#real asclepius heads know

[johannesbellerophon]

or i can quit my heart medication cold turkey that's fine whatever works for you

[puppyeared]

fuck it. plaguesona

[kitkats-and-kittens]

Spoilers for Pjo.

You know I feel like people should acknowledge how fucked up camp halfblood is more often.

Like everyone always makes fun of New Rome for being uptight and sticklers for the rules, but low-key living at camp halfblood sucks.

The barrier wasn’t even up for a decade before it was broken and before that literal children were sent out to fight monsters despite being promised safety (Ik Talias protection made it slightly better, but still) and during sea of monsters they are once again required to fight as literal kids!

Unlike New Rome there’s no university for the Demigods to go to. Year rounders get tutored by Chiron (presumably) and then what? They have no actual credentials or any records of them graduating from school. Since no one knows about Camp they technically don’t have an address either which sucks if your parents are dead or don’t want you.

We see hardly any adult demigods around camp and I don’t know if they choose to leave or not, but either way they are set up for failure. Chiron tells Percy about the success stories, the people who go on to be Olympic athletes or celebrities due to their half godly nature, but it’s more than likely those are far outweighed by the failures.

Those who died hungry on the streets with no way to get a job and no home to return to. Those who were torn down by monsters without the protection of the camp. Even those who made it constant live with the terror that one day they’ll be found and killed. And what if those people have family’s? Will the monsters hunt them too? And what happens when they get too old to fight?

That’s not even mentioning the trauma they’ll be stuck with their entire lives.

No wonder so many end up joining the Emperors in ToA.

And you know what. Chiron need to take some damn accountability for being a shit mentor. He fucked off for most of the books but even when he talks to Percy about how much he cares he does quite literally nothing about Luke. How did a child manage to manipulate an immortal centaur for years without anyone catching on?

And he doesn’t improve after the war either. Will is made Head of Apollo Cabin at 13. He has two younger siblings and is essentially expected to act as their parent despite still being a child himself. Not to mention he’s the camps head doctor. He’s performed surgery! Which is exhausting and long and something no child should be dealing with. Especially since we know Chiron must have some healing abilities since he literally raised Asclepius.

Will is not paid either. None of them are. He doesn’t get a salary, so free child labour (cough cough exploitation) and after he leaves camp he’ll have no way to prove his medical training to anyone and no way to pay for medical school or even to get in without the appropriate documents.

I don’t like to rant about books but Rick Riordan did not go dark enough with this series and I will say this about his books until the day I die. The light comedic writing style means fucked up shit like this simply slips through the cracks.

There’s still so much I haven’t touched on.

What about the Hephaestus cabin and their curse. How did Chiron just stand by and watch as these kids continually blew themselves up?

Fighting in two wars?

The Romans are a little more fucked up there because we know there are adults who can fight and are simply choosing to send children in their place.

Octavian being quite literally brainwashed into dying for his land.

Jason’s entire backstory.

The fact that most demigod children probably die before ever reaching camp is very much not touched on and it should be.

The fact that camp halfblood is hidden with the mist means that no one knows where the year rounders are. Which is weird when you think a lot of the reason people become year rounders is too many monster attacks or horrible home lives which further implies out in the real world there are genuine missing posters for these kids. Some might even be considered legally dead so what happens when they rock up in their early 20’s attempting to rejoin society?

In conclusion Camp Halfblood is fucked and Chiron is not some innocent fun loving centaur dude. His lack of action had a very big and very real impact on these kids.

[takaraphoenix]

Sun-in-Law

Tags: m/m, established relationship, family fluff

Main Pairing: Apollo/Percy

@polympians-event Prompt: family focus.

Summary: Apollo had lost so many over the span of his life, but for the first time, he had a real family to come home to, and he was grateful for it.

This story on FFNet | This story on AO3

--

Sun-in-Law

Apollo loved getting mail. Letters and packages addressed to him. It was a silly thing to find joy in, he was aware – he was the god of the sun, music, prophecies, medicine, he'd seen and caused so much that was magical, inspiring, ever-lasting, impactful, yet here he was, giddily staring down at their electricity bill. Mister Apollo Jackson. Followed by their address. That was, his and his husband's address. Because he was Mister Apollo Jackson now, husband to one Percy Jackson.

He'd had so many fake last names over the years, to pose as a mortal when falling in love, to try and be a normal man and not a god, but none of them had been real. This was the first time he had a real last name. His husband's last name. He'd taken it when they had exchanged their vows.

For the first time in forever, Apollo had a life. A normal life. A husband, a house, bills, neighbors, even a job (technically, he was Doctor Apollo Jackson, but oh well). He did things the way every normal mortal being did. Neighborhood barbecues, Sunday family dinners with his in-laws, meeting his husband for lunch whenever possible, preparing lunch bags for their daughter.

"Are you staring at your name with a stupid smile again, sunshine?"

Apollo jumped ever so slightly at his husband's voice. A blush lit up the Sun God's cheek. Sometimes, it felt like Percy had prophetic abilities of his own. How could he possibly know?

"I'm just getting the mail, sea star," Apollo called back, quickly getting the rest out too.

When he entered the kitchen, he found his beautiful, amazing husband in the middle of preparing dinner. Percy Jackson was stunning. Even as a retired hero, still athletic, well-trained, his eyes the ever-sparkling endless depth of the sea, his very, very kissable lips pulled into a teasing grin.

Percy was the greatest hero their world had seen in so many centuries, he'd been wooed and beloved by countless demigods and gods alike. Yet Apollo was the one who could count himself so lucky to be loved by the demigod. And for the first time, Apollo was allowed to love. Percy didn't get turned into a plant, or a constellation, or die otherwise. No, he was so strong, he could hold his own against any god – or titan, or giant, as proven in the wars.

"Papa! Papa, look!"

Apollo's attention was drawn away from his captivating husband and down to their daughter. Well, in all technicality, she was Apollo's granddaughter – a daughter of his son Asclepius, the god of medicine, her mortal mother having died when she was still very little. Too little to be at a Summer Camp, too alone to be abandoned. Percy had fallen in love with her so fast and so hard, it had been his idea for them to adopt her, and it had warmed Apollo's heart. Now she was theirs. Little Ariana Jackson, her fathers' pride and joy. Smiling at her, Apollo knelt down next to her.

"Oh, that's a pretty picture, sweetheart," Apollo smiled as he looked at the crayon drawing.

He smoothed down her wild, dark-brown hair and pressed a kiss to the top of her head, making her giggle. They had made a beautiful home together, him and Percy. A normal home. The kind Apollo had only ever gotten to dream of. Yes, he still had his duties on Olympus, but especially after his father's unjust punishment, Apollo had few qualms not being as diligent. If he king of gods thought they could do without him, then who was he to argue.

What had started out as a punishment had in the end been what drew Apollo and Percy close and even after Apollo regained his godhood, they remained friends. Apollo kept dropping by, visiting Percy at college, annoying Percy, hanging out with Percy, falling in love with Percy. It was a bit ironic, perhaps, that what had put them together in the first place had been Apollo fighting to get his place on Olympus back, only for him in the end to more or less give it up willingly. What mattered here was the choice. This was his choice. His choice to be with the one he loved.

Yes, he would like to take Percy to Olympus. Make him a god, know him immortal and protected. Not as long as Paul and Sally were alive though. Percy refused to leave the mortal world as long as his parents were still on it. So they compromised, and Apollo had come to live here, live a normal, mortal life with the man he loved, until Percy was ready to accept godhood and move on.

It had started out as a compromise, Apollo could have never anticipated how much he would come to love it. Love this life with all its facets, fall in love with all the small, mundane things.

"If you don't mind, how about setting the table before everyone gets here?"

"Ri—ight," Apollo got up again and walked back to the kitchen. "Sorry, our adorable daughter is very, very distracting. Setting the table now, my love."

There was a particular, little smile he always got when calling Percy 'my love'. Leaning in, Apollo kissed his husband's cheek before he went to set the table out in the backyard for eight. Their house had a beautiful, large garden with a pool – Apollo did not marry a son of Poseidon to then not spoil him with a sea-water pool; he may lead a mortal life right now for the sake of his husband, but he was still a god and he was going to spoil his consort! The garden though, admittedly, was mainly pretty thanks to Apollo's half-sister Persephone. One of his favorite half-siblings, the two were close. The beautiful garden had been her wedding present to them.

"Ba—abe, doorbell," was screamed at him about twenty minutes later. "I would, but chicken."

Apollo huffed out a small laugh at that and hurried back in, after one last glance at the table. Cutlery, plates, napkins, he'd also prepped and served the salad already. Looking good. Pleased, he went to open the door for their guests, offering a bright, sunny smile.

"Mom, dad! So good to see you."

Paul Blofis winced at that. "I told you not to call me that. It's just… weird."

Next to him, his wife laughed and elbowed him. "Fairly sure that's exactly why he's doing it. Hello, Apollo, it is good to see you too. How are you boys?"

Sally pulled him into a warm, loving hug. She had a gift for those. And for making people feel like family. Coming from an awkwardly broken home himself – an affair of Zeus', which of course meant his parents didn't raise him together, and which also implied the anger and disdain from his dear stepmother – he had been very overwhelmed by how warmly he was welcomed into the Jackson family after he had started dating Percy.

"Hi, Polly, where's my brother?" Laura asked, already pushing past Apollo. "And my niece!"

The young Jackson deeply admired and loved her older half-brother. She liked Apollo too, but only after she got her Percy hugs in. Grinning amused at her, Apollo pointed toward the kitchen and she zoomed right off to attach herself to Percy's waist like a clingy octopus. It should be more awkward, that Percy's sister and Percy's daughter were only a few years apart, but Laura had been absolutely psyched to be the older one for a change, and she took being 'best auntie' very seriously. As soon as she had enough Percy hugs, she turned her attention to little Ariana.

"Brother!" Tyson greeted him loudly and enthusiastically.

Apollo grunted as the cyclops hugged him hard and lifted him off the ground by a couple inches. Percy's brother had fully accepted Apollo into the family and was very happy about how happy Apollo made Percy. Apollo gasped for breath once he was put down again. Cyclops hugs were tight. Next to Tyson, Tyson's fiance simply smiled at him and waved. Ella was a good one. She worked closely with Rachel a lot, and Apollo in return still worked with his chosen oracle, so on occasion, he also spent time with Ella, outside of Jackson family events.

"Okay, that's everybody. Let's move this party to the backyard, I already set the table."

On their way to the backyard, they of course paused in the kitchen so everybody could properly greet Percy and also Ariana. The little girl giggled delighted as her uncle Tyson lifted her up onto his shoulders, her tiny fingers reaching out for Ella to pet her feathers.

"Hey, mom," Percy's voice was muffled by his mother's shoulder. "How are things?"

"Exhausting," Sally's eyes landed on Laura. "Half the time, it feels like I am too old to go through all of this again. I should be in my grandma era."

"You are rocking the grandma and the mom gig," Percy grinned at her. "And you know, whenever you and Paul need a break, me and my hubby are more than happy to babysit my awesome sister."

The hubby in question also grinned and offered a thumbs-up to Sally. He indeed was always willing to babysit Laura and help out in any way he could – he always had, at first in an attempt to endear himself to Paul and Sally, but by now, simply because he loved them. Because they were his family.

"Dinner smells delicious, Perce," Paul offered a smile, patting Percy on the shoulder.

"Ye—es, and I am starving," Tyson pushed past them so he could help carry something out.

Percy laughed at his brother and motioned at everything that was ready to go. Everyone picked something up, so they could finally get to dinner. Sunday family dinners were so important to them all. Once a week, they made the time to eat together. Sally and Paul alternately hosted these dinners with Percy and Apollo. Apollo took his seat at one side of the table, next to his husband, with Sally and Paul opposite them, Tyson and Ella on one side and Ariana and Laura on the other.

"How is school, Laura?" Apollo asked his sister-in-law.

She wiggled her nose at him and frowned. "I do not care for math."

Percy choked on his food, laughing hard. Concerned, Apollo reached over to pat him on the back. Sea-green eyes looked at him, sparkling with love and amusement. Once he was calmed down again, Percy leaned in to kiss Apollo on the cheek, ever so softly. Apollo knew why. Because Percy loved how much Apollo cared about their family, that Apollo didn't just love Percy, his consort, but the whole package deal of Jacksons (and Apollo really thought that Paul should have done as he did and taken the Jackson name when him and Sally had gotten married. Tyson went by Jackson too).

"I'm afraid you will need math to finish school, princess," Paul chuckled, patting her head.

"But I don't wanna finish school," Laura's frown deepened. "I've decided that I will work at the forges with Ty! And Ty never-ever went to school at all!"

Apollo laughed at that and leaned back, letting the mortals at the table take this one, because things were different for him, as a god, and for Tyson, as a cyclops too. Tyson was working at Poseidon's forges. Ella was working as a librarian in New Rome. And Percy, well, Apollo's amazing husband had followed Paul and Chiron's steps and become a teacher. Apollo loved that, loved seeing Percy with the kids. His hand reached out to link fingers with Percy, while the Jacksons tried to convince Laura that school was important, actually (a tough point to argue with two teachers). A soft smile spread over Apollo's lips as he watched the family he loved so dearly. His family.

~*~ The End ~*~

[paranoid-rhythm]

「Chaldea Treasure Hunting!」 Asclepius Edition (Translation)

Asclepius: So you've come huh, Master? As expected of my patron. 

.............................

Asclepius: Alright, it seems we've arrived at our destination.

As the supervisor for this bounty, or should I say, treasure hunt, I expect that you have the courage to accompany me.

With this heat, and this environment, I wonder what kind of wonderful diseases, and the Holy Grail is waiting for me. I'm very much looking forward to it. 

Jason: Hey~ can you hear me? Oh! So you're there, Master! I'll be your support for today! So you should thank and venerate me! 

Asclepius: Sigh... Oh right, that's the case. Since everyone in Chaldea's support team is busy working on something else, he volunteered himself to do this. 

Jason: That's right! Just tell me if you feel like riding a huge ship right now! 

Asclepius: It's all land out here though, did you volunteer just to say that?

Jason: No, I didn't! Absolutely not! Well, whatever. First things first, head to the big city about 5 kilometers from here. A response from the Holy Grail is coming from that direction. Alright! You guys! It's time to depart!

.............................

Asclepius: It's quite the lively town, huh. This seems like it could result in all sorts of ailments. Come on, Master, hurry and find a patient!

Guda: Asclepius, this is bad!

Asclepius: T-this is...!!! You're telling me that you woke up this morning and found that your shark-rough dry skin has worsened and you've become a real shark?! Hey, tell me when did the symptoms start? Did you have any fever? Answer me quickly and accurately!

I see. That is quite interesting indeed. Here, take this Anti-Shark Head Remedy. If you rest for a while, then there shouldn't be any problems. Well then, my next patient is waiting so I'll excuse myself. Take care of yourself.

Jason! Where's the next patient's response coming from? 

Jason: Hey, hurry and look for the Holy Grail already! The reaction from the Holy Grail is coming from inside the temple in this town. Now that I've told you where it is, I’m going to take a break! And with that, I'll leave the rest to you, Asclepius! 

Asclepius: Sigh... Good grief, what a capricious captain. Anyway, let's head for the temple. It's this way. 

Guda: Huh? An oasis...?

Asclepius: What are you doing? Hurry up and sit right here. Hm. Well, it’s no surprise you’re shocked. You're probably wondering why there’s no Holy Grail and no enemies, right? This is all arranged by the Chaldea staff. They wanted to show their appreciation for your hard work, so I accepted the task of bringing you here. Taking care of the Master’s health is also part of my job after all.

Master, you’ve been working hard for humanity and its peaceful future. But if you ever find yourself struggling because you’ve pushed yourself too hard, and find it truly difficult, let me know. I promise I’ll use my medical skills to save you without fail. Do you understand?

Guda: Thank you, Asclepius!

Asclepius: What, I just said what any reputable doctor will say. In any case, you seem healthy at the moment. But since this is a good opportunity, let’s do a check-up. 

Have you noticed any changes in your health recently? Your temperature... is normal. Hmm, it looks like there’s no issue. Well then, I’d like you to be a test subject for this newly formulated medicine I've prepared. Now, give me your arm. Even if it hurts and you want to cry out, just bear with it until we know how this medicine works.

Heh. Looks like the hypnotic effect is starting to work. Master, make sure to rest well. Take care of yourself, okay?

[tgrailwar-zero]

... You know, I wonder if they ever got music other than Eli's works.

You saw as PTOLEMAIOS shook his head, a low chuckle escaping from him. You hadn't heard him laugh yet.

PTOLEMAIOS: "Hm…hmhmhm… so, you do remember that? It was… two cycles after the Origin War before we worked it out, yes?"

SIGURD: "…Right. Asclepius had fully reformed himself, and was visiting the Megalopolis with me, and the same few songs were playing on loop. I think he told me that it was the first time he was considering praying to his father for something different. At that point, things were clearly dire."

PTOLEMAIOS: "After that, I figured I'd put a bit more effort into unearthing music. The fuss the others made after it only took 2 days to properly discover something. '...You could have done that the whole time?!' they screamed at me."

SIGURD: "...Well, you could have tried a little harder earlier. I had forgotten what non-synthesized instruments sounded like!"

PTOLEMAIOS: "There were more important things I was working on than music! Listen to this, Wizards! A bunch of grown adults crying like babies over the sound of a lyre! It was as if I had produced water in a desert!"

The two barked at each other, though you didn't sense any real tension. Especially when it eased out into quiet laughter, the kind that was shared between memories.

PTOLEMAIOS: "...Please, the tour was dreadful. Kenshin didn't know where anything was, and I was far from hospitable... Gawain had to save us halfway through and Tamamo gave us the brow-beating of a lifetime. Still, it was a nice memory, I agree..."

[caduceusnocassandra]

VERSES - The various verses I can set a roleplay for

I thought I would give a more in-depth background about the verses I have, I hope this is helpful.

LIFE AT EPIDAURUS - MAIN

Cassandra is an accomplished Healer at the Epidaurus Temple, bearing the Cloth of the Caduceus. She takes care of all the injured and sick people around the temple - not only that. As she is under oath she is bound to heal all Saints from all existing orders, regardless of the god they follow and believe in. She occasionally travels back to Athens to see her family, mum, dad and her twin brother Helenus, the Bronze Saint of the Sextans.

HELL'S QUEST - UNDERWORLD/HADES/SPECTRES

Cassandra, upon suspecting too much about her boss, the Great Healer, who seems to have placed a fake Staph into Asclepius’ temple instead of the real one, is sent to Hell in Hades’ realm for a mission that seems impossible for literally everyone. She undertakes the mission, in order to a) challenge herself, b) demonstrate to the other orders of Saints that Healers are not useless and c) so she can go back to Epidaurus and have some serious backup on her investigation and hopefully proof that the Staph in the reliquiarium is fake. So far things are stuck at the very beginning. Hades has trapped her in, however it does appear that he has taken her as a protégée of sorts. She still has a lot of mixed feelings about being in the Underworld, but she is slowly resigning herself to being there forever.

BERSEKER'S RAID - ANGST

The Temple of Asclepius has been attacked and raided by Ares’ warriors, the Bersekers. Panic has spread, all her comrades seem to have vanished, while she’s run to ask for help. She has to run away with Asclepius' Staph under request of the Great Healer and she has gone to ask for help and her first place to go is the Sanctuary. After all Athena's Saints are those who fight for peace and justice, she may have a chance to be listened to.

THE SEARCH - OMEGA!VERSE

Older Cassandra - she’s now around 40 years old - is heading to the Sanctuary to help out the Saints in healing their injured comrades, after a request made by a Gold Saint. She’s also looking out for her own brother and family, knowing that they were more i danger than her.

[theeclecticwitchblog240]

~~~~~Medusa~~~~~

~~~A Sea Deity~~~

~~Origin~~Ancient Greece

~~Dominion~~Wisdom, Feminine Blood Mysteries, Sexuality, Protecting.

~~Symbols~~Snakes, green, black & red, Hematite (Bloodstone).

~~Tarot Card~~Death, Queen of Swords

~~Workings~~Administer justice, protection, banishing, beauty, transformation, aiding in divination, awakening sexuality.

~~Other Titles~~Ruler of the Sea, The Ruler

~~Offerings~~Serpent figurines or images, snake skin, blood, red wine, coral ornaments (avoid buying real coral as it is endangered), sea water, sea salt, driftwood, green or black candles.

~~~Significant Dates~~~

~~Dark Moon: A potent time to tap into inner knowing.

~~Waning Moon: Associated with banishing and destruction.

~~Night Time / Darkness

~~~Medusa~~Who is she??~~~

A Serpent haired Gorgon whose gaze turned men to stone

Medusa was a Gorgon, a creature described as having a scaly head, protruding eyes and tusks. The introduction of the iconic serpentine hair wasn't introduced until much later. Medusa's parents descended from the primordial Greek earth Goddess Gaia, and Pontus, the personification of the sea. Phorkys, her father was called by ancient poet Homer 'The Old Man of the Sea' while her mother Keto was described as a sea monster. Their union produced monstrous triplets Stheno, Euryale and Medusa. These Gorgon sisters were hideous; to gaze upon them would petrify a person to death. The word Gorgon derives its meaning from the Greek word 'Gorgo', meaning 'grim one'. However, of these sisters Medusa was the only mortal. It could be inferred that Medusa's mortality gave her a human appearance in contrast to her frightening sisters. As we piece together the fragments of Greek mythology, we see discrepancies and variations like this. Ovid, the Roman writer described Medusa as a great beauty stripped of her charms in a vengeful curse from the Goddess Athena. He tells us that Medusa was raped by Poseidon at Athena's temple; in what seems an unreasonable act of retribution, Medusa is punished for the actions of another.

Although Medusa has a divine bloodline, she was not worshipped as a deity within Greek tradition but rather feared as a villain. Her main myth pertains to her death at the hands of Zeus's demigod son Perseus and is preserved in the writings of Homer and Ovid. In the ancient city of Argos, King Akrisios receives a prophecy that his death will be at the hands of the child birthed by his daughter Danae. The King tries to cheat his fate by locking Danae away so that she may never take a lover. No mortal prison can deter a God though, and Zeus soon enters Danae's chamber as a shower of gold. This unusual encounter leaves Danae pregnant. Unable to kill her, but happy to exile her to almost certain doom, King Akrisios locks Danae in a trunk and sends her adrift on the open water. Miraculously, mother and newborn son Perseus wash up alive and well on the shores of Seriphos where they are taken in by King Polydektes. Over the years, the relationship between Perseus and the King sours as Polydektes tries to force Danae to marry him. When the King eventually takes another to be his bride, Perseus promises the King the head of Medusa as a wedding gift. Goddess Athena, perhaps still holding a grudge against Medusa, aids Perseus on his quest. Athena explains that he must only look upon Medusa through a mirror, so that her gaze can't turn him to petrified stone. Perseus acquires an unbreakable sickle, Hades cap of invisibility, winged sandals and a shield polished to a mirror shine then sets off on his quest. Upon arrival, Perseus finds Medusa and her sisters slumbering in a jumble of bones and petrified bodies. Swiftly he decapitates the sleeping Gorgon and places her head in a sack. From her spilt blood, Pegasus the winged horse and Chrysaor are born, presumably fathered by Poseidon. Medusa's blood is said to have potent healing properties; Athena later gifts a vial of this blood to the healer Asclepius. Perseus carries Medusa's head with him, using it to turn his enemies to stone. Eventually he gives it to Athena, who places it upon her shield.

Alternative myths suggest that the once beautiful Medusa was a priestess of the virgin goddess Athena. Medusa was proud of her beauty, her flowing hair her most glorious feature. Poseidon, God of the Sea was enraptured by her, but she rejected all of his advances. Not to be denied, Poseidon took Medusa by force at the temple of Athena, desecrating a sacred place and robbing Medusa of her dignity. In anger, Athena punished Medusa by transforming her magnificent hair into living snakes. It seems unjust that Medusa paid the price for Poseidon's crime. However, some have reinterpreted the myth to infer that this curse was in fact a gift, intended so that Medusa would never be vulnerable again.

Medusa is strongly associated with the spiritual wisdom of serpentine energy, a recurring motif in human history. Dwelling in cracks and fissures beneath the earth, the snake is seen as an Underworld creature. A keeper of hidden knowledge, an emblem of creative and sexual energy. The shedding of its skin is a perfect metaphor for transformation and healing, stepping out of the old to emerge renewed and reborn. In this way, the serpent represents death as much as it symbolizes rebirth; its venomous fangs making it a fearsome predator.

In the myths of earlier cultures such as the Sumarian people of ancient Mesopotamia, the snake God Zu was a benevolent deity linked with fertility. Over time, the snake came to be vilified as evil and treacherous as can be seen with Eve's encounter in the Garden of Eden. This vilification can be viewed in Medusa's myth; punished for Poseidon's transgressions then hunted and beheaded as a trophy.

Coral was said to be the petrified blood of Medusa that had spilled into the sea

Greek myth portrayed the Goddess as the archetype of the 'devouring mother', a dark aspect of the feminine psyche that consumes and destroys. In spite of this, Medusa teaches us to own this shadow. No part of us should be denied, no matter how displeasing it may look at times, for it is necessary to have a fierce side if we are to protect our personal boundaries. If this dark aspect can be harnessed for empowerment and protection then it is valuable and worthy.

Medusa has experienced a revival as a patron of abuse survivors; she can be seen as a protectress of the vulnerable and called upon in defensive or banishment workings. She represents the unfairly demonized and avenges those who were denied justice.

Feminine sexuality, along with any sexuality not considered mainstream, has been repressed in the past, forced to conceal itself in shadow as something unsightly like the serpentine Goddess herself. For all that, Medusa encourages us to own our sexuality, to embrace the Kundalini energy so that we can release the creative, regenerative spirit that lies within us. She calls us to tap into our inner knowing, trusting the innate wisdom of our intuition. Medusa helps to heal our insecurities and embrace every aspect of ourselves. She asks us not to be afraid of disapproval, encouraging us to show our true face to the world.

~~~Devotion to Medusa~~~

Blessed is she with serpentine hair,

Immobilise foes with a deathly stare,

Your dark wisdom is misunderstood,

Embracing the shadow can be for the good,

Spirit of sea, the divine protector,

Beauty transformed to a frightening spectre,

Guardian to all that are shunned and rejected,

Returning the energy that's merely reflected.

Blessed Be!

[shes-a-badkid]

Thoughts while reading “The Blood of Olympus” with my nephew-

1. Jason sending out a message to his dad asking him to look out for Nico- I just want them to be besties

2. Oh shit- Jason got stabbed and with imperial gold! (Although I love that Annabeth is the one to panic a little and Piper is being the clearheaded one- because Piper has to be clearheaded and Annabeth can afford not to be)

3. Seriously- I am obsessed with how much Jason is worried about Nico

4. I don’t like Juno/Hera, because she’s caused a LOT of issues, but also, I love the drama. Plus, Jupiter/Zeus is the worst and if he’s mad at her, then I know who I stand with

5. My poor sweet Nico just working his poor butt off with this shadow travelling

6. Do I ever find out what happened in Albania? Because I need to know

7. I’ve said it several times and I’ll probably say it several times more- Octavian is the WORST

8. Seriously, I love Leo and Calypso and I want him to find a way back to her so bad. I just want my boy happy

9. I love that Percy physically can’t not be sarcastic to just every god/goddess he comes across. No restraint, only sass

10. “Change the plans and then stick to it.”

11. Clarisse still manages to be angry and caring all at once and I adore her, also I’m obsessed with Hedge leaving his pregnant wife in her care

12. Hades, my love 🖤 (I may or may not be influenced by my love of the Disney-Hercules version of Hades… 🤷🏻‍♀️)

13. Nico’s concern goes from Hazel then to Jason then Percy and the rest! My Nico/Jason best friendship is thriving

14. Hades wants his boy to be happy! This chapter is killing me

15. Piper and Frank are kind of sweet together as friends- just chill vibes until they need to fight

16. Buford the wonder table- an icon, a legend

17. “Piper McClane, that was without a doubt the dumbest risk I’ve ever seen anyone take and I date a dumb risk taker.” Annabeth- you think Piper taking a literal leap of faith into that pit was dumber than any risk Percy ever took? Girl, you must be blinded by love because I’m pretty sure dumb risk taker is one of his defining traits

18. I really like Piper and Annabeth as a combo- Annabeth is all plans and logic, while Piper is all about her emotions. Plus this whole chapter with them fighting with Mimas and Piper having BIG Percy energy- love it

19. Reyna is a badass. That’s it, end of thought.

20. Orion is an incel- makes sense

21. Hylla is also a badass- gotta love the Ramirez-Arellano girls

22. “I’m breathing Dylan!?”

23. Nico may say that Hades isn’t the best dad or whatever, but of the gods/goddesses- he seems alright. Like most of the others are indifferent at best, but Hades actively has tried to help his kids. Poseidon only seems to care about Percy and maybe a smidge about Tyson, but then we learn about Kymopoleia. Ares is… Ares, and only seems to care if his kids win/fight. Aphrodite seems like she’s just there for the drama. Of the godly parents we have seen more of he’s doing okay. (My love of Hades popped out full force here)

24. My son, Nico, is the best and I adore him and Bryce got what was coming to him, the little psycho

25. Hedge may always be ready to throw down and be just over the top all the time, but he is a real one- he cares so much for his charges 🖤

26. As much as I am team Nico/Jason besties, Reyna/Nico friendship is dear to my heart. Plus team Parthenos (as I’ve dubbed them in my head) is wonderful

27. Apollo is ridiculous and emotional and I love it

28. I don’t know why, but Asclepius prescribing Jason glasses amuses me more than is should

29. Rick… what the fuck?! Why my sweet son, Leo?? And he’s just so accepting? Fuck you!!

30. Tyson, my love 🖤🖤

31. Reyna continuing to be a badass and I love that she gets to kill this absolute incel of a giant

32. YES! Bringing in Pipers indigenous heritage! The song of the snakes! I love it 🥰

33. I may have complained previous about Piper in “House of Hades” but I see she was saving all her badassery for this book, because she has just been killing it the entire time- being the most emotionally intelligent, being an incredible team with Annabeth. This is the Piper I missed in “House of Hades.”

34. YAYAYAYAYYAY HEDGE MADE IT FOR HIS BABIES BIRTH!!!

35. Will just stepping up and telling Nico no to his shadow travel so he doesn’t do himself more damage- okay, get it [yes I have been spoiled about the future of Will and Nico, but I love that the first scene of them together is Will being all medic guy and stubborn about Nico not doing himself more damage with his shadow travels, telling Nico that his feeling about the campers thoughts about him are in his head, and just in general being a little shit]

36. I’ve said it so many times and here is one more- Octavian is the WORST!

37. Hell yeah- God fight!

38. God fight seems done, giants are all destroyed and Leo is still okay, but Gaea is awake and I still have like 8 chapters…

39. And we are talking vaguely about Leo’s death again and I DON’T LIKE IT

40. RIP Argo II and questioning what happened to my boy 🥺

41. I love the insane differences between the Romans and the Greeks fighting- Romans are so organized and just proper. Greeks is just chaos and enthusiasm.

42. FESTUS! And my boy right there with him! 🖤

43. Oh no….. Jason and Leo are fighting Gaea… I don’t like it

44. And I’m crying and plotting my revenge on Rick

45. Bye bitch! (Me to Octavian)

46. And I’m crying over Leo again (still- my nephew is only slightly concerned)

47. Awwwww! Hedge is so proud of his baby! And Clarisse is the godmother 😊

48. Okay, seriously- Renya/Nico friendship reigns supreme (sorry Jason/Nico besties- I still love you)

49. Nico teasing his sisters boyfriend should happen always

50. And once more crying about Leo- fuck you, Rick

51. Ooohhhh Nico trying to suppress his crush on Will- I see you

52. Just when I say Reyna/Nico friendship reigns supreme, Jason comes along and talks with his bestie and even gets a hug and is so excited that Nico is staying at Camp Half Blood! (And they are besties and NO ONE can change my mind on this)

53. Will scolding Nico for not stopping by to say hi while he was busy in the infirmary and then telling him he is getting at least three days of rest in the infirmary 🙌🏻

54. Percy’s brain processing in the slowest possible manner over Nico telling him he used to have a crush on him, but that he’s not really his type is kind of precious

55.. Piper once again with the emotional intelligence!

56. Leo 😭

57. HELL YES FESTUS! My wonderful, beautiful dragon!

58. And he gets to find Calypso! (Okay, Rick, you are forgiven- a little)

[procrastinatorrex]

VIII.

As was their custom, Dr. Chevalier and Dr. Nyte had called a halt early on the last Friday of the dig, this time using the ever-present potential for rain as an excuse. The team had thankfully downed tools and headed back to the inn.

Inside it was lively and warm, the whole team was jubilant over the amazing archaeology. The grad students were particularly exuberant, dreaming about the dissertations they’d be able to write and the grants they’d be able to get because of their amazing luck.

There was only one person missing, but he’d been at the site so rarely in the last few weeks it was hardly noticed. The man responsible for their unbelievable luck had made himself exceedingly scarce since the confirmation of his island theory, preferring to spend his time surveying the surrounding area and pouring over maps, apparently looking for some mysterious missing burial.

“Do you think Arthur was real?” In the jubilant, end-of-season atmosphere, the small, round table in the corner where the team leads sat was an island of quiet. Lizzie frowned down at her cheese and ale pie– a specialty of the inn. “I mean, not the magic sword and all that stuff, but the person… do you think he’s based on a king or a soldier who actually lived?”

Lee shrugged. “Percy does, at least he thinks the stories are based on something. I don’t think we’ll ever really know, though, not for sure.”

“It’s fun to look for the pieces, though.” Gwaine piped up from his position on the other side of the table where was shoveling his pie down with gusto. “That’s the point or archaeology, isn’t it? You can never know everything, but you find as many pieces as you can, you push the story as far back as you can.”

“And technology fills in the details, more and more.” Eli added, grinning at his sister. “As we know well.”

Lizzie smiled. “It’s amazing what good technology can do. Sometimes I wished I lived back then, just to see how it really was… but then I think about all these amazing things I’d have to give up and I think… maybe not.”

Lance, tanned from the long summer overseeing grad students and running a field school, smiled brightly at her, “I think that too. It would be so interesting to really know how they lived in the past.” Lizzie blushed, nodding.

“Ah, the unending curiosity of the archaeologist.” Dr. Guy Asclepius sighed, settling down beside the others with his fresh pie in his hands. “I can assure you, from long experience, it is never really satiated.” He spooned up a bit a the pie and grinned. “It’s not so bad, being out of the lab. There’s no pie in the lab.”

“I don’t know if looking at skulls in a nice warm room at an inn counts as being out of the lab,” Gwaine sulked.

“My boy, are you not thankful for the opportunity to gain field experience?”

Gwaine took a very deliberate bite of pie, “Considering the importance of the site, I’d have thought that youth would be expected to take a back seat to— ah— established experience.”

“Cheek,” The elder bioarchaeologist said, primly, “is a poor substitute for wit, Professor Sur.”

There were chuckles around the table, then Eli said, mildly, “You know, Dr. Ambrose reminds me of my mum.”

Lizzie laughed. “Yeah, I was thinking that earlier.”

“Your mum is a skinny, mad Welshman?” Gwaine asked, skeptically. Lizzie laughed again, “no, but she is obsessed with British royalty.”

“She’s from Guyana, she picked up and moved here after her country joined the Commonwealth.” Eli explained, shaking his head. “Absolutely mad about the monarchy, past present and future. She camps out for all the weddings and all that. Poor Lizzie was born just a few years after the family moved over here, she got the brunt of the royalty-mania, I’m afraid.”

“Lizzie, a nickname for Elizabeth, I assume.” Guy asked. Lizzie nodded, blushing, and he beamed at her “A name fit for a Queen, of course. You wear it well, my dear.”

The lead geophysicists waved her hands like she could erase the compliment, the blush spreading down her neck, “oh, well that’s very kind– I mean, it’s not really my name. I mean, it is, but it’s actually my middle name. Well, one of them. Sort of.”

Eli laughed with the wicked delight of a little brother. “Yeah, Guinevere Elizabeth Mary, it’s a right wedding cake of a name isn’t it?”

“It’s beautiful.” The voice was soft, but everyone at the table jumped like they’d seen a ghost. Dr. Ambrose smiled sadly. “Sorry, we didn’t mean to sneak up on you.” Percy hovered at his shoulder, shifting his weight from foot to foot. “I’ve asked Dr. Ambrose to join us,” the massive site director said, looking pointedly at Lee. “I thought it would be good to catch up a bit. No work talk, just get to know each other a bit.” Heads bobbed around the table, expression varied from surprised caution to friendly smiles to anticipatory grins.

“Welcome, young man.” Guy said, standing and extending a hand towards Ambrose. “I don’t believe we’ve met.”

The landscape archaeologist shook the proffered hand, but his response was barely a whisper above the noise of the crowded dining room. “No, I don’t suppose we have.”

[colorsunlikeanythingseen]

Trials of Apollo Fics I Recommend

https://archiveofourown.org/works/23618923/chapters/56682322

Fall of the Sun by Curioser

Five times Apollo fainted and one time he didn’t

The fic did a really good job of getting into Megs head and portraying her. An excellent exploration of her relationship with Apollo as well.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/29758371/chapters/73199211

See You Yesterday by JustMcShane

Meg,” Apollo says, instead of doing something undignified like dissolving into a puddle of tears on the floor, and then he says it again for emphasis. “Meg. What – you – this is my palace.”

“Duh,” comes the typically eloquent response. “Where else was I gonna find you?”

or,

Something’s wrong with Meg. Something’s up with Apollo. Neither of them are talking about their respective things. Things will most definitely get worse before they get better.

This is an incredibly well written mystery and I do not want to spoil anything by elaborating on that.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/34566013/chapters/86042683

Apollo and the Aftermath by Ceruleancats

The Roman emperors and Python have been defeated, the oracles reclaimed, and Apollo restored to godhood. He's having somewhat of a hard time adjusting to being back among the gods, which is understandable after his six-month grow-a-conscience speedrun. But something else is rotten in the state of Olympus, and before it can really feel like home, it's going to require some serious renovation.

One of the best fics exploring the consequences of Apollo’s character development and what that means for Olympus.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/40659729/chapters/101874816

Bad Sons by thesungod

Hades turned to the demigods that were still kneeling.

“I need to speak with Will Solace,” he said to the shocked room, in the tone he could have used to say “I came to ask if one of you could lend me a pen.”

“Alone,” the god added after a moment, staring right at Nico

Or, Will and Nico go on the stupidest quest ever. And it’s all Apollo’s fault.

Another excellent mystery fic with plenty of twists and turns. Also there is Solangelo and an amazing quest mate/ third wheel accompanying them.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/42410157

I give a tour/ Nico questions everything/ Nothing to see here/ by Imnobody122

After Thalia crashed the sun chariot Apollo stuck around a bit longer to visit his kids and gives Nico an excellent tour.

Might take place during a Titian’s Curse but every bit of Apollo’s narration in this show that they have read ToA. It is just Apollo visiting his kids and Nico not being traumatized.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/3932992

A day of Two Halves by TsarinaTorment

You know those days where everything goes wrong no matter what you do? Today was one such day. To begin with, anyway.

One of my favorites of the author’s one shots, though all of them are good and you should go read them. It is just really good Apollo and his children fluff.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/40947402

Through the Son’s Eyes by Hollowsun

A journey through Asclepius' relationship with his dad, from Ancient Greece to modern day.

Exactly what it says on the tin.

https://archiveofourown.org/series/179908

ToA Analysis

A series of essays on the Trials of Apollo. Apollo is a very complex character and unreliable narrator and these essays are excellent at diving into his character and the themes of the novels.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/37101943/chapters/92575894

The Tails of A Pollo by ceruleancats

The hunt for the Teumessian Fox hasn't been going great, but thanks to a new prophecy (of sorts), it looks like Apollo may be key to aiding the Hunters of Artemis in the beast's defeat. In like, a super badass, heroic way, of course. Actually, on second thought, maybe just imagine the monster's defeat in your head. You definitely don't have to read this. I'm certain you get the gist of it already. You can simply exit this tab real quick, no biggie. Have a lovely day!

If a fic has a pun in the title there is no way it can be bad. The author does a good job at capturing Apollo’s voice as well as his relationship with Artemis. Honestly this author is just really great and you should read all of their fics.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/39669981

Wild Nights, Wild Nights by Hollowsun

Mcshizzle

@Fireboy_

using my new twitter account to livetweet my epic game of Monopoly

A monopoly game played by, Leo, Lityerses, Hazel, Nico, Apollo, Meg and Reyna. It is hilarious and very chaotic.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/36911695/chapters/92089432

The Stolen God by TsarinaTorment

Python is defeated. The prophecies are restored, and Nero has fallen. Apollo has not been seen since. His trials are over; why isn’t he back on Olympus?

There are a surprisingly amount of excellent quests and mysteries in this fandom. It is very well plotted with a completely accurate and rhyming prophecy. Also a love their characterization of Will.

[lazy-sixteen]

Wait are you the creator of the Dr Stone His Dark Materials AU? Cool! If so can you tell me what's your inspiration for each characters Daemons?

yes that’s me!! Thank you so much for asking!!! Word Dump ahead

male lion -> Tsuakasa: Inagaki did the work for me, lol. Actually, I like the idea of lions symbolizing a sort of wildness and authority (very "king of the jungle") which fits early manga Tsukasa, but like real lion behavior being pretty chill (like most big carnivores) and just wanting to like hang out with their pride which fits later manga Tsukasa.

albino female king cobra -> Senku: Kinda of three hold reasoning here. In Western mythology, snakes are seen as being teachers of wisdom, specifically mortal wisdom (like obvs Adam and Eve, but also the snakes on the rod of Asclepius). King cobra meanwhile are associated with rulers in certain parts of India. Finally, albino snakes is about the myth of Bai Suzhen from China which is about a snake that gained power/cultivation then used it to repay a human she fell in love with; interestingly the snake in that story has been interpreted as both evil (for going against natural order of the world) and good (for her devotion to the human she loved), which is a fun metaphor for Senku upsetting the status quo (be both Tsukasa's 'live with nature', and the Whyman's 'keep humans mostly statues/stone age'). Finally, I picked a name in mandarin for her bc I like the idea of one of Senku's birth parents being chinese, soley bc there is a VERY stupid pun you can make with 月 (moon, month) radical and the⺼(flesh, body) radical often being written identically (so moon [a space rock] = flesh, just like petri beam).

female dog -> Taiju: his himbo engery is of the charts. (also is a nice helpful good boy who reminds me of a golden retriever)

male orbweaver bird -> Yuzu: I was going to do a spider for her actually, bc of all the cool mythology world-wide connecting spiders and weavers but it turns out mostly female spiders make webs, so I switched to a type of bird that makes really cool nest.

female lion -> Kohaku: Inagaki did all the work on this for me pt.2. She's powerful, very dedicated to her family, and also someone who's not afraid of putting in an enormous amount of effort (since female lions are the ones the hunt).

male Racoon-dog -> Chrome: Intelligent but also a little prone to mischief. Chrome likes collecting things, he's not afraid to totally go and do his own thing or accomplish his goals in his own way! Also (and this is more related to regular raccoons), they are very smart and good at opening trash cans which fits chrome somehow.

Male calico cat -> Gen: This is 50% bc gen exists in my head as the meme "butternut is a master of psychological manipulation", and 50% bc male calico's (despite looking normal) are incredibly rare bc the mechanism of calico coloring typically depends on having 2 X chromosomes. This is fun bc Gen's def the type to play around with gender a bit. Also Gen has always has a lot of color variation (black/white hair, purple in outfit even in b4 cloth got reinvented), so he deserves a colorful daemon.

Female hyena -> Hyouga: The natural enemy of lions, lol. Also they both have a very fun aesthetic and a reputation for being scary but funny.

Male lunar moth -> Ruri: famous for only living long enough to find a mate and pass away. But also a creature that is good at being both beautiful but also very low-key and subtle.

bonus: Not mentioned in story but exist in my heart

Ryuusui: Female Peregrine falcon (only the fastest bird alive for the world's greedest man)

Byakuya: female crow (smart and wise, but prone to pranks)

Lillian: male mockingbird (she's from SE US, so it's a given)

Amaryllis: male betta fish (beautiful and ready to fight!)

Dr. Xeno: female Arizona bark scoprion (did you know scorpions are actually fairly good mentors parents and will carry their young on their backs?)

Stanley: female cotton-mouth (aka the venomous snake that is the bane of SE US waterways)

[clarenecessities]

As my followers may have picked up from my long, spiraling rants, I’ve undertaken a new research project, courtesy of the death grip She-Ra has on my brain. And guess what? It’s finally at Disseminate Information Stage! So I’m going to lay out all of the gods, demigods, and godbeasts of the Masters of the Universe. With sources!

This table is more of a cheat sheet. We’re gonna tackle this god by god, with a section on Actual Lore & a meta section to help you decide how valid you think they are, because frankly some canons are more canon than others.

Asklepia, Benevolent Snake Goddess

Lore: Asklepia is one of two snake goddesses, the benevolent twin sister of Serpentia. We know very little about her abilities, but the Snake Clan (a clan of human warriors) were said to worship her, and they were famed for their architecture and healing. She had the ability to curse and deform people--to what extent is uncertain, but she’s known to have condemned a fallen priest named Ka, whose disfigured likeness now adorns Snake Mountain.

Behind the Scenes: First appearing in the 1987 comic “Il Nero Cristallo Del Potere“, Asklepia remained nameless for over 30 years, until Masters of the Universe Classics (MOTUC) released a few choice bios. For the unfamiliar, MOTUC seeks to reconcile the often contradictory canons into one overarching narrative, which is great in theory, but in practice is kind of like putting ice cream on a hot dog. And calling it a Chilly Dog ® as if that makes it taste better. But I digress. In 2019 they released a bio for the Staff of Ka which finally put a name to the less-evil Snake Goddess, in an obvious nod to Asclepius and the asklepian (that staff+snake icon people put on medical stuff).

Sharella, the Green Goddess and/or “Avatar” of Asklepia

Lore: Contradictory

Long Version: Okay I’ve put avatar in quotes because it is... contentious. Basically, and you’ll see here why I felt the need to make this post instead of relying blindly on the wikis, Sharella was introduced (in the ‘87 licensing guide) as a tribal leader who had joint custody of Gray, the original name of He-Ro’s alter ego, while he was growing up. This was further developed by Emiliano Santalucia’s concept work, wherein she was the leader of the Green Tiger Tribe (GTT) specifically. While the comic concept was not run through licensing & is thus not “canon”, the idea of her leading the GTT persisted. This teeny tiny image of her from Tytus and Megator’s 1987 Italian box art was all we had until 2008, when one of He-Man’s accessories described her as the “warrior woman ally” of Queen Veena, “who had been changed into the immortal green-skinned avatar of the Goddess Asklepia”. In 2009, MOTUC released a figure for The Goddess, apparently forgetting they’d done that shit the year before because the packaging did say “K’yrulla” was her real name. They had to cover it up with a sticker. 

So who’s The Goddess? Way back in the days before Mattel solidified any of the lore around MOTU, there were mini-comics released with the toys. Initially, the Goddess served a similar function to the Sorceress in the cartoon, and was in fact sometimes called the Sorceress. She facilitated He-Man’s transformations, gave him missions, was generally magical and mysterious, etc. If you know who the Sorceress is, and you can picture Teela, but green? That’s about it.

Back to Sharella, though. The Third Ultimate Battleground rolled around in 2015, and for the first time since some packaging in the 80s, we saw Sharella in action! She was shot through the heart with a poison arrow. Yeah. But don’t worry, she received a blood transfusion from Moss Man (who we’ll get to later), and was transformed into the Green Goddess! She’s immortal now. How Asklepia figures in here is sort of unclear, which is weird since this is still part of the MOTUC line, but whatever. Whatever! Queen Grayskull (the aforementioned Veena) received a bio in 2015 as well, which described Sharella as her apprentice who became “The Goddess”.

Horokoth, Aspect of the Mother Goddess

Lore: DC went a little batshit (pun intended) with the lore for the Eternity War. Here the Goddess is three combined aspects, “Serpos” (Serpentia) for the Snake Men, Zoar for the human “Eternians”, and a third, invented deity called Horokoth, who represents the Horde. Horokoth is “the coming destroyer. The darkness at the end of days.” and is represented by a bat.

Behind the Scenes: That last link has a clearer picture of her, it just didn’t crop well. Also, I confess I couldn’t bring myself to read Eternity War. As thrilling as the prospect of a cohesive narrative is, if I wanted to see Adora slit her brother’s throat there’s the edgier side of deviantArt to peruse. Therefore I know little of Horokoth outside of a few still images of Hordak. The bat was almost certainly selected for the Horde’s vespertilian emblem.

Hordeous, God-Beast of Horokoth

Lore: A “primordial”, bat-like godbeast of Horokoth, created in response to the god Saz’s feline races. Their face was “forever infused“ on the surface of Horde World by Horde Lord (Hordak and Horde Prime’s father in the MOTUC canon) to grant their family power and immortality.

Behind the Scenes: Yes they’ve used some words wrong, but they’ve got the spirit, right? Hordeous was (allegedly, this is secondhand) an invention of the MOTUC crew in answer to Horokoth. Now, the Horde Supreme bio predates Horokoth’s introduction by about 3 years, but obviously the comics were in production already. There’s an undated sketch of Horokoth Hordak from an undated interview (thanks for nothing you useless website) but in that same gallery there’s an orko sketch labeled 2012 so. We’re good right? That makes sense, timeline-wise. Anyway the comics slam dunked Horde Prime out of existence and combined him with Horde Lord so it’s contradictory anyway. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Serpentia, Malevolent Snake Goddess

Lore: The evil counterpart of Asklepia, Serpentia is the goddess of the Snake Men. The priest Ka of the Snake Clan forsook Asklepia in her favor, destroying Asklepia’s sacred orb and stealing the Serpent Ring (an artefact capable of transforming humans into Snake Men) from the Ophidian Spire with King Hsss. In DC’s triune interpretation of the Goddess, Serpentia (here ‘Serpos’) is blood, passion, and desire. A primal and primordial force appearing to the Snake Men in their own image.

Behind the Scenes: Okay yes I’ve reused the Asklepia pic but in my defense they are twins and this is the easiest one to crop. So here’s the thing about Serpentia: we only got a name for her in 2019. We knew there was a snake goddess, and she was pretty evil, or at least hostile towards mammalian life (see: the source of the pic I chose for her). Where Asklepia references the asklepian, ‘Serpentia’ is a much more heavy-handed snake reference, even though Anguis was right there. Those Masters Mondays came through for us, though, with the shield and staff of Ka, Ssssylph, and of course MOTUC’s Dark Despot Skeletor, which is. something. Though only recently named, Serpentia has been a shadow over Eternia since the Snake Men’s introduction in 1985 (or, depending on how much of the presented backstory you accept, even sooner in the form of Skeletor’s lair, Snake Mountain).

Serpos/Sarcedon, God-Beast of Snake Mountain

Lore: Contradictory, but the gist of it is he’s a very large snake with elemental magic and a grudge, that was turned to stone and became Snake Mountain.

Long Version: Snake Mountain was conceived of towards the end of 1982, but wasn’t revealed to the public until September of 1983, with the debut of the Filmation cartoon. For another year, the snake coiled around its summit was simply a carving, its mouth hollowed out for Skeletor to stand in and loom. But in 1984 the Snake Mountain toy was released, completely discarding the Filmation design in favor of the hewn face of the figure we now call Ka. Instead of a snake carving winding its way up the peak, the Mattel toy featured a ‘striking serpent’, alive and attached to the mountain itself. From there, it was an easy leap to make to ‘this carving comes alive’. So easy, in fact, that they did it twice!

First attempted in 1985 in the newspaper storyline “Vengeance of the Viper King”, the snake was here called Sarcedon, the World Destroyer. At the dawn of time, he was said to crush Eternia within his deadly coils. He burrowed deep into the ground, causing fearsome storms that nearly destroyed the planet. Only a fearless hero (implied to be He-Ro) could defeat and imprison Sarcedon. Using a macguffin called a Mirror of History, He-Man forced Sarcedon to behold his own reflection in a reference to the Medusa myth that kind of missed the point of it being reflective. Sarcedon was sent back in time, Snake Mountain was restored, the good guys win, blah blah blah.

That was the last of it until the MYP cartoon in 2004. Serpos as a name was actually first invoked by Mer-Man in a 1982 minicomic, but like it probably wasn’t about the snake. Anyway in the MYP cartoon the Snake Men get this thing called the Medallion of Serpos that lets them un-petrify the snake around Snake Mountain, grow two more heads, and unleash his godly wrath. He breathes fire, trashes Eternos, beats up He-Man, then turns his attention on Castle Grayskull to consume the Orb of Power (containing the strength and wisdom of the Elders, who had first trapped him in stone). He-Man cuts off Serpos’s extra heads with a sword upgrade, the Elders are somehow magically restored to life, and they re-petrify him. Snake Mountain is restored, the good guys win, blah blah blah.

Zoar, the Fighting Falcon

Lore: Contradictory, but it sure is a bird!

Long Version: While Sharella’s backstory is fraught because of the comics couldn’t decide what they wanted her to be, Zoar was similarly tangled up by the toyline. Initially male, he went through several color schemes, some prettier than others. Though there was a vague association with the Sorceress before the cartoon (recall that pre-Filmation, the Sorceress was just the Goddess), Filmation made them literally inseperable by designating Zoar as the Sorceress’s falcon form, to which she was confined when leaving Castle Grayskull.

Some of the comics and Golden books showed Zoar as being flipping enormous & ridden into battle as a steed by Teela and Man-at-Arms. Pre-Filmation, Zoar was always referred to as male, but post-Filmation, always female, as an incarnation of the Sorceress.

The Eternity Wars comics describe Zoar as the third aspect of the Goddess, the ‘Great Preserver’ whose light would shine through the universe for eternity. They pull off a sort of tripartite priestess thing where it’s Serpos/Zoar/Horokoth represented by Teela-Na (the Sorceress)/Teela/Evil-Lyn.

MOTUC, of course, had to reconcile all of these contradictory canons. How’d they do it? “In the folklore of Eternia, the golden falcon symbolized the godhead Zoar, a powerful deity of Preternia. As a god, Zoar could appear in both male and female guises and while the blue-tipped female falcon was associated with the Sorceress of Grayskull, the golden falcon represented Zoar's masculine nature.” So Zoar is genderfluid now, and the Sorceress is merely borrowing their form when transforming into a falcon. This bio also established that Zoar had anointed the first Sorceress, Veena (Queen Grayskull), which explains why she has wings for no apparent reason.

Also it’s not offically MOTUC but the scultors of the line, Four Horsemen, made a single anthro Zoar for Power-Con 2013. In case you need that for some reason.

Glorybird, Emissary of Zoar

Lore: Many millennia ago, there were three siblings, who were very poor and mistreated by their stepmother, but had hearts filled with kindness and love. Zoar, recognizing their resilience and desire to help people, sent an emissary named Glorybird. Glorybird bestowed upon each sibling a divine gift, but as they used their new powers to fight for good, their stepmother revealed herself to be a Celestial Witch & attempted to sacrifice them to Zoar’s “greatest enemy”, Horokoth.  

Backstory: Okay, so the Star Sisters (and Glorybird) were in exactly one episode of She-Ra, primarily to set them up as new toy designs. While prototypes were made for these, the figures weren’t actually produced until MOTUC released figures for them in 2012. Though they were referenced in Princess Prom, and we saw a brief cameo in a background, Glorybird was absent until the introduction of the Star Siblings in Season Five.

That’s right! This bird is a god, and there’s nothing you can do about it.

Saz, God of All Felines

Lore: One of the “Gods of the Multiverse” (he is the only member named explicitly), Saz was a blue-furred, feline deity responsible for the creation of all cats, humanoid or otherwise. He transformed himself into an enormous cat-beast to defeat Serpos and Hordeous, whose progenitors created them in envy of his children. Though Serpos was defeated, Hordeous escaped into the cosmos, and Saz himself vanished mysteriously.

Behind the Scenes: “By the whiskers of Saz!” is a fun pseudo-swear made by various cat races throughout MOTU, first in He-Man’s “The Cat and the Spider” and later in She-Ra’s “Magicats”. That was the only real mention of him until... okay, so MOTUC bios aren’t always attached to the product. Starting in 2018, they did this thing called Masters Mondays where they put unposted bios on the org forums. So while we’ve had the sword since 2010, we didn’t get the background on it until March of 2020. And then a couple weeks later, the Cat Mask of Catra bio referred to him as a “mystical being” instead of a god, but the mask was from 2011 so. He may not have been a god yet. It really depends on when the bios were actually written.

Saz wielded a blade probably best described as a falchion, whose quillon & langet formed a vaguely triangular shape around a deep red gem. I want to be clear that while it looks totally rad, this sword would be very impractical and have poor structural integrity were it not made by a literal god. Do not make swords like this. Also it’s almost certainly riffing on the Sword of Omens from Thundercats (affectionate).

Sabe-Or, Son of Saz

Lore: A green-furred, orange-striped paladin, Sabe-Or is one of the only named Ancients. He inherited his father’s blade upon Saz’s mysterious disappearance, and lived for centuries more. Upon his death, he transferred his “heroic essence” into a group of Eternian tigers, forever transforming them into the Green Tiger Tribe, whence both Granger (steed of King Grayskull), and Cringer, steed of Prince Adam.

Behind the Scenes: So “Battle Cat Man” is a concept that’s existed since they decided to make their hero ride a wicked tiger into battle. If you show a kid a superhero, and a supertiger, apparently the natural inclination of most children in the 80s was to combine the two. There are so many custom action figures. So, so many. Sabe-Or is visually a clear reference to this concept, and canonically seems to be the closest we’re going to get outside of the Thundercats crossover, unless you count Cowarros from 4H’s Mythic Legions line (I do, because it means Purrrplor is also canon and I fucking love calling him that).

Moss Man, Ancient Eternian Nature God

Lore: An ally of King Grayskull, Moss Man was something of an Eternian cryptid in the centuries leading up to He-Man Times. He has control over all plant life, the ability to meld with plants, and apparently can imbue sentience to said plants.

Behind the Scenes: Moss Man wasn’t featured in many episodes, because he’s a little... incredibly over-powered. He’s literally Bigfoot from 5000 years ago with magic powers. And like, since I don’t think the writers appreciate how long 5000 years is, you know what happened 5000 years ago? Stonehenge. This bitch is Stonehenge-old. But sure, you can trace a direct line of descent from his contemporary. smh. Anyway according to MOTUC his real name is Kreann’Ot N’Norosh so make of that what you will. Also his toys were pine-scented. I just love that.

Evil Seed, Rebellious Creation of Moss Man

Lore: Created by Moss Man to help fight in the Great Wars, Evil Seed betrayed his master and turned to evil (who could have foreseen this...), finding joy in corrupting all forms of plant life for his own amusement. Moss Man imprisoned him in enchanted chains, keeping him restrained for many millennia.

Behind the Scenes: According to MOTUC, his real name is Sero Malustro, clumsy New Latin for “(to) plant evil-burnt“. Why his name is New Latin and Moss Man’s is... whatever that is, I have no idea. As you can see from the image I included, he originally had an artichoke head, which was upgraded for the Mike Young Productions (MYP) cartoon. Personally I think the artichoke rules.

Volcana, the Fire Goddess

Lore: Canonically, she’s a fire goddess, and the mother of the Volcano Magus. Together, they are a rising force that seeks to conquer Etheria in the wake of Hordak’s defeat.

Backstory: Volcana has taken a long a twisted journey, but was first revealed to fans at Power-Con 2016 in a panel revealing previously unseen concepts and characters. After the first wave of She-Ra toys, a second wave was planned with a snow focus, to bring more attention the Filmation-neglected Frosta. This began with the introduction of a fire villain, an “evil lady that glows with heat” who would attempt to melt Castle Chill. That concept actually refers to a character named Amber (not Ember, as one might assume) who was reworked into a benevolent counterpart, Volcana’s twin sister.

Volcana was later fleshed out to be a Fire Goddess with flame-red hair, x-ray vision, and arms sculpted with flames. Her cape flew up with flame detail that rose up to control the volcano (of Volcanica, a proposed toyset that seems to have been reworked into the Crystal Falls). She was emphasized by Mattel to not start fires, which, honestly, is probably why they scrapped the character. He-Man couldn’t use his sword as a sword; a woman made of fire was basically doomed.

Now, though, we’re several decades in and lines made for collecters that are largely in their 30s and 40s can say whatever they want! So she’s canon, even if Amber isn’t. Yes there’s only one mention of her. Amber technically was mentioned in an unproduced episode titled “Amber Waves of Flame”, but as it was unproduced, it’s noncanonical.

Volcano Magus, Sinister Son of Volcana

Lore: Living within a dormant volcano, the Volcano Magus of the German audio plays was the source of most of Catra’s power and all of her evil intent. He supplied her with magic for spells and schemes with which to assail the Crystal Castle, but neither she nor Clawdeen were aware of the dark influence he held over them.

In the MOTUC canon, he’s specified as the son of Volcana, a demigod from the “Region of Volcanoes” who craved the nature magic of the Whispering Woods. When he learned the Twiggets were inextricably linked to that magic, he used his powers to petrify the former Rebels (this was after the Horde's defeat) and kidnap three Twiggets to drain the magic from their souls. Twiggets, for the uninitiated, are like purple tree-elf things. According to MOTUC, Razz is a Twigget, though the ‘real’ name they assigned her doesn’t fit their naming convention. She is purple, I guess.

Kowl, who avoided petrification, read Razz's spellbooks to find a way to save his friends, and learned of an Entrapment Gem that she hid in a shoe, for some reason. He confronted the Volcano Magus, spoke in the ancient tongue of the First Ones, and sucked him into the Gem.

Backstory: Admittedly this stuff is second hand, as I don’t speak German & they only have transcriptions/translations for the He-Man tapes anyway, but if anybody can find me an audio file I will do my best to verify. The MOTUC stuff at least I can confirm 100% because it’s from 2019 & I do speak English, for better or worse.

Oak, the Jackal God

Lore: Oak was the terrible Jackal God worshiped by the denizens of Zhar, an ancient civilization that once existed in a remote, forested region of Eternia. Long ago, Oak was imprisoned within a statue which could be found within the Temple of the Jackal. When Skeletor removed the statue from the temple, Oak broke free of the enchantment which imprisoned him and wreaked havoc on Eternia. Although the Jackal God was immensely powerful, he could be weakened by the elements of nature and was ultimately foiled by a rainstorm conjured by the combined powers of He-Man's sword and the magic of the temple's guardian priest.

Backstory: I have lifted this from a He-Man guide word for word as I cannot for the life of me find a copy of the Brazilian Editora Abril comic he came from, O Templo Do Chacal (1986). The description is like, suspiciously similar to the plot of the He-Man episode The Cat and the Spider, except the Grimalkin was never described as a god. The rest of it--statue, Skeletor, storm defeat--plays out almost the same. True pity I can’t find the original source, but I do trust this guidebook. You may be interested in Ceres from the UK comics--another dog-slash-statue who frankly might as well be a god himself, but as he’s not called one in canon he’s not going on the list.

The Bitter Rose Goddess

Lore: As Man-at-Arms told the legend, “Every day, a woman climbed Rose Mountain to look for her husband to return from the war. Alas, he never came back. Her tears poured from her cheek and entered the ground. One day she disappeared, but where she stood was a single, solitary rose. It’s the only thing that grows on Rose Mountain.”

The Insect People, who lived at the base of Rose Mountain, believed that the Bitter Rose is all that held the mountain together (and when it was picked, they were proved right). After the flower was restored, it transformed into the Bitter Rose Goddess herself, who explained that she had been a prisoner of her love's sorrow, so bitter that she refused to allow anything else to grow on Rose Mountain. She blessed the surrounding area, blanketing the jagged peaks with roses, and disappeared.

Backstory: She’s kind of... barely a god. She showed up in one episode and no other media & has objectively less power than like, every single demon they ever brought in. I almost didn’t put her on this list.

Mask-Ra, Goddess of Masks

Lore: A goddess who created the magical Masks of Power.

Backstory: Mask-Ra was first mentioned in 2019 and like, look, I’m gonna be real. I don’t respect her. She’s an invention of MOTUC (unless they were drawing on this concept art of Maska-Ra, which I doubt bc he was a Man-E-Faces precursor) and they retconned her into having created Catra’s mask, which is kind of redundant given the entire episode Magicats. This mask did not need two bios. There are no other mentions of her in any canon.

Potential other Masks of Power: The Deemos and Tyrella masks from the He-Man episode “Masks of Power”, lizard and canine masks from the mini-comic “Masks of Power”, Lord Masque’s Demon Mask from the He-Man episode “House of Shokoti, Part 1″, and whatever the hell Red Shadow has going on.

Procrustus, Giant Guardian of Magic

Lore: During the creation of the various dimensions (5 in MOTUC canon but demonstratably higher everywhere else), the gods installed the four-armed, immortal giant Procrustus to guard their secrets at the heart of Eternia. There lay the Starseed, from which the entire dimension was created. It still held immeasurable power, and could be used to conquer entire universes. Hordak, in an attempt to access the Starseed, cracked Eternia in two with the Spell of Separation. Though he was (mostly) thwarted, from then on Procrustus was forced to hold the two halves of Eternia together from within, lest the planet break apart and the Starseed be exposed.

Backstory: First appearing in the mini-comic “The Magic Stealer!”, Procrustus is a lot more tangible than most gods. We know where he is, at all times, and he seems confined to one size. His powers appear to be largely physical, as he had to burrow out of the ground to investigate in the mini-comic instead of teleporting or like, magicking the dirt away. This was his only appearance until MOTUC released a figure for him in 2012. He also showed up in the Subternia map the next year, holding Eternia together.

Standor, Cosmic Creator of Power

Lore: “Before time began, the great Gods of the multiverse convened in the Hall of Power to create all that was and all that will ever be. Head architect of this great task was Standor. A cosmic being of unlimited imagination, Standor helped lead his fellow deities by fueling their energies with raw creative force.”

Backstory: Released for Comikaze 2013 to celebrate the partnership of Mattel and Pow! Entertainment, Standor is literally just Stan Lee But a God. The prototype was called Standar--idk why they changed it, but I think it’s because it’s too easy to confuse with “Standard”. They made a bio for his sunglasses. I don’t want to talk about it.

Bash-Or, Slain Mystic God-Beast

Lore: Very little is known of Bash-Or, the Ram. His last remnant was sealed within the Ram Stone by the ancient sorceror kings of Zalesia, imbuing it with his divine power to overcome any barrier, magical or otherwise.

Backstory: Bash-Or was revealed in the bio for the Ram Stone, September of 2020, but his spirit (previously referred to as ‘the Spirit of the Ram Stone’) was twice utilized by Skeletor in the MYP cartoon, to great effect, before the stone was destroyed.

[originlist]

@brilliantpride​

Ritsu possesses what they think is a reasonable amount of fear of Kama. It’s something-something-trauma something-confusing personality-something and the very real fact that she would probably feel nothing whatsoever about removing most of their organs. This is about Ritsu’s baseline state on Kama, a wise wariness coupled with paranoia.

Their baseline level of fear is far exceeded when a Kama that is Mara stomps past them, leaving singe marks on the floor and the heavy tang of smoke and ozone in the air. They look at Ritsu with eyes that glow and demand to know the sim room passcode, which Ritsu immediately and very politely gives.

As soon as Mara’s out of sight, Ritsu bolts. Oh man, that must be something amiss and awry, so where the fuck is Yako?

Yako, it turns out, is in her room in a puddle of blood. "Christ,” Ritsu mutters, genuinely impressed underneath the pressing worry of their friend being dead. “The fuck did you do?” They ask, more to themselves than to Yako. Their healing magic might be slow, but it can at least do something as Ritsu hoists Yako up into their arms.

There’s a wound. Ritsu’s careful not to jostle her too much as they jog Yako to the clinic. To heal it, platelets show up, break down, release molecules to form fibrin, trap blood cells, harden, seal. Yako’s bleeding slowly ebbs. Beneath the clot, serum cleans, lymphocytes clean, Yako’s still bleeding more than she should, but Ritsu runs through the steps of wound healing in their head regardless. It works like an incantation. Focus the energy.

Yako’s warm, far too much. That’s definitely a problem, but not one Ritsu’s capable of doing anything about. They can still carry her even if her blood might singe a bit when it touches their skin.

She gets deposited in the clinic, probably entirely unaware she’s been carried at all, still whining in pain. Asclepius attends to her immediately with an ‘oooh, this is interesting’ that Ritsu pretends not to hear. They leave it to him, at least knowing if she gets too close to burning up he’ll pull her back out of sheer spite for the entire concept of mortal wounds.

He doesn’t need to, but she ends up with an IV and Ritsu waiting antsily for her to look at them with any level of awareness. As soon as she does, Ritsu speaks in an even tone that is generally reserved more for their own near death explanations.

“Yako. I cannot have Servants in this facility that would attempt to kill any of Chaldea’s humans. I need you to tell me, honestly: is Kama, right now, someone I need to get out of here?" A yes or no, however she’s capable of giving it, would suffice for now. They’ll get more into the why/what/how of this whole situation later, after they figure out if there’s a more pressing issue. No facility alarms have gone off, which is good news, but Ritsu still needs to ask.

[ziggyzagreus]

Who is your favorite and least favorite god outside of the context of Hades?

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh good one!!!

I would definitely have to say that my favorite non-Hadesgame gods are probably Apollo and Hephaistos. 

Apollo is so beautiful and he contributes so much to stories that I love (oof the Iliad...) as well as is the father of Orpheus and Asclepius, my music and medicine babes whom I also love. 

And in general, Apollo’s stories are just... nicer? Of course, that’s all subjective to my opinion since all of Greek Mythology is rite fucked up, but Apollo in general has always just had better vibes than most people. Like... of course, the hot bit where he has a hand in Achilles’ death hurts me, and there’s that big part where he kills the Cyclops in revenge for Zeus killing his son... which like, in all fairness, is totally warranted!!! While other gods usually end up killing family members and such for random reasons, Zeus totally murked Asclepius for no reason and I really give props to Apollo for going off. mans deserved it. 

I also LOVE the story of baby Hermes stealing his cattle and Apollo is just like “what the fuck you are an INFANT how the shit did you - fuck it make me an epic musical instrument” and then BABY Hermes is just like “boom, lyre, i made it out of turtle shell” and Apollo is just “ >:( “ gets me every time. I LOVE that story so much, and there’s a real cute bit of fan art HERE on Twitter for it.

I also love Hephaistos because he’s such a badass, like man... everyone called this mans ugly and he broke his legs while falling to Earth but then he became the baddest and richest bitch and made so much cool shit. Like Hephaistos really does the most for the gods and gets so little clout for it - he fucking helped deliver Athena for goodness’ sake by cracking Zeus’ head open with an axe like bruh. Also I don’t really give a shit about the gods getting cuckolded since it happened all the time, but I will say I love the bit where Helios went to Hephaistos like “um,,, hey boss, your wife Aphrodite is banging Ares,” and Hephaistos was just like “yeah i know. hey wanna catch them and laugh about it?” SO he made a magic bed and chained Ares and Aphrodite to it in the act and all of Olympus laughed. like - shit sucks but in the grand scheme of mythology it’s kinda great lmao. Mans takes no shit.

As for least favorite... Gosh, most likely Hercules. To be honest, he’s kinda shitty. Like - Disney’s Hercules is awesome because it’s cute and fun and whatever, but ACTUAL mythology Hercules is so ew. Yeah, he was birthed on earth by Zeus and his mother and had that super strength, as an infant defended himself from Hera’s serpent but then like... just vibed? For a little while he was trying to regain placement to the throne - granted, a lot of his misfortune was Hera’s doing - but then he went mad and killed his wife, then killed Chiron after being tricked into being sent on all these egregious missions by King Eurystheus... Idk man, I just do not have a fun time reading Hercules’ stories, you know? Some of the 12 missions were cool but most of them just ended badly and overall demonstrated a chunky hubris of talent over effort personified in Hercules, and I just don’t like him very much.

This was a super interesting ask, thank you so so much!!!! I haven’t gotten to talk a lot about the other gods in a bit, this is cool!

[tgrailwar-zero]

(Oh I just realized. We're distant, but we're still connected to our Servants. Theoretically, our voices should reach them even from an extreme distance.)

[Message to Kukulkan, I would like Setanta to hear us, but I don't mind either way.] Hey, Invader? How's the dance floor? Sorry for the interruption, we're on the roof and a Lair Servant's attacking the body Sigurd made for us. Shouldn't be too much of an issue, but d'ya mind letting Lord Sigurd know that the Servant Setanta is breaking Sacred Hospitality? Thanks.

Your mind slowed- expanding seconds into what felt like minutes into what felt like days. The young warrior was already headed towards you, blade ready. There wasn't time to talk, to sit back and chatter. Any breath would be wasted.

And as you realized that, as this rush of words spilled out like a deluge of confusion, he was already several steps closer- and his blade was in an upswing, going right for the jugular.

Your first two encounters with Lair Servants had been relatively nice. QUETZALCOATL had essentially gave her key away, and ASCLEPIUS had been in such a confused and frenzied state that he had left himself open. Even encountering MUSASHI, she had the courtesy to hesitate.

Looking at the expression in SETANTA's face, this was the look of someone who had wasted time talking before and had paid the price for it. This wasn't just a Lair Servant, this was a Servant that had ravaged the Solar Cell alongside you, before actively spilling your own blood in retaliation.

In this moment, SETANTA's expression held no hatred, no malice, just the cold determination of someone who wasn't planning on failing twice. If you wanted to stretch the definition, he had given you mercy by speaking to you before attacking- letting you react, and at least gain a vague grasp on the situation.

Based on that brief memory, he had almost killed you- and you had almost killed him. And a quick comparison now, even with him being 'younger', you had lost more than he did in terms of ability. That painted a promising picture of what you may be able to do in the future, sure, but you'd need to actually live long enough to see it to make any real use of it.

As per your first realization, if he had been in a Spirit Origin that was just slightly stronger and slightly faster, you would have died.

He was going to kill you.

So, for the sake of a survival instinct, another realization manifested itself. Practically scrambled to the forefront of your collective minds.

Any time you could spend talking to a wild hound would be better spent fighting back or getting away.

This was time for you to spend this precious few seconds to take stock of your situation, have whatever internal discussion and decision making you needed, remember what you could, and survive.