#having to exhume and re-bury his lover according to their beliefs permanently rewrote some stuff in his brain i think | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

the-insouciant-scientist · 4 days ago

Note

what are hyakinthos's thoughts on the boatman and the slow boat in general?

Ooh, taking a quick sidestep from the rest of the ask game asks to answer this real quick! Short answer: a little complicated but generally friendly! Long answer: Gotta give some backstory first, bear with me. I have been thinking so much about belief systems vs established canon. Canon says that every human who dies regardless of belief (there may be nuance I'm forgetting but I'm in full speed infodump mode rn so that's a problem for future me) goes to the Far Shore. I say that's... kinda bleak? Also I'm just not a fan of stories where there is only One Real Belief and the rest are played off as silly distraction or whatever, but I digress.

A lot of his everything is based around the idea that both belief and proper death/burial care are important to get people to the afterlife they're meant to be in. Ritual makes all the difference between going to the Far Shore vs the Fields of Asphodel, for example.

His Boatman is Charon, or at least accepts the name. Hyakinthos has a working relationship with him and has probably taken up the oars at least a few times, especially for people who need the extra care in getting to where they need to be.

There's respect there, but there's also a certain... I'm not sure I have the words for it. The idea that death in the Neath is uncertain in so many ways (whether it'll stick that time, whether the person will make it to their afterlife or if they'll slip between the cracks and end up in the wrong place, etc) can be... discomfiting, to him. So while he does hold the boatman in high regard, there's always some little uncertainty there.

(Every so often, by their standards at least, Hyakinthos will bring him a very old obol. The Boatman will always refuse it. This is a ritual of its own. They'll sit for a while and talk anyways, and then part ways afterwards a little lighter.)

#a lot of this is. very theoretical sjfndkjnhg. but that is what he believes #a belief that he's held for longer than he can remember at this point #his lover was buried wrong in the neath. with respect but with the wrong customs #a different culture doing their best but not understanding the nuance #having to exhume and re-bury his lover according to their beliefs permanently rewrote some stuff in his brain i think #he just never wants anyone else to have to go through that fear. of a loved one lost. of being lost themselves in an unfamiliar afterlife #to him final death is a blessing and a comfort and he intends to keep it that way. no fear of what comes after because they know it's okay #i'm not sure if i properly answered your question despite all that dfkgnfhkd if so i'm sorry i got possessed #belief is important in the neath but it's hard to tell where it begins and ends in a literal sense. if the far shore really is all there is #then hyakinthos would feel actively betrayed by the boatman for disregarding all these peoples' beliefs #but if the far shore is an option but not the absolute (as he believes) then it's a lot more gentle of a regard #recognizing that mistakes can be made and dreading them but understanding that the boatman is very old and doing his best #they both are really #it's. you can see the difference there #but without having a distinct idea of where the lines lay it's a little hard to say for absolute certainty y'know #whoops did not mean to leave a whole other post in the tags. i have been quiet about this guy for too long. too much time to think abt shit #ty for bearing with me i guess kdsjgdhgdfgjh #the scientist scribbles #c: hyakinthos athanasiou

9 notes · View notes