#and give the old gods a new role in the pantheon

[feuillmort]

Hello! I am aware that you are not drawing COTL for the moment, but do you still answer asks about it? If you do, I'd like to ask, if it isn't too spoilery: What gave you the idea to make a reincarnation AU that you are writing right now? Does being the god of cycle also include death and rebirth in that domain? How do you plan on showing Lamb's suspicious familiarity with the Red Crown? How did Narinder became a follower of the previous Red Crown bearer? Would your Red Crown have its own personality or some form of sentience, and would it recognise its former bearer's soul if so?

What is your favourite weapon, fleece, and curse to use in the game? Any OC followers?

Have an enjoyable month, eat regularly.

EEEK HIIII OH GOD I CAN'T BELIEVE I ALMOST MISSED THIS ASK!!!! HIIII ❤️❤️ (speaking of which, all other asks pertaining to art reqs will be answered eventually!!! don't worry, i've seen em)

longpost and mentions of irl religion under the cut

What gave you the idea to make a reincarnation AU?

- There wasn't really any big "aha" moment when it came to the early stages of trying to find an au that i could write, but I'd been seeing fairly similar role reversal concept art on my dash for quite a while. Eventually, after I'd come up with some logical reasoning for how everything worked, I decided to write it for real :)

Does being the god of cycles also include death and rebirth in that domain?

- Yes! It's also part of the reason the lamb ever made it back to the land of the living in the first place, aside from being a genuine abstract concept.

How do you plan on showing the lamb's suspicious familiarity with the crown?

- Through dreams, primarily. The dreams don't start up until the lamb starts wearing the crown, and after that they're mostly vague bits and pieces that they oftentimes can't remember well enough to understand. On Narinder's end, it's even less certain. He can't recognize them--their soul, while it's the same, has taken up residence in an entirely new body. The possibility of them being his old god doesn't even cross his mind; why would it? He can't remember anything from his mortal life, not after spending however many years trapped in abject agony. However, he does notice how easily they seem to take to the crown in comparison to its previous bearers (ie Ratau). They bounce back almost immediately after being resurrected, and their power is amplified. He can't fathom why that might be.

How did Narinder become a follower of the previous Red Crown bearer?

- I based the worship of the Great Ones off of the worship of the actual Greek and Roman pantheons. While many people were not devoted to a specific god, it was common to leave offerings and pray to one for safe passage/victory in war/fertile soil/etc. For example, if one wanted to guarantee the safe passage of a loved one through the afterlife, they would pray to They of Cycles (although the god would do their best to safeguard deceased souls, regardless).

In contrast, Narinder grew up in a family of devouts residing in a temple to the previous bearer. From the moment he became old enough, he was an acolyte, assisting celebrants in processions and the like. As I've mentioned before, They of Cycles took on the form of a worshiper to observe their followers often. They had a tentative relationship with many in their temple, but they'd made fast friends with Narinder, too.

Would your Red Crown have its own personality or some form of sentience, and would it recognize its previous bearer if so?

- Technically, no. The crowns do not have their own personalities, and they are sentient in only the barest form.

I grew up doing witchcraft with my grandmother, and she had her own beliefs around how wands "actually worked." (And obviously I'm not trying to give commentary on anyone else's beliefs, btw! This is just how I grew up. I haven't interacted with other witches outside of my grandmother's older circle in several years.) A practician is perfectly capable of doing magic on their own, but using a wand is helpful for directing their energy during spellwork.

In the same vein, the gods are extremely powerful regardless of whether or not they posess their crowns, but the crowns are a great help when they want to focus their power toward more demanding tasks.

Where they differ, however, is the vitality of the god's conduit; gods can only last so long without their crowns. When their crown is not in their posession, a god's source of devotion is cut off completely, and they will begin to deteriorate over an extremely long period of time. This is why, by the time Narinder is free, the lamb is able to defeat him. They've had his crown for so long that he's weakened enough to be defeated in combat. Narinder recognized this risk every time he gave away his crown, but there was no other hope for escape, and as long as his vessel remained obedient and returned the crown to its "rightful owner," he would leave his prison more powerful than he entered it regardless.

Anyway, since I'm getting a teeny bit off track. No, the crown is not its own character and functions more like a wand, but it is sentient enough to recognize its true owner and begin funneling what's left of their power and memories back into their soul. Or something like that.

Favorite weapon?

- Dagger.

Favorite fleece?

- Glass cannon.

Favorite curse?

- I don't use curses. </3

Any follower OCS?

- None at the moment, but I have ideas for some that'll probably feature later in the fic!

Thank you for your well wishes! Your asks are always a joy to see in my inbox <3 I hope you have a wonderful month, as well, and make sure to get some sleep!

#cult of the lamb fanfic #cult of the lamb #cotl #cotl narinder #cotl lamb #narilamb #cult of the lamb narinder #cotl bishops

[ettawritesnstudies]

Death's Promise

My entry for @inklings-challenge on Team Tolkien! This story comes from my world of Laoche, which recently got rehauled (yet again) with a new pantheon and more depth to the religious worldbuilding.

In this world the First god is the Artist, who created all of the others to rule over different parts of creation, and the counterpart to the Artist is Death, who isn't an antagonist force but more of a celestial clean up duty. Her role is to be a storykeeper and guardian of souls, then break down the physical remains so the Artist can repurpose the materials. She's often met with dread, sorrow, or fear, but she is fundamentally, kind, and a caretaker of the Artist's creations when their lives are done. In this story, a young gravedigger meets her, and she gives him a promise.

The complete story is under the read more! I'll also be posting it to my blog so it can be found there in case tumblr's search function gives up on me.

Thud. Thud. Thud. The rhythmic falling of hammer on chisel chipped blocks from the stone wall in the crevasse where Martten worked. Dust swirled in the air and made his candles sputter. He stepped back from his work and coughed, assessing the progress. Almost deep enough. The niche needed a few more inches before it would fit Elanor’s body. Maybe a couple more inches after that. She was a large woman, and she ought to be comfortable. It was long enough now—Elanor was also a short woman—and he should finish before the dawn. His arms ached as he picked up the hammer and the chisel which he wrapped in fabric to dampen the clinking noise of his carving.

It had been a busy week. With all the unrest in the city, the devout were bringing down new bodies every day, and they’d run out of empty loculi. He longed for his bed and a shower to wash the dust from his hair, but he needed to finish this work first. He couldn’t sleep in good conscience, knowing Elanor didn’t have a place to rest. The candles kept the place warm, at least. Dozens of them burned around the small alcove, casting a soft glow around the small space. This deep underground, it always stayed cold, even during the day.

It was not day, though you couldn’t tell at this depth, except by the ice deep set in his bones.

He was just about to raise his arm to strike again when a flicker caught in the corner of his eye. A bent figure moved down the corridor, sending long shadows over his work. The newcomer was an old woman, ancient even. She used a cane to support herself and wore a black veil over her black robes. This must have been a superior he hadn’t met yet. He only joined the Siblings since the riots started a month ago, and he hadn’t yet met every follower of the Artist in Dazar. He lowered his tools and gave her a respectful head nod.

“Evening. Do you need something?”

“May I ask whose body will lie there?” She asked. Her raspy voice sounded like a rustle of dead leaves.

“A woman named Elanor Cernall. She was a weaver who died in the most recent attack on the market.”

“What was she like?”  

“I didn’t know her myself, but from what I heard, she was a good woman. Pessimistic at times. Slow to forgive or forget if someone wronged her and her kin, but she had a strong sense of duty. Loyal to the Artist and his people. Skilled at her trade, too. The Siblings preparing her body said that she made and donated the cloth for a good number of our habits.”

Martten kept his head bowed as he spoke, but as he finished his story, he turned to the wall again. Night was getting on, and he wanted to sleep a bit, at least. “Did you know her?” he asked as his first stroke fell.

The old woman hums in the affirmative. “I did. She was a good woman indeed.”

“I’m sorry for your loss.”

“A life well lived is never a loss, but another shining craft to add to the collection of the Artist,” the old woman responded sagely. It was a response Martten heard before, but it didn’t seem like a platitude for her. When she said the words, she gave them weight, and the truth of the saying settled over his shoulders like a shroud.

It added meaning to his work. The followers of the Artist didn’t bury their dead in the traditional way. They hid them underground in catacombs so nobody could disturb them, but they didn’t cover the bodies with dirt or cremate them to get rid of the bodies. They let them decompose on their own, laid out on shelves and adorned with spices to mask the smell. The followers of the Artist remembered and visited - their cemetery was a collection of finished works who kept each other company in the dark. It seemed fitting that they should also have nicely finished graves in which to rest, places befitting the masterpieces. He angled his chisel and gave it a few gentle taps to smooth out a piece of jutting stone.

“It is kind of you to learn her story,” the woman said, interrupting his silence.

“I know them all,” Martten said proudly, then lowered his voice again. “Is that odd, that I talk to them sometimes? Isso the fisherman, a cheerful friend. Aikaterina the scholar, a persuasive orator and wise teacher. Eula, the singer, leading the Siblings in worship. Her poor boy Alex helps me sometimes. He doesn’t have anyone else left.” He paused his carving to gesture to each of their niches. “They keep me company. They’re almost like friends.”

The old woman made the symbol of storge to him, the middle three fingers of the hand held over her lips. It put him at ease, knowing he enjoyed her good company as well. “It’s not odd at all,” she reassured him, setting herself onto one of the empty ledges from earlier in the night to sit for a while.

“The other Siblings appreciate the sentiment, but the rest of the city…” Martten trailed off, a wistful feeling overtook him as his mind wandered. “I was telling Monica the other day—that mother in the niche under Isso. I was telling her about this baker girl, Emalee. I pass her stall after work and she always gives me the leftover bread and pastries from the day. She’s sweeter than her treats, but we don’t talk at all. I’m afraid she’d think I’m crazy for confiding in the dead.”

Martten realized what he was saying too late, after the confession already left his mouth. He talked to the shrouds often enough, but here he was almost treating this old woman the same way. It was wrong, but somehow, she didn’t feel like another human presence; her form so slight and so shadowed, just another ghosts.

“Apologies. I’m rambling. Monica was a grandmother of twenty-seven little ones when she passed, and I think she would understand another lovesick boy whinging about his crush while she’s just trying to rest. I don’t mean to trouble you with my cares.”

The old lady laughed, and it sounded to him a little like the cawing of a murder of crows, the sounds overlapping unnaturally as they echoed off the close stone walls of the catacombs. “I’m not troubled. I’m pleased to find a follower who loves the stories as much as I do. The dead like to be remembered; they enjoy the company too. Monica especially. Only two of her twenty-seven grandchildren visit anymore, and even then, not regularly.”

Martten frowned at that news and struck his hammer especially hard in response. A sizeable chunk fell out of the niche, splitting cleanly along the pins that he drove into the stone. He stooped and set it to the side, then returned to his tapping, working methodically left to right so the surface would come out flat and smooth.

“Do you carve all these loculi?” The woman asked.

“All since I joined the Siblings a month ago.”

“Who assigned you this task?”

“No one. It needed to be done, and so I volunteered. I’m a mason, when I’m not with the Siblings, so I have the skills for it. It’s fitting, giving our crafts back to the Artist and all, and the work means more than breaking blocks for the Atilan buildings all day.”

“You must be weary.”

Martten sighs. “Yes.” He won’t complain, though. It’s worthwhile, and no ache in his bones can change the satisfaction that comes with the effort. A few more strokes and the last chunk came out of the niche. He set it aside on the small pile of rubble for one of the other Siblings to collect, then returned his tools to their own cubby. “But as weary as I am, it’s these old bones that deserve the rest.”

The old woman raised herself from the ledge where she was sitting. Her cane caught the light as she moved, and he realized it was made of bone. A large bone, yellowed with its ancient age—maybe the leg of a stegodon. Part of him wondered if the strange woman collected it herself. It had carvings along the length with symbols that he couldn’t read. “These old bones appreciate a moment to rest and chat with such a charitable young man,” she said cheerfully.

“I hope your old bones walk the world a while yet,” he said, and offered her an arm to steady her as they walked out of the catacombs. She placed her hand on his arm, and Martten realized it was strong, but cold as a corpse.

“They will,” she responds, completely confident. She stopped, took her other hand off her cane, and it stayed standing upright on the point, on its own. She pulled back her veil to reveal a grinning skull beneath, then took her cane in hand again. Martten took a sharp breath as she showed her true form, but didn’t pull away, eyes fixed completely into her empty eye sockets, which had a soft flicker of orange glow within, like distant candle flames.

“You will have a good death,” she promised. “It will be peaceful and painless after a long and well lived life. Your loved ones will surround you, including the sweet wife of which you spoke. Your children and grandchildren will outnumber even Monica’s. One of them will carve your niche with as much care as you carved Elanor’s tonight, and they will tell your memories, and they will pass down your example of kindness to their children. It will be sorrowful, but only in equal measure to how much they loved you.”

Martten didn’t realize he was crying until she brushed the tears from his cheek with a cold and bony finger. He found no words of thanks, question, or response, before she returned her veil, and continued their march towards the exit of the Catacombs. As they walked, the weight on his arm grew less and less, and when he emerged into the light of dawn, he was alone.

#etta rambles #the inklings challenge #inklings challenge #team tolkien #story: complete #laoche #the laoche chronicles

[witchofthesouls]

Your "June Darby is Megatronus AU" is really neat! Do you have any new thoughts about/for it?

Oh God, I have so many thoughts about the concept of "June Darby is Megatronus Prime."

Honestly, this idea boils down to this thought : What are other Aspects and traits of Megatronus Prime that could have been explored?

I have talked about Megatronus Prime and his possible roles and Aspects: Chaos, Wild, Instincts, Passion, Ritual Madness, and Death. The Thirteen Primes seem to pull a lot of inspiration from the Age of Antiquity and creation myths.

In the canon information, these Primes would form triads amongst each other to complete a mission or goal. The curious thing is there isn't much about Megatronus and his triads, besides the hints of him, Solus, and Liege Maximo.

I bring this up because by the same information, he's viciously ruthless, delusional, paranoid, and incredibly hot-tempered. But yet he was once trusted by Prima (his dark counterpart) and the lover of Solus (the tragedy that surrounds the two lovers)?

History is formed by its victors, so after Megatronus' self-exile, Liege Maximo's death, and Solus' transformation into the Well of Allsparks as well as the death or travels of other friendly Primes, there aren't any to vocally oppose his characterization.

(Prima did not trust Solus either. Read into that as you will.)

I am a proponent that there was something else behind the scenes of the Death of Solus. I think she had something in her mind and Megatronus was key to making it come true...

And then he was gone and everything was off the rails.

Why was he the only confidant of her plan? Because he was ruthless to carry out everything and anything if he was convinced it was the only way.

When Megatronus Fell and became a Primordial deity of Earth, the old chains and broken perceptions of the old pantheon were gone. The once Megatronus could follow their own instincts without anyone deriding their placement. Earth sings of Conflict and Chaos, so its inhabitants follow its call.

The process of Megatronus to June would be a slow one over eons in the making.

In one world where "Megatronus is June," she had forgotten who and what she was. I'm thinking of a cataclysmic event caused by Quintesson invasion that stripped much of herself as a way to defend the planet from them: think of it as a pyrrhic victory. Hiding the planet at the cost of the decline/sealant of magically-inclined Others.

They are still essentially a War deity of the ocean, and War takes on many Aspects. That June is active in the medical field would make sense since it's still her Calling, medicine finds a lot of progress when it comes to warfare: innovation and advancements, both good and terrible. Plus, medical practice tends to be highly chaotic: case-by-case as each patient can show a variety of symptoms and behaviors depending on health and conditions.

In addition, it gives her a form of comfort since Solus and Liege Maximo would have been active in the works of medicine and alchemy as well as her old devout followers.

As for being in the middle of the desert, I think something deeply regrets how everything turned out. That's why she's so fussy, overprotective, and agitated over her son. Deities are territorial creatures. When he was a child, she had far more control and Jack loved spending more time in her lap and by her side. As a teenager, he chafes over restriction and her smothering and needs more space to grow into himself.

Here, she can explore other parts of herself, softer ones, gentler ones. Cybertronians will always remember the bloody wrath of Megatronus, but none of the records will ever describe his laugh, nor his fondness towards bitlets.

I was thinking to make Jack the son of Solus and Liege, but I scrapped that and made him a child of Earth, like another tether binding the once Megatronus to his new home, another separation between him and Cybertron.

Until Jack gets involved with the Autobots...

#ask #deepwater abyss #transformers #transformers prime #tfp #june darby #megatronus prime #jack darby #solus prime #liege maximo #june is megatronus AU #maccadam #my thoughts #my writing #Jack being the child of other Primes should be explored tho

[myusernameisstolen]

The Skaian Pantheon (official promo post)

What if, after they achieved their victory, the kids decided not to skip forward five thousand years?

Not a very original concept on its own (I know that now) but let me put it another way: What if they embraced their roles as gods, terrifying though it might be?

What if, at the end of the old worlds and the beginning of a new one, there was a single city, and three species to inhabit it? What if the unique burdens of a race created to start civilizations were explored? What if there were fourteen survivors, all young adults struggling with terrible responsibility and traumatic events? What if they leaned on one another for support?

You get a timeline specifically catered to me, is what. Apparently other people enjoy it too, if you're inclined to give it a read.

#homestuck #fanfiction #homestuck fanart #homestuck fanfic #homestuck fanwork #fanwork #fanfic #ao3 #beta kids #beta trolls #alpha kids #calliope #homestuck fanauthor coalition #Skaian Pantheon #aka Luna's Earth C Sandbox #but I'm not Luna anymore lol

[cthoniccompanion]

#hades #hades game #hades game 2 #zagreus hades #i've seen a lot of takes for all of these and i'm a big fan of most of them

[somewhatsentientspellbook]

The Ruby Vanguard: an Allegory for the Far-Right

The Apogee Solstice is in full swing, ladies and gentlemen – and in honour of Bells Hells being split, I thought I’d lay out some of the fundamental reasons why I despise Ludinus Da’Leth and his posse I affectionately refer to as the genocidal moon cult. From pretty much the start, Ludinus Da’Leth has made himself an interesting figure in Wildemount history. His age, magical ability, and political power gives him an advantage over not only the average citizen but also his colleagues in the Cerberus Assembly. As the Archmage of Domestic Protections, his role is militaristic in nature, and that was the first thing that tipped me off. Ludinus Da’Leth and the Ruby Vanguard are a wonderful allegory for far-right politics. Let’s take a look at the 14 general properties of UR-F@cism, as established by Umberto Eco!

“Cult of Tradition”

The idea is that once tradition has been established, it cannot be defied (even when the traditions contradict themselves). We can see this most clearly with the Ruby Vanguard’s most basic tenant: “mortals are under the thumbs of the gods.” Ludinus maintains this as fact despite the gods being largely incapable of manifesting power in a large manner outside their home planes. Ludinus supposedly grew up in a time when the gods would have had more power than they do now, but he has failed to adjust his ideologies in the centuries since then.

2. “Rejection of modernism”

This is a little harder to argue, but hear me out on this. Rejecting modernism when put simply is the idea that new ways of thinking are depraved compared to the old. Ludinus Da’Leth idolises the Age of Arcanum, he sees the accomplishments mortals made pre-Calamity as the height of civilisation. It’s not difficult to assume that this would lead the Ruby Vanguard to turn their noses at the current state of Exandria.

3. “The cult of action for action’s sake”

Action for action’s sake demands that one not think too hard about what they are doing and why – simply doing it is enough. We see this in the Ruby Vanguard’s willingness to attack innocents for the sake of a larger scheme. The best example of this is the deaths of Will and Derrig, who posed no threat to the Vanguard and were simply sacrificed for a greater cause.

4. “Disagreement is treason”

Intellectual discourse and any critical thought will inevitably reveal contradictions in ideology. We see people like Tuldus and Ludinus recite the same phrases. Mortals as “the god’s toys”, “they’ve feared us”, and “their cattle/food/power”. The fact that a powerful figure says these things, and an impressionable man repeated these things under interrogation to show his loyalty to Ludinus. It’s concerning.

5. “Fear of difference”

This is the classic use of the “other group.” Ludinus and the Vanguard have established multiple “others” to be the enemy of their cause. The gods (who are unworthy of their status), their divine followers (whose powers are derived from those unworthy of status), and the Grim Verity (who are not ‘enemies’ in the classic sense, must still be hunted to protect the cause).

6. “Appeal to a frustrated middle class”

This one is difficult to argue as the Vanguard doesn’t seem to hold any economic beliefs. The closest I can get is to say that those who dislike theocracies like Vasselheim or the Dynasty function as the frustrated middle class. They seek to disrupt the governing bodies that dictate religious doctrine.

7. “Obsession with a plot”

Ah yes, the idea that the enemy/other has a nefarious plot that must be foiled. And oh BOY, do Ludinus and the Ruby Vanguard believe that mortals are glorified sustenance for the gods. They seem to have taken the opinion of mortals being essentially batteries to power the pantheon – and to put an end to this scheme, the Vanguard has no choice but to release a god-eater.

8. “Too weak but too strong”

THIS WAS THE ONE I NOTICED FIRST. Ludinus argues that the gods are strong and deserve to be made the enemy of the people for it. However, he also contradicts this by saying that the gods are weak enough to be thoroughly dismantled by mortals. He appeals to the rebels who hate hierarchy by telling them those at the top are too strong for their own good, and he appeals to those who love hierarchy by telling them that those at the top are too weak to lead/control the rest.

9. “Pacifism is trafficking with the enemy because life is permanent warfare”

We can’t know for certain whether this property exists in its entirety within the Vanguard as it requires them ‘winning’ the war and then desperately need to find a new enemy to fight. However, this can still be fulfilled with how they treat those who don’t care for the gods but also don’t care for the Vanguard. People like Keyleth and the Verity are not theistic, but because they are not actively against the pantheon, they have made themselves enemies by association.

10. “Contempt for the weak”

The idea is that the members of the in-group must exist in a hierarchy of weak to strong (but all members of the in-group are still stronger than those outside the group). This is evident in how the Exaltants are clearly favoured by Ludinus and the rest of his movement. Despite not being Exaltants, members of the Vanguard and Paragon’s Call are still considered strong (but lower in the hierarchy). Ludinus himself has placed himself at the top even though he does not fulfil his own requirements for what constitutes as strength.

11. “Everybody is educated to become a hero”

I’m not going to lie, this one doesn’t have a whole lot of physical evidence, but the contextual evidence is there. The ideals of the Vanguard and Ludinus must be ones their followers are willing to die for. Should that happen, they are martyrs and sacrifices to a noble cause, rather than tragic losses. This encouragement to seek out death leads to a lot more unnecessary death.

12. “Machismo”

This is one of the only ones that I have no evidence for at all. It refers to the preoccupation with warfare and violence, that power is extended to romantic/sexual matters. This usually leads to a stark increase in sexism and homophobia.

13. “Selective populism”

In which the self-appointed leader declares themselves the interpreter of the will of the masses. This is a role built on the idea that individual thought does not exist, and instead, the only thought that matters is the ‘collective majority’ (even though the viewpoints of the leader are 100% NOT the views of the majority). We see this as Ludinus seems to believe he’s speaking not only for all of current Exandria but also historical Exandria.

14. “Newspeak”

Newspeak is essentially vocabulary that has been simplified and used to impede critical thinking. This aspect also doesn’t have a great deal of evidence to support it – as Ludinus prides himself on his (and his group’s) superior intelligence. However, I will still draw attention back to the repeated phrases and mantras that almost act as self-assurance that the pantheon are the bad guys, and the actions of the Ruby Vanguard are justified.

So, there you have it! The properties of UR-F@cism as applied to Ludinus Da’Leth and the Ruby Vanguard. I hope you enjoyed this needless essay detailing why the ideologies they support are a sea of red flags built on propaganda and a lack of individualism. Thank you for making it all the way through, and happy Critical Role Day!

#cr meta #cerberus assembly #ludinus da'leth #ruby vanguard #paragons call #grim verity #critical role #bells hells #cr3 #critical role spoilers

[tenoart]

I'm rambling about this and no one will care but WHATEVER

Smp The Odyssey (more so epic the musical) au (Scott centric)

Basically it all starts with esmp s1 with Scott, and all canon events there happen all pretty much the same EXCEPT jimmy gets killed in front of Scott, and that after life doesn't last. All ESMP S1 leaders become the Greek pantheon

(Scott is Athena, Pix is Zeus, Joel is Ares, Lizzie is Aphrodite u get the picture)

The reincarnation of Aeor and all that doesn't stop , cut to ESMP 2 Scott hundreds of years later lives in the small empire of Rivendell (it's rulers died and hasn't been stable sense) and adapts to a life of crime to survive and gets his baby llama, Owen. before quickly realizing Owen was a shape shifter disguised as a llama to get free food.

He has Esmp s1 Scott who for simplicity sake I'm gonna call Tundra following him around throughout his childhood, and gives him the test in his teen years to steal the skull without dying, Tundra takes his eye and trains him from there on out. Pressuring him into becoming an king of his own nation and constantly eluding to Xornoth without outright stating it.

Scott however, hates this role. It's not him. He's a free spirit who can't be bothered to rule a kingdom. So he leaves with Owen and doesn't look back, only for months later to be confronted by Tundra (cue my goodbye from epic)

He takes back Scott's new magic eye, and tells Scott he basically ruined everything, and Scott doesn't understand, insulting Tundra for stringing him along and implies that Tundra only does this for his pride. Meanwhile tundra was trying to make sure Scott didn't repeat his mistakes

He shows Scott that all the other empires were attacked in his disappearance, that Jimmy, sausage, everyone had died to Xornoth while he was absent. Then, Tundra with the blade I can't remember the name of from ESMP 1 kills Scott, sending him to an after life with Owen, and stepping over him and sheriff Jimmy's corpses and through a portal

Hundreds

Years later there's a old abandoned museum of the ESMP 2 empires, that's built on top of a similar one of the ESMP 1 empires. Witch Smp Scott (who will be called Witch for simplicity) finds it and is exploring it with his lover pre deathification. Tundra now starts following him around. His test being the witch competition itself. He sees Joey summon Xornoth and rushes to introduce himself to witch. Witch knows of him and finds him super cool and looks up to him as a friend.

He follows in Tundra's orders. Making his own empire with his lover, having a kid (who I haven't. Made many decisions about yet I just know I want him to interact with Esmp 2 Scott's ghost at some point tho)

Witch trains under Tundra for awhile, before finding red vines creeping out of the ocean and Tundra deciding it's time.

Other scenes / stuff is I want A LOT of the other Scott's present.

Teleporter Scott as Hermes, Life serise Scott teamed up with Xornoth, Id love to include vampire Scott cause he's a favorite but I have 0 clue where. Cleo from witch Smp is Witch's BFF, (gets killed)

I LOVE THE IDEA OF GOD GAMES W Tundra Lizzie and Joel all ESMP 1 it BANGS.

Also imagine witch slowly as it goes own growing antlers from his little horns as he becomes more ruthless. During god games I like the idea of Jimmy being one of the easier ones Tundra has to convince, I like the idea of witch getting trained outside of time in a completely fixed Rivendell only when Tundra leaves him to be left in the real ruins of Rivendell.

IF YOU DRAW THIS @ ME IT MEANS THE WORLD TO ME FEEL FREE TO ASK QUESTIONS

#empire smp #empires s1 #empires s2 #witchcraft smp #scott smajor #empires smp au

[an-aussie-button-masher]

The Good, The Bad, and the Worse: Five of Gaming’s Best Anti-Heroes

   If you thought “protagonist” meant “hero”, that the main character is always a morally-righteous goody-two-shoes, you might be in for a shock. There’s plenty of lead characters that are on the darker side of the moral spectrum. They can be anything from well-intentioned fighters with heavy flaws, all the way to plain awful people that happen to be up against even worse villains. Video games are an excellent medium to explore these conflicted characters, putting their actions in the hands of the player as their story plays out beyond your control. I’ve gathered a few particularly interesting examples of gaming’s most well-written anti-heroes and morally-grey protagonists, from reluctant monsters to ruthless criminals. Try not to get on their bad side.

Kratos (God of War series, 2010-2022)    Back in the day, Kratos’ unstoppable rage-fuelled god butchering could give Doomguy a run for his money - but once the dust has settled and the blood has dried, Kratos ultimately realises that his pantheon-murdering ways have left him hollow and lost. Moving up north to escape his violent past, the fourth game in the God of War series sees Kratos as an older and wiser man, harbouring plenty of grief and shame over his old life and wanting nothing more than to live out his days in peace. With his new young son Atreus, Kratos demonstrates an excellent level of character development as his motivation now lies solely in raising Atreus to be better than him, though the renewed godly interference from the Norse pantheon threatens to unleash the repressed rageful monster that still remains beneath Kratos’ cold exterior. Kratos is an impressive example of moving on from old ways and finding new beginnings, fighting not for vengeance but for protection.

Agent 47 (Hitman series, 2000-2021)    Assassination: it’s a dirty job, but someone’s gotta do it. At least, that’s how Agent 47 of the International Contract Agency (ICA) sees his role as the world’s deadliest hitman. A clone created from the DNA of history’s most dangerous criminals and trained in every kind of stealth and combat tactic imaginable, Agent 47 is the most dangerous man in any room he’s in. He’s capable of independent thought and morality, but he hides it well under his unchanging stoic demeanour. He never loses his cool, even during some of the more bizarre missions he’s occasionally sent on, and always speaks in a calm, monotonous manner, never betraying his true intentions for whatever unlucky individual that finds themselves in his crosshairs. His assigned targets are usually terrorists, gangsters, corrupt politicians, war criminals and the like, with his mysterious employers seeing him as a violent tool to rid the world of greater evil.

Arthur Morgan (Red Dead Redemption 2, 2018)    There’s no rest for the wicked, and Arthur Morgan is living proof. Struggling to survive the old western wilderness of Red Dead Redemption 2 with his gang, Arthur bears a generally friendly attitude that does little to hide the fact that he is undeniably a criminal, a killer and a thief. Arthur employs brutal methods to get what he wants, and it ultimately bites him in the ass when he catches a deathly illness after roughing up a harmless old debtor. Slowly dying, Arthur tries to atone for his ways, finding himself torn between loyalty to his boss and mentor Dutch van der Linde, and his attempts to find a better future for the other members of the gang. Arthur demonstrates that the free-living life of a wild west outlaw is far from glamorous, constantly fighting for what barely counts as survival in a world where the age of outlaws like himself draws to a close.

Joel Miller (The Last of Us, 2014)    Being the lead character in a zombie apocalypse story doesn’t exactly lend itself well to being a paragon of morality - Joel is a prime example of a hardened survivor willing to do whatever it takes to get through each day. After losing his daughter at the beginning of the zombie outbreak, Joel ends up a cold, selfish, hardened killer, which helps him survive the horrors of the dangerous new world. Once he is hired to protect a young girl named Ellie, he slowly starts to soften up as Ellie reminds him of his late daughter; but this ultimately leads to the most selfish decision of his life: when it turns out that Ellie possesses a possible cure for the zombie infection, Joel refuses to sacrifice her to save humanity, not wanting to lose another “daughter”. He may be the game’s protagonist, but a hero Joel is not.

Trevor Phillips (Grand Theft Auto 5, 2013)    As straightforward heroic characters become rarer in favour of more questionably-moral characters, you might start wondering if you’re playing as a villain who’s just as bad as the actual antagonists. Then you play as Trevor Phillips, and you stop wondering. The most violent and unstable character in the Grand Theft Auto series, Trevor is all the fun of video game death and destruction rolled into a single murderous crackhead. While the game hints that his abusive and traumatic upbringing might explain his current behaviour, it sure as hell doesn’t excuse it. The only thing marking Trevor as a protagonist is the fact that he’s playable, and that many of his unfortunate victims are equally-despicable thugs that happen to be in his way. He’s surprisingly loyal to his “friends” (even if they’re terrified of him) and feels genuinely hurt and betrayed if they turn on him, but it doesn’t quite hide just how dangerous this relentless killer is.

   That brings an end to this peek into the growing grey area between good and evil. Morally-ambiguous heroes are on the rise, and one day it might be too hard to even tell the difference! I hope you enjoyed - reblogs and likes are much appreciated! Thanks for reading!

#gaming #article #god of war #gow #santa monica studio #kratos #hitman #io interactive #agent 47 #red dead redemption 2 #rdr2 #rockstar games #arthur morgan #the last of us #tlou #naughty dog #joel miller #grand theft auto #gta #gta v #trevor phillips

[lizelsker]

the necessity of christopaganism

gods are a complicated facet of human life, so oft misunderstood and mischaracterized by whoever they threaten. the christians scorn pagan polytheism, the idolatry of nature worship and pantheism. the pagans scorn the christian god for its moralistic, oppressive quality. the atheists scorn all gods in the name of “rationality”, and so on. the truth of course is that all of these groups simply do not understand each other, and they live in ignorance of challenging but eye opening truths as a result.

before diving deeper into this topic, i’d like to first talk about catholicism. catholicism is, probably to the displeasure of neopagans, the only verifiable, authentic persistence of legitimate pagan practices and aesthetics into the modern age within the context of an organized religion. it is this way by virtue of having been present to absorb these traditions while they were still contemporary. catholic ritualism, its grandly disturbing aesthetic taste, and its system of saints are all derived from a pagan sort of worldview. it’s important to understand this, because it makes it very ironic that many catholics would consider themselves against paganism. it’s important to understand the innate pagan tendencies of this religion because it makes the points i am about to try to make much more obvious.

within catholicism, what is the purpose of the saints? the saints are considered to be exemplary individuals filled with “the holy spirit”, a force which they have cultivated and which has led them towards purity and good character in a way that is at least vaguely christlike. their purpose within the context of the religion is that they serve as spiritual role models, of sorts. one can pray through them, look to them for advice, and so on.

depending on the level of superstition you’re dealing with, christians either consider the worship of the ancient pagan gods as a form of pseudo-divine enshrinement of degeneracy and hedonism, or as literal demon worship. the former interpretation is not entirely inaccurate, but either way the practice is considered idolatry for obvious reasons. 

protestants have correctly identified, however, that the catholic reverence for the saints and the practices of ancient paganism are not entirely different. it’s true, catholics aren’t performing animal sacrifice in the name of their pantheon, but that’s very much secondary to the actual practical purpose both the saints and the old gods serve, which is to provide a more tangible set of divine archetypes for humans to embody where “literally All Of Creation/God Himself” is maybe too ambitious and restrictive. therefore, this system of saints that the catholics have gives them a leg up over other christian denominations who are so singularly obsessed with christ that they neglect any sense of their own humanity. alone, this is proof that christianity tends to benefit from a ‘paganized’ worldview.

unfortunately, there are these seemingly irreconcilable theological and philosophical disagreements between christianity and paganism that make any further syncretism seem impossible. there are select “christian witches” who might incorporate worship of the virgin mary into their spirituality, but as with most self-identified witches, it hardly goes much deeper than the surface. i would argue that this need not be the state of things, however. with a certain level of compromise, the benefits of christianity and paganism can be mixed to create what might serve as the most spiritually fulfilling religion possible.

the theological framework required to do this is radically different from how christians typically conceive of god, so at the end of the day this new proposed belief system is in a way more pagan than christian. still, the central morality and philosophy of christianity need not be wholly abandoned. in this new system, there are a few important concepts to understand first:

the first is monism. this is, basically, the belief that there is only one fundamental substance to the universe. that’s not meant in the literal scientific sense, necessarily, though it could be that one day we discover scientific backing for it nonetheless. no matter, what monism implies is that all elements of the universe are intrinsically the same. there is no true of hierarchy of value, nor are concepts like perfection or imperfection even relevant. the universe simply exists. its value is separate from whether or not it is ‘perfect’.

from this, we can deduce pantheism, the belief that the entirety of nature, or the universe, or however you want to put it, is identical to God. there’s a more stem-focused, scientific way to go about expressing a similar belief that is also called pantheism, but im not really talking about that kind of idea. this sort of pantheism is more primordial, based on the assumption that everything is imbued with divine meaning and consciousness as a fact of its existence (ironically an idea for which there is at least some scientific support). this kind of pantheism also implies animism, the belief that everything has a soul or consciousness of its own in some way.

from this understanding of pantheism we should also familiarize ourselves with the idea that God (or the Universal Consciousness) is also synonymous with a perfect, unifying love. the connection between all things which is innate in existence is divine love, of which human feelings and expressions of love are but one manifestation, though ultimately the manifestation easiest for us to understand. 

God also expresses itself to us as humans through aesthetics. the beauty of the world around us is divine, and the way in which we experience it (sight, smell, etc.) holds all the information we can know through which we can develop an understanding of it. this is why pagan ritualism is so important. it’s not so much the repetitive nature of the affair, or the rules, but the presence of sacred objects and the aesthetics of ritualism in and of itself that create a space for divinity in our minds.

through aesthetics we can understand various “modes of God”, as i call them. a tree, a beautiful woman, a handsome man, your favorite song, etc. are all modes of God. everything that exists is a mode of God in some way or another, and through its aesthetic qualities we can appreciate it. therefore, divine archetypes in the sense employed by pagans through their various gods and goddesses, are merely aspects of the larger true God that allow individuals to model themselves in such a way that they might achieve a bit of transcendence.

the issue with classical paganism was that it did not account for the element of God that is love, and so their idea of transcendence was too materialistic and led to a flawed moral sense. it is not the idea of a pagan pantheon itself which is flawed, but the lack of a strong moral center to it. this is why christian figures and ideas must be incorporated.

jesus is only different from the pagan gods in a few ways. for one, jesus was a real historical figure where, say, zeus was not. this means our understanding of jesus has to adjust slightly from the traditional christian conception. as jesus was real, it was not possible for him to have been ‘perfect’, but it is not impossible for him to have both 100% man and 100% God. it wasn’t impossible, because he was as all living things are: modes of God.

and secondly, jesus’ worth as a divine archetype is not based in aesthetics, which opens up a whole new world within this pagan framework. jesus was, explicitly, not an attractive man. he was successful in the long run based entirely on his love and teachings. jesus offers a heart that paganism lacked. jesus is not so much the divine archetype in himself, as much as his words are modes of God that teach us how to live morally.

the issue with christianity is that with no other proper archetype (even the saints are basically lesser expressions of the same thing), its followers are forced into an often ludicrous level of self-denial (much as the pagans were completely and dangerously free of self-denial) which is sadly most often functionally ignorant to the spiritual value that worldly beauty and action can have.

in order to live a fulfilling life, one must accept jesus’ words (without taking them as entirely infallible, as there is no such thing as perfection, remember) as telling a very important truth about divine love, forgiveness, acceptance, a truth that is entirely compatible with pantheism, and also express themselves in a worldly way so long as it does not fly directly in the face of this love. this removes the danger of moral decay in paganism, and the danger of total obliteration of contentment in christianity.

...so that’s me nerding about my religious beliefs for however many paragraphs. i think about this stuff a lot, and i often feel alienated from religion in general because i feel my ideas are perhaps too out there for most people to really latch onto. most pagans are too materialistic and, frankly, too anti-intellectual and boring for me to relate to, and christians are often terrifying puritans. putting this out into the world on tumblr won’t do anything but make me feel kind of cool for being an intellectual, but that’s worth something i suppose.

#religion #philosophy #pantheism #christopaganism

[ellendarikumori]

Ellendari Kumori's Trove of Curiosities: The Dance of Sun and Moon

Extra Lore players might learn from divine sources:

The old gods of Day and Night were once one. A single lonely entity that split itself in twain, dividing all of its traits up into opposites. At the time believing that their differences would give the entity an equal to converse with.

But in causing itself to split, Day and Night were created. Light and Dark, Hot and Cold. All things sprang forth and in so, they bore life.

But all things felt inferior to their other half. The Gods could only ever care about each other. Struggling every day to become whole once more.

The world by this time had caught the attention of many other deities which had moved in to watch over the new inhabitants of this world. These other gods were alien, different, and neither Day nor Night could ever commune with these invaders, they were still alone.

And so, in one final attempt to become whole, the two embraced and… time Stopped, Hearts ceased beating and the world they had created began to crumble. Shards of the sky fell away in all directions.

The pantheon of other gods intervened, tearing the two half-gods apart. Compelling them with divine force to fulfil their roles over all else. Day and Night must continue cycling, the Dance of Sun and Moon forever more.

And now, Day and Night dance across the skies. Meeting only at dawn and dusk for a brief moment where light and dark exist together to reach out for an air-filled embrace before the moon is compelled to dance away with the sun once again giving chase. Day follows Night follows Day follows Night as the gods dance their way across the sky.

Now updated to v1.1 with a visual lick of paint. Huge thanks to Skybug12 for the templates to work with I'm still happy to hear and C&Cs anyone may have!

#dungeons and dragons #dnd #dnd5e #d&d homebrew #dnd homebrew #sun and moon #Trove of Curiosities #homebrew #Taivisaa

[fuzzystudios]

My (more formal) essay on why “Lester” is the perfect representation of “Apollo”

lol didn’t expect the other one to be noticed by so many people so here’s a more formal one

In the Riordanverse, the god Apollo is an imperfect being, like such are the other gods. They were made to reflect humanity, and were made out of expectations and beliefs. However, they are imperfect, and the form Lester is the perfect representation of that. He’s flawed, he has a lack of physical perfection such as 8-pack abs and acne, and human. He’s the symbol of Apollo’s character development through his trials, he steadily becomes more Apollo than Apollo from before Trials of Apollo has been in likely thousands of years. Lester is sixteen turning seventeen. Apollo is a forever young boy in truth, protector of young. These are three reasons why Lester is the perfect representation of Apollo.

From early on in The Hidden Oracle, Apollo wails constantly about his new meatsack prison’s imperfections, such as referring to the absence of eight-pack abs as “flab” and the horrific sights of acne. A fact that he is a little less happy to admit is his own imperfection as a god. This entire series as a whole—even including other pantheons’ deities—have been imperfect, acting human; even if they don’t like admitting to it. Apollo says himself that the other gods have definitely done not-so-perfect things in The Hidden Oracle. The gods are much like humans, for that’s what they were built on. Humanity. And Apollo is the protector of the young.

Perhaps his role as protector of the young makes him quite like a young boy. He may be 4612 years old as he claims, but in truth, he is still a young man. In his mortal form Lester, he is just that—a young man starting to emerge to adulthood. He is an intensely emotional teenager (perhaps due to the hormones, or just him himself, regarding the scene when everyone in Camp Half-Blood comes to embrace him and welcomes him and he does “ugly weeping”. He cries at kindness he would have never expected to get or give before his trials. He breaks down those lies of his own creation to be truly him.

Before the start of the Trials of Apollo, he acts with the facade of a spoiled, egoistical god, and not much different to the others who have been assimilated into Olympus. As he goes through these trials, he finds and frees more than the oracles he was tasked to free—he also steadily freed himself from the shell that was in fact just a net of his own lies. He refinds himself past his protective costume. The Apollo before his trials would have easily put himself in the form of the most gorgeous, attractive form ever. The Apollo after his trials however chose Lester, because it was like home. It was like him. As Lester and after, he had been more “Apollo” than he was as godly Apollo pre-ToA. He had cried and cared and loved more than he had openly done in the previous books. He has always been a caring character, shown in The Titan’s Curse when giving a ride to the questing demigods going to save his twin sister, but it appears that he hasn’t really made any real new relationships that he really felt a part of or really deserving of. However, as Lester? He made and found his new home.

I believe that he will keep the form of Lester in the future, even if it was originally made by an anonymous being as humiliation. He will keep it as a badge or symbol that he is a friend of the mortals below Olympus. He may also keep it as a reminder to himself, remembering all the important lessons he learned during those fateful six months. Aside from feeling like home, it’s also a good hidden metaphor written between the pages, symbolizing his own imperfections as a being, his mental and emotional age, and his true personality in actions. Lester is an amazing metaphorical physical representation of Apollo.

#yeah anyway I suck at English class could you tell #trials of apollo #lester papadopoulos #apollogists #essay thing #random thoughts

[meteor752]

The god hierarchy of the Dream SMP

So yeah I got thinking again.

The canon gods of the SMP are XD, god of quote unquote “Everything”, and Kristin the goddess of death. But, there’s also foolish, and other deities like the egg, so what is going on here? Well, here’s my little theory.

—-

So just like in many other mythologies, there’s a large pantheon of gods in the DSMP universe. Some minor ones include The Blood god, Drista goddess of chaos, and Philza, The Angel of death. These are all sub-species of the great quartet, or the big four if you will, and don’t really have any greater power over the world as a whole.

The big four consists of XD, god of creation, The Lady, goddess of death, Foolish, god of life, and [Redacted], god of destruction.

As you see, these four all exist in harmony, creating a circle. XD creates, Foolish gives life, [Redacted] destroys and The Lady takes care of their souls after their demise. They’re all one happy family.

Until Foolish leaves the great pantheon to become mortal, throwing everything into turmoil. It is unclear why Foolish gave up on his godhood, some ancient historians theories that he wanted peace, some say he wanted war, and some say he just wanted to build.

With a piece of their family missing, the system is in chaos. XD is forced to take on Foolish’ old duties of giving creatures and beings life, something that greatly upsets [Redacted]. Why should XD be gives more power than them and The Lady? The Lady has no qualms about this fact, she’s too busy breaking every rule possible to keep Foolish from entering her realm, just to give him eternal peace. Plus, this was when The Angel of Death was created and she’s a bit busy with that if ya know what I mean.

So [Redacted] is left to their own devices, to scheme and think to their hearts fullest content. They know that they’re not as powerful as the other two, with XD taking up two of the roles and The Lady having her own realm and billions of souls under her belt. But [Redacted] isn’t stupid, they’re the fucking god of destruction, and they know that they can take control if needed to.

So, they gain a new sort of power. The power to manipulate, and the power to control. Everyone who looks upon them immediately falls to their knees in awe, a willingness to devote and die for their god fining a place in their heart. The only people immune to their thrall is the creatures of there other gods, like XD’s Dreamons, The Lady’s undead, and Foolish’ villagers. Also yea I headcanon that they’re people of his creation, because come on. Dudes with big noses being obsessed with emeralds and peace?

And so [Redacted] spreads their destruction across the server, slowly taking soul after soul, block after block, until nothing remains but a barren blood red wasteland filled with brainwashed cultists. The Lady and XD are forced to act, but they can’t find themselves to kill [Redacted]. They’re like a sibling, a part of their holy quartet, and after loosing Foolish it would be too much to loose another.

So they encase [Redacted] in a vessel to conceal their destruction. A cocoon of sorts, or an egg if you will. [Redacted] is hidden deep underground, and they’re forever forgotten in history.

The Lady and XD can’t remove the destruction that The Egg caused, so they create a new realm to keep it all from spreading more. The mortals call it The Nether. All of the brainwashed people are sent there as well, as they can’t find a way to cure them. Overtime they evolve to adjust to the environment more, becoming creatures like Piglins, and Blazes, and Ghasts and Wither Skeletons. Some more powerful individuals evolve into Demons, terrifying creatures that are almost impossible to kill.

And life goes on. More people join the SMP. War is started, some are won and some are lost. The Lady’s Angel creates a family that all die off one by one. Some creature start to leave The Nether, such as a certain young and positive demon.

Foolish finds a place to live, permanently. XD checks in on him as often as he can, talking to him and entertaining him. Foolish has started to remember who he was, fragments and pieces only, and he demands of XD to be given his powers and godhood back. XD refuses, per Foolish own wishes from a long time ago, but after a while it becomes too hard to resist. He’s always been soft when it comes to Foolish sparkling green eyes and toothy shark grin.

And then a Demon finds The Egg. A descendant of one it their most loyal followers, taking up the role his ancestor played perfectly. Some other creatures, like a cat or a human get perused just as easily thanks to the Destruction blood flowing through their veins, while some take their time like a flower nymph, a creature of life.

And Foolish is killed. No one understands why, he’s supposed to be a god right? Why can some cat influenced by an egg take one of his lives?

Because the Egg is a god. Not just a god, it’s one of The Gods. The Big four are unkillable, to everyone but each other.

But because of his decision on mortality, Foolish is given a second chance. In fact, he’s gives a third chance as well, something to save for the future. Every god and deity are gives only one life, but Foolish is no longer a god, now is he?

—-

Yeah that ending sucked lol

Anyways, to summarize some things that didn’t fit here, in the beginning there were four sets of people, people of life, death, creation, and destruction. Over time the people have bred amongst each other, so most people of the SMP are mixes and hybrids, but there are some Purebloods. Dream is pure creation for example, as is George which is why XD is drawn to him. Every Nether person, such as Techno, Tina, Sapnap and Bad are pure destruction. Hannah and Purpled are pure life, giving them incredible survival skills, and Eret and Wilbur are both pure death. Sally was also pure life, giving Fundy and even 50/50 between life and death. Ranboo is similar, but with 50/50 of Creation and Destruction. Every revived person also become pure death, so while Tommy used to be mostly creation and Jack mostly destruction, they’re now 100% creatures of death.

Drista is a deity of XD, Philza a deity of The Lady, The Blood God a deity of [Redacted] and Prime a deity of Foolish.

Also I have no answer for The End, so after The Nether was created I guess XD just wanted his own realm to fuck around with. The Lady’s realm is Limbo, if that wasn’t obvious.

#dsmp #dream smp #dream smp theory #dream smp headcanons #Dream SMP essay #dream smp analysis #Dream SMP deity’s #DreamXD #The Egg #Mumza #Goddesss of death #Lady Death #kristin minecraft #foolish gamers #Badboyhalo #Technoblade #Drista #philza minecraft #The Blood good #Dreamons #Foolishxd #Antfrost #Punz #hannahxxrose #georgenotfound #Dream #Sapnap #tinakitten #Purpled #Wilbur Soot

[abookishdreamer]

Character Intro: Zeus (Kingdom of Ichor)

Nicknames- The Father of Olympius, The Silver King, King of Gods and Men, Skybreaker, Giver of Good by the people of Olympius

The Cruel One by Hera

Daddy by Hebe

Father by Athena, Hermes, Ella, & Dion

Pop by Apollo and Artemis

The Inseminator by Eris and Ares

King of Bastards by Hephaestus

God of One-Night Stands by Gelos

Boss by Nike, Bia, Kratos, & Zelus

Baby Daddy by Aphrodite

Little Bro by Poseidon

Asshole by Hades

Age- 20 (immortal)

Location- The Royal Palace, New Olympus

Personality- Zeus is arrogant, full of himself, cold, and cruel as the ruler of his country. The role as a King (and god) is taken very seriously by him. He's unforgiveable to those he considers his enemies, and those who disrespect the royal family and godly pantheon. He's a self-proclaimed ladies' man- through his many sordid affairs, conquests, one night stands, and girlfriends that fuels the constant rumor mill. He's known to show a softer side towards his many, many children.

As the god of thunder and lightning, he has divine control over both static and celestial electricity. His wide range of powers/abilities include aerokinesis, audiokinesis, flight, electrokinesis, atmokinesis (for example, he can summon hurricanes, mighty tornadoes, & even scorching sandstorms), shapeshifting into/communicating with avian creatures, & teleportation (through a flash of lightning).

Zeus lives in a sprawling opulent palace that is situated on the country's biggest natural landmark- Mt. Olympus. It's a towering feat of marble & gold. It has well over 300 rooms including a large central room paved with Imperial Gold. This room acts as a council chamber (for gov't meetings) as well as a feasting hall. His throne is a visual feat. It's made up of platinum with engravings of lightning bolts on the side. The arms of the chair are eagle heads. He owns many species of eagles & pegasi as pets!

There's a dazzling 600 ft. statue of him near the Lightning Harbor- the naval entryway to New Olympus.

Notable physical features of his includes his short silver blond hair and his clear shock blue eyes.

Zeus was the only child that wasn't eaten by Kronos. Despite feeling weak after giving birth, Rhea wanted to be successful in saving one of her children. She left him in a cave where he was found and raised by an oread named Amalthea (he called her "Mama Alma" as a child).

He doesn't like thinking back on how he grew up. Zeus remembers dark gray skies exploding with constant storms, witnessing more than his fair share of executions & beheadings, all ordered by the Titan King Kronos (who was the tyrannical dictator ruler of the country- previously named Titanius). The country was in the midst of an unforgiving war & he constantly moved around to avoid being enlisted in the draft. He became aware of his true identity and lineage on his 15th birthday. He was working on a neighbor's farm to earn extra money when an old beggar approached him, asking for some shelter from the rain. Feeling sorry for her, Zeus gave her shelter in the manger & gave her a hot meal. The beggar gave him thanks, suddenly transforming into this beautiful woman with rich olive skin and long lustrous dark hair. She introduced herself as his biological mother Rhea, The Titan Queen. She told him everything about his biological father Kronos and his imprisoned brothers. She said that he was the country's only hope- and the rest is history.

Another dark time in Zeus' past was the death of his adoptive mother a few months before the end of the Titanomachy.

Even though he's not in contact with his mother, Zeus does consider his employees- the twin sisters Bronte (goddess of thunder) & Astrape (goddess of lightning) as maternal figures with The Litae being a close second.

The most important law (to him) that he passed was the Titan Executive Order. All the Titans (except Kronos) were granted amnesty (due to surrendering or fighting in Zeus' army), but their godly abilities (not immortality) were considerably weakened. Zeus also considers himself freeing the cyclops & hecatoncheires from their imprisonment in Tartarus to be in his top ten moments.

To anyone that owns a flying creature as a pet (griffin, pegasus, hippogriff, or dragon), they must obtain a special license from Zeus, that allows them to fly in his domain of the sky.

His most prized possession- his lightning bolt, can also shapeshift into a smartphone.

He's one busy King! He has a plethora of business conglomerates- a private security company, an airline (Bolt Air- which is used by millions of people everyday), restaurants (fast food- Olympic Chef & upscale- The Crown), hotels, resorts, real estate, bars, nightclubs (Ethereal), strip clubs, car dealerships, a men's fashion empire (Platinum Alchemy), a men's magazine, amusement parks (Firebolt theme park), & a women's lingerie line (Heavenly Spark). Zeus is also a judge on the Grand Olympian Court.

Aside from the palace, Zeus has many other properties scattered throughout Olympius- his favorite being his beach house in Shimmering Tail Island. He has his wildest parties there!

His go-to drink is a royal treatment (a drink made with pineapple flavored vodka, triple sec, coconut milk, and lemon-lime soda). Zeus also enjoys martinis, New Olympus Iced Teas, energy drinks, lemonade margaritas, Strengthify ionized water, classic martinis, mimosas, & champagne.

He hasn't forgiven Hera (goddess of women & marriage) for the role she played during the Olympians' Rebellion. Some say that was the real downturn in their marriage.

The true number of his children is unknown. Zeus stopped counting after 100. Regardless, he loves all his children (even though he has trouble showing it most times). He considers Athena (goddess of wisdom), Hebe (goddess of youth), Apollo (god of the sun, music, poetry, healing, medicine, archery, plague, light, & knowledge), and Hermes as his favorites. One of his biggest regrets was abandoning his son Hephaestus (god of the forge). He also doesn't take pleasure in knowing that his love life directly affects the children he has with his wife, especially Eileithyia (goddess of childbirth). Zeus is currently not on speaking terms with his son Ares (god of war)- the two of them always having a volatile relationship.

In the pantheon, he's not in contact at all with his paternal grandmother Gaia (goddess of the earth), his mother Rhea (Titaness of fertility, motherhood, & comfort), or his uncles Oceanus (Titan god of the sea) and Krios (Titan god of stars & constellations)- whose current location is unknown, despite him checking all the locations of The Underworld ten times over. His relationship with his brothers are a mixed bag- especially with Hades (god of the dead).

Surprisingly, he doesn’t have many friends. Zeus is friends with Chrysos (god of gold & riches), Zelus (god of envy, jealousy, & zeal), Kratos (god of strength), Boreas (god of the north wind), Nike (goddess of victory), and Bia (goddess of force & power).

His love life has garnered attention (mostly infamous) for as long as he can remember. Zeus' current longtime girlfriend is Thetis, a popular nereid model. His past flames include Leto (Titaness of demurity & motherhood); mother to Apollo & Artemis, Maia (one of The Pleiades); mother to Hermes, Dione, Selene (Titaness of the moon), Io, Semele (a mortal); mother to Dionysus, and Leda (a mortal); mother to his son Pollux. Zeus also used to have feelings for Themis (Titaness of justice). Zeus loves showering the many women in his life (romantically, familial, and platonically) with gifts.

In his free time, Zeus likes going to high class and gold carpet events (usually with several women on his arm). He frequents bars, nightclubs, and strip clubs often. He also likes to free sky-dive, cloud surf, work out, go to the spa, jog, play video games, ski, snowboard, play hockey, football (soccer), tennis, basketball, golf, & spending time with his kids whenever he can.

His favorite meal (from his childhood that Mama Alma used to make) is moussaka (added with artichokes). He makes it every year on Thanksgiving. He also has a weakness for golden crispy fried chicken (especially Hestia's recipe!).

His favorite dessert is the soft & airy white cake (with vanilla bean mascarpone buttercream frosting). He also likes the vanilla bean truffle bourbon ice cream from Cocktails on Ice.

Zeus (alongside Hera) hosts the annual Summer Solstice Ball at the palace, where the country's elite is in attendance.

He also permits that the palace double as a museum every weekend for tourists to learn about Olympian history. He loves showing off his lightning bolt to the visitors!

"No one will ever be as mighty a god or King, as me."

#my oc #zeus #oc character #my character #my oc character #oc intro #character intro #oc introduction #character introduction #modern greek gods #modern greek mythology #greek myth retellings #greek gods #zeus greek mythology #zeus greek god #zeus deity #greek mythology #greek pantheon

[mountphoenixrp]

We have a new citizen in Mount Phoenix:

                                  Benten, the Goddess of Fortune,                            whose origins stem from Ancient Japan.                          She is now the owner of Halo Salon & Spa.

FC NAME/GROUP: park choa, ex-aoa GOD NAME: benten PANTHEON:  japanese OCCUPATION: owner of halo HEIGHT: 160 cm (5'3) WEIGHT: 42 kg (92 lbs) DEFINING FEATURES: N/A

PERSONALITY: Ben is very friendly and often find themselves in company of very different people. They are selfless and always willing to help others, a very fine intent for as long as they don’t expect anything much in return. This goddess is empathetic to others needs and wants somewhat feel a deep sense of responsibility to those around them. She loves listening to other stories, hopes, dreams and wishes maybe subtly help them achieve if she believes they are good person.

Every little thing is important to her, she keeps things journal keeping trinkets to remember memories of old. Ben can be counted on to remember birthdays and special occasions, uphold traditions, and shower their loved ones with gestures of care and support. The goddess tends to withhold what she's feeling others then often express it through a melancholy song on her lute as she never always find the right words to express how she truly feels.

HISTORY: Once upon a time, the dragon-king of Munetsuchi had the third daughter named Benzaiten they came from the lake of the center of the world. A deity of everything that flows: speech, knowledge, music, and water. The most important role is being one of Seven Lucky Gods, sailing the heavens Takarabune ( Treasure Ship ) with her siblings visiting human ports giving them good fortune in the beginning of the new year. She loved playing biwa lute for her family as they travelled, always such merry band of misfits. They all had their roles to play, the art of them truly shown how they happy they were together yet as years went by their roles changed.

The day when the fierce dragon who terrorized the people along the coast of Kanagawa, named Gozuru set eyes on the goddess and fell in love, Benzaiten only agreed to marry, on the condition that he stop his violent behavior. She created Enoshima Island as her home, lay down her roots wanting a peaceful calm life. As much she enjoyed her yearly trips with her siblings, she wanted a place to call home. Over time, both the dragon and Benzaiten became be protectors of the entire region gifting them good fortune. Alas, Gozuru passed away he lay down beneath, that was the moment Benten left the island to travel the world.

In her travels, she found so many shrines dedicated to herself, it warms her heart seeing how many mortals still worshiped her gifting her offerings in the hope of finding love or fortune, or both. Benzaiten would be more happy to bestow good fortune onto them, she can’t change their destiny yet she can bless little luck on their side. Being the sentimental goddess she was, Ben loved writing in her journal about the encounters with humans even other deities as time changed, she changed it to scrapbooking as she wishes to remember every little precious moment. The goddess always had big heart, love affairs of many even her children were blessing too.

Whispers about a place where she could find her children, where other gods as made themselves at home. She leaped at the opportunity thus made her way to Mount Phoenix, taking the ownership over Halo, salon & spa. Every day is good hair day when Ben is around, it was perfect way to pamper people to make them feel wonderful hopefully with little bit of lady luck on their day, they will get that one perfect day.

POWERS: She has incredibly good fortune ( luck is on the side ) the goddess have no control over this power as things considered "lucky" randomly and unexpectedly happens to them despite any predestined fate or logical reason.

She can temporarily bestow some of their own good luck upon others for a short period of time. Benten usual application is blessing the water she either washes the person hair with or simply puts into their drink.

STRENGTHS:

Generally good things tend to happen to the goddess and tends to quickly slip out of bad situations

She usually knows how to make the best out of a situation, always picking the right choice by chance.

Sometimes she doesn't even bestow luck onto people, instead she is good at supporting and instilling confidence into the person.

Naturally skilled in the arts from dancing, playing musical instruments and painting.

If she is well connected with the person she is bestowing the luck on, she can identify what they are unlucky in and there is more chance ( not 100% ) the luck granted would help them drastically.

WEAKNESSES:

She has no control over the things considered lucky and unexpected happenings.

People tend to have back luck around her to balance out the laws' positive & negative outcomes.

She is a highly sensitive emotional goddess who is prone to being overwhelmed especially if she sees others infected with bad luck.

The luck bestowed on a person is only temporary, it tends to last about 3 days.

Her powers are tied with her emotions depending how she feels about the person depending how potent the luck. Random strangers or people she doesn't like will end up getting no luck, even bad luck in way. .

#kpop rp #krp #aoa #park choa #aoa choa #mp; welcome

[cathygeha]

REVIEW

Norse Mythology by Kelsey A. Fuller-Shafer PHD

The Gods, Goddesses, and Heroes Handbook

From Vikings to Valkyries, An Epic Who’s Who in Old Norse Mythology

Beautifully illustrated, well-written, easy to follow look into a topic I have always wanted to know more about. This book is one that cannot be read and remembered in its entirety in one sitting…not if you want to know all the characters and how they fit into the world they inhabit. I can see myself adding this book to my mythology collection and returning to it often till I am sure I know who is who in this pantheon and what each of their stories is.

The first section of this book deals with the WHAT of Norse Mythology and where the information comes from. As with the Bible, the stories were written down after a long history of narrative telling and not first hand historical recordings. I learned what Vikings really were and what era they pirated about in and then learned more about Norse vs Scandinavian and a few other tidbits. This section included the creation myth, talked about the nine realms and their relation to the Life Tree, and discussed Ragnarok as the destruction myth.

Section two introduced the Aesir and Vanir – Gods and Goddesses of the Pantheon. Here I learned that immortality was not a given and that these entities had quite a few rather human issues to contend with, too. They lived higher up in the realm on the tree than others

Section three brings in the Jotun (Giants) and other villains or antagonists that play parts in the stories found in this mythology.

Section four finishes off with human heroes and a bit about each one that made it into the book. I was most interested in King Harald because I have been reading about him recently and also wanted to read about Egil One-Hand as I wanted to see if this might be related to Otto of the Silver Hand that I read long ago. My take on Egil and Otto was that they both lost a hand and came up with a way to make a device to use in place of the hand that was no more there.

Each section’s characters are easily found with the name at the top of the page, alternative names they were known by, what they were known for-alternative translations, and who they were related to. Characters sections also included what was important about them and a section on what one should remember about them. A the end of the book there is a list for further reading and an index.

I enjoyed this book and thank NetGalley and Simon & Schuster – Adams Media for the ARC.

5 Stars

BLURB

Discover the gods, goddesses, and heroes from Norse mythology with this beautiful handbook that captures the ancient stories that captivated the Vikings. Learn more about your favorite Norse gods, goddesses, and heroes with this collection of profiles that share the real stories behind the characters. With characters from Norse myths coming to life on the big and small screens, and in the pages of new and exciting fiction, this guide can give you all the details you need to understand your favorite heroes, villains, and powerful deities. With comprehensive entries that outline each character’s names, roles, related symbols, and foundational myths, you can get to know the roots of these personas, and better understand the new stories we tell about them today.

#Kelsey A. Fuller-Shafer PHD #Norse Mythology #NetGalley #Simon & Schuster #Adams Media #Mythology

[a-god-in-ruins-rises]

6, 7, 8, 9, 13. About number 8 could you also talk about how you feel about UPG in the first place?

okay. sorry for taking so long to get to this. had a lot to do today and i wanted to give these questions thoughtful answers.

6. Are there Gods you willfully don’t follow? What are the reasons behind this choice?

sorta? i mean, obviously there are the gods of pantheons i don't adhere to which actively excludes non-indo-european gods. other than that there are some chaos/trickster gods, like loki or eris, that i don't regularly worship, though i still pay respect and make offerings when appropriate. as for why not, to me these gods just represent misfortune and strife and calamity. and i can respect that and i understand they have their role, but it's not exactly something i want to actively invite into my life.

7. What does your ideal altar look like?

answered here

8. What are some of your stronger UPG’s?

i have lots of upgs. one is this idea that that there is this connection between saturn and the hypercosmic sun and mithra and dionysus and pan. i wrote a schizopost about it a long time ago. i have it somewhere but i'd have to find it. another is that the gods "moved" from the old world to the new world. obviously i don't think the gods are necessarily physically limited and i'm not saying they can't be accessed in the old world or anything like that. but i do think some places are more closely/powerfully connected to the divine than others and i believe the new world, especially america, is such a place. i've talked about how i believe america is the "land of cronus" that plutarch spoke about. and similarly that when the great god pan "died" (i believe this was a lie, perhaps a trick played by pan himself) he actually "moved" to america/the land of cronus. and then, on top of all this, i believe these gods are connected to america's "nature's god" or "providence" or "creator." as for how i feel about upgs in general...my default disposition is a healthy dose of skepticism. but based on a variety of factor i might be receptive or i might not. in my experience the vast majority of upgs i've seen are cringe and i can't take them seriously. but a good portion of them i feel neutral about and some i even agree with.

9. Do you have a patron/matron? How did you choose them?

i don't have a singular patron exactly. but i do have some gods i am more devoted to than others. like the ones i mentioned earlier -- saturn, dionysus, mithras, and pan -- but also zeus and apollo and athena and hermes. then i also have some other lesser known gods i am devoted to like phanes and zagreus and aion. and i should also say that this includes the equivalent counterparts in the other indo-european pantheons. like odin and mithra and mitra-varuna and indra and agni and so on.

probably cliche to say but i don't feel like i chose them, they chose me. through a combination of visions and contemplation and study these gods (and others i didn't specify) called out to me and drew me to them.

13. What are some devotional acts you actively engage in?

like i mentioned in another ask: prayer, offerings, contemplation, meditation, almsgiving/charity, observing holidays, venerating my ancestors, honoring the gods, living according to my values, studying, creating (writing, art and crafts, self-improvement), pilgrimages, achievements, fasting, etc. the list goes on. i think almost anything, with the proper intention/dedication, could be a devotional act. even something like just cooking a meal and feeding loved ones. one thing i'd like to do more of is irl communal worship.