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cosmerelists · 8 months

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Cosmere Characters as the Twelve Olympians

[Spoilers throughout! Please assume that each entry will contain spoilers for the character mentioned through the most recent book for that character--aka, spoilers for Rhythm of War in the Navani entry, spoilers for Warbreaker in the Blushweaver entry, etc.]

Hey look, I’m using my Classical Studies PhD for something! :D Anyway, here’s my take on which Cosmere characters would be best suited to take on the roles of various gods from the Greek Pantheon. And yes, there are 13 here since like everything in Greek mythology, the canon members of the Olympic Pantheon are disputed.

1. Zeus: Gavilar (Stormlight Archives)

Zeus is the head of Olympian gods, the king of kings, and a Grade A jerk-ass who is often cruel to his wife, lovers, kids, etc. Gavilar has a lot in common! In the Theogony, Zeus ends a generations-long war among the gods through force and cleverness, much as Gavilar “unites” Alethkar. Zeus is held up as the emblematic king, and Gavilar is now a kingly symbol as well. Yet in his private life, Zeus is a total asshole to his wife Hera and is cruel to any of his kids that he sees as “flawed” (like tossing Hephaestus right over the side of Olympus). Gavilar is abusive towards Navani and not a great father either. So in terms of both accomplishments & flaws, Gavilar would make a great Zeus. That’s not a compliment.

2. Hera: Jasnah (Stormlight Archives)

[Note: the relationships among the gods are disregarded for this list! I’m not saying Jasnah is married to her father!]

Hera is the queen of the gods, and she does tend to get a bad rap in mythology; most of her stories are about her jealously tormenting various women whose only crime is being assaulted by Zeus. But in general, Hera is a protector of women and a standard of femininity: in her cult and in her statuary, she is regality and femininity personified. Jasnah is always meticulous in her presentation and looks like the ideal Alethi woman. In her scholarship she promotes and protects women, but she is also no stranger to resorting to violence when she deems it necessary--sometimes violence that others may feel is too far. Like when she kills a bunch of criminals to teach Shallan Philosophy or when she literally has an assassin on retainer, planning to kill Aesudan. Jasnah may not act out of jealousy as Hera usually does, but both of them are perfectly willing to kill in service of larger aims. Also, much as Hera has a bad reputation, so too is Jasnah denigrated as a heretic. And finally, Jasnah is now literally the queen.

3. Poseidon: Queen Fen or Kaladin (Stormlight Archives)

Man, I really had a hard time with Poseidon, god of the sea and patron of sailors. In terms of the sea-faring aspect, Queen Fen felt the closest: she rules a coastal city and is literally a patron of sailors. So she works in a literal sense.

If we’re thinking of Poseidon more as “the other powerful one” (since Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades are the three brothers who divide control of the world) and as the “earth-shaker,” then I could see an argument for Kaladin. Kaladin is closely associated with the Stormfather, who does all of the earth-shaking and storm-brewing on Roshar, and Kaladin rides his storm. But mostly, I’m not gonna lie, I just think it would be funny for Kaladin to be the god of horses.

4. Demeter: Raboniel or Rlain (Stormlight Archives)

Demeter is the goddess of agriculture, so Raboniel was probably not your first thought. But listen, the Hymn to Demeter concentrates on how Demeter reacts to her daughter Persephone being taken by Hades. Demeter first searches frantically, then simply halts all agriculture until Zeus is ready to negotiate. And when I think of someone who will do literally anything to help her daughter, no matter who might be harmed in the process...I honestly think Raboniel, who created a god-killing weapon that could be used against her own people in order to end the suffering of her daughter. Plus, Demeter is both someone who halts all agriculture, dooming humanity, but also tries to turn a baby into a god in thanks for a human family’s hospitality. And Raboniel too is both ruthless and oddly generous to those she respects, as her relationship with Navani demonstrates.

Or there is Rlain, who is currently helping the people of Urithiru figure out how to farm through singing, much as Demeter taught agriculture to Triptolemus. Plus, Rlain lived among the humans as a spy, which reminds me somewhat of Demeter living among the humans while pretending to be one. And Demeter does try to bridge the human-divine gap by turning baby Demophon into a god, and Rlain is trying to bring humans & singers together.

5. Aphrodite: Blushweaver (Warbreaker)

Aphrodite is the goddess of love and sex, and Blushweaver really is the obvious counterpart here. Like Aphrodite, Blushweaver is a gorgeous, well, goddess who is open about her sexuality and who embraces pleasure. Especially in her Roman incarnation, Aphrodite is also a guide and supporter for her heroic son Aeneas, which is somewhat similar to Blushweaver’s role in getting Lightsong to, well, get off his ass and do something. Finally--and forgive me in advance--in the Iliad Aphrodite tries to get involved in the Trojan War and it goes badly for her, and Blushweaver also meets a bad end after trying to be involved in martial politics. Although, like, Aphrodite just gets stabbed in the hand and Blushweaver dies so the two aren’t that similar.

6. Athena: Azure or Jasnah (Stormlight Archives)

Athena is the goddess of war and wisdom--so more like strategy and cunning in war, rather than sheer violence (for that, please see Ares below). Athena leaps fully formed from Zeus’ head, already fully armed, and is the patron of heroes like Odysseus. From the perspective of her men, Captain Azure just sort of appears and seizes charge of the city guard, and she uses both good strategic sense and fighting prowess to protect the city. She also dominates in the traditionally male field of warfare and helps out a bunch of men, which are things Athena also does.

But I also want to recognize that Jasnah would make a good Athena if I hadn’t already used Jasnah for Hera, which is my personal preference. Jasnah has the intelligence, the wisdom, and the sheer fighting prowess (she fights on the front lines in one book). Jasnah also nourishes a hero (Shallan) which again suits Athena.

7. Artemis: Shallan (Stormlight Archives)

Artemis is the goddess of the hunt and of wild nature. The “hunting” aspect first drew me to Shallan, considering that as a member of the Ghostbloods, Shallan is always hunting something or someone. Shallan also has a keen interest in nature, studying cremlings for fun, going on archaeological missions to the Shattered Plains, and being sad when that chasmfiend that was trying to eat them died. Artemis is also no stranger to bloody violence, like when she turned Acteon into a deer to be torn apart by his own dogs (ouch) because he spied on her bathing. And Shallan is no stranger to poetic justice, as when she strangles her own father with the necklace he gifted her.

8. Apollo: Lightsong or Renarin (Warbreaker, Stormlight Archives)

Apollo is the god of light, music, prophecy, and healing. I have to use Lightsong here given that his name SCREAMS Apollo--light and song! Plus, Lightsong has the powers of prophecy and of healing, and he is a fan of beauty and luxury. Lightsong is also super hot, as Apollo (knows that he) is.

Renarin is another character who possesses both future sight and healing powers, which is an Apollo-esque combo. I will say that I don’t see as much of a match personality-wise between Apollo and Renarin, since I like Renarin whereas Apollo does things like curse Cassandra for not having sex with him and hunts Daphne until she has to turn into a tree to escape. Like, Renarin literally would never.

9. Ares: Dalinar or Vin (Stormlight Archives, Mistborn)

Athena is the god of strategy in war, whereas Ares is the god of combat itself, in the sense of sheer, unrelenting, somewhat mindless violence. Honestly, the Thrill in the Stormlight books would be a good approximation of Ares’ power: it gives a person incredible fighting prowess, but with no real sense of any larger concerns of strategy or logic. So Dalinar as a fighter who understands and has embraced the Thrill would make a good Ares--a more tempered one than the Ares of mythology, if we’re being honest. And in a similar vein, Vin is also very, very good at wreaking incredible havoc. She slices through entire armies, cuts people in half with swords, kills a god...she would also make an excellent Ares. And since Vin basically has godlike status as of Mistborn Era 2, she’s nearly in this role already!

10. Hephaestus: Navani (Stormlight Archives)

Hephaestus is a craftsman god, especially blacksmithing and metalworking. He also has an unhappy marriage, as he is married to Aphrodite who barely gives him the time of day in most stories (she’s busy getting it on with Ares). Navani is an inventor of fabrials and a patron of others. She’s the one who manages to invent god-killing weapons in Rhythm of War, which is very Hephaestus-coded. She’s also no stranger to an unhappy marriage with a spouse who mistreats her. Finally, one little story about Hephaestus in the Iliad is how he keeps the peace among the bickering Olympians, which is reminiscent of how Navani has to keep the peace among the Alethi nobility back when Gavilar used to leave all of that to her.

11. Hermes: Hoid (all books)

In the Hymn to Hermes, Hermes is a trickster figure with one goal in mind: getting admitted to Olympus by any means necessary. And he does this by tormenting Apollo with various tricks, all the while taking advantage of the fact that he just born yesterday--how could Hermes the innocent little baby do anything bad?? Anyway. Hoid is also a trickster figure who loves disguises and false names and doing whatever is necessary to get what he wants. Hermes is also an inventor and storyteller, and Hoid has those qualities as well. Finally, Hermes in other iterations is a guide, someone who can lead a hero through dark places. And Hoid takes on that role too, guiding people like Shallan or Kaladin through some of the darkest periods of their lives.

12. Hestia: Rock (Stormlight Archives)

Hestia is the goddess of hearth and home, and she’s associated with the fire in the hearth. To me, this is reminiscent of Rock whose stew is the central place of belonging for Bridge 4. Rock also does not fight--and neither does Hestia, who is one of the few gods who lacks any mythology about vengeance or violence. Instead, Hestia is the deity who makes sure you have a home.

13. Dionysus: Adolin (Stormlight Archives)

Dionysus is the god of wine, indulgence, and gender fuckery. And I know the obvious candidates for a Dionysus are the Returned from Warbreaker, but I’ve already used them. And I think I can make a case for Adolin! Adolin likes his wine and his women, and thanks to his relationship with his mom, he acts in ways that seem unmasculine to the Alethi--like being more physically affectionate and emotive. And Dionysus too had an un-Greek heritage that made the Greeks read him as foreign in the Bacchae. Plus, Dionysus does ultimately end up in a stable relationship with Ariadne, much like Adolin with Shallan. Finally, Dionysus is something of a shit-stirrer; when he shows up in Bacchae he turns that town upside down. And let’s not forget how Adolin murdered a high prince and is one of the few main characters to have not bonded a spren. He goes his own way. Sometimes violently. But mostly he knows what he likes and he’s not afraid to show it.

#cosmere #cosmerelists #Gavilar #Jasnah #Fen #Kaladin #Raboniel #Rlain #Blushweaver #Lightson #Renarin #Adolin #Shallan #Azure #Dalinar #Vin #Navani #Hoid #Rock

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that-ari-blogger · 5 months

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Medusa, A Myth Set In Stone?

CW: Mention of sexual assault.

Medusa is possibly the single most iconic monster from Ancient Greek Mythology. To the point where if you are writing a story drawing from that history, you need to namedrop her at least once. Stray Gods: The Role Playing Musical includes her as a character, although that's actually a confusing addition.

Stray Gods is about family, and trauma, and choice, and Medusa doesn't have a direct link to that. Does she? We'll get back to this.

Medusa's mythology is varied, and adaptations pick and choose elements to include. So, this post will take a look at how Stray Gods goes about adapting her to fit its themes and narrative. But I'd like to examine the musical in comparison to another take on the character that I found fascinating. One Piece, and Boa Hancock.

Let me explain.

SPOILERS AHEAD

The first thing to point out about Medusa is that she's not a historical figure, she's a mythological one. So there is no exact character to draw on. Also, because Ancient Greece was such a diverse place, the myth has also diversified.

So, lets start with what we know. Medusa has snakes for hair. Well... no. In his Theogony, Hesiod described her and her sisters as women with snakes hanging from their belts.

She had sisters? Yes. Two of them. They were all the daughters of Phorcys and Ceto, both primordial sea deities.

I've found references to older stories in which she couldn't petrify people, only kill them. But these references are dubious and do not cite their sources. Which is frustrating.

This all leads to Ovid, who wrote Metamorphoses. And before I explain his take on this, I need to point out his biases. Ovid was a Roman poet who lived until the 1st century AD (notably seven centuries after Medusa's first reference), and he was exiled from Rome during the writing of his most famous work, according to Britanica.

As such, Metamorphoses has a tendency to either embellish or completely make up features of stories, as well as being noticeably anti-authoritarian and anti-deity. The gods in Metamorphosis are more callous than usual. For example, this is the book in which the usually level-headed Athena turns a lady into a spider, simply for addressing Zeus' infidelity.

The point is: In my opinion, Ovid seems to have gone out of his way to make the gods and goddesses of ancient Greek mythology seem as cruel and impersonal as possible.

Which finally leads us to Medusa. In Ovid's tale, Medusa is a beautiful woman who earns the attention of Poseidon who sexually assaults her in Athena's temple. Athena then decides to punish Medusa for this and transforms her into the snake haired monster that the modern world recognises.

Later interpretations have pretty much used this story, but with one majour adjustment brought on by poet Percy Shelley's On The Medusa Of Leonardo DaVinci in the Florentine Gallery. The transformation by Athena becomes a blessing, not a curse. Athena bestowed upon Medusa a way of protecting herself. As Dr Emily Zarka put it in the youtube video, Medusa, Victim Or Villain?:

"A creature that could literally turn the leering male gaze back on itself."

Boa Hancock is one of the most interesting characters in One Piece who isn't a Strawhat. There is so much going on with her character that I can't mention here because this is meant to be a post about Stray Gods. If you want a full breakdown of the character, @melonteee has a fantastic video on the subject, that I would highly recommend.

In essence, Boa is a victim. She was forced to eat the devil fruit for the entertainment of the world government, so now she has a distrust of men and an ability to turn people to stone. The medusa references in her story are not subtle, and the allegory inherent in being forced to eat the fruit is rather blatant.

The interesting thing about Boa is how she is introduced. Boa is initially shown as a terrible human being. She kicks a small animal for the fun of it, because she is evil, and because she can get away with it. People look at her and just see her beauty, and they expect things of her. They don't care to look at the story or the character or the trauma, it's just the beauty. People within One Piece do this, and an uncomfortable amount of people who read or watch it have the same view of her.

Boa is a protector, Amazon Lilly is her home, and she protects it from shame, and from trauma. She protects her people from having to bear the same scars as her, physically and psychologically.

That's why she acts the way she does and dresses the way she does, its a mask to draw attention, to scare people away. Like Medusa, she weaponises the idolisation of beauty in order to protect.

Contrast this with Stray Gods, and the Medusa portrayed by Anjali Bhimani. And we see a remarkably similar take on the character.

This is a character with a level of self-loathing that render the entirety of the rest of the cast egomaniacal, but that is almost hidden by a veneer of confidence.

Medusa slithers as she walks. She gets close to Grace and in her face, she's revelling in her power. But the second Grace pushes the right buttons, that entire demeanour changes. Those buttons being two words: Monster and Athena.

This is why Medusa is in the story. Because the relationship between her and Athena is, at least in my reading, analogous to an abusive parent and child dynamic. Athena professes to protect Medusa, but she is the reason Medusa is the way she is, she controls Medusa's every move, and Medusa fears what might happen if Athena would find out about her actions.

I said Medusa and Boa are similar, and I meant it. Both put up a facade of confidence as a means of defence. And when that facade cracks, then we see what that character truly is.

"Don't look at me"

Medusa couldn't be further from her facade. That's what this line signifies, the transition from "look into me" to "don't look at me" shows in no uncertain terms the breaking away of that mask. Although it does come back for a brief moment, in a fascinating way.

"You're lost little girl, no more Hail Mary's"

This is a repeated line in the musical, the idea of being directionless. We keep hearing it, in variations of the same tune. And now we hear Medusa say it. But there's two things going on here.

First up, this is projecting, Medusa is lost, and she is shifting the blame for that onto Grace.

Second, this is just what others have said. Medusa is simply repeating what she has heard and has no defence of her own.

"The "not unhot" girl is you, the monster is me"

Medusa is clutching onto her idea of self, she has to be the monster, because otherwise everything Athena did to her was unwarranted. She has to have deserved it, right? She's rationalising, and projecting, and avoiding.

I've seen people do this in real life.

The mirror is a fascinating little detail here. The visual focus of a large portion of this song is the flipping between who is in the mirror and who is on the outside. Because the two characters are trying to connect, and they are mirrors of each other as victims of Athena's meddling.

The wording of Grace's offer here is interesting.

"Appollo could get you free"

Not cure or fix, but free. That's what Medusa needs, freedom.

In conclusion, Medusa is a monster and Medusa is also a woman and a victim and many other things. Those who say a story must abide by the canon of mythology don't understand mythology at all. There is no canon. Sure, stick to the spirit of the myth, don't make the minotaur into a bird, but a character like Medusa can be anything, and adapting the myth isn't remotely a new thing. Ovid did it, One Piece did it, and Stray Gods has done it. All of them taking a different part of the myth and creating a story out of it for their own purposes.

I am excited to see who tries their hand at it next.

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#rants #literary analysis #literature analysis #character analysis #what's so special about...?#greek mythology #stray gods #one piece #stray gods medusa #stray gods the roleplaying musical #stray gods the musical #one piece boa hancock #one piece analysis #medusa

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historyhermann · 11 months

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Gods' School Review

Gods' School is an indie animated series. It has elements of fantasy, mythology, and romance. 2D French animator Gaylord Cuvillier Philippe Libessart is the series creator. It received support from the French National Center for Cinema and Animation in 2018. Currently, seven episodes have aired on YouTube. This review will have spoilers.

Reprinted from Pop Culture Maniacs and Wayback Machine. This was the thirty-fifth article I wrote for Pop Culture Maniacs. This post was originally published on June 13, 2023.

This series, which began airing in January 2019, is centered on Olympian gods. It is inspired by Greek mythology in Homer's Iliad and Hesiod's Theogony. The primary protagonist, Eris (voiced by Morgan Berry), is a teenage goddess of discord trying to find her place among the gods on Mount Olympus. This all changes when she meets Paris (voiced by Brandon Winckler), a young human on Mount Olympus. Both contend with the goddesses of beauty and love (Aphrodite), wisdom and battle (Athena), and marriage and family (Hera). Eris is helped by a sphinx named Sfiga (voiced by Lizzie Freeman).

The animation of this series is smooth, which fits with the adorable and cool nature of the animation itself, and its talented voice cast. Apart from those previously mentioned, there's Lizzie Freeman, Kira Buckland, Keenan Spencer, and Deneen Melody, who voice Aphrodite, Athena, Hera, and Demeter respectfully. Others, such as Melissa Sternberg, Ivy Dupler, Michele Knotz, Sean Chiplock, and Griffin Puatu lend their voices to the characters of Eos, Iris, Minthe, Persephone "Poppy", Apollo, and Ares, to give a few examples of the many characters within this series.

The first episode of Gods' School throws the viewer right into the action. Smart alecky talking columns, known as caryatids, claim to be sacred guardians of Olympus. They are hilariously scared off by Sfiga. It is easy to be drawn into the story, whether interpersonal conflicts or relationships between the gods. The story is set up so the viewer sympathizes with Eris, when Hera claims she is sneaky and cruel.

This exuberance is offset by the snobbishness of some goddesses, who detest humans, and jealousy. The latter is the case in the competition between Minthe and Persephone "Poppy", who both like Hades. In some ways, Gods' School shares themes with Lore Olympus, an ongoing popular webcomic by Rachel Smythe, although her webcomic has a fundamentally different perspective. As for Gods' School, these themes are reinforced by a careful focus on drama and music. The latter by Gold Tiger and SleepWalker.

Unlike other series based in Greek mythology, the characters in this series are all teenagers, and in a school environment like that Ever After High, except it is not as glitzy. As such, it is markedly tamer than mature series like Blood of Zeus. It is more akin to Disney series in that kids and family could watch this series with ease. This is not a surprise since the show's creator has said that Ariel, in The Little Mermaid (recently in the news because the live-action film adaptation), is his favorite character.

The importance of setting boundaries is a key theme. This is shown through Poppy's push against romantic advances by Hades. Eris also tells Paris to not touch Sfiga and treat her like a cat (and pet), but a living being. Gods' School makes clear that possessiveness is not acceptable. For instance, Poppy, who is easily influenced and intimidated, is pressured by Minthe, to leave Hades alone. Although Minthe declares that Hades is hers exclusively, Poppy still wants to be with Hades.

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Like other fictional school environments, certain characters fulfill the "bad girl" and "bad boy" tropes. Some of those characters are bullies and their actions are not shown positively. Mount Olympus is not a peaceful place, but filled with discord. For example, Zeus commands Artemis to stay behind, even though she wants to fight the invaders of Mount Olympus.

The series promotes the value of self-acceptance, by stating that outcasts should not be rejected and that people should be true to themselves. All the while, men who flaunt their power for fun and two-timing men are criticized. In fact, the show's official Twitter account posted a video of Eris cutting her hair with two women's rights hashtags, while Artemis has a squad-of-sorts.

There is no easy division between good and evil in Gods' School. For instance, the Aloads want to take over Olympus, but would-be evildoers are scary and mysterious. For instance, Eris goes through a moral dilemma and lives with the consequences of telling Paris to go back to "where he came from", words which haunt her to no end. This dilemma first begins in the show's third episode, even going on a quest to find him while Olympus is under attack, but it fades after he is found injured. At the same time, Nyx, her mother, and goddess of night, is lording over her. She reminds me a bit of Orizaba in Elena of Avalor.

There are many secrets that each of the gods, and goddesses, try and keep from one another. To give one example, in the fourth episode, everyone is trying to stop Echo (voiced by Deneen Melody) from revealing unflattering information. Hera even mutes her, preventing her from speaking first ever again. This has a disastrous side effect that Hera never realized: it prevents her from warning those on Olympus about the coming danger!

Unlike other series, Gods' School features a disabled character, who uses a cane: Hephaestus (voiced by John Choi Carter). Premiering in the fifth episode, he listens to Aphrodite after her arguments with Ares, and tries to be understanding, after she enters his workshop. This humanizes him. It shows that the gods are not superhuman but can be physically disabled just like anyone else. In a conveyance that everyone is unique, he says that everyone has something that makes them special "even if they don't see it", which fits with the other themes of this series.

As one of the only indie animations currently airing, apart from Helluva Boss and Eddsworld, Gods' School already stands out from animations made by well-known and prominent companies, which I've often reviewed since I began writing pop culture reviews in 2020. The series' background designers, including Gavin O'Donnell and Libessart, also the animator and director, are skilled. Their work is showcased on Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram. As such, it is no surprise that some have even gone to the effort to draw fan art or fan fiction of the show's characters.

The series has aired in various languages. The English adaptation was headed by Brandon Winckler and Jenny Yokobori. There are different voice actors, including in French. There are also different episodes with French dubs, which means that the cast, and those who work on the series, is that much larger.

It is interesting that not all the episodes are necessarily sequential. Some of the shorter episodes focus on the growing relationship between Hephaestus and Aphrodite, the first meeting between Minthe and Hades, and the story of Hades with his previous lover, Leuke. While these episodes might be seen as "filler", they provide information which helps expand the story.

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There is something missing through all of this: LGBTQ characters. There may be implied characters. Possibly, there is subtext between Paris and the person who brought him to Mount Olympus, Aeolos. However, no one is outwardly queer, as far as I can tell. So, that is an area for improvement.

Even so, there are people of color in the cast. Take, for example Kayla Pitts, who voices a nymph, John Choi who voices Hades, and Griffin Puatu who voices Ares. If High Guardian Spice, Young Justice, and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power can have Black characters, then any series can have such characters. Hopefully, more characters of color appear in the future. After all, the show's creator previously condemned racism, White supremacy, and called for equal rights in a social media thread.

Although the series may not reach the original goal of "an animated webseries project of 25 episodes" at 12 minutes long as the original Kickstarter for the series, stated, due to various factors, there is no doubt that Gods' School will continue. The quality remains at a strong level, for a project primarily spearheaded by Libessart. This is evidenced in the latest episode which focuses on Nyx (voiced by Emily Wallace), dreaded goddess of night, and strained family dynamics. Although it appears this is all a nightmare dreamt of by Eris, her concerns appear to be dismissed. At first, Medusa (voiced by Crystal Jade Vaughan) asks if she is ok. Then she says she needs to "get it together" so she can sleep, making Eris feel bad about herself.

The episode raises a number of questions. Was any of Eris dreamed about real? Can the balance between light and dark be disrupted? Nyx would likely love to do the latter, and unseat the goddess of day, Hemera, or Helios the Sun. She may be content in her castle shrouded in dark clouds. Furthermore, the nightmare makes me think that Eris has deeper problems which are manifesting themselves in her dreams.

The recent episode introduced new voice actors like Hannah Reed (as Little Eris) and Laila Berzins (as Hypnos). Ihe next episode is scheduled for Fall 2023. It will likely be listed on the page for the series on TV Time. That app was one way I learned about the new episode premiere.

This series is more than a lovely series with amazing visuals showing the talent and passion behind it. For one, there is an amazing group of characters and the use of Toonboom for animation of the series. Secondly, the favorite character of the series creator in The Iliad is Cassandra. She is described as a "cursed Trojan princess".

It would be great to see Cassandra in a future episode. When I hear the character's name, I thought of the similarly named character in Tangled: The Series (also known as Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure). That Cassandra who had a major part in the series as the lady-in-waiting for Princess Rapunzel. That character is mentally manipulated by a demon named Zhan Tri to manifest her anger against Rapunzel in a violent, destructive manner. In that series, that Cassandra is a complex lesbian-coded character exploited by the aforementioned demon. It is not known if the Cassandra within Gods' School will go down a similar path or how her character will be different from other fictional Cassandras.

I am hopeful that Gods' School will get even better as it moves forward, earning it an even-higher rating on IMDB and other online review sites. Brandon Winckler and Jenny Yokobori, who worked on previous episodes as show writers, and led the effort to adapt the episodes into English, from their original French. They are known for their voice roles in Fena: Pirate Princess, Edens Zero, The Simpsons, or Central Park.

The show's cast have voiced English dubs of characters in Lycoris Recoil, Titan's Bride, In the Land of Leadale, Komi Can't Communicate, Re:Zero, and High-Rise Invasion. Others have voiced characters in Rainbow High, RWBY, Nomad of Nowhere, Megaton Girl, and The Loud House. Some cast members are new voice actors, like Vaughan.

With that all being said, I highly recommend Gods' School. I hope that it continues onward, with new episodes, characters, and plotlines.

Gods' School is currently streaming on YouTube and can be supported on Patreon.

#gods school #indie animation #blood of zeus #the little mermaid #mount olympus #lore olympus #pop culture #reviews #filler episodes #elena of avalor #characters of color #black characters #crowdfunding #patreon #cassandra tangled #cassunzel #Youtube

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at-thestillpoint · 4 months

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for the fanfic end of year ask: 15, 18, 24

[eoy asks!]

15. something you learned this year

2023 is the year I learned to stop worrying and go with the flow. I am, by nature, a very Type A person—I must have a plan, I must know what's going to happen (see also: my personal policy on spoilers. That is, I need them). This tendency has been counter-productive to my writing in years past, in that I used to perseverate over a single sentence that didn't sit right with me or I'd stop writing until I knew exactly how I was getting where I wanted to end. Something clicked this year where I just started writing past those sentences or that need for a plan, and lo and behold, I started finishing things! And they were decent! And I could more easily get the sentence to sit right in the editing process!

18. current number of wips

Still just the same two for the last too many months. I refuse to start anything else until I finish them!

24. favorite fic you read this year

I've read so much good fic this year that I only finished six actual books. (I just checked: my AO3 history for 2023 is 20 pages long.) I could not possibly pick a favorite! Here are a few that have stuck with me/made me think and feel/challenged me as a reader and a writer:

theogony by clarewithnoi (a truly transportive Jily Outlander in Ancient Greece AU)

The Last Enemy series by CH_Darling (an intricate imagining of the Marauders era that's everything I've ever wanted)

everything by @goddesspharo, the OT3 fic by @megalong, Talk to Me by @autumntouched, the whole wide world of Hannix (bless everyone who writes for a rarepair)

#come talk to me!

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nought-shall-go-ill · 1 year

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3 and 24 for end of year asks?

Your Mountain Tomb piece is just STUNNING, by the way!

Lovely, @turanga4, I’m so sorry for taking so long with this ask. I needed time to think about my answers to these over the Christmas period and then work got so busy that all that I had built up in my head evaporated. Anyway, I’ve decided to stop dilly dallying and just answer them, so here we go:

3. favorite line/scene you wrote this year

I actually think the flow of this could be improved quite a bit (there’s definitely a few words I would change here and there), but I really like the sentiment behind this particular section from The Other Half of the Sky:

Disguised amongst the historic houses and gleaming sailboats of the “English Riviera” were the decaying terraces of some of Britain’s poorest workers. Behind the streets where Agatha Christie and Elizabeth Barrett Browning once walked, were squators lying in squalor, yet more addicts let down by a country that had never loved them. Perhaps it was wrong of Lily to love all these hidden parts of town, these hidden bits of grime amongst the pristine Devonshire waters, yet she was strangely comforted by it. Selfishly or not, she wasn’t quite sure, but it reminded her of… her. She was a filthy mudblood in the luminescent wizarding world. A grubby working-class woman in the muggle one.Yet just as from time to time she saw the most exceptional sights in the rundown areas of this otherwise quaint coastal town, she often wondered if exceptional things might be possible from her very own brand of filth.

I also loved writing all the “sense” scenes from The Light Come Shining, but talking too much about those would be big spoilers.

24. favorite fic you read this year

I don’t think I could ever possibly narrow it down to one. How about I give you a roundup of those that absolutely stole my heart?

theogony by @clare-with-no-i

Lily in the Sky with Diamonds by @wearingaberetinparis

but he’s a little bit too far away by @firefeufuego2

Jingle—Holy F*ck by @theesteemedladydebourgh

Wood for the Trees by @floreatcastellumposts

The Road Back to You by @mppmaraudergirl

It Always Starts in Cokeworth by preciselypotter / buckactually

even the bones will do by @oneofthesirens

My Best Friend’s Girl by @annabtg

Saturday Nights Alright (For Fighting) by @kay-elle-cee

And thank you so much for your lovely words about The Mountain Tomb! It is probably the most personal piece I’ve ever written (in that I felt my own feelings were a vessel to convey a lot of the feeling behind it) and I hold it very dear to my heart.

#nought shall go answer her asks #sorry about all the jily fics lovely turanga4 #at least there’s one that isn’t 😅#still a ship though…#and I thought I wasn’t even that into ships that much damn 😅#anyway thank you again lovely!

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theunembarrassedalto · 2 years

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nona spoilers (+ theories) inside. don't want 'em don't click 'em this is mostly because i have to put my thoughts SOMEWHERE

first off: nobody tell me ANYTHING i'm only halfway thru.

okay, running theories as follows. nona is alecto inside of harrow's body. the latter has been confirmed in-text by Judith

alecto is the resurrection beast/spirit of Earth. this explains a lot of things, including:

god being JG for john GAIUS (picture: me, a terrible classicist, having a lightbulb moment about this a full two hours after reading like 75 lines, in Greek, of the Theogony, in which the name "Gaia" for the earth pops up about seventeen thousand times at least), he is obviously here following the usual Lyctor naming convention bc his cavalier is. the earth

john is pretty clearly talking to Alecto in the John chapters, and talks about "you" being sick in a way that is clearly the planet (him addressing Harrow by name in these feels like further support of Nona-is-Alecto-in-Harrow)

Nona being able to hear Varun singing, and her ability to understand the screaming from Judith which is pretty clearly an RB (presumably Varun?) speaking THROUGH her. also explains the contents of this monologue.

if we accept the premise that Alecto Came Out Wrong when she was – established? whatever – into her body, this also seems to explain the thing where Nona seems only hungry when she smells ... people

if we accept the premise that Alecto Came Out Wrong, this explains the weird vague seriousness when her tantrums are referred to

anyway. this is the current state of things. when N catches up with me it's onto Day Four babey

#nona spoilers #ntn spoilers #the locked tomb #also i have not yet chased this out into anything useful but VERY interested in BoE naming conventions #specifically the conventions of things being named after ancient near eastern cities #ur? ctesiphon?

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buffaloborgine · 2 years

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I did make one post about that Zenos could possibly have the ancient name “Thanatos” before, well, I found more proof. ( ༎ຶ‿༎ຶ )

Also spoiler alert, read at your own risk.

We know FF overall do take some references from Tarot cards to build up characters, so as Zenos picked up the Reaper job and the Reaper is represented on the Death Tarot card.

But this interpretation of Death as a Reaper is not the only existing interpretation. There is, however, a different interpretation of Death, and more widely used: The Pale Horseman of Apocalypse.

Now we need to look at the details that the card has: “Here, we see Death riding a beautiful white horse while holding up a black flag with a white pattern. It is portrayed as a living skeleton, the bones being the only part of the human body existing after death. He wears armor, which gives him his invincibility - signaling that no one can destroy Death. The white horse that he rides stands for purity, as Death purifies everyone. Beneath him, all classes of humans lie in the dirt - a king, and a pauper, meant to remind us that death does not differentiate between class, race, gender.”

Okay, so that’s the general description, and lo and behold, ladies and gentlemen, FFXIV dev team did an amazing job with hiding hints in plain sight.

Reaper would be too easy to recognize, but this? This armor is right at our face but we didn’t see it out. “It is portrayed as a living skeleton, the bones being the only part of the human body existing after death. He wears armor, which gives him his invincibility - signaling that no one can destroy Death.” Zenos wears full-body black armor with a white mask that no other Garlean unit shares the same pattern. That white mask has design pattern that look very much like a skull, making this armor extremely fit with the Pale Horseman of Apocalypse (minus the horse, because I don’t think Zenos needs a horse or that any horse can carry that much weight, and juicy ass :B). And this interpretation of Death personification doesn’t even carry a scythe, fitting with how Zenos’ job was not Reaper at that time. About that invincibility part, well yes, we see Zenos wearing that armor and hardly getting a scratch despite fighting so many enemies at once, the only time that the armor gets damaged (with the actual Zenos wearing it), is WoL managed to snap off a piece of one of the horns. Zenos was actually invincible, and that is an important detail, for when Elidibus wears Zenos’ body, the Ascian didn’t retain that invincibility (Lyse punched a whole in the mask as Elidibus being a bad body user), so when he has to confront the actual owner of the body, he was scared shietless.

Now back to some details of the Death Tarot card, we see in both versions, there are corpses of different people below the Death personification. “Beneath him, all classes of humans lie in the dirt - a king, and a pauper, meant to remind us that death does not differentiate between class, race, gender.”

- Zenos sees everyone’s lives as equally meaningless. “Death is death, regardless of reason.” Garleans or Eorzeans, emperor or rebels, men or women, they are all the same if they stand in his way.

- Zenos doesn’t even care for his own life, meaning that he is very dead insides.

- Both the Pale Horseman and the Reaper personification of Death are named Thanatos. “ And there the children of dark Night have their dwellings, Sleep and Death, awful gods. The glowing Sun never looks upon them with his beams, neither as he goes up into heaven, nor as he comes down from heaven. And the former of them roam peacefully over the earth and the sea's broad back and is kindly to men; but the other has a heart of iron, and his spirit within him is pitiless as bronze: whomsoever of men he has once seized he holds fast: and he is hateful even to the deathless gods.” This passage from the Theogony shows one interesting trait of Thanatos: once he has seized someone he holds fast (looking at the way Zenos gets the unbreakable obsession with WoL, this fits pretty well). Also guess who usually accompanies with Thanatos? Hermes (yeah, good work for that hint Ishikawa).

- The Death card is associated with the planet Pluto and Scorpio zodiac sign in astrology. If we follow the Zodiac signs for the Convocation of Fourteen’s seats and roles, Scorpio is of Nabriales and their role is not yet revealed, along with Deuladaphon. (we may get some info in the Pandaemonium - Asphodelos raid, I hope so)

Okay so now it’s clear that the dev team has been building up Zenos with references from the Death personification and the Death Tarot card. But with the Death Tarot card in hand, we have to check its meaning: “A change of thinking from an old way into a new way. The horse Death is riding is stepping over a prone king, which symbolizes that not even royalty can stop change. The card, drawn in reverse, can be interpreted as stagnation and the inability to move or change.”

So far we have seen Zenos triggering changes in people and nations (rest in pieces, Varis), but Zenos himself hasn’t been given a proper “rejuvenation”, I mean he oomphed himself in Stormblood and Elidibus took his corpse so he came back to grab his corpse back, that doesn’t make any major changes. However, if we look at how his design changed, we saw that changes are being made. He discarded his old armor, old weapons, shrugging off his tie to his family, his people and nation (by deliberately acting as the traitor to Garlemald, I will write about this later), and he even discarded his old arrogant, cold personality (by listening to Alysae, going to Sharlayan to talk to Krile, respecting WoL’s talking moment with Meteion and also respecting WoL’s decision to leave). The only thing old that left in him is his burning wish to get a battle with WoL, and that is already happened, leaving him lying amongst the sea of stars at the edge of universe. So this must be the point of change, where the “old Zenos” dies and the “new Zenos” is born.

In conclusion, we haven’t seen the last of Zenos by the end of 6.0, he will make a comeback, properly to be our ally this time, or at least finding new purpose to continue living.

Thanks for reading this less-crack-but-still-crack theory.

#ffxiv #Zenos #Zenos yae Galvus #Zenos viator Galvus #theory

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elenasreading · 3 years

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Hi! I have been inside a room in a quarantine hotel (I’m fine, it’s a precautionary quarantine) for about five days now and the fics I’ve read really provided some sort of escapism. This one is a thank you post, I’m really happy I’ve had these fics - spoiler lol: this is a long list.

- @mppmaraudergirl The wedding ring was simply a blessing during these days, there isn’t a single chapter that doesn’t make me laugh at least a bit. I’m still not over chapter 11 ... I was not expecting the last two scenes but I’m not complaining, while I am complaining about the chapters’ number? 15??? I am not ready to see this story ends :( I really enjoy reading any of Mpp’s works, I can’t help but notice how easy words come to her, she is a natural at writing and I am here for it.

- @thequibblah chapter 43 in Come Together!!! I have reread at least four times that scenes (the one in which a particular character sees something they didn’t want to see) and the last one. I’ve missed James and Mary, lol. Alsoooo the BlackEvans moments??? Suze honestly needs to stop writing chapters this good because I don’t know anymore which are my favorites and any favorite story of mine needs some comfort chapters, it can’t be the all story.

- Bond and Free’s chapter six by @clare-with-no-i ! I usually keep track and write something about the fic I am reading in a note on my phone, when I first started reading BaF I wrote that Clare had an extraordinary capacity to dive into the human feelings and give readers wonderful insights into her characters: no one can tell me I am wrong after reading the Black-Evans moment of chapter 6! Also, I don’t think we all as a fandom have thanked her enough for this James Potter.

- Theogony by @clare-with-no-i, I mean could someone who studies classics and is in love with her prose not read this? I don’t think so. I have never seen Outlander but this sound really promising. I have loved the first chapter.

- Something good by @cesays, muggle au are basically my favorite thing in the world ... this one made me think about one of my own camping adventures, in which I have found a snake in my tent and not James Potter. But anyway, this was really enjoyable to read, I’ve loved it!! And I can’t wait to read more of @cesays works.

- I have read Three strikes ‘til you’re out by @theresthesnitch, as I said muggle aus are my fav thing and after reading this one I am just disappointed no one has ever asked me to fake-date :(( also, about this fic, I deeply wish we could be in James’ head sometimes, like at the end of the last chapter!!! Love love love it.

- I also loved Friendly Neighborhood James Potter chapter 3 by @infiniteinmyownlittleworld and @solstilla. Of course after chapter 2 I had made my own predictions but this was not where I thought we were going and I am completely 100% in love with everything. This story is the Spider-man au people don’t know they need in their life until they read it. Can’t wait for the other chapters!!

- I’ve read the last two chapters of A Staggard Wild by @figg-anon. There is a sort of comfort that spreads from her way of writing. I’ve loved how Figg took her time setting everything up, her world is so well described, her attention to small details amazes me. I honestly can’t wait to continue on this journey.

- @maraudersftw yesterday night decided to gift us all with another multichap (a muggle modern au one!!), Disgraceful. I’ve loved the first chapter although that doesn’t surprise me anymore, she is not able to write anything bad.

Thank you, you incredible writers!!

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jageshemashftw · 4 years

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God of War Theory: Kratos’ True Identity (SPOILERS)

So, at this point, pretty much everyone and their mother has expressed the theory that Kratos is secretly Farbauti, the mythological father of Loki. A theory more or less confirmed by the twist at the end of the game and, more subtly, the fact that Farbauti’s name means Anger-Striker. Kinda fits our boy Kratos, donnit?

So, that’s a neat and clever way of tying Kratos into Norse mythology and not make him seem like a mythological OC like he was in Greek mythology. But what if I told you that Kratos could in fact be a very prominent figure from Greek mythology, just given a different name.

Dionysus, the God of Wine.

Now, I know what some of you are thinking. Dionysus? Really? The lamest of the Olympians? The guy who’s only job is to get drunk and party?

Well, that’s actually a common misconception. The thing is, the myths behind Dionysus have gone through several outright retcons due to generations of regional versions vying to be the ‘canon’ interpretation. In reality, Dionysus is well known for being a harbinger of madness and extreme, violent retribution for even the slightest of slights. Sound familiar?

Let’s look over some of the facts.

Dionysus is one of the very few Olympians who has never made a single appearance throughout the trilogy. So there’s definitely a vacancy.

In the Greek creation myth of the Theogony, Zeus is fated to father two children, a daughter and a son, by his first wife, Metis, who would be both stronger and wiser than Zeus. And, thanks to the curse of succession that ended both Ouranos and Kronos, Zeus knew either of these children would be his downfall. So, Zeus absorbs the essence of Metis to retain her wisdom and free him from whatever children she may have born him.

Unfortunately, Metis was pregnant when Zeus subsumed her and that baby was coming out whether Zeus liked it or not. Hence the myth of Athena being born from Zeus’ skull.

Now, in actual myth, this is the end of the story. Metis was only pregnant with Athena when Zeus subsumed her, so the fated son that would have ended Zeus’ reign never came to be and Zeus was able to rule unopposed.

Now let’s look at the loophole. In his origin myth, Dionysus came into being when his mother died before fully bringing Dionysus to term. So, I am not kidding, Zeus sews the fetus of Dionysus into his leg to allow the baby to finish growing before being cut out and properly ‘born’.

Now, this is all semantic and theory, but since Metis’ essence was absorbed into Zeus, she and Zeus could be considered to be one and the same entity. Thus, any child born of Zeus (albeit in a VERY roundabout manner) could be considered born of Metis as well.

So, we have a son born of Metis and Zeus, fated to overthrow his father in the curse of succession, well known in myth for fits of violence and madness.

And, I’ll just say it, Kratos is no stranger to good ol’ fashioned debauchery. Makes me wonder if his, uh, virility is a product of his secret heritage as the God of Wine. Long story short, Dionysus loved his orgies.

He did seem rather eager to share that vase full of Lemnian Wine with his son.

#god of war #kratos #atreus #zeus #dionysus #farbauti #loki #greek mythology #norse mythology #fan theory

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clare-with-no-i · 2 months

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so far I've only had one person recognize Harry's Greek name in theogony…

#iiiiiiinteresting...#clare shitposts #theogony #theogony spoilers

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thursdayplaid · 4 years

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I’ve been having some complicated Persephone feelings lately due to the resurgance of Persephone/Hades interpretations and the connections those have to interpretations to history. The Homeric Hymn to Demeter, written in the neighborhood of 700-600 BCE, is referenced in these recent posts as the origin of the myth. I’ve seen a lot of women writing about how it shouldn’t be forgotten that this was the original myth and connecting this myth to the struggles and cultural pressure Hellanistic women lived and suffered under.

This reminds me a great deal of what I see in fantasy based in magical ye olde Europe like Game of Thrones where violence toward women is waved away as a reflection as the real struggles of historical women in real ye olde Europe. Underage marriage, spousal abuse, marital rape, other forms of sexual assault, and other types of violence toward women have existed since the beginning of time. However many women in real ye olde European countries had trades they supported themselves with, married in their twenties, owned property, and could seperate from a husband who assualted them (in some cases a great deal easier than women can now).

There is a delicate balance between fetishizing the assault of young women and depicting the struggle that women have had through time. Modern pedophiles state that historically teenage girls became sexual partners to middle aged men all the time (spoiler warning they didn’t). Modern MRAs state historical gender social structure as evidence for female duplicity and weakness as well as natural male superiority. People who want to get away with abominable acts frequently regeratate traditional historical precedence. However, this regurgitation is nothing by vomit. The stated facts are invented by people who saw a commercial for an exploitation fantasy film once and then assumed that was what history was like.

I feel concerned that, especially in feminist circles, to have the Homeric Hymn of Demeter referenced as the original myth might be damaging because it isn’t the original myth. Theogony was ‘written’ about a hundred years before The Hymn to Demeter and there was no abduction story. Persephone was the called the Queen of the Underworld before well before 1500 BCE when she shared temple space with Demeter and there was no abduction story. The actual original myth is that Persephone was Queen of the Underworld and that Hades married her and thus became king. In Homer’s time things were getting pretty awful for women and I’m certain the Hymn had a lot of meaning for women at that time - I just feel nervous about promoting the idea that the story of abduction and seperation is the Original and Actual myth instead of a male retelling of the Queen of the Underworld marrying a god with a dog.

#tw: rape #tw: abduction #tw: abuse #persephone #hades #myths #the underworld #history #feminist history

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