at the end of OotP, so we know he is a Death Eater. We also know Thoe's father was one of the first and closest Death Eaters to Voldemort, who waited for him during his interview with Dumbledore in 1967:

“Then if I were to go to the Hog’s Head tonight, I would not find a group of them — Nott, Rosier, Mulciber, Dolohov — awaiting your return? Devoted friends indeed...”

(HBP, page 444)

We also know the Nott family is "as pure-blooded as the Malfoys" according to JKR in an interview. We also know Theo's great-grandfather (maybe? the family relation isn't clear), Cantankerus Nott, is suspected to be the one who wrote the Pure-Blood Dictionary, the book that coined the term "Sacred 28" and made that list (which the Nott family are on).

The name Nott is potentially to be derived from the name Nótt, which is the personification of the night in Norse Mythology. So it has been theorized the Nott family have a Nordic origin. Possible, but it doesn't really matter for this post.

What does, is that he comes from a dark, Death Eater, blood-purist family similar to the Malfoys. Even so, Theo never took the Dark Mark and never joined Voldemort in the books.

Now, that we have the basic information out of the way, let's look at Theodore as a person.

All the details I could gather from the books

Alright, now we get to the fun part. That is, me going through all the relevant scenes that mention Theodore Nott and actually creating a character psychoanalysis out of basically nothing.

So, the quotes aren't organized in a particular order. I'm just going to explain Theo and then explain why all this makes me ship him with Harry.

“Well, I pity Slughorn’s taste. Maybe he’s going a bit senile. Shame, my father always said he was a good wizard in his day. My father used to be a bit of a favorite of his. Slughorn probably hasn’t heard I’m on the train, or —” “I wouldn’t bank on an invitation,” said Zabini. “He asked me about Nott’s father when I first arrived. They used to be old friends, apparently, but when he heard he’d been caught at the Ministry he didn’t look happy, and Nott didn’t get an invitation, did he? I don’t think Slughorn’s interested in Death Eaters.” Malfoy looked angry, but forced out a singularly humorless laugh.

(HBP, page 150)

This is a part of the conversation between Draco, Pansy, and Blaise, Harry overhears when he is hiding in their compartment at the beginning of HBP. I have a few things to note regarding this scene.

Firstly, throughout this conversation, Pansy, Blaise, and Draco all call each other by their first name. This shows closeness, they are all friendly and familiar enough to use their first names with each other. Theo, though, is referred to as "Nott" by all three in the compartment.

He doesn't actually sit in their compartment which is in itself a sign about how he isn't really friendly with Draco's group. Considering the group is most of his year from his house, Theo is likely very lonely, and it will be apparent from other scenes I bring up later.

Secondly, Theo's father is in Azkaban. We know Draco is bothered about his own father's predicament. He mentions it to Harry and bothers him over it, Theo doesn't though. Theo doesn't seem to be bothered by Harry or his father's incarceration.

The only conclusion I can draw from this is that the relationship between Theo and his father is not a good one.

(I know some fics like to have Lucius be abusive towards Draco, for some reason. But the books really don't back this up. Lucius loves Draco and Draco adores his father)

Theo, though, Theo seems to be the one with a very strained relationship with his father. Strained enough that he isn't bothered the man is in Azkaban. What I'm saying is that Theo's father likely abuses or mistreats him in some capacity.

If anything more was needed to complete Harry’s happiness, it was Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle’s reactions. He saw them with their heads together later that afternoon in the library, together with a weedy-looking boy Hermione whispered was called Theodore Nott. They looked around at Harry as he browsed the shelves for the book he needed on Partial Vanishment, and Goyle cracked his knuckles threateningly and Malfoy whispered something undoubtedly malevolent to Crabbe. Harry knew perfectly well why they were acting like this: He had named all of their fathers as Death Eaters

(OotP, page 583)

This is a scene at the end of OotP after Draco, Crabbe, Goyle and Theo's fathers were caught at the ministry and sent to Azkaban because they are Death Eaters. There are a few important notes about this scene.

The first, Hermione knows Theo, while Harry and Ron don't really. This means she likely knows him from the classes she takes and Harry and Ron don't — Arithmancy and/or Ancient Runes.

The second, he is sitting with other Death Eater children, but I don't think it's by choice. I mentioned in the previous quote how he isn't close to Draco and his crew. He sits with them here mostly because he doesn't have another choice. Theo doesn't seem to really have any friends, so he sits with the closest people he has to friends — kids he has known since he was young because their fathers were in the same circle.

The other note about this is that Crabbe, Goyle, and Draco are all mentioned as being threatening and malicious towards Harry because they don't like that their fathers are in Azkaban. Theo, though, Theo doesn't threaten Harry, he isn't part of their whisperings. As I mentioned above, he's likely happy his father is in Azkaban.

A pair of blank, white, shining eyes were growing larger through the gloom and a moment later the dragonish face, neck, and then skeletal body of a great, black, winged horse emerged from the darkness. It looked around at the class for a few seconds, swishing its long black tail, then bowed its head and began to tear flesh from the dead cow with its pointed fangs. A great wave of relief broke over Harry. Here at last was proof that he had not imagined these creatures, that they were real: Hagrid knew about them too. He looked eagerly at Ron, but Ron was still staring around into the trees and after a few seconds he whispered, “Why doesn’t Hagrid call again?” Most of the rest of the class were wearing expressions as confused and nervously expectant as Ron’s and were still gazing everywhere but at the horse standing feet from them. There were only two other people who seemed to be able to see them: a stringy Slytherin boy standing just behind Goyle was watching the horse eating with an expression of great distaste on his face, and Neville, whose eyes were following the swishing progress of the long black tail.

(OotP, page 445)

“The only people who can see thestrals,” she said, “are people who have seen death.”

(OotP, page 446)

The stringy Slytherin boy mentioned here is Theo. This scene proves that:

He takes Care of Magical Creatures

He saw someone die

Let's explore the second one for a moment. The fact Theo can see Thestrals means he watched someone die and was old enough to comprehend what he was seeing. We also know Theo's mother is dead. So it's likely the person he watched die was his mother.

I also want to draw attention to Theo's distaste towards Thestrals. He could likely see them carrying the carriages every year since 2nd year, it's not his first time seeing them. But it doesn't stop his displeasure with their sight from showing. Which says something about him. It means he likely recalls his mother and her death whenever he looks at the Thestrals. and these are memories Theo rather not experience.

We don't know how his mother died, but I'd hazard a guess it wasn't natural. After all, wizards have long life spans, they are more durable to illness and injury, and don't usually die from accidents unless very extreme or magical. And there was no epidemic of dragonpox (a disease that does tend to kill wizards) in the time since 1980 and the books. So, she was more likely killed at some point between 1985(ish) and 1991.

“No, I don’t think so, sir. I’m Muggle-born, you see.” Harry saw Malfoy lean close to Nott and whisper something; both of them sniggered, but Slughorn showed no dismay; on the contrary, he beamed and looked from Hermione to Harry, who was sitting next to her.

(HBP, pages 185-186)

First, Theo is an O student in potions since he is in the potions NEWT class, and was probably meant to be there even if Snape was the teacher.

Second, again, Theo doesn't really have friends. He sits next to Draco as the only other Slytherin in the class. Also, they share the circumstances of being sons of Death Eaters currently in Azkaban. Although both of them seem to deal with it quite differently.

Third, Theo joins Draco in making fun of Hermione's blood status, but he does not initiate it. Considering the environment he was raised in and is in, it makes sense he would make fun of it. Whether he's a blood-purist or not, he would want to keep his image considering he doesn't have many allies. Hanging out with Draco is survival, not friendship. They aren't even on a first-name basis with each other.

“Amortentia doesn’t really create love, of course. It is impossible to manufacture or imitate love. No, this will simply cause a powerful infatuation or obsession. It is probably the most dangerous and powerful potion in this room — oh yes,” he said, nodding gravely at Malfoy and Nott, both of whom were smirking skeptically. “When you have seen as much of life as I have, you will not underestimate the power of obsessive love. . . .

(HBP, page 186)

The final quote I have about Theo is from the same potions class as above. Both he and Draco are portrayed here as underestimating amortentia and its potential damage. It makes sense for their upbringing in the Wizarding World, which has no real laws or regulations regarding love potions that are seen as harmless fun more often than not.

I'll add Theo likely didn't witness a healthy romantic relationship. Considering his father is a Death Eater who is likely abusive and may or may not have killed his mother. With this as his reference to a marriage, it's clear why he'd look down on love and love potions.

Why I think Theo and Harry have potential

Okay, so now that we know who Theodore Nott is, let's talk about why I ship him with Harry.

I think Harry, in general, would get along best with a clever partner with the ability to be ruthless (Slytherins or Ron fall into this category). Because Harry isn't some golden savior; he casts unforgivables, and is very willing to poison Umbridge or Crocio Snape if he could get away with it. He needs a partner that won't be horrified by these thoughts.

Also, Theo literally never speaks on page. Even when spoken to, his reactions are silent. I think this quiet and no need to talk, the ability to be comfortable in silence, is something that would be comfortable for Harry. Harry in the books finds himself annoyed with Ron and Hermione's constant banter on occasion, so I think it fits well.

Theo would also be comfortable around Harry without a need to play a certain part. Because Harry wouldn't care about that. He would honestly rather Theo forgo the pure-blood Slytherin act.

I feel like Harry and Theo, have a good potential to understand each other. Theo lost his mother and likely experiences abuse from his father. It makes them very likely to trauma bond over their crap life and shared experience. Two out of three only ones who could see the Thestrals in the entire class.

The other thing I feel they could connect over is being lonely. Harry spent all his childhood until Hogwarts basically being on his own. Theo stayed on his own. Draco at least has his parents, he has other students he's closer to, not that he shares everything with them, but he has some support network. Theo has none. And this is something Harry knows well.

Theo, I think, wouldn't expect anything specific from Harry. He doesn't even interact with him, not to mock him, and not to idolize him, he doesn't care at all. And we know how much Harry appreciates being thought of as Harry and not as the Boy-Who-Lived. Theo would allow Harry to be himself without some mold he wants him to fit in.

The fact Theo never becomes a Death Eater, even though he was in Draco's year and his father was a Death Eater before Lucius (and in better standing than Lucius with Voldemort) is so interesting. It's somewhat surprising Theo wasn't marked. It means he didn't want to be. It means that Theo Nott didn't want to torture and kill muggleborns or blood traitors, or anyone really. And he didn't want to swear his allegiance to Voldemort. This is just a fascinating fact to me and something I enjoy considering. What life experience made him come to that conclusion? Was it just his dislike of his father that pushed him away? Could he have been another Sirius Black (Gryffindor in a Slytherin family) under slightly different circumstances? I mean, Voldemort likely wouldn't force him to become a Death Eater, but would his father? I don't know what at all went down there, but I like that potential story.

We also know he wasn't part of Umbridge's Inquisitorial Squad, even though some minor Slytherins were mentioned to be part of it. He just seems to be an actually decent guy (I don't care what Cursed Child says about him, I know he's there but I avoided almost anything to do with Cursed Child so I barely know the plot).

Finally, this is a character Harry doesn't have as much drama to get over with. Yes, sometimes I want to read overcoming drama between characters before it becomes a romance, but sometimes I want something chiller than that. And Theo is a really chill, safe, Slytherin option for Harry.

[aroaceleovaldez]

hey! hope this isn't weird but i wanted to know why you think artemis wasn't up to standards even in the original pjo series. you reblogged from me and so i had front row to your tags on the post about zeus jaja i've not seen people talk a lot about her and it got me interested as i'm a classics student!

- @zoebelladona 🌙

HELLO OH BOY okay so I have half a rant already about Artemis in terms of Rick and general aphobic tropes in the series. see: that open letter on twitter. i still need to transfer that to tumblr. fun fact: Rick replied to that post but deleted his reply at some point. probably because two replies after he replied to my post and word-of-god confirmed Reyna to be ace-coded he left social media for a bit.

Fun times! Anyways.

The thing I dislike about Artemis as she's depicted in the series, besides her constantly appearing as a teenager and the aphobic tropes with that [see: open letter linked above] - which on some level is slightly more excusable than other examples given she's a goddess of young women, but given how he writes Athena, Hestia, and the Hunt instead leaves a bad taste in my mouth - and other similar aphobic tropes with her, is her whole weird anti-men thing (which is also, in itself, also an aphobic trope in this particular circumstance). I understand TTC was written in 2007 so that flavor of radical feminism that Artemis and the Hunt is clearly supposed to be was only just coming into major public awareness and the flaws in the ideology (and the inherent bigotry, particularly transphobia and racism that often comes with it) weren't as well recognized at the time. But in hindsight it leaves a really bad taste in my mouth for obvious reasons and is one of the things from the first series that severely aged poorly in my opinion, and I greatly dislike that in every subsequent retcon of the Hunt for other reasons Rick more or less retains that aspect.

Secondly... it doesn't make sense from a mythological standpoint? Because there are multiple examples of men being Hunters in Artemis' retinue. Even ignoring Orion, no matter how you go about shaking that stick (which for the record I really dislike how Rick retconned him in the series/wrote him in HoO), Hippolytus is a very notable example. Literally his big whole original shtick was he joined the Hunt because he didn't like romance and Aphrodite got so pissed about him not needing her (romance) that she killed him. And even when Aphrodite was trying to ruin his life he held on to his virtues and vow to Artemis (refusing advances even when his life was on the line). He is otherwise totally chill and devoted to Artemis. Some versions of his myth has Artemis have him resurrected after he dies (by Asclepius, which is why Asclepius is punished for reviving the dead). This also obviously doesn't address the major glaring logical flaw in Artemis hating all men which is... Apollo. Especially within the series he seems to be an exception for no reason, despite Artemis also very overtly having a "brothers are not an exception to the no-men rule." And from a modern queer standpoint, it obviously begs the question of stuff like gender identity within the Hunt and if you bring back the radfem stuff it gets real bad vibes real fast. Which also sucks when you particularly look at historical/mythological descriptions of Apollo and Artemis and how they very poignantly encompass defying gender roles and expectations particularly within their cultural contexts.

And every time Rick tries to retcon the Hunt, he somehow manages to make it kind of worse, particularly with the oath. I have a whole personal thing for how I think to best rectify all that nonsense in a way that isn't horrible and is related to some of Artemis' aspects in a more sensible way (buried somewhere in this monster of a post. Honestly i'd just recommend ctrl + f search "Hunters" on that post and it should be somewhere near the first ping there). In there I also go into some of my other thoughts for the general meh way the Hunt is written in the series, mostly being aphobic tropes and random death fodder.

So yeah. Basically, tl;dr: I am personally not a huge fan of how Artemis in the series is halfway to being a terf and chock-full of aphobic tropes. And I need Rick to stop retconning things into the ground.

[apollosgiftofprophecy]

Suspend Your Disbelief. Seriously.

One thing I've taught myself when it comes to interpreting literature, no matter what it is or where it comes from, is when something is left unsaid, I assume the best-case scenario.

An example: Greek Mythology.

Greek Mythology is notorious for having very...disturbing things happen. And yeah, it happens to even your favorites.

But something that ticks me off (on this website in particular) is exaggerating a myth.

I think Apollo is a very good example of this. I have heard "Apollo raped [insert name here]!" so many times, but you know what? They never back it up with actual sources! Just heresy!

Daphne? He never even touched her. Chased her? Yes, but people also tend to disregard Eros's own involvement in that matter. (i made a post about it and other things)

Castalia? Same as Daphne. also was a very late addition by the Romans and is not Greek

Cassandra? This is literally a case of a woman being given autonomy! If Apollo was literally any other god, she would have been raped - but he didn't! Curse her? Yes and there's a lot more to unpack here but that's another post but he never assaulted her! "But she was coerced-" NO SHE WAS NOT. AS A MATTER OF FACT SHE LOVED HIM. YEAH THAT'S RIGHT CASSANDRA LOVED APOLLO. PROOF IN THE TROJAN WOMEN:

Farewell, ye garlands of that god most dear to me! farewell, ye mystic symbols! I here resign your feasts, my joy in days gone by. Go, I tear ye from my body, that, while yet mine honour is intact, I may give them to the rushing winds to waft to thee, my prince of prophecy

also this is after the curse situation. so. they have NUANCES! and i like that. euripides be giving us NUANCES and i SALUTE him GIVE ME THE NUANCES PLEASE

I could go on and on. But one myth is a very good example of this "assume the best happened" vs "assume the worst happened" mindset.

Bolina. She was a mortal who Apollo fell in love with, but she threw herself off a cliff. Apollo turned her immortal to save her life, and that's the end of the story.

Yet I have heard people use Bolina's myth as "proof" that Apollo's a rapist.

First of all, I have a whole post basically debunking this notion, but also, where does it say. at any point. that Apollo raped Bolina?

(screenshot from Theoi.com)

Where.

That's right. Nowhere.

Sure, I guess you could assume it was done after Apollo turned Bolina immortal, but honestly, in my opinion, that's just grasping at straws. That's looking for something to complain about.

What I've learned is to assume the best happens. And guess what? That makes me enjoy mythology more! Suspend your disbelief! Not that difficult! Just because these myths are from ancient times doesn't mean terrible things happened all the time!

And I say this as an enjoyer of Mythology. This is not my religion, or my culture, but I am an avid enjoyer (particularly of Apollo's myths, hence why I used him as an example) and I do get irritated when these myths are twisted around in someone's quest to "prove" that a certain god usually Apollo is The Worst.

and it's kinda funny how people are determined to make Apollo this terrible, misogynistic asshole when...he's not. Then turn around and call the goddesses feminist girlbosses when they have also done fuck-up shit to other women.

Suspend the disbelief. You'll be happier.

[rawliverandgoronspice]

hey! do you have any thoughts on demise as a looser/more fluid/symbolic/metaphorical figure in the context of the story of the series- like thoughts on what he represents, and stuff like what his curse could mean thematically rather than the more essentialistic absolutistic "literal satan" interpretation that most of the (at least western) audience seems to take?

i know he may be somewhat contentious as a choice introduced by the writers especially considering from an outside perspective what he kind of did to the majority of fandom analysis and discourse, but i've been thinking about how it's quite possible the writers had a more paganistic approach to what it means to be a deity and how demise doesn't even really have a NAME so much as he is supposed to be some sort of manifestation/personification of the concept of demise, and maybe also of hatred, and also i don't know, like, what the point of that hatred is or why there has to be demise/what implications there could be of this worldbuilding

hope that was coherent enough to make sense of anything i just said but yeah i was just curious if you do!

Heyy sorry never replied, replying now!! Thanks for the ask!

Yeah it's exactly how I'm taking Demise, and I think what you mention connects more to what little I know and understand of shintoism.

In French, Demise has an absurdly long name and is basically called "The Avatar of the Void", which I think is... interesting? It makes me extremely curious as to how Demise is called in original japanese --because to me, "Void" is about the absence of things more than their destruction. It's about the absence, not the inevitability of things crumbling down that comes with Demise. I don't know which of these concepts are the closest to the original vision (if it's Void rather than Demise I think it recontextualizes everything we thought we know about this world and characters, but in my opinion it feels too incoherent with the rest of the world, so my guess is that it was a poorly thought-out translation --but I might be wrong!), but to me it's all in the title: Demise. The curse is that every golden era must end with a reckoning.

I think the curse is extremely compelling in that mythological sense, the way Demeter and Persephone's tale is about the joy and pain of passing seasons; it's the given cause for this world's fate as it is condemned to rise and die continuously; and that their eternal, bright future will always be opposed. To be honest, I'm not even sure it's a *bad* thing. Conflict is not only inevitable, it needs to rise to the surface instead of being suppressed to ensure things do not remain stagnant and shortcomings are being acknowledged and addressed --which is also partially why the suggestion of TotK's golden forever after really doesn't sit right with me, especially since nothing was learned and nothing truly changed in the course of its runtime.

I think the curse sucks when people think it means that Ganondorf is a generic evil demon man without motive of his own. It especially grinds my nerves since I somehow never hear this argument being made for *any* other villain in the franchise. I know they look alike the most (and TotK didn't help matters here), but I never *ever* saw people arguing that Vaati doesn't have motive, for example. Or Majora. Or Zant. Or even literal nothing characters like Bellum, who by all means looks more like a primal demonic evil acting on instinct than anyone else. Somehow, we get to assume they have internal motives that, while obviously wicked and self-serving, are their own! But somehow, Ganondorf, the actual main antagonist of his series with the most amount of games hinting at his backstory and internal moral code, gets flattened as an evil puppet with no internal life whatsoever. It's genuinely bizarre.

Anyway sorry sorry! Thanks again for the ask!

[netherworldpost]

I am a cartoonist, and a writer, and a storyteller, and a mythology researcher, and a creator, and a bunch of weird art things rolled into one.

I spend the my free time in diners, cemeteries, pumpkin patches, haunted houses... all very Halloween charming wonder and terror.

I'm equally inspired by the raw, cold, unyielding, unnegotiable, raw, unflinching brutality of a mathematical calculation.

This duality is part of my... charm.

So I built a question:

Start at Current Level of a single thing -- life, work, love, sex, relationships, progress towards writing, painting, sculpting, poetry, exercise, it doesn't matter -- set the current level you are at to 0%.

The entirety of your goal is improving this Current Level of Whatever thing by 1%. Every day. Your singular improvement goal is being 1% better at it today than you were yesterday.

Your singular improvement for tomorrow? To be 1% better than your base. Not 1% better today, 1% better tomorrow, 1% better the next day -- this is important -- get 1% better. That's it. That is your goal. Get 1% better, and then maintain this 1% improvement.

Thus ending the Current Improvement Goal on your Current Level.

See attached chart.

Maintaining this 1% improvement, consistently, I suggest, will push you forward to eventual improvement overall.

There are some days you won't improve, or get worse, but in general, averaging 1% improvement, maintained, you'll steadily climb towards your maximum level of potential vs. desire, of said thing.

Consistent practice makes consistent progress.

HERE COMES THE MATH BUT DON'T BE SCARED I HAVE DONE IT FOR YOU

If you are generally able to get 1% better, how often will this consistent practice push you up to 2%?

Roughly, give or take, 2 months.

Then, give or take, 3 months, you'll be 3% better, as measured against your base of 0%.

I feel like the thesis begins to break down at this point because compounding is starting to accelerate pretty quick after this (4x is Day 140-141) --

-- but as a generalized starting point?

That's not bad.

Figure out what you want to improve at.

Try to be 1% better at it tomorrow.

Work to build up a consistent 1% improvement from where you are of today towards it.

It is 12:13 AM and thus I am (by policy) able to work again on this start up that I own outright but am bound to my own rules (no working on days off)

I had some Business Questions to Answer.

I used the above thesis as a warmup.

And I hope this helps.

Get 1% spookier, or gayer, or bi-er, or pan-er, or ace-er, or more gender {direction and/or evaporation}, or more efficient at your housework, or cooking skills, or sewing skills, or car repair skills, or cleaning house skills, or standing up for yourself, or drawing, or writing, or poetry, or more consistent at making art and caring less about the opinion of others, or programming an AI bot that will someday destroy us all because why not, or prepare political holiday arguments for family dinners you don't want to attend but do want to create chaos at, or personal confidence, or sillier

or whatever you want to do be go etc.

onwards to a few hours of late night spreadsheets, then drawing dryads kissing, then waffles at first light!

Happy Halloween everyone!

It's almost October!

[beheworthy]

Frigga is not Thor's mother? In comics and mythology it doesn't seem to be. And in the movies? What do you think?

His mother in the mythology is Jörd - a giantess. In the comics, it's Gaea "goddess of the Earth" in most continuities, I think.

But I'm not into comics. To me, it's Frigga, no matter how much everyone's favorite director sullied their family dynamic by having a rando chick now be Odin's firstborn with someone who wasn't Frigga (oh, so it's a pattern). I love Thor and Frigga <3

I see a lot of discourse that's either "Frigga is the best mum to Thor she is flawless perfect" or "Frigga is a horrible mother to Thor she prioritized Loki fandom sucks for liking her". When in reality, it's nuanced LIKE EVERY PARENT CHILD RELATIONSHIP IS.

My understanding is that she did sideline him by caring for Loki more. But not in an obvious horrible way. She genuinely believed Loki needed her more as he was a weak/small child and her strong Thor can handle himself, so she can leave him be on his own. She would even instill him with the responsibility to look after his brother who "needed more support".

And Thor even tho would need just as much of his mum as any child does, rationalized it away in his love for her and tried his best to be the strong boy she said he was. So, he doesn't resent her or anything, but does long for her love and attention the way Loki gets it. Not that he would ever voice this.

[This is just my opinion and I would appreciate it if I'm not attacked for this.]

Here's a brilliant fanfic abt all this.

Also, I find it funny that people say Loki had Frigga and Thor had Odin as if it's somehow equal. Odin isn't exactly an affectionate parent the way Frigga was to Loki. So actually, Thor had none. (:

[corviiids]

I saw your post about Achilles and Patroclus (the one for the ask game) and it was really interesting, I like the points you made and I enjoyed reading it, but I have a question about Achilles' bloodlust before Patroclus' death: what about what he did to Troilus? This happens before Patroclus' death in most accounts, so Achilles is very brutal with it for someone, who says he prefers to ransom the Trojans rather than kill them.

Yes, Troilus had to die, if the Achaeans wanted to win the war, but his death didn't have to be so brutal. Furthermore, Achilles kills him in a sanctuary (Apollo's temple) with no regard for the consequences, and then throws the kid's head to Hector and a few other of his brothers (there are also even more severe versions about what Achilles did to this kid before and/or after killing him)

And then there's Polyxena, who usually is accompanying Troilus and gets kidnapped (and most likely r*ped) by Achilles after he kills her brother. In some versions she was partially the cause of Achilles' death, setting up his ambush by her brothers in Apollo's temple (which in my opinion seems like her way of avenging Troilus' death).

And then the ghost of Achilles demands her sacrifice (either as revenge to her revenge or because he still wants to have her, or both, 'm not sure), otherwise the Achaeans wouldn't be able to leave Troy.

I'm really curious about your thoughts on what Achilles did to these two.

(The argument about the Iliad characters is never ending and there are tons of different takes and opinions. I'm not trying to pick up an argument, I just want to hear you take on this, maybe what versions of these myths you prefer, why do you think Achilles acted the way he did and how does it fit in his characteristic you wrote previously?)

hellooo yeah so first and foremost obviously due to the nature of mythology it's always going to be kind of impossible to have, like, one unified "version" of a character that brings together every depiction of them throughout history, as you said. i think every storyteller is going to add something to a figure that doesn't necessarily mesh with every other depiction. it's like spiderman. it's for that reason that in that post (i had to go read it again lol i forgot exactly what i said but im pretty sure) i only talked about events that happened in or were referred to in the iliad. i.. clearly.. dont have a very good memory so i could very much be wrong about this but i dont think polyxena is mentioned in the iliad and troilus is only mentioned by name, i don't thiiiiiink the story of his death is relayed? i could be wrong! but yeah all of which is to say if my characterisation of achilles seems inconsistent with other myths, it sometimes might just be because it simply is. i dont try to account for every myth bc i would explode into a shower of snails

that said though i think in this instance we can find a compatibility. my point in that post wasn't that achilles isn't ever bloodthirsty or brutal, only that he shouldn't be defined by his bloodlust. quoting my own post bc again i had to go reread it

it's not that he isn't violent or hasn't killed or that he has reservations about taking lives

it's uncontroversial that he committed a lot of pretty heinous acts and clearly has the capacity for great cruelty and does not really weigh kindness or compassion or charity as a major factor in his decision-making. from my post again

he doesn't fight to kill, he fights to win. that's not hugely different in terms of the outcome, given it is in a war context where defeat and death tend to mean the same thing, but it IS different from a personality and character perspective, because it tells us achilles is at worst indifferent to human life rather than actually being driven by a desire to take it. better? worse? doesn't matter, not my point - just different.

achilles is more than happy to commit atrocities. it doesn't bother him to do so, morally. indifference to human life is sometimes indistinguishable from being outright driven by a desire to kill first and foremost. sometimes it's worse. achilles kind of does what he wants - he enjoys excelling at things - he excels at killing. so, stands to reason he might take a particularly brutal or bloodthirsty action if he feels like it. im putting the rest of this under a cut because it got long again

achilles choosing to ransom lycaon isn't proof that he is a merciful soul. it's just that he isn't at war for the love of making war and ending lives in and of itself. he absolutely does not give a shit about lycaon at all as an individual. if someone doesnt have to die, he might decide to let them go (vs someone who's in this because they love killing and therefore would just kill anyway). or he might kill them. if someone DOES have to die, achilles wouldn't go out of his way to make it a kind end. he might if he feels like it. but he might not. the bottom line is he can be bloodthirsty, but that's not his core driving trait. he's not in this to kill, he's in this to win and to be remembered for it. the killing is incidental (if he wins enough then it doesn't matter if his victims survive or not), so it'll happen or it won't and it doesn't really matter to him. so yeah, a plea for mercy might work on him better than it might work on someone who really actively wants to kill people because maybe he has no particular stake in killing them, which is why ive said he isn't fundamentally driven by bloodlust. but like if achilles thinks it might be fun to kill someone in a brutal way, no voice in his head is gonna be like Whoa there champ! How about not doing that? bc his reasons for not killing aren't ethical concerns, it's just a byproduct of what drives him. this is a fine distinction i know but i think it's important. again im not arguing (and wont ever) that achilles is a good moral figure, it's more just about understanding who he is. the killing isn't his goal hence why hes willing to ransom trojan soldiers moreso than the other greeks but if he DOES kill he's probably also going to do it more brutally than others again because his reasons were never rooted in morality to begin with

basically in terms of how im able to marry my view of achilles not being driven by bloodlust with the fact that he does objectively violent and brutal acts, i think those things are compatible with each other bc he can be bloodthirsty without that being the core driving force of his character and the thing that makeshim what he is. does that make sense? the issue i was railing against specifically w that post was that he tends to be depicted as a guy who just wants to fight kill bite kill blood blood blood and i think he DOES act like that guy but that's not the be all and end all of him. killing is incidental to winning, but he can take it or leave it - what i refer to as the breakdown of achilles' character following patroclus' death is the transition in achilles from "i want to win, and i'll kill to make that happen" to "i want to kill for the sake of killing" it stops being about glory and starts being about destruction and pain

[probablyaparadox]

I FOUND NASIENS (He was in Wales) (This is a 4kota post.)

Frankly, nothing will ever be as haunting to me as the fact that I could not decipher what Nasiens, Chion, Jade, and Donny's names are references to. (Spoilers if you just watch the anime)

Jade doesn't matter too much, he's dead now anyway (RIP DUDE I MISS YOU SO MUCH). He could be a reference to the green Knight. Although I have my own thoughts and opinions about the green knight in relation to the world, I think he could've been a reference to that, and other than that he was a minor character. Chion... Is it a dog reference? Are we calling him an angry little dog? Is that what's happening????? Donny I had nothing. Same With Nasiens. Nasiens was the most annoying to me however because IT SOUNDS WEIRD. IT'S NOT A NORMAL BRITAIN NAME. So here's my theory! My solution if you will! Surprisingly, unsurprisingly, the answer lied in welsh mythology!

Basically every character in this series is a mythological reference. And I despise the idea that any of them aren't. Good news, I found donny! This character has a significant detail that makes him a good match but the bad news is um.

It should be noted Gofannon is different but also the g name is suspicious to me, as is the significance of "Uncle. This is also where I like to put myself in the mind of the author where I know how japanese names work, but I still get mixed up all the time, so I can totally see him thinking of Don as the first name, or wanting don to be the first name. Next Chion.

I kind of see it. For context he also has a comparison between him and tristan on his page. I'm still kind of leaning towards him being a yapping little chiwahua.

NEXT! Nasiens! Or!!!

I think with Myrtel this really sells it with how people have been discussing him being Myrtel's changeling match. It's perfect! This one is the most satisfying honestly as it's been haunting me since I started reading.

[givemearmstopraywith]

Re: Saltburn, The way I see it the ‘upper class’ in the film are painted as rather vapid, superficial, unemotional, theatrical, fake. The middle class character who pretends to be working class in my opinion shows how this superficiality trickles down, he is dishonest just for the sake of it, but also maybe because of a low self esteem issue i.e. ‘if I am not upper class/true aristocracy then I might as well be the lowest of the low’, ‘who cares if I have a loving family if class is all that matters?’ — isn’t it true that the UK middle class is essentially working class that worked in more intellectual pursuits rather than manual for a few generations? Whereas you cannot work your way into aristocracy as it is by birth only — so this generates bitterness and anger. But the Saltburn family to me are scarily sociopathic(as a lot of rational ppl with lots of money tend to be, or at least maybe they are really private) and not necessarily happy, and the main character(sorry I forget his name) is just imitating them but he doesn’t understand them fully, just superficially, hence the evil in him. His parents were so much sweeter and they cared for him deeply, but he had to play his ‘cold-blooded’ part! To me it’s about choosing higher values such as love and kindness, understanding, vs chasing some status for the glamour of it. I don’t think it paints all working class people as anything, as truthfully there were no such characters in the film, but rather it manages to make fun of the vapid upper class, specifically through the lost middle class kid, who will do anything just to be sth other than himself, in a really grotesque way. Woohoo, he has a huge castle now, but nobody loves him! I think a lot of people tend to idolise and imitate those that they deem as above them, erasing their own individuality in the process, I think that’s sth that the film pokes fun at.

i really like your thoughts on it! having finished it i agree in principle, but i still think my original feelings can sustain if you split it between aristocracy and the underclass- which, up until very recently, were the only classes (the middle class is an eighteenth century invention, rather like the cotton gin or the hot air balloon). and i think that is part of the intention of the film- venetia even refers to oliver as a serf. which retains my original criticism of its treatment of the working class: if it's reducing british culture to two classes, aristocracy and underclass, then saltburn views the working class as mythology, like god: something that ordains the aristocracy as inevitable and fabulous (god blesses and wealth is created, through the exploitation of the worker). in that case maybe it's the tragicomedy of the middle class and how it functions between the extremes of mythical poor and mythical wealth like you've said here, "the lost middle class kid," the forgotten middle child in a dysfunctional family.

i wonder about the moral being "he has a big castle, but nobody loves him" though. did oliver want to be loved? his family loved him, and he rejected family. this is about as basic a reading of saltburn that you'll get, but oliver not being loved- the audience being able to note the absurdity that nobody loves him- doesn't mean anything if oliver never wanted to be loved in the first place. oliver wanted power, not love: his love for felix was about the power felix gave him through their friendship, hence why it was easy for him to kill felix. oliver's main motivation is power, and maybe that does come from a place of low self esteem- but social climbing requires bravado. self-interest. self-obsession. i think oliver craved the appearance of love (the way he flings elspeth's arm over him when she's dead) because it gave him power- maybe over himself, maybe over others, maybe over the world. love is power baby! but power is not love.

[pomrania]

Bernie's Gods (working title)

"2. the god of war died in a bizarre trebuchet accident several decades previously; a coalition of other gods have been playing Weekend at Bernie’s with their priesthood ever since, doing their best to answer their prayers with variable plausibility and success." ~ @prokopetz, "Standard fantasy RPG pantheon, except"

This is just me getting my thoughts written down and out there; actual presentation will come later.

The base concept is that you play as the gods who are "filling in" for the dead god, doing the best they can, within their own domains. Think "trying to do a job, with the tools and skills for a completely different job". There's no state of "failure" here, as the opinions of mortals don't matter; rather, it's judged on style by other gods.

By default, the dead god is the god of war, and the setting is somewhere between Mythological Ancient Greece and Fantasy Medieval Europe. If you're doing something different, that needs to be clarified at the beginning of play.

I'm writing this with the concept that there's no GM (which I'm pretty sure is workable as I've had the idea for working it, for a while), and also that nobody has a specific character they're playing (which I'm less sure about, but it's the cornerstone for the rest of the concept which came to me last night, and without it I wouldn't have a full game idea).

As the first or second thing to set up before the game, everyone writes down two things that the dead god is asked for or about. (Proper term is yet to come; something like prayer or petition or request. Also yet to come is stuff an talks about what kind of stuff that could be.) One of those things gets given to the person on their left, and the other gets given to the person on their right. This is what I'm doing instead of "having a GM"; the "problem setup" is distributed; if you'd want to have a set GM, then just disregard this part.

As the second or first thing to set up before the game, work out what gods -- or more specifically, what domains -- will be active here, and write out a numbered list of them, such that one can easily be selected randomly. (Yet to do: write up some examples.) My current thought is that there should be fewer of them, than there are people playing the game, but that's subject to change upon examination.

So, at the start, once things have been set up, there's a list of the involved domains that can be rolled on (or number-generated, but I'm just going to say "roll"), and everyone has two 'prompts' from two different people.

Play begins, and it's the same for each person's turn ('turn order' doesn't really matter so I'm not going to get into it here). You look at the written thingers you were given, and pick one (or pick the remaining one if you've only one left). That's the thing you have to do. Then you roll on the list to see which god you're acting as. ('God-selection' is done randomly and independently, which means there's a chance that not all of them will be acting the same number of times. This is… not quite 'intentional', but once I realized it I was like 'oh yeah this works, and I like it better than making sure it's equal'.) If you have questions about the 'request', you ask the person on the opposite side of you from where it came from; that is, the one who did NOT write it.

So you have the thing you need to respond to, and you have the domain your powers are in. Come up with how you're going to respond to it, given the stuff you have access to.

Here's the stuff I'm not so sure about; I mean I think it's a good idea, but I haven't had much time to turn it over in my head (I just got it last night before falling asleep) so I can't be sure. The other players then judge your idea based on three criteria (as follows), which determines the dice you have access to. By default, that's a d6 on each aspect, and I'm not sure if a tie should go to "default" or "non-default", but that's a problem for future write-ups of this thing.

Aspects to judge it on: a) does it directly respond to the thing you were given; b) does it involve your domain; c) does it feel like something the dead god would do, specifically that domain, plausibility. If your idea 'fits' an aspect, you get to roll a d8 instead of a d6; if it doesn't 'fit', you roll a d4. So like, if nobody had any strong feelings on what you were going to do, you'd roll 3d6; if it was all-around great or horrible you'd roll 3d8 or 3d4 respectively; and if some parts were good and other parts weren't so good, you'd roll three dice in various combinations of d4, d6, and d8. (This needs to be phrased better and also positioned better, because I think "what dice you might roll" should go ahead of "how you determine which dice to roll".)

Example. Let's say you were beseeched for victory in battle, and you're acting under the domain of "storm". You decide to send a lightning bolt to fry the enemy commander while they're in their tent. You are very much acting with the stuff you have as your domain (lightning bolt to the face), so that'd be one d8 from there; and it also very strongly and directly responds to the thing you were given ("lightning bolt to the face" is a pretty obvious message that someone up there doesn't want you to succeed), so that's another d8. However, it doesn't fit with what a god of war would do, there's no implication that it's "war" instead of "storms" that's mad at the enemy commander, so that's a d4. All total, you'd roll 2d8+d4.

Now, the dice themselves and what they mean. (Keep track of stuff from the results, but it's tracked per god, not per player.) Write down each Low; my current thought is that it's "each time you have either 1 or 2 showing as a result", but the numbers are still iffy so I'm putting it as Low instead of encoding a specific value. Note that the fewer sides a dice has, the greater your chance of getting a Low. This is considered the number of mess-ups that the god did. For the second thing to keep track of, I'm not so sure about this one, but I'm tentatively putting it as "the sum total of the dice rolled". So, if you were rolling 3d6 and your results were 1, 4, 6, you'd write down that you had one Low, and a sum total of 11.

Play would end once all the thingers have been used up, which here would be once everyone's gone twice. Look at the list of domains (where the results were tracked), and see which one has accumulated the most Lows; that god gets mocked for messing up so often. Then add up each sum total, and see who's accumulated the highest results throughout the game; that god gets praised for doing a good job. It's very possible for those to be the same god, because that's the one who got rolled to act the most often; this is intentional. And because of the disconnect between 'player' and 'character', I don't feel bad about exposing a character to mockery.

So, stuff to do for future versions, aside from "make everything neat and clear":

come up with a name for the stuff that gets written at start of play, for things to do

write something up about what kinds of things the above would be, drawing from both fantasy gaming and literature, and my "I read an article on it once" knowledge of historical polytheism

list examples of domains

find a better way to phrase the aspects that an idea gets judged on; possibly write up a thing on voting for that

[julietasgf]

I guess there's no point in wearing the cool anon glasses anymore after the meme 😭 although it was worth it. Definitely worth it and YES, WHY CORIOLANUS IS SO ARGENTINIAN CODED?

He was a fan of Violetta and he will deny it forever, he also probably watched Patito feo and Antonella was his wanna be. Pls let me share with you the cursed image of a little Coriolanus singing the song of las divinas. 😔🙏

His grandmother def drilled into his head the nonsense that he is more European than the rest. Tigris is the only one who questions it but she has to live with her delusional grandmother and cousin 💀 (by the way I propose Tigris is half uruguayA just bc yes).

I know the Sejanus actor is boricua so as much as I want to steal him (Mexicanization by force) I had to accept it fits him to be from Puerto Rico and Lucy Gray. Where would she be from? Although I have thought that she would be half romani and half latina, maybe Venezuela or Perú because I know they have an incredible musical tradition and she would slay those.

But well. Fun aside. Let's talk about angst.

🥺 I too need to reread 100 años de soledad but my God YOU ARE RIGHT. Its the same THE CONCEPT OF NAMES DICTATING THE FATE OF PEOPLE. To me it's such a powerful idea (amazing what your mom did, in my family 👀 they also gave a lot of weight to meanings and in fact my brothers were named after gods from Mexica mythology -I wish that would be me-) and it has so much logic too. Literally a name defines the way you interact with the rest of the world and can greatly impact the way you relate to it, it's the first step in building identity!!!!!

And yes. You hit the nail on the head of what I was getting at. I think I will combine both ideas because it makes sense that Strabo would want to use the name of an ancestor of his that he probably respects and in this idea of continuing "legacy" at the same time I think he researched the history of the names he could choose from and opted for the one that in his opinion would best reflect the character he wanted in his son. Because that is another tragedy, I think Strabo did dream and wish for Sejanus.

I think there were two big factors in destroying Sejanus and Strabo's relationship from the beginning, first the miscommunication and then that Sejanus I think broke Strabo's heart in a way: he was born and he destroys his ilusions.

Strabo to me encompasses the very spirit of a very intelligent professor who cannot for his life explain things simply and clearly. He didn't know how to talk to Sejanus to get him to listen to him and I'm sure he always got the opposite of what he wanted.

The second thing is that Strabo had a very specific idea of what his son could be like and probably planned many ways to have a close relationship with this hypotical person (Shooting practice I think is an obvious example of an activity that Strabo planned not only to educate his heir in the business but to spend quality time with him) but his son is Sejanus. The worst combination between him and his wife. 

Ofc he was disappointed when Sejanus was more like Ma Plinth than himself. I guess it must have been a hard blow on his ego but personally I think it could have also been a kind of relief and he could have accepted it if Sejanus really was like his wife, at the end of the day, Strabo loved her but Sejanus doesn't have her apathy or passivity.

He has Strabo's stubbornness and fury and determination. And that to me is the crux of the matter, Sejanus is like Strabo, in his opinion in the wrong things. Where Strabo fought for his family and his ambition, Sejanus fights for strangers selflessly and for a better world in spite of himself.

These are ideals that Ma could have but not pursue, it is Strabo's willingness to pursue what he believes in but not his ideals. A disastrous combination, literally writing in stone that Strabo and Sejanus could not be the father and son Strabo once longed for.

They both resent each other because they failed each other, because they chose to be something that would separate them sooner or later. (Now OBVIOUSLY Sejanus has less AND NONE RESPONSIBILITY IN THAT because HE WAS A CHILD, he only grew up influenced by his parents and his context 🤣🤣 but I don't think Strabo would recognize that. He would think Sejanus somehow chose to be that way, just to drive him away forever).

Which brings me to WHY IT MAKES ME SO FERAL THAT STRABO WILL FIX THE REAPING.

I've seen an interpretation that I also like where Strabo doesn't explicitly pick Marcus, that's just destiny being terrible, he just buys Sejanus' position by mentoring a D2 tribute. And I like it for certain issues but even this slightly more harmless view doesn't take the weight off the monstrosity Strabo did.

Because even if Strabo didn't pick Marcus in particular, he still had to be aware that it could very likely be someone WHO SEJANUS KNEW. A child who couldn't be saved from that horrible fate, as Sejanus in theory was "saved" by him after his decision to move to the Capitol.

And is that I think I like to theorize that possibly that's where his motives went. Strabo believing that Sejanus needs a rude awakening, a child he knows and can remember and tell him explicitly "this could be you if your father hadn't taken you out of District 2." Maybe that's why it was actually Marcus the choose one, he was the only one at the time who didn't go by the horrible things everyone was saying about the Plinth and helped Sejanus.

Marcus encompassing that gentleness. Gentleness destroyed in the eyes of Sejanus. Strabo had no way of knowing that Marcus wouldn't say anything, maybe he hoped he would break Sejanus' heart, to show him that even his hope had turned into hatred and resentment towards the Plinth.

I tend to see it as a destruction of spirit in its purpose but I also thought if it was not a stretching of the limits of Sejanus to understand where he is capable of going, to measure the waters to see if there was salvation.

Because something very interesting is that when Sejanus goes to D12 he mentions that his father explicitly told him that he's not going to be happy there in the districts (or something like that, I should check it later ah) and more importantly lets him go despite believing that.

As if he's resigned to the fact that that's Sejanus. A boy who can't be happy anywhere.

It's possible Strabo anticipated a lot of reactions from Sejanus but I dare say he and no one expected that Sejanus ended to throw chairs and break screens let alone DO THE ARENA THING. THAT WAS SO FUCKING CRAZY but I think it made Strabo realize that he had "lost" his son forever.

It was non-negotiable his rebellion and his dream of a fair Panem. Strabo fought in the war against rebels. He probably met a lot of men like his son and saw them DIE.

He knows THAT HE SON WILL BE DEAD MEN ONE DAY. AND THAT HE WOULDNT CAPABLE OF BE HAPPY EVER EITHER.

About the parallels EVERLACK AND SEJARCUS, MY GOD THEY ARE SO OBVIOUS ONCE YOU NOTICE IT, IM GOING CRAZY, ACTS OF GOODNESS BEING PRECIOUS MEMORIES, MY BELOVED

I CAN'T UNSEE IT, MY GOD. What's worse is that after seeing that answer you gave about Ma and Strabo's relationship I thought of a very strange parallel between Katniss' mother and Ma, maybe one day I'll dig into that OR NOT?, WHO KNOWS. (I've also been thinking a lot about how a nephew of Strabo's family could have been chosen for the first Quarter Quell BUT THATS FOR OTHER WEEK PROBABLY).

By the way, is true!!! the D2 girl DID TAKE THE SANDWICH, Marcus not taking it could only have been his complicated feelings for Sejanus: GOD that fear of a person that maybe if he had stayed in D2 would have been his everything. Marcus and Sejanus haunted by the ghost of the relationship they could have had (platonic and romantic) and Marcus choosing not to break the image that exists in his memory of Sej because he is resigned to his death and does not know if he can bear that Sejanus COULD become the prophecy that everyone was telling him (SEJANUS IS A PLINTH, SON OF THE TRAITORS) 🙏

Very much that line of Mitski:

"I look for a picture of you

To keep in my pocket

But I can't seem to find one

Where you look how I remember?"

And speaking of Mitski, I think it's great how certain songs get identified within a fandom as THE SONG of a certain character but it's more fun when someone has new and different songs that reflect different aspects of the characters personality especially if it's a song in a language other than English, which literally rules the world. PLS WE HAD MORE LANGUAGES

I have also a compulsive addiction to make playlists at the slightest provocation (im not even exaggerating, I HAD PLAYLIST FOR EVEN EACH ONE OF MY FIC IDEAS AND CHARACTERS I LIKE-) so I enjoy making my recommendations, today I have two.

Btw maybe tomorrow I'll turn around to talk about Coriolanus and his propaganda movie and how much I hate the sandwich scene and how they should re-record Clemensia's scenes because I have a lot of things to say about THAT (by the way I agree with everything you say about that as usual lmao) but I think this is already too long and I like that it's focused on Strabo and Sejanus and Marcus <3

The songs:

Caifanes - Antes de que nos olviden

This song makes me feel a lot... I think it is suitable for each of the victims of the games, very much the TBOSAS and THG tributes, I can even see it very Katniss coded but I feel it belongs to all the tributes actually.

Caifanes - La bestia humana 😝 and this one is very Coriolanus and his very normal feelings towards Sejanus and the fact that he likes someone proudly from the district.

Um it kinda reminds me the lyrics to my au suffocation. ALSO: any thoughts on wedding traditions in D2? maybe someone gets married in the mountains of D2 soon hehehehe

KSKSKSKSK plssss I've been thinking abt it non-stop, why were you so on point 😭

I'M SCREAMING coriolanus was so the type of kid to watch all the kids telenovelas, and I KNOW all his favorite characters were the mean girls. he watched chiquititas, carrusel, carita de angel, ALL OF THEM, he was the type of kid to watch it almost religiously and then get to school to gossip about the chapter (and also he memorized every song lmao). plus, I can see baby coryo trying to convince tigris to rehearse las divinas song to show to their grandma while she's sitting looking at them (canon event in the life of every cousins who grew up together).

coriolanus is a little less worse here, so I can see him changing a bit after starting to hang out with lgb and sejanus (plus, lgb bullies him until he stops with it). tigris every single day having to sit and listen throught their nonsense and smiling and nodding like- 😃 someone help her pls. AND OMG I WAS ACTUALLY THINKING ABT, tigris' mom or dad being from uruguay ☝ (non-related, but I'll always have a soft spot for uruguayos bc my favorite football player from the team I root for is uruguayo lmao I was so sad when they didn't got past the group phases on the world coup, so ofc I'm happy with uruguaya tigris, that's my girl <3)

the latin-american urge to make your favorite character to be from your country, I get it perfectly 😭 but I just love boricua sejanus so much, it fits so much of his storyline and UGH. you read my mind because I was thinking EXACTLY about lucy gray being venezuelana (my second option was her being from colombia tho), and I can see it PERFECTLY

(lucy gray and sejanus bonding bc they both hate the usa for fucking up everything, i know that's right!!!)

the idea of characters doomed not only by the narrative, but by their name- <3333 I'm in love with it, and even more in love how we can see it constantly in thg and tbosas. (your brothers being named after gods is SO COOL OMG) and yes!!! that's the way you'll be called for a good chunk of time, and it's no wonder some countries have some rules regarding names and their meanings, because it can impact heavily on a child's life (either if you believe that names have some impact on their destiny or not).

and absolutely yes: when you think in that way, that strabo probably searched about his name, that he bought baby stuff for the house, and that he wished for a son so much, it makes things so much more tragic. I think strabo was the kind of dad to idealize a child in his mind and then get disappointed when the child is born and isn't exactly how he imagined. he would try to do things he remembered dearly from his own dad and childhood (I imagine the shooting lessons to be something he remembered fondly from his childhood, at least), things he idealized, just for none of them to be compatible with his and his son's reality.

sejanus didn't even need to do anything to disappoint his father. he disappointed him just by being himself, and that's what hurts the most.

what you said about strabo pretty much not knowing how to get sejanus to listen is so true. he talks to sejanus is a language he understands: discipline. he's stern, he givers orders, and gets angry when sejanus doesn't listen, because when strabo was a child at least his dad was so stern and he just knew that he needed to obey and respect his pa without questioning. one of the biggest example of their miscommunication and problems on how to understand each other is that strabo thought it was a nice thing to teach sejanus how to shoot, because at least it was a thing he enjoyed doing with his dad when he himself was just a boy, but sejanus is heartbroken because he doesn't get WHY his dad can't do normal things other dads do to their kids. strabo is only gentle with him after regretting being too harsh.

when you said that sejanus is the worst combination between strabo and ma plinth I gasped because IT LITERALLY IS, you put it in words perfectly.

I don't think he would've cared that much if sejanus was just soft. he literally married ma plinth. it would be a disappointment, for sure, but not the worst thing in the world, he could live with it. but what actually kills strabo inside is that sejanus talks back. yes, he's sweet, yes, he's soft, but he won't shut up and just take things as they are. he questions them, he questions strabo. and that's what he can't swallow. he can't accept a boy that's pretty much a mirror of himself, too, except that for the wrong reasons: strabo would kill for the people he cares about, sejanus would die for the people he cares about, and strabo sees it and it drives him INSANE.

I kinda laughed bc I genuinely imagined strabo sitting there, annoyed at 9 years old sejanus because he was disagreeing with strabo and actually talking back, and strabo speaking to vesta like "he knows I hate it when he does it, he hates me and he's doing everything to make me hate him too" and vesta goes like "that's a child. he barely knows how to read." 🤡

there's this thing about the reaping, that it's very vague if either strabo just bought sejanus' mentorship for D2 and marcus was a very unlucky consequence, or if he straight up bought marcus being reaped. I, at least, always got confusing, because I never understood which one of the two options were the one (I personally choose the second one for angst reasons lmao). but either way, as you said, even if he didn't pick marcus in particular... it was still so fucked up, because sejanus grew up in that district. he was 8 when he left, and when you're 8, you're already old enough to remember some kids. and I agree with you!!! I think it was a lesson in his vision; "see? it could've been you", in a way to make sejanus grateful, in a way to make him scared but scared as in to go running back to his pa and apologize and just comply to anything strabo though that was better to the family. but instead, it did make sejanus scared, but he wanted to make a change. it didn't matter to him that he was safe from the games now, he wanted every other kid to be safe from the games, now more than ever.

as I said: if anything, he made sejanus radicalize even more lmao

if we go for the path that strabo chose marcus purposelly, he for sure thought it would teach sejanus a lesson as in to show him sejanus could NEVER have that life he envisioned. "see that kid that you held dearly in your heart? it doesn't matter anymore. you have to resign to your life now. that's it." also, you saying that it's also a way of strabo measuring the waters is so good!!!! and yes!!!! at that point, strabo just gave up on trying to "help" sejanus. if it was on another occasion before the whole thing in the arena and the 10th games, I could see him forcefully impeding him from going to D12, but no, strabo doesn't do anything. he just let him go.

(let him go to his grave, after so many years of trying to save him and just hurting sejanus even more.)

I think that strabo didn't know how much marcus meant to sejanus. I mean, he knew he was important, and if we consider that he got marcus purposelly on the games, then for sure he knew what he was doing... but what I mean is not to this degree. sejanus may not know how to keep his mouth shut, that's true, but he's mostly sweet. him throwing that chair was a big surprise. and then sejanus tried to basically kill himself getting inside that arena, with 0 intentions of getting out. he really pushed sejanus to his limits by this.

and OMG IT HITS SO HARD, the idea that he knew boys like his, and he saw these boys dies, I'm screaming crying throwing up right now

the sejarcus and everlark parallels are the kind that once you see it, YOU CAN'T UNSEE IT. tbosas is full of parallels and references to thg, and I genuinely wonder if this was on purpose because omg why would suzanne collins do that to us 😭 also, please, tell me about the paralles about katniss' mom and ma, because I would love to hear them!!!

about the quarter quell: for a moment, I forgot about them, then I searched up and my jaw DROPPED when I remembered it. because OF COURSE D2 would get rid of at least one of the remaining plinth children as revenge. OF COURSE. I'M SCREAMING

(thinking about before the quarter quell: sejanus had cousins he knew he didn't know. imagine him seeing D2 kids being reaped each year and questioning himself if he knew that kid? if they had his blood? if they were his cousins, but he would never know?)

worst than mourning for what they've been, it's them mourning for what they could've been but never were. okay, now, imagine marcus growing up and refusing to give in to the idea that sejanus became just like those capitol children. he must still be nice, that's what he thinks, it doesn't matter if his dad is a dick. and marcus keeps this thoughts everytime someone brings the plinths up, just for then he end up reaped, and then for sejanus to be his mentor. that's a punch on his guts. he'd rather die not knowing if sejanus was as bad as everyone said than to actually discover and die heartbroken.

(brb I'm crying on a corner right now)

AND YESSSSS LITERALLY THEM 😭 and I love mitski so much, I haven't thought about it before, now I need to make a playlist only of mitski songs that are very much sejarcus coded

yesssss!!! like, I always get surprised when fandom spaces are so diverse regarding countries and different places (even though most of us speak english to communicate here), and still, we get so few songs in playlists and stuff that aren't in english :(( and about the playlists: I SEE YOUUUU my spotify is a mess because it's full of playlists of original projects and characters, but I never put the titles to be too obvious, so when sometime passes by and I forget a bit about it, I come back and be like "...who was that about, again?" 😭

about ante de que nos olviden: I've got CHILLS listening to it and thinking about the tributes, but more specifically, it have so much reaper's vibes. but you're so right about it belonging not only to katniss but also to the other tributes, the ones that survived and the ones that passed away, because even after all this time, they were never really forgotten; they still live through the rebellion and through the survivors :(( (plus, it's also so D11 coded too, it's actually driving me insane now)

about la bestia humana: I'M SCREAMING because this is so coriolanus coded, SPECIALLY on his peacekeeper arc (this also can apply to lgb). it's in D12 where he actually have to let go a bit from what he knows from the capitol, and if he starts to notice that he's starting to pick a bit from their behavior, that man will go INSANE (more than he already is, if it's even possible)

AAAAAAA omg now I'm so excited to read about the wedding on your au omg 😭 okay, so, there's a veryyyy small line in the ma plinth study that says that she got married kneeling in front of the mountains. my thoughts were that usually, a priest will be present and the people who are getting married kneel in the base of the mountains, in front of them. they have to say in front of the mountains if it's their desire to accompany the person for the rest of their lives. for good omen and as a way to request protection and prosperity, it's common for the newlyweds to sacrifice something from their old life to now start their new one. it can be an old piece of clothing or a a piece of jewerly or shoes, anything, really; you give so you can receive too. it's also common for the guests to bring offerings to put on the base of the mountains, too, as a sign of respect. and ofc, people bring traditional D2 bread for the newlyweds (bread as a language of love and life, my beloved <3). I think that's just this what I was thinking about :')

(also, tysm for asking my thoughs abt the D2 culture, it makes me so so so so happy <333)

[darklinaforever]

I will try to be as clear as possible about my opinion on the ending of Loki, and Sylki. Because I am still very emotionally upset and also tired when I write this post...

It's rubbish. It's bad. It's poorly written. Beyond the fact that their tragedy is poorly written, what does it matter if it had been well written, they would not have had a bad ending in my opinion. Let me explain. In the series, Loki's arc is intrinsically linked to Sylvie. He fell in love with her and also learned to love himself at the same time. Getting rid of Sylvie at the end would have been problematic, in the sense that as I said before, Sylki are the heart (or at least initially were) of the story. Loki has already experienced a tragic end. Repeating this in any way (even if he doesn't die) is redundant. He should have ended up happy this time, period. The delusion of "Sylki was bound to end badly because that's what Marvel couples do" I don't care, because it's false. Captain America and Peggy were literally able to be together because of… Oh well ; temporal brothels. (that doesn't remind me at all of the case of the Loki series…) If these two could have ended up happy, I don't see why Sylki wouldn't have done it. Especially since once again their respective arcs mirror each other. Sylvie is an internal part of the character of Loki, and Loki is an internal part of the character of Sylvie. A tragic end to Loki and the Sylki couple is inappropriate no matter how you try to treat it, because it doesn't go with the very principle of bringing Loki back again, having already suffered a tragic end, and the fact that even once, Sylvie is internally linked to Loki. Season 1 kept emphasizing their duo / relationship, their need to be together to be stronger, to make things work. They are a unit. Essentially and more simply put, they cannot be separated from each other. Without forgetting that there, Loki ends up completely alone forever, in a fucking tree, without being able to move. Sorry, but this is worse than death for me. At least dead, we have peace. Loki is condemned to eternal emotional and physical suffering (because yes, god or no, don't tell me he's perfectly comfortable on his shitty throne !). Who can honestly find that satisfying for their character ?! Lots of people obviously, and I find that distressing. It's so horrible !

The worst part is that people really rave about this damn tree, just because it's supposed to represent Yggdrasil from Norse mythology... To hell with narrative coherence, the characters, their arcs, their natural evolution, look, we have a wink !

[jeevaschrist]

i was wondering if I could get a black butler matchup/ship. I’m female, she/her, 20, bisexual as hell, INTJ, and a new media artist (still in college tho). I’m 5’1 and a half with an average build, brown eyes, and black wavy hair till my shoulders. I wear clear cat eye glasses. i honestly don’t know how to describe my style cause it changes constantly depending on the vibe I’m feeling. I do however live for accessories whether it be butterfly hair clips, elf ear cuffs, arms stacked with bracelets, or rings on every finger. As for personality I am a MASSIVE introvert except for with my best friends where my unhinged side comes out. Despite being an introvert I’m very comfortable with leadership. I’m also quite thoughtful and contemplative just letting my mind drift off to wherever. I’m far from clingy and prefer to keep my own space even if I know you well. I can be a bit stubborn, and opinionated at times however. I’m a huge planner and hate when things go off schedule or when things are chosen abruptly. I also find it hard to start new things, but once I’m in the groove its fine. As mentioned before, I am studying new media art. I love game design, 3d modeling, interactive design, visual effects etc. I also love art history, especially Pre Raphaelite Arthurian paintings, Italian renaissance architecture, Egyptian manuscripts and Greco Roman sculpture. For hobbies I love reading, gaming, binge watching, digital illustration, dancing, rollerblading, baking cookies, and listening to video essays/podcasts/audiobooks. My favorite genres are detective, classics, fantasy, folklore, mythology and lore from any of my fandoms. I love listening to music in a multitude of languages as well whether Arabic, Italian, French, Hindi and much more. Think that’s it! Thank you!

hi xx

i think i have a match for you but it might not be what ur thinking

i happen to ship you with william t spears :p

this man might be kind of (very) serious and strict but in my fantastical mind he's that on the surface but there's the sliiiiightest but of a softie down below. just a tad. i really think he would take a high interest in your interests and i think he'd also like learn about them in his off time or your off time from each other and he'd come to you super matter-of-factual like "by the way you didn't know this but-" type thing. he'd act like he doesn't give two shits abt things you're doing but in reality the reason he tags along and learns about shit is because he wants you to be happy and safe so he has to be there. your stubborn/opinionated side would also entertain him, but the fact that you don't get as out of hand as grell (at least i think) means he doesn't think of you as a chore and more as a companion when you first meet, then slowly but surely evolves into a relationship later down the road. your style would however confuse him but i also think he'd be down for tolerating it, even maybe asking about it. he isn't the type to necessarily hype you up or anything however don't be surprised if you happen to find a new pair of glasses or ear cuffs laying on your bed~