#demigod relationships

[audreyscribes]

What would a child of Hades x child of Hebe relationship be like?

A/n: I was going to schedule this weeks in advance but I messed up. WELP. You get to eat early.

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ I would deem this pair as a rare-pair. An extremely and basically impossible rare-pair. I know you're asking a more romantic relationship, but this can also be applicable as a platonic relationship. Here's why:

Speaking from as if their godly parents are a major factor in their relationship... it's going to be just like Sisyphus; the Greek Tyrant King who cheated death twice and is punished in Hades to roll an immense boulder up a hill for it to only roll back down as it neared the top, repeating this for eternity.

You have a child of Hades, whose domain is the Underworld and death which includes old age, and then you have a child of Hebe; whose domain is (eternal) youth and prime of life. Hades and Hebe are at two complete opposite forces and if we're taking in godly grudges and such, like we saw with Annabeth and Percy dealing with their parents with Athena and Poseidon to be the patron god of Athens, Hebe probably hasn't made her stance on eternal youth and living to be literally young subtle or quiet, just as we see in the book "The Chalice of the Gods" where she literally turns people younger in her store Hebe Jeebies, therefore defying death, and we've seen Hades response to those who are against defying or cheating death, so he's probably not happy with Hebe. Reflecting off what happened with Annabeth and Percy with their godly parents, but more on the side of the conceptual domains and their godly parents represent, I would the child of Hades and Hebes would be absolute enemies who cannot bear to be in the same room as each other and when given the chance, would fight each other with them trying to uphold their parent's domain and belief.

So they're an extremely and basically impossible rare-pair because they're basically on the furthest opposite side of the room in beliefs and nature. It would be easier to say they're sworn enemies at least and at most, not even associated with each other and know the other as the child of that god and are just fellow campers. However, if they can find a middle ground, put their godly parents' domains and nature, and putting aside their own nature as well and not involve their parents at all... then that relationship could be built on understanding and humility, allowing to understand the other truly and not their parents, to understand who they are and what they are, and so forth. If they can do it all that, to move and grow from the idea they are their parent's children, then I'd say it could be a healthy and strong loving relationship that is built strong connections and understanding from great tribulation. So this is why I would deem a {child of Hades X child of Hebe} as a RARE-PAIR; extremely and almost impossible pair, of 5/5 stars difficulty. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/ 5

[lilislegacy]

i think it’s the most funny and romantic thing ever that they’re so attracted to each other in dangerous/deathly situations. in both those scenes, they are an absolute mess - percy covered in dirt, blood, and spiderwebs, and annabeth covered in muck and sewer water - and yet they find each other so beautiful. they could literally be about to DIE, and yet all they’re thinking is “wow you look so hot right now.” i just love when they percabeth like that. they are so funny.

also. perseus jackson, where the HELL were you going with that thought about the way her beads looked on her throat before you stopped yourself, young man?

[aroaceleovaldez]

reminder that the only reason the "ADHD is actually demigod BATTLE STRATEGIES" and "dyslexia is DEMIGOD BRAINS HARDWIRED FOR ANCIENT GREEK" things exist in the PJO universe is because it's a very direct reference to early 2000s teaching/parenting techniques for neurodiverse and disabled children, which aimed to frame childrens' disabilities and hardships as a "superpower" or strength so that the children would feel more positively about their disabilities or situations. This technique has fallen out of favor since then for the most part since more often than not it just results in kids feeling as though their struggles are not being seen or taken seriously.

Yes, demigods are adhd/dyslexic (and sometimes autistic-coded) in the series. This is extremely important and trying to remove it or not acknowledge it makes the entire series fall apart because it is such a core concept. Yes, canon claims that their adhd/dyslexia is tied to some innate abilities, which is based on an outdated methodology. It's important to acknowledge that and understand where it comes from! But please stop trying to apply it to other pantheons in the series like "oh, the romans have dyscalculia because of roman numerals!" or "the norse demigods have dysgraphia for reasons!" - it's distasteful at best.

A better option is to acknowledge the meta inspiration for why that exists in the series, such as explaining potentially that Chiron was utilizing that same teaching methodology to try and help demigods feel more comfortable with their disabilities and they aren't literal powers. In fact, especially given Frank, there's implication that being adhd/dyslexic isn't a guaranteed demigod trait, which means it's more likely to be normally inherited from their godly parent/divine ancestor as a general trait, not a power, and further supports the whole "ADHD is battle strategy" thing being non-literal. It also implies the entire greco-roman pantheon in their universe is canonically adhd/dyslexic - and that actually fits very well with the themes of the first series. The entire central conflict of the first series fits perfectly as an allegory about neurodiverse/disabled children and their relationships with their undiagnosed neurodiverse/disabled parents and trying to find solutions together with their shared disability/disabilities that the kid inherited instead of becoming distant from each other (and this makes claiming equivalent to getting a diagnosis which is a fascinating allegory! not to mention the symbolism of demigods inheriting legacies and legends and powers from their parents and everything that comes with that being equivalent to inheriting traits, neurodiversity, and disabilities from your parents).

anyways neurodiversity and disability and the contexts in which the series utilizes representation of those experiences particularly during the 2000s symbolically within the narrative is incredibly important to the first series and the understanding of what themes it means to represent. also if i see one more "the romans have dyscalculia instead of dyslexia" post in 2023 i'm gonna walk into the ocean.

[demigods-posts]

because, dude. sally grew up essentially all by herself. she searched for companionship and found it with someone she could never be with. and was left to raise a kid on her own. then she married an abusive man to ensure her child's survival. and her child became her only source of companionship for years. and, dude. percy grew up thinking his father walked out on the family. and couldn't keep from getting expelled from every boarding school he attended. and was bullied for his entire childhood. and the only source of comfort he had was his mom. like. there is so much love there. but it had great potential to become something codependent.

[m4gp13]

Why did Rick do this to us?

Seriously, he went, "Yeah I'm gonna establish a history between two important characters on opposing sides of a conflict in which one of them clearly has negative feelings about the other. and then never bring it up again 🤪" BITCH COME BACK HERE!!!

There was so much that could have been going on between these two! I was talking to @nakamurastorrington about this on twt the other day.

Like, Annabeth's fatal flaw is hubris and Ethan's mother is the physical embodiment of the punishment for hubris, they are diametrically opposed! They have their shared history at camp but very different experiences with the system where Annabeth was pretty much immediately claimed and became the head councillor of her own cabin from a very young age, establishing her as a respected veteran at camp. Meanwhile, Ethan was shoved into a corner of someone else's cabin because he wasn't worth his own cabin, and so he just faded into the background. Also, Their relationship with Luke! They both had Luke as a big brother figure. Annabeth saw him as genuine family and Ethan would have looked up to him as his brother while in the Hermes cabin. Then Luke left and Annabeth still held out hope for him and refused to believe he'd ever truly passed the point of no return even while everyone constantly told her she was wrong, and Ethan, despite spending a year working for Kronos and seeing the worst of the results of Luke's actions, still believed he was in there fighting Kronos. Not to mention, THEIR MOTHERS??!?!!?!

There could have been such interesting conflict between them! Annabeth should have gotten to talk to Ethan during the parley. If anyone should have gotten to snap at Ethan about his mother, it should have been her because he would have snapped back so hard!

[blasphemousclaw]

thinking more thoughts about Messmer’s role in the story… looking at the descriptive text again,

“The Land of Shadow. A place obscured by the Erdtree. Where the goddess Marika first set foot. A land purged in an unsung battle. Set ablaze by Messmer’s flame.”

this could imply that the land of shadow was the place of Marika’s first conquest on her path to total dominion.

again, I believe Messmer’s dialogue implies that Marika is his mother:

“Mother, wouldst thou truly Lordship sanction, in one so bereft of light?” 

since Marika is the one who, through grace, guides the Tarnished on their path to Lord, to me, she is the only person who is in a position to “sanction Lordship.” so it makes the most sense that Messmer is speaking to her. there’s also of course the M naming convention amongst Marika’s children, the fact that Messmer sits on a demigod-style throne, and his resemblance to Radagon.

the fact that Messmer is notably absent from the rest of the demigod legends in the lands between, and the fact that his flame “set ablaze” the lands of shadow, makes me think that long ago, he may have assisted his mother Marika in her subjugation of the shadow lands… and when Marika left, she left him there in charge, and this is why he has no presence in the lands between.

interestingly, the lands of shadow seem to be full of symbols heretical to the golden order, such as the bear with red hair and omen horns, and the lion dancer boss, which has omen horns sprouting from it. what if the lands of shadow became a sort of dumping ground for the beings that ended up falling outside of Marika’s perfect order, and was severed from the lands between to try to contain the chaos of that place?

then there’s Messmer himself, with his “traitorous” snakes and his flame and his allusions to dragons… what if… he started out serving his mother Marika, but became disillusioned with the fact that she left him alone to preside over the exiles of her perfect domain? that she abandoned him, while she and her other children live in her perfect realm of light? what if he became twisted and corrupted, betraying his original purpose, and he now acts as a tyrant? what if he’s almost jealous of the tarnished, who seem to hold his mother’s favor, while he has stood in the erdtree’s shadow for millennia?

[hpandcarbs]

Okay but this moment between Austin and Apollo is actually hurting me so much like…. These poor demigod CHILDREN are constantly fighting and constantly in danger because of their godly parents and yet they barely see or hear from them at all but still they love their parents and they’re proud of them and it just is so heartbreaking

[ashilrak]

Hi! So sorry to bother you! I just finished 'If you ask me for my fire' and I really enjoyed it! However, it brought up a question that has been nagging me for some time when I read any Perpollo or Percy x god with a similar premise, and I thought what better to ask someone who has written a few fics with that theme - IF Percy got with a god and took the immortality route (whether forced or not) would that god be loyal? In the case of your fic would Apollo stay by Percy's side for all eternity, really? Would he never stray at all? - I know it's not the easiest question and I apologise but I'd love to hear some insight, especially since the fic I chose is so ambiguous in the end like yeah he absolutely forced him to immortality but only to have him by his side for eternity, to me the more important question is now Apollo has got what he wanted does he stay loyal? If forever is all that he has, then would he really spend it with Percy? At the end of the day he is a god - a Greek one at that - and they aren't known for Loyalty and pure singular devotion for their spouses.

Again, sorry about this question! I know its more nuanced than I'm making this poorly worded Tumblr ask to be, and I mean in general not just for your fic, but your fic is really good and a good example for the question cause in the case of your fic Percy says he doesn't know but loyalty is so important to him, he would probably stay out of that (and fear and sadness) and never ever stray but say it's a different situation where someone like maybe Hephaestus did something similar maybe forced, or maybe Percy chose it doesn't matter but would Hephaestus then stay loyal?

Honestly would love to hear the insight, your own biased answer not a generalisation, if you know anyone else that can give their own unique answers, please pass this along! I know you're close to mrthology and other big Perpollo writers, so all answers are good, but you don't have to! Sorry, that's kind of rude of me to ask.

Also, the second part of this question would be, If they do stay loyal through everything, what kind of message does that send? Is Percy really that more important that he could stop the biggest serial adulterers to stop completely? That's he can do what countless others have tried to do, and he wasn't even trying that hard. That he was enough when others weren't? - BUT that's not important, ignore that, I'm just being insane this is a children's book series.

I'm glad you enjoyed the fic!

So, if Percy were to become immortal and enter a relationship with a God, would that God stay loyal? You're right in that there's a lot of nuance to the question and that everyone is going to look at it differently. It's definitely a question I like playing around a lot with in my fics.

I get pretty long-winded in my response, but I have a feeling you won't mind lol

For the purposes of this conversation, we're going to assume loyal = monogamous (I could see Percy being polyamorous in a closed way, like percy/annabeth/apollo or the 7 or something, but not in a way where one or more partners are having casual sex with people Percy doesn't know, but that's not that important here). This point will be addressed later.

My gut instinct is no. With perpollo specifically, I do think there might be a short period of time where Apollo is loyal to Percy. But, I think that loyalty would be more incidental than anything. For a while, Apollo would be absolutely obsessed with Percy and during that time Apollo might be monogamous. But it's the same way he might become obsessed with some shiny new instrument and only play that for a short period of time. How long this era of loyalty/obsession might last is somewhere a lot of people might differ.

But, as time went on, their story would fall in line with every other pairing among the Gods. There might be a sort of constancy there, but there will always be dallying. Hell, within the PJO verse specifically, Demigods serve a purpose and Apollo's cabin is full to bursting at any given moment. I don't think it becoming empty would be something that's easily accepted, and to get demigods, you need infidelity.

Apollo staying loyal is something I've explored, specifically in Electing Strange Perfections. In that fic, Apollo tricks Percy into immortality and Percy becomes the God of Loyalty. Through Hera and a series of events, Apollo marries Percy. Consequently, Apollo cannot stray due to Percy's domain/powers/influence. In other words, it takes an outside influence.

Part of why I think this is due to how I see and write the Gods for the fics. They are inhuman, ancient beings who have lived on a scale the human mind cannot comprehend. I like to see the Greek Gods as feeling everything so intensely, with human emotion being watered down. It's fun to play with the idea of humans lives, love, and feelings being more valuable for being so short-lived rather than for their intensity. Rarity increasing value sorta thing. Also the idea that the Gods simply are their domains and what that makes myths look like in the context of human experience. Like of course Hades took Demeter's daughter, that's what death does (I'm referencing a tumblr post here I can't find to link).

Riordan's Gods are very humanized. I personally like to play with the idea of that being a result of changing with the times, but their core still being the same. Sure, they might soften themselves for modern demigods due to time and cultures changing expectations, but that doesn't erase the thousands of years that very much wasn't the case. It's a fun dichotomy to play with in fic where you can do whatever you want. I like the Gods being Gods tag.

In the world of Percy Jackson, myths are history. The morals of Greek mythology are different from what we're used to seeing, but that doesn't mean they're not there. The myths depict cruelties and horrors, but often these same cruelties were justified to the Gods enacting them. And those are the Gods we're reading and writing about when you're playing with PJO.

I do love reading and writing the softer moments between the Demigods and the Gods. Whether that's parental, friendships, or romantic. But Apollo helping someone heal doesn't erase the fact that he is also the God of plague; like the black plague, the spanish influenza, covid-19, cancer -- that's all him. With these softer moments, that doesn't erase everything else the Gods do and have done, and that they will forever look at their actions in a different way. I think there's a sort of obligation there too, as part of their domains. Ares will always be war.

And I think this obligation extends to their affairs. Ares has children with soldiers, Athena has kids with academics -- they're falling for their own domains. This isn't a hard and fast rule, but how can you fault the god of thieves for falling for a thief? And I do think there's love, it just looks so very different from what we might be used to.

All this to say, long-term monogamy is not in Apollo's wheelhouse. He's married to the muses by some accounts. Apollo is the God of so many things: music and healing just to name the few. I don't think he'll permanently change millennia of behavior for Percy, no matter how romantic that sounds. A musician who performs for the love of the song is going to catch Apollo's eye because that is to perform for the love of Apollo, even if the musician in question doesn't know that.

Earlier, I said for the purposes of this question we'll define loyal as monogamous, and I think that's part of the crux of the matter. I think Percy would see affairs and demigods as a sign of disloyalty. I don't think Apollo would if Apollo always comes back to Percy. This is a much more understandable difference in view point and one we see between people on the daily.

And definitely reach out to a few others; it's a super fascinating conversation! These questions are part of why I love reading and writing the Demigod/God fics so much -- Demigods have a better idea of what they're getting into, which makes all of these things stand out so much more when the God doesn't have to hide. I know @mrthology and I are definitely aligned regarding the Apollo and loyalty question, but I can't speak for anyone else!

[softinvasions]

Hornet at Herrah's Altar • Dec. 2023

[kastalani123]

Since I like the idea that Hera genuinely cares about Leo, I've also thought about ways she might show it and. And I've decided that, Understanding that becoming 16 is Important for mortals, she basically dropped a basket with a pair of peachicks in Leo's lap for his birthday

They're an Indian peacock and peahen pair from the same clutch that he's named Gear and Tinker and they are his babies

They're also, while mortal, not exactly Normal™ as they're smarter than an average peacock

They were also slightly confused about being Gryphons due to being raised alongside Heloise and Abelard's chick but have eventually stopped trying to collect chunks of gold bigger than them

Gear is more mischievous while Tinker is more aggressive and reserved

They will both jump on Leo's unsuspecting back, though

He started training his balance and awareness for the sake of not being constantly knocked to the ground

Georgie likes playing tag with them even though sometimes they peck too hard and leave marks

They both adore Annabeth but despise Thalia

Their opinion of other non-Waystation residents depends on how many treats they give them

Y'know how a lot of zoos have free-roaming peacocks?? Yeah, that's what happens once Leo and Calypso finally open up their store; wherever you look in the store, they're There

Leo also brings them along when hanging out with the local foster/homeless kids and they adore the attention

Tinker will steal food from your plate if you look away for one second (peafowl are, in fact, omnivores that will eat anything if given the chance)

Gear is more picky

Apollo really likes them because they will commit war crimes to get rid of any snake they see; he thinks they'd have been a big help against Python

Gear keeps trying to steal Lit's sword with the Gryphon chick's help

Josephine is adored above all but Leo for always sneaking them extra food

Emmie is mildly disliked because she keeps trying to stop it; she's very good at helping them preen, though, so she gets a pass

Sssssarah avoids them because they will attack her if no one else is around

Tinker dislikes Jamie for no known reason but Gear loves him

Calypso doesn't know how to act around them. She has tried everything to win them over. They don't seem to hate her, but they're certainly not fawning for her attention unless she has food either. Leo finds her concern about getting them to love her funny but tries to help anyway

Tinker will fight the battle ostriches if left unsupervised

I might add more if I come up with anything else

[narmothewraith]

I've been working at this piece for 5 hours and I didn't even noticed it so, I didn't eat and drink. Fuck hyperfocus. I hope y'all like it, just like I do :)

Hurt/comfort hug between Percy & Poseidon ❤️

Poseidon thinking about who made his son cry + payback (aka his wrath)

[audreyscribes]

What would happen if the child of juno and Jupiter were both the same gender?

*in reference to my Roman Demigod Headcanons for the child of Jupiter [TUMBLR] and Juno [TUMBLR]

Nothing really. Sure there's going to be some push-back, but it's like a small percentage and at the same time like, it's not really a whole big, immense deal as a collective? Like considering, if you look back in Ancient Rome, evidence of homosexuality* or same gender/sex partners relationships* was present. So jumping to the timeline of camp Jupiter and New Rome, in the 2010s and forward especially? Absolutely not a problem. So basically if the child of Juno and Jupiter were both the same gender, and were in a relationship together, it's fine.

I did write the imagines in a gender neutral format and this also applies to relationships; and I did write the match-ups in mind for all kind of relationships including the LGBTQ+. So no need to feel panic or restrained in reading my works.

[qwerty-between-the-lines]

If you think about it, Percy and Annabeth are a perfect couple.

They're alike in all the ways that matter. They're both extremely loyal and protective of the people they care about.

They will both feel eaten alive with guilt if they think that they let someone down. Like when Percy failed to save his mom from the minotaur, or Annabeth couldn't save Thalia.

Both of them are good at becoming focused and resilient under hardship, so they don't lose their minds in situations that would break most people.

Percy isn't as dumb as he sometimes acts or is made out to be.

Percy's actually very resourceful. He just needs to put his mind to it more often. Percy has been shown to be able to work out things in a pinch that require intelligence and resourcefulness.

Annabeth won't initially appear to be as open-hearted as Percy, but she is if she's given the time to think things over and absorb the situation. She always sees that Percy is right to give 'different' people like Tyson a chance.

Annabeth is initially cautious and distrusting, but she's not closed off or closed minded.

My point is that Percy and Annabeth are actually a lot more alike than their usually playful squabbles let on. Annabeth is the most ideal romantic partner for Percy.

Percy is also the perfect sweetheart with women. He never makes unwanted romantic advances on anybody. He holds off and waits.

In fact, Percy usually doesn't push anyone to do something that they might not want to do.

Percy has a heart of gold.

[soulless-bex]

criminal mind x percy jackson au where spencer is a son of athena and went to new york to help with the titan war

spencer who also kept his distances with the greek world to focus on his career (not that constantly travelling from one side of the country to the other helps with that). wishes that the camp respected since he worked so hard to get where he’s at

spencer who only periodically got updates on how things were at camp. spencer who only learns about luke’s treason when he makes it to new york. spencer who has no time to process the grief of his relationship with luke before being thrown in a war, easily falling back into his demigod reflexes

spencer who, a few weeks later (he didn’t have it in him to leave before the shrouds were all burned), returns to his job on edge, the trauma and grief still fresh in his mind

spencer who forgets how to act like a mortal and attracts the concern of his team

[echo-stimmingrose]

Athena's demigod children came purely from intellectual relationships (cause she was a maiden goddess) so it is entirely possible that she had wlw relationships that produced demigods and I don't feel like that's being talked about enough.

[saywhatyouwillbut]

okay, so when are we going to have the hades is the best olympian parent convo