So we all knew Athena sucks, right? But like Athena suuuuuuuuucks.

I love how much this episode highlighted just how prideful Athena is. I’ve always known that Athena was one of the more prideful gods but this episode really solidified that fact in my brain.

I have four examples so let’s start with the ones the show hasn’t already touched on and jump back to actual mythology.

1. The Trojan War. The whole impetus for the Trojan War was because the goddess were prideful. Eris presented the golden apple for the fairest goddess and Hera, Aphrodite, and Athena got into the whole argument and Paris awarded the apple to Aphrodite. Boom, Athena’s pride was wounded so she chose the side of the Greeks. So you know, the side fighting against Paris (who wounded her pride) and the side who won again the Trojans. Moral of the story, wound Athena’s pride, she’ll ensure you lose.

2. Arachne. Arachne was a great weaver. From what I remember of the myth she was humble about her skill (but that might’ve just been one author’s interpretation because in my brief fact check I couldn’t find anything to prove that). From everything I did find, she was boastful about her skill and challenged Athena to a weaving competition. (From what I remember Athena was jealous of Arachne’s skill, spied on her, then Athena prompted the challenge). But anyways, Arachne wove a better tapestry and in a fit of rage Athena tore apart the tapestry because, you know, wounded pride. From what I remember of the myth, Athena transformed her into a spider, forced to spend her days spinning and weaving webs because she thought was so good at it. (Other interpretations say Arachne hanged herself and as a “mercy” Athena transformed into a spider, allowing Arachne to live and continue to weave). Moral of the story (from the version I remember at least), wound Athena’s pride, she’ll punish through a sick twist of “giving you what you want.”

3. Medusa. Now the show did go further into this one so I’ll keep my explanation shorter. Medusa worshipped Athena (like a super devout worshipper) and Poseidon ended up going at her in Athena’s temple. Athena was offended that they would have sex in her temple and turned Medusa into the snake-haired woman we all know today. Moral of the story, wound Athena’s pride, get fucked (now there are obviously different interpretations about what Athena’s intentions were by doing this to Medusa, but the take that it was a mercy to save Medusa from other sexual predators is a more modern take, and doesn’t push the narrative I’m crafting here).

4. Now for the show. Percy sent Medusa’s head to Olympus despite the very clear protests of Grover and Annabeth. Athena took this as an offense and blamed Annabeth. Blamed Annabeth enough to allow Echidna and the Chimera to enter her temple and attempt to kill her daughter, who so far, had been described as the pride of Athena’s offspring. Pride. What a funny word. One hit to Athena’s pride and she loses any pride she had in her child. Moral of the story once again, wound Athena’s pride, she’ll fuck you over.

Big moral of the story, Athena sucks and only cares about her pride.

No wonder Annabeth’s fatal flaw is pride. Like mother like daughter.

tshirt that says NO LIVE ORGANISM CAN CONTINUE FOR LONG TO EXIST SANELY UNDER CONDITIONS OF ABSOLUTE REALITY

[…]

Percy’s warning to fellow half-bloods in the audience, across different mediums.

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan (2005) The Lighting Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical (2017) Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series Teaser (2023)

Eimmet High...temmiE high. OMG!

Part 28 || First || Previous || Next...

--Full Series--

Next update may take...much longer! I have finals and an internship and not to mention I have to draw- A LOT :')

Hi it's just to let you know that the official romanization of Revaan's name is Raverne ! Also they have romanized Baul's name to Baur !

Twst coming back at us again with the least expected romanization! thank you everybody (oh god my inbox) (no it's great, I literally asked for this and the reactions have been INCREDIBLE, thank you all!)

I do like Raverne though, I think it's got a nice fancy sound to it! (I had kinda suspected it was going to be an R instead of an L, so the fact that it's SO close to Laverne except for that is hilarious to me personally.) and Dragoneye Duke is honestly probably the best translation for his title, I wasn't envying the localizers that one. :') Baur instead of Baul I was NOT expecting, but in retrospect I think his name's supposed to be a reference to the Bauru crocodile, so that actually makes way more sense!

someone else also said Meleanor has become Maleanor, which is the REALLY weird one to me, because I was so surprised it was written as Mel instead of Mal in the first place?! oh god no I can't decide which one I like better. 😭 (I wonder if they might change it to Mal...they have made romanization changes before) (like I remember House of Distraction being corrected to House of Destruction in Playful Land) (I did check and she's still Mel for now, but I dunno, they might Mal her up and some point and save me from having to make a decision about which one to use) (HECK I CAN'T DECIDE)

uhhhh thank you for letting me ramble about anime names, let's just say MONOGRAMMED SWEATERS FOR EVERYONE

Callbacks to older episodes

Gimme them gimme them dope and diamonds

Diet Mountain Dew, baby, New York city

Never was there ever a girl so pretty

Do you think we'll be in love forever?

Do you think we'll be in love...?

MILES MORALES & HOBIE BROWN in SPIDERMAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE (2023)

"Listen to me, bruv. Whole point of being Spider-Man is your independence. Being your own boss. You don't need all this."

Uploading all my Tomgreg art at once from the past few week before season 4 hits, who knows in what kind of mental state i'm gonna be once it does :')

i saw this hair & it screamed brandi to me . she's always been one of my favourite townies since i was a kid + plumbellas iceberg video gave me a save file idea..

House md really is the gayest of gay queerbait. Like I’m sorry but besides SPN and maybe Sherlock no one was doing it like them. And the thing is I don’t even think it was intentional??? House md was unbelievably popular but in a normal Game of Thrones, Grey’s Anatomy way. It’s the kinda show that everyone’s mom watched when it first came out on cable (mine included). Appealing to a young queer internet audience in 2007 wasn’t a marketing strategy they would ever attempt. It doesn’t make sense.

And yet. 

The sheer amount of gay jokes and allegories is just overwhelming by the time you get to the last season. Amber is Wilson’s House proxy, House and Wilson move in together TWICE, the fake marriage proposal, the exploration of toxic masculinity, Wilson’s 3 failed marriages, fucking everything about the last few eps. Like what other tv show spent almost a decade creating the most co-dependent, self-sabotaging relationship between its two main male characters that is essentially the backbone of the entire show. They literally ride off into the sunset together. Idk what else you want from me.

Sometimes I think about Urianger's role in and feelings on the Thancred-Ryne dynamic and I think watching it kills him a bit inside. For several reasons.

Like, to begin with there's the guilt he's been carrying with him since he ushered Minfilia to the first, how he effectively killed the person Thancred cared about the most in the world and who's "death" ended up causing Ryne's entire Situation. He looks at what's happening between them and can only think "I caused this" even though that's not really true. No one person is responsible for this outcome, it's a culmination of several circumstances and the consequences of them. Logically, Urianger knows this. But it doesn't matter, because his guilt is overpowering his logic.

And also, like. What Thancred is doing here, the way he's knowingly letting Ryne be and stay hurt because he literally cannot bring himself to tell her his feelings, is the exact same mistake Urianger made with Moenbryda. Of course, the circumstances are vastly different, and the potential consequences to Thancred telling Ryne the wrong things or her misinterperating it is far greater (being a matter of literal life or death), it's still the same sort of paralysis they are trapped in.

And he knows it. He sees it. But he can't say or do anything about it, he doesn't have the right to. He acknowledges the mistake, but he hasn't really improved upon it yet. He still doesn't voice his thoughts and feelings as he should. He's also non-confrontational by nature, he doesn't argue or try to change peoples minds, he probably doesn't think he has any place to.

So, he tries to help in what little ways he can. Because he doesn't want it to become Monebryda again, he doesn't want to know he stole not one but two people from Thancred. So he does what he can. He tells Ryne little tidbits about Thancred, things that help her understand him but are safe to share. Nothing too deep, nothing too personal. Just small things, things that are purely factual, because he can't afford to give her a false image of who Thancred is. He teacher her fun and interesting things, because Thancred isn't in the mindset to provide her with non-essential skills.

I like to think Urianger has brought it up with Thancred at least once, during one of his stays. But nothing would've come of it. Not really. Unlike Y'shtola, Urianger isn't pushy, he'll bring it up once or twice and when he sees this won't go anywhere, he gives up. He wants to help, but he knows that persistance only does do much, and he is not the person who has the resiliance needed to push and push until Thancred finally budges (because he won't budge, it won't help anything but to sour things further by adding aditional stress to an already strained dynamic).

And like. Urianger gets it. He gets it because he's been the same way- not saying what he should to someone he loves more than anything else because she was meant to figure her life out herself, and 'steering' her in any direction by telling her his feelings (regardless of if the 'steering' is intention or not) will go against that. He gets it. He gets it and it's all the more painful for it. He knows it can't just be fixed by acknowledging it or with encouragement, something needs to happen to break the stasis.

I think this is probably why he stayed behind while they went off to Nabaath Areng. This is the very last chance they have to say what they want to, and he can't afford to be the anchor anymore. This is about them, not him, he can't let their resolution be buffed by his presence, so he stays behind. Which was probably for the best. Ryne got nervous when Urianger said he's staying behind, probably not too excited about being alone with Thancred (well, not alone, but WoL doesn't count) so soon after she had ran away crying. But she needs to be nervous. For anything positive to come out of this Thancred and Ryne both can't afford to be too relaxed. As sad as it is, the stress is necessary for anything to happen. He knows it. Does he like it? Absolutely not, but nor does he like his other plots. At least no one dies this time if it goes right.

Chilchuck Tims has 4 daughters

Izutsumi’s relationship with the whole party is very fun and heartwarming, and her relationship with each party member has something unique and special, but besides Senshi being the mama hen I really love how Chilchuck looks after Izutsumi in a father-ish way. He’s the only one in the party that sees her like an actual human girl lol. He treats her with respect while not letting himself be walked over, and I think there’s something to be said about it, esp since Chilchuck knows how it’s like to be infantilized and pet like a cute thing much like our favorite catgirl. He does handle her like a guy who has 3 adult daughters, parenting instincts kicking in

Listen I knooow the party is breaking up with the end approaching but I’ve been thinking a lot about if Izutsumi decided to stick with anyone and I think it’d be really nice if she stayed with Chilchuck. I love Chilchuck’s store so much, I have so many headcanons and fic plans involving it, but listen.  I feel like Chilchuck would be a good person to look after her, she’s still a teen and shown not to be mature enough to know what to do with herself and feed herself right yet, she could become Chilchuck’s store mascot like a cat that’s always lounging inside hehe.  He gains another sort-of-daughter and she keeps her favorite pillow, a loss-loss deal on his end but Chilchuck is too responsible to not take her in if needed mwahahaha Izutsumi would have no remorse, he’s ready to suffer for her comfort

Ok girl we get it he’s your dad

I'm sincerely very happy for anyone who is enjoying the show but every time I see takes that the show has improved the book characterizations or that the book characters are underdeveloped in comparison to the show...

no but essek's abnormal behaviours in the last arc and especially in episode 140 are my roman empire. which is ironic because aeor is something of a roman empire itself. but in all seriousness, it was the episode that made me realise i love essek and his development so much and it kinda summarised it even before caleb's epilogue.

and i mean the "it's not fair" scene specifically. it's like, an epitome of his whole character progression from a person who put An Objectively Important Goal above all else without hesitation to someone who can't help but care for people around even more than his goal, no matter how big and relevant it is.

the mighty nein - and he alongside them - pretty much saved the world and freed an ancient city from thousand-year-long suffering. they defeated nine extremely powerful menacing entities who managed to stay out of everyone's sight for years and were so close to achieving their goal and dooming exandria in the process. they did the impossible and became heroes and somehow, they survived, even though they had bidden farewells a couple of hours ago because they had already understood what they had been facing. and nevertheless. they made it.

and none of them was celebrating.

mighty nein are basically essek's only friends. he knew them to be very unusual people, to put it lightly, loud and stubborn and completely inescapable once they consider you to be one of their own. and they showed him so much kindness and put so much faith in him, they were here playing the most atrocious music ever and digging clay in his backyard for a spell they invented just to help one of theirs and asking him if he could bring them pastries the day after they found out he was lying to them and had started a war. they were chaotic and weird and sometimes unbearable but most importantly they were carrying so much hope with them all this time - a hope they could end the war, a hope they could stop the angel of irons cult, a hope they could get better, a hope he could get better, and now, finally, that they could save their lost friend.

and that hope shattered, just like that, the moments after they'd already made the impossible. they saved so many souls - and then could not get back just that one.

for essek "my intentions were never good they were important" thelyss it just. shouldn't have mattered. they won. it could have been worse. people die and when they die they rarely come back. they should've been happy everyone else barely made it alive.

but for some reason, mighty nein being so defeated after they saved the world exposed him to that overwhelming feeling of injustice and unfairness. and i mean, there were many things essek considered to be unfair, but when i watched his first appearance and his interactions with mighty nein later on til their reunion in aeor arc, i wouldn't dare to guess that one of the things on that list would be something that personal. and personal not even to him.

the thing is, essek didn't even know who that guy was. why mighty nein cared about him so much. he had an idea, i guess, that he was their friend once, or someone in that body was. it was also a person who wanted to unleash a terrifying horrific aberration onto the material plane. it was a person very dedicated to killing essek and his friends - and they still didn't take any pleasure in fighting him. essek didn't feel strongly about lucien or molly, because he never knew them.

i don't think he mourned his death and failed resurrection. he mourned mighty nein's hope, the one they put in him when they had no reason to, the one they offered yasha in the cathedral and the one they kept after the spell for veth failed and the one they carried til the very end because they wanted it to reach molly. they had saved people with this hope. they had saved nations. they had saved the world. but they ended up feeling like it hadn't even been worth anything.

how desperate would it feel, witnessing people who for some reason always saw good in you when they absolutely shouldn't, who made literal miracles out of nothing, who ended wars and fought gods and tricked the hags and freed cities from horrors beyond anyone's comprehension purely because they thought it was the right thing to do and also loved their friends this much, silently crying over a dead body they couldn't bring back to life? how desperate would it feel to realise that with all your knowledge about time you dedicated your life to and threw away any principles for, you can't undo this? no one can. some things are left to fate alone and this time it wasn't kind to them. no matter how much good they did, they still got slapped in the face.

and it was, i think, such a genuine moment of empathy. like, essek is the character who prefers to put up a facade and act distant and self-composed but this time he just. walked away unable to watch this. the could only say to fjord that it wasn't fair. even when he was caught off guard in nicodranas he was able to explain himself and his motives to an extent even though he was a nervous wreck whose extra important plan went to hell the second the only people he cared about appeared. this time he had nothing to elaborate on. it just wasn't fair. it wasn't fair his friends didn't get what they wanted the most. it wasn't fair he couldn't do anything to make it right.

it is such a sad and beautiful and even cathartic scene because it is about person who started a war that destroyed so many lives - and then met this ragtag group of weirdos who saw a lonely stand-offish guy and said "hey, let's be friends!" and didn't even wait for him to answer. he saw them being serious and calculated and he saw them being ridiculous and extremely stupid, he saw their mistrust to outsiders and their loyalty to each other, he made spells with them and paid a visit to their hot tub, he ate their stale pastries and drank their hot chocolate mixed with whiskey, he was welcomed amongst them and in their wonderful home, both in xhorhas before they even found out what he had done and in the tower when they already knew - and then, he saw them mourning their loss, defeated and helpless, and he, a person who believed there were things more important than whole nations, let alone just one life, couldn't help but share the pain they felt. a pure display of compassion from someone who detached himself from it, who didn't believe he could grow into a better person capable of it again, but became one nonetheless without even realising it

Okay now i gotta know... As someone who only plays on English server but craves every bit of info on chapter 7....

What's the spoon scene? You mentiond it in the Sebek UM poster post.

no pressure tho, I'm just curious

oh, it's a little flashback scene to Silver and Sebek's first magic lesson (moving a spoon) -- it's one of the missable ones, so there's nothing plot-important in it, I just thought that one was really extra cute! 💚 Lilia does such a bad job of explaining how to use magic ("you go, like, SHWOO") that Malleus steps in and teaches them instead. so it's basically just Silver and Sebek staring intently (and audibly) at a spoon while Lilia flails around making noises and Malleus reminisces about how Lilia's teaching style has always been fascinatingly incomprehensible! pure sugary domestic fluff! just rubbing it in how absolutely terrible things have gotten :)

there are a bunch of cute flashbacks like that in the 7-81 and 7-83 maps; it's definitely worth getting them all if you are also fond of the diafam! I swear, this update has somehow managed to make me even more obsessed with this idiot dad and his three adopted dingbats and that should not have been possible.