blood of the dragon

✨🌓💫⭐️🌫️ 20 she/her

[sodapopwrites]

⋆ ★ welcome to my masterlist⋆ ★ ── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

✯BIO✯ hiii! i'm sodapop and i'm kind of just having fun. i write my little stories and i just hope some people like them! come say hi in my asks, i love the company and i love talking about the characters we all love!

✯ masterlists ✯

ACOTAR

azriel:

a ballad of shadow and flame series

like calls to like

eris vanserra:

the first sign of fall series A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS

modern au targaryen headcanons

[rhaenyrage]

save me prince aerion, valarr and daeron, save me

[vhagar-balerion-meraxes]

His pathetic loser vibes have completely charmed me.

[sodapopwrites]

A Knight of The Seven Kingdoms: Targaryen Headcanons - MODERN AU

Some things I've been noodling on the last couple days. ALSO important note...the awesome fanart that I'm using IS NOT MINE. I found it on pinterest I wish I knew who the artist was, but full credit to the original artist and all that important business.

Might write a fic about this. I've been THINKING. But before I do that I just wanted to get some of these thoughts out there.

DAERON TAGARYEN:

Personally, don't think that he'd be a drunk in modern times. That boy would smoke so much weed though.

does not need to have a job but fully works as a barista at some tiny coffee shop for fun. terrible at his job by the way, but no one really cares because hes at least nice or funny about it.

the kind of barista where you'd tell him he made you the wrong drink and he'd take a sip and go "yeah that's definitely not right" before he remakes it for you.

SLUT. but in like a weirdly chill way. hes not like aerion, but he's still a targaryen and has that swag about him that draws people in. Wouldn't hook up with people he knows for real though. Also just incredibly easy to pull if you catch him in the right moment. He just doesn't think that hard about it.

always sleeping (like a bum low key) at other people's houses. even though he fully lives in the family mansion. he just wants to be by his friends okay.

Philosophy major if I've ever seen one, but never talks about how he's a philosophy major.

The way that boy does not go to class half the time, but still manages to pass all of his classes by winging that shit.

hangs out with his little brother, Egg, all the time. Fully dyed Egg's hair pink and put that shit in liberty spikes to piss off their dad.

drives with the seat way too far back with a vape and a cart in one hand.

doesn't bring his own weed to the function. smokes everyone elses.

pretends that he hates the sun and is weirdly dramatic about his sunglasses before like 4 pm.

doesn't play video games because he thinks they will "rot your brain" as if all of his other habits don't also rot his brain.

doomscrolls for hours, half the time he watches the same video on loop to piss people around him off.

really bad insomniac.

has an alarm he set for a doctors appointment (that was three months ago) that goes off every day at 3pm. has never deleted that. probably wont.

AERION TARGARYEN:

drives a loud ass all black mustang with a red interior and bumps heartless by the weeknd way too loud.

does not tip at restaurants unless he thinks the server is hot.

is also low key mean to the service workers.

flashes his black card around like its everyone's business.

fake punk if i have ever seen one, he loves to talk about the benefits of late stage capitalism. because at the end of the day he does benefit from that shit.

on the track team and unfortunately really fucking fast and really good at it.

got his eyebrow pierced three days after telling daeron that he'd look ugly with one.

also a slut but in the annoying loud way. can pull a girl. cannot keep a girl. he's only good when he's not talking for that long.

secretly considerate, only of the people he likes and respects, like he always makes sure there's exactly the right brand of whatever energy drink daerons on that month. or he'll take daeron's car to get an oil change because he knows daeron doesn't pay attention to that.

refuses to admit he's the one who changed that oil though. as far as he knows magically fairies did that shit.

listens to limp bizkit

does not take his shoes off in the house.

is at the end of the day really funny most of the time, which is why he manages to keep the friends he's got.

VALARR TARGARYEN:

plays soccer. forward. stupid good and super focused.

super respectful and genuinely nice, but has a resting bitch face like you've never seen.

is secretly so good at talking shit. it's one of him and daeron's main bonding points.

makes daeron go to the gym with him by promising to get him a smoothie after.

very much a quiet "i can have whatever i want" kind of a guy. I think he'd pull so crazy but just never talk about it. yeah he's hooking up with people. you never know about it though.

business major, heir to the family media conglomerate, honor roll.

has a black lab that he takes on really long hikes every weekend.

doesn't mix in with his cousin's friend group, has his own friends that never mix with the family. at the end of the day daeron is his best friend though.

they tell each other everything. they don't hang with aerion unless they have to.

gives egg history books because he always remembers what era of history egg is hyper focusing on at the moment.

is the certified "bails you out of a bad situation" guy. and the designated driver for basically every function. that man drives smoother than anyone you'll ever meet. with one hand.

[dragons-teardrops]

Odysseus and Diomedes' relationship in the song of Achilles is so fucking funny 😭

Diomedes: IF YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR WIFE ONE MORE TIME IM GONNA FUCKING KILL MYSELF!

Odysseus: YOU'RE JUST JEALOUS BECAUSE YOUR WIFE'S A HELLHOUND'S BITCH! MY WIFE-

Dio: FINISH THAT SENTENCE AND I'LL THROW YOU OFF THE SHIP AND YOUR ASS CAN SWIM TO TROY!

Like wdym that's a conversation they had 😭

I literally lost it when Diomedes said he was going to fucking kill himself only for Odysseus to bite back and call his wife a "Hellhound's bitch" like WHAT 😭😭😭

Odysseus you sassy little shit I love you so much

[ghostlybfgf]

“mine, in every version of the story.” i.e. DATING LOKI HEADCANONS

summary: those moments and thoughts and feelings that you experience when you are partner to the god of mischief and cruel romance himself.

pairing: loki (the sandman) x gn!reader

warnings: mentions of smut, bloodplay, Loki being an ass.

word count: 2.4k

a/n: this took way to long because I'm a massive over thinker and procrastinator if you couldn't tell, but more is coming I've just been so busy and am trying to get back on that grind my darlings, but here he is. :)

First and foremost, you aren’t dating him- not necessarily, he doesn’t date, not in the way others would understand it. He coils. He takes.. but he’ll call it love. And the worst part? For him it actually is. Whether you are betrothed or already bound together, mortal or endless alike, no vow knows the bounds of your partnership, for one thing he, you and every being knows?

You are his undoing, so much as he is your ruin.

The chaos is shared and curated. You'll wake within a new realm, in depths of snow or surrounded on a bed of cowslips, alone and curious as Loki watches from a distance, and he'll never admit to you as to why- though whispers on the wind say it reminds him of when you once met, unknowing and unexpected. He crafts illusions the way poets write stanzas, soft, strange things. A kiss that tastes of something long forgotten from your childhood, and a version of himself that lets you go, just so you'll crawl back.

Loki doesn’t want to hurt you. He wants you haunted by him. Touched in places no one else can name. Softened. Unmoored and made beautifully unhinged. He’ll let you think he’s being kind— a warm bath, a moonlit picnic, a whispered “I’m here” after days of silence—but look again.

You’re not in your bed. You’re not in your world. You’re not alone.

The pet names are layered and sometimes somewhat ridiculous, ever changing at that; “My desecration”, “Love”, “Darling heretic”.. "Serpent hearted dove" was one once, and he's never let it go, chuckling at every chance he gets. The list may go on, but you don’t just get a ‘baby’, you only get riddles in the shapes of names.

He hates boredom. So if you seem too... settled? He’ll stir something up. Seduce someone in front of you, though it means nothing. Whisper in your ear that he could leave, just to see how you’ll react.

But gods help the one who hurts you. He’ll dismember them with a grin, his hands stained and his voice sugar-slick:

“You belong to me. Not them, as I do you.”

He is stunningly vain- but wants your worship to be secret. Whispered and sacred. He knows what he looks like in the moonlight, the way the voice reaches every core of your being as he drops it an octave. But what wounds him—deeply, quietly, behind the illusions—is when you don’t look. When your gaze lands elsewhere.

When your fingers trail over someone else’s wrist for too long.

He doesn't show it. Not directly, but he goes cold. Still. A little distant.

Until finally—

One night, he finds you in the bath, the water rippling deep in the candlelight, your face drowsy and content at the warmth and sweet scent of lavender. You feel his presence before you see him, kneeling beside the tub, shirt unbuttoned exposing his chest and sleeves rolled, and that familiar glinting in his eye. You tilt your head taking him in, “What is it?”

He leans in close, fingertips pressing the white tile, eyes glistening but voice controlled. “You used to look at me like I’d hung the stars, now you barely look at me when I walk in the room. Have I become.. ordinary?” The question punches at your chest, and you blink. Once, twice. You rise slightly, water dripping from your arms as you cup his face. 

“No,” you whisper. “You’re the curse in every myth. The echo in every temple. You are never ordinary.” His throat bobs and his lashes lower. You press your lips to his cheek, then down to his jaw. “I don’t always say it,” you murmur. “But I watch you like I’m starving. Even when you’re not looking.”

He lets out a breath, like that was what he’d been waiting for.

Then his voice—quiet, raw:

“Say it again.”

So you do. Again. And again. And again. And that night, he worships you like the one thing in the universe he cannot outshine.

Loki lies to you, flippantly, as he does. “To keep things interesting.” Hm. To test your patience, perhaps make you jealous- and oh how it works, he likes that venom you carry, drinks it in even, so much so he can’t get enough of it. But just as frequently as he lies, when he tells the truth? It’s tender, almost painful. “I love you, that’s the problem.”

DARKER TIDES — POWER, POSSESSION, & A GOD’S WRATH

He loves your mind, and makes it known obsessively. That sharpness you have that rivals his wit, the defiance at his advances, the teasing of that chase that he is constantly keeping up with, and that defiant belief of yours that he can be better. Loki studies it, watches you attentively like you’re the only one in the world. He hates it some of the time, how you could frustrate him and entice him so simply, he needs it.

Loki doesn’t get vocally jealous, he gets violent. Quietly. Strategically. That admirer that flirted with you down the hall? Disappeared. The person who lingered their hand on yours a little too long when opening a door? Packed their bags and moved halfway toward the equator. Now he isn’t always that dramatic, but it’s rare he isn’t, but one thing is for sure, you’re guaranteed not to be seeing them again.

Some may question his advances, the looks from the other Gods and the Endless often frown upon him however most of it, stems from fear. His worst fear may be boredom, but that deeper fear? Losing you. Be it someone else takes you away or for nothing at all, peace or a mortal life. “Don’t you dare become ordinary.” He hisses once when you mentioned something of still, a new house maybe it was. It wasn’t that Loki meant it horribly, well maybe a little insulted, but he wants nothing but the best. You both make peace in the chaos, not settle for it.

Okay, now onto the bedroom… or wherever you two end up.

He has a worship kink. But this isn’t your average “good boy” energy no. He wants you to curse his name as you fall apart around him, to praise him like it’s blasphemy.

“Say it,” He snarls fucking up into you, “Tell me what I’am to you.” You’re straddled around him, legs hugging tightly around his back as your nails dig in at his shoulders, your head lazily falling against his collarbone. And oh you do, again. And again, until your legs are shaking and your brain is but air. 

Much akin to worship, as much as he revels his name on your lips its nothing if he didn’t return the favour. The things he can do, spend hours beneath you, kissing, biting, licking. A man starved has nothing on the way he licks into you, or pushes so deep the flip in your stomach aches, your sounds and moans are the only things he wants to hear for eternity. Often trapping the delicacy in some capsule, to keep.

Biting everywhere. On your thighs— on your neck. At your ankles and your shoulder, anywhere he can to put his own claim. His teeth are always too sharp, and you’re certain he does it on purpose because there are always marks and oh good, he wants you to feel it days later.

Illusions in bed. He’ll change his shape mid-thrust—tongue shifting, his eyes are glowing and his voice now echoes around you, ringing in your ears. You never quite know who you’re touching, but you always know it’s him, no matter the form. Sometimes he shows you versions of yourself: you begging, breaking, laughing manically. He whispers to you in a taunt, “That’s who I’ll make you.” He lives to watch you break, to come apart just for him, and he preaches more than a promise.

Now Loki knows no bounds, except your own. Despite the urge and push to your edge every time, one thing he respects if not himself— its you. You are his love, his own ruin, hurting you, if it isn’t punishing you, is out of the question. After all there is a reason so many people seem to go missing if they come even close to doing the same. You are his exception, through the teasing and the stress he seems to bring to any situation, simply because he can, that is one thing he won’t stand for. So if something is a no, he may question with that shit-eating grin on his face, but he only cups your chin and kisses you afterward, with a simple “I know darling.” 

He’s an exhibitionist, living to show you off, as well as himself of course. He’ll press you against stained-glass windows in temples that don’t know your name. He’ll ruin you in dreams where gods are watching, perhaps the Lord of the Dreaming himself and he knows it . He wants to be caught. “Let them see,” he roars against the shell of your ear. “Let them weep for what I get to have.” 

When he’s jealous, the sex gets mean. Not cruel— but sharp. Intentional. He’ll pin your wrists, fucking you deep and slow, taunting:

“Did they touch you like this? No, they couldn’t. You’d still be screaming their name if they had ever dared.”

Blood, now this is obvious no matter who it is, maybe his teeth draw blood when he bites, or he alludes a claw long enough to stretch open your skin, sometimes it’s a silver dagger, sharp and sleek that glints in the light. He’ll drag it down your thighs and across your stomach, gently before breaking the skin just enough. The hot sting pours through your body as you tremble, and his mouth is already on you, tongue teasing the thin red line like a fever, suckling at the acrid substance like its liquid gold. And he never forgets to press a kiss as it heals, leaving the small scars across your body, and if you do the same? He wears each and every one like the honour it is.

Now the aftercare is soft and delirious, and possessive. You say you’re tired? He sighs and grumbles but snaps his fingers just as fast, and now the silver moon hangs half in the sky and it stills, the sky now a deep magenta.”There, now come. Rest on me.” He’ll lie beside you in silk sheets that weren’t there ten seconds ago, one hand tangled in your hair, and murmur things like:

“You’re the only one who’s ever seen me like this.”, “You’re mine now. I won’t let the world have you.” “Sleep. I’ll keep the nightmares.” And he does.

Some softer things I believe between you two, that only you’d ever know, because even the God of Mischief and deception has feelings.

Loki carves your name in the bark of a tree he made himself, twisted and giant with reeds for branches that sweep the floor with every windbreak, sigils sit guarding your name, he visits it often, sometimes with you, sometimes without. Your own shrine, for him.

He lets you see his real form once, and only once. Just for a moment. It hurts to look at, but he lets you anyway. And as it happens he threatens to never allow it to another again, but he has trust in you, whatever that is to him. He lets you hold him, take him in, as he does you, every moment. An intimate moment even he wouldn’t forget.

One day he gifts you a crown of illusions, stating that, “If the world will not worship you, then I will bend the world.” You and Loki are an equal, no matter your being, and that is something he has made clear, to you, to the Endless, to time itself.

He’ll kiss your scars like they’re scripture, making love to every one of them, tracing them with his fingers and his eyes light up every time he gets to touch them, staring intently, “Each one’s a secret. A story. A spell etched on your body. I’ve read them all.”

Now if anyone were to ever hurt you, in any sense, Loki will make up for it in penance. Blood appears on your hands in a flash, and you try to wash it off, scrubbing harshly as the door clicks behind you. He’d been gone for hours and he strolls in like nothing ever happened, but the blood on your hands mirrors his. You ask him what happened, quirking a brow and he just shrugs. “They hurt you, I hurt them worse.” He pauses and dons that wicked grin, the blood disappearing from the both of you as he kisses you, pulling back just enough. 

“I saved their tongues though, in case you wanted to hear them beg.”

He sees everything. And he knows when something’s wrong. You’re smiling, but your hands tremble in your lap, or the smile doesn’t quite meet your eyes Loki is across the room, glaring lovingly and intentionally working down every wall, because just as he is a tease, he is as attentive.

“You smiled wrong,” he says without turning. “Who hurt you?” And when you finally tell him, softly, shakily, he doesn’t promise revenge, he just stands. And smiles.

He will try, anything he can, say or conjure what he can to make you happy. You say you wish things were simpler, that you could walk hand-in-hand through a market without the world shuddering, that maybe, just once, you could be loved without consequence.

The next day, you wake up in a dream. It's a soft one, and the two of you are in a little cottage by a lake that doesn’t exist. He’s cooking eggs (more like burning them, hilariously), wearing nothing but a linen shirt, and you come up behind him kissing his shoulder. He doesn’t say it’s a dream. Instead, he lets you believe, even if just for a little while, as he closes his eyes backing into your touch.

“You said you wanted peace,” he says, eyes unsure. “I tried.” Even if he doesn’t know what that is, sometimes he wishes it too. 

But one thing despite it all? He is devoted, no matter the disguise. He never really says I love you, not the normal way or the mortal way he’d say. But he leaves marks where no one can see, inscribing runes of protection on the soles of your shoes, putting charms in your coat pocket—things you don’t find until the day you need them most.

You may confront him once, frustrated, questioning why. And he just tilts his head, that expression unreadable.

“You are not my thing,” he says. “You are my weakness. That’s worse.”

Then he kisses you so gently you forget what you were angry about.

Loki doesn’t love like a man, for he is not that, but he loves like a God, and you? The only thing a God has to live for.

[the-artist-lio]

scene achilles, grunge patroclus, post-punk odysseus, gothabilly menelaus, romantic goth helen, cyberpunk diomedes.. let me cook

[sodapopwrites]

this is (and has been) MY eris vanserra and i’ll die on this hill

[loresung]

There are only six (6) decapitations in the Iliad, with Diomedes' decapitation of Dolon being one of the most egregious.

It is not within the heat of battle as every other instance was. It happens during an isolated conversation in the dead of night, on a still battlefield. Diomedes' decision is not in keeping with the implied (likely misleading, but possibly true) notion that Dolon could ransom his life from Odysseus.

At the moment of his death, Dolon is attempting to supplicate for his life before Diomedes, and Diomedes decapitates him without pause. Even Achilles, in the height of his rage against the Trojans because of his grief for Patroclus, did not behead Lycaon after he unsuccessfully pleaded for his life. Diomedes does not have a deeply personal reason for this beheading, and it can be read as an independent choice that Diomedes makes since Diomedes claims that Dolon's life is in his hands not Odysseus', despite the majority of the dealing being with Odysseus.

And then we see that Odysseus immediately, loudly gifts the spoils to Athena, rather than allow Diomedes to claim them. It seems more standard operating procedure to let the suppliant live, to let them ransom themselves or to sell them into slavery. What Diomedes has done is borderline blasphemous, and that is something Odysseus seems to rectify by gifting the spoils to Athena.

[samsayswhatever]

I love that Saxon telling Lochlan that no one can make him a man was the closest thing to good advice he's ever given.

Things still go poorly, but that's because of Lochlan and Tim's denial of their issues. Saxon for once acted like he can't make Loch into something he's not. He seems to be steeping down from the "mentor" role with this sentence, which almost seems like Saxon is treating him like a grown up for the first time. Like he doesn't see Loch as a kid who needs help and guidance to grow up; like Loch can do it himself. And he seem to understand that trying to force him to be someone he's not is bad for Loch.

Saxon might have said this partially or even entirely to just get Loch off his back, but I still love it. I think it shows Saxon is at least heading in the right direction. Especially the deeper reading that no one can make you be a person that you're not. You have to find out who you are for yourself. And that applies to gender, sexuality, and values. If both the brothers apply this message to themselves, they can really grow. And I love that for them.

[sodapopwrites]

genuinely crashing out about saxon ratliff right now. and lochlan low key. but mostly saxon. i care so deeply for that awful little white boy. his sadness speaks to my soul and i need to cradle him gently in my arms and kiss his temple. genuinely sick to my stomach thinking he might die next episode. i wanna take him by the hand and lead him right into therapy. and then pick him up and take him to tropical smoothie cafe and kiss his forehead and shit. babygirl i could fix you. anyways. i’m going to bed. i need to relax.

[canarynoir]

Have we learned nothing from Chelsea? She has his number. He is not salvageable. He is too old and too set in his ways. She offers him her insight and assistance toward his improvement, but all he really wants is to fuck her.

He is lazy and he is weak, he is shallow and he is offended by the way other people are able to read him, but he just wants that to stop. He doesn’t really want to change anything about himself. He wants the world to go back to validating his vision of himself, which is why he tried to fuck Chelsea.

He has never learned to do anything on his own. He is a full grown man working at his father‘s company and his underlings or his assistant are 100% doing all of his work. He spends all of his energy in life getting other people to do his work. He is a useless waste of space on this planet.

Stop wasting your time on the idea of what someone could be if they only put in the effort when they have never in their lives put in any effort.

It isn’t that people can’t change. It’s that the ones who can change have already made steps towards changing on their own, even if they weren’t entirely successful, but they’ve already tried and so they are willing to try again and maybe they need a little help. But somebody who just whines and does nothing but is not a project anyone should take on. 

[sodapopwrites]

the thing i love about characters like saxon is that they do want to change and they have no idea how. it’s like an addiction. it’s not that they don’t want to stop it’s that they don’t know how.

and with chelsea??? like that boy is so desperate for any kind of meaningful connection because he doesn’t have any. and because of surroundings and his environment and probably his lack of genuine affection from his family, he has put all of that into sexual desire.

like. being hyper sexual is something that is a direct cause from MANY things, one of those things being neglect, loneliness, lack of genuine affection and CASUAL affection in your childhood. he’s never gotten that. his family is avoidant, passive aggressive, and set in their ways. so of course he is too. like he’s not a bad person. he’s flawed and he’s broken a little. but he’s not like a lost cause. he’s just what he is and he doesn’t know how to be someone else. he needs things explained to him. people like that, in real life, need that.

it’s not that serious i suppose. like he’s not real. but i do think it’s about empathy at the end of the day. like being able to see WHY is he the way he is. or trying to. and the whole key with people like saxon is patience and COMMUNICATION (which is something nobody does with him) and not communication in the way chelsea does it. he needs like actual gentle therapy, someone (a licensed professional preferably) to lay out the facts and help him sort through why his issues ARE his issues.

it’s not that people like that don’t want to change. it’s that they don’t know how and it’s that incredibly human tendency to give in and give up. to settle for what you’ve become instead of who you could be.

but also that’s an opinion and what not. everyone is entitled to view him and any character however they want. that’s just my two cents.

this whole season has been about patterns in identity and how to deal with sense of self (in my opinion) and i think his character illustrates that really well.

[canarynoir]

Yeah, I get that. I got that’s what you were saying, but I also know that people like that are rarely able to actually put in the work needed to change in a way that would make somebody else throwing all their emotions and years of their lives into trying to fix them.

It’s very much something he would need to pursue on his own legitimately and not just as a way to get closer to Chelsea so that he could have straight sex and get the idea of his brother jacking him off out of his head, which is what that was all about. 

She was offering him something deep, and he went straight to the shallow and he will do it every time things get a little bit uncomfortable.

I also don’t think his life has been that empty of love. His entire family is very shallow and so they love him, and he has been loved and cosseted, but in a way that isn’t very character building.

Hey anyway yeah it’s all fiction and he’s definitely the type of person who is attractive within that trope of “I can fix him,” but in real life that kind of person is a soul eater.

[sodapopwrites]

i think a lot of people are really misinterpreting the sex scene with the brothers. i mean it is open to interpretation on purpose so it is opinion based. but they were drugged OUT. and they are both extremely vulnerable and lonely. and it makes a little sense that they craved some sort of connection with someone they thought knew them already. i mean there are more nuances than that. but i very much disagree that he’s using chelsea as a distraction and i disagree that his advances on her were purely shallow and purely a negative portrayal of his character. i mean just reading the scene it gives that he feels safe and he feels like there’s a connection. and when he’s rejected he looks shattered. but he leaves and respects the boundary. like i’m not gonna keep repeating the same things i said previously. but i think there’s more layers to it than you’re giving it credit for.

also the love and family thing. just because they’re shallow doesn’t mean they love him. if anything it makes the love shallow and it makes the love superficial and he wants and needs something deeper than that (because ALL humans do) so he looks for that it the ways he knows how. which yes are destructive and yes are not super great. but it’s still a testament to the coldness of superficial love based on merit and status.

i also just think with people in real life. yeah you’re right. like often those kinds of people are soul eaters and emotional leeches. but more often than not genuine connection changes people for the better. that’s what friendships and relationships are. it’s about growing and changing together and for and with eachother. it’s the basis of any real love you have for anyone platonic or not. growth. and growing together. it’s about empathy and looking for depth in everyone (because everyone has depth. we’re all multi faceted and we all contains multitudes and what not) because we’re all human and we’re all craving the same thing. connection.

and that’s what saxon doesn’t have.

anyways i’m done with my rant lol. i don’t wanna keep repeating myself and what not

i get where you’re coming from and we disagree which is fine! that’s what talking about shows and life stuff is like.

[sodapopwrites]

genuinely crashing out about saxon ratliff right now. and lochlan low key. but mostly saxon. i care so deeply for that awful little white boy. his sadness speaks to my soul and i need to cradle him gently in my arms and kiss his temple. genuinely sick to my stomach thinking he might die next episode. i wanna take him by the hand and lead him right into therapy. and then pick him up and take him to tropical smoothie cafe and kiss his forehead and shit. babygirl i could fix you. anyways. i’m going to bed. i need to relax.

[canarynoir]

Have we learned nothing from Chelsea? She has his number. He is not salvageable. He is too old and too set in his ways. She offers him her insight and assistance toward his improvement, but all he really wants is to fuck her.

He is lazy and he is weak, he is shallow and he is offended by the way other people are able to read him, but he just wants that to stop. He doesn’t really want to change anything about himself. He wants the world to go back to validating his vision of himself, which is why he tried to fuck Chelsea.

He has never learned to do anything on his own. He is a full grown man working at his father‘s company and his underlings or his assistant are 100% doing all of his work. He spends all of his energy in life getting other people to do his work. He is a useless waste of space on this planet.

Stop wasting your time on the idea of what someone could be if they only put in the effort when they have never in their lives put in any effort.

It isn’t that people can’t change. It’s that the ones who can change have already made steps towards changing on their own, even if they weren’t entirely successful, but they’ve already tried and so they are willing to try again and maybe they need a little help. But somebody who just whines and does nothing but is not a project anyone should take on. 

[sodapopwrites]

the thing i love about characters like saxon is that they do want to change and they have no idea how. it’s like an addiction. it’s not that they don’t want to stop it’s that they don’t know how.

and with chelsea??? like that boy is so desperate for any kind of meaningful connection because he doesn’t have any. and because of surroundings and his environment and probably his lack of genuine affection from his family, he has put all of that into sexual desire.

like. being hyper sexual is something that is a direct cause from MANY things, one of those things being neglect, loneliness, lack of genuine affection and CASUAL affection in your childhood. he’s never gotten that. his family is avoidant, passive aggressive, and set in their ways. so of course he is too. like he’s not a bad person. he’s flawed and he’s broken a little. but he’s not like a lost cause. he’s just what he is and he doesn’t know how to be someone else. he needs things explained to him. people like that, in real life, need that.

it’s not that serious i suppose. like he’s not real. but i do think it’s about empathy at the end of the day. like being able to see WHY is he the way he is. or trying to. and the whole key with people like saxon is patience and COMMUNICATION (which is something nobody does with him) and not communication in the way chelsea does it. he needs like actual gentle therapy, someone (a licensed professional preferably) to lay out the facts and help him sort through why his issues ARE his issues.

it’s not that people like that don’t want to change. it’s that they don’t know how and it’s that incredibly human tendency to give in and give up. to settle for what you’ve become instead of who you could be.

but also that’s an opinion and what not. everyone is entitled to view him and any character however they want. that’s just my two cents.

this whole season has been about patterns in identity and how to deal with sense of self (in my opinion) and i think his character illustrates that really well.

[sodapopwrites]

genuinely crashing out about saxon ratliff right now. and lochlan low key. but mostly saxon. i care so deeply for that awful little white boy. his sadness speaks to my soul and i need to cradle him gently in my arms and kiss his temple. genuinely sick to my stomach thinking he might die next episode. i wanna take him by the hand and lead him right into therapy. and then pick him up and take him to tropical smoothie cafe and kiss his forehead and shit. babygirl i could fix you. anyways. i’m going to bed. i need to relax.

[emandemms]

okay so i'm actually sitting down and reading the iliad for the first time (ty emily wilson for your service) and i just finished book five, so here are a few of my favorite moments in no particular order:

- diomedes.

- diomedes in all of book five.

- athena telling diomedes he shouldn't fight any of the gods that may show up on the battlefield, except for aphrodite, because what's she gonna do, fight back?

- athena then lecturing diomedes for NOT fighting ares, and diomedes proceeding to tell her "dude, you literally told me not to fight him, what do you want from me?"

- achilles and his pure hatred for agamemnon. someone give this man a shirt that says "number one agamemnon hater".

- achilles and agamemnon arguing the entire time they're in the vicinity of each other. every time they talk, it's like two kids coming up with every insult under the sun without outwardly cursing each other out.

- agamemnon essentially calling achilles a whiny bitch. kind of iconic.

- a popular favorite but: odysseus going around and beating the men who wanted to leave with a fancy ceremonial stick. it just never gets old.

- odysseus being that one guy who never shuts up about his kid while beating the living shit out of thersites. he very proudly calls himself the "father of telemachus" while verbally and physically abusing this man.

- odysseus once again referring to himself as the "loving father of telemachus" when agamemnon is trying to piss him off so he'll join the battle. i'm pretty sure this is a fairly common thing for odysseus to do, and you got to love him for it.

- another popular favorite: agamemnon mourning his very-much-so-still-alive younger brother after menelaus gets shot by an arrow in the thigh. menelaus quickly realizes he's fine and asks his brother to stop lamenting his "death" because if he keeps it up, he's gonna spook the rest of the men and that's just not what they need right now.

- and then agamemnon immediately being like "oh, word? okay, but you need a doctor- SOMEONE GET THE DOCTOR!"

- athena grabbing achilles' hair during the argument between achilles and agamemnon in book one when achilles is deadass about to just kill agamemnon because he's mad as hell. she then proceeds to tell achilles to call agamemnon names instead and books it.

- helen being the bad bitch she is whenever she's on the page, despite her circumstances. not only does she flat out tell paris she wishes he had been killed, but she basically tells aphrodite to bed paris herself, which is ballsy as fuck and i have nothing but respect for her.

- speaking of paris: hector absolutely TEARING into paris after he flees from fighting menelaus one-on-one. he really just says that paris is only good for looking pretty and he wishes paris had never been born. honestly, good for him.

- priam asking helen to point out the various greek leaders and immediately calling agamemnon handsome. idk why but it made me chuckle just a bit.

- priam also comparing odysseus to a ram, which is such a wonderful visual and i think about it a lot.

- antenor, one of priam's advisors, recognizing odysseus when helen points him out and immediately going: "oh, that motherfucker, i remember him. he looks like an idiot, but man, does he know how to use his words to win over a crowd."

- nestor essentially saying "back in my day-" every time he opens his damn mouth. i love him and he never shuts up once he gets going.

i'm positive i forgot a few but these are the ones that i remember. who knows, maybe i'll add more later.

[thhouseofblack]

iliad adaptation that follows the actual book to a tee EXCEPT it has odysseus in the background commentating like one of those sports commentators on every single scene, like:

"Achilles - yes, the Achilles - has just received word that Patroclus, his dearest companion, his partner in the camps and possibly in other activities (depending on who you ask), has fallen in battle! This is a moment in history, folks! Achilles is on his knees, howling at the sky like a man who just lost his entire world, ever the theatre kid!"

"Now, forget about Achilles, let’s talk about the real losers here: the entire Achaean betting pool. That’s right! If you had money on ‘Patroclus survives the war,’ you might as well start handing over your gold and spoils!"

"Hector is on the run, folks! I repeat, Hector is on the run! This is NOT a drill! The Trojan prince is circling the walls of Troy, and Achilles is right behind him, faster than Grandpa Hermes on cattle stealing duty! That’s one… two… three laps around the city! My, my, my, this reminds me of my sister's unfulfilled weight loss plans."

"AND Agamemnon fires back! Says Achilles is just a whiny soldier who doesn’t respect the chain of command! Achilles’ jaw just dropped, I don’t think I’ve seen him this offended since someone suggested Patroclus should wear his armour. And now - oh, oh, folks, he’s reaching for his sword! HE IS ACTUALLY GOING FOR HIS SWORD! ARE WE ABOUT TO WITNESS A MURDER LIVE?! IS ACHILLES FINALLY FULFILLING EVERYONE'S DREAMS TO KILL AGAMEMNON?!"

"AND HERE COMES THE SLAUGHTER! Diomedes is absolutely dominating the battlefield - twelve men down, zero resistance! Look at that form! That precision! Just a drool worthy performance of a true warrior! Meanwhile, I’m executing a perfect steal - warhorses? Mine now! That’s right, folks, I am officially expanding my contingent of stolen goods!”

“So there you have it, folks! Another flawless Odysseus-Diomedes Special™ - efficient, deadly, and absolutely not romantic in any way, despite what the Myrmidons are snickering about behind our backs. Yes, we can hear you!"

[masterofthewarcry]

thinking about diomedes of argos

[be-it-so]

My favorite headcanon about gods and the mortals is that gods never understand how fragile humans are and don't understand how deep god's touches go through mortal's skin. (or simply don't care)

Athena will make Diomedes's grip on his spear stronger pushing his fingers tighter and almost breaking his bones. She fixes his position making his stance perfect, but human's body was never able to get into position this perfect so his muscles will be tearing and his bones will be cracking just to be instantly healed. When Athena removes her hands, his body will be covered in bruises.

Odysseus will always feel burning and at the same time freezing gaze on his back while Athena watches him across the battlefield. His ears will be filled with her breath and whisper, that will ring in his head long after she ended speaking. She will help him shot an arrow, and he will feel his joints moving in the way they were never supposed to move.

When Apollo turns all the spears and arrows away from the Hector he will still feel them digging into his flash. Apollo will raise him from the dust again and again, and Hector won't be able to stand without hearing god's voice in his ears and feeling god's burning touch on his shoulders. He closes his eyes and still sees the light.

Helen will stand tall to speak up to Paris, and Aphrodite will place her hands on Helen's shoulders to remind her of goddess's presence and this flaming grip will weight as heavy as ten years of war. Aphrodite will wash Helen's face so her skin will shine brighter and eyes will haunt every man in the room, and the only thing Helen feels is her skin freezing from the coldness of Aphrodite's hands.

And those touches won't end with battle or even with war. Every time Diomedes fights he will feel his body taking the exact position Athena once made him in, his limbs will come into shape they were never meant to be in, without deforming cause Athena already fixed them, once she already designed him according to her vision. Every time Odysseus lies his words will echo in his head just like Athena's words did before, every time he uses a bow, arrow in his hands will feel like a burning torch or like an ice, and his joints and tendons will sing in a perfect copy of the song Athena made them perform inside his body on the battlefield. Every time Helen will square her shoulders to feel herself more confident she will feel burning touch on her chin pushing it up and freezing breath in her hair. She will look at her husband and shadow of tight grip on her shoulders will become shadow of sharp nails digging into her skin, holding her in place.

Even dying at Achilles's hands and falling to the ground Hector would still hear an order in his head telling him to get up and fight, his own blood running down a neck will feel like Apollo's hands forcing him back to his feet.

No mortal ever forgets a god's touch.