#also for reference: the cloak mentioned is the one Apollo wears in my Fall of Greece design for him :D

[literallyjusttoa]

What’s better Christmas present than a bit of angst huh?

When Apollo was young, not yet a year old, he was banished from Olympus due to his crime of murder. Gaea called for his head, but Zeus shielded him.

“I will not rule as my father did,” he said “The boy can learn, he can be better.”

Apollo was sentenced to exile. Nine years, though he was not told this. No, Apollo was certain that he had lost his chance to join his family in the heavens. His father had spared his life, and as penance he now had to stay on the mortal realm for all eternity, alone.

The young god made due with what he had. He wandered through the fields of Greece, tending to the animals he found along the way. He would sing, as light and clear as the birds, and mortals would flock to the sound. Apollo was never allowed to linger long, but he fell in love with that feeling of warm comfort mortals seemed to carry with them, that joy that he could never quite reach. When he could, he worked, often for little reward. He wanted another taste, another glimpse of a less lonely existence. So he became a shepherd, a soothsayer, a musician, always a few steps away, watching but never being.

One day, in the middle of the coldest months, Apollo was hired by a farmer in the Vale of Tempe. He had a large herd of cattle and was in desperate need of a someone to care for them. Apollo traveled through the backroads and forests, making his way to the valley. When he arrived, however, he found no farmer, and no cattle. Instead, a lone man sat at the base of the river that flowed through the vale. The water was near frozen over, but the man did not shake. Instead, he turned, and smiled wide.

“Apollon,” Zeus said, “Olympus has missed you.”

Apollo was shocked. Had his father truly come for him? He dropped into a low bow, too nervous for words.

Zeus chuckled, low and warm, “Rise, son. There is no more need for humility. It has been decided you have done enough.”

“Truly?” Apollo asked, “May I truly join you on Olympus?”

“You may join me at home, Apollo.” Zeus responded, “Your home. Come, we shall perform a rite of purification in these waters, and then you will ascend to your throne.”

And so the rite was performed, and Apollo was cleansed. As far as the rest of the world knows, the two immediately ascended to Olympus, to the glorious applause of the other members of the divine court. Apollo took his throne, next to his dear sister, and began his immortal duties.

But there was a moment, one moment, which was kept away in that sheltered vale. Once Apollo had been cleansed, he stood at the bank, waiting for the next step. Any demand his father asked of him, he would have agreed too. But Zeus held nothing over his head. Instead, he summoned a cloak of sheep’s wool, and placed it over Apollo’s shoulders.

“A gift,” he murmured, “The golden treasures you were born with will bring you glory, but this my son… I hope this will keep you warm.”

And Apollo believed, with all his heart, that he would never be lonely again.

Time is a cruel master. As years bled into centuries that bled into millennia upon millennia, Apollo realized that loneliness would be his most constant companion. He realized that the source of this loneliness, this suffering, would often be the very man that promised to keep him warm. The fire of his father’s hearth burned everything it touched, leaving Apollo with blistered hands and a scorched heart.

But he still wore the sheepskin. When the loneliness crept into his bones. When the lightning crackled across his limbs with a burning pain, as warm as his father promised with an agony he’d never mentioned. When all seemed lost to the ground and the dust. Apollo found that wool cloak and cast it over his shoulders. Even broken promises can bring some sort of comfort. Even old sheep’s wool can bring an illusion of warmth.

I was his child once. He used to love me.

If only the bite of a king’s cruelty could be chased away as easily as the chill of a winter’s day. The wool does nothing, and the loneliness remains. Apollo shivers, and goes to rest.

[le0watch]

i cant get this out of my mind so imma just type it out:

god au where the main characters of sk8 are sort of their own pantheon.

-Masai, Goddess of Fertility and the Stars. she gave birth to reki similar to the ways the old gods of north and greek mythology did- in unconventional ways. reki was born from a star, after masai touched its surface with her finger. reki formed inside, forming and being "born" just as the earth was created, and the sun came from the remenants of his formation. she wears a crown of tiny stars, and the edges of her cloak are dotted with the stars as well.

Children of Masai, lesser gods(still powerful beyond belief, however):

-Reki, God of the Sun and Warmth. reki is the embodiment of the sun, as well as the controller of warmth and heat. he controls the sun, similar to apollo, and makes sure that the earth revolves around every day. he is also the creator of fire, creating it while he was playing with the sun's surface. when people were formed, he gave fire to them as a gift. this helped people evolve drastically. he is constantly surrounded by a bright, godly glow, his eyes holding every color of heat and warmth. he has a halo of light over his head, created by his mother from the light of stars as a gift. he wears it proudly. he gives off a constant heat, proof that is was born from the star known as the sun.

-Koyomi, Goddess of Spring. she was born from a white cloud, warmed by her mother's touch. she came up with the idea of the first season on earth: spring. this was before the other seasons were created, and so many reptilians evolved rapidly under her touch. she is often found wearing green and pink robes, as well as a crown similar to that of reki's.

-Nanaka and Chihiro, Twin Goddesses of Summer. They were born from the petals of a flower, held gently in their mother's hands. They were small at first, tiny as a pair of seeds, and still have yet to grow into their full goddesshood. but that didn't stop them from "copying" their older sister's idea of a season, and they wound up creating summer, a season of heat and more heat. they asked their eldest sibling, reki, to help with the creation, and he gave in, but ended up sending a bit too much heat. reptilians continued to thrive beneath the sun's strong waves. they wear a matching pair of sun like crowns, gifted to them from reki, as well as robes of orange and red.

Nanako, Goddess of Space and Kindness. nanako was the first god or goddess to ever be born, and was brought to life along with the existence of space. she is the eldest of the gods, yet she is also the most kind and gentle. she existed alone in the void, until a nearby spark lit up, before bursting outwards, and masai came into existence with the stars. they worked together to create planets. nanako grew jealous of masai as she gave birth to children, but it was impossible for her to do it similarly, since she is not the goddess of fertility. she begged for masai to make her fertile for at least one child, and was told she could only give birth with the help of a mortal man. this is how she met and chose oliver, a mortal from the time just before the ice age, who was blessed with the most intelligence and wisdom over any other, recognizing her and treating her kindly. this is how langa was conceived. she too wears a crown created by masai, and wears a cloak as dark and unconceivable as the void of space, dark matter rising from it like smoke. despite her choice of wardrobe, she radiates kindness and love.

Child of Nanako, a lesser god:

Langa, God of Snow and Growth. though it may sound confusing as to why langa, god of the snow, also contains the ability of growth, it is not the growth of plants, since most die from his chilling touch. he is the god of growth in people and their abilities, helping to shape them and give them inspiration in whatever they chose to do. he is one of the gods that blessed mortals the most after his mother, blessing them with natural ability and adaptative personalities. he is also the creator of winter, somehow snuffing out the sun's heat from affecting the earth as much, creating snow and ice in the process. he has not yet met reki the sun god, and does not of his transgression, but the third season was created, causing the ice age the extinction of 90% of the earth's population. he is also the youngest of the gods, the others being born prior to the creation of men. he made himself a crown of ice, that is also snowing across his blue hair. he also wears a large coat, snow cascading from the shoulders like the fur of a wolf (he asked miya for the favor of creating wolves, and he stills owes a favor to miya in return). most of his wardrobe are blues, whites and greys.

Miya, God of Animals and Mischief. miya is the creator of every single animal that roams the earth. he started with the bacteria before he grew bored, and then created evolution, helping the animals to change into different variations of themselves, dropping different creations during the time before humans. he helped to make dinosaurs and birds and mammals and fish and bugs, until he grew bored of unintelligent creatures. he made human from the first monkey he saw, touching it with intelligence and watching it grow. he also loves to tease and prank the other gods and goddesses, throwing them for loops. his best friend, though he won't admit it, is the sun god himself, who enjoys partaking in his play every now and again. he has a wardrobe made entirely of the pelts of various unknown animals to humans, which are in the colors of purple and pink and green. he also likes to make a tail for himself. miya prefers to not wear a crown, but when he has to, it is a crown of bronze.

Kojiro, God of Strength and Wisdom. kojiro is the definition of brain and brawn, helping the animals miya made have both strength and the minor wisdom they needed to survive. when miya created humans, he asked kojiro to give the humans more wisdom along with the intelligence he gave them. kojiro agreed, intruged by miya's newest creation. he visits with mortals often, granting them strength and wisdom, or one or the other. he doesn't wear a shirt, much to kaoru's chagrin, but luckily, he does wear a pair of pants that are as soft as a cloud. kojiro wears a silver crown.

Kaoru, God of Art and Creation: every god mentioned above has at one point or another created something. this is the doing of kaoru, allowing them the idea of creating anything. he gifted it to each of the gods- some more than others (kojiro was given the least amount, as well as anoisuke), and brought art to the humans in their early stages, helping them reach their full potential of wisdom and creation. this led to humans becoming the dominant species on earth. kaoru was the one to create miya from the oil of one of his paintings alongside kojiro, and thus miya refers to them as his parents, much to kaoru's annoyance. he wears robes similar to the kimonos in japan, and he favors the japanese over most other humans, giving them many gifts of art and creation. he wears a golden crown atop his head.

because of this, kojiro and kaoru are often depicated together, and they are referred to as the patron gods of techonolgy, humanity's greatest show of creation with their wisdom. occasionally, miya is also depicted with them both, and they are recognized as the patrons of family.

Hiromi, God of Plants and Life. hiromi was the one that made miya and kojiro's ideas of life on earth possible. he created the first life on earth ever: a tiny, pre-tree plant. he gave it life, making it grow and breathe until the earth was inhabitable for the creatures kojiro and miya desired to create. his favorite creation of all is that of flowers. he made those with love and care, nurturing the first flowers to life with his hands rather than his godly power. he has a crown of flower petals, as well as a robe made mostly of flowers.

Anoisuke, God of Death and Despair. anoiskue has a long and twisted history with the other gods, and as such, was locked and chained to the underworld, where he could still properly preform his job of taking those who were meant to go. he is still a heavy subject among the pantheon, as well the mortals below. it is said that he terrorized the others of the pantheon before he was locked away, and even tried to kill the sun god reki, before the god of snow stopped him, freezing him in place. anoisuke had been planning to kill the sun god to put out the sun and throw the mortals into utmost despair, so he could drag them all to the depths of the underworld below. he also had a particular interest in the snow god, believing that with his power over cold, they could freeze the entire planet over, making it unhabital for any mortal. langa outright refused.

this was how the snow god and the god of the sun met, and eventually fell in love. the mixture of their heat and cold created the final season, fall, which presides on its own without the control of a god. one would think that they could be around one another often due to their opposing temperatures, but they would be wrong. langa is so cold that he could never experience heat, while reki is so hot he could never experience cold. when they are together, the mortals consider them the patron gods of love, and they are often depicted together, with the sun and moon merged together.

Minor gods (not apart of the main pantheon):

Oka, God of Trust. oka is the god of trust, making him popular among the true believers of the human race. he helps them to root out the toxic people in their lives, as well as those they can trust the most. he is also called upon to solidify promises that can never be broken, until the promise is fulfilled.

Tadashi, God of Servitude. tadashi is the patron god of past slaves, servants, and the blue collar workers of the human population. they pray to him to lower their work, and help them get through a long day. depictions of him are a lot of the time that of a black labrador retriever, the symbol of obidience in their world. as such, he obidiently retrieves the souls of the dead to bring to his master, the god of the dead. he is also known as the god of soul reaping due to this.

due to tadashi and anoisuke's close relationship, they are often depicted together as a warning to those working, as a warning to not be too submissive, or you will be undoubtedly taken advantage of. when a person wants ward off possible bosses who force them into an unfair working situation, they will wear a pendant of tadashi and anoisuke's combined symbols- that of a skeleton holding the chain of a dog.

???, God of Youth. this is a god that everyone has forgotten the name of, but refer to as Youthian. no one has a solid depiction of they, nor entirely what they truly are a patron of, but most believe them to be that of youth and the protection of children. this god is rumored to have once been the close friend of the sun god reki, before they suddenly vanished from the pantheon.