#and the Champions... maybe Achilles and Patroclus?

[eelhound]

"I think Homer outwits most writers who have written on the War [fantasy archetype], by not taking sides.

The Trojan war is not and you cannot make it be the War of Good vs. Evil. It’s just a war, a wasteful, useless, needless, stupid, protracted, cruel mess full of individual acts of courage, cowardice, nobility, betrayal, limb-hacking-off, and disembowelment. Homer was a Greek and might have been partial to the Greek side, but he had a sense of justice or balance that seems characteristically Greek — maybe his people learned a good deal of it from him? His impartiality is far from dispassionate; the story is a torrent of passionate actions, generous, despicable, magnificent, trivial. But it is unprejudiced. It isn’t Satan vs. Angels. It isn’t Holy Warriors vs. Infidels. It isn’t hobbits vs. orcs. It’s just people vs. people.

Of course you can take sides, and almost everybody does. I try not to, but it’s no use; I just like the Trojans better than the Greeks. But Homer truly doesn’t take sides, and so he permits the story to be tragic. By tragedy, mind and soul are grieved, enlarged, and exalted.

Whether war itself can rise to tragedy, can enlarge and exalt the soul, I leave to those who have been more immediately part of a war than I have. I think some believe that it can, and might say that the opportunity for heroism and tragedy justifies war. I don’t know; all I know is what a poem about a war can do. In any case, war is something human beings do and show no signs of stopping doing, and so it may be less important to condemn it or to justify it than to be able to perceive it as tragic.

But once you take sides, you have lost that ability.

Is it our dominant religion that makes us want war to be between the good guys and the bad guys?

In the War of Good vs. Evil there can be divine or supernal justice but not human tragedy. It is by definition, technically, comic (as in The Divine Comedy): the good guys win. It has a happy ending. If the bad guys beat the good guys, unhappy ending, that’s mere reversal, flip side of the same coin. The author is not impartial. Dystopia is not tragedy.

Milton, a Christian, had to take sides, and couldn’t avoid comedy. He could approach tragedy only by making Evil, in the person of Lucifer, grand, heroic, and even sympathetic — which is faking it. He faked it very well.

Maybe it’s not only Christian habits of thought but the difficulty we all have in growing up that makes us insist justice must favor the good.

After all, 'Let the best man win' doesn’t mean the good man will win. It means, 'This will be a fair fight, no prejudice, no interference — so the best fighter will win it.' If the treacherous bully fairly defeats the nice guy, the treacherous bully is declared champion. This is justice. But it’s the kind of justice that children can’t bear. They rage against it. It’s not fair!

But if children never learn to bear it, they can’t go on to learn that a victory or a defeat in battle, or in any competition other than a purely moral one (whatever that might be), has nothing to do with who is morally better.

Might does not make right — right?

Therefore right does not make might. Right?

But we want it to. 'My strength is as the strength of ten because my heart is pure.'

If we insist that in the real world the ultimate victor must be the good guy, we’ve sacrificed right to might. (That’s what History does after most wars, when it applauds the victors for their superior virtue as well as their superior firepower.) If we falsify the terms of the competition, handicapping it, so that the good guys may lose the battle but always win the war, we’ve left the real world, we’re in fantasy land — wishful thinking country.

Homer didn’t do wishful thinking.

Homer’s Achilles is a disobedient officer, a sulky, self-pitying teenager who gets his nose out of joint and won’t fight for his own side. A sign that Achilles might grow up someday, if given time, is his love for his friend Patroclus. But his big snit is over a girl he was given to rape but has to give back to his superior officer, which to me rather dims the love story. To me Achilles is not a good guy. But he is a good warrior, a great fighter — even better than the Trojan prime warrior, Hector. Hector is a good guy on any terms — kind husband, kind father, responsible on all counts — a mensch. But right does not make might. Achilles kills him.

The famous Helen plays a quite small part in The Iliad. Because I know that she’ll come through the whole war with not a hair in her blond blow-dry out of place, I see her as opportunistic, immoral, emotionally about as deep as a cookie sheet. But if I believed that the good guys win, that the reward goes to the virtuous, I’d have to see her as an innocent beauty wronged by Fate and saved by the Greeks.

And people do see her that way. Homer lets us each make our own Helen; and so she is immortal.

I don’t know if such nobility of mind (in the sense of the impartial 'noble' gases) is possible to a modern writer of fantasy. Since we have worked so hard to separate History from Fiction, our fantasies are dire warnings, or mere nightmares, or else they are wish fulfillments."

- Ursula K. Le Guin, from No Time to Spare, 2013.

[wolfythewitch]

Question about your champion patroclus au, if you don't mind- how do you think the 'risk it all' moment factors into this scenario? Aside from amending his contract, would achilles show up on his own between Zag's runs to challenge pat himself? Would that be what Pat was hoping for, only to find achilles waiting for him after reforming from his fight with Zag, to contrast the way achilles was nowhere to be found the first time Pat had reformed in death and found himself wondering aimlessly alone? Or is the relationship fundamentally different, with it's own ending devoid of the risk it all message?

That would be what pat is hoping for, yes! Though hope is a strong word haha. At first maybe, he was hoping that Achilles would come when hearing of the famed champion of Elysium. But it's been decades since and Patroclus is mostly fighting now out of a misplaced sense of duty to his king, plenty of rage he couldn't have when he lived, and a Whole lot of bitterness. So this pat is fundamentally a lot angrier than Hades!Patroclus. I think the risk it all message might still come into play, though me and @thcscus have been floating around the statement "If he truly is the best of the Greeks, then why doesn't he come up here and kill me himself?" So it might also go down that route

[sevi007]

Hades 2 rambling (no I have not had time to watch the dev stream yet, I‘m just excited):

* Since there is Odysseus, is there going to be Penelope? Telemachus? Is it going to be our job to reunite them, like we did with Achilles and Patroculus?

* From what I gathered, Melinoe did not get to grow up with Hades, Persephone and Zagreus. So no sibling moments? ToT But I need those in my life! I hope they will at least get some typical sibling-bonding afterwards. Oh, and PRANKS. I need them to pull pranks.

* There seem to be characters like Hercules, and what could be Polyphemus which did not make it into the stream, so I'm not sure if they are confirmed to show up but - If so, I wonder if Odysseus and Polyphemus will have beef - or Odysseus and Poseidon, for that matter. You know, the whole Odysee and "Nobody" thing? Blinding Polyphemus? It could be a bit like that uneasy relationship Thanatos and Sysiphus had got going.

For that matter, I want a running gag with Odysseus being "Nobody" please. So much potential. So much annoying everyone, including the narrator.

Also do Achilles and Patroclus KNOW Odysseus in this iteration? Based on the myths, they should from the Trojan war. That would be an interesting reunion

* I should hope the characters from the first game will return, and if they do, I want Theseus and Hercules to meet up. One calls himself the strongest hero / champion, the other is regularly known as THE strongest hero in Greece myth. I say FIGHT (not literally. Or, maybe a little? XD)

* I need at least one jelaous moment from Zag over Melinoe‘s ghost arm

* The other way around, I need an Oh moment from Melinoe (who hopefully will have met Than and Meg at that point) when she realizes her big bro is in a relationship with Death and a Fury. Yes I will just assume they will keep that relationship going in the second game.

If anything else pops up (especially after I can FINALLY watch that stream) I will add onto it but these are my most pressing thoughts right now

[babyrdie]

Achilles if he was the Champion on Olympus instead of Theseus and Asterius, inspired by a fic (by @baejax-the-great) I read recently.

I ended up drawing Achilles because I wanted to train more metal and Patroclus in this fic doesn't have much metal in his design. Maybe I'll try to do Patroclus too, but I can't promise anything because trying to imitate Hades has already taken me a long time for a train.

I tried to use Hades' style as a kind of observation study. Honestly, I already knew it was going to be difficult all along because I don't have stylization as my strong point, and also the style of this game seemed so unique that it gave me the impression that it would be difficult to replicate. All said and done, it really is. Even if I cheated by establishing a firmer pose on Achilles to avoid the need to draw a good gesture, it doesn't change that the rest is still outside my comfort area.

My conclusion was: the head is the hardest part for me, which I didn't expect. My facial style is very different from Hades' style, so it complicates my life. Plus, using just one brush for the whole thing is surprisingly good. I should practice gesturing instead of avoiding it.

And here I'm going to put some notes about Hades' style that helped me try to replicate it, but that's it: in Jen Zee's case, perceiving characteristic X is more complicated than doing characteristic X! I still think I need to train a lot to really be able to replicate it, especially in the head area. I don't know if this counts as a tutorial of sorts? But that's it, expect lots of images and explanations from here on in this post.

SHAPES

You can easily see "geometric" aspects of the drawing. It's easy to "disassemble" characters into shapes, which is a kind of basic concept often used in drawings.

I think that trying to be "sharp" is a good thing, as most of the shapes I saw on the characters were more sharp than rounded.

I got the impression that Jen Zee focuses on the macro and then goes to the micro, not micro for macro. In other words, she first establishes a visible and well-made shape and then cares about details.

This is very good in terms of anatomy, because a common mistake artists make, for example, is to care too much about detailing things like the face and muscles instead of creating a well-done silhouette. It turns out that the detailed parts are realistic, but the character as a whole has questionable anatomy. Typical case of a perfect face, but too big or small for the body.

I think the most obvious example of Hades' style is its hair. There is no separation of hair strand by strand, but rather making a large, recognizable shape that will later be further molded.

LINEART

The line is always black. Don't paint!

Lineweight: the outer line is thick but the inner lines are thin. There isn't much more line weight variation other than that.

It's mostly consistent but, in some parts, it's purposely interrupted or less polished. It's nothing so noticeable that if you do it completely polished it will greatly affect the result, but if you intend to get as close as possible I would advise you to purposefully "fail" in some parts.

Even with these "flaws", it's a CONFIDENT lineart. This means that you will have more luck copying the style of making your drawings in firm, quick strokes at once rather than slowly retouching stroke by stroke. Draw a line and if it looks bad, just do it again. I don't recommend drawing over it to fix it.

I don't know if this fits in line, but I'll put it here. There are some random lines of striking colors here and there. At first glance, you don't even notice them, although they actually help the drawing stand out, but they are there.

COLORING

Color blocking is your friend.

Don't use blending tools, and use a hard brush and hard eraser. I used one of CSP's default brushes for the entire drawing. It's a style that doesn't require fancy brushes.

From what I saw, Jen Zee doesn't paint this style in grayscale but directly in color. If your fear is getting the color wrong, using layers is a faithful companion because it's easy to change a specific part.

It's IMPOSSIBLE to do the Hades style without inking, which is that part where in the traditional drawing you would apply the ink. In Hades, this is visible in the parts that are shaded black.

Inking is MAINLY used in areas where there is less light, such as the neck, but it's also widely used on metal surfaces.

Don't insist on gradients and blurring the drawing! The shadows here are more solid, quite easy to point out where they start and where they end. In some parts, the transition is made by putting an "edge" on the shadow in a tone that is between the shadow tone and the base tone, not by blending. In others, there is no transition at all. Faces, in particular, seemingly have no transitions.

In the illuminated parts, I particularly found it easier to use rubber to shape them. First paint straight and then start erasing and making the shapes.

Highlights are very important in this style, and they are generally in a more saturated tone.

It seemed easier to follow the order of base color > lighting than base color > shading. That is, first paint in the darkest tone and then add lighter tones instead of painting light and then making it dark.

-Use of complementary colors and analogous colors in certain palettes.

Color picking can make you a little insecure about the base colors, but trust the process because color theory is crazy. The base skin tone of Achilles in Hades is a yellow that is strange at first glance, but together with the other added tones it simply looks like a normal tan. Believe me, I was surprised at first! But, sure, it doesn't all have to be color-picking.

SOME EXAMPLES IN IMAGES

And now trying to explain what I already said, but visually. If you look at the images, I recommend zooming in. Very simple images because some of them were actually loose studies and not something made with the intention of posting so don't expect anything beautiful lol

[winterisol]

Motogp riders as greek/roman gods pt.1

so like this idea has been sitting in my head for roughly a week, what greek/roman gods would my favorite motorsport athletes would be. So for now I compiled the aliens and VR46 Academy riders for motogp. (Sorry for any mistakes this was typed at like 2 AM after finals)

Marc Marquez: Ares

This just makes so much sense to me, because if you watch any instance of Marc racing he is literally the definition of "war-mode." He is extremely aggressive, ballsy, and sometimes (most of the time) crosses the line. In this way he embodies the well known image of Ares, a god known for his impulsive actions, rage and well the "dirty" parts of war. However, the reason why I chose Ares for Marc is actually the fact that Ares is extremely loyal, loving and honestly more wholesome than popular media gives him credit. Like his loyalty and love for those he cares about extends deep with one of my favorite myths being the time Ares killed a son of Posidieon for violating his daughter. I feel like this loyalty and love is a key part of Marc, the man who insists on living with his younger brother at the ripe age of 31. Anyway yeah, for Marc its kinda the negative social conditions associated with him, and his division between his competitive racing side and his personal side which made Ares so compelling.

Valentino Rossi: Apollo

This was actually one I debated about for a while, but the more I think about it the more it makes sense. I think the most obvious reason for Vale to be Apollo is his presence, like even through the camera there is something about Vale that just draws people in. He literally feels like he has the gravitational force of the Sun. I also think this is a good match because, kinda like marc with Ares, Vale is like Apollo in that no matter what he is like the cool popular guy. When reading old Greek myths, Apollo is always portrayed as this good, strong, cool guy, even though his actions are often the opposite. Like Apollo commits so many atrocities and in some ways is worse then Ares, yet he is constantly absolved of these wrongdoings. The Illiad is a great example, where while Ares is bashed for his wrongdoings, Apollo literally kills Patroclus with little to no consequences other than Achilles bitching about him. In this way Vale also fits, because lets be honest, even as a big fan of Vale, he in many instances was not much better than marc. Especially young Vale, who kinda like marc made risky moves because for him it was always a win or nothing. I also like this pairing cause, like Vale, Apollo can hold grudges and make people's lives living hell.

Pecco Bagnaia: Hephaestus

This is another one that took a bit of thinking, but yeah other than his pretty boy image, I think this one is spot on. So the first obvious reason is that if Marc is Ares, the heir apparent to Olympus, Pecco is definitely Hephaestus, the scorned younger brother who is never seen as good enough, despite being chosen by his parents (in this case Vale). Like, Pecco is the chosen one for Vale, but to the media and basically everyone else who isn't VR46 academy, Marc is seen as the rightful successor to Vale's legacy. I think this also plays in nicely with how Pecco is often regarded, underrated, unmentioned and sometimes not given the respect he deserves as a two-time motogp champion already. Like, Pecco has so much talent that often sits ignored in favor of his more flashy senior, just like how Hephaestus is in Olympus. I think his low-key personality, but sometimes explosive anger which can manifest in irritational actions or cunning traps also matches Hephaestus well. Like Jorge Martins, literally said that Pecco is most likely to play mindgames, instead of the obvious Marc. Pecco has also seen to sometimes overreact, like that one time in qualifying with Marc (also ironically fits into the Ares V. Hephaestus narrative as well).

I have more but like I'm losing motivation to explain it so maybe I'll make a part two tomorrow or something

[nambnb]

Patroclus scoffed. “Still afraid, are you?” Achilles met his eyes. “Terrified.” Patroclus grinned like a wolf baring its teeth. “Good. Maybe I like you being afraid of me.” He took up a fighting position; spear shaft couched and shield at the ready. “Now fight me like you mean it!” He shot toward Achilles, spear aiming for his chest, (...).

Kyle was nice enough to allow me to use the tidbits she posted on twitter for a fight between Achilles and Patroclus as Champion of Elysium, so I gave it a shot.

I'd be happy if anyone was interested in reading my take on it.

[baejax-the-great]

Rains and Rotting Leaves

“I was afraid I’d find you here,” Zagreus says, before his face scrunches up and he quickly adds, “I mean because I’d hoped you’d fared better than I did out there and maybe were still in Elysium.”

Patroclus does not reply. His mere presence on the ground of some random island in Asphodel is enough to tell Zagreus what happened.

“Did you manage to make it to the Champion?” Zagreus asks.

Patroclus shakes his head no.

“Um, I got you something that I thought might cheer you up, and also to say thank you for the tips you gave me. I’m still working on implementing them, but crouching at the end of my dash—that’s what I call it, a dash, not a jump—it’s really helped.”

“Not enough to get you out of Elysium,” Patroclus says quietly, accepting the small bottle tied up with a bow. Politeness dictates he stand up to do this, but he doesn’t.

“It’s nectar,” Zagreus says helpfully. “It’s supposed to be really good. Tasty.”

Nectar from Olympus is a very fine gift for a god to give some insignificant shade who can’t be bothered to show him due respect. Patroclus has no interest in nectar or anything to do with Olympus, but one does not reject the friendship of a god and expect anything good to come of it.

“Here,” he says, removing the pin that keeps his cloak in place. It is gold, the only thing of value that he owns, though he has not thought about it in ages. It has the insignia of the myrmidons on it. Failed warrior that he is, unrecognized by his own friends, he has no need for that anymore.

“Oh, wow.” Zagreus accepts it with both hands as if Patroclus had given him anything of real worth, and despite himself, Patroclus is moved by his childlike sincerity. He thinks he might be capable of smiling at just this moment, if his face remembers how. Zagreus takes the pin, and though he has no cloak to hold in place, he attaches it to his chiton and beams as Patroclus.

Well. The myrmidons were a strange bunch—an eclectic group of criminals, outcasts, and adventurers. A wayward godling might find a home amongst them. Zagreus’s sword work might have landed him in the lower ranks, but his enthusiasm would have gotten him somewhere. With the right teacher, he might have ended up at Achilles’ right hand.

“Who trained you, stranger?”

Read the rest here | Start from the beginning

[smallraindrops-blog]

Boss Battle! Anon

Today, I bring a small chunk of the Pokemon au! It's still a work in progress, so apologies if some stuff doesn't make sense. I'm mostly trying to lay out the bones and some flesh right now.

Y/n - Fighting Gym Leader

Main Team: Infernape, Gallade, Hitmonchan, Crabominable, Pangoro, Annilhilape

Other Pokemon: Lucario, Medicham, Kommo-o, Rapidash, Mudsdale, Beedrill, Spearow

Info: A Fighting Type Gym leader who specializes in boxing. Is probably the last gym you face before the Elite Four. Despite having an Infernape, Ralts was his starter. Wants to make the gym to be double battle oriented so he and Hypnos can run it together, just like his Pa and father did when they ran it.

---

Hypnos - Sleep Themed Trainer

Main Team: Cresselia, Jigglypuff, Musharna, Abra, Snorlax, Komala

Other Pokemon: Drowsee, Piloswine, Darkrai, Morelull

Info: Hypnos family often gain the favor of legendary pokemon, he was (un)fortunate to gain the favor of two. One, however, prefers to stay in its pokeball rather than interact. He's also supposed to be training to take over Thanatos gym, as Thanatos will be joining the Elite Four once Charon retires. Only really battles when teamed up with Y/n or training with his siblings. He prefers to study his Pokedex.

---

Miscellaneous Ideas:

The first champion of the region was Nyx, then Hades, and now Zeus.

Elite Four: Charon, Achilles, Asterius and Theseus (double battle), and I haven't decided on the last member, but I'm feeling either Athena or Hades.

Achilles team is based around Steel types. (With a few water Pokemon being gifted to him from his mother.)

Patroclus was a gym leader but has since retired. Can't decide between making him a Dragon, Rock, or Grass gym leader. (Hell might be basic and just make him a Water type gym since he was by the river Lethe for so long. Would make for a good gym theme.) He still has plenty of dogs in this au, Stoutland, Houndoom, Houndstone, Boltund, and their previous evolutions, you name it.

Thanatos and Charon are Ghost type specialists.

Thanatos has a Lunala he secretly pampers.

Charon has a Giratina. (That he prefers not to battle with, the poor thing is so anxious not being in its void.)

Nyx focuses on Dark types, and it's rumored that she has a Yveltal on her team.

Chaos is the professor, with Nyx eventually joining them as their assistant. (And possibly Hypnos)

Chaos has an Arceus.

And yeah! Those are my silly little pokemon thoughts so far. Still needs a lot of work, but I figured I could share what I have so as I work on team ideas and story plots. Hope you enjoy it! (Also, sorry for any spelling errors, lmao)

I love this! I actually had my own idea with Pokémon au and we actually picked a lot of the same Pokémons for Y/N and Hypnos. ^-^

Putting the rest of my respond below. Gonna share some of my own HCs and thoughts. Gosh i love this au you created. And i am def interested 👀

I adore that Y/n’s starter Pokémon was a wee Ralts! They regularly appeared to cheerful people I believe. So i would love to know the story behind their meeting. (Was the ralts grumpy as Y/N and that why they bonded? Bc that would be hilarious, two grumpy peas in a pod.)

all his Pokémons are such a good fit for him btw.

silly hc i had for my au but I always like the idea that his powerful Pokémon are scary and standoffish to everyone else but become total obedient sweethearts for Hypnos.

Also them being a duo would be extremely difficult to defeat with Hypnos putting foes to sleep and Y/n knocking them out before the player could wake them up.

Another hc I had for my au that Y/n would train his Pokémon to maximize their critical hits and one shot kills.

The fact that he wants to make his gym double battle with Hypnos is basically a marriage proposal lol but I get the vibes that maybe they not quiet together yet? Or dating but neither had admit they fallen in love?

i can just see y/n asking Hypnos about what he thought about decor for the gym, trying get stuff that Hypnos likes and hypnos being totally oblivious.

I love how you set up Hypnos’ team btw! And I am def nosey about whoever that Pokémon is.

I can just see Hypnos’ team all napping together in a big cuddle pile. It is so adorable.

a few of Y/N’s Pokémon had definitely wormed in their way into that pile btw.

I like your set up for the Elite Four btw! Athena would be awesome and would well as the boss before Zeus since she is his golden child.

love Achilles’ type and fits him really well. Does he have Empoleon on his team since that is the only water/steel type? ( I think. It had been a while since i played Pokémon.)

If i can suggest an idea for Patroclus, have you thought having him a normal type trainer? He could still use dual types along it fitting with ppl underestimating him then getting their ass kicked by him.

but only if you want! I just like the idea of ppl being like ‘pat who’ then after getting defeated, they are like ‘Patroclus, the best of the gym leaders’ lol

The river lethe as a theme gym sounds amazing~~~~

Oh! And the fact that the legendary Pokémon just vibes with Hypnos and his family is such a funny idea. Imagine Christmas with all of them and all of the family Pokémon in one place. XD

I can see Thanatos and Charon as ghost type specialists.

awwwww Thanatos would totally secretly pampers his favorite Pokémon.

also poor Giratina! Glad it has a understanding and caring trainer.

oooo a yveltal! 👀

I love that Hypnos being an assistant (and maybe an optional battle if he found at Y/N’s gym at the right time? Or if the player does a special quest for Hypnos to get him to agree to a battle?)

Battle Anon, I love this whole thing and I can’t wait to see what else you come up with! ^.^

Ps. Thank you so much for sharing this with me. I definitely haven’t been playing Pokémon music on repeat since getting this ask lol.

[soartfullydone]

Aphrodite also

send me a character ask

Oh, man, you're really making me dig into the reaches of my memory here, okay

Favorite thing about them

That she can find so much fresh excitement and intrigue in people, despite her age and immortality. It's that aspect of new love that she embodies.

Least favorite thing about them

I'd say her very human-like pettiness, but that's true of all the gods. So maybe how, with a serene smile on her face, she allows others to willfully misunderstand her. It's not that she can't stand up to the other gods; it's that she doesn't see much point. They're all stuck with each other, regardless of how much they may bicker and side against each other. In that way, Aphrodite feels as distant from the other Olympians as Artemis does, at times.

Favorite line

The way I have not looked at that manuscript draft in [redacted] years. I should really do that.

BROTP

Aphrodite/Persephone because ladies need to support each other getting theirs, know what I'm saying?

OTP

If you're not multi-shipping the goddess of love and beauty, you're doing it wrong. But I'm particularly fond of Aphrodite/Hephaestus, Aphrodite/Ares, and Aphrodite/Hermes, and what if all that was happening at the same time?

NOTP

Aphrodite/Zeus because I just don't want Zeus to have nice things

Random headcanon

Despite Aphrodite's role in helping start the Trojan War and her siding with the Trojans, she came to greatly admire and desire Achilles. That Achilles met his downfall due to a violent love and heartbreak for Patroclus (not to mention an arrow from Paris, Aphrodite's champion) speaks to me. Yeah, sure, Apollo is attributed to guiding his arrow, but was that truly the case? Have we not proven through the entirety of the Trojan War how destructive love and desire can become?

Unpopular opinion

Related to the OTP answer, but Aphrodite should've been allowed to have multiple lovers and polyamorous relationships (including with women) without it being either a big deal or something that ends in humiliation or tragedy. Let my girl be free, and let her change her form every so often.

Song I associate with them

"Mermaids" by Florence + the Machine

Favorite picture of them

i don't have enough money for chickin nuggets :c

[agrumina]

In the Aeneid by Virgil, Theseus after his death was sent back to the chair where he and Pirithous were punished after trying to take Persephone (Pirithous, instead, after his physical death, was sent to another punishment).

AU where it went exactly like that. Hades is like "Yeah I don't care you were being forced/having an oath and/or Pirithous being a bad influence and yada yada, I can’t forgive you that easily” and sends him back there. I’m putting under a read more because long post.

tl;dr version: Theseus is stuck in Tartarus, Asterius in Erebus since Theseus can’t free him from there, Zagreus has to act as a messanger for them (and maybe has to find a  way to let them reunite)

So, while trying to escape, Zagreus finds Theseus, all alone, in Tartarus. 

Theseus, is more calmer and maybe less full of himself (aka he’s worse at hiding his insecurities) because of years of torture but he’s still loud as always (I knows in my other posts I followed “The chair takes the ability to speak too” version but let’s say here Theseus can actually speak). He tries to hide it like it’s not that big of a deal but it’s clear he regrets all the things  he did in his past (and not only the Persephone thing) because, after all, having to sit still for eternity gives you lots of time to think.

Zagreus can’t say he finds Theseus nice and best friend material, but he’s still someone to talk to after all.

Asterius, of course, is still in Erebus. Maybe as a boss that sometimes appears?

Zagreus, one time, mentions Theseus to him and he expects the Minotaur to be happy because yes! Justice! His killer is being punished! Yes not for killing him but he’s still being punished after all!

Instead, the Minotaur is horrified. Turns out he has a form of respect towards Theseus for the great fight he gave him.

And thus Zagreus gets the “mission” to free Theseus so he can go to the Minotaur or, at least, allow Asterius to got to Tartarus to pay a visit to the former king; and the prince sometimes has to act as a messanger for both of them.

[stygiusfic]

hades meta + fic masterpost.

There is enough content on this blog now that it’s getting a little unwieldy to find old posts, so I’m compiling a masterlist of all my meta posts and fics I’ve linked here (all of which are OK to reblog). This list will be pinned and updated as I make more stuff.

FANFIC (posts tagged #stygius writes)

"Poster Boy" ThanZag, College AU, rated T. Thanatos models for a new recruitment poster for the debate club. Zagreus tries not to be absolutely smitten with him and fails, with some perks. tumblr post  / ao3

"Death's Embrace" ThanZag, Hypnos. rated G. Thanatos develops a migraine from the brightness of the surface world. After bringing Zagreus back to the House of Hades, Hypnos offers to help alleviate the headache via magical Greek god of Sleep superpowers. tumblr post / ao3

"heart of the garden" Hades/Persephone/Nyx, Persephone POV poem. tumblr post / ao3

"Call the Name of God and Pray That He Will Listen" ThanZag, Gothic Vampire AU, rated T. Thanatos is a vampire-hunting priest whose life would be far less complicated if he weren't harboring a vampire in his home and also, possibly, in love with said vampire. tumblr post / ao3

"Reap What You Sow" [nsfw] ThanZagMeg, rated E. Thanatos keeps showing up throughout Zagreus' attempts to escape the Underworld, and their competitions have become a mere prelude to sex. Zagreus talks to Megaera about it, and she decides an intervention is in order. tumblr post / ao3 

“Someone Who Cares” [nsfw] Zagreus/Achilles, rated E. Being Prince of the Underworld isn’t easy when you’re constantly being reminded of all the ways you’re not good enough. Fortunately, Achilles is there to show Zagreus he has people who care about him. tumblr post / ao3

“Paradigm Shift” Hypnos, Chaos, Thanatos, rated G. Hypnos visits Chaos’ realm in a dream, looking for insight about how to gain Nyx’s approval, & grandparent/grandchild bonding ensues. tumblr post / ao3

“Power of Persuasion” MegZag, rated T. Zagreus stops by Megaera's chambers unannounced, with a bottle of booze and every intention of distracting her from her parchmentwork. She's into it, but she still makes him put in the effort to persuade her. tumblr post / ao3

“A Supplicant Cry” ThanZag, rated E. Thanatos returns to the House of Hades ahead of schedule. Zagreus is suprised to have him back early, but he knows how to make the most of that situation. tumblr post / ao3

“Drunken Revelry” ThanZag, rated T. Thanatos has maybe had a little too much to drink. tumblr post / ao3

“Echoes that Linger” Megaera, Patroclus, side MegZag and Patrochilles (referenced), rated G. Achilles talks at length about Patroclus, once he's had enough to drink. Megaera wonders if there's anything left of the man he remembers, and decides to find out, with a little help from Zagreus. Pre-reunion. tumblr post / ao3

“A Reasonable Explanation” PZA (patzagchilles), rated E. Zagreus gets a Kiss of Styx and a regular kiss from Patroclus, which isn’t meant as a message to Achilles, and he needs a minute to process everything. tumblr post / ao3

“A Soul Reforged” PatZag, rated E. Patroclus worships his stranger, a far kinder deity than any he knew of in life. tumblr post / ao3

“Hard to Port” SkelZag, rated E. Curious to know more about who Skelly was in life, Zagreus ends up dreaming about him as Schelemeus the ship captain, and his curiosity takes the dream down a different avenue. tumblr post / ao3

“Royal” ThanZag, rated T. Thanatos stops by to watch an artist shade paint the family portrait.  tumblr post / ao3

“Petals for Armor” MegZag, rated E. When Megaera falls ill with a strange affliction, she tries to keep it secret, especially from Zagreus. But as her condition worsens and becomes harder to hide, she realizes she can't keep him at arm's length forever. Sooner or later, something's got to give. tumblr post / ao3

“Champion Material” PZA, rated T. Achilles and Patroclus go to the arena to see Zagreus fight. That's the plan, anyway, until Theseus says a few things he shouldn't, and has to deal with the consequences. tumblr post / ao3

“Heed the Call” ThanAres, rated T. After confronting Zagreus in Elysium, Thanatos follows the pull of a dying soul on the surface. When he arrives, he finds before him a battlefield, and Ares covered in blood as red as Zag's. tumblr post / ao3

“Not Alone” MegZag, rated T. Zagreus takes a moment away from the bustle of the Olympians’ feast. Meg goes to find him. tumblr post / ao3

“Cross the Line” MegZag, rated E. Zagreus knows his fights with Meg are separate from their trysts back home. His body has a little more trouble telling the difference. tumblr post / ao3

“The Cycle Unbroken” Asterius & Zagreus, rated G. Mentor Asterius AU.  What if Asterius had been Zag’s mentor instead of Achilles? Someone who lived trapped in a labyrinth, mentoring someone trying to break free. tumblr post / ao3

“Inexorably” ThanZag, rated M. Beneath the House of Hades, there's a dark hallway where creation unspools and Thanatos can't hear the souls of mortals calling anymore. Zagreus finds him there. tumblr post / ao3

“Last Pure Heart Upon the Hill” ThanZag, rated M. SEQUEL to Call the Name of God. Thanatos is a vampire-hunting priest possibly in love with a vampire, Zagreus. But Zagreus has long since left Thanatos' home to go live in Olympus, his family's domain, and has not returned. If he wants to see Zagreus again, Thanatos' only choice seems to be to go to Olympus himself, entering vampire territory and exposing himself to any manner of fearful things that await him there, among them the answer to the way he feels. tumblr post / ao3

META (posts tagged #stygius rants)

Hades polycule (ThanZagMeg): the differences in their dynamic

MegZag: theories on previous relationship and in-game dynamic

MegZag, part 2: potential evolution of their current relationship

MegZag, part 3: difficulties of the romance arc

Thoughts on the Narrator

ThanZag: why does Thanatos help Zag so much?

ThanZag: analysis of Thanatos' dialogue in the romance scene

Chthonic bros: Thanatos & Hypnos

Thoughts about Nyx and her relationships

ThanZag: What do Zagreus and Thanatos see in each other?

Megaera & Thanatos: Thoughts on their friendship

Zagreus Pre-Canon Timeline: Part 1 (other parts linked in post)

Headcanon of the layout of the House of Hades

[highly-opinionated-ramblings]

When Achilles’ mother first presented him with the great dilemma of what was to be his fate- whether he’d live a long and uneventful life, or a short one full of glory- the first thing he’d done was tell Patroclus everything she’d said. Because the two of them told each other everything. He’d said he had no intention of letting glory pass him by, and Patroclus had agreed that that was the more noble decision.

But, no opportunities would present themselves immediately. Everything was peaceful in their little corner of the world, at least for the time being. So they went about their business as usual, waiting for the promised adventures to come when they would.

One day, not long after, on a hunting trip deep in the forest, Patroclus came across a nymph who had carelessly gotten herself caught in one of his traps. His first thought was that he couldn’t wait to tell Achilles- even just to see one of the elusive creatures was considered great fortune.

He helped her to free herself, and then stood back, making it as clear as he could that he had no intentions of harming her further.

She didn’t thank him. Which was fine, and perfectly as expected for her kind. But she did hesitate before making her escape, turning back to look at him over her shoulder.

“You’re going to die,” she said, and her voice was clear as a bell, ringing with truth.

Patroclus blinked in surprise. “I am?”

She nodded, her strange, large eyes fixed intently on his. “If you go, if you take up arms against Troy, you’re going to die.”

“Troy?” As far as he knew, Troy was a peaceful and prosperous city. But then again, who was he to argue with a divine being? They almost always knew when something big was about to happen.

“It’s already been decided,” the nymph insisted.

Patroclus bowed his head. “Thank you for the warning. But, if my people determine to go to war with Troy, then I will go with them, even so.”

She nodded once more, and then she was gone, swift as a bird in flight. Leaving Patroclus alone with what would become the only secret he’d ever kept from Achilles.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After nine years of fighting, he’d begun to think that maybe he was going to make it out after all. That earned the favor of some benevolent god. But then came the fight between Achilles and Agamemnon, and he began to see all the little pieces of the big picture fall into place.

This war wasn’t about him, and it never had been. It had started out with Paris and Helen, but it wasn’t about them anymore, either. It belonged now solely to the gods above, and their few favored champions below.

Nothing would end until Achilles played out his part. But he was so upset that he didn’t seem to see it. That, or he simply didn’t care.

But Patroclus wasn’t about to just let it go on the way it was forever. The men didn’t deserve that. Neither the Achaeans nor the Trojans deserved that, caught up in a never-ending battle whose heavenly stakes none of them could even begin to comprehend.

Time for him to write the ending to his own story. If that’s what it took to get Achilles back in the action, he was ok with it. It would be a very fitting end, for sure.

Briseis caught him at the edge of camp, before he made his way to the battlefield in Achilles’ shining armor. She was crying, silent tears streaming down her face.

“As much as I love you both,” she said firmly, wrapping trembling arms around his shoulders, “you have proven yourself to be twice the man he is today. You are so brave, Patroclus. I will pray to every god there is for your safe and triumphant return.”

“Thank you,” Patroclus said quietly, returning her embrace, “but, Briseis, I...I won’t be coming back.”

“You don’t know that. How could you possibly know that? Zeus rewards the brave. He will see your efforts today, and-”

“Briseis.”

“-and who knows? He may even grant you the glory of Hector’s head, to end this terrible war. Wouldn’t that b-be...wouldn’t that be grand, P-Patroclus?”

He closed his eyes and squeezed her a little tighter.

“People like him get a choice,” he muttered into her hair. “They can choose their fates. The rest of us aren’t so lucky. I’m just trying to do the most I can with what I’ve been given. Besides, you’re right about Hector. Who knows, maybe I really will take him down with me. But even if I don’t, he will. And that’s what’s important. He’ll be the one to finish this, not me.”

[samcybercat]

2021 Fanfic Meme

Tagged by the most incredible dealer of problematique content @pandirpus Word count for the year:  169,593 ...That are on AO3! A large chunk of my writing atm is for projects that I can’t yet post publicly, so it’d actually be a bit higher than that. Number of stories posted to Ao3: 22! Pairings written for:   Theseus/Zagreus Theseus/Asterius Zagreus/Asterius Theseus/Zagreus/Asterius Momus/Heracles Dionysus/Ariadne Meg/Aphrodite Asterius/Hypnos Hades/Persephone Theseus/Momus Ares/Hypnos Achilles/Patroclus Zagreus/Momus Charon/Hermes Zagreus/Sisyphus Ares/Achilles ...And also Ares/Skelly, but I can’t post that one just yet ;) Fandoms I wrote for: Only Hades Game this year Most popular story: That’s definitely the prince with specific tastes; the king with specific regrets - which is easily the most popular fic I’ve ever written! I’ve never written anything that’s gotten much attention before, so I am incredibly honoured by folks liking the story so much. Story I’m most proud of: Same as above! I feel like I was possessed by something when I churned that whole fic out in a little over a month and bypassed all the usual problems I have with multichapters - I’d mapped it out before starting, I’d done my research, I’d forced myself to only focus on five main characters instead of going off on a tangent about a million of them. Also, I’m proud of how self-indulgent I allowed myself to be with the Heracles & Momus bonus content. Funniest: Two answers for this. The first is that Ares/Skelly fic that I can’t post yet, but has hilarious dialogue that I’m very excited to share. The second is this Ares & Mario crossover crackfic that I wrote when Cyrus Nemati asked for it on one of his streams. Kinkiest: I don’t think I wrote anything particularly kinky, but maybe the Sisyphus/Zagreus fic? Saddest: Hmm... I guess it depends. A few contenders are:  letter from icarus, which has Icarus writing a farewell letter to Asterius that Asterius is never able to receive, making it seem like his friend had abandoned him. the one who made and ruined me, which is typical Achilles raging over Patroclus’s death angst, with a side of Ares gloating. and if found please return to the underworld, which while isn’t the saddest of the three, does have a bittersweet ending where TheseZag can only see each other occasionally and also Momus & Heracles are separated indefinitely. So it’s sad for me lol Least Popular: letter from icarus again, which doesn’t surprise me too much, since it’s a t-rated platonic fic between Asterius and an OC version of Icarus. Most Cringe-Worthy: ALL OF IT Favorite Opening Line(s): Hypnos doesn't even know why he's bothering to try, because he's never once won any sort of fight with Charon during their long existence and a staring contest isn't going to be the first one that he does. Favorite Closing Line(s):  Might as well live for that thrill, right? (That’s technically cheating, since it’s the last line of one of the Momus/Heracles bonus chapters from THE BIG THESEUS FIC, but if you count the bonus chapters as standalone stories, then it’s still kind of a closing line?) Top Scenes from Anywhere You Would Choose to Have Illustrated: Look, literally any scene featuring Momus and/or Heracles, because those are my boys and it feels personal when folks draw them. I’ve been lucky that a few kind souls have drawn some of their scenes already! But a few scenes I’d particularly like to see illustrated are: - Momus having transformed into Dusa-with-body to fail(?) to seduce Zagreus in champions; prince and bull - Momus & Heracles’s farewell in if found please return to the underworld - Any of the Momus/Theseus scenes from prince theseus, ariadne and dionysus (also there is a catboy) Story I haven’t yet written, but intend to: Once I’ve completed various exchanges, trades and zine fics, I hope to start another damn TheseZag multichapter, this one focused on time-travel shenanigans. As well as this, I want to write a final bonus chapter for the one year anniversary of specific tastes and maaaybe an incredibly self-indulgent Dionysus/Momus oneshot, because fuck it, why not? Fic-writing goals for 2022: Same as the above, as well as finishing off any zines/exchange/etc fics in a timely manner. ...Hmm, I’m trying to think of any writers I know are active and haven’t been tagged yet (but also, no pressure if you don’t want to do this!), so I tagged @ofbleedingink @101flavoursofweird @krokonoko​ and @yallemagne

[itonje]

I'm not a fan of Miller's book, either. Seriously, what is it with writers pinning women against each other? It's even more confusing when it's a female writer doing it.

If it was just Perse and Pasipäe, okay. If you want to give Circe a bad home life, fine. But Miller does it constantly. Athena was done especially dirty imo. I know she can be pretty petty herself (ex: Arachne, and even then, the reason for turning her into a spider tends to vary), but the way she was portrayed was just so grating. So eager for a champion, I was almost convinced Miller had conflated her with Ares. I don't think the exiled nymphs are even given names, let alone distinguishing personalities, and can we stop dunking on Helen? The Iliad makes it pretty clear that she loved Menelaus and didn't think highly of Paris.

And tbh, the story kinda felt a little repetitive at times, too: Circe meets someone, they get mad at her or leave her, she'll occasionally sleep with someone, rinse and repeat. And granted, she's a pretty minor character in the myths already, but I feel like it would've benefited the story more if she had been given more freedom, that she wasn't restricted to just her island. At the very least, how awesome it would've been if Circe had essentially started her own coven before passing on the role as the head witch of Aiaia to Penelope.

Also, can we stop having sexual assault scenes if the story isn't about that? At least it gives Circe a reason to turn men into literal pigs, but still.

I also don't think it's ever really explained why Circe has a mortal voice, even though she has full Titan blood. She just does. Granted, Perse is a minor nymph, but then what about the rest of her children? I'd get it if it was meant to be an allegory for disabilities, but it just felt like it was added on for the sake of making Circe more of an outcast than she already was.

And this is really more of a nitpick, but for a book that focuses so heavily on witchcraft, it's strange that Hecate wasn't even mentioned. In some versions, she's even Circe's mother. It's also really weird how homosexuality seems to be something that was so uncommon in Ancient Greece as far as these books are concerned, even though we know from history and myth that it wasn't. So yeah, Circe x Penelope would've been pretty awesome!

Blegh, sorry for the rant! I just have alot of thoughts about this book right now! ^^"

ATHENA WAS DONE SO SO DIRTY...it makes no sense even in the telegony itself its her who urges circe to tell telegonus about odyessus. wouldn't it have been more interesting for athena to assist circe in raising telegonus? wouldn't it have been more tragic for telegonus to go kill odyessus at athena's urging of him to go meet him? and then yadda yadda athena and circe can have a falling out then or something yadda yadda i don't know again, i know the gods are written in very specific ways here for the ultimate theme of the book here but like this book is so hard on athena it's so weird when i think that honestly there could have been more interesting for her and circe to work together...

ALSO YEAH MADELINE MILLER HAS A HELEN PROBLEM...i think it was fairer in the song of achilles and i rationalized the helen weirdness in that one by going 'well they're achilles and patroclus of course they won't have choice opinions on helen if from their perspective she's the one that led them into this war' but come on..not in circe too..leave her alone...

and i agree the book really did feel repetitive, but if you're asking me i wish there was more exploration to the episodes circe does get-especially the stint at crete, i wish we had seen more of circe and ariadne's and even her and pasiphae's relationship so bad. they get one conversation where they talk and it was so good but it ends so soon. honestly i feel a lot of the conversations in the book are repetitive as well- someone talking to someone, they reveal something about something else, the first someone is surprised!

also yeah the assault is um. i did not think we needed that scene as explicit as it was but i get that that's routine in these sorts of books at this point...now i will say i don't think a book has to be about that sort of stuff if a book includes them but i do think it should be addressed with care and i dunno if that book does that....

ALSO YEAH...the mortal's voice thing is an epithet given to her in the odyssey without much preamble as to what implications that has or to where she got it from and i don't think the author really had to explain it to make the story work but it would...have been nice to see her come up with an interpretation of what exactly that means for circe

and no i don't think it's a nitpick, i feel the same way irt to the book and witchcraft but the witch i feel like got REALLY shifted was medea. i think there could have been sooo many good parallels with medea and circe here-while circe is hated by her divine family, medea is a darling of helios (and in a fair amount of medea myths she returns to colchis where she's presumably forgiven by aeetes, including that variant where she kills perses to reinstate her father on the throne. i wish that had been mentioned in circe; at least then perses would have a point). while circe becomes a mortal at the end of her story in circe, medea in euripides' medea becomes a goddess herself or close to it while also becoming more monstrous in the process. while circe is constantly accused of caring too much for mortals medea has a fair disregard for the lives of other people (maybe due to her powers to reverse mortality). there could have literally been so much said here not just about divinity and mortality but the boundaries that both circe and medea would cross for the sake of their love oh my god i have no idea why not only her episode in the book was so short but there was very little follow up to what happened with her story afterward ugauwerwherhe

also yeah irt to homosexuality i think it was implied? telegonus was gay which is chill but also come on...give us the iconic greek myth ladies wlw romances.....

[hurricanes-art]

I really love your Hades au! The drawings are so well done and look lovely and the details you thought of are really interesting and well thought out and it makes me happy (except Nyx’s punishment, poor Zag)

Thank you so much!!! I’m so glad you enjoyed my art I’m glad you like the idea too! Poor Zag really does have a rough time in this au... Sorry for replying to this so late, I’ve been swamped with work recently, which is a shame because I’ve been chomping at the bit to make more stuff for this. But here, I do have a drabble for your troubles, and also the reason why I’ve been calling it the God of Ash au :D

(I also posted it to ao3 because why not, I guess. You can read it there, if you want)

“Asterius’s amiability won’t do any good, I fear; he takes his role of Champion too seriously to give any leeway. Suppose he feels he has to earn his place here, though I think he deserves it far more than Theseus- gods know he’ll never back down.”

Patroclus tsks softly. “For a certainty. See, you should have listened to me when I said that you’d make a far better champion. If you’d bested them and taken their place, you could give the stranger a free pass. When will you realize that I’m always right?”

Achilles releases a breathy laugh, gold curls flitting about him as he shakes his head. “Somehow, I don’t think that would have been quite so simple a solution. Though it’s always tempting when I imagine what Theseus’s face might look like if he was ever dethroned.”

The corners of Patroclus’s mouth twist up at the mental image. He leans further against Achilles where they sit on a low retaining wall in their familiar little glade. He idly winds and unwinds a lock of his hair around his fingers, soothed by the smooth slip of the strands over his skin.

“Perhaps it won’t be long now till he is,” Achilles posits thoughtfully. “The lad hasn’t given up yet.”

Patroclus tilts his head and meets Achilles’ eye out of the corner of his own. “You really think he can make it past the arena?”

His beloved shrugs lightly. “It seems like he can make as many attempts as he wants, can keep going unless his resolve fails him. I think it might be possible. I wouldn’t be-” The abrasive grind of the door sliding open interrupts rudely. “Well. Maybe not possible this time around.”

Patroclus turns to follow Achilles gaze across the chamber.

Zagreus stumbles over their little bridge, smiling tiredly despite his bedraggled state. Blood paints his temple from where it oozes from some wound hidden in his hair. The skin of his right shoulder is red and swollen, broken in some places, and Patroclus suppresses a wince at the thought of the bruise that would form, though he knows it will never get the chance. Cuts and scrapes mar his arms. He walks with a limp, though Pat can’t see the source.

He looks quite worse for wear. Patroclus informs him of such.

Zagreus laughs graciously, stumbling more over the last few steps towards them, seeming to go slack and relieved in their secure and sheltered glade. “I’m afraid you’re right,” he admits, the cadence of his voice sweet and earnest. “It’s not been the best of attempts.”

He glances at Achilles sheepishly. “Sorry sir, I’m not sure if I’m up for your- training pointers this time around.” He fumbles for the awkward words, apparently still unsituated and disbelieving in the face of Achilles’ advice, which he started to give a couple encounters ago.

“No worries, Zagreus,” he assures lightly. “They’re only meant to help you along, anyways, not to beat you down more.”

Pat hums gently and blinks lazily at the stranger. “Yes. Here take this,” he gestures to his usual offerings, “and take a moment, too, before going on your way.”

Zagreus’s smile reaches his eyes more at that and he takes the Kiss of Styx with a pretty dust of light pink across his cheeks. “As always, I can’t thank you enough, sir.” Patroclus rolls his eyes dramatically, but he’s not sure the stranger sees it as he dips his head politely.

He stays standing as he empties the dark, little vial and Achilles says, “Why don’t you take a seat lad? You’re welcome to rest for a moment. You look like you could use it.”

Zagreus studies him intently for a few moments, then shrugs. “If I sit down, I won’t want to get back up.”

Patroclus scoffs and quips, “I think that may be a sign that you really need to sit down.” Zagreus grins in response but remains on his feet regardless. Patroclus won’t insist where it’s not his place.

Instead he says, “At the risk of appearing rude, I must admit, I’m not very familiar with the chthonic deities. I don’t know all the gods of the Underworld. I thought you might be willing to sate some of my curiosity.”

Zagreus blinks at him, clearly surprised, but by no means offended. Patroclus is relieved to have apparently judged him correctly. “I- sure, of course! What were you curious about?”

Patroclus tilts his head. “-You. Who are you? What are you the god of?”

Zagreus blanches ever so slightly before flushing red. He laughs nervously and rubs the back of his neck as he ducks his head to avoid their gaze. “Sorry to disappoint you, sir. Some people in the house call me the God of Ash, but it’s only as a joke.” Through the ruffled, ink dark strands of his hair, Patroclus sees Zagreus set his mismatched eyes on his feet. The light of his fiery skin flickers and glows through the cracks and fissures in the build up of ash.

“I’m not really the god of anything at all,” the stranger announces.

Behind him, pressed up so that Patroclus feels it vibrate through him, Achilles hums a low, even noise, impossible to interpret, even as weighty as it feels in the air. Still, if he had to guess, he would think that his Achilles doesn’t believe that for a moment.

Patroclus isn’t so sure. He knows little about the ways of gods. Are some of them truly not gods of anything at all? And could Zagreus really be among their ranks? That, Patroclus finds less likely. He feels like the God of something. He can’t say exactly why, can’t pin it down. After all, the prince has only come through- oh, five or six times now. Just something in the air when he does, perhaps. Patroclus knows little about the ways of gods.

A little leaf falls from the crisp, autumn foliage of Zagreus’s laurels, wheeling through the motionless air of Elysium as if it has a life of its own. Patroclus watches, with an idle thought to collect it where it lands, but it flares like a minute ember and then flickers out just the same, leaving nothing behind when the stranger departs once again.

[zolotayafeya]

Alright I was on my phone when I got tagged in this and then I forgot about it so here it is, three days late. Whoops. 

Tagged by @squatchland! I tag @bamboozledflirt, @fonsscientae, @eclair, @fan-kingdoms, @yuuriwithviktor, @phaytesworld, and anyone else who would like to do this! If you’re one of the latter, @ me so I can see :) 

rules: tell me your favourite character from 10 fictional works (shows, movies, novels, etc.) & tag people!

(These are in the order that I thought of them, not necessarily the order in which I’d rank them as favourites)

1. Yuri Plisetsky, Yuri!!! On Ice I identify the most with two characters from YOI: Phichit Chulanont and Otabek Altin. I think it is because of the latter that I like Yuri Plisetsky so much. I also find it very easy to put myself into Yuri’s mindset on life, which is both similar and very different from mine. Yuri’s prickly and offensive on the outuside, but there’s a lot of insecurity and fear of failure under all of that aggression… and I like that multidimensionality. 

2. Jack Zimmermann, Check, Please!  Jack, Jack, Jacques… His earnestness about his adoration for Bitty gets me good. He’s so in love that I have audibly squeed while reading new pages of OMGCP. Boy deserves to be happy and he is. He’s also a very complicated character, which delights me, especially seeing his progress as a character throughout the story. 

3. Cynthia and Natural Harmonia Gropius, Pokémon I’m too young to have been a first gen oldie. My first Pokémon game was Diamond. I shared it with my brother when we had one DS Lite. Then I got my own DS and my own Pokémon game, Platinum, and boy, did I fall in love with that game. Cynthia was my first Champion and the most compelling character I had encountered in my nine-year-old existence (and maybe when I should have realised I was just maybe a lil gay, but how was I supposed to know that when I was nine?)

I’ve cheated by adding N onto this because I love them equally. Unlike Cynthia, I wasn’t that impressed by N when I first played through White. He was kind of interesting, but didn’t really leave an impression… until I went back through and played it again. And wow, is N a perfect fit for what has been the pattern in my favourite male characters so far. He’s the initial antagonist/rival with a complicated personality and a tragic backstory who would tell a compelling story from his point of view. Also he’s hot. So. 

4. Patroclus, The Song of Achilles  This is my favourite book as of last September when I read it for the first time because Patroclus is someone with whom I can easily empathise, even if he narrates the way any young man from Ancient Greece would narrate a mythological tale. Ugh. I love him. And I hate him because that asshole is well aware that the story he’s telling is a tragedy, all the way through ;~;

5. Miyamuzu Mitsuha, Kimi no Na wa || Your Name.  I fell in love with Mitsuha’s character within the first few minutes of this movie. She’s a small town with dreams of exploring the world. She’s clever, resourceful, independent, and respectful of her roots even in the face of adversity. 

6. Bucky Barnes, MCU I was debating between picking between Bucky and Loki, but I realised that the Loki I liked so much was more a mix between fanon MCU Loki and Norse Mythology Loki, so Bucky’s the canon fave for me. He’s got an attitude, he’s incredibly loyal, and even after the WS ordeal he’s got heart. 

7. Daenerys Targaryen, A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones She’s been my favourite contender for the Iron Throne since the beginning, and she’s still alive, so. Also, dragons. Also, badass female character. 

8. Max Eisenhardt/Erik Lehnsherr, X-Men This goes for both the comics and the movies. Do I love me some Cherik? I doooooo! And do I have a soft spot for antiheroes? … Yes, yes I do. 

9. Anakin Skywalker, Star Wars Okay okay hold on. Hear me out on this one. The potential of Anakin Skywalker is my favourite character from this universe, not the canon portrayal (because we all know how much of a disaster that was). Think Clone Wars Anakin… that one’s much better. Here’s another character who, had he been written as less of a whiny bitch and more of a true antihero, would have been an incredibly compelling character. Fanfiction Anakin is a stellar character, y’all. 

10. Sergeant Olivia Benson, Law and Order: SVU I’ve been on an extended binge of SVU since it was first introduced to be and I have to say that Olivia is quite a gal. Single adoptive mother, badass cop extraordinaire, clever, and with a rigid moral code. I want to know her in real life. 

Bonus Honorable Mentions: Phichit Chulanont, Otabek Altin, and Viktor Nikiforov (YOI), Rey (SW), Loki (Fanon/Mythology), Gladion (Pokémon)