Im Internalizing It As Part Of My Canon - Tumblr Posts
I don't like all of Rick's portrayals of the gods. I get that they're supposed to be inhuman — they are stuck in their ways, unchanging, clinging to "perfection" and the values that have defined them for millennia.
I just think that sometimes, Rick chose the wrong values for them to cling to.
Ares does not value gender; he values war, he values strength, he values bravery. He does not care if you can give birth or not. He does not care for mortal gender values. He cares for what you can give on the battlefield, for what weapons you can wield, for how much pain you can take. He cares for how many punches you can take and still get up, for how much blood you can spit and still fight back, for how torn your knuckles can become and still cave someone's skull in. He cares for how many horrors you can see and still fight, for how much inhumanity you can take and remain human, for how many times you can be faced with your fears and overcome them.
Ares, God of War, The Courageous, Slayer of Men, Protector of Women, does not care if Clarisse bleeds every month, if his children fight all that moves; he cares if she can stare in the faces of her brothers and not succumb to her fears, if they can fight and lose and get back up for another round.
Aphrodite does not value femininity; she values love, she values lust, she values beauty. She does not care if you use dozens of cosmetic products on yourself. She does not care for dolled-up models. She cares for how you love, for how much you are willing to give in her name, for how beautiful you view yourself. She cares for what measures you are willing to take to ensure your love can thrive, for how many insults you can take and still love yourself, for how much effort you feel the need to put in to feel beautiful. She cares for how much blood you will spill to protect your love, for how much love you can give and still have more, for how many obstacles you can see in your way and still love fiercely.
Aphrodite, Goddess of Love, The Warlike, Smile-Loving, Common To All People, does not care if Piper wears dresses or sweats, if her children break hearts as a right of passage; she cares if she will ravage worlds to keep her loved ones, if they will love full-heartedly.
Weapons change. Social values change. Gender roles change. Fashion trends change.
War does not. Strength does not. Bravery does not.
Love does not. Lust does not. Beauty does not.
And is it not that the gods cling to those values of theirs, those aspects of theirs, those traits of theirs so dearly for fear of change?