Asha (she/her)

#1 Melantho defender, #1 Antilochus enjoyer, 23, ao3 -> asha_dasha, mythology enjoyer, professional yapper

[caniacbrainiac]

I will lay my life down for my country north carolina

[kyleesarthell]

(Most recent) Andromache concept!

[sarafangirlart]

Ok but I want ppl to understand how absurd it is that religious Greek heroes are rewritten to hate the gods whether it’s in Hollywood movies or retellings.

So imagine this: imagine if someone made a retelling based on Abrahamic religion and they write important figures like Abraham, Lot or Moses as hating god and rebelling against him bc of the hardships they suffered. Sounds absurd doesn’t it? Now apply that to Greek mythology. Why would Perseus, Achilles, Theseus or Odysseus reject the gods?

[asha-dasha]

if agamemnon has 0 defenders i am dead in my grave

[asha-dasha]

Pls tell me more about how bad Sweetbitter Song is bc I’m too scared to read it myself lol

Alright alright so keep in mind that I SPEED read this book in like 1.5 hours and its a 400+ pg book so I was definitely skipping pages and I am not the number 1 source (I'm going to do a more thorough analysis when my library gets a copy because I'm NOT paying for that piece of garabage but the librarian told me that they probably won't get it until June) but anyways. My credentials are 10+ hours of research for a fic that currently has 😔😔 like 2k words

tws: talk of rape/underage stuff that is included in that book

Absolutely no order of things that really shocked me about this book

1) the book starts with 9 year old Melantho being sent to Icarius's house to be his newest sex slave (after he got the last one pregnant) with no warning which is... off-putting to say the least. But no worries! (sarcastic) Penelope saves melantho with her wits so it all works out

2) this is NOT the point and you might even be thinking Asha why are you so stuck on this point when it's a sapphic book but the part of the book that states that Penelope has never orgasmed with Odysseus actually lives in my head rent free

3) changing Melantho's whole backstory to be that she (and Melanthius to a lesser degree) are raised by a single mom and have an abusive dad is.... weird to me idk justice for Dolius. There's definitely a narrative around queer characters that their parents have to be evil all the time.

4) also getting rid of her other brothers irritated me no thoughts about it except that I was annoyed

5) the fact that Melantho wasnt killed and just... escaped... bothered me because i feel like she has to die in every adaptation of the Odyssey, I dont care how it exactly happens (1997 Odyssey where shes killed with Eurymachus or original source material being hung) but she literally represents Odysseus's home being cleansed of the filth of the suitors

6) the fact that the Eurymachus/Melantho non-con scene was wayyyyy longer than the Melantho/Penelope's first time having sex was....... a choice

7) Penelope drugs Odysseus to sleep so she can say goodbye to Melantho which gave me a good laugh about how out of character that was

I most definitely have more to say but this is off the top of my head grrr feel free to dm with any Melantho thoughts.

8) I feel like this book walks a weird line of making Melantho a helpless victim but for some reason she has so much agency? Like she's helpless and miserable until the plot needs something else. It's bad characterization.

9) constantly pitting Melantho as a bad girl type and Penelope as an overly lalala personality wowie bad characterization and also weird considering their dynamic

[egoinchains]

They are just special to me.

[asha-dasha]

24 on 24 violence

[thhouseofblack]

I miss penelope

[asha-dasha]

- odysseus

[asha-dasha]

drift away from steven universe can be so hermione about helen if you think about it

[asha-dasha]

I just finished speed reading sweetbitter song in the barnes and noble (I didnt not buy it i literally sat in the store and zoomed through it) and MAN does that book suck I have so much to say

[asha-dasha]

if I had a nickel for every time polyxena of troy broke me out of the most debilitating writer's block, i'd have two nickels. which isnt a lot but its weird it happened twice

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

[garden-of-rambles]

promotion for that fucking Penelope/Melantho book turned up on my fyp on tiktok. I hardly ever use it and THIS WAS THE FIRST THING TO ASSAULT MY EYES WHEN I DO. I left a long ranting comment that will probably be immediately deleted or blocked but I was so heated seeing it and reading all the comments being excited for it that I had to leave a scathing one.

[asha-dasha]

oohhhhhhh no one get me started on that fuckass book ohhhhhh dont get me started

[asha-dasha]

iliad hockey aus my beloved

[escapepodding]

After Hollanov are out I want Shane to get the reputation of the greatest lay in North America. Like, its Helen of Troy and Shane Hollander, hand in hand bewitching people. Ilya may be Russia and the MLH's Greatest Love Machine, but Shane's dick got that man moving to Ottawa. I want the insane money Boston offered to get Ilya to stay leaked and everyone looking at Shane like 👁👄👁

People staring at Shane in the streets like Aphrodite walked past and Ilya is so mad because HE was the one who laid down mad pipe so good Shane married HIM. (He is that good but Ilya got him so there stop staring!)

[kyleesarthell]

Going through more doodle requests!

[owinous]

Do u have a design for Melanthius & Melantho the servants? (I have a small obsession w/ the two don't ask.)

I have a design for both! Melanthius hasn't shown up yet, but here's Melantho with Eurymachus in chapter 2.

Ive also drawn her a couple other times!

[asha-dasha]

MELANTHO

[kyleesarthell]

A boy and his dog