#to me they were the embodiment of persephone and hades

[deathmetalunicorn1]

Hello & I've been reading the Platinum Clan & other writings and it's pretty amazing & i love it

If its okay to do a ror x reader? Yandere Hades x Reader the Platinum clan leader

But having similar scenarios to a story of Persephone & Hades, like Ror Hades in love to Reader and plans to make her his. But Reader has close companionship/family-like relationship with other pokemon, including the legendaries & mythical, & Giratina, who's protective yet respectful and treating reader as his friend/child

Also take care & thank you in advance

-When you passed so long ago and arrived in Valhalla, you found your place just like you did while you lived, alongside Pokemon, taking care of them and providing a voice for them against the other citizens of Valhalla.

-Your Lord Giratina, being the deity of death itself, followed you there, as he can go as he pleases between the land of the living and Valhalla like most of the other gods.

-He knew you were safe here in Valhalla, but he still came to check on you quite often. Of all his devoted followers, including the leaders like you- he never knew someone quite like you- you were so devoted, but so humble at the same time. It was odd but he doted on you like you were his child, despite you being human.

-Many admired you for the work you did in Valhalla, seeing you taking care of the Pokemon, as you preferred their company to the company of other humans or gods who came to your little corner of Valhalla.

-Hades knew of Giratina, as he knew all deities of death, and he knew how powerful Pokemon could be, and seeing one that embodies death itself was quite a surprise, but he was even more surprised to see you, a simple human, petting Giratina who was laying on his belly like a giant dog, enjoying the scratches and attention you were giving him.

-Hades was curious about you, watching you from afar, seeing that you were quiet, but you were a very hard worker, tending to all the Pokemon around you, from the smallest Eevee to the mighty Giratina, it was admirable really.

-Hades grew fond of you, despite not ever speaking to you, watching you from a distance, admiring your hard work, and seeing what a dedicated person you were.

-It was Giratina who approached Hades first, a deep growl in his throat, thinking that Hades was thinking of threatening you, but when he found no malice, he just sat there, glaring down at the Greek god, wanting to know why he was constantly watching his child.

-You knew that Hades was watching you, it wasn’t an uncommon thing, as many were curious about Pokemon, and you believed that’s what he was looking at, the Pokemon. But you could feel his gaze on you, it was like he was looking at your soul, which unnerved you a bit.

-However, it was a surprise to you when he approached you, taking your hand in his own, lifting it to peck the back of your hand, making your eyes widen as you hadn’t expected it.

-Hades was polite, telling you that he admired you and wished for you to become his partner, having fallen for you. You could only blink in surprise, hearing this before you finally spoke, “So you’re the weirdo that’s been watching me?”

-Hades sputtered in surprise, “Weirdo?!” you nodded, not at all bothered as you turned, holding your hand out and several ghost Pokemon appeared, all of them calling out, “These friends have been telling me that you’ve been watching me for a while. Since you never came over to speak with me- you’re a weirdo.”

-Hades couldn’t help but smile, seeing you spoke your mind, but he apologized for not coming over to you beforehand and being a… weirdo, and watching you from afar.

-You invited him to join you for lunch, a picnic, willing to talk to him, as you wanted to get to know him before you made any big decisions about marrying him, which did make him smile softly.

-Hades could feel the heated stare of Giratina, the silent threat that the Pokemon was giving to him, if he were to ever hurt you or try anything funny. Giratina knows all and even Hades wouldn’t be safe from his wrath.

[just-antithings]

I love when antis go after Greek Mythology, specifically Hades and Persephone, by saying "STOP STANNING A CREEP WHO PREYED ON HIS NIECE!" as if Aphrodite didn't constantly fuck her great-nephew while married to his brother.

For context: Aphrodite was born from the severed testicles of Ouranos, the embodiment of the sky; Ouranos was also Zeus and Hera's grandfather; Zeus and Hera would later sire Ares and Hephaestus; Zeus married Aphrodite off to Hephaestus because he felt threatened by her power, and Aphrodite doesn't like Hephaestus because he's not conventionally attractive, so she cheats on him with Ares.

So yeah, Ares is being fucked by his great-aunt who's also married to his brother.

Also: Gaia married her own son; countless Greek Deities married or slept with their siblings or cousins; Zeus has slept with/raped his own descendants before; Heracles was in a sexual relationship with his nephew Iolaus... the list goes on. Hell, in one myth, Persephone herself expresses an attraction to Adonis, whom she raised as a son since he was a baby and even fights with Aphrodite (who also knew him since he was a baby btw) over who gets to keep him! Funny how I never see antis whining about that guess it's okay when women do it!

I'm not saying it's "wrong" to be squicked by Hades and Persephone or that there aren't issues with the way modern writers treat their story (Demeter I'm so sorry, sweetie, you deserve so much better), but acting like they're uniquely bad for the incest/generational gap/power imbalance thing is just utterly laughable for me.

Especially seeing as power imbalances especially were sadly all over the place with the Greek Gods, because they were... well, y'know, gods.

Yeah antis in greek mythology based fandoms are wild

[7-takes]

hadestown hadestown hadestown omg omg omg (i'll mention when there will be spoilers - very much recommend seeing it) went to see this for my bday (my bday was yesterday but whatever) and ive never really been into musical theatre but WOW do i see why people like it now

the set design, costumes, story but most of all the MUSIC GODDAMN was so fucking good, the singing was amazing (madeline charlemange - played eurydice - her voice was so amazing, the vibrato was on point and her growls slayed, they were all amazing tho) a lot of the songs were jazz inspired but one was wild west themed and some of them had really cool extended techniques (especially some funky shit on the violin, it was so cool) and one of the songs had a call and response but the response kept getting longer (ritornello?) i love that one (why we build the wall)

SPOLIERS AHEAD DONT READ ANYMORE IF YOU DONT WANT SPOILERS (go watch it its amazing) ok so hades was the embodiment of capitalism and persephone communism (hear me out) hades was forcing these people to work (mining, building the wall - culminates in that song i mentioned) and later on theres a workers revolution when orpheus convinces them the world doesnt have to be like that, kinda like russia in 1917 and whats gonna happen soon in the uk (i feel like at one point orpheus was adressing the audience when he was talking about this) they talk about building a wall to keep them free (keeping out the poverty) but in reality how does a wall keep you free?? it doesnt, it was hades that brainwashed them to think that and they are still under the shackles of capitalism (or something) until orpheus shows them the light and starts the workers revolution

i could probably ramble about this for hours but i'll spare you, if anyone read this far you slay hope you have / had an amazing day and thank you for reading my rambles, i hope they were coherent

tube post coming soon (tomorrow if i remember)

catch ya later <3

[justmenoworries]

I think not enough people in the Greek Mythology Fandom™️ talk about the fact that Athena was kind of a Pick Me and Ares was kind of a feminist, actually.

Modern depictions of the two really like to make Ares into a dumb brute who hates all women because obviously God of War = Mysoginist Macho and Athena is a Feminist Icon because she is a woman and also a War God.

When, according to mythology Athena:

Was the biggest fucking Daddy's Girl and took her father Zeus' side in damn near everything. Y'know, the god who is notorious for assaulting women, both divine and mortal, knocking them up and then doing nothing when his jealous wife comes after them.

Said in The Euminides that her emerging from Zeus' forehead means she has no mother and so she has no love for women and will always rule in favor of men

Was practically the mascot goddess of Athens, one of the most anti-women cities to ever exist, even by ancient Greece standard

Did nothing when Persephone was kidnapped by Hades despite being present

while Ares meanwhile

Was the father and patron of the Amazons, a whole culture of badass warrior women

Once went on trial because he brutally murdered a son of Poseidon for sexually assaulting his daughter Alcippe (Ares won that trial, by the way)

Is literally the only male god in the entire pantheon who has never sexually assaulted a woman, all of his relationships were consensual (the bar is in Tartarus here, but nonetheless)

Has Gynaecothoenas, which translates to "the god feasted on by women", among his many epithets, from the time the women of Tegea (Arcadia) took up arms against and defeated a Spartan invasion, then organized an entire feast in honor of Ares which only women were allowed to partake in.

That's not to say Ares doesn't have negative qualities and that Athena doesn't have positive ones. I just find it really interesting the assumptions Greek Mythology Fandom™️ tends to make about these two just from knowing what their basic deal is.

Like, obviously Athena must be a feminist, since she's a badass female warrior and has a high position in a society as notoriously patriarchal as the Greek pantheon.

And surely Ares, the god embodying the brutality of war, must be dripping toxic masculinity, hate women and endorse violence against them.

Right?

[chai-en-kaadhale]

things that happened in the sad book apocalypse novel that I Am Not Over

----> copy pasted from my silly little notes app

- Kdj's second mother is persephone, his father is hades

- Kdj's brother is a literal monkey. I mean like 3 literal monkeys. And he is also a monkey. A magical one. Hes also a squid

- Also his first mother covered up his first homicide, which was his first father. Biologically at least

- The constellations become idols

- Biyoo's mentor as Shin Yoosung of the 41st round was Yjh, her soul was taken by Kdj and stuffed in an egg for Bihyung to hatch, so excluding whoever her bio parents were, Biyoo had a grand total of 3 dads

- To reiterate, he had a daughter with a weird troll who became the king of weird trolls. she is also a fluffy ball with a horn.

- Secretive Plotter is the embodiment of Washing Machine Heart

- Yjh becomes a girl for a bit

- Hsy is a boy when we meet her

- Kdj becomes an actual demon king

(ah yes the three genders; girl, boy and demon king)

- yjh kdj and hsy scam anna croft out of 3 million coins

- hmg's child gets possessed by a goetic demon

- kdj gets a scenario where he'll die if he doesn't socialize

- ysa slams yjh's head into a wall

- The 4th wall eats kdj's mother (as in the wanderer king)

- lhs turns into a sword and starts sobbing

- lhs gets kidnapped by the wizard of oz (in a sense)

- Surya (as in the god of the fucking sun) has a train.

- knw becomes an EVA like shinji's mom. or an EVA pilot? idk i never got that bit

- the way hmg got the child. iykyk ;)

- Buddha himself shoves the main characters into a period drama - Actaully no the entire Kaixenix arc wtf was that

- "[Constellation 'Demon Kind of Salvation'] is throwing a tantrum at constellation 'Secretive Plotter']"

- kdj beating the shit out of paul (king shit)

- jhy called kdj ugly to his face upon barely having spoken to him

- yjh fought a dog (we love breaking the sky sword master though)

- abfd made hsy move kdj so that instead of an attack hitting his <black flame dragon> it literally killed him

- "Im sure hsy and kdj are doing something very important and hard for us and thats why they couldn't stay" Cut to hsy and kdj living it up in a ferrari

- 999 yjh turns into a dumpling

- kdj turns into a dumpling

- ljh misunterstanding kdj and yjh

- "maybe kdj likes getting kidnapped"

- The pocketwatch being left on the bed after yjh leaves :(((

- 1863 hsy plagerising her way into seeing the conclusion and then becoming tls123

- kdj not liking tomatoes

- hsy's first hint of suspicion that something was up with 49%kdj being that he liked tomatoes

- 999knw,ljh, and uriel and 1863 yjh taking od to parent-teacher conferences

- hades when persephone was leaving: "honeyy do you HAVEE to leave :'ccc"

- "Terrorist identified as supreme king yoo junghyeok, 33, unemployed"

- "WEIRD SPACECRAFT SEEN CRASHING INTO EARTH WITH... TERRORIST YJH INSIDE OF IT?????"

- hsy becoming a professor who teaches stuff about webnovels

- 999yjh teaching kdj how to properly make murim dumplings

- ysa becomes tripitaka and a prospective buddha part 2

- kimcom fights the sun and also the ocean

- "yjh. where is kdj?"

- "This man. Arrest him."

- tmyfiictrwiegtmya?

- yjh eats dirt

- yjh gets revenge on dokja for making him eat the dirt

- The Secretive Plotter has been having a "domiti why not me" moment for the entire round so far so he sends kdj to kill him in the 1863rd round in such a way that yjh doesn't regress ever again but with the ulterior motive of ensuring that 1863!yjh doesn't become him in the present thereby erasing his existence (rip)

Except that just results in kdj creating both him and the current yjh, neither of which would have happened if he didnt sent kdj out in the first place thus resulting in all of his problems.

- Secretive Plotter also sent out hsy#2 to his round and she ended up becoming one of the things that caused the entire story to happen to begin with. Thus resulting in both his existence and all his problems by extension.

- tl;dr, secretive plotter fucked up his plotting so bad that it literally became the cause of all of his problems. and everyone else's problems by extension bc protagonist.

- The fact that everything is in a time loop

- The multiverse and also the fact that jaehwan is in it too

- kdj was in the subway for over 21,763 years mind if i cry

- sooyoung and junghyeok share the love language of chokehold

- hsy @ dokkaebi king: "yeahh so about the apocalypse. could you like,, not..?" or smthng like that

- everything is happening at the same time. bro. bro.

- anna croft was born in las vegas. i did not know you could be born in las vegas. i did not know that ppl actually gave birth in las vegas bc the first thing their baby would probably smell would be cigarette smoke and it would probably develop epilepsy or sumn from all the lights

- that one scene where jhw shoots up with her angel wings, hsy rides a dragon up into the sky, and yjh walks on air or something like that shit was cold

- the potential of a golden eye edit with yjh bc of his transcender eye AND IT SHOULD HAPPEN ALREADY

- kdj just having been a constellation this whole time and an incarnation the whole time as well. he kinda had the pain from both sides :(((

- hsy casually being rich asf pre apocalypse AND A NEPO BABY TOO

- the entire book was just a bunch of people ((well mostly just the two)) faced with a trolly problem on a multi-global scale, AND THEY STILL chose the one guy because he meant that damn much to them.

- Yjh misunderstanding Sangja and going, "You have a woman you l o v e" and shitittt

- That scene where yjh met btsss and just immediately ran away

- kyrgios and ngmy being exes. bro wanted a giant woman (allll you wanna do. is see me turn intooooo) and got the giantest. other bro w wanted a short king and got the shortest. they took height difference to the extreme.

- ljh calling ngmy "Grand-Master" LIKE GRANDMA BC SHE WAS YJH'S MASTER AWWDUSHDEHA

- Yoo Hosung (Reincarnator Island Fable-Control Guy) being ljh's "Great-Grand-Master" LIKE GREAT-GRANDPA BC HE TAUGHT NGMY WHO TAUGHT YJH (and also kyrgios)

- The pebble story being actually relevant ('The stone and I')

- Uriel. Archangel Uriel is a fucking nerd. Kdj is her little meow-meow

- Metatron and Agares just scheming in the great war of saints and demons like little schemers

[c0rpseductor]

yknow i was thinking about lore olympus again (UH OH!!) and a thought that struck me is that very few gods' domains in the comic are treated as ontological realities. hopefully that makes some sense, but i thought of it because like.

idk, let's take thanatos as a random example. thanatos is still the god of death (distinct from hades as thanatos is like, the actual avatar of death rather than the ruler of death, there are overlaps between the domains of gods in actual mythologies, etc etc), but he doesn't EMBODY death, he's just like....delivering death is kind of his day job. he has wings, but they're just there because he's a god.

hades i think is actually another example of this. he's decidedly cthonic - that feels like an ontological truth and a part of his being, because smythe wanted to contrast this with persephone - but he is not death. he just does death as a living. it's a day at the office. he embodies it more than thanatos, but not by a whole hell of a lot.

all of the gods still have their domains, but for most of them their domains feel like choices or occupations rather than divine domains as they were in the original stories. which makes sense as an adaptational choice given the initial genre of lore olympus is comedy-romance and then later on soap opera/drama. the supernatural stuff is not nearly so important until the third chunk of the comic.

i bring this up not because i think it's a poor writing choice (although i can't say i really stand by it) but because it stands in stark contrast to persephone's situation. being goddess of spring is very much an Ontological Truth for her. she sprouts flowers from her hair and body, things grow around her, plants thrive in her mere presence, so on and so forth. all of this is not only important because she's a goddess of spring but a Fertility Goddess, which in lore olympus is itself not a category designed to describe how people worship goddesses or to describe what sorts of patterns their stories follow but an ontological property of a goddess - a real, tangible thing that grants her special power but also imposes special danger on her, because that power is traditionally something that can only be used by an exploitative man.

the fact that smythe has invented for her narrative a special class of woman whose greatest power is Fertility, a power that is usually stolen by violence and used by men, and which is practically the sole divine domain that assumes any ontological truth in her narrative, says some...interesting things about how she perceives womanhood, i think.

[sapphire-weapon]

Clive, hush. Not only is it appropriate to give you the title of Mythos, but it’s one that you should’ve reclaimed and taken for yourself. In fact, I don’t know why Ultima even gave you that title. It’s kind of like naming a kid “Roger Stabbington” and then being surprised when he says “ok” and stabs people.

FFXVI had a lot of storytelling problems, but one of the issues that stands out the most is the refusal to explain the whole Mythos/Logos thing. There’s ATL entries about them, sure, but they’re kind of the most barebones, reductive explanations as to why those particular words/titles were chosen for Clive.

It’s time for me to put my “I was raised in an obnoxiously Greek family” hat back on once again and -- just as I did with the Hades II trailer -- break down all of the dumb ancient Greek nonsense being thrown at us in a video game.

“Mythos” isn’t actually a word that’s meant to be used as a title. The word “mythos” in and of itself refers to one of two things, depending on how it’s being used:

1. the compilation of folklore around a particular subject. For example, there’s the very famous myth of Hades and Persephone’s marriage, but there’s a whole mythos around the explanation of why seasons exist, and Demeter’s mourning of the loss of her daughter is only part of that mythos.

2. the plot of an ancient Greek tragedy -- just in general. The mythos of the story should have some sort of reversal (either the story starts off with the protagonist in a good place and ends with them in a bad one, or vice versa), and the intention should be to evoke fear or pity from the audience. Aristotle believed that the most tragic of stories were those involving violence between friends and/or family (and who does that sound like?) -- and, the worse the tragedy, the stronger the mythos.

So, to use the word “mythos” as a title implies that the person holding this title carries with them the legends and stories born from the hearts of mankind -- the “reason” behind mankind’s existence -- and then, through great tragedy, will become a legend in and of themselves.

Yeah, that kinda sounds like Clive, doesn’t it?

Ultima’s a fuckin idiot moron for naming him that and then expecting him to become anything else.

Another fun fact about the word “mythos” and how it relates to Greek tragedies, though:

Greek tragedies were historically performed in worship of Dionysus, who was the god of pleasure and indulgence. So, for Clive to be the human embodiment of Mythos, that means that his very existence serves the purpose of exalting carnal pleasure.

Clive Rosfield is actually, literally just personified sex appeal. He, himself is not a walking libido, per se -- but he’s meant to inspire that in everyone around him.

And he kind of does, considering how many characters in-game want to polish his knob.

Anyway. We’re getting off track I WANT HIM TO GIVE ME SADDLE SORES THAT LAST AT LEAST THREE DAYS

The word “logos” is also not meant to be a title -- and, to be completely honest, I don’t feel like it works the way that the devs wanted it to work. Like, it’s fine. It’s serviceable. But it doesn’t exactly fit what Clive becomes the way that Mythos does.

A more modern interpretation of what the word “logos” means would probably be The Discourse(TM). Logos is the use of logic and reason to explain the nature of the world and mankind’s role in it. Aristotle basically thought of logos as being the thing that sets humans apart from animals -- it’s our sense of self and our ability to think objectively enough to create an actual moral compass.

So, basically, by calling Clive “Logos” Ultima’s just saying he’s attained free will and learned to think rationally on his own -- but that’s also a very basic bitch way of thinking about logos as a concept.

And it’s not as clean of a fit for him as Mythos is, considering that it wasn’t exactly Clive’s sense of self that got him to where he was (he spends like 85% of the game wondering what his purpose is), nor did his attainment of power have anything to do with rational, logical thinking. In fact, the game even goes out of its way to say that Clive is being held up by the faith of those who believe in him, which, I mean --

sure, if you also take into account the whole “Jesus Christ is thought of as being logos incarnate” thing, but like. Then that pulls away from the whole ancient Greek philosophy thing happening and goes into a different metaphor entirely, and everything just gets really muddy.

There are some scholars who believe that the concepts of mythos and logos aren’t mutually exclusive -- and, in fact, that logos actually grew out of mythos. The idea was that people started looking at the myths that they were using and started to apply logic and reason to them in order to get a more nuanced view of the world. But like...

In XVI, mankind started with rational thought when they realized that God (the God that they knew existed and were not just making up as myths) had abandoned them, and then they joined together as a community to create their own image for the world through their use of mythos.

So, I really think the game got it backwards. Clive wasn’t Mythos who became Logos. He was Logos who became Mythos.

But like. Gold star for trying.

I’M JUST SAYING THAT CLIVE HAVING THE TITLE OF “MYTHOS” IS REALLY FUCKING HOT AND EVERY TIME SOMEONE CALLS HIM THAT MY PULSE QUICKENS BECAUSE HE IS LITERALLY SHOULDERING THE HOPES AND DREAMS OF MANKIND AS THE EMBODIMENT OF THE POWER OF HUMAN CREATIVITY IN SERVICE TO A SEX RITUAL

[mrcompass]

The Antichrists of Beyblade (Part 1): Damian the Deceiver

Damian's character shares many similarities with the concept of the Antichrist found in the Bible as well as popular culture. This will provide another perspective on the character in relation to previous analyses I have made on him, as well as on other characters. The Antichrist is a concept that has been applied to many characters, but it is generally tied to the idea of an entity who deceives humanity in order to attain and usurp a position he doesn't deserve or wasn't meant for him. Damian embodies that concept particularly well.

The name Damian means to subdue or dominate, which is what he attempts to do during Metal Masters as he asserts his superiority over his opponents. It is also reminiscent of the purpose of the Antichrist, to dominate the minds of humans and subdue the world. Damian is also tied to Demeter, goddess of agriculture, whose daughter Persephone became the queen of Hell. Damian, unlike his team members, is more tied to Hell, and it is more difficult for him to escape this reality, the realm of Hades Inc. Finally, the name "Damian" sounds similar to the word "demon" in English, which is why it was apparently chosen as the name of one of the most famous fictional Antichrist, Damien Thorn.

Both are tied to Hell, possess a hellhound (Kerbecs for Damian), live with wealthy people (the Thorns and Ziggurat), and abuse their powers by harming others. Additionally, there is the chorus that plays each time they use their special abilities. Finally, the name "Damian" is also tied to the patron saint of doctors, Saint Damian, who shares this patronage with his colleague (and sometimes brother), Saint Cosmas. They used to heal people without asking for anything in return, which is the opposite of what Ziggurat does: he always tries to gain something from someone, and the results of his healing are somewhat dubious. What is interesting is that "Cosmas" (which means cosmos, synonymous with universe) can be tied to Gingka, who has (in the dub) Cosmic Pegasus and whose name itself means galaxy (something that is part of the cosmos). This illustrates Damian and Gingka's duality and the ties they have to each other as opposite figures.

Damian's design is very atypical compared to most characters; it looks closer to what a Burst character would wear. @mach-speed-spinh-speed already made a compelling post about Damian's design, which gave me ideas, here , I will not describe everything about his design, so I recommend you check the post.

Damian's cap and jumper suit are a little reminiscent of Ryuga's own design, who also employs black and white as dominant colors. Damian also wears armor, which makes him appear bigger than he actually is and more threatening. In a way, this design is made to lure us into thinking that Damian is similar to Ryuga in the sense that he is the main antagonist and the main threat, but in the anime, he is not. The color choice is interesting because the exterior is white and gold, almost heroic in a way; it seems like Damian tries to appear as a sort of hero or rather to eclipse the hero of the story by appearing as the incarnation of the concept of the chosen one. Indeed, his attire makes him stand out from the rest; he is not like anybody else; he is special. Or rather, that's what the writer wants us to think. His hair is quite peculiar; they look similar to Ziggurat's in terms of style. They look like horns or ears of dogs (fittingly, Damian has three pairs of spikes usually like Kerbecs has three heads, so three pairs of ears).

The Antichrist receives power from the devil and manages to miraculously heal itself. Damian received power from Ziggurat, who represents the devil, and he managed to endure many special moves throughout his fights (such as Black Excalibur, most of Kyoya’s arsenal, etc.). Everyone was surprised and, in a way, mesmerized by his power, even Gingka himself was shocked until they were told that it was the arrangement system. Furthermore, Damian managed to win against Julian, who called himself an emperor, the highest-ranking title of a monarch in Europe. And the Antichrist is described as a beast with crown, symbols signifying its power and authority. Damian's victory against Julian in a way establishes him as a threat but symbolically his authority and fake superiority over all bladers.

Finally, the Antichrist desribed as a beast in the Book of Revelation comes from the seas, and the first appearance at Hades Gate and Kerbecs (who is also a multiheaded beast) is at the same time the stadium is filled with the Cetus’s water, giving an impression of the gate rising from the sea. In the gates, a winged Cerberus is explicitly shown during its first appearance. Wings are often tied with Gingka's Pegasus in the series. However, this surprising association reflects an appropriation by Kerbecs of something that doesn't belong to him, almost like he is trying to usurp Pegasus. And that's what Damian is trying to do; by winning the match against Gingka, he would have officially become the strongest blader in the world, but he wouldn't have earned that position because of the fact he relied on the arrangement. Ryo and Hikaru also strongly insisted on the necessity for Gingka to win because they needed a true blader to show the world what beyblading means. Damian shouldn't have succeeded at any cost because it could have created a precedent which would have irrevocably harmed the world of Beyblade. Also, Damian, like the beast described in the Book of Revelation, insults people. It's not blasphemy, but he called everyone weak, even people as hardworking as Kyoya and Julian.

Despite his seemingly godly power, Damian is chained to Ziggurat and to a life he didn't choose. The Antichrist is merely a pawn to the devil to enact his plans; it cannot change nor deny its destined path. However, the entity finding another path is a theme that was explored in other works of fiction, such as the Good Omens series, in which Adam Young, the Antichrist of the series, is swapped with another baby and ends up living in an English village instead of inheriting a life of luxury as the son of a wealthy American diplomat (the name Damian was also put forward for him).

He ends up in a family with loving parents who put limits on his behavior; he has a bunch of friends whom he plays games within the woods. What is important is that Adam has had a fulfilling childhood with actual parenting, and in the end, he rejects his father (the Devil) arguing that Satan was never there for him, unlike his human father, and that he is obviously only concerned with using his power. The reason it ties with Damian is that he was (probably) raised by Ziggurat, who is by all accounts a sociopath, who hates children and, most of all, encouraged Damian's sadistic nature, calling the "results" against Excalibur "outstanding." Also, Damian is very pale, more than other characters, and he is only rivaled by Rago, who seemingly spent a significant part of his life in a closed room. He doesn't know what dirt is; in the Japanese dub, when dirty, he said: "What is this?". Damian lived in a very controlled environment, in total opposition to Gingka, whose father faked his death to send him on a journey. Damian's situation is best symbolized by Kerbecs's beast, which only appears when the gate of Hades appears or inside of it (except once, but very briefly in episode 94). He probably never really had a childhood and never experienced the outside world. He also doesn't seem to know what the concept of fun is and is more concerned with competing in his job, arguing that he is destined and chosen to do beyblade, like the Antichrist is destined to bring the world to its end. Damian can't escape Ziggurat or that path that was chosen for him because he obviously didn't have a choice and didn't question the doctor's motives. Damian doesn't have friends like Julian to support him and help him find a better path.

In a recent post, I put forward the possibility that Damian's flashback/backstory happened more recently than it seems, which would also mean he is younger than many think. I still believe in this since Ziggurat said he started the conception of the arrangement system after the end of Battle Bladers, Damian's physical changes can all be explained by the arrangement, he didn't grow taller... The reason I'm bringing this up is that even if true or false, this is another deception; we don't really know how old he is, and I genuinely think the writer made it unclear. Damian looks bigger and more threatening than he actually is, and even though he hurts people physically and mentally in the most horrendous ways, he is Ziggurat's victim as well as his creation; his behavior is the result of the arrangement but also of his education. In a way Damian acts a lot like the doctor. They both like to feel superior to others, they use others as test subjects for their inventions/power, they deny reality in equal measures, they are sadistic and manipulative... Damian is a child who doesn't know any better and who has a warped sense of reality because Ziggurat really believes in all the things he says about the arrangement. Which further deceives Damian and drives him further from the truth that he can't understand anymore. He deceives others into thinking he is strong, big, and powerful, but he also deceives himself. Ironically, he told Julian and Kyoya to stop their "tough guy act," but he is the one doing that.

During his final in episode 100, Kyoya managed to break the hell dimension before damaging the Hell/Hades fusion of Kerbecs and leaving the room full of cracks. This represents how this battle, more than the one with Gingka, impacted and literally shattered Damian's worldview, or rather the one that was forced upon him by Ziggurat. He escaped the fate of sinking to the abyss with the demoniac doctor and his city, but in a way, he is still punished for his actions. He who liked putting others in despair is driven to despair as he lost everything of value to him; he called people weak, he will become weak and powerless without the arrangement, he thought of being the chosen one, he will completely disappear, not even mentioned by anyone. This is Damian's tragedy; his bey is the only one whose constellation doesn't exist anymore; he doesn't shine like the others. Like Cerberus, the only world in which he belongs is Hades, but it was destroyed. Being freed could have been an opportunity for his character to build his own identity, but he wasn't given his chance.

Like the Antichrist, Damian seeks to subdue others with illusory through deception, but in the end, he was the one who was the most deceived.

[godsofhumanity]

I meant hera and demeter sisterhood hcs loooool

oooohhh lmfaoo sorry haha, WHEW! i was worried someone read my hc and was like "yeah that's romantic".. ewww they are SISTERS in the sibling-sense.

so, Hera and Demeter are like two sides of the same coin to me.. Demeter physically looks like Rhea, but Hera has a lot of Rhea's personality.. so they kinda balance each other out. like, Rhea's whole character gets embodied between the two girls (im not talking about Hestia in this post haha).

anyways, this is important to me because, in my hc's, Rhea sticks around with Kronos for a REALLY long time before she finally puts her foot down.. and i mean, she goes through A LOT. similarly, Hera also sticks around with Zeus for a REALLY long time.. and unlike Rhea, Hera never gets to finally be free of her difficult husband.

now, naturally, i think Zeus and Kronos are on different levels, and there are reasons why i think it was necessary that Kronos x Rhea didn't last, but Zeus x Hera do, but i won't explore that here... my point is that i think Rhea has a hugeee heart, and was extremely forgiving (note: she's not a pushover, she doesn't love Kronos, but she forgives him for all the pain he causes her because she's just the bigger person)... and i think that's similar to Hera always opening her arms to Zeus every time he betrays her heart. Hera inherits Rhea's forgiving nature.

meanwhile, Demeter is wayyy more rigid. she doesn't stay on Olympus because she knows the absolute dogs many of the gods are on Olympus... and she hates the environment. she hates the debauchery, the competitiveness, the corruption. she saw it once, and she will never give Olympus another chance. that's why there's no question that Persephone will be raised away from Olympus... Demeter is unforgiving.

this is where the sisters balance each other out. Hera teaches Demeter to open her heart a little more, Demeter teaches Hera to stand up for herself and fight harder. in this way, both learn the right time to wage war and the right time to end it.

my classic example is the Persephone and Hades myth. we all know how pissed off Demeter was when she learnt of Hades and Zeus' secret arrangement.. in my version of events, after Persephone spends time in the Underworld and learns of a future where she could be a great goddess on her own, not under the shadow of Demeter, she decides to seize that opportunity (she does not love Hades at that time, she just has ambitions and wants to make the most of her godhood), however, when she learns that Demeter's gonna starve the world to death, she decides that she should go home because she doesn't want everyone else to suffer. in Olympus, Zeus, Demeter and Hades are all arguing about what should happen to Persephone, and Hera is the one who is like, "hey let's listen to what Persephone wants"... and by doing that, i think Hera helps Demeter to forgive not Hades, but Persephone.. she helps Demeter let go of her daughter and understand that Persephone isn't leaving her and isn't betraying her.. she kinda opens Demeter's heart up a little.. idk if i explained that properly.

anyways, my point is that Demeter and Hera help each other develop.

i imagine Demeter to be Hera's closest confidant in all the affairs that go down in Olympus. i like the idea of Demeter being the one who encourages Hera to put her foot down to Zeus, and i like the idea of Demeter being on Hera's side for all of those mini-(failed)-rebellions that we see Hera lead against Zeus in the myths. to be clear, i don't think Demeter encourages Hera to abuse Zeus' mistresses-- that's Hera's own thing. but i do think Demeter helps Hera to be a little tougher.

i think Hera spends the most time in Demeter's company, like on her farm... i think both women appreciate being away from the buzz of Olympus... i imagine that in their youth, when the second generation of titans and the Olympians were on good terms (i.e., before the punishment of Prometheus), Demeter and Hera would have gotten away from the busyness of Olympus by hiding out on Asteria's island (which was forbidden to all gods/men), and they would spend their time with the other girls; Hesione (Prometheus' wife), Metis (this would have been before her death), Asteria, Styx, Eos, Selene, etc., dancing, frolicking in the fields, making flower crowns, sparring, etc.

and then after the titans left Olympus when relationships broke down, Hera and Demeter were kind of the only ones left... that's how they started hanging around Demeter's farm instead of Asteria's island.

anyways. they are super tight and are essentially each other's best friend <33

[dryades-angeli]

Saint Seiyas Persephones

My mother awakened my passion for Saint Seiya when she brought me the Playstation game. She actually always supports me when it comes to my passion for manga. Anyway, I loved this game like no other, because I was a big fan of Greek myths at the time. I especially found the stories between Hades and Persephone really exciting. That's why it wasn't surprising that I was also interested in Saint Seiya's Hades. Instead of Persephone, however, the mangaka put a woman named Pandora at his side. Even though she came from Germany, like me, I learned to hate her with passion. The fact that she let her family die, how she treated her subordinates (for example Rhadamanthys) and that her dog was named Adolf, left a very bitter taste in my mouth. So it was clear to me that Hades needed his wife. I wanted to embody Persephone in an RPG on Facebook. As I said. At that time there was no Persephone, but when I started looking for suitable pictures, I noticed that there already was a Persephone?....

And it was these two pictures. These were drawn by Marco Albiero. Because the images matched the anime very well, it was used by many fans who also missed a Persephone. Me too. However, the focus was more on the first picture. Probably because it looked prettier?... I drew pictures of this character or edited pictures from the anime to look like this character. Marco Albiero's Persephone was also my Persephone for a long time.

And then “Saint Seiya Online” appeared and with it a Persephone. This game was created by a Chinese game maker called "Perfect World Games" and never made it to my country. Even though I wasn't actively RPGing at the time, I was never able to get used to this character. The armor looked a lot nicer than Albiero's, but the entire look of it reminded me of a female version from a Hades-possessed Shun.

Then “Saint Seiya Awakening” by ��YOUZU GAMES” was released. I think this Persephone is similar to Marcos Albiero's version. Her armor isn't great either, but at least it's better than its predecessors. I especially like her scythe and the play of colors between specter violet and the divine gold. Which is just an allusion to the fact that she travels back and forth between life and death. She also gets so-called skins, which is why there is always a little variety. And the drawing style is truly stunning. I will definitely still play the game. These three Persephones are not canon in the sense that the mangaka did not include them in his works. But they are a symbol of the gap that has never been closed.

[loose-and-goose]

Porque No Los Dos?

Musings on Persephone and Her Girlbossification for Classicstober2023

I think I first learned about the Homeric Hymn to Demeter in elementary school, but even then, it was all about Persephone and Hades.

This was a fourth or fifth grade reader, so the story naturally had to be boiled down 'til the very marrow was sucked from its bones, but even then, I can't remember any mention of Demeter. Despite the myth bearing her name and largely being about her, Demeter was already removed from the narrative back in the early 2000s.

When I consider this, I feel that I can't genuinely pin the blame on current writers. After all, the Renaissance artists were more obsessed with depicting the “rape” of Persephone than the grief of her mother, so this current situation has been long in the making. But I do think that I am not mistaken to couple her subsequent transformation into a modern feminist icon with my contemporaries.

Apparently, I first took issue with this back in 2018. When I look through the archives of my blog, I see some cute HadesxPersephone art, modernizations, etc, and according to my tags I really love them. But then in 2018, I encountered a post saying:

“Hey, you know the original myth of Persephone when she was still Core/Kora and instead of being kidnapped, she willingly went down into the Underworld and decided that she liked it there/wanted to do good there? I need a copy of it.”

This post was then reblogged with an added rebuttal, clarifying that this “original myth” does not exist. Since then, I've encountered at least three other posts with thousands of notes that either outright claim that “originally”, Persephone was not kidnapped, or that actually, there are “pre-patriarchal” versions of most Greek myths, which we are purposely kept from reading in order to maintain the status quo (patriarchy).

These claims are never supplemented with any classical sources, and they always, always, have thousands of notes.

I want to preface this by saying that I don't think there's anything wrong with modernizing or retelling these myths. That's how we keep them living, keep them relevant. I still enjoy a funny rendition of Hades and Persephone that characterizes Hades as the wife-guy of all time.

No, I think my issue is with the desire to concoct a revisionist history to justify it.

I guess the question is, “So what if Persephone was kidnapped?” Regardless of how she and Hades met, the outcome is the same: Hades turns out to be a good husband who loves and respects his wife.

What I'm getting at is this: why does acknowledging Persephone's background somehow make her less respectable? Why does she have to willingly go to the underworld? Why does she have to hate her mother and run away? Why do you need this version of her story to exist, when it simply doesn't?

Persephone is a young girl. It's in her name. She is the prototype, the stereotype, she is the stand in for every young girl of her time. She represents their realities, she represents what could happen to them in a moment's notice. She embodies a very real fear for girls and maybe even more so for (let's not forget the name of the hymn again) mothers.

What am I trying to say? Let me see if I can figure it out. I don't think I'm saying anything new. I just saw that today's theme was Persephone and when I think of Persephone, this is what I always think of.

She is a goddess in her own right. Beloved by her husband. Given power by her husband. I think she is what many a young girl in ancient times hoped to become someday, whenever the seemingly unavoidable happened: A woman who was valued as an equal in her home, even in a greater world where she was not.

I think we shouldn't have to change Persephone's truth in order to find value in her. And we shouldn't have to fabricate an alternate timeline where Greece was a matriarachal society and Persephone hit her mother with the, “No mom, I'm giving up on your dream.” before sashaying a way into the underworld to justify her value.

Write what you want to write. I can't stop you, won't stop you, don't want to stop you. But as Madeline Miller's new book is on its way, I can only hope that maybe someone, someone, will find it in themselves to acknowledge that Persephone and Hades' shitty start doesn't disqualify her from being meaningful. Inasmuch as there is power in saying “actually, Persephone only did what she wanted to do”, there is also power in saying, “Persephone didn't always get to choose, but her situation did not spell out her end. It got better. Spring will come again”.

[princesssarisa]

Character Ask: Persephone

I already did this some time ago in a joint ask with Hades, but I'll share my answers again, just for Persephone this time.

Favorite thing about them: Her status as a nature goddess who embodies the changing seasons makes her a fascinating character. Not only does she split her time between the upper world and the Underworld, but as a result she has a dual personality – the gentle, sunny goddess of spring, and the stern, feared queen of the dead – which makes her unique among the Greek deities.

Least favorite thing about them: The fact that in some versions of the story of Minthe (the nymph who became the first mint plant after her death), she brutally kills the poor nymph out of jealousy of Hades' affair with her. Fortunately, not all versions of the myth go this way – in another version, it's Demeter who kills Minthe for boasting that she's more beautiful than Persephone.

Three things I have in common with them:

*I have both a light side and a dark side.

*I'm close to my mother.

*I like pomegranates.

Three things I don't have in common with them:

*I'm not married.

*I've never been kidnapped.

*I'm not a goddess.

Favorite line:

Her account of her kidnapping from The Homeric Hymn to Demeter:

"We were playing and gathering sweet flowers in our hands, soft crocuses mingled with irises and hyacinths, and rose-blooms and lilies, marvellous to see, and the narcissus which the wide earth caused to grow yellow as a crocus. That I plucked in my joy; but the earth parted beneath, and there the strong lord, the Host of Many, sprang forth and in his golden chariot he bore me away, all unwilling, beneath the earth: then I cried with a shrill cry. All this is true, sore though it grieves me to tell the tale."

brOTP: Her mother Demeter (in traditional versions of the myth where they have a warm, loving bond, not the versions where Demeter is controlling and Persephone is glad to escape from her), and the nymphs with whom she plays and picks flowers just before Hades kidnaps her.

OTP: Hades, in the versions of the myth where their marriage is ultimately happy.

nOTP: Her father Zeus. Brother/sister incest and uncle/niece or aunt/nephew incest might be normal for Greek gods and goddesses, but not parental incest!

Random headcanon: This isn't a headcanon so much as "which of the different versions of her myth I like best." I prefer the Homeric Hymn to Demeter's claim that Persephone spends just four months each year with Hades, and eight months with Demeter, to Ovid's claim that she spends six months with each. In versions where she's happily married to Hades, then I can accept the equal time split, but if we take the traditional view that she was kidnapped and married against her will, then I prefer for her to spend most of the year on earth and only a small amount of time in the Underworld. Besides, in my experience at least (though I know climates vary), autumn is a pleasant time, with comfortable weather and with so many fruits and vegetables at their best. It makes more sense to me that Persephone should still be with Demeter then.

Unpopular opinion: I'm open to different interpretations of her story. There's no such thing as "one true meaning" of any myth. I can accept versions where Hades is sympathetic, where Persephone falls truly in love with him (whether she starts out as his prisoner but then is slowly drawn to to him, a la Beauty and the Beast, or whether she goes with him willingly from the start), where she comes into her own power as his queen, and where she willingly eats the pomegranate seeds, knowing full well that they'll bind her to Hades, because she wants to stay. I see the appeal of taking Persephone's traditional story of helpless victimhood and making it empowering instead – which is valid, because she's always portrayed as a powerful queen in the myths of the Underworld set after her marriage. I see the appeal of not demonizing Hades either, and of telling a romantic love story rather than a story of a miserable forced marriage. But I also see the value of versions where Hades is the villain, where Persephone is brutally kidnapped and just as unhappy in the Underworld as Demeter is on earth without her daughter, where she's either forced to eat the pomegranate seeds or naïvely eats them without knowing what the result will be, and where the ending is bittersweet, as she divides each year between happy months with her mother and sad months in the Underworld. It is valid to read the myth as an allegory for the pain of a mother and daughter separated by the daughter's loveless arranged marriage, and/or for a young girl's death and her mother's grief. Myths can be retold in many ways, with many possible meanings. I'm open to them all.

Song I associate with them: None in particular.

Favorite picture of them:

This ancient statue:

Gian Lorenzo Bernini's famous statue of her abduction:

Dante Gabriel Rosetti's 1824 painting:

Frederic Leighton's painting The Return of Persephone, 1891:

From Disney's Silly Symphony The Goddess of Spring, 1934 (her movements are sometimes laughable, but her character design itself is pretty):

And from D'Aulaures' Book of Greek Myths:

[cupids-chronicles]

Hades X Persephone Saga: A Touch of Ruin #2

Author: Scarlett St. Clair

Genre: Romance, Fantasy, Mythology

My Rating: ⭐⭐/5.

Spice: 🌶🌶🌶

Goodreads rating: 3.8/5

Pages: ‎‎448

Published: 22 April 2020

A Touch of ruin Review

Note: This book is intended for mature audiences over the age of 18 due to explicit content (steamy chapters).

Sequels. They're a tricky business, aren’t they? To quote an entirely different universe: with great power comes great responsibility. After finishing the first book one would assume that the sequel would carry the same electricity. Spoiler alert: it doesn’t.

If you ever imagined the powerful Queen of the Underworld, Persephone, being chased by paparazzi in high heels and a toxic taste in relationships, then "A Touch of Ruin" is just the novel for you. At 448 pages, Scarlett St. Clair presents us with the much-awaited sequel to "A Touch of Darkness", and I’ll be frank: I have some feelings.

To start with the positive, Scarlett St. Clair's writing is, as always, engrossing. Whether you love or hate the story, you can't deny that she has a way with words that just pulls you in. I was captivated, even as I rolled my eyes. My favourite line, “Create the life you want, Persephone, and stop listening to everyone else,” echoes throughout the book as Persephone struggles with external and internal pressures.

However, it seems like our Protagonist, Persephone took a detour through Teen Angst Town and stayed there. Throughout the novel, her behavior is erratic, impulsive, and well, very human. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but for someone who's on the way to becoming the Queen of the Underworld, one would hope for a bit more maturity.

Hades, on the other hand, while alluring with his mysterious persona in the first novel, now seems more like a puzzled lover than the powerful god of the dead. Their relationship seems to rely more on makeup sex than actual communication. And this tragic lack of communication results in some utterly avoidable drama.

The plot, if we can find it between the lustful gazes and angst-filled outbursts, seemed lost. There were several subplots that felt more like distractions than genuine additions to the story. This series had such potential to delve deep into Greek mythology, but instead, it often felt like it was skimming the surface, using familiar names without embodying the weight they carry.

However, not everything is a miss in this book. The secondary characters shine bright, providing some much-needed humor and depth. Hermes, with his sass, was a much-needed palette cleanser, and Apollo, once you warm up to him, offers layers that make you question your initial judgments. It's these characters, alongside the hints of a more enticing plot for the upcoming book, that will likely have me (somewhat masochistically) coming back for more.

In conclusion, while "A Touch of Ruin" does justice to its title with the chaos it presents, it does remind readers of the pitfalls of love, the weight of insecurity, and the importance of, well, good communication.

If you're here for the drama, angst, and a sprinkling of Greek gods in modern settings, dive in. Just maybe keep a stress ball handy. And for those looking for a deep dive into Greek mythology, perhaps look elsewhere, or at least manage your expectations. For now, I'll be waiting to see if Persephone finds her way in the next installment or if we'll be plunged further into ruin.

P.S. Scarlett, if you ever wanted to write this series in Hermes' POV let me know because I am HERE for it. Maybe some of the humor and sass will bring some light into the dark (pun intended) story that you've woven.

Please note that this book is part of a series and can not be read as a stand alone. Lucky for you this can be your little weekend binge as almost all the books in the series has already been released !

Wait a minute boys and girls, check out these trigger warnings first:

Kidnapping

Mental illness

Sexual Assault

Suicide (off page)

Death

Getting Drugged

Alcohol use

Torture

Prostitution

Romance Tropes, you ask ?

Miscommunication

Retelling

Marriage

Who do we meet in this book ?

Hades

Persephone (Perri)

What to read next:

Neon Gods (Dark Olympus) by Katee Robert.

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black.

Drag Me Up (Gods of Hunger) by R.M. Virtues.

Or just like read the next few books of this series.

[aikoiya]

Portrayal of Deities in Fanfics

I'm getting the impression that not a lot of people on this site actually know how to portray deities in fiction.

I've seen fans who interpret deities as not needing sleep, not needing food, not drinking alcohol, not understanding sickness, not having sex.

I was just reading a fic where it was stated that deities really only have an understanding of whatever falls under their domain &...

I may not be an expert on theology by any stretch of the imagination... but I know enough about Greek, Japanese, & Norse mythology to know that at least a few of these things aren't the case.

For one, Ganymede is the wine-waiter of the gods. And Hestia is known for cooking Ambrosia, the food of the gods. And the Æsir were known to hold great feasts in the halls of Asgard & drank like sailors. And I'm pretty damn sure that Susano-o was known for his love of embibements & Ukemochi is literally a goddess of food & so is Hestia for that matter. Persephone ate the seeds of a pomegranate to be tied to Hades. Hell, Dionysus was the god of wine & whenever he wasn't asleep, he was almost guaranteed to be effing wasted!

And Hypnos & Thanatos are often depicted as 2 sleeping youths. And during the Trojan War, Hypnos induced Zeus to sleep.

As for sex, Greek mythology is absolutely rife with stories of the gods of Olympus's sexual escapades. I mean, how else do you think so many demi-gods came about? A bunch of which belong to Zeus the fuckboy! Seriously, man, Zeus, the literal king of the gods in Greek myth, seems to be absolutely incapable of keeping it in his toga!

So, I have zero clue where the idea that pagan gods don't do these things comes from. I certainly don't know of any myths where a deity is portrayed as specifically not needing to do these things.

Also, the idea that gods only have knowledge of what falls under the umbrella of its patronage especially makes no sense.

Like, what do fans think they do all day? Do they believe that these dudes just have no lives?? Think about it, ya'll!

Let's take gods of war, for instance. There's not always gonna be a war taking place. So, when it isn't & these deities do nothing but their domain, then that makes it seem like they're basically just robots who go on standby until it's time to accomplish their directive.

Honestly, I hope that these ideas are just a means to drum up drama or bring in comedy.

I mean, don't get me wrong, it's funny. It's just very contradictory to all the mythology I know is all.

Like, I get the desire to want to show deities as being 'alien' & 'incomprehensible to mortal minds' & 'not working the same way that humans do,' but you have to remember that in a lot of ways, deities in myth are kind of like representations of culture. In certain ways, they even embody it. And one of the most integral parts of culture is food.

Just get creative.

Aikoiya's Writing Tips Masterlist

[spice-olympus]

Hold Me Like A Grudge

Pairing: Minthe/Eris

Words: 3000

Summary: Minthe rants to Eris about her relationship with Hades, and Eris offers to distract her.

Content Warnings: Discussion of dubious consent between Minthe and Hades (on both sides), rough sex, explicit femslash, Minthe's perspective on her relationship with Hades does not reflect the author's.

Rated: E (18+ Only, Please!) / Read It On AO3 Here!

God, I hate them.

Minthe sat by the riverside, staring at the water as it rushed by. Her own river was underground, and being on the surface had never felt quite right to her. The days were too bright, and the nights were too quiet. Down in the Underworld the city was bustling at all hours, lit by streetlights and distant stars.

However, thanks to Zeus and Persephone, Minthe was stuck here in the sunlight for the time being.

I hate them so much.

“Brooding all by yourself?”

Minthe turned to see Eris standing at the top of the slope behind her, a jagged silhouette against the summer sky.

“Unless you want to join me,” Minthe said with a grin.

She liked Eris. She liked that the other nymphs were nervous around her. Eris had a ‘zero fucks given’ energy that Minthe was looking to embody. As much as she tried to pretend otherwise, she currently gave way too many fucks.

Minthe ran a hand through her hair as Eris came and sat beside her, wings tucked around her shoulders in a chaotic mess of black feathers.

“Tell me about it,” Eris said. “I can feel your rage from the other side of the mountain.”

“I don’t even know where to start.”

“Anywhere.”

Minthe put her elbows on her knees and leaned forwards, staring down at the grass.

“I don’t even know what I’m doing anymore. Like, I was Hades’s assistant for seven years, and I don’t know if I was any good at it, or if he was just keeping me around for the sex. I bought into this whole idea that Thetis was selling me about ‘making it,’ but when Hades actually wanted to commit, I freaked out!” Minthe rolled her eyes. “I didn’t even want to be his wife, I don’t know if I wanted to be his secretary. I was just broke and scared and he helped, and… it fucking snowballed. And now I’m here and he doesn’t want me and I don’t have anything without him, and I’m like, Gaia, did I even have anything with him?” She fell backwards on the grass, staring up at the trees.

“Can I be honest?” Eris turned her neck to face Minthe, a little further than should be possible.

“Sure.”

“He sounds like a dick.”

“He was,” Minthe groaned. “He never gave me time off unless he was dragging me to some stupid event with his family. He asked me to rearrange his schedule on a whim whenever one of his brothers had an issue. He was a terrible boss and I fucking hated him and I miss him like crazy.” Pressing the heels of her palms into her eyes, Minthe sighed. “It would be so much better if I didn’t miss him.”

“Hook up with a nymph,” Eris suggested.

“Tried it,” Minthe said. “Not the same.”

“Not the right nymph, then.”

“It’s not that, it’s- ugh, you don’t want to hear this.”

“I really do, though.”

Even with her eyes closed, Minthe could hear Eris’s mischievous smile.

“It’s about the power. At first, Hades was always the one with the power: I mean, he was my boss. But then I realized he liked it when I pushed him, and that was… kind of addicting. It was like I could get back at him for his ridiculous demands, and he liked it. And when he wanted to, he could just hold me, you know? I couldn’t fight him if he didn’t let me, and I know that was probably not great, but no nymph can really give me that same… I don’t know.”

“You miss the risk.” Eris’s voice sounded a little different, like there was another voice behind the words, a faint echo.

“I guess. Is that fucked up?”

Minthe opened her eyes and wasn’t surprised to find Eris crouching beside her, yellow eyes wide. Eris was inspecting her like a bug, her nose inches from Minthe’s.

“Very,” Eris answered, in that same echoing voice. “Did you use safewords?”

“No.” Minthe could feel her heartbeat in her throat, a fluttering response to Eris’s attention. “If he didn’t like something, he just stopped me.”

“And you?”

“Me?”

“What if you wanted to stop?”

“It wasn’t like that.” Minthe glanced to the side, unable to keep eye contact with those curious slit pupils. “Hades was gentler with me. Mostly. He wouldn’t hurt me.”

“Did you want him to?”

Eris’s wings were spread wide as she leaned over Minthe on the riverbed, and her eyes seemed to block out the entire sky.

“Sometimes.”

“Do you want me to hurt you?”

“Maybe.” Minthe glanced down at the talons that Eris had dug into the grass to keep herself balanced. “I’ve never been able to stop fighting.”

“Good.” Eris smiled with a mouth full of sharp teeth. “I like fighting. But you have to be sure that you want it.”

The world had faded. There was only Minthe and Eris. Minthe’s body was tingling in anticipation.

“I want it.”

“Tell me no at any point and I’ll stop. But you can fight as much as you like without saying it, and I won’t stop. Is that what you want?”

“Yes.”

“Tell me one more time.”

“I said yes,” Minthe snapped, and twisted up.

Eris came to meet her, wings spread. Minthe captured her mouth, biting down on her bottom lip. Eris laughed against her and opened her lips to welcome Minthe’s kiss. Minthe closed her eyes and felt their mouths slide together, the edges of Eris’s sharp teeth and the quick darts of her tongue, almost challenging her to keep up.

Still absorbed in the kiss, Minthe wrapped her arms around Eris’s neck, dragging her fingertips across the goddess’s shaved head in the same way she would grab another lover’s hair. Eris purred, a feral sound back in her throat, and swung a leg over Minthe to pin her down. With a clawed hand, she pushed Minthe’s dress up and dragged her nails over the curve of her hip.

Minthe broke the kiss to gasp at the sting of the scratches, giving Eris the chance to get her sharp teeth on Minthe’s neck. There was no warning before she bit down, a sudden burst of pain that had Minthe tilting her head back for more.

Eris laughed in a cacophony of voices. “I thought you were going to fight,” she teased, but leaned down to bite another mark into Minthe’s collarbone, alternating between teeth and lips to bring dark colour blooming on Minthe’s skin.

Eris’s words lit a fire inside of Minthe that burned alongside her arousal: overpowering the instinct to lay down and submit in the presence of this golden-eyed predator. She kicked her legs up and wrapped them around one of Eris’s thighs, keeping Eris’s head pressed to her neck as she flipped them both over so that she was on top.

Cackling again, Eris spread her wings in the dirt, a vision of gold and scarlet skin, fangs glinting in the sun as she laughed. Minthe let her own nails grow into claws and used them to slash at the sleeves of Eris’s dress, weakening the fabric until she could rip it down, exposing Eris’s neck and collarbones.

“Come on,” Eris goaded her and Minthe hissed back, pinning down her shoulders and biting her in a reproduction of the marks Eris had left on her own neck. Once she realized Eris wasn’t actively fighting back, she moved her hands from Eris’s shoulders down to the goddess’s hips, pulling her against Minthe’s thigh in a rolling grind.

Eris made a sound of appreciation, moving with Minthe’s hands, cupping her palm around Minthe’s head to keep her mouth in one place until she’d bitten hard enough for Eris to pull her back again.

“Good girl,” Eris murmured and Minthe bared her teeth, ripping Eris’s dress further off her body, exposing the goddess’s small breasts, dappled sunshine moving across them. Minthe attacked them with tooth and nail, flicking her tongue across the pebbled nipples, scratching golden lines just under her collarbones. Eris moaned, bucking her hips up against Minthe’s thigh, and Minthe braced herself against the ground to let the goddess grind against her, satisfaction humming in her chest. She bit down again and again, leaving the imprint of her teeth in divine skin, a sacrilege with each taste.

Eris dragged her nails down Minthe’s back and Minthe felt her dress split under the talons, air whispering across her shoulder-blades as she took one of Eris’s nipples back into her mouth, pressing her tongue around it in a sharp circle.

The next pass of Eris’s nails was directly against Minthe’s skin, and Minthe bit down at the sensation, both of them groaning at once at the shared ache.

Eris twisted under her, pressing a knee between Minthe’s thighs in a favor that bordered on pain. Still, Minthe bucked against it, uncurling to press her mouth back against Eris’s. This kiss was longer than their first, a give-and-take of tongues and teeth and pressure. Minthe could feel herself unravelling, desire overtaking all remaining thought.

Eris curled her fingers around Minthe’s wrists and pulled her hands to her wings, letting Minthe feel the silken down feathers at their base. The feeling was new, and Minthe explored them with a curious touch, judging the sensation by how Eris reacted in the kiss. Digging her fingers into the feathers got a bite to her lower lip so Minthe continued, feeling the feathers straighten under her fingers from their usual chaos.

Closer to Eris’s spine, where the wings met the skin, Minthe’s attention made Eris positively writhe, hips moving in a restless search for contact.

The goddess’s desperation made Minthe burn with need, and she pulled them up to a sitting position, Eris’s thighs spread around her hips. In this position Minthe could press their chests together, one hand combing through the base of Eris’s wings as the other one snuck down between Eris’s thighs, where her fingers found her dripping.

“Fuck,” Eris hissed, fisting a hand in Minthe’s hair and pressing their foreheads together. Minthe dragged a finger up her lips, barely brushing over her clit before returning to the place where she was wet, parting her and pressing at her entrance. She repeated this path twice, testing how long Eris would let her tease, feeling her hand clench in her hair every time she refused to slide her finger deeper.

On the third time, Eris pushed her backwards, Minthe hitting the ground with a laugh of victory. Before she could orient herself, Eris was straddling her face, one hand in her hair as she hovered above her.

“Say you want it,” Eris demanded, tugging Minthe’s hair hard enough to sting.

“I want it,” Minthe said easily, and opened her mouth in welcome.

Eris ground down against her without sympathy, drowning Minthe in her scent. She smelled like coppery blood, that hint of sweet nectar that all the gods seemed to share, and the base pure scent of arousal. Minthe let her tongue drag through Eris’s lips, trying to press on her clit, but Eris was grinding down against her too hard to let her do anything other than allow Eris to use her mouth. Eris set her own pace, one hand braced on the ground as her hips rolled against Minthe.

Minthe’s hands were free, so she slipped two of her fingers into herself, not bothering to tease. She was wet enough already, and the relief of something inside of herself was good enough to make her groan into Eris.

She moved her fingers in time with Eris’s thrusts, pressing the heel of her hand against her clit to keep herself on the edge, not yet in danger of tipping into climax. Eris drew slightly back, and Minthe tilted her head up to follow her, now free to use her tongue to its full advantage. Eris buckled under her ministrations, both elbows slamming into the ground. Her breaths came out short and desperate, thighs trembling on either side of Minthe’s head.

Minthe would have grinned if her mouth wasn’t so busy. Instead, she brought her hands up to cup Eris’s ass, keeping her exactly where she wanted her. Lavishing attention first on Eris’s clit with vicious little swipes of her tongue, Minthe shifted down and pressed her tongue inside Eris, drinking down her arousal as she pressed deeper. Eris tried to buck down against her but Minthe wouldn’t allow it, pressing her fingers deeper into the swells of Eris’s buttocks as a reminder to stay where she was put.

Eris’s breath broke in a groan, and Minthe twisted her tongue inside her before swiping up through her folds, back to her clit. Brimming with victory, Minthe didn’t give Eris a break from the sensation, rolling her clit between her tongue and lips in a quickening rhythm. She savoured the feeling of Eris bucking against her hands, and then Eris came apart in a shaking orgasm, Minthe dipping down again to trace her tongue through the fresh wave of arousal until Eris tore herself free.

Eris bent down to kiss her, licking her own slick off Minthe’s lips and flicking her tongue into Minthe’s mouth in a savage mirror of Minthe’s technique. Her wings were puffed up and her eyes were wild, and Minthe laid back and let her do what she wanted, satisfied to have made her climax first.

Eris pulled Minthe’s dress the rest of the way off, already hanging from her shoulders from the slashes across her back. Her attention was a weight on Minthe’s chest, keeping her pinned down. Her tongue slipped from her mouth, long and forked, and curled around Minthe’s nipple. Minthe dug her fingers into the grass on either side of her, worked up enough that the pleasure set her on edge, her mind breaking into pure sensation.

The twin ends of Eris’s tongue swept around her nipple as Eris’s hands pressed Minthe’s thighs apart, spreading her open and vulnerable. Minthe closed her eyes.

“Look at me,” Eris said with her hundred voices, and Minthe obeyed. Eris’s big yellow eyes stared up at her from between her legs, and she grinned with that same mischievous smile that always showed up when she’d been playing pranks on the nymphs, before ducking her head and putting her forked tongue to good use.

Minthe cried out immediately, pleasure spreading from her core to the ends of her fingers. Eris held up a hand and Minthe watched her shake it twice, talons transforming into dull nails with the movement. She wiggled her fingers at Minthe, her yellow eyes shining with mirth, then brought her hand down to join her mouth.

Two fingers slid inside her and crooked at just the right angle, working in tandem with the tongue that played her like an instrument, and Minthe was breaking faster than she thought was possible. She could hear herself gasping, a rhythmic ‘ah- ah- ah’ with each breath.

In the end, the orgasms came one after another, pulling her to peaks of increasing bliss: one, two, three, and then a sweet plateau of pleasure that had Minthe ready to weep before Eris did something with her tongue that tipped her over into a fourth orgasm that washed the others away in a surge of overstimulated rapture that seemed to last for hours.

Eris pulled back and took a deep breath as if she’d forgotten about air for the past ten minutes. Minthe laid on the grass, blinking up at the sky as she waited for feeling to return to her limbs.

“Better than the nymph?” Eris asked, her voice returned to normal. She tugged the rags of her own dress off and stretched out in a patch of sunlight, unabashed in her nudity.

“What’s a nymph?” Minthe said, trying to move her fingers. “I’ve forgotten Greek.” Eris laughed, the flash of her teeth making a little flame of arousal leap up again in Minthe’s chest before her absolute exhaustion snuffed it out.

“I like you. We should do this again sometime.”

“I think I might not be able to move for a few weeks,” Minthe said.

“I can work with that.” Eris rolled over and crawled closer, lying down beside Minthe on her stomach, head on her arms and one wing spread over Minthe’s chest, as if to block her nudity. “You can just lie there and I’ll do all the work.”

“That would be selfish of me.” Minthe managed to wiggle her toes and counted that as a victory. Maybe she would be able to roll over in a few minutes.

“I think that would be good for you. More people should be selfish.” Eris yawned, jaw stretching too far for her human face. “And I’d enjoy it either way.”

Shit, Minthe might be a little bit in love. She watched Eris curl up, one wing still stretched over her, and reached out to touch the line of her cheekbone. Eris blinked at her with yellow eyes and smiled, then moved closer to hook a foot over one of Minthe’s legs, a small point of contact as she closed her eyes and seemed to settle in for a nap.

Minthe stared at her for a few more seconds, then closed her eyes as well. She wasn’t tired enough to sleep, but she could rest here beside Eris for a while. Hopefully the river nymph of this particular river wouldn’t come back anytime soon, or she’d be treated to an eyeful of naked goddess and nymph, curled up together in the lazy sunlight.

Minthe smiled to herself at the thought. Maybe spending time with Eris was good for her after all: she didn’t give a fuck if someone saw them together.

The only thing that seemed important in that moment was the press of Eris’s ankle against her calf, and the lingering taste of her on Minthe’s lips.

[acourtofthought]

I think that’s the theory the anon talked about: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGJ47mBUw/

I think it’s unlikely but it’s very beautiful!

OOOH! Thank you for sending that to me.

So......

I think the creator of that TikTok made a few valid points however I think it's taking things a bit too far.

SJM has stated that while she wants the crossover to be enjoyable for fans of both series, she wants them to stand on their own for anyone who has not read one or the other.

Elain and Lucien being trapped in stone in another world for what must be ages is way too convoluted if that's the case. Parallel universes is one thing but Elain and Lucien traveling back thousands of years in order to be trapped into stone for thousands of years is not something SJM could easily pull off while keeping the series somewhat separate. Not to mention them having traveled back in time together means they would have been together romantically and that means whatever court they will have been ruling over will have been left without leadership.

Also, I don't think any of the characters in ACOTAR are literal gods or goddesses.

They may be created in the likeness of them but not actual deities (i.e., Nesta is in the likeness of a Goddess of death but not an actual goddess).

Lucien is definitely set up as the Heir of Day and Elain (in my opinion) is set up to be a Mother Earth / Goddess of Earth-like figure but not an actual goddess (I think not only the pins SJM has used for Elain but also the hints in the book point us in this direction). I think it's more that these characters were blessed by the mother / Cauldron with powers linked to those of the gods and goddesses while still just being powerful fae.

My main takeaway from it all is that SJM likes the imagery of Solas (Light God) as the lover of Cthona (Earth Goddess) and if a god and goddess representing these things make sense to her as a couple, then a Lucien and Elain pairing would be along those lines.

Some in the fandom like to use Feyre and Rhys as proof that SJM likes the light and dark aesthetic because ACOMAF was a Hades / Persephone retelling (light) but they're ignoring that Feyre didn't truly fit in with the Spring Court.

And yes, Feyre glowed because of Helion's light but did she really embody a happy, sunshiny nature? She destroyed Spring with no concern for it's innocent citizens for revenge and even now isn't all that remorseful. In book 2 we're told she probably wouldn't be a match for someone as kind and neutral as someone like Tarquin.

SJM aesthetics are part imagery but mostly complimenting personalities. Rhys and Feyre are both willing to be the bad guy and do the morally gray things if it means protecting others.

Lucien and Elain share a complimentary side to their personalities. They'll protect their loved ones but avoid revenge and violence whenever they can. They continue trying to make the best of the situations they find themselves thrown in (even tragic, horrible ones) while remaining kind and loving towards those around them and not lashing out with words. They really are light and hope and optimism as individuals and would be amazing together.

And there is symbolism in the Heir to Day, the sun personified, being the perfect match to someone who represents growth and bringing life to barren lands (as sunshine is needed for all life on the lands of the earth). I could see Elain being the one to perform the Rite with Lucien to restore spring so an Earth Goddess being "naked" and awaiting the embrace of her lover could simple hint at joining of their union.

Maybe it's simply an Easter Egg of an Elucien endgame. Maybe she wasn't hinting at an Elucien at all. But, it does show you that in her mind a pairing like that makes sense and she does carry ideas over from one series to the next.