You might think that the guy is Perseus 😀😀😀😀 nope!!! Just some fuckass oc 😀😀😀😀
Ok…. Let’s dissect this real quick.
-Andromeda wasn’t the queen of Ioppa, her son Perses was king of Ioppa, istg if this writer makes Perses a character in this universe and the son of this fucking Kleos imma-
-Recovering people pleaser - ok this one actually makes sense and is how I interpret her too… bc she stops being a ppl pleaser by choosing her own husband… who was Perseus… anyway.
-Katara coded healer - and just like Katara she’s removed from her loving canon relationship and forced into an enemies to lovers romance.
-Blessed by Astarte - I’m fine with this too bc Andromeda (at least in one source) was said to worship Aphrodite, who would likely be called Astarte in Ioppa… I’m just confused by the healer association? Astarte was a healing goddess sure but like Aphrodite she was mainly viewed as a goddess of love and beauty, was it just not feminist for Andromeda to be devoted to love goddess and be blessed with beauty? Idk I’m probably looking too much into this.
-Introverted but strong willed - what the hell sure
-Plant mom - look I’m not innocent of making baseless headcanons but… huh? Where did that come from?
This just frustrates me so much bc I get the feeling this writer did do some research for this book but somehow she read Perseus and Andromeda’s love story and didn’t stop to think “hmmm maybe I shouldn’t separate them or ship Perseus with Medusa” like it really does not sit right with me…
Now let’s get to… *sighhhhhhhhhjh* Kleos. This isn’t a real character he’s just an amalgamation of different tropes and characters who’s only there to serve as heavily manufactured “fan favorite” and Andromeda’s consolation prize.
- “Cassian and Jesper” - idk who these ppl are
- Bi King - y’know who else was a bi king in love with Andromeda?
- Daddy issues - I said this a million times but his name should’ve been Cleopatros, how deliciously ironic would it be for a man who hates his father to be called “glory of the father”? And besides, naming a Greek hero’s best friend “Kleos” is like naming an American hero’s best friend “Freedom”. Not only that, it would’ve made Kleos actually stand out as a character rather than only existing to have corny banter with Andromeda and Perseus.
- Doesn’t know when to shut up - me neither, this post doesn’t need to exist I just wanted to rant.
- Golden retriever energy - half of booktok’s male love interests are gold retrievers, the other half is bad boys. Be different I beg.
Need to say this as a Palestinian, too:
1) Where are Andromeda's Palestinian/Cana`an features and roots???
Her father was Ethiopian, her mom Palestinian/Cana`an from Jaffa (which is what Joppa is—we literally have the rocks where Andromeda was hung). Why is she dressed more like a Roman than a Cana`an, who'd also have some tatreez on her dress, since that's where Palestinians got it from (I know, a shocker we retained a tradition started by our ancestors)??? What she's wearing isn't even Tyrian purple! And where are her Stars of Ishtar if she's blessed by Astarte?
Guess the relationship is one-sided, which is ridiculous when you learn there is a theory that Andromeda and Astarte were the same person in earlier Palestinian depictions of the story!
First line is of Andromeda's Rocks in (now occupied) Palestine Second is from a book on antiquity clothing in the Mediterranean
2) Astarte is literally a Cana`an goddess Aphrodite was inspired by, and one mainly characterized for repping love, war and hunting, not healing (which she and her sister did partake in, but was not her main mojo). She and her sister, Anat, goddess of war—and who Athena took inspiration from—were famous for being sister-in-arms!
How Astarte was depicted by the Cana`an and her followers
3) Why is some Greek dude her bodyguard and not a Levantine/Palestinian/Cana'an man? Makes no sense, in-world, if you're going with the Andromeda was an Afro-Palestinian route. We come in blonde, too, if you want to emphasize the golden retriever aspect! We literally don't look different from the Greeks, either, we're cousins 😭.
Fifty shades of Palestinian blonde
If you're going to make an OC to be more "diverse," why not actually go with diversity that makes sense??? Which brings me to
4) Why was the Afro-Palestinian heroine of the original story delegated to side character??? And to an OC love interest??? Who's also Greek, like her original love interest—what was the point of divorcing her from Perseus, if you're just giving to give her his inferior knock-off (and who's not even the main character!)? All so Perseus can be shipped with Medusa, which is the other thing...
5) Why make Medusa a white Greek (from what I've seen), when her roots are North African? If you're going to go with the Afro-Palestinian Andromeda, then why not North African Medusa? Because now, what you did is break up the canon biracial pairing of Perseus and Andromeda to center a whitewashed pair you made up. Like, what? You know this is worst, right? The original myth is more progressive than you!
Medusa mosaic in Tunisia
Just 😭. If you're going to incorporate the whole "Greek Empire wasn't just the European Greeks" history of their myths (which was the reality! Since they were and are part of the Eastern and bigger Mediterranean; we've influenced, conquered and mixed with each other), why do it so half-assed, while also taking steps back from what was already progressive in the original myths?
