#APOLLO WHOS ONE OF THE TWELVE OLYMPIANS

[clarissaweasley-10]

Unpopular Opinion: Leo should have just stayed single at the end of the series.

Now, I am one of the biggest fangirls of our bad boi, but i am not saying this just so that I can have him- well not entirely. We all know how much Leo struggles with insecurity and an inferiority complex even tho he's SOO AMAZING, and let's be real, the others wouldn't have lasted a week without Leo. But sadly, no one has given him enough credit, and no one includes him as well. One of the things Leo is most insecure about is his looks- since he's the only among the seven who's single, Leo thinks that it's because he's ugly- not to mention the number of rejections he's had. So he has always thought that being single is a bad thing, because it means that no one cares for him enough- he isn't enough. This is a very toxic mentality, wanting this type of validation to know that you're perfect. The interesting thing to note here is that, if Leo were a girl, then everyone would have pointed it out/would have made a huge deal of it, but now?? (*cough double standards *cough.) Anyways, my point is, instead of continuing to rely on that sort of validation, Leo should have realised that he's soo much more than what some girls, or people in general think. He is smart, he is cute the way he is, and if people cannot accept that- well their loss. Just think about it, this could have been an amazing character development, from being a boy who was broken over love to one who knew his worth. BUTTHENRICKMADEMYBOYENDUPWITHSOMEOLDBITCH. Like seriously? Calypso? Calypso?? if Rick wanted Leo to end up someone, why not make him/her a person who valued him, and inspired him to love him for who he is. Heck l would have loved it soo much if Leo came out as bi canonically (VALGRACE NATION!!!) but no Calypso. Calypso. She is adding fuel to his insecurity. I mean honestly, idc what Rick wants us to think- Caleo is toxic af and messed up, i dont think they'll last. We can clearly see in toa how Calypso constantly degrades Leo in front of others and doesn't appreciate anything he does. AND SERIOUSLY?? THIS IS GIVING ME THE ICK. So my only sort of consolation is coming on Tumblr and reading Valgrace fanfics. Thank you valgrace writers, you are saving me sanity. Peace.

[pumpkinbxtch]

hi! I love your Apollo fics sm can I please request a fic we’re the reader is Percy’s older sister and she finds out there’s like a prophecy of her marrying Apollo and then like they eventually meet and fall and love and then what there marriage is like

𓇼 the sun & the sea 𓇼 〰✷〰

— apollo / lester x daughter of poseidon!reader

— part i | part ii | part iii | part iv |

☆ radiostar is playin': hot rod by dayglow...!

summary: There is a prophecy waiting for you to listen to it and although it may not be something you expect or consider possible. You know what they say about prophecies…they can't fail to come true.

warnings: none BUT long read, literally. got out of hand and i couldn't stop writing. that's bad? oh, fuck me, i'm sorry. a/n: i appreciate your request, thank you (although I think I changed it a little, sorry). HEAR ME OUT I feel like I owe a lot of love to those who love Apollo, so that's why I didn't entertain the idea of ​​making this long. Hope you like I know it's long, but I promise I did my best to make it bearable and fun, I swear. 😭

“The sea and the sun are not far away as they look…”

They told you to stay away from the attic of The Big House, but they never told you why.

“Only he can go up”, they said, and it seemed stupid to you because he was your younger brother; you were supposed to protect him.

“It's very dangerous”, they told you while Annabeth went up, even though you were a couple of years older than her.

“Only if you lead some quest, but…” but no, because as the years went by, they made sure to remind you of your place. They told you that you were powerful, smart, and capable, because, yes, you were Poseidon's firstborn, but not the chosen one. That was Percy, your brother. Did it hurt? Yes, as an older sister, you tend to aspire to greatness and be an example, but you didn't die; you got over it.

“What does it matter? Less work for me” you said as you watched your brother's back on all the missions. Anyway, you ended up stuck in his destiny.

“His destiny. But then, what's mine?” you wondered. Then, when you took a step near Rachel Dare's cave, they stopped you too.

“It's–”

“Dangerous.” You completed the familiar phrase with a look of disgust, avoiding Chiron's eyes. He just looked at you with pity, thinking to himself that if you went in there, you could cause more trouble for your father or Olympus… Or everyone; it would be a war among all the Olympians, something they didn't need with Titan Kronos already on their heels.

Dionysus gave you his typical mocking smile, the same one that made you want to grab the can of Diet Coke and throw it right at his disgusting Christmas-reindeer-red nose.

“It would be so interesting, but we don't need it,” he said as he dragged you away from Rachel with Chiron.

You weren't stupid, you knew there was some good reason. But damn, those fossils were sneaky and never let you get to your redheaded companion, who also avoided you like the plague. Between those two things, you never managed to achieve it. Even less so after you ended up fighting on the Argo II with your new friends, straight from real Greece.

Oh, man, if you had thought Kronos was a damn old grump, Gaea was an old ball-buster. You didn't even have time to think about your future when you didn't know if you had one.

After the second war is when you started to throw in the towel about the future. You realized that the last thing you wanted to know at that moment was whether you would have to fight against twelve more Titans, return to Tartarus, or travel to Alaska again.

New Rome became your new home, and you only waited for Percy to catch up with you along with everyone else. That is, until you returned home to pack new things and didn't find your brother studying just as he should be.

— Mom? — You asked when she came back from shopping.

She gave you that look, and you cursed.

— Relax, he'll be back in a while; he just went to drop off Apollo or well, now he's Lester because apparently he's no longer a god but Zeus…

— Wow. Wait, what?

As a hero of Olympus, touching, seeing, or talking to the gods was never impossible for you; in fact, it was much more usual for your taste, and although you had been through too much already, that was new. So, you found yourself immediately traveling to Long Island Sound on the back of a Pegasus, looking for your brother. You wouldn't let Apollo, Lester, or whatever he called himself now take your brother away to distract him with his godly stuff that surely wouldn't lead to anything good.

— Where's Percy?! — You shouted in the dining hall, making the campers flinch.

Chiron got up from his seat, and from there, he smiled at you, but it only put you in a worse mood.

— Dear, it's been a long journey. Please, sit and eat with us.

You lowered your head without taking your eyes off Chiron and tightened the dagger on your belt. There was no reason for it, you knew, but you couldn't help feeling that fury after knowing everything you had been through. Percy deserved a break.

— Where's my brother? — The pause between words made the campers squirm in their uncomfortable seats. They had heard about you, about everyone. to be exact, in the third lesson of history in their camp classes.

— He left Apollo and Meg in a field not far from here — Chiron decided to sit back down and began to spread the tablecloth nervously. — He probably should have already reached home while you were flying here.

You sighed, and as you relaxed your body, everyone seemed to feel relieved.

— He has exams, Chiron — He nodded, and you made your way to the table where he was.

— In fact, there are problems, and apparently, he promised to come back this weekend — Your eyebrows furrowed again, and Dionysus laughed.

— Girl, shouldn't you be in New Rome?

— I went home for a few more things, also taking the opportunity to see my family, and it turns out that my little brother was helping an ex god who can't fend for himself, risking his studies. — You replied without looking at him — And speaking of brothers, you should control yours, Mr. D.

The god of wine snorted, and you formed a mocking smile. — Insolent.

— Miss Jackson — Chiron intervened, and you softened your gaze toward him — You can stay tonight, you know you're welcome and after all, it's too late to travel on Pegasus.

You didn't argue with them; you'd never put your pegasus in danger. So, for the first time in a long time, you returned to your cabin, the same one you shared with Percy and Tyson for so many years, and you had to admit that you missed him. At dawn, you were preparing to travel, and you left at the moment you thought no one was watching you, how wrong you were because a few meters away, Apollo was hidden behind the cabin piles, admiring you from afar.

— She… — He felt his heart tighten, and his gaze unfocused. He cursed his mortal body for how weak it was.

— Pervert! — Meg shouted, alerting the other campers who turned confused, and Apollo blushed.

— Shut up, I'm not a pervert — He smiled exaggeratedly at the others, pretending a smile and letting them know that everything was fine.

— You saw her — Said a voice behind him once Meg was far enough away to hear. The brunette turned and smiled sheepishly.

— For a second — Apollo replied, avoiding his old friend's gaze; embarrassment nibbled at his body, and it became evident once his cheeks glowed.

Chiron had never seen him… like that, so young, embarrassed, and notably imperfect, but despite Apollo's opinions about his recent change, he thought it suited him well, even found it amusing.

— You remember…

— I remember it well, Chiron — Apollo blushed even more — That's why I didn't approach her; dealing with my father's wrath is enough. Now I don't want to annoy Poseidon or I'll probably wake up dead on the lake shore tomorrow.

He played with the tips of his sneakers as buried them in the rocks on the floor; he looked like a scared little boy, but Chiron didn't judge him.

— I think you know what it means when she's around when you're close.

The ex god didn't want to pay attention, but he knew he was right.

— Although I remember who she is… there’s a problem. I don't remember how to avoid her…— Apollo's blue eyes looked directly at Chiron's, and the urgency on his face told him he was telling the truth. — If I don't know now, it's going to be harder; all I can do is hide if she's near.

— We've lasted many years with this circus, and as much as I respect the lord of the seas, I don't think this will last long. And you know what's more stubborn than a son of the sea god?

— The sea god — Apollo raised his eyebrows in annoyance, and Chiron resisted rolling his eyes.

— Fate, Apollo. You know it well, things are written. The prophecy is still there; it exists, and all we've done is delay the inevitable.

The brunette nodded with annoyance and waved his hand dismissively.

Although he wanted to pretend that he didn't care, the anxiety of what was to come ate at him. He knew very well that it wouldn't take long for you to discover what all these years had been hidden from you. If Apollo reflected better on that, he wasn't sure he wanted to continue keeping it to himself, either, 'cause those years had been torture for him. Yeah, he knew that you weren't yet mature enough for your mind to be stained with the weight of a prophecy that, unlike the others, not had to do with some quest or some imminent danger that threatened the entire world; but now you are in college, he couldn't wait for you to know.

The thing was, your father thought that the one who could be in danger was you, his precious daughter since Apollo was selfish, arrogant, and immature to have been around for eons. Poseidon could not fully explain the reason The Fates had woven such a destiny for you. So, until things had and could happen at the right time, in the right way, he warned Apollo to be close to you and he knew so well that be such an idiot idea to make him angry.

Before his thoughts could swallow him, Apollo shake them off and sigh to Chiron.

— Right now, I have a bigger problem. I think we've found something.

— Where?

— Here — Chiron frowned, and Apollo looked towards the camp's forest. — My dear friend, you have the Grove of Dodona here, in your playground.

Apollo didn't know that of all the decisions he had made in his life, avoid you was the best one he could make, because even if you had met that day or before, with the things that were about to happen to him, he wouldn't come back as half the man he was.

“Things at the moment, in time” the fates whispered in some place.

[brightdown00]

If You Want An ACTUAL 'Feminist Icon' Man With Depth, Then Ares Is Your Best Candidate (NOT Hades!)

He has been SEVERELY misrepresented. Wonder Woman, Percy Jackson, DC Comics ... why didn't God of War use Ares instead of Kratos who is just one of Zeus' lieutenants?

(Don't get too excited just yet, it's still a pretty low bar.)

1) Ares is quite literally the ONLY Greek God (sitting on the Twelve Olympians) who doesn't need to be put on an sex offender registry. (I won't speak for his Roman counterpart, Mars, however ...) The worst he ever did, was seduce Phylonome, an hunting companion of Artemis, in the guise of an shepherd. That's hardly comparable to Zeus seducing Callisto in the guise of Artemis, or Alkmene in the guise of her husband Amphitryon, or Poseidon seducing Tyro in the guise of the river-God Enicepus.

That's right, the 'sacker of cities' isn't a rapist himself. (If you don't like irony, then Greek mythology isn't for you.)

2) Not only is Ares the only one who isn't a rapist, but he has actually stood up for sexual assault survivors more than once (even if they're his mother or daughter!) Ares was famously tried (and acquitted!) for homicide by a jury of the Twelve Olympians, after he slew Poseidon's son for raping his daughter. In one version of the myth, he was found guilty and forced to serve among mortals (which was the same sentence Zeus gave Poseidon and Apollo for conspiring against him). The implication is that all the Goddesses voted to acquit, all the Gods voted to convict, and what with Poseidon as prosecutor, Zeus as judge, and Ares as defendant, there were more goddesses on the jury than gods. Even if Zeus cast his vote to convict, it would have come to a tie and the rule was that the defendant is to be acquitted if there is a tie. (This is what occurred in The Oresteia, the setting of which was also the Areopagus.) When two giant sons stormed Olympus with the intention of taking Hera and Artemis, Ares was trapped by them in a jar, and the implication was because he was defending his mother and he was only a child at the time. He was also present at the punishment of Ixion who attempted to violate Hera, alongside Athena and Hermes.

3) Ares is the father of the Amazons (you hear that, DC Comics?) The founder of the Amazons, Otrera (who, btw, is the mythological founder of the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus), is either his daughter with the wood-nymph Harmonia, or his consort (if she is the daughter of Eurus, God of the North Winds) by whom he fathered Melanippe, Antiope, Hippolyta, and Penthesilea. Their nation's capital city is named Themiskyra in honour of Themis (Zeus' second wife and his aunt by whom he fathered three daughters), whom Ares is on surprisingly close terms with (see the Homeric Hymn to Ares), since he was also the patron god of the law enforcement.

4) One of Ares' epithets is 'feasted by women', in the ancient city of Tegea in Arcadia; during a war between the Tegeans and the Spartans, the women of Tegea defended the city from an invasion led by the Spartan king Charilaus.

5) Women abused by their husbands, as I've read online (but cannot verify), would have likely prayed to Ares for the strength to survive, which makes sense since he is the God of Courage (who else would they have prayed to?), which may have (sadly) further contributed to his unpopularity in Ancient Greece. Likely women also prayed that their abusive husbands would die violently on the battlefield in the next war ... He is, after all, the 'slayer of men'. It's not any different from how mothers would pray to Demeter to bring their daughters back alive, or unmarried girls would pray to Artemis to escape an unwanted marriage ... There's no 'protector of women in Greek mythology' because the Hellenistic religion worked through power bargains with the Gods and their respective domains ...

6) Aphrodite was forced into a marriage with Hephaestus in exchange for Hera's release (Hephaestus initially sued for the hand of Athena which ... didn't work out; see Erichthonius for more detail), Aphrodite expected that she would marry Ares. (They may or may not have been sleeping together before since Dionysus is the one who got Hephaestus drunk enough to do it ... Dionysus is the son of Semele, daughter of Harmonia, Ares and Aphrodite's daughter ... or maybe it's just the wonky timeline in Greek mythology ... ) Love and War. Their children are Eros (the literal Cupid himself) and Anteros (Unrequited Love), Phobos (Fear), Deimos (Panic), and Harmonia (Harmony). They have an open marriage (they are often acknowledged as each other's consort in mythology), despite Ares killing Adonis as a boar (although one version has Artemis killing Adonis as revenge for Hippolytus) and Aphrodite cursing Eos with insatiable lust. Spartans gave Aphrodite the epithet of 'Areia' (similar to how Zeus has the epithet of 'Heraion'). Note how Ares and Aphrodite are the only official couple, whether they're depicted as married or otherwise, on the Twelve Olympians (following her divorce from Hephaestus) besides Zeus and Hera themselves, which brings me to my next point ...

7) Even though Ares was not worshipped by many Ancient Greeks (just as they didn't feel comfortable even mentioning Hades by name), he was always depicted as an handsome soldier, which was the peak of male attractiveness at the time. Legally, he would have been considered as the 'legitimate' heir to the throne of Olympus as the only 'true' son of Zeus and Hera (since Hephaestus was conceived via parthenogenesis), given how the Ancient Greeks projected their own sociocultural norms onto their Gods. He is also one of the most handsome of Zeus' sons (along with Apollo, Hermes, and Dionysus). Bizarrely, he could almost be considered as Ancient Greece's cultural equivalent of Prince Charming in a roundabout way.

8) Ares is the son of Hera (the Goddess of Marriage, Family, and Childbirth, Patron of Women and Queen of Olympus) and the husband of Aphrodite (Goddess of Love and Beauty; Lust and Sexuality; Desire and Pleasure). He is also the rival to his half-sister Athena (Goddess of Wisdom and Reason; Strategy and Warfare; Arts and Crafts) for his father's affections, and shares jurisdiction with his half-sister Artemis over the Amazons. He's also on good terms with his grand-aunt, Themis, and I would assume his aunt Hestia. Zeus and Hera's other children are all daughters (Enyo, Eileithyia, Hebe, Angelos, Arge, Eleuthera), and a part of Zeus is concerned that Ares would overthrow him (more on that in another day, for another post). It's not hard to see why Ares drinks the Respect Women Juice unlike his father, uncles, or brothers.

9) People often use Ares persecuting a pregnant Leto at Hera's orders against him, disregarding that Hera is not only his mother but the Queen of Olympus. Even then, he never did anything more than deny her entrance to cities. The entirety of Ancient Greece itself was under orders to deny Leto sanctuary, and so are you really going to fault Ares for it? ZEUS didn't even hold it against Ares, even though he's his least favourite and Leto is his favourite woman ...

9) Ancient Greek mythology is largely passed through Athens, and they associated Ares with foreigners such as the Thracians (Thrace is said to be the God's birthplace) whom they regarded as stupid, uncivilized barbarians (see 6). His respecting women is likely meant to be seen as a negative trait, and highly correlated with how Ares was seen in general (see 3).

Note: I am NOT calling Ares an 'feminist icon' man, I'm just saying that he is the best possible candidate in Greek mythology.

[apollosgiftofprophecy]

How I think Meg would react to the other 11 Olympians:

This was originally on Discord in a convo between Chronic and me :3

Zeus: Would have zero (0) respect for him. I think she would be able to read between the lines and see that Zeus & Apollo have a...complicated relationship, perhaps enough to figure out the parallels between them and her & Nero.

Hera: Honestly I don't really think Meg would be that intimated by her? Maybe put off a little by her cold exterior but if she sees how Apollo acts around her she'd probably just follow his lead and dunk on her with him

Poseidon: ??? Zero clue what would happen here.

Demeter: agree with u Meg would be a little wary of Demeter.

Athena: Perhaps a bit intimated? Athena's a very reserved person who keeps her cards close to her chest, while Meg prefers to get to the point and start stabbing problems away. Athena's whole deal may make Meg wary of her, perhaps even a bit distrustful because of how secretive she is.

Ares: I wonder if she would be equally affected by Ares's whole "fight aura" as Percy is so she may get a little aggressive with him, but Ares would probably find it funny though i would like to direct his attention to the last time a twelve year old got aggressive with him lol

Hephaestus: I think they'd be pretty chill. Probably don't interact much because Hephaestus isn't really a people-person and Meg's kinda reserved too. Maybe they'd bond over some type of machine-plant invention that makes Apollo go oh no

Aphrodite: Hmm...I think she may be slightly disturbed by Aphrodite's whole "I play with your love life because I like you so much!" thing. She'd take one look and go "you fucked up Apollo's life because you like him?????" Meg's blunt personality probably wouldn't mix the best with Aphrodite's guile and subtly.

Hermes: She wouldn't like him lol summons the wall lizard I just don't see Meg really liking Hermes all that much? Though I don't know why? Just the vibe I get from her

Artemis: Mutual inner jealousy beloved haha. I think Meg would be a bit jealous/resentful of Artemis because of how much she takes Apollo for granted. Meanwhile, Artemis is jealous that Apollo "prefers" Meg's and Athena's company over hers even though her company usually involves her badgering him...tragic twins beloved. She's a huntress - she's territorial. When someone encroaches on her territory, she gets growly.

Dionysus: She'd like him lol. As seen in ToN, Dionysus likes messing with Apollo (in a good way) and she likes messing with Apollo (in a good way). They'd get along like a house on fire and Apollo fears this alliance (though is secretly pleased)

[notcryingtoday]

WILL SOLACE'S FANFIC WHEN

NOT SOLANGELO JUST WILL

WHY DOES HE HAVE TO EXIST ONLY AS NICO'S BOYFRIEND I HATE IT SO MUCH

please i had an huge crush on him while reading the last olympian (we were the same age, he was an apollo's kid fighting with a bow, blond hair, healer, helping percy and annabeth, he was my roman empire) and i hate that i thought he was gonna he so important in heroes of olympus because him and leo were getting along AND THEN NOOOO ????

love solangelo really they're awesome (they don't have any fucking development but tbh they're also so damn cute and i've read a really good fanfic with them as an early couple in it who literally cured my depression) but will. solace. isn't. only. nico's. guy.

he became the head of his cabin at twelve which means the OLDEST of his cabin at TWELVE and it was one of the biggest cabin in the camp (apollo you player) !!!! he fought in two wars !!! he's canonically funny and outgoing, compassionate and a healer who takes action like that man really is the proof a cleric can be the coolest guy of the party.

[rukia-writes]

Aries nation rise up 🗣️ 🔥

Plot: Ares finds out about astrology and when his sign can propose the big question. 💍

Warnings: none.

Ares x (GN) reader

“So. Everyone is celebrating me?”

Ares.God of war. Sixth of the twelve Olympian gods.

Currently, having tea with his beloved (Name) who seemed rather happy about their new interest.

Astrology.

“Well, yes. And no. See, humans believe that the stars can have divine relegations and divine psychic powers that can help them in their every day lives. This season, is all about Ares the ram-“

“They are comparing me to a goat?”

“No, no and no. The ram represents the golden wooled, winged ram Chrysomallos-“

Ares was a bit lost on this astrology business, nonetheless he listened while drinking his tea. Listening to his beloved go on and on about astrology.

Something to do with fire signs. Leo and Sagittarius. Then something to do with Aries being one of the four modality cardinal of the zodiac.

It was all abit confusing to Ares, but he wasn’t going to let his beloved know that.

“What’s your sign? Are the stars saying we aren’t compatible?”

Leaning over (Name)’s shoulder he looked at the book his beloved was reading, in hopes the stars were happy their union. Taking the book, so Ares could get a closer look he saw all the compatible with.

But something else caught his eye.

“(Name), look at this. It says we should get married late-March to mid-April. A Tuesday or a Thursday.”

“Let me see that-“

Gently taking back her book (Name) saw what Ares was talking about as the book listed the months and days when each sign should marry.

Aries was, as Ares pointed out, late-March to mid-April.

“Spring weather huh? Okay, I can get that.”

“I would have preferred June, but getting married in the spring would be nice.”

“Yeah, it would.”

The two looked at each other with a loving expression with a bashful smile, the two being in their own world.

Love birds for sure.

“Theme colors of the wedding — red, orange, brown, and copper hues are recommended-These colors are so last year. You need white and gold for sure.”

Apollo had made his way into Ares home without him knowing, scaring both (Name) and Ares. Holding the book up Apollo mentioned how he would love to be the decorator, Ares objected but (Name) happily agreed.

“So, late March we should have the wedding. Everyone isn’t busy that time.”

“Hey.”

“You don’t think mid April would work, Apollo?”

“Hey.”

“No way, the sooner the better (Name).”

Apollo and (Name) were completely in their own little world, picking out colors for the wedding to how big the wedding cake should be, a small or big wedding as Ares tried to get a word in.

“Hey! Hey! I haven’t proposed yet!”

The two, Apollo and (Name), went quiet.

Until another voice chimed in.

“Well, go ahead and propose.”

Hermes came from seemingly out of nowhere with a smile, this time Apollo, Ares and (Name) were the ones surprised. Taking the book Hermes quickly read the book and nodded his head.

“Gemini wedding would be most fitting for late June and early July…I agree with these dates for my wedding. So, have your wedding before then.”

“You’re getting married?!”

Apollo, Ares, and (Name) spoke in unison.

“No, I’m simply saying I don’t want two wedding back to back. It would be too much.”

“Oh, that makes sense.”

The three spoke again in unison as well as nodding their heads in unison.

“So, go ahead and propose. Ares.”

“What?! So soon?! I will propose. Just not now!”

Ares face was hot and red, as he waved his arms side to side obviously flustered at being put on the spot about such a big decision. (Name) could tell and found Ares being flustered adorable of course. Holding Ares kindly large hands (Name) smiled at the tall, muscular, handsome, and flustered god.

“Propose to me when you are ready. But don’t keep me waiting forever.”

Apollo made a “aw” sound as he smiled at (Name) comforting words as Hermes watched how the scene would unfold. Ares cleared his throat and simple responded with four words.

“I won’t, my love.”

🎀Rukia-Writes🎀

[tsarisfanfiction]

Absent No More

Fandom: Trials of Apollo Rating: Gen Genre: Family Characters: Apollo, Cabin Seven Not much changed, after Zeus was destroyed, but for a certain group of people, they got the change they'd always wanted. TOApril day 3 - Divine Intervention! Some credit goes to @fearlessinger for today's prompt interpretation, because she was the one to suggest the Ancient Laws, so here we are!

Most things didn’t change.  It was weird, for the mortals in the know, the demigods that knew the king of the gods was gone forever, that Olympus was without her ruler.  It felt like there should be some sign that things had changed, but rain still fell, lightning still lashed across the sky, and whatever power vacuum may or may not have been going on in Olympus never touched their lives at all.

If not for the gap in the original horseshoe of the twelve Olympic cabins, where cabin one had once stood, they could almost, almost forget that Zeus was gone.

Except for one thing.  One small thing, insignificant in the grand scheme of things, barely worth a mention, hardly a footnote in the story of the Olympian uprising and subsequent consequences.

Small and insignificant to most, but not to all.  To some people, great in number but barely a splash in the ocean that was the human population of the world, it was huge, on a scale they’d never dared to dream before.  For many of them, it was all they’d ever wanted.

For the woman in South Korea with her own dance studio that accepted students of any age and taught some of them how to turning fighting dances into fighting, it was the helper that regularly came by to give all her students an extra bit of guidance.  It was suggestions on who needed more help, or dance props that happened to include aspects of certain rare, celestial metals.

For the man in Canada, it was procedures that went perfectly and the doctor that never left his side, holding his hand as he woke up slowly with the knowledge that he was never going to feel sick if he caught sight of his bare body in a mirror again.  It was celebrations and affirmations and whole-hearted acceptance, gentle hugs light enough not to agitate still-healing flesh but firm enough to be all-encompassing anyway.

For the royal bowman in Scotland, it was the company he found waiting at home after a long day of practice, either parade or combat, with a warm meal and chores all already done.  It was hair ruffles and a large, bright smile, and the soothing of aching muscles with simple touches.

For the librarian in Germany, it was the patron that came by every day, smile as bright as the sun and always a stack of books to return.  It was long conversations on authors, on recommendations, and the fresh stack of books checked out at the end of the day, right before she clocked out to go home, and the way she was always walked to her door.

For the actress pulling long hours to make ends meet, it was the dedicated make-up artist that always ended up working on her, no matter the role, and told her stories as she watched her transformation in the mirror.  It was the way the ugly scar on her face from where she’d once tried to fight for what was right never counted against her in auditions, and smoothed away to nothing with a simple touch of foundation.

For the lawyer that had had to fight every step of the way to her position because of her gender and the colour of her skin, it was the assistant that floated past her office every day to bring her drinks and make sure the case notes were always in order, even when her dyslexia made her want to throw them out the window.  It was forced breaks and warm rolls straight from the oven of her favourite bakery for no reason other than being loved.

For the brothers that played basketball for opposing teams because their greatest challenge had always been the other, it was the cheering in the crowd for both of them equally, because no matter how serious it got it was still just a game, and family didn’t pick sides.  It was post-match celebratory drinks, always on the tab, no matter the result, just because.

For the doctor it was the shoulder to try on whenever he had to give a patient bad news, when all the training and skill in the world couldn’t spare patients trauma.  It was the way he never, ever got sick despite the near constant exposure to illnesses, so he could always be there to give others the best care possible.

For the farmer that had fled from war to raise sheep instead, it was dawn wake-up calls and an extra pair of hands when the animals couldn’t settle.  It was lambs surviving their birthing and thriving even when other farms struggled with high mortality rates and animals struggling to adapt to the ever-shifting environment.

For the poet tearing her hair out over her latest publishing deal, it was soothing hands massaging away the headache while a melodic voice recited her writing back at her, assuring her that her words were flawless.  It was the way the deals always made it through, in the end, and made her enough money that she never had to give it up in order to find another, better, job to make ends meet.

For the healer surrounded by children with weapons they were still learning to use, it was a helping hand in the infirmary, and a bright hug when the last mischievous teenager that had thought they knew how to handle weapons better than they did was gone.  It was falling asleep during nighttime vigils and waking up with the sun to find blankets and golden company keeping watch while he rested.

For the saxophonist it was the accompanying instrumentalist giving him a proud grin that had teeth too white to be natural as he came off stage, because the performance had gone off without a hitch, and the second, private recital for just the two of them.  It was the way his instruments always stayed perfect and in-tune, never suffering misfortune on journeys from venue to venue.

For the Olympic champion it was a beaming face in the crowd as she won competition after competition, toppling world records and making them her own, and two male voices proudly claiming her as their daughter for the world to hear.  It was one-on-one shooting, where they did things most mortals didn’t dream could be done with a bow and laughed the whole way through.

For the historian always finding themselves in the deepest depths of archives, it was the gentle light that was always bright enough to read by, but never damaged the precious manuscripts they poured over.  It was the listening ear as they recited what they’d discovered, to make sense of it, and the quiet confirmations of someone that had been there when the history had been written – or knew someone who had.

For the bowler who also picked up a bat, because not everyone in the team could bowl but they all had to be able to hit the ball, it was the perfect lighting whenever he made the run, always in his favour and never in the batsman’s.  It was the same person catching the ball over and over, when he hit a six and it sailed into the crowd.

For the drum teacher, it was the way she always had new students signing up to learn whenever she had a vacancy, eager to learn from her.  It was the way she could always talk about them, celebrating when they worked hard and got to where they wanted to be with their music, or asking for help when a student was struggling and she didn’t quite know how to help them, knowing that there was always help available for her.

For Apollo’s children, whatever walks of life they ended up taking, it was their godly father finally being there in their waking hours as well as their dreams, wherever and whenever they needed them.  They’d always known they were loved, but knowing it and experiencing it, it turned out, were two entirely different things, and while he never explained exactly why he’d started being more around after his own father’s destruction, they all had their suspicions.

[namesforwriters]

Mythology Inspired Names: Ancient Greek (masc)

Achilles ~ Greek, meaning "grief," "distress," "he who has people in distress."

One of the most famous of all Greek heroes, Achilles famously gained invulnerability as a baby which aided him as an incredible warrior. Achilles slew Hector in the Trojan War as revenge for killing his lover, Patroclus, but Achilles' rage was so strong the gods intervened, and Achilles was killed by an arrow to his one weak spot, his heel. pronunciation: ah-kill-eez

Adonis ~ Greek, meaning "lord."

Considered an ideal of male beauty in classical antiquity, Adonis achieved immortality after being killed by a wild boar in a hunting trip. His blood mingled with the tears of Aphrodite, who wept over him, from which a red flower grew. Sometimes an anemone flower, other times a red rose. pronunciation: ah-don-is

Aion ~ Greek, potentially meaning "path."

In Greek mythology, Aion was a minor deity and the god of cyclical time; the passing of the year, the zodiac, the recurrance of eternal time. He was later associated with mystery religions. pronunciation: ai-on (I-on)

Apollo ~ Greek, meaning "to destroy," "redemption."

Apollo is one of the twelve Olympians and is the god of archery, the sun, prophecy, music, healing, disease, light, and poetry. Twin to Artemis, Apollo is also well-known for experiencing tragedy in love. pronunciation: ah-pahl-low

Ares ~ Greek, meaning "bane," "warlike," "ruin."

Another of the twelve Olympian gods, Ares is the god of war and courage. He is the patron of the Amazons, and is known for both incredible violence and savagery as well as valor and honor. His most famous lover is Aphrodite. pronunciation: air-eez

Argo ~ Greek, meaning "swift."

Argo was the name of a ship from Greek mythology. It was the name of the ship Jason sailed on during his quest to retrive the Golden Fleece. pronunciation: ar-go

Atlas ~ Greek, meaning "enduring," "to hold."

Atlas is a Titan associated with celestial spheres and the creation of astronomy. After the war between the gods and Titans, Atlas was punished and condemned to hold the weight of the sky for eternity. pronunciation: at-les, at-lahs

Castor ~ Greek, meaning "beaver."

Castor and his twin, Pollux, are the half-brother children of Leda, a Spartan queen. Castor was born to a mortal father, while Zeus fathered the divine Pollux as a swan. Castor, along with Pollux, was transformed into a constellation named Gemini, meaning "twins." pronunciation: kas-ter

Damon ~ Greek, meaning "one who tames."

Damon is a mortal man from Greek mythology who, along with Pythias, is shown to be an ideal of friendship. When Pythias is accused of plotting against the tyrannical king, Dionysus I, Pythias asked for the chance to get his affairs in order. Dionysus I agreed, as long as Damon stayed behind as a hostage. If Pythias didn't return, Damon would be killed in his stead. Pythias returned, and Dionysus I released them both, impressed by their bond. pronunciation: day-men

Eros ~ Greek, meaning "desire," "love."

In some myths, Eros is a primordial god. In others, he is the son of Aphrodite and Ares. In all, he is the god of love, desire, lust, and sex. He is better known by his roman name "Cupid." He is usually depicted with wings and a bow and arrow. pronunciation: air-ohs, air-os

Hades ~ Greek, meaning "the unseen one."

Never an Olympian, but an incredibly powerful, major god nonetheless, Hades is King of the Underworld and lord of the dead. He is usually depicted with a helm, a two-pronged spear, and his three-headed hound Cerberus. pronunciation: hey-deez

Hector ~ Greek, meaning "to hold," "holding fast."

Hector was the strongest warrior in Troy and fought in and led armies in the Trojan War. Despite his skill in war, Hector was described as "peace-hearted." He was eventually slain by Achilles. pronunciation: hek-ter

Helios ~ Greek, meaning "sun," "warming."

In the Ancient Greek faith, Helios is the original god of the sun and brother to Selene, goddess of the moon. He is largely identified with, and later seemingly replaced with Apollo. His Roman counterpart is Sol. pronunciation: hee-lee-ohs, hee-lee-os

Hermes ~ Greek, meaning "stone heap."

Best known as the herald and messenger of the gods, Hermes is one of the twelve Olympians. He is also the god of travelers, merchants, thieves, messengers, mischief, athletes, and speed. pronunciation: her-meez

Homer ~ Greek, meaning "security."

The name of the famous Greek poet who credited as the author of both The Iliad and The Odyssey, which tell of the Trojan War and the ten-year journey of Odysseus back to his home in Ithaca after the fall of Troy. pronunciation: ho-mer

Hyacinthus ~ Greek, meaning "hyacinth."

Hyacinthus was the son of the muse Clio. He was gentle and clever and loved by both Apollo and the god of the west wind, Zephyrus, who accidentally killed Hyacinthus out of jealousy. Apollo wept for him and created a flower to memorialize his lost love. pronunciation: hi-ah-sin-this, hi-ah-sin-thus

Icarus ~ Greek, meaning "follower."

Icarus is best known for his death. Icarus was the son of Daedalus, a master craftsman and architect of the Labyrinth, in which they both had been trapped by King Minos. To escape, they both strapped wings made from feathers and wax to themselves. They escaped, but Icarus flew too high, and the wax melted in the heat of the sun, resulting in Icarus' fall and death. pronunciation: ih-cah-ris

Jason ~ Greek, meaning "healer."

Descended from Hermes, Jason was the leader of the Argonauts and a hero famous for finding the Golden Fleece. Originally married to Medea, Jason later left her, losing the favor of the goddess Hera. Jason's successes would eventually lead to the establishment of Rome. pronunciation: jay-sen

Leander ~ Greek, meaning "lion man."

Leander was a mortal man from Abydos who fell for Hero, a priestess of Aphrodite, from across the strait. Every night, Leander would swim across the strait to be with her, and Hero would illuminate the top of her tower so he knew the one. One winter, a wind blew out the light, and he died. Hero threw herself off the tower to join him. pronunciation: lee-an-der

Minos ~ Greek, meaning "king."

The King of Crete and a prideful man, Minos was the son of Zeus. After his wife gave birth to a man-bull hybrid, Minos had the Labyrinth built in which he could hide the Minotaur. Every nine years he sent seven boys and seven girls into it to be eaten by the monster. He became a judge of the dead in the Underworld after his death. pronunciation: mine-ohs

Notus ~ Greek, meaning "south."

Notus is the god of the southern wind. Largely associated with heat, but also the coming of rain and mist, his brothers are Boreas, Zephyrus, and Eurus. pronunciation: no-tus, no-tos

Orion ~ Greek, "rising in the sky," "dawning."

In Greek mythology, Orion was a great, giant hunter who earned the favor of Artemis. In some myths, he is killed by Artemis as well. In others, he is killed by a giant scorpion. Either way, his story ends in death and he is transformed into a constellation. pronunciation: oh-rye-en

Orpheus ~ Greek, meaning "orphan," "best voice."

Orpheus was a Greek hero who helped Jason on his quest for the Golden Fleece. Following the quest, Orpheus journeyed to the Underworld to recover his love wife, Eurydice. Orpheus was an amazing musician. pronunciation: or-phee-us

Perseus ~ Greek, meaning "to destroy"

The Greek hero Perseus is most famous for his defeat of the gorgon Medusa, by decapitating her. Also famous for slaying the sea monster Cetus, Perseus was the son of Zeus and would go on to establish Mycenae. pronunciation: per-see-us

Pollux ~ Greek, meaning "very sweet."

Pollux was born to the Spartan queen Leda and Zeus disguised as a swan. His half-brother and twin Castor was born mortal, while Pollux was born divine. Pollux asked Zeus to share his immortality with Castor after he was fatally wounded, and the two were transformed into the Gemini constellation. pronunciation: pah-lux

Prometheus ~ Greek, meaning "forethought."

The myth of Prometheus describes him as the gifter of fire. Despite orders from Zeus, Prometheus gave the gift of fire to humanity and is the father of technology, civilization, and knowledge. Zeus punished him to be bound to a rock, and every day an eagle would peck out and eat his liver. pronunciation: pro-mee-thee-us

Proteus ~ Greek, meaning "first," "firstborn," "versatile."

Dubbed the "Old Man of the Sea" by the poet Homer, Proteus was an elusive and prophetic sea god. Proteus would only answer the questions of those who managed to capture him. pronunciation: pro-tee-us

Styx ~ Greek, meaning "shuddering."

Styx is the name of one of the rivers in the Underworld. To cross it is to cross into the Underworld. Styx is also the name upon which the gods swear their most solemn oaths. Styx is gender-neutral. pronunciation: stix

Theseus ~ Greek, meaning "to set," "institution."

A great hero, Theseus was also a king of Athens. Most well-known for killing the Minotaur, Theseus married the Cretan princess Phaedra after abandoning Ariadne. pronunciation: thee-see-us

Titan ~ Greek, meaning "defender."

The Titans were a generation of divine beings born to Gaia and Uranus, the primordial deities of earth and sky. Predecessors to the gods, the most famous Titan was the trecherous Kronos, lord of time. pronunciation: tie-ten

Triton ~ Greek, meaning "sea god."

Triton was the divine son of the Olympian Poseidon and his queen Amphitrite. Largely functioning as his father's messenger, Triton is usually depicted as a merman. pronunciation: try-ton

Troy ~ Greek, meaning "water," "soldier."

Troy was a great city located in modern-day Turkey and the site of the mythological Trojan War, fought between the Greek forces under Agamemnon of Mycenae and the Trojan forces under Priam of Troy. The Greek gods were also divided during the war. pronunciation: troi

Typhon ~ Greek, meaning "child of Titans."

One of the most deadly, dangerous monsters in all Greek mythology, Typhon was a giant who attempted to overthrow Zeus and the gods. Many of Greek mythologies monsters were born to him and his wife Echidna. pronunciation: tie-phon

Zeus ~ Greek, meaning "sky father."

Lord of the skies and king of the gods, Zeus is the chief of the Olympians. His wife is Hera and his brothers are Poseidon and Hades. Zeus is the father of many other Olympians and gods, as well as some of the most famous Greek heroes, including Perseus and Heracles. pronunciation: zoos

Zephyrus ~ Greek, meaning "westerly wind."

Zephryus is one of the four wind gods and lord of the western wind. Known for being gentle and bringing about the flowers of springtime, Zephyrus fell in love with Hyacinthus and accidentally killed him out of jealousy when Hyacinthus spent more time with Apollo. pronunciation: zeh-ph-er-us

These name lists are intended to help writers and artists. There is no expectation of credit, and these lists aren't meant to be the end-all be-all lists of possible names. There are millions out there, and this is just for fun!

If you have a suggestion for a name list, or want to see something specific, feel free to submit a request!

And if you see something that is wrong (a pronunciation, a meaning, an origin), again, feel free to let me know!

[stygianoaths]

Luke Castellan and his team of godkillers but they don't kill with weapons stained with ichor, but with the illusive Mist that warps the mind of mortals so easily, it shakes their faith.

In eons past, these mortals revered the Olympians with offerings and prayers daily, told their stories that inspired fear and awe all the same. It was something the pantheon had gotten hooked on, something more addicting than the ambrosia and nectar the texts had waxed poetry over. And the council of twelve did their damn best to keep it around. After all, there was no other high out there that can compare to the feeling of being in control, of being powerful.

But like any high, it wears off, sooner or later.

So that's exactly what happens.

Alabaster C. Torrington, with the help of Dr. Claymore, "discovers" new texts that discuss Greek gods that have never been heard of before; gods who are kinder, wiser, more trustworthy, than the ones everyone has come to know in this era.

It's interesting, how the origins of these gods and their lives seem to have no relevance or connection to the other pantheon and its history. No Titanomachy or Gigantomachy to speak of. There are a few parallels, but they are pleasant, like the love stories of Dionysus and Ariadne or Pygmalion and Galatea. Otherwise, it's like an alternate timeline of its own, where every god present is named a god for a reason.

It's fake.

But the mortals don't need to know that. For what's false, if persisted in, would become true anyways. Furthermore, it isn't like a new pantheon will harm any of them. The lucky ones with clear sight may win the heart of a deity who would actually see them beyond their fleeting mortality, who would care for them.

It takes a while, though, for the mortals to adjust to this suddenly newfound information. They are stubborn creatures, Luke knows, who tend to fear the unknown and new. Yet the youth crave it like bears after a beehive laden with honey. With time, they'll come around, he knows. Maybe he might not be there to see if the plans work out for himself, but someone would, and that's all that matters to him. He just needed to be the one to start the movement.

Luckily for him, he doesn't have to wait too long.

The faith spreads through idealized modernized takes on the mythology, as silly as it sounds. It's very of the era, isn't it? Books are being published on these gods who endure hardships and come out irrevocably changed but for the better. Ethan flips through one by an author under the pen name S.J and devours it in three hours. It reads nicely and he wonders when he'll get a chance to meet the main character of the story, and ask her if the myth holds true. It is, obviously, but it's different hearing it from a god. The fanfictions are even better, but Lou Ellen Blackstone gets drowned out by Alabaster's "lalalalala" before she can start talking about the recent one that was updated a few hours ago. Eh, so what if it's a little spicy?

Nonetheless, the new band of believers grows, and it's like a sucker punch to the gut for the Greek pantheon.

Apollo comes to camp and drops to his knees before his own cabin, surprising the campers. He looks terrible. Dionysus had already looked miserable, but the children attributed that to his sour personality. And, as usual, no one noticed the girl by the hearth who had disappeared weeks ago. But Apollo, golden boy Apollo, well, he has eyes that are sunken and sickly yellow, matted hair, muscles shrunk, and hands that shake as if they are beyond his control.

"They're killing us," he whispers to Lee Fletcher, "all of us."

"What do you want us to do?" Lee asks. Apollo coughs into his fist and looks down to see a smear of gold staining it.

A nosebleed. Gods don't get nosebleeds.

His children, gods bless them, are trying to heal him, but to no avail. It's kind of funny, how on any other occasion, such an act would have been annoying. If the solution was to simply heal, don't you think he would have tried that? But, weak as he was, he felt touched. Loved, even.

But love wasn't always enough to save another. He, of all gods, should know that.

"Can you write?" he asks. Lee scratches his head.

"Write?"

"Stories. Poems. Songs. Anything."

"Um, no, not really. Dyslexia kicks my ass, and you know archery is more my thing. But Will does sometimes. Healing is his forte, but I always see him writing something in a notebook, though that could just be medical notes, now that I think about it-"

Apollo disregards that last part and begs Will Solace to take up the pen and fight back. It's their last hope. If nothing is done, this camp and its children will become all that is left of the Greek Pantheon, for textbooks and website links are not enough to keep the faith going, especially if left to collect dust or rot in an archive.

"Write us new myths. Stories that can happen now, that we can make happen. Redeem us, so that we can live. We'll do it. We'll do any of it," Apollo begs.

"Anything?" Will asks. Apollo nods.

"Anything."

The Fates looked at each other from above. How time has changed. In the past, battles were fought with swords. Now, they had to be fought with words.

[alatismeni-theitsa]

Hi, anon who asked about how to worship the gods properly and about khernips, altars, kharis, and pendulums here :3 Thank you so much for the response, it actually helped me a lot. (Especially with khernips and tarot. Everyone around me was treating khernips like it was straight up holy water)

Either way, right now Im actually trying to learn just the basic pronunciation of the gods names. The proper greek pronounciation. I started learning like, a few days after I sent the ask so I already know some stuff, but for some reason its so hard to find proper sources for it. As in videos that dont just give the english pronunciation. Ive seen a few websites but they dont have any audio lol. I want to ask if you have any sources where I can try learning it? Because I mainly know how to pronounce the twelve Olympians and some other gods and thats it, but even then Im not sure. So far what I know is:

Zeus: THEE-as (like diaz but the d is th)

Hera: EE-ra

Poseidon: poh-see-THO-nas

Aphrodite: ah-fro-THEE-tee

Ares: AH-rees

Apollo: a-PO-lon-as

Artemis: ar-teh-MEES

Athena: ah-thee-NAH

Demeter: THEE-mee-tra

Hestia: e-STEE-ah

Dionysus: thee-oh-nee-SOS

Hades: Ah-thees

Persephone: per-seh-FOH-nee

Hecate: eh-KA-tee

Cerberus: Kyerveros or Tyerveros (Im not sure)

Nyx: neeks

Hypnos: EEP-nos

Hermes: er-MEES (dont ask why I put him so low, I forgot)

Thanatos: than-ah-TOS (not thanatoes apparently)

Sorry if this ask is a little long because Im asking if these pronunciations are correct. Your first answer already helped a lot augrhjsisnfkdn

Heyaaa! For those who don't know, we are talking about this post. I'm glad it helped cause it took me a century to write 😂 It's not your fault or anything, I'm just glad my work paid off 💙

As an additional argument on "khernips is not holy water", I found that the oldest text where we see khernips first time in the Odyssey when a girl is bringing people in a symposium water to wash their hands before they eat. So we are not talking about something holy here. Perhaps there were some purification rites about the water when the priests were using it but.. honestly I have no knowledge of that. Perhaps you can find such a case where you need to treat this water a little bit differently but I'm afraid I haven't seen such info somewhere so far.

As for the names you sent, most are correct! As you know, this is the nominative case you wrote. When addressing the gods directly you will use the vocative case (which is often the same with the nominative). For example you'll use "Apóllona" instead of "Apóllonas". In the Greek text you can see where the stressing marks are to understand where to stress each word. Learning how to read the Greek letters definitely helps and it won't be that difficult for you because most of the letters make the same sound as the English ones.

I'll just write the names who needed correction from the list you sent (nominative case):

Άρτεμις (Artemis) -> AR-teh-mees

Διόνυσος (Dionysus) -> THJO-nee-sos (Διό is here pronounced like Δγιό, is a frequent phenomenon in the language)

Κέρβερος (Kerberus) -> KER-veh-ros

Νύχτα / Νυξ (Nyx) -> NEE-hta (NEEKS is also fine grammatically fine - Greeks still agree - but Greeks have changed how they say this word for the last centuries)

Θάνατος (Thanatos) -> THA-nah-tos

[wanderingmind867]

Ranking the Twelve Olympians (plus Hades and Hestia):

Ones I like:

Hermes: Hermes is a good guy. God of travellers and merchants and stuff. I kind of feel bad for him. The other gods have him run ragged. But he's a nice guy. I think it says something the Hermes cabin accepted all the unclaimed kids. Hermes was always there for those with nobody else to turn to. And if that isn't kindness and generosity personified, I don't know what is.

Apollo: From what I've read in the Titan's Curse, Apollo is one of the nicer gods. He's pretty kind to everyone, his poetry is bad but sincere (in fact, I didn't hate his poetry at all), Apollo is great. Better than his sister by a mile.

Dionysus: I'm not a drinker (I can't stand alcohol) but Dionysus isn't a bad guy. He's apathetic at Camp Half-blood, sure. But I'd be apathetic too if I had to spend 100 years around a bunch of immature brats. Kids can be awful, man. If I were at Camp, I'd be friends with Dionysus and Chiron. They're like teachers. And as I've always known: I tend to get along better with teachers than with other students.

Hephaestus: I'm not someone who likes to do work with my hands (I think even trying to work in a forge would go disastrously for me). But I like Hephaestus. He seems like a pretty good guy.

Hestia: The neglected Oldest child of Kronos and Rhea. Hestia is sweet, because she's content with her lot in life. She's just fine being ignored. Having a bunch of siblings more famous than you can sometimes make you bitter and jealous, but not Hestia. Hestia is just happy for them. And just happy to be included whenever she is included, I assume. The goddess of family and home and hearth, Hestia is truly worthy of praise.

Demeter: Goddess of Agriculture and food and stuff. I'm not a farmer or anything, but I can admire a lady who provides us with things like bread and grain.

Poseidon: Being that I have family from Newfoundland (even though I've never been), plus the fact that I love water and baths and stuff, one might argue I'm biased towards Poseidon. And maybe to some degree I am. I've never been on a boat and I don't like the beach. But I love baths and seafood and stuff. So I have nothing against Poseidon. He doesn't seem like that bad of a guy.

Ones I have complicated feelings on:

Zeus: Zeus is the king of Olympus. He's the greatest of all the gods, and it's to him we owe the heavens above. That being said, he does have a reputation for being temperamental (I believe) and for being a philanderer. So Zeus might not be the best god, but I think he's still worthy of our respect.

Aphrodite: I know Aphrodite can be vengeful and vindictive sometimes, but she can also represent one of the emotions we all feel. Love. Whether it be platonic, romantic or whatever, love is beautiful. So I can't hate Aphrodite completely. Besides, she's the oldest olympian. That's pretty cool.

Hades: Only reason Hades is here is because of the afterlife. I'm glad there is one, I just hate Asphodel and the Fields of Torment.

Athena: I like Athena because she's the goddess of wisdom and knowledge, and because her symbols are great (I love owls and olives). But she's also a goddess of war, and I hate war. War is never acceptable. Still, Athena isn't as bad as, say, Ares when it comes to warfare. At least she's got some other stuff going for her.

Ones I dislike:

Hera: Hera has an important role (I will acknowledge that), but she's still not very nice. Of the six kids Kronos and Rhea had, Hera is the worst. She's judgy to the point of excessive cruelty. She pushed Hephaestus off Olympus because he's ugly. And sure, she hates her husband because he cheats. But has anyone ever wondered why Zeus cheats? Because he's a philanderer, yes. But probably also because Hera is an awful wife. She's probably judging him constantly.

Artemis: Artemis is kind of misandrist. She hates anyone that isn't female, she loves turning people into animals, she sucks.

Ares: Ares may not be the worst god/titan/etc, but he represents a concept that I think we all hate. No war is good and just, war is always hell. Hard to respect the God of War when you hate war. Especially with how Rick Riordan writes him.

[hellomisst]

The Hunger Games Characters' Godly Parents if They were in PJO/ HoO

I saw this thread on Twitter giving Olympian parents to THG characters, since the PJO series just got out and TBOSAS/ THG is also popular right now. So, I'd like give this a shot (but only the twelve Olympians as depicted in the PJO/ HoO books) since I think some characters would have godly parents different from what they assigned to them. ALSO, I think it's pretty fun! :))

Main Characters:

Katniss Everdeen, Daughter of Hera

Hera, goddess of women, marriage, childbirth, and love of family

Despite being pushed to hunt and kill, and successfully becoming the symbol of revolution, we know Katniss never wanted any of the violence and attention she had to go through.

Katniss would do anything for her family, even if it meant being the tribute for District 12 when her sister got picked.

Katniss said having a family would be nice if the games did not exist, and she and Peeta did start a family after everything.

Katniss would choose, and fight for, peace for her family.

Being the symbol of something as significant as revolution also meant being an inspiration to all women and raising the status of women in the society.

Peeta Mellark, Son of Apollo

Apollo, god of music, poetry, dance, truth, prophecy, healing, plague, archery, reason, sun, and light

Peeta, despite being kind, chill, and relatively quiet, is rather crafty and cunning, as seen in his camouflaging skill and his if-it-weren't-for-the-baby schtick.

Peeta can also be strong when needed, as seen several times in the way he survived, fought for and with Katniss, and even in his temper when pushed too far.

Peeta is also sweet and rather romantic, as he can also be portrayed as a lover boy in the way he declared he loves Katniss live on shows.

Lucy Gray Baird, Daughter of Aphrodite

Aphrodite, goddess of love, beauty, desire, passion, pleasure, and fertility

Despite being an orphan, being different, and even being weird to many people, Lucy Gray is always loved by many.

Lucy Gray managed to be in good terms with the peacekeepers in District 12 that she was not stopped when she sang after being reaped, and to get the support of many people, even in the Capitol, even when she was seen as too small and weak to win the games.

Lucy Gray also charmed Coryo to the point that he was convinced that they were similar and unique.

Despite being seen as too small and weak to fight, Lucy Gray is charming, clever, and knows her way in the wild enough to escape Coryo.

Lucy Gray remains in Coryo's mind even after everything.

Coriolanus Snow, Son of Zeus

Zeus, lord of Olympus, god of thunder, lightning, sky, kingship, honor, and justice

Coryo is ambitious and never settles for anything less than absolute power.

Coryo, despite the house of Snow falling after the war, was still convinced that he was above everyone and he deserved the glory, honor, and success all others got.

Coryo also willingly betrays those he claimed he loved if it meant rising to power.

Due to how everything ended with Lucy Gray, Coryo grew to hate everything that reminded him of her, but he still wants to be reminded of her so that he can never forget his mistake.

Despite being cunning, Coryo also grew to hate traps in a forest because of how his father died, to the point of being paranoid.

When he did rise to power, Coryo enjoyed luxury and raised the stakes of the game for absolute entertainment.

There's more for the supporting characters here. "Keep Reading" if you'd like to see more :))

Supporting Characters:

Cinna, Son of Athena

Athena, goddess of wisdom, intelligence, brilliance, civilization, mathematics, strategy, defensive warfare, crafts, arts, and skills

Cinna is a fashion genius who uses his work to express his emotions and his defiance to the Capitol.

Cinna was also able to hide his allegiance with the rebels to the point that no one knew if he was still with the Capitol or with the rebellion, even when he was already truly part of the rebellion.

Cinna had always been kind, caring, and supportive, especially to Katniss, while still vehemently opposing the Capitol behind the facades.

Effie Trinket, Daughter of Aphrodite

Aphrodite, goddess of love, beauty, desire, passion, pleasure, and fertility

Effie can be seen as shallow, posh, and too much of a Capitol citizen, but she eventually grows out of the illusions of Capitol and realizes everything was a sham.

Effie holds manners, etiquette, and perfection above all, but is also often bright and bubbly, much like many, if not all, of the citizens of Capitol.

Effie is also known for her extravagant and unique fashion.

It can be said that it is her attachment, bond, and love for Katniss and Peeta that made her fully realize the evilness of the Capital and eventually caused her to side with the rebellion.

Haymitch Abernathy, Son of Dionysus

Dionysus, god of grape-harvest, wine, orchards, fertility, madness, parties, religious ecstasy, and theater

Haymitch is known for being quite unapproachable, sarcastic, and unfriendly, but is actually capable of caring and taking control of his own impulses and temper.

Haymitch, aside from caring for and adoring Katniss and Peeta, is also quite observant, smart, and tactical that he actually helps them before, during, and after the games through setting up how they should keep appearances for sponsors and support, and how to stay alive.

Haymitch also helped them in the rebellion, not just in how to win but also by being a great father-figure and/ or friend for support.

Haymitch also openly hates the Capitol and tunes out of reality through liquor.

Tigris, Daughter of Aphrodite

Aphrodite, goddess of love, beauty, desire, passion, pleasure, and fertility

Tigris is widely known for her love for fashion and for being a great stylist in the Capitol.

Tigris' passion for clothes lead her to leave university to pursue fashion.

Despite being a Snow and growing up in the Capitol, Tigris is incredibly kind, sympathetic, understanding, forgiving, generous, and loving.

Because of her overall kindness, Tigris abhors the Hunger Games, even when Coryo rose to power.

Tigris' love for her cousin and family, Coryo, turned to hate when he took absolute power; so much so that she became happy when the rebellion planned to kill him.

Sejanus Plinth, Son of Apollo

Apollo, god of music, poetry, dance, truth, prophecy, healing, plague, archery, reason, sun, and light

Sejanus was known to be kind and gentle, and to hate the Capitol, the Hunger Games, and how the people from the district were treated.

Sejanus often spoke up for humanity, and reasoned against the necessity and cruelty of the Hunger Games.

Sejanus hated the Capitol so much that he wanted to return to District 2, though both areas disliked their family as neither believed they fit in their area.

When he became a peacekeeper, Sejanus wanted to be medic because he hated violence.

Sejanus' fate can be said as the unravelling of Coryo and Lucy Gray, and the seed of President Snow's downfall.

Volumnia Gaul, Daughter of Athena

Athena, goddess of wisdom, intelligence, brilliance, civilization, mathematics, strategy, defensive warfare, crafts, arts, and skills

Gaul is widely known as the head gamemaker, the academy's professor, a researcher, scientist, and geneticist.

Gaul is known for her cruelty and viciousness, especially as the head gamemaker of the Hunger Games.

Gaul praises those who impress her, and interesting ideas from her students lead to her asking them for a paper or proposal that may or may not be used to improve the games.

Gaul often implies that the games are there to remind people of their true nature, similar to how people became during the war; thus, effectively replicating, if not extending, the war.

Casca Highbottom, Son of Ares

Ares, god of war, rage, bloodlust, and courage

Highbottom is known as the dean of the academy who, in his university days, crafted the Hunger Games when he got drunk with Crassus Snow, Coryo's father, and they were assigned to create a punishment for enemies so extreme that they will never forget their mistake.

Highbottom's idea of Hunger Games was submitted by Crassus as a project, and he regarded this as a betrayal never to be forgiven, especially when Gaul officially brought the games to reality.

Though he regrets the Hunger Games, Highbottom continues to play his part as the face of the games and by overseeing the mentorship program.

Highbottom excelled at puzzles, hence his idea for their assignment; but it can also be said that he has an affinity to war, though he heavily dislikes it, because of their experience.

Primrose Everdeen, Daughter of Hestia

Hestia, goddess of hearth, warmth, fire, home, family, domesticity and the state

Primrose, the younger sister of Katniss, is known to be very kind, gentle, and delicate that she was even said to have a talent for healing.

Primrose was said to love all living creatures, regardless of how they look like, and she was always inclined to stay with their mother even through the worst times.

Primrose also took care of their mother, even fixing her hair despite being unresponsive, and cleaned off dust on their late father's mirror because she knows he hated dust.

Gale Hawthorne, Son of Hephaestus

Hephaestus, god of fire, volcanoes, forges, blacksmiths, technology, craftsmen, and sculptors

Gale is known to be Katniss' best friend as they both grew up in District 12, the coal mining district, together.

Gale is quick to anger, and Katniss keeps him in check.

Gale also hates the Capitol and does not hesitate to sacrifice some lives if it meant the success of the rebellion.

Gale became the leader figure of the rebellion and so he made tactics to win the war.

Gale is also rather idealistic, and he burns with fire and passion especially in the rebellion

Clemensia Dovecote, Daughter of Athena

Athena, goddess of wisdom, intelligence, brilliance, civilization, mathematics, strategy, defensive warfare, crafts, arts, and skills

Clemensia is implied to be rather smart and quite competitive, as she and Coryo were buddies (and partners) in studying and projects.

Clemensia was also shown to be responsible as she always wanted to contribute in group works.

Clemensia's attitude after being bitten by the snake was thought to be off from her usual kind and humble self, as she became hysterical.

Grandma'am, Daughter of Demeter

Demeter, goddess of agriculture, harvest, grain, and fertility

Grandma'am thought very highly of their status as the family of Snows, and so she greatly cared for both Coryo and Tigris.

Grandma'am, while severely looking down on anything and anyone related to the districts, was also known to be fussy and maintained the need for civilities despite going through hardships.

Caesar Flickerman, Son of Hermes

Hermes, messenger of the gods, god of merchants, commerce, trade, roads, travel, diplomacy, gymnasiums, athletes, orators, thieves, and invention

Caesar is the master of ceremonies and the host of the later Hunger Games.

Caesar helps the tributes by bringing out the best in them to get more sponsors that can allow them to survive better in the games.

Caesar is also known to be rather positive and entertaining, and so he is well-liked in the Capitol.

It is also notable how he feels sympathy for the tributes, hence, his initiative to help them gain sponsors.

Rue, Daughter of Apollo

Apollo, god of music, poetry, dance, truth, prophecy, healing, plague, archery, reason, sun, and light

Rue was always excited about the thought of adventures, and she loved music and singing with mockingjays.

Rue was known to be kind and gentle, and her being the eldest meant she took care of her siblings.

Rue also helped heal Katniss, and she was quick to trust her after they established alliance.

Finnick Odair, Son of Aphrodite

Aphrodite, goddess of love, beauty, desire, passion, pleasure, and fertility

Finnick is widely known to be charming and handsome, and he knows this, so he makes almost anyone love him.

Finnick is also rather easy to be with and easy to talk to, which might lead anyone to think he is shallow, but in reality, there is so much more to him and about him.

Finnick's charm might also lead people to think he goes around with anyone and everyone, but he is only in love with his partner, Annie, and would very much prefer to only be with her, if not for their circumstances.

Johanna Mason, Daughter of Ares

Ares, god of war, rage, bloodlust, and courage

Johanna is most known for her being outspoken and unafraid to show her rage towards the Quarter Quell.

Johanna's victory in her Hunger Games was associated to her cleverness.

Johanna can also be seen as impatient and cruel, but this can be seen as her way of protecting her vulnerability and trauma from everything.

Plutarch Heavensbee, Son of Athena

Athena, goddess of wisdom, intelligence, brilliance, civilization, mathematics, strategy, defensive warfare, crafts, arts, and skills

Plutarch is known to be of unparalleled intelligence and to be manipulative.

Plutarch, described by Snow as "brilliant", was trusted by Snow to be a trusted and valuable ally, even when in reality, he was already working with the rebellion.

Plutarch is also an exceptional strategist, though he can also be seen as ruthless as he was not bothered by the deaths of both the games nor the war.

[literallyjusttoa]

More friendos for Apollo, since I just cannot stop. Might write something about these ideas if I can find the time this semester!

Lelantos: The Titan of the Air and moving unseen, and the brother of Leto. That's right, it's Apollo's uncle! Lelantos has spent the majority of his life hiding away from the rest of the mortal and immortal world. He speaks with his sister and his daughter, Aura, but has never really interacts with his Olympic niece and nephew. After the trials, Apollo starts visiting his mother a LOT more, and ends up running into Lelantos as a result. The two figure out that they are very similar, which makes Lelantos very excited. He ends up taking Apollo under his wing a bit.

Mnemosyne: The Titan of Memory. Apollo begins to fear the idea of losing his memory after the trials. The god's memory didn't feel as infallible as he once believed it was, so he reaches out to Mnemosyne. She agrees to teach him tactics to strengthen his own mind, and becomes one of the two mentors Apollo ends up gaining post-trials. She is a strict teacher, but only because she sees how determined Apollo is to master his own weaknesses.

Aither: The Primordial of Light. Apollo and Aither aren't friends, as much as Aither is just taking a bit of an interest in Apollo. Escaping Chaos isn't something any old god can do, and Aither is curious on what allowed Apollo to overpower his creator. He watches over Apollo when possible, and speaks to him when Apollo drives the sun chariot. Apollo ... doesn't really know what to do with this? He's honestly just trying to get by, so interacting with a primordial this much makes him nervous.

Perseis: An Oceanide, and the goddess of Solar Witchcraft. Perseis first approached Apollo to thank him for putting her husband, Helios, to rest. After a couple of conversations, she asks Apollo if he would like to learn her specific practice of sorcery, one that she had been teaching Helios before he passed. Solar witchcraft is a very niche line of study, and she doesn't have many people to pass her knowledge on to. Apollo agrees, and Perseis becomes his second mentor. Perseis is ... much more chaotic in her teachings than Mnemosyne.

Mousika: One of the twelve Horai, representing the hours. Mousika represents the hour of music. Mousika and Apollo were already acquainted long before the trials. Mousika would often sit in on Apollo's practice with the muses, and sometimes even add her voice to the fray. After the trials, Apollo's lyricism and writing take a turn that Mousika picks up on, and she finds it inspiring. Apollo believes the new songs he has written are too raw, based on ideas and feelings that Apollo himself is just starting to unwrap. Mousika acts as his sounding board, listening to the music he makes as he struggles his way through every emotion, and adding her own melancholy responses as harmonies.

Prometheus: The God of Forethought and Crafty Counsel. Ok, so this one’s a bit in the future. But imagine with the power of all the friendship I just made up for Apollo to have (along with Meg and his mortal friends and his kids ofc) Apollo works up the strength to stage that long awaited Olympian revolt. Who would his first ally be? I say Prometheus. This guy is so interesting, because he was ahead of the curve. Prometheus is the only god who I can see thinking mortals were not only equal to immortals, but actually more important. He would be so ABSOLUTELY stoked to learn Apollo was trying to overthrow his father, with one of his reasons being the mistreatment of mortals. I just think these two would be extremely op if they put their heads together.

[trentcrimminallybeautiful]

AO3 Tag Game!

Tagged by @mvshortcut :) I'm gonna stick with just this fandom/this account for this one to make it less confusing

How many works do you have on AO3?

44. (Including snippet collections.) For this fandom/account. Far more if you count bi-demon-ium or my old account or my older account or

What’s your total AO3 word count?

Okay this one it won't let me separate by pseud or fandom so you're just gonna have to live with being lumped in with all my MBS and a few other misc fics at "653,461". Didn't get the other accounts though. Man, I'm a mess

How many fandoms have you written for, and what are they?

Okay, well, this one by nature is also not solely for this fandom,

(number in parentheses is number of ao3 works posted)

Ted Lasso (obviously) (44) (including snippet collections)

The Mysterious Benedict Society (116) (also including snippet collections)

Instinct (2) (one is a small snippet collection--)

House MD (1)

Death by Dying (1)

Gravity Falls, technically, but it was one crossover (1)

ditto with The Legend of Zelda (1)

King Falls AM (1)

The House in the Cerulean Sea (6)

Shadowhunters (??? at least 36) (some now hidden/lost)

Professor Layton (1)

The Librarians (2)

The Sandman (1)

The Mentalist (2)

Star Trek (AOS) (1)

Sanders Sides (at least 1)

Miraculous Ladybug (1)

Rosewell: New Mexico (2)

The Dresden Files (1)

That's stuff posted to ao3/finished. There's also, technically,

for stuff I published when I was twelve and I now refuse to acknowledge (not all bc of the fandom but bc the fic was Bad):

Doctor Who

Supernatural

Sherlock

Psych

Castle

Welcome to Night Vale

Avengers

A Series of Unfortunate Events

And then stuff I've written for but never finished:

Warehouse 13

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (2016)

Dirk Gently (2010)

SurrealEstate

Zoo (podcast)

Once Upon a Time

Scooby Doo

Person of Interest

The Goes Wrong Show

Spy Kids (???)

Ace Attorney

The Adventure Zone

Criminal Minds

Star Trek (TOS, TNG, and DS9)

Haven

MacGyver

Trollhunters

exactly one (1) joke The Magnus Archives fic

Percy Jackson and the Olympians + The Kane Chronicles + Tales of Apollo

Leverage

Pushing Daisies

The Sarah Jane Adventures

Megamind

Bones

Avatar: the Last Airbender

Lucifer

Some of these are deeply questionable and/or only have like two (2) wips or even posted works at most, but I'm thorough. Also, I will write about almost anything bc my brain loves to process things like this. I may have even missed something

Top five fics by kudos:

Ted Lasso Kisses Trent Crimm On The Mouth (1125)

semaphore (977)

off the handle (719)

linger (699) (nice)

a preacher, a bikini, and a kiss or two (641)

Do you respond to comments?

I really try to, but then I get all in my head about it and/or am really really tired and put it off so long it then feels like it would be weird to respond because it's been forever. However, if there's a direct question or something I want to address/respond to, as in, I have something particularly unique to say or a question to answer, then I'll usually respond really fast

What’s the fic with the angstiest ending you’ve ever written?

Honestly, I'm not a huge unhappy ending person, a lot of the time I'll have a first chapter I was initially going to end really angsty (see ink sunset and make a mess of you) and then added more to fix it at least somewhat. As is... maybe the somewhat unresolved emotional tension (for Ted and Trent, at least, Roy's doing great) in something to get off my chest, the +1 for betrayal's sting / absolution's balm? I have some worse ones in an old fandom on an old account but. meh.

Do you write crossovers?

Not often, but I rotate them in my brain. Honestly, though, I'm more inclined to write a fusion than a crossover proper. And even so, I tend to just be thinking about it rather than actually writing it. I've only written one crossover in recent memory (recently, that is) and it was mostly a joke about a shared actress made into actual angst.

Have you ever gotten hate on a fic?

Yeah lmao

Do you write smut?

😏 sure do

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

👁️👁️ not in this fandom

Have you ever had a fic translated?

yes!! also not in this fandom

What’s your all-time favorite ship?

In this fandom? Trent/Ted. overall? no idea, because recency bias, my all-time favorite is whatever I'm into right now, which isn't really objective but hyperfixationitis.

What’s a WIP that you want to finish, but don’t think you ever will?

:( so many. AND there are a lot of posted fics I want to write a sequel/companion piece for and idk if I'll ever get the energy...

I guess off the top of my head, for this fandom, I'd go with lost sight of (who you are) (motivation died because it's old enough no one knows it exists anymore lkfgjh) and ink sunset (I WANNA FINISH IT I DO I DO I DO)

What are your writing strengths?

I think I can write a really funny string of dialogue, and I'm also fond of fun metaphors, both in the elegant poetic way and in the more Douglas Adams/Terry Pratchett way (which is to say, still potentially elegant but also comedic as hell)

What are your writing weaknesses?

Motivating myself to write anything; being overly self-indulgent

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fics?

I'm extremely bad at linguistics in general, so if I must include someone talking in another language in my fic, I think I'd tend to cheat and do italics or some other indication that this is 'in another language' (ie "Where are you going?" she asked in Russian), but that's admittedly a lazy approach. But I also think it's probably better than butchering it with an auto-translator? Also, when people just include the translation in the end notes, even with a link (although that makes it marginally better) it breaks the flow of the story and makes it hard to read. Making an effort to at least match grammar is good (which I would do if it was for longer than a single scene, probably) but I think the best solution is when people know what they're doing and like, have an actual translation with a little html code so you can click on it and it reveals what it means? Or if you're clever, revealing what it means using context around it, but that has its own limitations. So that both like, uses the actual language and doesn't break up the flow. It balances accessibility, flow, and respect for the other language in question well. But you've got to both know what you're doing with the language (either asking someone/hiring someone/knowing the language yourself) and the html (although there are guides for that you'd have to spend time figuring it out + know it exists in the first place to look). And this is fanfiction, something we ultimately do for free in our spare time, so the lazy approach, I think, can be understandable. Maybe not in every context, but it's not worth stressing a lot over in a few random lines or anything, you know? It is really cool when people do know a language well enough to include it properly in a fic, though, it can say a lot about a character or dynamic; and their background(s) and like. it's neat :)

What was the first fandom you ever wrote for?

Ever? Doctor Who. In a shitty little notebook in middle school. Then there was some Star Trek (both TNG and TOS) and Avatar: the Last Airbender and Marvel and such, and then Supernatural (my first smut? extremely terrible Destiel smut. rip) and I think the first thing I ever posted was Welcome to Night Vale? Not sure.

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written so far?

Oh, man. I have no idea. Here's a few favorites from this fandom:

matters of the heart

trick & treat

vita nova

melt like this

"second impressions"

"reveal"

probably those time travel snippets, just in general

tagging:

PLEASE, if you want to do this, I'm begging you, tag me in it and do it. i'm too tired to come up with names im so sorry

[mask131]

The Dionysos gallery (4)

We finally reach the end of this long Dionysos series - and after dissecting the myth of Dionysos, we reach the conclusion of this gallery, kindly offered by the French Museum of Wine (you can find it all here).

First, I will include there the various paintings I did not have enough space to add in previous post, two paintings coupled with an analysis section I will loosely translate.

Le Tintoret's Ariadne, Venus and Bacchus

The motif of the encounter between Bacchus and Ariadne (who had been abandonned by Theseus on the island of Naxos) and Bacchus' offer to the woman of her famous gold crown made by Vulcan (according to Ovid's Fasts), has been a strong recurring motif in paintings, explored by numerous artists.

"Liber" or "Liber Pater" was originally a fertility/fecundity god whose worship took place within the oldest era of Ancient Rome. By the 7th century BCE onward Liber was associated with wine, and as a result the Romans ended up assimilating him with Bacchus/Dionysos. "Liber" as such became a mere Latin translation of the terms "Dionysos" or "Bacchus" - "Pater" meanwhile kept its role of expressing respect and adoration towards a god.

Jan van Bijlert's The Feast of the Gods

This 1630 painting currently kept at the Magnin Museum (Dijon) asks a quite troubling question: is this pagan scene... secretly a Christian Last Supper?

We are on Olympus. The gods are gathered for a feast. On the left we see Minerva, Diana, Mars and Venus, with Cupid by their side and Flora behind them. At the center of the table, a crowned Apollo appears holding his lyre. To the right we can recognize Hercules thanks to his mace, and Neptune with his trident. Unfortunately several of the Olympians are missing due to the painting having been cut off: for example there is a peacock, but no side of Juno. The motif of the "feast of the gods" was very popular in Holland, ever since an engraving by Goltzius "The Wedding of Psyche and Love" (see below).

However, van Bijlert's painting can be read very differently. In the Netherlands, due to the appearance and domination of Protestantism, all pictures had been banished from the temples, putting an end to the religious painting. As such, it seems that this painting hides within it a Christian scene of the Last Supper. Apollo at the center has the same halo as the Christ usualy has, and the characters surrounding him are twelve in total like the Apostles. Now, while it is a very interesting theory, we should stay careful. As we said before, it seems the reason some of the gods are missing is because the painting was cut (a practice very common at the time) - again, there's this peacock that implies Juno used to be included. Second element: yes the Christ has a golden halo in painting to symbolize his role as the Lord of the Heavens, but long before that, the idea of a halo of light did belong to Apollo. The Greeks saw him as the "solar god" by excellence, since he was the power that ruled and organized all things, and the one that regulated spirits and intelligences (in fact, he was complementary of Dionysos since Apollo tamed, controlled and shaped the vital force and bursts of life embodied by Dionysos).

Bijlert lived in Rome in the beginning of the 1620s and we know that, just like many of his fellow painters, he was deeply impressed by the art of Caravaggio. However, the Italian painter's fame was dwindling by then - and by the 1630s his art had lost any influence over European paintings. In this decade, Bijlert focused his works on the new international trend, the classicism. Here the composition of the panting and the diurnal luminosity are purely classicist. However, the dancing satyr and the leaning Bacchus on the foreground belong to the "naturalism" of Caravaggio: ocre-colored flesh, close-ups on bodies in non-conventional positions...

(Here is Goltzius' engraving)

Second part of this post, extending from the analysis above: Christianized Dionysos! Because yes, you might be surprised to learn that the motif of Dionysos/Bacchus in classical painting was heavily Christianized or syncretized with Christian figures...

Leonardo da Vinci's Saint John the Baptist

This Saint John the Baptiste has what has been called a "pagan beauty", and this painting with a Tuscany imagery "renews the syncretism of the patron of Florence" - perhaps due to the passion for Antiquity the town had when the painting was created. Indeed, while saint John here holds a cross symbolizing the Passion of the Christ, he is dressed in a panther's skin, reminding of the cloak of Bacchus...

Leonardo da Vinci's atelier: Saint John the Baptist-Bacchus

Once again this painting shows the syncretism between the figure of saint John and the character of Dionysos. The painting was first recorded, in the royal archives, as "Saint John in the desert". However, at the end of the 17th century, perhaps due to a restoration of the painting, the name was changed to "Bacchus in a landscape". Here we have Christian symbols: a finger raised to the sky, a stag resting on the ground... But we also have Bacchic attribute: a thyrsus, grapes, a panther's skin, and a crown of what might be ivy or vine-leaves.

Caravaggio's Saint John the Baptist

Here again we have the attributes of Bacchus: the vine, of which Bacchus was the god, and a ram, an animal traditionally sacrificed for the deity. Historians of painting are agreeing that the reason the Caravaggio associated John the Baptiste with Bacchus was because it allowed him to depict the saint naked, and eroticized, very probably to reflect his own homosexuality.

Caravaggio's "Sick young Bacchus/ The ill little Bachus"

This panting of Caravaggio has been interpreted as a self-portrait in a Bacchus-Christ fusion that is very sexual. Here, Caravaggio offers himself to the libertine cardinals of Rome, in an erotic "communion" (remember, "eucharis", means "the good flesh"). The action of carrying to his lips golden grapes gorged with juice is very sensual. Crowned with ivy, dressed in an ancient toga (which reveals a muscular shoulder), he is holding green grapes to his chest, as if he was about to press them. It has been thought that there the Greek wine of Dionysos is a mask or assimilation for the wine of the Christian mass - the invitation is for always a greater feast and bigger celebration, the wine of the Christ "subliming" the wine of Bacchus, ultimately becoming the wine an "universal mass" beyond any religion or era.

Giovanni Paolo Lomazzo's "Self portrait as a crowned Bacchus"

This painting depicts Giovanni Paolo Lomazzo in his outfit of president (called an "abbot") of the Acacademia della Val di Blenio (Ticino) - Lomazzo had just been named to this function, as the inscription at the bottom of the picture reminds the viewer. The Academy gathered all the best artists of Milan - painters, sculptors, musicians... And it was placed under the protection and patronage of Bacchus, the god that relieves from sorrows and worries, the god that inspires joy, the god that stimulates the mind and the creation, the god that frees from bondage. As such, it explains why this self-portrait has Lomazzo as Bacchus. It was an answer to the many disasters of the era, as well as to the new austerity imposed by the figures of the Counter-Reform - such as Charles Borromée, who was the archbishop of Milan and a cardinal within the Catholic church.

The Bacchic references are numerous here. The hat is wrapped in a garland of laurel and vine, with a medallion depicting vine too. There is a thyrsus surrounded in ivy. And finally there is a goat-skin, reminding of how when he was a child Bacchus was turned into a "kid" (baby goat) to avoid Juno's wrath. The compass however within the man's hand is not a symbol of Bacchus. Held like a paint-brush, it is meant to symbolize how Lomazzo "leads" and "drives" his own career like a captain would pilot his ship.

[cabinseventheaterchick]

Kat Carter as a Wikipedia page:

Katrina Jacqueline Carter (born March 28th) is an American demigod. She was a member of the Titan Army during the Second Titan War, but defected just before the final battle. She currently resides at Camp Half-Blood, and is an active blogger on demigod Tumblr.

(image credits: number one, number two, number three, number four, who is also @ummmmandy)

Born

Katrina Jacqueline Carter

March 28th (age 15)

New York City, New York State, US

Occupation

Student, Tumblr blogger, demigod hero

Relatives

Apollo (father), Tegan Carter-Jones (mother), Richard Jones (stepfather), Emma Carter-Jones (half sister), Luke Carter-Jones (half brother)

Partner

Ellis Wakefield

Early Life and Childhood

Kat Carter was born to Tegan Carter-Jones (née Carter). Apollo (@apollo-god-of-prophecy), her father, was not present for her birth or childhood after conception.

When Kat was five, her mother met and married Richard Jones. Kat was the flower girl for the wedding.

At seven, her mother and stepfather began to notice strange occurrences around their apartment, and Kat began to report strange happenings around her elementary school.

At eight, her mother finally decided to open the final letter Apollo had left, hoping it could provide some insight into the situation at hand. The letter explained that Apollo was an Olympian god, and Kat would be in danger as a demigod. It explained that Camp Half-Blood would be the safest place for her in her childhood. However, it didn’t specify which god was Kat’s father, and used the fake name Tegan had known him by to sign it. Tegan and Richard decided to wait and see if they could shield Kat for a longer time.

At nine, Kat was attacked by a monster while on the subway, retaining a scar on her lower back to this day. Her parents decided to send her to Camp Half-Blood.

First Stay At Camp Half-Blood and Defection

Kat quickly became friends with a fellow camper named Alabaster C Torrington (@alabaster-c-t). Around the age of ten, Kat reports being occasionally homesick, but otherwise safer at camp.

However, she would slowly grow resentful of her father, who had not claimed her. Alabaster persuaded her into believing that neither camp nor home were safe places to be anymore. Kat was doubtful, but began to listen more.

When Kat was eleven, Alabaster disappeared.

Kat was shook by his disappearance for a long time and struggled to make friends or even leave her cabin. Eventually, when Kat turned eleven, she resolved to finally leave camp to visit her parents. She was found by Ethan Nakamura (@lieutenant-of-kronos) while at a bus stop outside of camp borders, and informed that Alabaster had chosen to defect. Kat subsequently accepted Ethan’s offer to join the Titan Army.

Titan Army

Kat joined the Titan Army while the invasion of Camp Half-Blood, which would later be referred to as the Battle of the Labyrinth, was being planned. The younger children were mostly stationed on the Princess Andromeda, being trained to face Camp Half-Blood in battle, but it was later decided that those under thirteen would be responsible for the defense of the Princess Andromeda while the army was gone. In the meantime, Kat turned twelve.

After the failure of the attack, return of the demigods who had been sent on the quest, and rise of Kronos (@the-lord-of-time), the culture of the Titan Army was rapidly changing. Ethan Nakamura became a lieutenant and took notice of how Kat hasn’t made it clear that she’d left to join the Titans, but has in fact left camp originally to visit her parents. Deciding the ambiguity could make her a good scout, Kat was sent to New York City to look for entrance points on her thirteenth birthday.

A month or so after she left, the Princess Andromeda was destroyed by Charles Beckendorf and Percy Jackson (@bluefoodcritic). Alabaster sent her an Iris Message right before the ship exploded, asking her to avenge them. She agreed to kill Percy Jackson, after which the ship blew up.

Grieving and emotionally unstable, Kat stopped reporting back to the Titan Army and decided to stay in New York City for a little while to get her bearings. Shortly after, the Battle of Manhattan began, and Kat was on the run yet again. With both factions of demigods possibly prepared to kill her, Kat evaded discovery until the battle was won.

Right after Percy secured the promise of the gods to claim their children before thirteen, Apollo appeared to her in Central Park. They exchanged a tense interaction, where he claimed her as his, informed her of Ethan and Luke’s death, and gave her a sword disguised as a mood ring, cryptically informing her that it would tell her when she was healed. Before Kat could ask what he meant by that, he vanished, leaving only a short note advising her to surrender to Camp Half-Blood.

Kat decided to follow his advice, surrendering to the campers. She would be transported back top camp, reportedly being kept in a room overnight with the rest of the surrendering demigods. Percy Jackson visited them briefly.

Post-War

Kat remained holed up in the Apollo cabin for as while, but eventually exited, and began to make friends.

She met Ellis Wakefield (@ellis--wakefield) during sparring when she was thirteen, and they would become a couple two years later.

Kat is an avid baker and can often be found in the kitchens of CHB, or blogging.

She often goes home to visit her parents.

Personal Life

Kat has reporting having a better relationship with her father since he became mortal briefly, and says that he pays more attention to her.

She often visits home, where her mother, stepfather, and half siblings live.

Her mood ring/sword was eventually discovered to turn into a sword when she had a reason to fight, and Kat now has more control over it. She wears in on her left pinky finger and it turns gold before it turns into a sword.

Kat does not have any special demigod-related abilities.

ooc disclaimer: the people who I’ve tagged don’t have to abide by what I wrote down here, and I’m not trying to write other people’s characters for them, haha. This is just Kat’s canon that I am using to influence how her interactions go, but nobody has to abide by this! This is just what Kat is going off of.