#myrants

but have you considered that Cosmo might have been a popular enough side character to get his OWN centric episode as shows occasionally do, particularly long running ones wether it’s by popular demand or for the sake of world building.

or maybe even just a side character centric one off episode where the mains didn’t appear at all except maybe Dandy since mascot.

I’m also stating this now, considering there are 6 mains in the show, it’s slightly doubtful that all 6 characters would appear every episode considering the many sides we know exist,

Would Toons even have memories of episodes they didn’t appear in?

The above sounds ridiculous - and it is. Adding to the mix various other 'ingredients' (i.e. Aphrodite being bisexual / overall attracted to women, Aphrodite being into pornography etc) and you have a huge issue with the modern representation of Aphrodite that goes as far back as the Renaissance - yes, the Renaissance.

The thing is, I get it. I get why Aphrodite has been reduced to this overly sexualized being with no other function than sleeping with men and looking gorgeous while doing it. But all I'm saying is - this doesn't do her justice. This isn't even HALF of what the ancient Greeks and ancient Cypriots believed about Aphrodite.

Let's start from her very birthplace - Cyprus. Cyprus being an island, and thus isolated from the rest of the world with the exception of the sea trade, they believed in only one, all-mighty goddess. That goddess took on many names - the Great Goddess, Kypris, and finally Aphrodite. The ancient Cypriots at first didn't believe in the Twelve Gods - at least not before trade relations with Greece led to this cultural and population exchange between the two countries. Therefore, Aphrodite was the All Mighty goddess who embodied all aspects of life - from agriculture to death.

In Cyprus, Aphrodite was the goddess of agriculture, the protector of all living beings (humans, animals, vegetables), the goddess of sea, the protector of sailors, the goddess of war, the goddess of love, the goddess of copper (Cyprus being rich in copper), the goddess of marriage and motherhood, even the goddess of death. It might seem odd, how one female deity encompassed all, but it's not odd when you know how ancient pagan religions worked.

People way back in the 1000s B.C. didn't know science. They used religion as a means of explaining the world - the sole function that religion hasn't lost over the years, whether you're Christian, Buddhist, Hebrew etc - and the Uppermost Deity was female due to a very simple way of thinking. Women gave birth; they may have understood that the male contribution was also needed for reproduction, but they nonetheless associated women with fertility and applied that to nature's works. Therefore, in all (pagan) religions there's this Uppermost Deity, often called The Great Mother, and that Great Mother embodies nature itself. This is why the ancient Cypriots believed in Aphrodite as 'the one and only' and thus she covered all aspects of their daily life.

Not just that, but Aphrodite was also said to be the Mother of the Kings of Cyprus. In the same way that Zeus constantly cheated on Hera and his 'bastard' children became Kings and Heroes, the ancient Cypriot kings believed themselves to be direct descendants of Aphrodite - let's think of Cinyras here, a King of Cyprus, whom many believed to be the son of Aphrodite and Adonis. This mindset still persists in modern-day royalty. Though not direct descendants of Jesus (because no one would buy that), the British monarchs declare themselves kings 'by the Grace of God'.

Then Aphrodite went to Greece.

Greece then had a myriad of Gods, who already covered most of Aphrodite's realms (Zeus for the world; Hades for death; Ares for war; Hera for marriage/family; Apollo for light; Rhea/Artemis/Demeter etc for nature) and she had to adapt accordingly to find her own place in the world. Cyprus being the land of copper - copper at the time being as precious as oil or natural gas is nowadays - the ancient Greeks married her off to Hephaestus, had her be associated with Ares (the war connection), but they kept her function as a goddess of reproduction and protector of all living beings. But, in order for her to reproduce, she needed to mate and that's how her long list of lovers begins - in a way that is eerily similar to Zeus, except she doesn't have to transform into swans, bulls and raindrops to seduce her men.

Notice the key word here - men! This is why the whole modern, fanfiction viewpoint that 'Aphrodite is also attracted to women' doesn't work. Forget about gender discourse here for a minute and think of basic biology = a woman can't get another woman pregnant, and Aphrodite's basic function is reproduction, the continuation of life, so presenting her as a bi/lesbian means that you 'block' her basic function as a goddess.

You may argue that the 'sexualization' of Aphrodite started in Greece. After all, she's often shown nude or half-nude in statues, and the myths about her affairs are well-known and a myriad. However, as 'spicy' as her myths are, the ancient Greeks treated her as no less than a goddess. They worshiped her in temples, she had festivals dedicated in her honor, they even found ways to associate her initial Cypriot functions into Greece (affair with Ares, marriage to Hephaestus, the strong sea association - even in Greece she was seen as the protector of sailors etc). Plus, even her naked statues show something about the ancient Greek beauty standards. She's chubby, she obviously enjoys eating (gurl lives the life) and this isn't only pretty, but also practical. The ancient Greeks believed that chubby women produced healthy babies (and even modern-day ob-gyns believe that!), and as a goddess of both Beauty AND Reproduction (yes, I'll keep on saying that), Aphrodite embodies the ideal beauty standard of women!

Keep that last sentence in mind for the last part and the huge rabbit hole called-

The Renaissance.

I've nothing against the Renaissance per se; in fact it's one of my favorite eras to study. But I do hold them accountable for taking the already reduced version of Greece's Aphrodite and reducing it even further to the shallow, widely misunderstood version that we have today.

So brief overview:

Cyprus' Aphrodite was the All Mighty Goddess of everything - from life to death, from youth to old age, from war to peace, from the shore to the sea.

Greece's Aphrodite kept some of her basic functions directly (protector of youth and seamen, protector of women and childbirth, goddess of human, animal, and vegetal reproduction) and was indirectly associated with others (war, death, copper, the world etc).

Renaissance's Aphrodite (or Venus) is an aesthetic of all that's beautiful and sexual.

We've all seen the Botticelli paintings with the Birth of Venus and the one with Venus and Mars with Mars sleeping and the satyrs trying to wake him up (can't post them otherwise I'll be flagged as 'mature content').

They are the prime blueprint of modern-day depictions of Aphrodite, since they present both the Beautiful and the Sexual sides of her. You may argue that they present Venus, not Aphrodite. However! Roman Mythology is technically 90% of Greek mythology, with the remaining 10% being slight adaptations to their own traditions and past religious practices. Even the internet gets it wrong!

(SOURCE)

We all know about the fascination with all things ancient Greek/Roman at that time period; the Renaissance is widely important in that it was during that time that the interest in ancient Greece resurfaced and thus the reason we have the Homeric Epics and other ancient Greek tragedies known worldwide! You may see the connection here - though on a much smaller scale - with the modern-day fascination with the Twelve Gods (fanfiction, KAOS, Blood of Zeus, Nolan's The Odyssey, that Netflix show with the Gods as modern-day Brits, etc).

To return to my initial point, however, it was during the Renaissance that Aphrodite was reduced from a Goddess with a vital function to a mere 'sex symbol' and the consequences reach as far as our day and age. The image of the beautiful, sexual woman continues to sell, and whether you think of Marilyn Monroe, Monica Belucci or Sydney Sweeney when you hear the words 'sex symbol', the truth is that the INITIAL sex symbol didn't actually start off as such. Instead, it developed over time, often at the costs of 'losing' other functions, until she became a mere 'aesthetic' or a symbol for the Utmost Beautiful Woman.

Does Aphrodite have a primary association with intercourse? Yes. You cannot take that away from her, and it's not disrespectful to portray her as someone who enjoys the male company in all its forms. But, as I said many times here, the key word is reproduction. Aphrodite the Goddess doesn't just sleep around. She didn't invent condoms so that she won't have to worry about consequences; she didn't take on female lovers; she didn't even feel attracted to women (and, believe me, if the ancient Greeks wanted her to be a bisexual, they would've made her one!). Even her association with prostitution is twofold - in some areas, she was treating prostitution as a punishment, and in others she was seen as the patron goddess of prostitutes (though Jacqueline Karagiorgi - the best Aphrodite researcher - believes she treated it as punishment against women who were disrespectful).

In fact, all of her children are either gods, demi-gods, and/or founders of cities, kings, and heroes (notice the Zeus similarities here *blink blink*)

In short, it's no wonder Aphrodite continues to fascinate. She's still, very much, a modern goddess because Beauty and Love (whether maternal, romantic, sexual, etc) are the two things that will never, ever go out of fashion.

HOWEVER. Reducing her to a 'mere' sex goddess, with no other function than being 'pretty' and 'sexual', is the wrong interpretation, and it's the one widely seen in modern-day fanfics (whether online or in book form). Portray Aphrodite as the complex being that she is. Portray her association with war, death, the sea. She's an incredibly versatile goddess and women, nowadays, take on versatile lives. Some serve in the army, others become sailors, others run businesses, become models, some enjoy men more than others, and Aphrodite can perfectly be shown as a 21st century woman with the proper research!

Okay so it is currently 1:41 AM and I have finished reading A Curse for True Love and I have been let down and just wanted to get my thoughts out

Jacks characterization was the biggest down fall; The book is basically about Evangeline pinning for Jack but I wished it was the other way around; Jacks finds out Evangeline lost her memories and avoids him because she believes he is dangerous and he gets pissed off and desperately tries to get her back. I think this change in story telling would have allowed so much character growth for Jacks considering the fact he is so cold and calculating and having him grow desperate to have Evangeline by his side shows how much she had affected him and also showcase his humanity/vulnerability in his desperation to have her by his side as opposed to being cold and indifferent which leads me to the next point

JACKS BEING AN ASSHOLE-Literally every Evakjacks scene starts like this Jacks says a sassy/asshole dialogue>save Evangeline>Evangeline swoons>Jacks goes back to being an asshole again. Now I get Jacks often puts out a cold front because he doesn't want to be too close to Evangeline and hurt her. But we are three books in and it is established that Jacks loves her. So I don't understand the unnecessary rudeness like ie coming in the middle of the night tossing clothes at her face as she is waking up and almost knocking her off the bridge (yes I am well aware he was never going to let Evangeline fall) but dang does he have to be rude all the time???? I wanted Evangeline to tell him off, all she needed to say was something like "Jacks stop being such a jerk and wasting my time " and he would have stopped. But no. Evangeline is constantly talking about how angelic his face is and how blonde his hair is. Jacks treat your girl better pls????

Evangeline and damsel in distress x 1000000 -damn my girl cannot catch a break literally everyone is trying to kill her. Now I am a firm believer that strong female characters don't have to be physical fighters and I am ok with Eva not being a fighter. However, I wish she would have gotten herself out of danger at times maybe just by using her wits or having a strategy? I got tired of seeing Jacks saving her. Yes he did teach her self defense but not much came out of that?

SO MANY MISSING PLOT POINTS- The bite of on Evangeline's wrist-does she owe Jacks a debt anymore? Luc? What about Evangeline's parents, what about her family's shop-does she not want to go back to Valenda?? Probably more I cannot think of right now.

Evangeline is not the first fox? Major disappointment in that. The first two books heavily implied that Evangeline was the first fox and there were so many hints regarding that ie Chaos telling Evangeline she looked like the first fox in TBONA and Jacks having volumes of the archer and the fox in his office (clearly he is not over the fox girl either) Also the fact he is over Donatella just like that?? Didn't she cause him so much heartbreak? Atleast having them talk it out would have helped to bring closure. Also are we never going to figure out who the first fox girl was? If not Evangeline? IDK it takes away the true love/soul mates aspect that drawn me to Evajacks in the first place imo

TOO MUCH APOLLO. I don't know why we got so many chapters of him, I rather had more chapters of Jacks and EvaJacks moments. Especially when it was established that he is the antagonist so I do not know why he was a main character when it really showed have been more about Evangeline and Jacks

No evajacks wedding-I am super bitter that we don't get to see Jacks and Evangeline having their wedding like in her dream

Overall, I think TBONA was 100/10, definitely the best book in the series. I still love this series to death and I am grateful for Stephanie for sharing her story with us. I just feel so underwhelmed from the ending, it sooo could have been better. I think the biggest problem is that the story was too complicated. Stephanie should have kept it straightforward>Evangeline is the reincarnation of Jack's true love and the first fox, Apollo is the bad guy, Jacks fights to be with Evangeline, they win and get married. Not everything has to be sophisticated. It’s okay if stories are predicatable, they just need to be good.

sure, there are 'good' speakers. people who have a way of saying things that draws you in, that attracts you, that makes you feel things. but that doesn't mean that they're the only ones who are allowed to speak, right? everybody talks. everybody expresses themselves, one way or another, no matter how fluent they are or how well they do it.

Also Fans: He's in a happy relationship? Gotta cancel him, how dare he