#hades 1

[ancientpersacom]

He has a massive collection of cute PJs I can just tell.

[tagzpite]

first escape attempt definitely ended like this

[worldscheeriestemo]

[nyyrasart]

[linzer-art]

quick self indulgent Aphrodite overpaint bc I miss her Hades 1 features

[hyeonoll]

Him

[dionysism]

okay sorry i keep rambling about hades game theseus the brainrot is crazy BUT i just think it's so neat how his relationship with asterius & zagreus' impact on it is almost a perfect opposite to every other relationship in the game.

every other relationship (romantic or not), has been parted, for whatever reason, for some time. hades & persephone, orpheus & eurdyice, achilles & patroclus, nyx & chaos. all of these zagreus has never even seen interact, when the game starts. he just hears about the relationship they used to have from them when he encounters them individually. it's his job (and so yours, as the player) to reunite these duos and mend their relationship.

but theseus and asterius are the only duo he meets that are solid from the jump. and have been, for some time. and this is even more ironic given they were enemies in life. and so instead of being the force that pulls the relationship together, zagreus is what almost tears it apart. theseus starts self doubting and thinking asterius is going to fight against him with zag and almost wrecks his own relationship (however you view their relationship). and of course ultimately everything is fine and zagreus is not actually trying to wreck their relationship and they end up the stronger for it all so he does ultimately bring them closer together like he does with the other relationships in the game.

but it's just so neat how the only actively healthy and on speaking terms relationship zagreus encounters is the fucking bull of minos and the unbearably annoying king who killed him. who, might i add, comes off as the most unlovable person in the game. like of all the characters the last one you would think would have the model relationship 😭

[xgermankittycatx--commsopen]

death and his butterflies

[locuas642]

If there was a theme in Hades 1, I think it was Change. As in the idea that people can change, either for good or bad.

Achilles went from being a violent hot-headed in life, to becoming a more mellow, mature mentor archetype in death.

Sisyphus who was a bastard in life, after years of punishment did eventually change for the better. Becoming a nicer person overall.

Thesseus is implied to have been a better person in life. but the time in Elysium made him the lovable prima donna he is now. By Contrast Asterion has become a noble warrior who seeks to deliver justice and to fight a worthy opponent for the fun of it, rather than a monstrous creature who ate people.

Even Orpheus can be convinced that, altough he failed to properly credit Eurydice in life, he can start now.

The point is, even after Death is not too late for them to change. and that change is possible. And every character you interacts changes, even if in small ways. Even Chaos, a Primordial being who struggles to related with anything outside their realm can change and develop a desire to become closer with Nyx, they can change to wish to socialize.

And this is important because it is what is at the root of Hades and what makes HIM the villain of the story: He stubbornly believes people cannot change. that everyone is the same and that they will never get better.

He puts Sisyphus through a punishment that assumes he will ever be the cruel person he was in life. He refuses to believe that the Achilles of old would remain under his service if there wasnt a bonding contract forcing him to.

And most importantly: he believes it is impossible for Olympus and the Underworld to make peace. that his impression of the Olympians, with all their flaws and pettyness and drama, is not only entirely accurate, but that they can never be more than that. Just as he himself can never be more than the strict ruler of the underworld, forever trapped in his kingdom.

It is Zagreus, who through constant battles and trials, going from the meek weakling he is at the start, to someone who can actually push through the underworld's defense and actually reach the surface to, finally, besting Hades and managing the gargantuan task of escaping the underworld; something believed impossible; when Hades whole world is shattered. And when Zagreus manages to succeed on that again and again, a second impossible thing happens. Something believed to be equally as impossible as someone managing to overcome the Underworld: Hades Gives Up.

He let's Zagreus go. Not because out of the kindness of his heart, but because he finally understood he can't stop him and whatever happens, it is outside his control. THAT is when Zagreus trully defeats Hades, because it forces Hades to consider a different alternative, to change.

And that doesnt erase the things Hades did. The abuse or the cruelty. That happened and there is a chance that will always be there and that it might be too late for He and Zagreus to have the father/son dynamic they should have had. But he has finally made the decision of trying to change, which will be slow and painful, but never too late.

[lelianaslefthand]

getting this dialogue right now is so funny

lol. lmfao even

[momonica05]

I still haven't finished Hades, but I love it when the gods cheer for Zagreus

I don't care if they have ulterior motives when they tell me to keep fighting and that they're all waiting for me. I feel so safe. And I wonder if Zagreus feels it too

Maybe it's because I also have a strict dad who doesn't want me to leave home and belittles me every time despite me being 18 already, but I genuinely feel good, especially with Artemis and Athena

I remember one time Artemis said "hey you're not alone down there, alright?" And that caught me off guard because the other gods usually make a playful banter. But her and Athena, although they do make jokes too, always cheer you on like this

Anyways all this rambling to say I don't care if i can't trust them i love it when they acknowledge my pain and determination

[slappythe123]

[wegog]

Okay, I still think people don't speak enough about how Hades and Persephone's love story is great in Hades game(s).

The way you have to figure it out is like a puzzle. And together with Zagreus you change your opinion about the situation every time. The way Persephone talks about how Hades was always gentle with her and gave her the space she so lacked on Olympus. The fact that after many years, she can still talk about him so dreamily. But at the same time, she is resentful of the way the relationship between Hades and their son turned out. She does not believe that Hades' love could survive all the pain that permeated the last days of their marriage. Although in fact this love is stronger than death. What Hades had always feared was that Persephone had never truly chosen him.

And he always put her needs and desires above the selfishness that often accompanies such strong feelings. Hades was literally the perfect husband who deeply respected his queen and recognized her strength, allowing her to shed the nickname "Kore" forever. And in his desire to do everything as best as possible for his beloved, he only makes things worse, dooming them both (and their son) to suffering. In turn, Persephone leaves Hades not only because she thinks that their son is stillborn, but also because she is afraid of the war that could happen between the gods due to the difficult circumstances under which she ended up in the Underworld (I'm looking at you Zeus).

They are both ready to leave each other so that their loved one is happy, in order to improve things in their kingdom. But it's separation that makes them so wretched, harms their son and the entire Underworld! The fact that the developers decided to make Persephone the Goddess of Verdure and Grain (what means she's kind of the Goddess of what gives mortals food, in fact, the Goddess of the Life), and Hades, the God of the Dead, makes their story so beautifu! Just as many characters in the game cannot imagine them together, it is also obvious to us that they are inseparable from each other, like life and death.

And, of course, small details, like Persephone pored over his portraits even before they met like she was some kind of his fan, what is very funny and breaks the stereotypes.. And how she likes to joke at Hades goodhumouredly, despite the fact that she admires him. And how the Goddess will always point out to him what needs to be done to fix his work or/and his relationship with their son. The way at first Persephone says she and Hades have little in common, but immediately mentions something they share like the same taste in music. Or the fact that they are both insanely smart and seem to be both incredibly good at that boring paperwork (which is doubly funny considering how terrible Zagreus is at it).

No one seems to say it in the game, but despite their outward differences (yes, that frown socially awkward huge God that everyone should be afraid of and that radiant little Goddess with incredible powers of persuasion that everyone adore), in fact, they not just complement each other, but also very similar, but on a deeper level!

P.S. I also see similar dynamics in Zagreus and Thanatos. Like, yes, the God of Blood and Life is together with the personification of Death and so on and so on...

[tkacz-art]

Megara and Thanathos keychain/sticker design!

get it here

[neteyammeowmeow]

WHERES ACHILLES WHERES ACHILLES OR ZAGREUS OR WHATEVER OH ILL TELL YOU WHAT HAPPENED (credits to video game news on youtube 😭😭)

[hyeonoll]

Them