#And I think retellings of old stories would interest him

[somegrumpynerd]

Everyone sleeps in dadmare's bed for the night

Well, almost everyone sleeps

#UTDR #UTMV #Dadmare #Gooptales #Gooptales fanart I guess? This didn't legally happen I'm just having a good time #Nightmare is working the night shift of parenthood #Lyra will have to take the boys in the morning so he can sleep #At least they're all small enough to fit in his bed #If this becomes a trend when they're big again it's going to be much more of a squeeze #In all seriousness tho I do think Nightmare would be lowkey interested in that spongebob episode with the boots #Because it's basically edgar allen poe's the telltale heart but for kids #And I think retellings of old stories would interest him

[amiascv]

"My greatest enemy, scoring a date!"

Alastor × F!Reader —

tags: enemies to lovers, no established relationship yet. <more platonic than romantic>

content warning: includes swearing, ooc alastor, ooc everyone really, your regular hazbin hotel content.

series?: <i think?>

START!

. . . "Y/N! Alastor! Please could you put off your bantering for one moment. I really, like, really need to focus and I just can't with all the noise right now!" Charlie raged at the two overlords standing behind her as she was busy planning her next course of action to get the Hazbin Hotel to attract more sinners.

"Of course, sweetie! I wouldn't dare imagine causing you no good!" Y/N, the Library Demon, babied her princess. But not out of pure love, Heav- or more fittingly, Hell no! It was out of spite against the Radio Demon beside her.

However, why were they fighting in the first place? You see...

"Our little princess seems to be quite the hardworker lately! Isn't she, Ali?" Sing-songed Y/N, admiring the heir to the throne of Hell as she researched and scoured all the books gave to her on how to attract more sinners towards the Hotel. (courtesy of her, the Library Demon, obviously!)

"She certainly is, N/N! At this rate she'll gain more knowledge and power than ever before! Power which I can guide..." Voiced out Alastor as static soon took over most of his vocal cords in excitement. Excitement which didn't go unnoticed by his dear overlord buddy.

"Aha... aha... Say that part one more time for me?" She threated which caught his amusement. Y/N had a lot of powers, but controlling her temper when it comes to her possessions? Nope, no, nuh uh! Not one of her traits, that's for sure! But Alastor? He definitely took advantage of this weakness of hers every single chance he got. Like now, actually!

"Hmm? I do believe I've made myself clear, sweetheart, having ear trouble? I know a good otolaryngologist around these parts if you're interested, my dear!" He teased. Y/N wasn't really this easy to be shoved and pushed around, but why could he do it like it's his one true purpose in life? It infuriated the Librarian even more. So much that she'd even attack the little shit right here and now.

She didn't even need Charlie's power, she just wanted it out of boredom. So why was she so affected?

"I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU RADIO DEMON!"

Hours past after she apologized to Charlie, and now she was busy taking off her steam at Rosie's side of town. Cannibal town!

"And then he just laughs it off?! He laughs at the sight of ME?!" She rants, demon horns coming out of her head and scaring off other sinners and hell-born alike trying to approach Rosie. Her listener only laughs in amusement at her friend's retelling. It was certainly amusing when she knew both sides to the story. It's like trying to solve a puzzle knowing the end would be a masterpiece to remember!

Her giggles die down as she soon replies, "Deary me, have you tried telling our old friend to stop? Maybe he could if you ask!" She almost choked at her statement. Ask one of the scariest overlords? To stop messing with her? Fuck no! Y/N was prideful of her capabilities, but not too ignorant enough to ask Alastor to just stop.

"If you wanted me to get killed that badly, love, then say so!"

"Well I know for certain you could get something off of asking him!"

"Like what?"

"Maybe... a deal, darling?"

"A deal with the cannibal with shits for brains?"

"Uh-huh! Maybe he's pushing you to your limits so you can have a one on one talk!" She convinces her even further. She does know him better than her... so maybe, it wouldn't hurt to try.

"... If I'm dead by tomorrow you know why," And with that, pages flew around you, enveloping you in their magic and transporting you back to the hotel. Meanwhile with Rosie...

"Alastor, dear, better not blow this thing sideways with her!" She calls out to the shadow hiding behind her. Making his entrance, his smile not faltering, he brushes off the dust he's collected from listening on the two delightful women's conversation.

"Oh don't you worry, my lovely! I wouldn't dream of wasting your opportunity given to me!"

"You better not."

#alastor #alastor x reader #hazbin hotel #hazbin alastor #hazbin hotel x reader #radio demon #alastor the radio demon #alastor x you #x reader #x you #imagine #how do i tag this

[sapphicseasapphire]

Miscellaneous Cryptid au lore bits that are too short/too specific to make it into individual posts!

If you want more information about any of these, feel free to ask! I’m always willing to ramble about my Little Guys haha!

(In no particular order)

• Sky’s wings are too big to fit through doors. He will 100% for sure run into people in a crowded street. Because of this, he stays behind when the others go to villages. This gets incredibly lonely for our friendly little bird boy so eventually it’s decided that someone has to stay with him. This leads to one on one bonding between Sky and everyone in the Chain! (Except Time)

• Four can control water, earth, fire, and air, but not particularly well. Jack of all trades is a master of none. That being said, each individual color is a master of their element, so when separated, they are a FORCE to be reconned with. Their diminished power as a whole is a huge source of frustration for them, but I can’t let them be too powerful.

• After the their adventure is over, Time lives out the rest of what would have been his mortal life with Malon, then he takes care of his children, and his children’s children. But eventually he’s just… lived too long. His humanity falls away and he becomes more and more of a God and stops interacting with mortals almost entirely. Except when the other Links are born in their own eras, Time looks after them Father Time style and if they fall, he rewinds to before they were injured (their last “save point”) and pushes them to a better path. (Game over. Continue?)

• Even if someone is born with the blood of a God, their powers need to be awakened. This usually happens in a moment of desperation. For example, during Time’s adventures, he meddled with the flow of time so much that it became his dominion. Twilight’s powers awakened when he was like two years old. His parents had been killed by monsters- monsters that were now looking for him. And in his desperation, he looked to a squirrel in the tree above and he copied it. The monsters lost track of him, ignoring the animals of the forest. Time was gifted, well… time… because against a falling moon, it was his last hope. Twilight was gifted shape shifting because he had no other chance of survival.

^ Hylia doesn’t count because she was one of the original Goddesses. Many of the Zeldas, while they do possess the blood of the Goddess, have not had their awakening. Yet.

• Warriors will sometimes blurt out random sets of data without being prompted. He’ll ask to run calculations on things that no one has ever asked him to. And while the others might find this confusing, it’s his way of expressing his interests. Of learning more about the things that he likes, of telling people about the things that he likes. This happens rarely, but when it does, Sky drops EVERYTHING to talk with him, so excited to see him opening up.

• The Legend of the Godkiller is a very idealized and not very accurate retelling of Sky’s final battle against Demise. It paints him as a very confident, willing knight of the Goddess. Full of righteous anger and absolutely thrumming with power. In the story that Time knows, Sky wasn’t even scared. He knew he was capable of killing Demise, and he wasn’t even surprised when he was cursed. This is… far from the truth.

• Yeah, Time knows about Sky’s curse. But what’s he gonna do? Confront him about it? Tell the others? And risk drawing the wrath of the Godkiller? Absolutely not.

• Wild is more sentient than he lets on. He understands more than the others might think. He’s a little chaos gremlin who gets so easily distracted and acts more like a wild animal than a person, but he’s very smart. He couldn’t do long division but he can tell that… something’s not right with Sky and the Master Sword. The others haven’t caught on yet.

• Wild KNOWS THINGS. That he SHOULDN’T.

• Hyrule is so incredibly timid by nature. He’s used to being hunted: first as a fairy, sought for his healing magic, and then because of his blood curse, sought by monsters to bring about the revival of Ganon. Because of this, he’s incredibly shy. Until one of his companions gets hurt!! Then he’s ALL BUSINESS and he speaks with the authority that one might expect from a fairy so powerful.

• Speaking of that! At first, no one knew he was a fairy! He was afraid that they’d bottle him (they had other bottled fairies in their pouches when he’d first met the others, so it was justified). He kept up his glamour until he physically couldn’t anymore. The others knew he was a magic user- he tended to fight less with a sword and more with his spells and had an affinity for healing, but they didn’t know JUST how powerful he was until his glamour fell apart.

• Hyrule’s glamour can change the way that people see things, but it cannot change the physical shape of something. (Except himself, because his body is mostly magic anyway). For example, he could hide Four’s horns, but if you were to touch the top of Four’s head, you’d still feel them! He can make Wild look like a Hylian, but that doesn’t make their antennae go away. This is why Sky can’t go into towns: his wings may be invisible, but they’re still there, they can still feel pain and can still bump into people and walls. So… he can’t fit, unfortunately.

• The best swimmer (aside from Legend, Ravio, and Wind) is Sky. Which is weird, right? One might think that those massive wings would slow him down. But he has the Water Dragon’s Scale! Everyone’s so surprised when he starts racing people and WINNING. When he jumps out of the water in a spiral spin. Legend can call him a cheater all he wants, but he’ll be a hypocrite for it. He can’t say anything about using magic items to bolster abilities.

• Legend and Wind go from enemies to best friends in the course of like a month. They bond over a war and the ocean, and their connection is strengthened by the conflict that they’re both familiar with. Honestly a big reason that Legend warms up to Wind is that Ravio is fond of him. Also it’s actually impossible to hate Wind. Also he went to Outset that one time and was ablel to better understand Wind’s perspective.

• Wind dies a little bit inside every time Aryll or his grandma call themselves a Sea Monster. But he doesn’t have the heart to correct them.

• Ravio was never really afraid of Wind himself. More so… afraid of the monster that he had the potential to be (Ku). When Wind was never corrupted, Ravio had no reason to hate him! So they became friends during the War of Eras.

• Ravio joins the Chain very late. But we love him anyway.

• Twilight has little nicknames for everyone. If he calls them by their actual name/their title, they’re in trouble.

• Four only splits around Sky, Warriors, Hyrule and Twilight at first. Actually, the first person they split in front of was Sky but that was an accident. Once they determine that it’s safe, they start doing it around the others… slowly but surely…

• Post God Reveal, Legend and Four join Sky in the “distrust Time” corner

• Time wields Wars’ sword because Wars has deemed him the most powerful. Because of this, Warriors will go with Time when their adventure comes to an end. (This way, neither of them have to face eternity alone).

• I know I made a whole big long post about what happens to Mer if they don’t soak, but I neglected to say that all that will happen to Aquili too, just to a lesser extent. Wind needs to soak as well, just not as often as Legend and Ravio do.

• Mer cannot assume their natural form if they have anything on their legs/feet where their tail would go. Ravio’s… not wearing anything under his robes. And Legend… isn’t wearing anything under his skirt. Being barefoot definitely isn’t ideal but it’s better than the alternative: being unable to soak and drying out. Now, they could simply remove their shoes/pants, but they’re traveling and often in battle and they don’t always have the time to shed their clothes. If they need to jump into the water? They jump into the water.

• During Legend’s adventures, him being Mer was a secret. (The Zora were already antagonistic- imagine what they’d do if they knew he was a war mongering Mer!) This is why he needed flippers or a magic item to be able to swim- something on his feet or something magically imbued to keep him from transforming.

• For Sky, Link and Aepon are generally completely fused, but there are certain events that can force an imbalance between their influence over him. For example, if he’s hurt and takes a heart potion for healing, the body is healed, his Link half is healed, but is Aepon half is still weakened. The others might notice that he acts differently after taking a potion and he just seems very… unwell. Distressed, panicked. But also, he has both Aepon dreams and Link dreams. And depending on their frequency and severity, they can affect how he acts when he wakes, at least until both halves are sufficiently awake.

• When Sky’s Aepon half is more dominant, he is actually legitimately a bird. He doesn’t speak, he just chirps and squawks and trills like a bird. He looses all sense of personal space. And he’ll LOOSE IT if his feathers are touched.

• Sky can’t see well at night but he has a much greater endurance for looking at bright things.

• Hyrule hangs out around Sky as much as he can because Sky can’t take heart potions and also his bones are literally hollow and can break a lot easier than the others’

• Hyrule is a GIFT to this world and I don’t draw him enough.

I have a LOT MORE to say about these guys but this is just off the top of my head right now. Also I don’t want to spoil story elements! But let me know if you have any questions or want more context! I have short stories written about like half of these.



#the legend of zelda #chain as cryptids au #cryptid lore #cryptid ravio #cryptid twilight #cryptid wind #cryptid warriors #cryptid sky #cryptid time #cryptid wild #cryptid four #cryptid legend #links meet au

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

The Current event makes me smile since it kind of confirms a headcanon I had that the Great Seven have animated movies based on them. Makes me wonder about the plot of the movies

Disney should get on the Twisted Wonderland AU Animated Remakes. What is Ursula was a good witch, what if Scar was right to take the throne and did he take it from Mufasa? (Or whoever is the stand in for him)

The Evil/Beautiful Queen...actually GOOD?

Yeah, it makes sense! Since the Great Seven are historical figures and the stuff of legends, surely there would be popular media made in their image. It’s like how the Disney fairy tales borrow from stories in the public domain or how there are historical retellings and reinventions (Hamilton, anyone?).

I believe TWST has mentioned films based on their own stories and history before too, but purely in the animated sense rather than live action. In book 3, Ace and one of the Atlantica Museum guards talk about an animated movie based on the tale of the mermaid princess and her prince; this movie is said to have come out ~30 years ago, which corresponds with Disney’s animated The Little Mermaid. Ace compliments the movie’s soundtrack too way to stroke your own ego, Disney/j.

Later on in Tapis Rouge, the characters discuss other films based on the Great Seven, including one Queen of Hearts movie. A Sea Witch movie is also mentioned; in it, she “goes gigantic” and also sings as she brews potions. The Octatrio quite enjoy this particular film.

(Side note: I don’t have the link for it anymore since it’s such an old post, but another anon once suggested to me that people probably also write fanfics of Neige and Vil since they’re celebrities… Think like “My mom sold me to One Direction?!” Wattpad kinds of fics, but replace One Direction with Vil or something.)

It’s… interesting this event specifically has Vil promoting a live action adaption of an in-universe animated film about the Beautiful Queen—an animated film which was the first full-color animated movie AND it originally released close to 90 years ago. They also reference the funding issues that Disney suffered while producing Snow White + inviting bank employees in to preview the movie to acquire more investments, stating that the studio that made the animated Beautiful Queen experienced the same. The in-game live action is even slated to come out “NEXT YEAR”. They’re not being subtle here with TWST’s references to their own version of the irl Disney Snow White (the live action is coming out in 2025, the OG is also almost 90 years old, etc.). I wonder if the EN server will actually get Tapis Rouge around the time of the irl release of Disney’s live action Snow White as part of a promotional campaign? 😂

UPDATE: There are even more not-so-subtle references to Disney animations in part 4 of the event, including discussion of cel animation, rotoscoping, adding blush to the characters, and how Disney brought in real animals/observed the “real thing” to help with animating similar scenes or subjects. They also cheekily say that most animation nowadays is CG 💀

I know some books under Disney publishing try to show alternate tellings or show the villains in a more sympathetic light, but I don’t know that they would ever commit to fully animating a film like that. It definitely would not happen in the style of traditional animation, Disney no longer seems well-equipped to handle that task 😔 I feel like it would also be pretty niche or might not get overwhelming positive reception with recent audience calls for “true bad guys” instead of twist or sympathetic villains (though I’m not sure what percentage of people watching Disney actually have this opinion).

I do wonder how those “AU” films would work though…? It wouldn’t be as simple as suddenly turning the G7 into “good guys”. The scenario and other characters would also have to drastically change. TWST doesn’t necessarily make the original “good guys” “bad” in a world where the villains are historical figures; we still hear plenty of positive or neutral stories about the achievements of the mermaid princess and other Disney heroes.

There are also times when the same story diverges into multiple separate stories that seemingly have no connection to one another. For example, there is a story where a princess marries a street rat (clearly referencing Aladdin) and they live happily ever after in spite of the difference in their social statuses. However, there simultaneously exists a story in which the Sorcerer of the Sands saves a princess from being deceived by a fake prince (also referencing Aladdin). The same goes for the mermaid princess (Ariel)—there is both a story referring to a “mermaid princess” who married a human prince and also a different story (clearly still pulled from the same film) about a mermaid who made a deal with the Sea Witch to find true love but broke her contract in the end.

Very cool idea, just not sure where it would lead or it it’s feasible or worth it monetarily for Disney.

#twisted wonderland #twst #disney twisted wonderland #disney twst #Vil Schoenheit #Evil Queen #Snow White #notes from the writing raven #fapis rouge in the shaftlands spoilers #Hamilton #Neige LeBlanche #twst en #twisted wonderland en #The Little Mermaid #Ariel #Ursula #Jafar #Aladdin #book 3 spoilers #Ace Trappola #Azul Ashengrotto #Tweels #Octavinelle #Jade Leech #Floyd Leech

[beauty-and-passion]

Lore Olympus: a golden mine of bad writing

As I said, one post wasn’t enough.

There is still a lot to say about this webcomic and in this post I would like to talk about how Zeus, Apollo and Kronos have been treated. Here I will focus on the first two acts only, because the third act is not over, as well as the story. And yes, that means I will write another post when this whole thing is over.

I wanted to focus on these three gods in particular because are treated in a way that baffles me and makes me question what did they ever do to Mrs. Smythe. Tell me, Rachel: was it something personal? Did they do something to your family? What happened?

But maybe you don’t understand my point, especially if you haven’t read the Greek myths at all and you think that these three are just “Unfaithful Guy”, “Rapist” and “Evil Villain Har Har Who Also Wants To Rape”. Seriously, what’s with this weird obsession with raping everyone and with sex? Did Mrs. Smythe ever see anything else in myths, besides sex?

So please, allow me to explain why their characterizations are wrong and boring - and no, not just from a mythological point of view. 

_______________________________

Zeus: the walking clichè

Making Zeus an asshole is understandable, even if utterly boring and clichè. Oh wow, he's an unfaithful husband and he's vain. Very original. Groundbreaking, I'd say. I’ve never read about him being unfaithful to his wife, not even once in all the 200 million retellings made during the history of mankind.

It's a shame because Zeus is much more than that. He's a mighty ruler with a strong sense of justice: in several myths, he punished the assholes for their wrongdoings. He's very clever and strong. He's also associated with xenia, the custom of offering protection to strangers, which means Zeus is also a protector of foreigners.

I mean, this information alone offers so many new perspectives about him! Just imagine if, instead of hanging around and doing nothing useful aside from being everyone’s favorite punching bag, Zeus fought against every corrupt system of the mortal realm, in order to protect the foreigners and the innocents. It would’ve been so cool to see a different side of him, instead of the same thing over and over again!

But nope, Zeus = unfaithful husband only. Let’s ignore all the other aspects of him, to focus on the one everyone focuses on. Let’s make him the umpteenth version of the same guy, instead of offering a new vision. This will surely make the story worth everyone’s time!

Rachel, this could’ve worked if I was 12 and had never read a retelling in my entire life. But since I’m more than twice that age, seeing Zeus as an unfaithful husband again doesn’t get my interest. And I’m sure this doesn’t only apply to me, but to everyone who already saw at least two retellings of him. Isn’t this story supposed to be new and original? Then why are we still picking from the same old clichè visions of these gods? Where is the writer’s personality and ability?

_______________________________

Apollo: king of wasted potentials

I am absolutely, completely, 100% baffled at how Apollo has been treated in this story.

It's insulting to see the most beloved Greek god treated as a bidimensional piece of shit. Not only because he doesn't make any sense in the story (why is he here in the first place? Did Persephone and Apollo even interact in any myth?), but also because there are so many different possibilities for him, that seeing him being this is the biggest waste of potential I’ve ever seen.

A brief recap of who Apollo really is: Apollo is the embodiment of the sun. He is the god of arts and crafts. He's the most beautiful god, he embodies the concept of perfect Greek beauty. And he is associated with a lot of cool stuff, like medicine, truth and oracles. Also, like most of the other Greek gods, Apollo had many male and female lovers.

Now, look me in the eye and tell me that, with all of this, your first idea about him is "yeah, let's make him a stupid rapist, so stupid to not realize that hey, maybe forcing a girl to sleep with you will not make her fall in love with you". Oh and let's not forget he randomly decided he wanted Zeus' throne just after the fertility plot point had been introduced Because Yes. And he’s running for president of Whatever-Land Because Yes. Also, he’s currently involved again in another evil plot Because… yeah, you got it.

It’s just so frustrating to see him being the biggest loser of all time, considering how much cooler he could’ve been. Just think about it: we could've had a bisexual musician, who does concerts with his band (the Muses) and has a shit ton of lovers. We could’ve had a heartbroken doctor, who does his best to save everyone because he has not been able to save his own son from death (Asclepius). We could've had a mysterious advisor who can see the future because of his foresight powers.

What did we get instead? A fucking rapist.

Apollo is nothing but wasted potential. He’s an insult to himself, the story, common sense, and the Greek culture. Of all the incredible things he could've been, he became the most insulting of them all. I really cannot bear to see this fucking idiot and his punching-bag face, pretending to be Apollo. He’s not Apollo.

But if there is a guy I can see less than him, then let me introduce you to…

_______________________________

Kronos: Supreme Master of Wasted Potential

First of all: why is Kronos here? Why does this love story need Persephone to defeat a big bad guy? Just to show how cool and badass she is? Considering that their fight was a joke, it didn't work very well.

But okay, let's say we need a villain Because Yes. Kronos is still a huge waste of potential, probably the biggest waste of potential of the whole series until now. He could’ve been an interesting, multifaceted character, but he became a cartoonish supervillain har-har I want power.

Sigh.

But let’s take a step back and talk about the real, mythological Kronos. His story starts with his parents, Uranus and Gaia. The two had a lot of sons, including Titans (like Kronos) and Hecatonchires (monsters with fifty heads and one hundred arms). Disgusted by their monstrous nature or maybe just out of fear of being overthrown, Uranus chained his sons away into Gaia's womb (aka the Tartarus) so that they could never come out again.

Gaia suffered from this decision, so she devised a plan: she made a stone sickle, gathered her sons and tried to persuade them to castrate Uranus.

All of her sons were afraid of Uranus, Kronos was the only one brave enough to do it. And he was successful: he overthrew his father and became the new ruler of the universe, along with his wife/sister Rhea.

However, after becoming king, he didn't free all of his brothers as his mother wanted, but locked Hecatonchires and Cyclopes away once again. And so, Gaia told him that, one day, he would meet his father’s same fate and be overthrown by one of his own children.

Scared by these words, Kronos devised a plan: every time he had a new child, he took the baby from Rhea and swallowed them. Rhea was desperate and, in order to save her last son Zeus, she sought Gaia's help.

So Rhea gave birth to Zeus in a secret place, then handed Kronos a stone wrapped in clothes: he swallowed it, thinking that it was his son. This way, Zeus managed to escape the same fate as his siblings and was raised in secret, away from his father, until he was old enough to come back and fulfill his destiny.

And now, you may think Zeus overthrew his father with a sword and killed him and nah nah nah, myths are not that stupid and predictable. Zeus didn’t use violence to overthrow his father, but intelligence. He disguised himself to reach Kronos' court and, at the right time, he gave him a drink. That drink was an emetic (given by Gaia), that forced Kronos to throw up everything he swallowed, in reverse order: first the stone he thought was his last son, then Zeus' brothers and sisters.

After freeing his siblings, Zeus did what his father would've never done: he released the Hecatoncheires and the Cyclops to help him in the following battle against Kronos and the other Titans, a battle known as Titanomachy.

The war ended with the victory of the Olympians (i.e. Zeus and his siblings). Many Titans were confined in Tartarus, under the Hecatonchires' control, others were not imprisoned and kept appearing in other myths.

And Kronos? His fate differs depending on the myths. In some versions, he was imprisoned in Tartarus. But according to other, more interesting versions, Zeus forgave him after years, freed him and Kronos became king of the Elysian Fields: the famous earthly paradise reserved for the greatest Greek heroes.

Now. Just look at all of this beautiful, beautiful potential.

We have Gaia, a powerful goddess who overthrew two rulers of the universe, without moving a finger. A goddess strong and clever, but also a mother who wanted all of her children to be free - even the most hideous ones. She could’ve been a tragic figure, a master manipulator, or an evil schemer. Or all these things!

We have the Hecatonchires: fighters so powerful, to turn the tide of any battle. They could’ve been scary and intimidating, but also tragic monsters who just wanted to be accepted. They could’ve taught a beautiful lesson about the importance of accepting the ugly and giving everyone a chance to prove themselves.

Then we have Kronos. And Kronos had everything to be the greatest character.

Think about this concept: Kronos has always been afraid of Uranus, just like his brothers. He was just better at hiding his feelings. And that visceral fear is still inside him, it still haunts him after centuries, just like the memory of how he overthrew his father. And that fear takes the shape of paranoid thoughts about his father coming back to take the throne.

Kronos could’ve seen his father haunting him, but he could’ve also dissociated and seen himself as his father. In his altered state of mind, he could’ve been both the king and the one who overthrows him.

That could’ve made him a truly dangerous, unhinged character. A god who can’t see what’s real anymore, obsessed with the ghosts of his past. A god with nothing to lose and everything to gain. After all, if he kills his children again, the throne would be his once more. And, since he sees himself as himself and as his father at the same time, he would think that he is the "true king" coming back to take his throne.

That could’ve been awesome. Kronos could've been complex, desperate and multifaceted, a villain to pity and to be afraid of. A truly new, interesting version to know and love.

And do you have any idea how incredible Zeus could’ve been in this version? We could see him facing Kronos again, still as strong and determined as when he was young. And while everyone would expect him to kill Kronos, he would use his intelligence once again. He would prove to Kronos (and to everyone else) how intelligence is always superior to violence and how he's a good leader, despite his thousands of flaws.

Also, we could've seen Zeus talking to the defeated Kronos and making him the ruler of the Elysian Fields. We could've had a meaningful ending, in which Zeus understands Kronos' fears and shares his own.

I would’ve adored this, because according to the myth, Zeus was also supposed to be overthrown by a son! Hence why he swallowed Metis (his first wife) while she was pregnant.

The myth never truly clarifies who this supposed "son" is, but according to the different versions, Metis was pregnant not with a son, but with a daughter. A daughter who, one day, would be born, full grown, from Zeus' head. A daughter who would become Zeus' favorite child: Athena.

Honestly? I ADORE the idea that there was never a son to overthrow Zeus, but a daughter. And she would not overthrow his father by violence like her grandfather or by intelligence like her father, but by love. Athena doesn't need to take the throne from her father physically, she doesn't even need to sit on that throne: not when her father loves her more than anything else.

And I love the idea that Zeus is aware of that. He knows his daughter is his weakness. He knows that, if she asks, he will willingly give her that throne, because he loves her too much. And I would've loved to see him sharing these thoughts with the defeated Kronos. It could've been a beautiful moment, to see Zeus talking with the fatherly figure he always missed from his life. It could've led to a beautiful, meaningful ending for a dramatic story.

But can you see the problem here? This concept works for a story about Zeus, not about Hades and Persephone! These two have nothing to do with Kronos! Heck, even Rachel Smythe knows it, considering she had to pull a stupid plot point out of thin air, to explain why Kronos would give a damn about Persephone!

In case you were wondering: yes, the fertility-magical-power-battery-thing is bullshit. Gods don’t need a magical battery to be powerful. And no, fertility goddesses are not rare either: Aphrodite, Demeter, Hera, even Artemis are just a few of the fertility goddesses in Greek mythology. Kronos could’ve picked his favorite from a large pool, instead of becoming an absolute creep with Persephone in the stupidest fight of all time.

And speaking of that, two words on the supposed “fight”. First of all, apologies to all fights for being associated with this thing, because this was anything but a fight: it was a cartoonish conversation accompanied by the umpteenth sexualization of Persephone, who first appeared fully naked, then with a dress so stupid to defy the laws of physics and perspective.

And if you don’t believe me, please see it by yourself: this is how the dress was supposed to be, according to episode 75

This is how it ended up. Apparently, the Fates didn’t predict how huge Persephone’s boobs would be and the neckline didn’t grow accordingly: I feared to see one of them slipping out from it anytime during the “fight”

Also, please appreciate how Persephone is turned to the side, but the dress’ stupidly huge neckline is shown from the front, otherwise we would’ve seen her full naked boobs.

And that stupid neckline kept bothering me throughout the whole “fight”, because it kept changing size. Check the episodes and see it by yourself: sometimes it’s smaller, other times it’s wider and it keeps moving in impossible ways. It drove me insane.

But since we’re talking about drawings, please allow me a very brief parenthesis about them too.

_______________________________

The drawings are a joke

I am not an artist. I can barely draw a straight line by hand. But I studied art history, perspective, proportions and colors, so I’m not completely clueless.

But you don’t need to be clueless, to notice how bad the drawings became. If you have two eyes and saw another human being in your life before, then you can notice by yourself how bad they are.

It’s not a secret that Lore Olympus’ art style changed over time. In the beginning, this comic was characterized by a lot of straight lines and geometric shapes, alternating and mixing with gentle curves. There were blur effects, colored outlines, a lot of details that gave an overall dreamy, ethereal vibe to every chapter (like the soft glow that accompanied the gods).

But as the story progressed, these elements disappeared. The geometric shapes gave way to an overall “softness” and roundness. The dreamy vibes and blur effects were replaced by sharper, clearer drawings. A distinct black outline now marks every character.

And speaking of characters, they were the ones who changed more. Lore Olympus always had funny, silly faces but the characters were also able to be serious and look natural. Now all we have are grotesque faces: the characters are a collection of caricatures and no one has a normal expression anymore. Check by yourself, by confronting a random episode of the third act with the first one: they’re two different worlds.

The disproportions were common too, since episode one. But at least they were somehow plausible, while now they’re completely absurd. It’s as if Mrs Smythe completely forgot what a human being looks like.

And this is pretty evident in how all characters became a rough draft of the two protagonists: all women got Persephone’s face, all men become buff and huge, with wide-ass shoulders and teeny tiny heads. This is particularly obvious at the end of season 2 / start of season 3, when we see some of the funniest images ever, like Hades with a tiny head and shoulders as wide as the entire USA

Or this hilariously bad image of Zeus with clown shoes and a head as big as his deformed hand.

No excuse can justify these drawings: no one is running after Mrs Smythe, nor forcing her to draw, and people are paying her real money to work on this webcomic. The least she can do is draw something that doesn’t look like a bad distortion of a human being.

Unless this isn’t her drawing, but her staff’s work. In that case, they are still paid to do their job, right? Or do they think this story is a joke and decide to show how much of a joke it is, by turning everyone into a grotesque caricature?

_______________________________

In conclusion

Lore Olympus is hilarious because of how bad the writing is. It’s a manual example of how not to write a climax for your story. It’s a perfect demonstration of how you can still fail, even with great characters with endless possibilities. It’s a list of all the mistakes you can make as an artist.

If you’re a writer or an artist in general, please check Lore Olympus and study it. Here you will find everything you should never do and all the mistakes you should never make.

As a writer myself, I appreciate Lore Olympus, because I need works that teach me what I shouldn’t do. Good teachers are useful, but bad ones are even more useful, because it’s thanks to them that I can learn and grow and make better stories. Lore Olympus might be a failure from an artistic and writing point of view, but it might also serve as a foundation, from which other people can develop better ideas.

Actually, it already did it! Do you want to read a better story, rose from the disappointing ashes of Lore Olympus? Then check Lore Rekindled and @genericpuff: you will find their work here on Tumblr. They planned everything ahead and it’s pretty clear by reading it. The characters make more sense, the events have a more logical explanation. And the art style is much, much better than the last Lore Olympus.

We will meet again for the third and (for now) final post about this series, a much-needed post about the protagonists of this story: Hades, Persephone and Demeter.

<- Previous post - Next post ->

(How about a coffee? ☕)

_______________________________

TAGLIST:

@royalprinceroman @mudpuddlenl @allmycrushesaredead @aquatedia @whatishappeningrightnow  @effortiswhatmatters @bella-in-a-bag  @doydoune @forever-third-wheeling​ @payte @hypnossanders​  @idontreallyknow24​  @imcrushedbyarainbowoffical​ @patton-cake​  @hereissananxiousmess​  @purplebronzeandblue​  @cynicalandsarcastic​ ​@lost-in-thought-20​ @andtheyreonfire​ 

@riseofthewerewolf​ @rosesandlove44​​  @chewy-rubies @groaaaaan​ @arya-skywalker  @csi-baker-street-babes @queen-of-all-things-snuggly @reesiereads

@dracayd-universe​ @starlightnyx​ @stubbornness-and-spite​ @averykedavra @joyrose-fandomer @mihaela-tbg @igonnatalknothing

@thatoneloudowl  @grayson-22  @softangryfuckingdepressed @theotherella  @boopypastaissalty @nevenastark @varthandiveturinn @roses-bubbles @cuter-on-the-inside  @coldbookworm  @snixxxsmythe @charmingcritter  @analogical-mess @emphasis-on-the-oopsie @selfdestructivecat @yangwalkerao3 @the3rddenialist

#lore olympus #lore olympus criticism #lore olympus critical #anti lore olympus #lo criticism #lo critical #anti lo #greek gods #greek myth #zeus #apollo #kronos #lo zeus #lo apollo #lo kronos

[valoisfulcanellideux]

These Stones Remember - cover reveal

A few days ago I posted the full title and cover reveal for my upcoming Pixlriffs-centric (Copper King & Phantom Assassin) story, A Tale of Two Devotions. That beautiful artwork was commissioned from the amazing Sabira | @floweroflaurelin and at the end of the post I mentioned that I had one other commission currently sitting with them.

Well, that commission is now complete, and ready to share with you.

It's the cover for my 178,000-word fic These Stones Remember, and I'll admit that seeing this final image got me feeling incredibly emotional. There may or may not have been tears shed. There were. Oh heck, there were.

So here it is:

I spent almost a year of my life writing These Stones Remember, and Sabira has more than done justice to these characters and this world. The Copper King, Onorait Paix al-Lareiff. His 2,000-year-old present-day version, Pix al-Lareiff. His devoted and faithful Chaperone, Mhenheli al-Q'isaraf. His adorable little soul companion kitty, Malin. And the Vigil and the Statue, and so many other tiny little details that you probably won't even realise have been inserted into the illustration unless you've read the story.

To say that I'm thrilled with this cover would be the understatement of the year. (I know this year is still young, so let's include last year, too!) It was a delight to work with Sabira, and to see the in-progress sketches and eventually this final render, with the beautiful hand typography for the title.

And, if the cover has piqued your interest but you've not yet read the story? Welp, here's a taxi to some sweeping ancient history :)

"The past changes a little every time we retell it." A wandering scholar and his ethereal companion find a long-abandoned treasure. At first glance he thinks has simply stumbled upon a ruined ancient capital, filled with the promise of incredible archaeological treasures and riven through with the history of a long-dead civilisation. But when he wakes up one day and finds the city has come alive around him, its people bowing to him as though they know and respect him, he has unknowingly begun a journey toward redemption for a terrible mistake he made two thousand years ago.

#these stones remember #empires smp #empiresblr #pixlriffs #empires pixlriffs #empires fanfic #mcytblr #mcyt #the ancient capital #pixandria #the copper king #mhenheli al q'isaraf

[fairytale-poll]

ROUND 2! MATCH 1 OUT OF 8

Propaganda Under the Cut:

Bugs:

So the story is that the Three Little Pigs sell Bugs their straw and wood houses, the Big Bad Wolf blows them down, and Bugs decides to get revenge - by dressing himself up as Little Red Riding Hood, getting the Wolf to play his part in that story, and then messing with him as only Bugs can. Here's the video if you've never seen it: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6vk41x

Bugs Bunny is an icon and he was so good for his role in this short. When he and the wolf realized they could work together against the pigs... oh my God. Come on Tumblr, you have to admit they had a little gay tension between them. Besides, at the end, when the brick house comes down and the wolf, so surprised and proud of himself exclaims "I did it!" and then it pans over to Bugs with the bomb and he slyly adds "We did it!" communist Bugs canon.

Red:

I'm pretty sure she uses her hood as a parachute at some point. (A note from tournament Mod: She does.)

sillie

she is so iconic. to me at least (watched hoodwinked appx 500000000 times during family road trips)

This delivery girl knows karate! Watch Hoodwinked

my first exposure to a real adaption of a classic story in video. Girl twists the whole story up compared to the original. Love how it's like an old fashioned PI show but still so 2005 in vibes.

A classic fairy-tale-with-a-twist-movie that if anyone hasn't seen they should. This story takes various elements not just from Red Riding Hood's story but other fairy tales to retell the story with Red as the true center and hero of the story and reframes it as a mystery. It's also one of the few good retellings that makes the wolf good while not framing him as a love interest, which allows the plot to remain focused on Red.

best movie ever

Listen. I don't necessarily think she should win this movie is fucking insane and not all of that insanity is necessarily good. HOWEVER. I have a pitch for you. Wouldn't it be so fucking funny to put Red Puckett on this poll as a wild card? Like how many people would be like "fucking HOODWINKED?". Also what other tellings of red riding hood go the crime mystery route? Like cmon

She's the protagonist of what I believe is one of the funniest and best written films of all time. She's so smart and talented

The entire Hoodwinked series is just really funny to me. I also think she's an absolute badass as she knows kung-fu and takes no shit from the wolf. Also her granny appears above her when they are both flying and somehow she sees her as a big cloud head despite it just being her granny doing a ski jump. She had to be high because she met a weed loving Billy goat literally right before that.

the creators said 'what if red riding hood did karate and was voiced by Anne Hathaway' and simply did not wait for an answer.

because she's the funniest answer

Okay as a child I watched this movie and liked it a lot, but by coincidence, I happened to watch it on Eid twice in a row (I'm Muslim). So for a few years in a row I made it a tradition to watch this movie on Eid while drinking orange juice (very important piece of the puzzle). This movie is so dumb and goofy, I really enjoy it, and also she's voiced by Princess Mia Thermopolis herself.

#red riding poll #round 2 #bugs bunny #windblown hare #the windblown hare #looney tunes #red puckett #hoodwinked #hoodwinked! #hoodwinked too: hood vs evil #little red riding hood #red riding hood #character polls #polls #poll tournament #poll bracket #battle of the funny rrhs

[hermitmoss]

autistic gansey: the raven boys

literal thinking

All of the sources said that church watchers had to possess “the second sight” and Gansey barely possessed first sight before he put his contacts in.

It took Gansey a moment to realize that Ronan had made a joke, and by then, it was too late to laugh.

Gansey, misunderstanding, immediately asked her, “Why would you have to leave?”

“Coincidence?” Ronan asked. “I think not.”  It was meant to be sarcastic. Gansey had said I don’t believe in coincidences so often that he no longer needed to.

He said, “I don’t think that minor children are required to get gifts for their parents. I’m a dependent. That’s the definition of dependent, is it not?”

Several exasperated faces turned on Gansey. Maura said, “Well, he’s not going to just go away because you don’t want to deal with him.” “I didn’t say it was possible,” Gansey replied, not looking up from his splint. “I just said that it was what I would like.”

"His name wasn’t really Butternut, was it?" Gansey asked Adam in a low voice.

food sensitivities

Gansey said, “Tell me there’s no sauce on this burger.”  Dropping the strap from his teeth, Ronan scoffed. “Please.”  “No pickle, either,” Adam said

stimming

The area around him smelled strongly of mint from the leaf he chewed absently. 

He ran his thumb back and forth across his bottom lip, a habit he never seemed to notice and Adam never bothered to point out.

Gansey was crumpled on his bed, earbuds in, eyes closed. Even with the hearing gone in his left ear, Adam could hear the tinny sound of the music, whatever Gansey had played in order to keep himself company, to lure himself to sleep.

special interest

Gansey couldn’t resist talking about Glendower. He never could.

But Gansey never minded retelling the story. He’d related the events like they’d just happened, thrilled again

he was wondering if it was more than the ordinary curiosity people possessed when faced with Gansey and his obsessive accessories. He knew Gansey would find him overly suspicious, unnecessarily proprietary of a search Gansey was more than willing to share with most people.

“We talking about Gansey the third and his New Age obsession?” the secretary asked.

what he found was that Richard Gansey III was more obsessed with the ley line than he had ever been. Something about the entire research process seemed … frantic.  What is wrong with this kid? Whelk wondered

It was suddenly difficult not to be excited by the idea of explaining it all to her.

The easy way that he began the story, at once striding through grass and eyeing the EMF reader, let Blue know that he had told it many times before.

“If you’d just asked,” Gansey said, “I would’ve told you everything in there. I would’ve been happy to. It wasn’t a secret.”

masking and mirroring accents

Adam remembered finding him intimidating when he first met him. There were two Ganseys: the one who lived inside his skin, and the one Gansey put on in the morning when he slid his wallet into the back pocket of his chinos.  The former was troubled and passionate, with no discernible accent to Adam’s ears, and the latter bristled with latent power as he greeted people with the slippery, handsome accent of old Virginia money.

It was a default answer, she saw; he fell back onto his powerful politeness when he was taken by surprise. Also, he was still watching Adam, taking his cues from him as to how he should react to her. Adam nodded, once, briefly, and the mask slipped just a little more. Blue wondered if the President Cell Phone demeanor ever vanished completely when he was around his friends. Maybe the Gansey she’d seen in the churchyard was what lay beneath.

A few minutes later, when Gansey climbed into the front seat beside the pilot, she saw that he was grinning, effusive and earnest, incredibly excited to be going wherever they were going. It was nothing like his previous, polished demeanor.

There was something about the timbre of his voice that surprised Blue. It wasn’t until he spoke again she realized he was using the tone she’d heard him use with Adam.

This Gansey, this story-telling Gansey, was a different person altogether from any of the other versions of him she’d encountered. She couldn’t not listen. 

Gansey had always felt as if there were two of him: the Gansey who was in control, able to handle any situation, able to talk to anyone, and then, the other, more fragile Gansey, strung out and unsure, embarrassingly earnest, driven by naive longing. That second Gansey loomed inside him now, more than ever, and he didn’t like it.

some days Gansey wished that he could be him, because Adam was so very real and true in a way that Gansey couldn’t ever seem to be.

Gansey was first into the room, and he clearly hadn’t expected to find anyone there, because his features hadn’t been arranged at all to disguise his misery. When he saw Blue, he immediately managed to pull a cordial smile from somewhere. And it was so very convincing. She had seen his face just a second before, but even having seen his expression, it was hard to remind herself that the smile was false. Why a boy with a life as untroubled as Gansey’s would have needed to learn how to build such a swift and convincing false front of happiness was beyond her.

not understood/accidentally offensive/words coming out wrong

The Aglionby boy appeared puzzled for a long moment, and then realization dawned. “Oh, that was not how I meant it. That is not what I said.”

To his credit, the Aglionby boy didn’t speak right away. Instead, he thought for a moment and then he said, without heat, “You said you were working for living. I thought it’d be rude to not take that into account. I’m sorry you’re insulted. I see where you’re coming from, but I feel it’s a little unfair that you’re not doing the same for me.”

He hadn’t meant to be offensive but, in retrospect, it was possible he had been. This was going to eat at him all evening. He vowed, as he had a hundred times before, to consider his words better.

He’d managed to offend again, with no effort at all.

After a moment, he said, "Sometimes I’m afraid he’ll never really understand me."

I did tell him, right? I did say that we were to wait. It’s not that he didn’t understand me.

Words pressed against his mouth, begged to be said, but he kept silent.

But Gansey’s words had somehow become unwitting weapons, and he didn’t trust himself to not accidentally discharge them again. 

“My words are unerring tools of destruction, and I’ve come unequipped with the ability to disarm them.

specifically coming across as condescending

 She clearly hadn’t found him condescending.  Which was probably because she hadn’t heard him speak.  

“Sometimes he’s very condescending.”  Adam looked at the ground. “He doesn’t mean to be.

“Really?” Gansey asked, so innocently startled by this that it was clear that Adam had been right before — he hadn’t meant to be condescending.

“God, I’m sick of your condescension, Gansey,” Adam said. “Don’t try to make me feel stupid. Who whips out repugnant? Don’t pretend you’re not trying to make me feel stupid.”  “This is the way I talk.

honesty

Adam suspected Gansey’s preference was because Ronan was earnest even if he was horrible, and with Gansey, honesty was golden.

“So I think we deserve the truth. Tell me you know something but you don’t want to help me, if that’s what’s going on, but don’t lie to me.”

“I’m going to need everyone to be straight with each other from now on. No more games. This isn’t just for Blue, either. All of us.”

He wasn’t sure how to speak without hurting Ronan. He couldn’t lie to him.

“age-inappropriate”

Gansey himself sat at an old desk with his back to them, gazing out an east-facing window and tapping a pen. His fat journal lay open near him, the pages fluttering with glued-in book passages and dark with notes. Adam was struck, as he occasionally was, by Gansey’s agelessness: an old man in a young body, or a young man in an old man’s life.

In his best professor voice

He sounded so old, Blue thought. So formal in comparison to the other boys he’d brought. There was something intensely discomfiting about him

once again Blue got the sense that he seemed older than the boys he’d brought with him.

There was something very ancient about him just then, with the tree arched over him and his eyelids rendered colorless in the shadows.

“You haven’t been a dependent since you were four. You went straight from kindergarten to old man with a studio apartment.” 

Malory had been the first one to take fifteen-year-old Gansey seriously, a favor for which Gansey would not soon stop being grateful for.

journal is comfort object

Gansey retreated to his bed, though he didn’t lie down. He reached for his journal, but it wasn’t there; he’d left it at Nino’s the night of the fight.

Whelk held his hand out for the journal. Gansey swallowed.  He asked, “Whelk — sir — are you sure this is the only way?” The journal weighted his hands. He didn’t need it. He knew everything in it.  But it was him. He was giving everything that he’d worked for away.  I will get a new one.

alexithymia

He thought this feeling inside him was shame.

Gansey tried several different ways to think of the situation, but there wasn’t any way he could paint it that made it hurt less. Something kept fracturing inside him.

Gansey couldn’t begin to explain the size of this awfulness. He only knew that it burst inside him, again and again, fresh every time he considered it. 

some complicated longing to settle an argument that waged deep inside himself.

overwhelming emotions

 More than anything, the journal wanted. It wanted more than it could hold, more than words could describe, more than diagrams could illustrate. Longing burst from the pages, in every frantic line and every hectic sketch and every dark-printed definition. There was something pained and melancholy about it. 

 His bald expression held something new: not the raw delight of finding the ley line or the sly pleasure of teasing Blue. She recognized the strange happiness that came from loving something without knowing why you did, that strange happiness that was sometimes so big that it felt like sadness.

He couldn’t stand it, all of this inside him.  In the end, he was nobody to Adam, he was nobody to Ronan. Adam spit his words back at him and Ronan squandered however many second chances he gave him. Gansey was just a guy with a lot of stuff and a hole inside him that chewed away more of his heart every year.They were always walking away from him. But he never seemed able to walk away from them.

“too serious”

Things seemed to weigh heavily enough on Gansey as it was.

His voice was peculiar. Formal and certain.

~awkward

He knocked fists with Adam. Coming from Gansey, the gesture was at once charming and self-conscious, a borrowed phrase of another language.

“I don’t know what else to say.”  “‘Sorry,’” she recommended.  “I said that already.”

clumsiness and disorganisation

It wasn’t that he meant to be careless — as Adam told him again and again, “Things cost money, Gansey” — it was just that he never seemed to realize the consequences of his actions until too late.

[Ronan] stopped the recorder and said, “You’re dripping gas on your pants, geezer.”

Gansey crashed onto the driver’s seat.

Then there were the notes, made with a half-dozen different pens and markers, but all in the same business-like hand. They circled and pointed and underlined very urgently. They made bulleted lists and eager exclamation points in the margins. They contradicted one another and referred to one another in third person. Lines became cross-hatching became doodles of mountains became squirrelly tire tracks behind fast-looking cars

Not the tidy stacks of an intellectual attempting to impress, but the slumping piles of a scholar obsessed.

It looked like the home of a mad inventor or an obsessed scholar or a very messy explorer; after meeting Gansey, she was beginning to suspect that he was all of these things.

EfficiencyTM

Gansey derived a large part of his pleasure from meeting goals, and a large part of that large part was pleased by meeting goals efficiently. There was nothing more efficient than aiming for your destination as the crow flew.

RulesTM

They didn’t even have the authority to choose an alcoholic beverage. They couldn’t be deciding who deserved to live or die.

likes mechanical things (not counting the camaro because that’s just Too Many Quotes to compile)

He liked the little knobs and toggles and gauges of cockpits, and he liked the technological backwardness of the simple clasp seat belts.

not understanding/realizing things

Again, his face was somehow puzzled by the fact of their hand-holding.

It hadn’t occurred to Gansey that if the Camaro had been operating properly, fleeing would’ve been an option.

Gansey didn’t understand, but he nodded. 

And now Gansey was a king here, and he didn’t even know how to use it.

difficulty reading people/nonverbal cues not impacting him

Gansey suspected that none of them was being completely honest with their replies, but at least he’d told them what he wanted. Sometimes all he could hope for was getting it on the record.

One of Ronan’s eyebrows was raised, sharp as a razor.  Gansey strapped his journal closed. “That doesn’t work on me. 

He didn’t believe she was really offended; her face didn’t look like it had at Nino’s when they’d first met, and her ears were turning pink. He thought, possibly, he was getting a little better at not offending her

need for certainty

What Gansey needed out of life was facts, things he could write in his journal, things he could state twice and underline, no matter how improbable those facts were.

generally unusual ways of thinking

An astonished Roman historian commented, You look under rocks no one else thinks to pick up, slick.

general “strangeness”

Adam leaned toward her as if he was about to say something, but ultimately, he just shook his head, smiling, like Gansey was a joke that was too complicated to explain.

“ARE YOU LISTENING, GLENDOWER? I AM COMING TO FIND YOU!” Gansey’s voice, ebullient and ringing, echoed off the tree-covered slopes around the field. Adam and Blue found him standing in the middle of a clear, pale path, his arms stretched out and his head tilted back as he shouted into the air.

“You find it not normal?”  She could tell that he very much wanted her to say that he wasn’t normal, so she replied, “Oh, I’m sure it’s quite normal in some circles.”  He looked a little hurt, but most of his attention was on the meter, which showed two faint red lights. He remarked, “I’d like to be in those circles.

Gansey couldn’t keep the exasperation from his voice. “‘Strange’ doesn’t help me. I don’t know what ‘strange’ means.”

He was himself, but he was something else, too — that something that Blue had first seen in him at the boys’ reading, that sense of otherness, of something more, seemed to radiate from that still portrait of Gansey enshrined in the dark tree.

not knowing other people don’t know things he knows

“Gansey, seriously,” Adam interrupted, to Blue’s relief. “Nobody knows what quiddity is.”

“Nobody knows who Ned Kelly is, either, Gansey.”

Born This Way

A small voice within Adam asked whether he would ever look this grand on the inside, or if it was something you had to be born into.

just. this. the way he knows to think this, the way he instinctively compares them to aliens that humans mistreat and that he logically shouldn’t love.

They were like aliens, Gansey thought. Aliens that we have treated very badly for a very long time. If I were a tree, I would have no reason to love a human.

#richard campbell gansey iii #the raven cycle #autism #* #my meta #meta #autistic headcanon #disability #trc #s4v

[blurakun]

John Dory introduces his ghostwriter to the family (goes wrong 🤣)

Branch: "FULL Offense John, Do you actually think ANYONE will want to read a book about you?"

Bruce: "Yea, Honestly John,"

Poppy: "That's a great idea!"

Clay: "This is not what I meant when I said Book Club"

John Dory: "Okay, FIRST of all, my life is very interesting. Second, I wasn't asking your opinions."

John Dory: "I was JUST trying to introduce my ghostwriter! Now you guys made me look like a total ass. Thanks."

Finny: Holy Shit what did I sign up for

The group is APPAULED to learn John even has the audacity to think any troll would desire to read about his life. John Dory- keeping most of his old life a secret from the family, knows they only see him as their boring eldest brother. Determined to get his name out to the public again, he hires a ghostwriter to write down the retelling of his stories and combine them into a cohesive Memoir. Having only read one poor excuse for a memoir himself, John Dory is convinced this will be a simple task.

Little did he consider, tapping into his past starts to bring up problems and buried feelings that begin to conflict with those around him.

Just a little summary for my John Dory's Memoir AU! I'm actually getting a TON of ideas for this concept 🔥 expect more hehe + bonus Finny sketch ;3

#johndorysmemior #dreamworks trolls #trolls au #trolls with tails #trolls band together #trolls branch #trolls john dory #trolls floyd #trolls poppy #trollsona #trolls bruce #trolls brozone #trolls clay

[canmom]

reading Herbert Mason's translation of the Epic of Gilgamesh, as you do!

I went with Mason's translation after I saw it quoted here and there and seemed pretty solidly written - but it isn't precisely right to call it a translation, more a retelling of the story as Mason understands it. so it's not a line by line translation, and some major parts of it are presumably interpolations or paraphrases.

i knew the broad outline of the story but it's fascinating to put it in context, and discover parts of the story i hadn't heard about. for example, i didn't realise the concept of droit du seigneur was part of this story - I'd thought that was basically a goofy myth about the medieval period, but here in the oldest surviving written story, it's just a thing the mythological king Gilgamesh does. though the exact translation seems a little contentious - Mason writes:

As king, Gilgamesh was a tyrant to his people.

He demanded, from an old birthright,

The privilege of sleeping with their brides

Before the husbands were permitted

But Wikipedia quotes a different translation by Stephen Mitchell which says:

He is king, he does whatever he wants... takes the girl from her mother and uses her, the warrior's daughter, the young man's bride.

The general thrust is similar in both cases, but the details of the custom are different. I don't have Mitchell's translation so I can't find how he describes the moment Enkidu arrives to interfere with Gilgamesh doing one of these kingly rapes (like let's not beat around the bush here, it's a different social context and whatever but you can't possibly say no to the demigod king).

Moving on...

Viewed with modern eyes, the transition between the first chapter and the second is kind of abrupt. We've got this great establishing story for Gilgamesh and Enkidu having a rather homoerotic fight and becoming best bros, but then we abruptly skip forward to Gilgamesh declaring that they're going to go fight a monster called Humbaba, and Enkidu is all like, no, that guy is way too high level, you'll die! Modern writing advice would hold that you'd want to spend some time building up Gilgamesh and Enkidu's relationship 'on screen' here, and perhaps foreshadow the existence of Humbaba a bit sooner to build up the threat a bit - but then I'm not carving this into stone tablets, I can afford to be a little bit roundabout, and who knows what's been lost? (scholars of the Epic probably have some idea lol)

The word used for Gilgamesh and Enkidu's relationship is 'friend'. This feels like it's probably a bit of a lossy translation to me - would lover/boyfriend be projecting too much? I obviously don't know the nuances of Sumerian that well, so maybe this is the best available word, but their relationship has a lot of physicality and a lot of affection.

The woman who goes to Enkidu in the wild and has a bunch of sex until he becomes civilised is described here as a 'prostitute'. My understanding was that she belongs to a religious role here, harimtu, that's usually translated as 'sacred prostitution' but apparently this identity is contested, and also she has a name, Shamhat? I don't know why Mason doesn't use her name. Shamhat has a pretty big role in changing Enkidu and convincing him to come meet Gilgamesh, but her own motivation isn't really explored.

Still, I don't want to come off as only complaining. Whether they originate in the Epic or with Mason, I'm enjoying a lot of the poetic turns of phrase in this version - the style is just the right level of minimal - simple appropriate words, but effective for that. Mason writes in verse, but doesn't rhyme - I'm not really familiar enough with meter to say more than that. There are a lot of fairly short, declarative sentences, mixed up with an occasional much longer metaphor across multiple lines. I think you could fairly easily delete the line breaks and just have prose, but having them makes it flow in an interesting way, like waves? Poetry is not my bailiwick so I'm probably describing some fairly basic facets of the medium, but it's interesting to observe.

I'll add more when I've read a bit more, I'll be in this train a while...

#gilgamesh #epic of gilgamesh #fiction #translation

[artist-issues]

it's really sad people will keep on defending the terrible little mermaid movie cause they wanna cry racism and other movies cause of crying racism. honestly I'm tired of it, the original little mermid is better, original snow white is better, everything orignal is better. but since disney want to get political, their stocks are failing and their losing money. disney is crashing and burning, they can't make anything original anymore.

Yeah, true.

I think the idea of "original is always better" isn't 100% true. The truth is, Disney used to do retellings better than anybody.

Snow White's original fairy tale, in the Brothers' Grimm version, is very good. It's all about pure innocence. But Disney came along and made a bigger, more fleshed-out version. In Disney's retelling, the Dwarves had personalities instead of being cave-dwelling blank slates, and the Prince actually met Snow White while she was dressed in rags and still loved her instead of seeing her asleep and dressed beautifully for the first time.

Those changes that Disney made to the "original" fairy tale for their movie didn't ruin the original. They just deepened the original. They complimented it.

Audiences back when the first fairy tale was being told may have understood that Snow White's beauty = purity and innocence, but Disney knew that audiences in the 1930s would need more information to understand, and enjoy that message. So

The Prince is interested in Snow White before be even knows she's a Princess, and before he even sees her beauty, because he hears her singing about love genuinely. It's her pure innocent love that attracts him.

The Dwarfs all have personalities, but the one thing they have in common is their fear of new, potentially uncomfortable things. It's not until Snow White and her genuine, selfless love comes into their lives that they start being selfless and brave, too.

The Queen dies the same way she lived: trying to bring harm to others because she only looks out for herself (even though in the original fairy tale I believe she faces capital punishment instead of her own jealousy destroying her.)

Same thing with Cinderella, and even with The Little Mermaid. The fairy tales weren't invented by Disney: the animated Disney versions were retellings. But that's the difference:

Retellings - Stories that change some details about the original, but never change anything that strengthens the important themes of the original. They're not exactly the same, but they're faithful to everything that the originals stood for.

Remakes - Stories that change the themes of the original: erasing everything that the original stood for and trying to re-write what the characters should stand for for modern audiences.

And that's the problem. Disney used to do faithful, complimentary retellings of timeless stories. Those stories were worthwhile, and Disney did them justice. Disney reminded modern audiences of the themes and values in old stories.

Now that's not true anymore. Disney doesn't remind people of the original, timeless values of old stories. It tries to rewrite those values, and in doing so, it says "those values were never timeless, or even fit to be called values."

That's the painful thing. Disney used to be the best name in retellings. Now it's the worst name in retellings.

#Disney #Disney live action #the little mermaid 2023 #tlm #Snow White #Snow White defense #se #snow white and the seven dwarfs #snow white and the 7 dwarfs #Snow White 2024

[dokidokitsuna]

Dream Alliance: Jambastion Rebirth

So yesterday I was archiving the text from all my DeviantArt posts about the DreamAll AU, and it was really fun to read through all that lore and story again. ^^ It’s unfortunate that I was working on it during my transition from DA to here; I feel like a LOT of info got lost in the confusion. But at least now I have it all in my own files to reference (or retell) later…especially if I ever get around to reviving/expanding on the AU like I’ve always wanted. There are a lot of unused scripts and ideas waiting for that day…

And since I was feeling inspired today, here’s one of ‘em. ^^ Since this was such a dark idea that I don’t really consider “canon” to the AU, I never really wrote it down or anything…but it made for such a good story that I held onto it in my heart~. Warning: LOOOOOOONG post ahead. ^^

So at the end of DreamAll’s story, Magolor and Division Six risk their lives and defeat Void Termina, yadda yadda…but once the world is finally safe from that threat, its next big question is: how can we make sure we’re safe from the teenage mad scientist with the god-killing mecha and bioengineered alien attack dogs…?

Basically, Magolor inadvertently made himself so powerful that the rest of the Dream Alliance and the world is kinda scared of him now. ^^; And as I showed in the final comic, Susie Haltmann takes it upon herself to investigate him and find out what his deal is…and in doing so, learns that he’s actually a Jambastion mage, and Hyness’ estranged son. And thus, the scheming begins~.

Mind you, Susie doesn’t really have anything against Magolor. It’s just that the pressure of essentially becoming president of the world, coupled with the revelation that Magolor is not only an eccentric genius, but also a dimension-bending dark mage that she doesn’t know how to control…it leads her to fall back on old (villainous…) habits and start to treat him like an obstacle, to be overcome by any means necessary.

And her first play would be to use the threat of Hyness’ execution to get Magolor to spill his guts: to tell the truth about his magic powers, explain in detail everything he did to create the Void Destroyer system, and get it all on the record so that he can’t lie about it anymore. Which I think Mago would agree to immediately-- he doesn’t want to see his father die (despite his literal crimes against humanity), and tbh he’d probably be kinda glad to have the weight of that deception off his shoulders. Unfortunately, he’s not worldly enough to understand that divulging all this information is the beginning of the end…

Next play: regulations. Now that the crisis is over, the Dream Alliance’s superweapons will naturally have to be decommissioned…including Magolor’s ‘angels’. Seeing as they’re technically not living things (as per Mago’s explanation) Susie would demand that he toe the line and put them down, or at least demonstrate that he’s willing and able to cut them off from his power on command.

And naturally, Magolor would think of this as going a bridge too far. Marx, Galacta, and Morpho might not have their own life force, but they’re still sentient beings who love and trust him as their creator. And if it’s a choice between betraying that trust and leaving the Dream Alliance entirely, he’s inclined to choose the latter.

And ^that is the decision Susie would be waiting for: proof that, when pushed, Magolor cannot be trusted to act in the ‘public interest’. And considering what he’s capable of, it’s now in the public interest for the Dream Alliance to find a way to contain him.

Of course, she doesn’t go after him right away-- she simply waits for him to come to her, thinking he can convince her that his angels are more than just weapons. When that fails, he resigns on the spot…unfortunately, he never actually gets the chance to leave.

Based on everything Magolor’s explained about the way his magic works…she decides her best bet is to cut off his hands, severing his connection to his vambraces and sending him into shock from blood loss all at once. Both serve to severely weaken all of his subconscious magic use, and his angels by extension-- Galacta collapses, and Morpho straight-up disintegrates. Marx is the only one able to remain conscious without his master’s direct influence, and immediately realizes that something is seriously wrong. His first instinct is to rush to find Magolor and slaughter anyone in his way…unfortunately, he discovers that he doesn’t have his flight powers anymore. Without his usual magic strength, he can hardly even move his prosthetic arms, and is easily captured when Magolor’s lab is raided.

Fortunately, Meta Knight is one of the arresting officers, and decides to take pity on Marx and “lose track of him”, letting him leave in the dead of night for parts unknown. He disappears for a couple years, skulking in the shadows, stealing food when no one’s looking, being miserable and missing all his friends.

But during all that time, he’s also preparing…he spends most of his days retraining his body to adjust to the much smaller amount of magic that he has access to, and trying to find information on the dissolution of Division Six and Magolor’s whereabouts…which proves to be pretty difficult. So eventually, when he finally gets a decent amount of fighting strength back, he decides to start his revenge plot by finding an ally: Magolor’s father, who’s still imprisoned where he’s always been.

Hyness has never met Marx before, but he remembers Magolor’s mentions of him. And besides, they both share a deep concern for Magolor and the willingness to do anything to save him. So Marx explains the situation and breaks him out, setting his plan in motion.

He realizes that Susie will have seen him through the security cameras, and will predict that he’s coming for Magolor. So he decides that his true next target will be Galacta Knight, and asks Hyness to use his powers to find and awaken him first.

After being forced to use his magic just to keep himself alive during his long imprisonment (which by this point, ended up approaching the decade mark) and having his hands removed as well, Hyness is also a lot weaker than he used to be. But he has experience on his side, and quickly adjusts by using the magic stored in his cape (basically, what I was foreshadowing back when I drew this). Together he and Marx make a fairly powerful team, forcing their way into the facility where GK is being stored, and setting him free to unleash his wrath.

^This is a decision Magolor would probably take issue with, if he were present to give his opinion on it-- he’d be against triggering GK into a psychotic break just to create a diversion, knowing all that death and destruction would weigh heavily on his conscience afterwards. But Marx, being in a desperate and angry place, doesn’t care, and figures potentially scarring his little brother is a small price to pay to get their family back together.

And while Galacta Knight is out acting as a weapon of mass destruction, Marx and Hyness manage to find and release Morpho Knight as well. Morpho has very nearly reverted back to the unresponsive energy blob that he was when Magolor first found him…but he’s at least conscious enough to follow his brothers around and help protect them occasionally. Marx leaves him with GK and follows Hyness to Magolor’s location, deep within Dream Alliance HQ.

How things go from there is a little more nebulous…I think it would probably start out as a stealth mission, which would take an unfortunately bloody turn before Magolor is finally found and revived. I think Morpho and Galacta would eventually catch up with them there and make things even bloodier. ^^; I think Susie would get into a big ‘tech vs. magic’ fight with Division Six that’s honestly been a long time coming. And I think Magolor, despite having just been awakened from a years-long medically-induced coma, would be forced to take point as the most powerful mage left in the group, and do something drastic just to put an end to the conflict and get everyone out of there. 

The aftermath would be bittersweet, and a bit ironic-- essentially, Magolor would be forced to go back to living in a secret society cut off from the rest of the world. He’d be reunited with everyone he cares about, including the father he once thought he might never see again, but he’d still have to live with the fact that the world he risked his life to save ultimately rejected him…and after all the atrocities his family committed just to get him back, the world is probably now convinced that its fears were justified. The damage is done, and irreversible…after all the effort he put in to become a hero, his short-lived dream is already dead and gone. I honestly don’t know what he would want to do with his life after that…

…Anyway, if you made it all the way here, thanks for reading~

#Oddly enough Magolor’s ‘angels’ start to look more like demons when they’ve been abused and neglected #symbolism at work~ #kirby #gijinka #au #dream alliance #marx #hyness #magolor #galacta knight #morpho knight

[shadowshrike]

Ascended Astarion Appreciation Post

I'm not going to do a true analysis here because I feel like all the individual lines of spawn/ascended/neutral Astartion and how broad the interpretations of them can be depending on the context of your playthrough have already been discussed ad nauseam by the fandom. The stellar voice work only adds to the ability for a player to feel a connection with whatever narrative they like best. However, I want to throw my personal experience with his storyline into the ring because I feel it's rather unusual.

For my style of play, I initially only brought Astarion along on my 'clever evil' run. I had no knowledge of his storyline before I started and didn't do any metagaming to win his approval; I just brought him along because the 2 minutes I saw of him in my main run made him seem like a good fit for a Tav with selfish choices. This was a custom bard playthrough where I made everyone love me by being a great con artist, killed the few who might make my rise to power more difficult (like the Nightsong), and lightly manipulated our companions into giving me their protection while I only took on minor risk. Naturally, Astarion played well with this character. He was entertained by having a partner to 'play' with, one who didn't get put off by cruel comments or his lust for power and was good at pretending to be manipulated by the questionably charismatic vampire.

I expected the power lust and loss of humanity toward the end of his story. What I did not expect was that by doing an Ascended playthrough first, I would ruin my desire to reload for the Spawn ending later. After all, aren't you supposed to want to do the "Good" thing when your default gameplay style is Good-aligned?

What solidified it for me were two things. First, his response to the Gur. His reaction suggested to me that he was probably a power-hungry noble before he was turned, one who paid the consequences for his cruelty, jumped at the chance for an escape through Cazador when faced with the consequences of that cruelty, and then spent the next 200 years being tortured horrifically for it. From everything I gleaned through his half-retelling, his story was much like the victims of hags or devils. I felt bad for the disproportionate horror of his fate, but there was an odd sort of justice in it as well, one that had long descended into pure evil thanks to the creature he fell victim to.

The second thing that turned me from doing a full playthrough just to see the Spawn ending was, oddly enough, the confession where he explains he's been manipulating you and has accidentally developed feelings. Now, this is partly because I may have accidentally skipped part of the animation, but when I decided to reciprocate the 'heartfelt feelings' as part of my character's manipulation, his answering smirk seemed to say, "Gotcha. So all I have to do is act vulnerable, weak, and like I would be nicer if someone just loved me for once in my life, and they'll protect me forever. I can do that."

After that point, I could never take any statement he made about redemption seriously, especially not if he was particularly blunt about it. The nail-on-the-head speeches I'd seen from him on the spawn path seemed exactly that - too perfect. Like it was exactly what a good character would want to hear, and something a rather poor manipulator but one who specializes in making people feel loved (which Astarion is) would fall back on. That's not to say the words don't ring with truth - they really do thanks to the beautiful voice work - but in the context of his relationship with power and dependence, every word felt like falling back on old habits to manage his fears. Ones he may not even be aware of, truthfully.

Do I think that was the intent by the writers? Absolutely not. But the more I pressed on in the story and he never reverted to that overly sweet act after he realized my character was actually more interested in giggling with him over how to obtain absolute power, the more it felt like the whole 'poor victim' act, although absolutely rooted in some truth, was truly an act to him.

He was terrified, would always be terrified, and had no problem doing whatever he needed to do in order to keep that terror at bay. His desperation made him easy to manipulate. He begged for both the tadpole's powers and Raphael's deal, staying true to a character that would always take the risk as long as it didn't threaten his vanity like the astral tadpole did. He was clearly incapable of forming a healthy relationship with anyone and had no interest in actually working on himself. Still, he was a master at adjusting his behaviors just enough to make himself safer in his new 'goodish' environment by acting like he had come to appreciate goodness. Not that he was ever completely heartless, even on a selfish/evil run, but it became clear that he mostly wanted goodness for himself. He didn't want a lack of chains in the world. He wanted to be the one holding them.

Ascending him was the obvious choice in an evil run. I would both be giving him the one thing he truly wanted and putting him forever in my debt...at least until his annoyance at having a debt outweighed his fear of being alone.

Becoming his spawn, on the other hand, was a hard choice. And probably the most satisfying narrative choice I made in all my playthroughs, good or evil.

For context, I had refused to use any tadpole powers in this run, giving it to him instead, so he could deal with the risk while being pleased by being handed more power. I didn't want to sacrifice anything personally while I was busy putting everyone in my debt. But here I was faced with a dilemma - did I have confidence that my character could still manipulate this vampire driven by fear enough to take the world if I let him turn me into a spawn so I could be immortal? Would the good and evil armies I'd raised to my name be enough to stop Astarion if he started to lose his utter devotion to me and made me a mindless thrall? If I said no or suddenly cast doubt on him, he'd certainly be enraged, given my prior support of him and his fear of rejection. Was the danger of angering him on top of losing that ascended vampire power worth my mortal freedoms? How long would that freedom even last if I said no, assuming he truly did end up exactly like Cazador, who would likely have just taken it from me in a rage?

Interestingly, this choice was made for me by the insight check that some people hate so much. When I saw he thought my character was still above him, that I had to degrade myself to be with him, I realized the man's leash hadn't gone anywhere. I could use him to get me the world. Yes, he would continue trying to manipulate me with empty promises, but I would continue manipulating him in turn by appealing to his petty vanity and insecurities. And together, we could have everything he ever lusted after with the only cost being a soul he was more than willing to lose.

I think the perfect cap to this was the ending. A romanced Ascended Astarion's ending was easily the most satisfying ending part of all the little character moments of all my playthroughs. The evil power fantasy was perfect. With the choices I made, it implied he was 100% as much my thrall as I was his (less literally in his case), leaving the corruption of his character beyond pure power lust open to interpretation. Add to that the satisfaction of his new unique dialogs near that end, and I was blown away. His confidence, for once, did not seem fake, though it was still informed by the fears that had driven him from the beginning. It was not his most healed or kind self (and how could he be either of those in any ending after 200 years of torture unless he was lying?), but his most free self, enjoying everything he ever wanted in a blaze of glory, relishing in his control, and fully giving himself to the newfound passions given by his second life.

Is he evil, selfish, and controlling? Absolutely. Will some hero inevitably take him out down the line when he gets a little too crazy with his powers? Probably. But such is the beauty and fun of the evil power fantasy.

It's unfortunate that playing this route, I can't enjoy how he is chained by the spawn route. I can understand what it is trying to do. Promoting the power of forgiveness, love, and support to allow someone to be their best self. It aims to apply human healing patterns to a supernatural creature in a cathartic way, one that has been successful for a great many people. But for me, it just doesn't land.

On runs where I care about his fate on a personal level, I hate to see him forced into a life where he loses all the things that have brought him joy, either now or when his lover dies. I don't want my choices 'for his own good' to mandate he forever sacrifices his own wants and needs. I hate how he tells you that you made the right choice after things have calmed down if you refuse to help him because what other option does he have? You've stripped him of hope outside of your protection. Without a cure, he's helpless at the feet of the Good heroes surrounding him who could end him in an instant if he's anything other than grateful and fawning for how much you've saved him. After the other route, that fate feels like dying a second slow death for a character so desperate for freedom and power, no matter how self-destructive it is. And since he basically says you did the 'right thing' when you have a high relationship no matter what end you choose with him, Good or Evil or in-between, it loses its power to me as a narrative anchor to any feel-good moments.

Personally, I like Astarion most as a character who is able to fulfill his base desires, ugliness and all. I think he's written in a way where he's well-suited to be both a victim and an awful person. I like the unique narrative of him being someone who is a bit of a monster and most fulfilled by being his worst self rather than seeking redemption, but appreciate that most people feel more fulfilled by a route where he's humanized and gets to heal through romance or a supportive friend.

I encourage everyone to find their own favorite variation of him. To me, he is one of the messiest characters who can have wildly different 'truths' depending on the context of your playthrough and your interpretations of his lines. Since he's a known liar and manipulator (and an unfathomably old one at that by human standards), there are a million and one different headcanons you can use to fill in the blanks on what he really means, who he really is, and what he really wants or needs.

I hope everyone out there enjoys whatever version of Astarion they like best. For me, I think I just might have to try a different variation on an evil playthrough. I want to see what other contexts I can get for his Ascension story and whether any of them hit as many satisfying narrative notes as my first.

#ascended astarion #essay #baldur's gate 3 #astarion

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

“The updates are making me like Idia more, but in the same way you'd like a character for being pathetic” I’m shocked you didn’t like Idia at least from what I remember? He’s basically the same as Rollo (a character you do like I think) and in more ways than one. They’re both gloomy looking guys and traumatized big bros that are self righteous and pathetic. What kept you from liking Idia before if you don’t mind me asking?

[Referencing something I said in this post!]

Okay, confession time: when I was a little kid (I’m talking like 7-10 years old), I was SUPER into Greek mythology and more specifically the story of Hades and Persephone. I ate up ALL the Hades and Persephone retellings/reinterpretations I could find and actively hunted for more 💀 so you’d think I’d like Idia, who is twisted from Hades, given how I gravitated to Octavinelle because of my attachment to The Little Mermaid on my childhood…

I think what puts me off of Idia in spite of his similarities to Rollo, a character I do really love, is a combination of Idia's appearance and his attitude.

To tackle the shallower aspect first, I actually don't like characters that look "too" gloomy. I would say Rollo is stoic-looking, but not gloomy? He has a pretty neutral face most of the time and the only gloomy thing about him at a glance is the dark circles under his eyes. With Idia... There's a LOT going on here. The hair is definitely unique, but I've never been into super long hair. The nature of it kind of overshadows his face and Idia usually looks miserable as a default. I've mentioned before that I'm unnerved by his coloration too; the super pale skin plus the blue lips is reminiscent of a corpse and, well... while I do see there being an audience that finds him beautiful, I don't think that's a cute look for him.

Now, his attitude. I'm not going to fault Idia for being passionate about his hobbies, as we all have our niches that we're super into. What irks me is how Idia expresses himself and acts out on behalf of those interests. He talks down to people who "don't get it" and takes other measures to defend the things he likes that I think is crossing a line. For example, he tracks down the IP addresses of Ignihyde mob students that defaced his favorite idol group's website. In the EN version, Idia threatens to doxx the mobs too (though he never does, this was just a localization decision). Yeah, you could do that I guess... but should you? 😭 The other characters also do questionable things (as a J word fan, I cannot deny this) but those actions are usually so outlandish no one irl would do it (like how Azul is a high school student that runs his own shady business). Idia's behavior, meanwhile, embodies some very real and very toxic aspects of fandom culture. I think part of why I disliked Idia at first is also his manner of speaking; it's riddled with so much internet lingo that it's hard to take him seriously sometimes. This is even more true of the EN version of the game, which has added even more slang than was in JP. Like... sorry, am I NOT supposed to be giggling when OB Idia is making threats while talking like an enraged gamer (both in EN and JP)? There is a ceiling on how much pathetic I can take in one sitting, and Idia far exceeds it every time he talks. Other characters (like Rollo making cheesy villain speeches, Azul being teased, Jamil's DOKKAN, etc.) have their moments of funny ha ha-cringe as well, but at least I can still see them in a serious light.

Books 6 and 7 are enhancing my opinion of Idia solely because they focus on the "traumatized big brother" part to his character. In Glorious Masquerade too... Idia gets the courage to call Rollo out because he knows their experiences are so similar. I think the storyline was done very well, and I loved seeing how Idia grows from an event that no doubt affected him deeply and still continues to influence him to this day. It's clear that he cares deeply about both Orthos and will step up to protect them. I LOVE THAT FOR HIM, it's not as though Idia is completely throwing aside one brother for the other, he's acknowledging them both as his "true" brothers. The way he goes from laughing to crying in his post-OB flashback... Idia getting so mad at us attacking Phantom Ortho with lightning... the willingness to "go" with OG!Ortho to the world beyond... apologizing to Robo!Ortho for falling for the dream's delusion... Aaaah, it's just too good 😭

DIHLBASOFYIAYVYEBfsWPYWPF WHAT CAN I SAY... I like me a reliable onii-san character 🤡 I'M NOTHING IF NOT PREDICTABLE

#twst #twisted wonderland #Idia Shroud #Rollo Flamme #disney twisted wonderland #disney twst #notes from the writing raven #question #book 7 spoilers #book 6 spoilers #Azul Ashengrotto #Jamil Viper #Ortho Shroud #Ignihyde #Hades #Persephone #The Little Mermaid #glorious masquerade spoilers

[sofiaispunk]

dbf!Joel Miller x Reader - Part 2

Your heart raced as you heard the knock at the door. You knew who it was before your parents even got up to answer it. Joel had arrived for Thanksgiving dinner. You felt a mix of excitement and nervousness at the thought of seeing him. Your palms were slightly starting to sweat.

He was dressed in a tight blue t-shirt and a light blue Jeans jacket, and as always, he looked impeccable. Irene and Sarah were with him, both of them smiling politely as they greeted your parents.

Your mother hugged Irene and Sarah tightly, welcoming them warmly.

"Joel, my boy! It's good to see you! How have you been?" your father said, giving his friend a big bear hug.

You watched as Joels expression changed, his smile faltering slightly. "Oh, you know. Same old, same old. Just trying to keep the business afloat."

Your father nodded, his smile never faltering. "I'm sure you're doing great. I heard you landed that new contract."

As they chatted, you found yourself drawn to Joel, unable to take your eyes off of him. You were struck by how handsome he looked in his tight fitted shirt, and you couldn't help but notice the way his toned shoulders filled out the jacket.

"How's college treating you, darlin'?" Joel asked suddenly, turning to you with a warm smile.

You blushed, suddenly feeling self-conscious being caught starring so openly at him. "It's good. Busy, but good."

Joel chuckled. "That's good to hear. I'm sure you're doing great."

You couldn't help but feel a thrill at the way he was looking at you, his deep brown eyes seeming to see right through your soul. You knew it was wrong to feel this way, but you couldn't help it. You were drawn to him like a moth to a flame.

As you all settled into the living room, you tried to ignore the way your heart was racing. You sat down next to Sarah who was so happy to see you. 

Everyone was seated and the conversation started to flow freely. The smell of roast turkey and savory stuffing filled the air, making your mouth water.

Your mother had gone all out with the cooking, making sure that everything was perfect for the occasion. There were mashed potatoes, green beans, gravy, cranberry sauce, and of course, the delicious pumpkin pie for dessert.

As you started to eat, you noticed that there was an icy mood between Irene and Joel. They were seated next to each other with a small distance but barely acknowledging each other's presence.

You wondered if anyone else had noticed the tension, but it seemed like everyone was too caught up in their own conversations to pay much attention.

Thankfully Sarah, was as bubbly as ever, talking about her school and her friends with enthusiasm. She was telling you all about the latest drama in her theater class, and you couldn't help but smile at her energy.

"So, we're doing this play, right? And I got the lead role! Can you believe it? I was so nervous at first, but now I'm super excited. We've been rehearsing every day after school, and it's been so much fun."

You smiled at Sarah's excitement, "That's amazing, Sarah! I'm so happy for you. What's the play about?"

"It's a modern retelling of Romeo and Juliet," Sarah replied, her eyes lighting up. "Except instead of Verona, it's set in New York City. And instead of the Montagues and Capulets, it's two rival gangs. It's going to be so cool!"

"That sounds really interesting," you said, impressed. "I'd love to come see it when it's done."

Sarah beamed at the idea, "Oh my gosh, that would be awesome! I'll make sure to let you know when it's showing."

As the conversation turned to other topics, you couldn't help but feel grateful for Sarah's infectious energy. She was a bright spot in the midst of all the tension between Joel and Irene. The conversation moved on but you were to focused on the meal in front of you and Sarahs school stories to pay closer attention on what was going on. 

At one point, Joel started to speak, his tone a sharp whisper, "Irene, I don't think now is the time or the place to discuss this."

You felt uncomfortable listening to their exchange, unsure of what exactly they were talking about but you could tell it was serious.

Irene ignored Joel's plea, her voice getting louder, "What, you think you can just sweep everything under the rug and pretend nothing's wrong? You've been distant for months, Joel. You can't just expect me to ignore it. You are even ignoring me here, at your best friends house."

Joel's tone was low and measured, "Irene, I know we have things to talk about, but can we please do it privately? Not here, not now."

Irene didn't seem to be listening, "I'm tired of pretending everything's okay. It's not fair, Joel. I deserve better than this."

Joel looked down at his plate, his eyes heavy. You felt a pang of sympathy for him, wondering what he could have possibly done to cause such a rift between them.

Your mother cleared her throat, breaking the tension, "Why don't we all take a break and enjoy some pie?"

The conversation shifted, and everyone started talking about the delicious dessert.

After dinner, you excused yourself from the table and stepped out onto the patio. You breathed in the cool, crisp air and felt a sense of calm wash over you. You heard footsteps behind you and turned to see Joel approaching, holding two beers in his hand.

"Mind if I join you?" Joel asked, gesturing to the empty seat next to you.

You hook her head, "No, of course not. Thanks for the beer."

Joel took a sip of his own drink, "No problem. I figured you could use one after that dinner."

You chuckled, "Yeah, it was a bit intense."

Joel's expression softened, "I'm sorry about that. I know things got a little tense with me and Irene."

You nodded sympathetically, "Yeah, I could tell. Is everything okay?"

Joel sighed, "No, not really. Irene and I are going through some things right now."

You immediately felt a pang of sadness for Joel, "I'm sorry to hear that. Is there anything I can do to help?"

Joel smiled at you, "Just talking to you helps, sweetheart. You always know how to make me feel better."

You felt her cheeks flush at the compliment, “ I'm here for you y’ know, if you need anything."

You sat in silence for a few moments, sipping your beers and looking out at the night sky. There it was again, this connection forming between you, a bond that went beyond just friendship, an understanding without words. There is no way he doesn’t feel it too, right? You shook your head to shake those thoughts away. Of course he doesn’t. He’s married and you are half is age. 

Joel spoke up, breaking the silence, "You know, I've always admired your spirit. You're so driven and passionate about the things you believe in. I wish I had half the energy you do."

You felt a warmth spread through her chest at his words, "Thanks, Joel. That means a lot coming from you."

Joel leaned closer to her, "You're special, kid. Don't ever forget that." Kid. There it was, the nickname you dreaded. Of course he saw you as a kid, his best friends kid. But you had no time to dwell on your heartbreak this little word caused, because you heard Sarah calling out your name.

“Oh hey, guys! Are you still out here?" she called out from the doorway.

You turned to see Sarah standing there with a bright smile on her face, her eyes shining with excitement.

"Yeah, we're out here," you said, smiling back at her.

Sarah stepped outside, "I was wondering if you wanted to come to the fair with me tomorrow. Uncle Tommy is coming too!"

Your eyes immediately found Joel's and you gave him an unsure smile, "Oh, um, I don't want to intrude on your family time."

Joel interjected, "Nonsense, darlin’. We'd love to have you come with us." 

Your heart skipped a beat at the prospect of spending an afternoon with Joel.

“Okay, I'll come."

Sarah clapped her hands together in excitement, "Yay! It's going to be so much fun!"

Joel turned to you, "We should probably get some rest then. It's going to be a long day tomorrow."

Joel stood up and offered his hand to you, helping you up from your chair. You noticed that his hand lingered a second longer on your hand than necessary. Or were you just imaging things? At this point your mind was clouded with excitement for the next day and there was no way you could form a single straight thought. Both, your body and your mind was consumed entirely by Joel Miller.

Part 3

#joel miller x you #joel miller x reader #joel miller #fanfiction #dbf!joel #dbf!joel miller #pedro pascal #the last of us #joel miller fluff #joel miller smut #joel miller x y/n #joel x reader #joel the last of us #pedrohub

[poppyseed799]

Since I mentioned how Martyn saved Last Life for me, I think it’s time I finally make my Martyn Appreciation Post that I’ve been meaning to make because the fandom is too mean to him sometimes.

Once upon a time, I discovered a series called 3rd Life. I watched it because I had watched Grian many years ago and figured “sure, I’ll see what he’s up to now.” The premise was very interesting and the episode got me hooked. The second episode came out and I watched Scar’s, it was so funny I subscribed despite never knowing anyone except Grian before 3L. I watched the series as it came out, always watching Scar but branching out to see the other POVs too, because I was invested in the whole story. And of course, how could you watch 3rd Life without watching Martyn, the hand. His editing was great, he added so much to the enjoyment of the story with just editing.

And then suddenly, (I think this was the first instance but I could be wrong) he had almost died and there was a voice telling him it wasn’t his time to die yet. I watched Scar first as always, so I knew Martyn would survive, but the editing made it feel like he wouldn’t until that voice came and “saved” him. I wasn’t expecting anything like that at all. What was that voice supposed to be? Why wasn’t it the right time for him to die? Fans all talked about it of course. Back then, it was called the “voice lore”, cuz that’s all we really knew. A voice. This voice lore gave fans even MORE to talk and theorize about, which is always great in fandom spaces. The series went on, the voice coming back sometimes as we’d try to figure out what was going on. It wanted him to kill Ren, but he never did. He couldn’t, because Ren had died and Martyn fell shortly after.

The 3rd Life finale was fantastic. I cried. Like actually I cried, and despite not writing often I even wrote a little retelling of the cactus fight mere hours after watching the finale. It was that inspiring. I was crying as I wrote. Eventually, I got around to watching Martyn’s POV of it, cuz how could I not? It was amazing, a totally different side of the war, a very tragic one at that. Of course, Martyn died. I knew he would, I watched Scar first every time. But I wasn’t expecting what would happen after he died. His character falling in a dark void, some speech about always fighting, even if you have nothing to live for. It made me cry. Yes, I cried a lot in my time in the life series. It’s great that a series could make me feel that way. Anyways, I cried at that speech. Then it ended, and the voice returned. It wasn’t very happy with Martyn. I was actually legitimately worried for his character. Until that point, I had been imagining afterlives for all of the characters (yes I cried at Scott’s finale too). Happy afterlives for them, since I loved the characters so much. But when I saw that last bit of Martyn’s finale, I was worried he wouldn’t get a happy ending like I wanted for all of them. But of course, my feelings aside, this was lore. Why wasn’t the voice happy? What was it going to do?

I went on twitch and found Martyn streaming, talking about 3rd Life. I watched and learned so much behind the scenes stuff. I’m just going to bring up this point now: Martyn’s interactions with life series fans is part of what makes him and his lore so great. But more on that later.

Then Last Life came out. I was so excited, I actually recently dug up my old DMs with my sister from when I found out about it, apparently I was a couple days late to realize it came out lol. Not sure what I was doing, I also don’t think I knew there would be a second season, even though I know I watched Grian’s finale where it said there would be. Idk maybe I forgot. Anyways… I was OBSESSED with Last Life. Completely and fully invested. My birthday was during its run and all I asked for was my family members to draw wizard Scar. But anyways the point is Martyn. The voice returned! And this time… there was more! Martyn was acknowledging the voice. There was a secret shadow group formed, and we learned more and more about the voice but not enough… yet.

One of my favorite parts of Last Life was when Martyn was… hallucinating? Jimmy and Mumbo were alive and he did Mumbo’s intro. It was well put together, disturbing, sad, and also a great teaser for the episode when he uploaded that Mumbo intro compilation. Then he runs and has an argument with the voice before finally giving in. Like… wow. What was that lol. It was awesome! Martyn’s character has always had such… character. He’s merciless and willing to betray, yet also loyal and empathetic. It feels like he would be a sweet guy and a nice friend if it weren’t for the circumstances. I love c!Martyn so much, he really feels like he has feelings even tho he’s just real life Martyn’s OC he roleplays as in minecraft.

But now, that famous Last Life Finale. Martyn dies (in a very bad way I might add) and the same thing that made me sad last time happened again, but worse. The voice was upset with him. This time, to his face, and VERY angry. That end speech is one of my favorite parts of the life series EVER. I want to have it memorized. It explained so much, was so powerful, just vague enough that you might not understand at first but could easily figure out with a bit of thinking what they’re referencing. And since that day, it was no longer called voice lore. We knew what the voice was now. It was now known as the watcher lore.

Now, to be honest, I think I actually first experienced this legendary speech from a stream. I was just absorbing the Last Life finale (which was disappointing for me personally but that’s a different post) when I saw Martyn was streaming an explanation of his lore. I watched it, and it was amazing. I got to learn what everything meant, little bits of trivia and behind the scenes, all that! It honestly saved my slipping enjoyment of Last Life. I had never watched EVO, but the great thing was you didn’t really need to. If there was something you didn’t understand, you could ask other fans, or just ask Martyn. That’s one of the best things about the watcher lore! The guy writing it is very open to discussing it with fans so you can understand it better, show him your theories, learn behind the scenes and all that!!

I just don’t see how people could hate it so much. Out of all the life series creators, Martyn interacts with the fans the most. Not even in an uncomfortable way, he seems to understand fans and fandoms well. Here on tumblr if you’re interested in his lore you can just shoot him an ask and he’ll likely answer! He’s planning on making an explanation video for his lore too, which will be really helpful. It’s the most interactive part of the life series (aside from the new “suggesting secrets for secret life” thing), of course the fandom will obsess over it!

It’s just disheartening to see people diss it so hard just because they think the fans are annoying. First of all, most posts that talk about that reek of cringe culture, second of all, have some respect for the hard work Martyn puts into this!!! There’s no reason to drag him down just because his work inspires the fandom more than you’d like it to. I’ve seen people say it’s just fan service. First of all, I don’t see a problem in him seeing fans talk about watchers a lot and think “let me give them more to work with!”, especially when second of all HE WAS PART OF EVO, I’M PRETTY SURE HE WAS ONE OF THE WRITERS FOR IT. He has full right to continue the watcher story. Also people don’t seem to realize the lore has existed since 3rd Life? Probably because we didn’t know it was watchers back then. But still, he didn’t randomly see watchers and go “I’ll do that”. Before the watcher reveal I think I saw watchers in the fandom like twice? Because Grian made the series. It was mostly just AUs anyway. So yeah. Martyn wasn’t like stealing fanon lore for clout he just wanted to use watchers and we went “that’s so cool” and went insane.

Within the series, the lore isn’t as overbearing as people claim it is either. Once again stop dragging Martyn down for gripes you have with other fans. There wasn’t even ANY in double life. In Limited Life, it was just a few rhymes and such, which was still awesome! His finale also added more to the lore, was very cinematic and cool. Lots of work put into it.

On that subject I also made it to the Limited Life Finale Stream!!! Explaining the lore and answering questions and giving behind the scenes information!!! It was great! Other members of the series helped him with his finale which is cool. He gives us tons of stuff to work with all the time, lore to theorize on, he just gives so so much to the fans. It’s no surprise at all that we love his lore.

Just… most hate I see is so misdirected towards Martyn. Don’t hate him because he made an incredible story! I stand in front of him with a sword and a shield and say “he is not your enemy! Everything you’re complaining about is because of the fans!” So you turn around to fight the fans only to see I am also standing in front of them with a sword and shield. But that is a conversation for another day.

Basically, Martyn lore so good he is great for the fandom and I cried ten million times while in this fandom. In a good way.

#trafficblr #martyn inthelittlewood #eyesandears #life series #this post is a mess and I don’t think I conveyed anything properly but. Thats how my posts are baybeyyyyy