#also of the two deities

[arcxnumvitae]

I'd like to hear about Jianhuren's relationship with the dragon god, vs Minglian's relationship with the dragon god!

@soulsxng || Ask my muse questions about their relationships || Accepting

I hope you don't mind if I answer this myself actually, because I think it might be a little clearer than having each of them speak on it! Plus, I'm able to offer more thoughts on it than they really have, for reasons discussed below.

The Red Eyes overall actually don't have that much of a relationship with the Dragon God! He creates/d them at the directive of the Jade Emperor so that they can serve the pantheon as a whole, but aside from that he has very little personal interactions with them. So out of the dragons, the only one that really has a relationship with him is actually Xiaodan due to him being a dragon that the Dragon God created that didn't have to do with anything regarding orders from the higher-ups at all.

He does care to an extent for the dragons, and along with Longmu (another goddess associated with dragons), they're kind of the only deities of the pantheon who advocate for the Red Eyes. They were the two who opposed stripping the Red Eyes of their emotions, not that it could amount to much in the end in the face of the Jade Emperor.

So, aside from when she was created and some other general meetings things, Minglian's never really spoken with him! So she doesn't have many thoughts on him since he's not really a figure in her life aside from being part of the gods she serves.

Jianhuren has interacted with him more on account of their longer life and being the first Red Eye, but even then they don't feel any particularly strong bond to him either.

[nidbaesenpai]

Happy one year anniversary ISAT! To celebrate I wanted to share the lil strips I made for my friends when they reached the end of the game! They're all meant to be snippets of life post game and a glimpse into the world I'm making for Loop.

[aroaceleovaldez]

Nico referring to his mom as "Mama" implies he most likely at least used to refer to Hades as "Papa" and i 100% headcanon he still does but mostly in the manner of him having the entire Underworld wrapped around his finger for being the baby of the family

[filurig]

sekuuti and akestur, deities of the rau-kakse and crakam

LONG ASS CREATION/ORIGIN STORY OF THE RAU KAKSE AND CRAKAM HERE

the sun and moon both have important roles in northern basilisk religion, and are interpreted as two deities: sekuuti (sun) and akestur (moon).

both seen as patron deities of their respective people (rau-kakse aka basilisks and crakam aka harpies). their eggs were originally stars in the sky that fell and hatched in the world below.

at first, there was only pure spirit. something known as "tukaarti" (which is an unconscious but all powerful driver of all things) - the "natural force", arose, and began create shapes from this spirit, polarities, warmth, energy eventually the forces shaped this spirit into The World, which was barren at first, amorphous, but this shaped energy began to solidify, first into mountains, then into lakes, rivers, flora etc etc. but the water did not stay liquid long for after the formation of these things, and a brief flourishing period, the World cooled down, and fell under a great winter, as it had no sun. the sky is basically where tukaarti resides in its rawest form still, and stars are "concerntrations" of it, and the only light source. the stars began to fall eventually on occasion into the world, and that would spawn Creatures. early on when the world was still fresh after this was when the eggs of sekuuti and akestur fell, they were among the last creatures to fall onto the world. prior to them similar animals had hatched from other eggs, but they all perished trying to survive on their own.

both sekuuti and akestur were lonely and struggled on their own - persecuted by hostile ancestors of other creatures. not only was it difficult, most of all, it was lonely.

sekuuti was so lonely that she desparately wanted children, but as she was the only one of her kind she prayed to tukaarti for a way to achieve that company she desired. she was heard, and granted the ability to shapeshift to any creature that she found. this also was something tukaarti needed, as it lacked a way for spirit to go from the World back to tukaarti, and by "collecting" bodies to learn as forms, sekuuti would also return their spirit to tukaarti. with this ability, she resorted to courting different birds that she transformed into and bearing their young. and she did successfully hatch them. her children would not only inherit a lot of her features and shapeshifting ability, but they also inherited the plumage and some other traits from their other parents, and she loved them all the same. this also means that according to rauk-kaksian lore sekuuti "has no comparison" and doesnt look like an extant bird in particular, but interpretations vary. these children were the first "rau-kakse". the most important established trait of her depictions though is that it seemed that the glow from her egg ("star") never faded, and her plumage glowed strongly and brilliantly.

akestur, meanwhile, sought company with birds in a different way. he found flocks of corvids, flocks of nightjars, and found certain comfort with them. but he was frustrated with the fact that they could not communicate, he prayed for the ability to "hold a conversation" with his new contemporaries. and the tukaarti granted him his wish - the flocks that he had become familiar with were granted a blessing, but with that blessing, they also changed in morphology - they became harpies (crakam), and gained sapience. he was reminded, however, that he had gotten this wish without cost - and that the forces counted on him to do what they wished in return if they so needed it. they only cryptically let him know to "not keep his eyes off of the flame". akestur is thought to have looked like a harpy slightly, but with a different face, black as night, but with brilliant glowing white eyes.

again, the world during this time was pretty barren and harsh due to an eternal winter, as they had no sun. sekuuti, while having found comfort in her kin now, was unhappy with the state of affairs - especially as many young would die in the harsh conditions. akestur, too, hated seeing his new contemporaries suffer.

the two groups would meet one day, sekuuti and akestur leading them. the two were fascinated by one another - sekuuti brought warmth to akestur and the crakam, while akestur brought a certain darkness, that while somewhat discomforting at first, also shrouded both groups from other hostile creatures, theyd come to find out. there was safety in his darkness. sekuuti and akestur grew very close and became partners (according to most legends).

sekuuti wanted to change the state of the world and set her eyes upon the sky, wanting to become a sun and bring warmth to all and end the eternal winter. akestur was hesitant, for he did not want to lose her, and her children needed her. when seeking the guidance of tukaarti - they discouraged her from it, urged her to stay and perform her duty as a bringer of spirit from corpses of this plane back to tukaarti. but she was insistent, and one day, decided to simply go for it. she flew so fast, with such force, that she caught flame, but her will was so strong that it didnt bother her and she became one with the flames eating her as she flew up to the sky.

akestur was too late, and only realised she was gone once she had lit up the sky. betrayed, upset, but most of all - realising that he had failed tukaarti. he had let his eyes off his flame. as a punishment, tukaarti undid the blessing it had granted his people for half of them, leaving half of them as regular birds again.

sekuuti lighting up the world had done something - it had taken away the eternal winter, but the problem was - sekuuti had nothing to temper her up there. the world was beset by a devastating drought with no end in sight. akestur, trying to lead his people as well as the basilisks, then realised what he had to do.

before leaving his people, he urged them "to not take their eyes off the flames", meaning the basilisks in this case, and then, he also set off for the sky. instead of setting ablaze, his eyes seemed to burst with the pressure of the speed of his flight, engulfing him in a cold, bright light. once he joined sekuuti in the sky - the heat was finally tempered.

however, sekuuti, both overwhelmed with love but also guilt and shame over abandoning akestur, fled him. but he, loyal and also overwhelmed with love, began to follow her. and basically, the day/night cycle is their eternal chase after one another - and on occasion, they meet, during eclipses :,) perhaps they also realised that their chase is what brings the world balance. and perhaps its a bit of a punishment from tuukarti for disobeying it.

[aj-artjunkyard]

Apollo’s at his best when his speech patterns are “21yo college frat boy meets ye olde theatrical actor”. He responds with things like “But hark! Behold!” and “you should’ve been there, man. It totally rocked” in the same breath and kicks the fight or flight reflexes of every demigod in a mile radius into survival mode

[bacchuschucklefuck]

dreaming abt sophomore year class swap bard!riz

[cardinailed0]

Goddess of luck, Lady Fora

[ra-archives]

Father Time? More like Fierce DADity

...What am I even doing anymore?

Lu-tober

Day 29 and a few other idk I cant be bothered to count

ANyways I keep finding audios I think would be funny with the chain so expect some more content like this even after Octobers over. We're just gonna see how long I can go drawing the Chain till I get tired of em ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Also this took wAY LONGER THAN IT WAS SUPPOSED TO

[smrtnik07]

woe....heatstroke be upon ye! [sequel to my rodya post]

[tadpoles-and-daydreams]

Spellwork with Loki (An old post that rotted in my drafts for weeks)

Me: "Loki, are you sure you want to be the main power source for this spell? I feel bad asking that of you. At least let me give SOME of my energy?"

Loki: "Dude it's fine, it takes like no effort for me. Stop being afraid to ask for shit and just let me do this. You're not even asking, you're accepting an offer. I am ACTIVELY EXCITED for this spell let me do it."

Me, a few hours after the spell, faceplanted on my bed: ".... Thank you for being the main power source for that spell bc I don't think I even gave much energy, just primarily conducted yours, and I'm so fucking tired."

Loki: "And you still have part two! This is fun!" :D :D :D

[smowyashe]

ok so i need to talk to yall (facing divine intervention in the bad way if i dont/hj)

so ive recently gotten back into hellenistic paganism because we had a bit of a scare and i just looked up the god of protection in greek mythology and found Soretia, the greek goddess of protection

anyway she set up a pretty casual communication with me and its because im one of her only devotees and ive already sacrificed two apples to her for her protection over where i live and some minor prayers i made

she's a really underappreciated god and i know a lot of people would pray to zeus for protection and i do occasionally thank him, but i also believe that the lesser known gods/goddesses should be known and worshipped more

so if anyone else is starting out with hellnistic paganism and wants someone to pray to for protection from events/people/places/etc. you should make a small shrine with smth similar to a laurel wreath and a few sacrificial apples

her image is also pretty sacred so you wont see it anywhere and will have to figure out how she presents herself to you on your own

sincerely, a Soretia devotee who is using this post as a sacrifice because i dont like eating apples :3

[dinoserious]

arc goes on a silly little trip to a dying kingdom on a finding nemo style search for its kid

[allthislove]

This is an excerpt from the book I'm writing about Anansi & Hermes, but you could also think of it as an IWTV (AMC) AU. These beautiful monsters definitely inspired me a lot. If you like supernatural stuff, mythology, queer romance, and the like, this book will be for you!

Just in case it wasn't clear:

Hermes - Sam

Anansi - Jacob

“What are you doing?” Hermes asked warmly as he stepped into Anansi’s small kitchen, the handsome young form he’d taken on covertly working over the counter, his back to Hermes. Andre, he was calling himself. Andre, after the legendary African-American actor who had portrayed Hermes so wonderfully in a hit Broadway show. Hermes couldn’t help but be warmed by the choice of name. Hermes had noticed the connection, the first time he heard Anansi introduce himself as Andre. It was the day after their first night together, rekindling what they’d always known was inevitable. Their bond. Their need for each other. More than just love— some invisible tie that bound them to one another, always leading them home to the other’s arms. Then, he realized that Andre was the name Anansi had been using since he’d started his life in New York just a couple of years earlier, the name printed on his documents, on his New York State ID card. He’d wanted to ask Anansi about it– if he was right about the name’s origin. Anansi never usually put much thought into his names, just choosing things that sounded nice and fit the era and the place. But Anansi confirmed it for him casually one day as if the Spider could sense Hermes’ curiosity.

Now, Hermes’ curiosity was piqued by the odd behavior of the Spider in his humble NYC kitchen, his slim body pressed against the counter, his shoulders hunched forward just slightly and his head tilted forward with a kind of focus. Hermes pressed forward into the kitchen, and his eyes caught a glimpse of something metallic in Anansi’s hand. It was a kitchen knife, the kind with a black handle and a stainless steel blade that you might buy at a discount from a big box store. Unremarkable in every way. Anansi, though, was pressing the blade into his all-too-human wrist, and he sliced it easily, the blood seeping from the wound and halfway filling a small glass jar that was placed on the counter in front of him. Hermes swiftly took the knife from him, his godly hand grasping Andre’s wrist and healing it immediately. Their eyes met. Andre seemed startled by Hermes’ speed as much as he seemed ashamed to have been caught.

“What are you doing?” Hermes repeated, this time exasperated– horrified by what he’d witnessed. Surely, Anansi hadn’t brought him to this life, to Andre, only to end things. No mortal death ended Anansi for long. He shed human personas like a second skin, and easily crawled into the next one as if the previous had never existed. But Hermes had never seen him end one on purpose.

“Never mind,” Andre said, his brown eyes shifting back to his task as he took his wrist away from Hermes pointedly. Those were the words he’d repeat when he was doing something magical that he didn’t want to explain, but Hermes hated the dismissiveness. He was a God of Olympus. He dealt in shadows and cunning just as much as Anansi did– maybe more, if he allowed himself to be honest about it. He stood just behind Andre’s shoulder, and he watched him take the bloody knife and reopen the wound, the young man only wincing a bit as if the pain of the blade was nothing more than a mild annoyance.

“Andre will die, Anansi–”

“He won’t. Never mind,” Andre said evenly. Hermes watched as Andre drained blood from his wrist into the jar again. When the jar was full, Andre pushed his bloody wrist into his mouth and fumbled for the jar’s lid.

“Why are you collecting a jar of your blood?” Hermes asked. The blood shimmered like rubies. Anansi’s blood wasn’t golden, the way an Olympian’s blood was. It was red, like them. Like the humans. But the divinity of his birth was still evident in it. Humans had deep red blood that was beautiful but mundane in its shade and consistency. Anansi’s blood almost glowed, and it seemed to shimmer like so many galaxies caught in a jar.

“Never mind, Messenger,” Andre muttered around his wrist, his mouth bloodied from the wound that hadn’t stopped bleeding, that ruby blood seeping over his pinkish-brown lips. Hermes sighed, and he took Andre’s forearm in his hand, easing the wounded wrist away from Andre’s mouth and he covered the wound with his hand, healing it. Their eyes met again, and Andre nodded a bit to thank him.

“The wrist,” Hermes said, “is a great place to get a good blood flow, but it’s difficult to stop the bleeding. There are arteries there–”

“I know,” Andre said evenly.

“It’s why they do it when they’re tired of living,” Hermes said pointedly. Andre scoffed.

“I never tire of living, Hermes,” Andre said evenly. Hermes swiped the blood from his lips and chin, his thumb lingering on Andre’s beautiful brown face. “If I don’t give him blood, he’ll lock me away. And you know I can’t live as a caged bird.”

“Who?” Hermes perked a brow.

“I’ve said ‘never mind’ three times, my love,” Andre replied curtly. He picked up the bloody knife and stepped over to the sink, rinsing it. “Not everything is the concern of your kind. Clean the counter for me, will ya, Merc?” Hermes scoffed at the old nickname, but he cleaned the blood from the counter with a wave of his hand. 

“Is this ‘he’... someone I should be concerned about?” Hermes asked casually, trying not to sound as worried as he felt. Anansi sometimes played with things he shouldn’t. Old things. Things that even the gods didn’t truly understand. Andre gave him a look, and Hermes fought a smile. “I know. ‘Never mind.’ But I do mind, Anansi.”

“All will be well as long as he gets his jar of blood,” Andre said evenly. “If I’m gone for a few days, don’t you worry bout me, lover.”

“Gone? With him?” Hermes inferred, and he studied Andre, watching his head nod, his long locs dancing against his back as he did. “Spider.”

“Mmm,” Andre put the cleaned knife on the counter beside the sink and he grasped his jar of blood, capping it up tightly. 

“Are you bound by something?” Hermes asked, barely hiding his concern.

“Ain’t that deep,” Andre said swiftly. He glanced at Hermes, and he smiled at him, holding up his jar of ruby blood, in it, shimmering galaxies of his divinity.

[aroaceleovaldez]

Not to get pedantic (oh who am i kidding that’s most of this blog) but I am genuinely fascinated by the potential applications of the established canon in HoO and TOA that the gods canonically have both historic and regional forms, and can appear as specific versions of those forms and have kids of those specific forms, which influence what powers the kid has/what pantheon they fall under/etc etc (and also the implication that demigods can be born under multiple forms of a singular deity). This is somewhat backed up even earlier in the first series when we’re told that Percy has earthquake powers because of his father being Poseidon “The Earthshaker” (which is Mycenaean Poseidon) - which could also tie into why Percy generally takes leadership roles, is hopping in and out of the Underworld a lot, and is apparently particularly powerful for even just a Big 3 kid, since all that would line up with Mycenaean Poseidon being generally put at the head of the pantheon and also being a chthonic deity.

Now this gets really interesting when we start looking at deities being combined and conflated, because a.) the Romans weren’t the only ones doing that and b.) the Romans had their own gods originally, they didn’t just take the Greek ones and slap a new name on them. They merged a lot with their own preexisting deities alongside adopting worship of deities from other cultures as the Romans spread (and the Greeks also did this), and c.) the ancient Greeks and Romans did exist at the same time.

Like, we know in terms of the Greeks and Romans that if their godly parents are “equivalent” then their demigod children are siblings, just like if Greek demigods have the “same” godly parent then they are also siblings. However, very few Greco-Roman gods are one-to-one, and a lot are like three gods in a trench coat, and then if you want to get into historical forms then you can start running into weird things like “Well, if you go back far enough, these two Greek gods may have originated from the same thing-” and also if we’re talking historical forms, again, the Greeks and Romans existed at the same time! Which means there would be historic forms of godly parents that are both Greek and Roman! So like, where do we go from there? Would Hazel be equally siblings to a child of Plutus as she is to Nico because both Hades and Plutus were conflated into Pluto? Orcus was also conflated with Pluto - does that mean when Nico killed Bryce Lawrence, he was killing his half-brother? (cause then that parallels just a couple chapters later when Will faces off against Octavian-) Are there demigods who, depending on their godly parents’ form(s), are technically both a Greek and Roman demigod? If Hermes and Pan possibly originated from the same god, does that mean all the satyrs are siblings with the Hermes kids? If we want to get into all the nonsense of Dionysus’ origins and Zagreus and Hades, does that mean Nico is technically siblings with Dionysus kids? Does Dionysus joke about this during their therapy sessions? Are some demigods in certain cabins siblings with kids in other cabins but each others’ siblings aren’t siblings depending on what form their godly parents were in?

I have a headache now.

[shapeofshifter]

REALLY thinking about making a deitykin side blog... it would make me post a lot less on this blog but it would be so much fun. idk :(

[hermes-helpol]

Sitting outside during a storm, watching, listening; enjoying the rain and the lightning and the thunder and thinking of Lord Zeus.

Thinking about his stories; what I know and how much I know I'm oblivious to. Wondering what I can learn from him. Reminding myself to research him later.

Thanking him for the storm. For every drop, every flash; every rumble.

Thunderstorms are something we have always adored both collectively with my system and together with our family/mother. But this one was truly magical because I got to experience it with Lord Zeus in mind.

I love religion 💜.