#iapetus answers asks

[iapetusneume]

for the "fic author Never Have I Ever", there was only one bed? <3

Such a classic fanfic trope. I actually haven't written this before! I've read plenty stories, but I just never got an idea that really inspired me.

HOWEVER

I did get an idea recently for 40k. And I'm seriously considering writing it. The best part was, I was thinking about the idea and then I was like "....wait. This is THERE IS ONLY ONE BED!!!"

How would I do it?

In 40k, this pairing I ship I personally headcanon that it shifted to romance during this particular part in the story where the two of them are stranded on a pastoral planet due to weird high-tech shenanigans and the power of love. These are two generals who have been separated from their armies in a time of war. They can still contact the capital - where they used to be - but unless they can replicate the high-tech shenanigans again, it will take awhile for their ships to get to them.

So, there are two generals on this planet that the planet were not anticipating having, and they are going to be there for the foreseeable future. Because these generals are also demigods, they're pretty big. This is a world that doesn't have a lot of frills and luxuries, and I was thinking about farming communities in history. It was common for a whole family to share a bed sometimes, or at least multiple people sharing a bed, at least.

Now my story. Quarters are prepared for the Generals, and because they're family*, the locals lean on their own customs. So, to their surprise, they're brought to their Quarters... which only has one bed.

For context, both Generals came very close to dying, and had been dealing with another General who had been wreaking havoc on the capital. It has been a Long Day. The two Generals' distrust in each other (but especially one of them) caused a lot of these problems. They are not on very friendly terms right now.

But they realize that this community does not have the resources to house them like they're used to. This is a very odd situation. So, they decide that they're going to at least attempt to be gracious guests.

And then the fic would continue with them starting to warm up to each other, and then yeah eventually they have sex.

.

* - The best way to look at these Demigod Generals is to think of them like Mythology, and there are plenty of Mythos' where siblings are married/etc. And, like, there's no way the creators are ever going to go in that direction, but 40k is intensely homoerotic for a world that doesn't claim to have a lot of romantic relationships in it.

[percabeth4life]

plottwist: they didn't find out through ethan but through luke

Luke on his way to bath in the Styx: uhhhhhh,,,,,

Bobpetus: *happily stacking rocks*

Luke: .....How the fuck am i supposed to explain this whatthefuckwhatthefuckwhatthefuck-

LMAO

Luke is just going "was someone gonna tell me about the Iapetus situation-" and everyone else is like "what Iapetus situation?" except Ethan who is sweating.

[apollosgiftofprophecy]

@peishathebookity my email alerted me to your ask but TUMBLR ATE IT-

so i shall answer here lmao

I initially wrote When The Heavens Collide after I reread The House of Hades. When I came across the scene in Tartarus where Percy, Annabeth, and Bob (& Small Bob) run into Koios as they got close to the Doors of Death, I kinda paused and reread it.

Koios laughed. “You’ve forgotten my daughter [Leto], as well? I suppose it’s been too long since you’ve seen her. The peaceful ones like her always take the longest to re-form. This time, though, I’m sure Leto will fight for vengeance. The way Zeus treated her, after she bore him those fine twins? Outrageous!”

^This scene specifically

[m4gp13]

Ethan is the awkward polite child of a brawling parent.

Ethan's caught between the double threat of having Lord I-eat-my-babies-so-they-don't-overthrow-me Kronos as his boss and the goddess I-take-my-childrens-eyes-so-they-can-earn-the-right-to-do-me-a-favour Nemesis as his mother. God help him if he ever has to go out in public with either of them, he'd be having a staring contest with his shoes while he waits for them to stop picking fights with random retail workers so he can croak out an apology before going back to pretending he doesn't know them.

[happyk44]

Losing my mind thinking about feral Jason being too much to handle that the camp tries to figure out how to get rid of him. They release him into the woods but he comes back dragging a cow carcass. They try to lose him during a quest but he just rips aparts all the monsters with his teeth and comes out bloody but barely wounded.

Eventually they manage to convince Pluto to take him in, with the caveat that he is released back to them when needed (for quests, protecting camp, or in the unlikely event Jupiter comes down to ask where his son is). Reyna visits the underworld at least once every two months to check in on him.

When Percy and Thalia are following Nico around the underworld, searching for the thief of the sword, they stumble into him, Iapetus bleeding out on the ground and Ethan pinned, struggling against Jason trying to snap at his neck. Nico calls him off. Jason stalks over to him, growling under his breath at the strangers he doesn't know, but crouched low beside Nico and rumbling comfortably as Nico pats his head.

Iapetus becomes Bob when he tries to attack while Thalia is arguing with Nico and Percy is trying to diffuse the situation (even though he is also concerned about the strange kid who's mouth is covered in blood) so Jason knocks him back into the Lethe with a powerful gust of wind.

Thalia is deeply concerned about this blonde boy vibrating with electricity and blue eyes she remembers so well. She takes a step closer and he snarls at her. She stops.

"Nico, who's your, uh, friend?" Percy asks.

Nico pinches Jason's ear lobe and waits until the snarling pulls to a stop. "This is Jason." Thalia's heart stops. "He was raised by wolves, so now he lives with my dad because it's not really safe for him to be around people who can die."

"Wha-" The words freeze in her throat. Thalia's hands clench tight at her sides. Jason shifts at the sight, stepping partly in front of Nico. His eyes narrow. Her eyes well up.

This is worse than seeing her mother earlier.

This is worse than thinking he was dead.

"What's his last name?" She grits her teeth. "Who's his dad?"

Percy glances between the two of them and stills. He doesn't know she had a brother. But he seems to understand what she's getting at. The puzzle pieces clicking quietly into place.

Nico just levels her with a pained gaze. "You should know the answer, Thalia. He is your brother after all."

[anotheroceanid]

Ok since you answered me can I ask for more of that if your able too? You don't have too but like if you can please do make more of that scenario :) your so cool! I like your blog btw

First of all, thank you 🫶

Okay, more of Percy dressed like Rhea, I assume? If it’s not, just tell me.

Well, the thing is, Rhea has more siblings besides Iapetus/Bob. In fact, she’s the daughter of Gaea, who couldn’t sneeze without popping a child. And out of the elder titans, the girls and Oceanos weren’t sent to Tartarus, in fact, they are pretty chill living their lives.

Which means that, after they see Percy dressed like their little sis, they get emotional. They all know they failed with Rhea. Someone should’ve stood up for hear when Kronos was cannibalising her babies, but they were all too afraid of him to do something. So, they kinda see Percy as a second chance to do things right.

So that’s how Percy ends up needing an apartment… for gifts. The elder titans keep sending him these room sized presents, like an entire new wardrobe of ancient clothes and jewels, or an entire Walmart’s corridor of baby items.

(This one is a mess! Everyone think he’s pregnant! Jason cried. His mom cried. His father cried. After causing an earthquake near New Rome because apparently “it’s the Roman’s fault”. And Annabeth gave him a lecture about contraceptives.)

The thing is, the gifts start getting… dangerous. Very dangerous. At some point, the whole “hey, let’s spoil Rhe- oops, Percy” comes out, and Rhea’s other siblings, the Elder Cyclops, hear about it. So they decide to gift Percy… with brand new collection of mass destruction weapons. How is he supposed to explain it to the landlord?

And when everything seemed at its lowest point. Like, there was NO way Percy could get it worse… Aphrodite realises “Hey, I’m Ourano’s daughter! I’m Rhea’s sister too.”

Yup.

He can get it worse.

[anticomedygarden]

everyone goes south, every now and then

-

title from billy joel's 'the stranger'

based on this post on my main

thanks @queeremochaos for the push to write this!

-

“I don’t care how you phrase it, I’m not gonna endorse you going back to Tartarus,” Percy said, voice already sharper than it was fifteen minutes ago when Nico had first entered his and Annabeth’s apartment. 

He and Will were visiting their friends in New Rome for a much needed break. Well, as much as it could be considered a break when Will kept trying to go ‘check out the infirmary’. Nico knew what that meant: work. He had finally relented after three days, however, and Will was getting a guided tour of Camp Jupiter’s medical facilities while Nico hung out with Percy and Jason. 

“It’s not like I’m asking you to go,” he grumbled. And he wasn’t! He just wanted to see Iapetus again. He hadn’t even asked Will yet. 

Abruptly, Percy slammed down the bowl he was mixing batter in, and Nico jumped. “It doesn’t matter, Nico! Tartarus is literally hell! All three of us barely survived. Why would you want to go back?”

Wide-eyed, Nico just blinked at him for a moment. It took a lot to get Percy mad at his friends, but it seemed Nico had pressed the right buttons. He always had been good at that. 

At the table, Jason also looked shocked at their friend’s outburst, though Nico almost told him not to bother. Jason hadn’t been there for those first couple years of Nico and Percy’s relationship and therefore had no idea the extent of anger they could level at each other. 

The son of Hades looked back at Percy. “I just wanna fix the mess that you left behind.”

Next to him, Jason gasped, but Nico didn’t wait around to see Percy’s reaction. He ran out the door into the hallway and was halfway down the steps when Jason caught up with him. 

“Go away,” Nico bit out, and continued down the stairs. 

Panting slightly (had Nico really been going that fast?), Jason said, “I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.”

Of course he did. Because Jason was Rome’s little golden boy who had never been mean to anyone in his life. “I’m fine.”

“I don’t believe you,” he responded, jogging faster to cut in front of the black-haired boy.

Nico pushed past him. “I don’t need you to check on me like a child.”

Jason frowned. “You are a child.”

He snorted. As if. “Well, you’ve done it, so you can go check on Percy now. I know you’re going to.”

The son of Jupiter sighed. “You’re right, but that doesn’t mean I care any less about your answer.” He paused. “And what you said to him was pretty bad.”

Nico waved him off. “By tomorrow, he’ll have apologized for getting mad, I’ll feel bad for being mean, and neither of us will care anymore.” Such was the nature of their relationship, especially since the Giant War had ended, much to the chagrin of Will and Annabeth who were often caught in the middle of their arguments. 

Jason looked at him skeptically. “I don’t understand you two.”

“Join the club.”

Nico turned to leave, and Jason shouted after him, “I also don’t think you should go to Tartarus!”

He threw up a middle finger. “Tell me something I don’t know!”

-

Once Nico was out of the building, he just started walking, not really caring where he went. Somehow, he ended up running into Leo Valdez outside the engineer building at New Rome University. 

“Neeks!” he exclaimed. “What are you doing here?”

Nico had to take a moment to process being near so much energy with so little good mood left. “Me and Will are visiting New Rome for the week. What are you doing here?”

His eyes lit up. “I’m helping Jason and Annabeth with the minor gods temple project.”

Nico cocked his head. “But Annabeth’s in class and Jason’s at Percy’s?”

“I know, I was just checking out the engineering building.” He got a guarded look on his face. “Don’t tell anyone, but I might be in there a lot next year.”

Nico’s eyebrows flew up. “You’re thinking about going to NRU?” That was a surprise. He’d thought Leo was permanently camped out in Indiana with Calypso at the Waystation. 

Leo put his index finger against his mouth. “Calypso and I broke up.”

Nico blinked at him. “What?”

He nodded, brown curls tipping forward into his face, and Nico noticed that he didn’t look too upset. The breakup was either amicable, or it happened a while ago. “Yeah, she needed some time to be by herself without being tied to anyone.”

“And you?”

He smiled. “Let’s just say, there’s someone here I have my eye on.” He shook his head. “Enough about that. What’s got you all huffy?”

Nico wrinkled his nose at the description, though he knew from Will that it was probably dead-on. “I’m mad at Percy.”

Leo laughed. “Why does that not surprise me?”

Nico glared at him. 

“What was it this time?” Apparently Leo had a better grasp of their relationship than Jason did. 

Nico hesitated to answer since he was sure Leo would be on the same side as Jason and Percy. “He doesn’t want me to go to Tartarus.” He felt his face redden. 

Leo huffed a laugh. “Seriously, what is it?” When Nico stared at him, his eyes widened. “You’re not joking.”

Before the self-righteous lecture he knew was coming could start, Nico opened his mouth to defend himself. “I just want to see if Iapetus is still there and if I can bring him back.”

Surprisingly, Leo licked his lips, considering. “Ookay, so you wanna go back to hell?” His head bobbed. “That’s…cool.”

Nico nodded. “Yeah, and it’s not like this time would be as bad as last time. Now, I know what to expect, so I’ll be prepared.”

“That’s certainly one way to look at it.” Leo’s eyebrow furrowed, and Nico knew he had lost him. “But - and hear me out - maybe Tartarus isn’t something you can prepare for?”

“That’s what Will said,” Nico grumbled. When he had told his boyfriend about his idea, he’d barely gotten the words ‘Tartarus’ and ‘I wanna go’ out before Will was shutting him down. 

Leo thrust out his hands, palms up. “You should listen to him!” Nico rolled his eyes, but Leo continued. “What exactly did you say to Percy to make him so mad?”

Nico blushed and muttered something vaguely adjacent to the words he had thrown at the son of Poseidon, and Leo said, “What?”

Nico glared at him. “I told him I wanted to fix his mess.”

Leo stumbled. “Yeah, I can definitely see why he would take offense to that.”

Nico threw up his hands. “You’re no help.”

-

Pretty soon, Leo had to go meet Annabeth and Jason to talk about building plans, so Nico followed the smell of hot chocolate after his stomach started grumbling, thinking he could at least make Will happy by eating lunch. 

He soon realized that was a mistake, however, as the second he stepped into the cafe, he was met with an outlandish leopard print shirt attached to a tan, middle aged man. “Lord Dionysus? What are you doing in New Rome?”

Immediately, the god shushed him and pushed him into a booth, panic written in the lines on his face. Eyes darting around the room, he visibly relaxed when it seemed no one was looking at them. “You’re going to get me recognized, boy.” He took a slurp from the drink in his hand, an aggressively pink thing with ice cubes floating in it. “Call me Dio if you must call me anything.”

Too confused to disagree, Nico nodded. “How are you here?”

Dionysus slurped his drink again. “The drinks here are to die for.” He waved his hand, and an identical cup appeared in front of Nico. When he hesitated, Dionysus raised an eyebrow. “Drink.”

Nico peered down at the flimsy paper straw and cautiously took a sip. It wasn’t half bad. He took another sip. “So, what, they don’t have coffee shops on Olympus?”

Dionysus wrinkled his nose. “Those dastardly shops only serve all organic ambrosia now that Iris has taken over.” The god drank some more of his beverage, and Nico had to bite back a laugh at how ridiculous the divine man looked sipping bright pink liquid from a paper straw. 

Nico tried again. “I thought you couldn’t be in your Greek form here without going insane.”

“You forget, boy, that I am the god of insanity,” Dionysus answered. “And some things are worth the risk. Like Mango dragon fruit.” He took a loud slurp. 

Nico supposed that made sense, though he vividly remembered Jason describing Dionysus and Bacchus being one of the split gods during the war that had trouble retaining either form. And the drink wasn’t that good. 

“I also heard that fight you just had with Poseidon’s boy, and I must say, I agree with him.”

The drink suddenly turned to ash in his mouth. He coughed, then winced, knowing his next words could get him turned into a dolphin but knowing he couldn’t stop them. “Why do you care?” 

Fortunately, Dionysus didn’t seem to be too preoccupied with Nico’s disrespectful behavior. He appeared to think for a moment, though, knowing Dionysus, he could have just been warding off brain freeze. (Did gods get brain freeze? He’d have to ask Apollo next time he visited Camp.) “Contrary to what I have said before, and, honestly, how I felt for much of the last century, I have come to care for you unruly children I was regrettably placed in charge of.”

“I certainly feel cared for.”

“Good.” 

Nico shook his head. “I still want to go. I have to know if Iapetus is alive.”

“A noble quest.” Finally reaching the end of his drink, Dionysus looked to the side, an odd expression on his face. “Are you sure it will be worth it?”

To stop feeling the guilt eating away at him, to stop the nightmares that still plagued him? “Yes.”

Dionysus leaned forward. “I’ll be sure to tell your boyfriend that when he’s standing over your corpse.”

Nico refused to listen to any more. He knew what he needed, and he knew if he didn’t go, he would never find closure, and he also knew from experience that that was no way to live. “We’re done here.” 

Grabbing his drink, he stood to leave, but Dionysus seemingly had one more thing to tell him. “Careful, boy. One day, you’ll need my help, and I might not be feeling so generous.”

He could unpack that later. For now, he walked right out the door, leaving Dionysus sipping a new drink, this one purple, and staring after him. 

Nico walked until he found an alley and ducked into it to catch his breath, just then noticing the droplets of rain dotting his bare arms. Suddenly, there was a loud clap of thunder, and the drizzle turned into a deluge, soaking him instantly. He looked up at the sky. “Fuck you!”

It only rained harder. 

-

Across New Rome in the Camp Jupiter dining area, Will Solace was having a lovely conversation with fifth cohort Centurion Hazel Levesque. 

“So,” she was saying, “what did you think of the infirmary?” Now that she had seen Camp Half-Blood and gotten a chance to really explore it, Hazel had confessed to being worried that some of their facilities weren’t up to standard, though one look at the infirmary had Will assuring her that her worries were unfounded. 

“It was great. I really loved the organization you have going on in there,” he said. Privately, he added that it was far better than he expected. For some reason, when he thought of the Camp Jupiter infirmary, he had been worried it would be reminiscent of a medical tent like the ones they had brought with them during the Giant War, but thankfully, they had a real building as well. 

All of a sudden, his phone buzzed, and he smiled sheepishly at Hazel. “Sorry, it’s from Nico.” He quickly scanned the message. “He’s upset with Percy and Jason.” 

Hazel frowned. “Why?” 

Still looking at his phone, Will said, “He didn’t say.” Then, he looked up but almost immediately looked back down when his phone buzzed again. “He’s also upset with Leo.” There was another buzz. “And Dionysus.” It buzzed a final time. “And Zeus.”

Hazel laughed, and Will laughed with her. “Of course he is.”

[deathlessathanasia]

“Priest. Most kind Titan, such gifts I require not of you. Give me the answer that was my first desire, and then count yourself to have repaid my sacrifice sufficiently; you shall have my receipt in full.

Cronus. Put your question. An answer you shall have, if my knowledge is equal to it.

Priest. First, then, is the common story true? used you to eat the children Rhea bore you? and did she steal away Zeus, and give you a stone to swallow for a baby? did he when he grew to manhood make victorious war upon you and drive you from your kingdom, bind and cast you into Tartarus, you and all the powers that ranged themselves with you?

Cronus. Fellow, were it any but this festive season, when ’tis lawful to be drunken, and slaves have licence to revile their lords, the reward for thy question, for this thy rudeness to a grey-haired aged God, had been the knowledge that wrath is yet permitted me.

Priest. It is not my story, you know, Cronus; it is Homer's and Hesiod's; I might say, only I don't quite like to, that it is the belief of the generality.

Cronus. That conceited shepherd? you do not suppose he knew anything worth knowing about me? Why, think. Is a man conceivable–let alone a God–who would devour his own children?–wittingly, I mean; of course he might be a Thyestes and have a wicked brother; that is different. However, even granting that, I ask you whether he could help knowing he had a stone in his mouth instead of a baby; I envy him his teeth, that is all. The fact is, there was no war, and Zeus did not depose me; I voluntarily abdicated and retired from the cares of office. That I am not in fetters or in Tartarus you can see for yourself, or you must be as blind as Homer.

Priest. But what possessed you to abdicate?

Cronus. Well, the long and short of it is, as I grew old and gouty –that last, by the way, accounts for the fetters of the story–I found the men of these latter days getting out of hand; I had to be forever running up and down swinging the thunderbolt and blasting perjurers, temple-robbers, oppressors; I could get no peace; younger blood was wanted. So I had the happy thought of abdicating in Zeus's favour. Independently of that, I thought it a good thing to divide up my authority–I had sons to take it on–and to have a pleasant easy time, free of all the petition business and the embarrassment of contradictory prayers, no thundering or lightening to do, no lamentable necessity for sending discharges of hail. None of that now; I am on the shelf, and I like it, sipping neat nectar and talking over old times with Iapetus and the others that were boys with me. And He is king, and has troubles by the thousand. But it occurred to me to reserve these few days for the employments I have mentioned; during them I resume my authority, that men may remember what life was like in my days, when all things grew without sowing or ploughing of theirs–no ears of corn, but loaves complete and meat ready cooked–, when wine flowed in rivers, and there were fountains of milk and honey; all men were good and all men were gold. Such is the purpose of this my brief reign; therefore the merry noise on every side, the song and the games; therefore the slave and the free as one. When I was king, slavery was not.”

 - Lucian, Saturnalia

[hopeaterart]

More from the next chapter of Xenia because it's basically one long infodump about the worldbuilding and I. Want to share it.

“-unlike what everyone on the Surface believes, prisoners of Tartarus are allowed to make appeals for their sentences.” Hades explained, Persephone nodding. He’d figured that, since Persephone was going to be staying, he might as well explain to her how he ran things. The two were sitting behind his desk, currently covered in maps and schemes of the underworld. “I don't preside over everyone's trials, and both the judges and Furies can get overzealous. If the accused can make a good case as to how they don't belong down in Tartarus, then I move them somewhere else. Most often Asphodel.” As of now, he'd just explained Tartarus’ place in the scheme of things, at least as a place.

“Do many succeed in their appeal?” Persephone asked, curious.

Hades thought for a moment. “Not really, most get a reduced sentence. Most often, the ones I allow to pass through are thieves. In the grand scheme of things, it's such a nothing offense…”

“Are they the ones who appeal the most?” She asked, tilting her head.

“No, that would be men who were cruel to those lesser than them. They don't realize that they're nothing special.” Hades told her, before rolling his eyes. “Honestly, they all bleed blood at the end of the day. And entering legend takes much more than a few fearing your name.”

Persephone nodded, thoughtful. “Are there appeals that you… can't take?”

“Blasphemy and hubris. They've angered other gods, and I can do nothing for them.” He explained. “And most murders. It isn't very often that one is able to properly justify ending another life.”

Persephone thought for a moment, rubbing her chin. “You said only bad people end up in Tartarus. Where does everyone else go?”

Hades snorted. “Not the bad people, Persephone. Just the truly awful, those who actively harm in both actions and intentions. One can be completely and utterly mediocre to the core without ever crossing that threshold. But to answer your question, most go to Asphodel.”

“Asphodel…” Persephone muttered under her breath, trying to figure out where she'd heard that word before. She then gasped, plucking one of the white flowers out of her hair. “It's those flowers! I was wondering what they were…”

Hades chuckled. “Not a lot of things can grow down here, unfortunately. Tartarus is hostile to life itself, and both Asphodel and the rock upon which my house is built aren't much better. The only thing from the surface I've been able to maintain is a pomegranate tree.”

“Oh… what other plants are able to grow, besides these flowers and your tree?” Persephone asked.

Hades hummed, tilting his head. “Unless it's gifted by one of my siblings, all wooden furniture in my house was made from either cypress or white poplar.” He started. “Mint also grows very well.”

Persephone blew air out of her mouth, exasperated. “Even in the land of the dead, Minthe holds on stronger than most…”

“Due to being a staple back on the surface, barley has also found its way down there. Somehow. A lot of souls down in Asphodel cultivate it, while waiting for what comes next.” Hades continued explaining. “As a result, most of our plant-based food comes from the Fields of Mourning and Elysium. We get meat and other things from a mix of imports from Olympus and animal sacrifices.”

Persephone frowned. “The Fields of Mourning? I thought the Underworld was made up of three sections.”

“I- it's how I first organized things when I took over Iapetus’ position, yes.” Hades started. “Tartarus for the wicked, Elysium for the favored, and Asphodel for everyone else. However, it turns out that humans are more complicated than that. When they die, they're forced to leave behind things, and they mourn for those things.” He sighed. “Some mourn much more strongly than others.”

“So, you put them in the Field while waiting for them to calm down!” Persephone finished, beaming when Hades nodded in confirmation.

“Ultimately, my goal is to ease the process of reincarnation. Souls, once dead, break down into shades, and then these shades melt down and back into the fabric of reality.” He explained. “The favored are allowed to live in eternal bliss in Elysium, the waters from the rivers diluting each other so much it goes back around to being a regular river for those barely-shades.”

“Very dangerous to mortals though, I should guess.” Persephone pipped up, the smile on her face turning amused.

“And you'd be right. Just the Styx mixing with the Lethe would result in certain death. If you add in the Archeron, Phlegethon, and Cocytus, it would instantly kill them. Wouldn't even leave a body behind, being struck down by Zeus would be less violent.” Hades answered, smiling at her amused giggle. “But my point was: souls that mourn strongly are temporarily placed in the Fields, their energy pours out of them and into the plant “life” around, and once they've properly calmed down, they're moved to Asphodel. Once there, they often pick up what they did in life, and simply go through their motions until their end arrives.”

“I see… you mentioned rivers?” Persephone then asked, tilting her head. Hades nodded in answer. “I was only aware of the Styx. What are the other four? Do they have a function?”

“Oh! Well… you already know that Charon ferries souls across the Styx. It's also through that river that souls flow back out to be reborn.” He explained. “The Lethe is essential to the reincarnation process, as it erases memories and feelings.”

Persephone gasped in realization. “It allows the souls to break down faster!”

Hades nodded in confirmation, smiling. “You get it. Animals and monsters come through here by following the banks of the Acheron, but they break down much faster than human souls. Most often before they even make it here. The Plegethon is made of liquid fire, and flows out of Tartarus. Not all souls in Tartarus are actively punished and imprisoned, I already told you that.”

Persrphone nodded. “Not all crimes are equal. What does that have to do with the… Phlegethon river?”

“Those who can't take existing in Tartarus are allowed to throw themselves in it, and disappear.” Hades explained. “To them, it's indistiguishable from lava. It also allow their souls to reenter reincarnation.”

“Oooh… What about the Cocytus?”

“That's where souls who die at sea end up.” Hades informed her. “As well as those who weren't buried properly. Funeral rites are, in fact, very important for the dead's safe arrival here. Unfortunately, we have no safety net for souls in case they're not respected.”

“Oh, that sucks…” Persephone muttered, thinking it over. “Can't Charon offer them the ride?”

“Despite how Zeus might insist, us gods do, in fact, have flaws.” Hades deadpanned. “They tend to come with our domains. You've probably noticed that water deities tend to be choleric?”

Persephone thought for moment. “... I just thought lord Poseidon had a problem.” She then blurted out.

“Oh, he does. It's ridiculous, how easy it is to set him off.” Hades confirmed. “But have you truly not noticed it? Haven't you found that water nymphs tend to be far more badly-tempered than plant nymphs?”

“Oh! Now that you mention it…” Persephone thought about it. “Wait. Queen Hera is badly-tempered, but she's not a water deity.”

“Having a bad temper isn't exclusive to water deities, it's just the most widespread flaw amongst them.” Hades explained with a laugh. "Also, Hera and Poseidon are twins. They share far more in common than one would think."

"Uh!" Persephone exclaimed in surprise, making him laugh harder.

His expression then turned more serious. “For us Chtonic deities, our most widespread flaw is greed. Charon is included in that. Unless someone pays him, he won't ferry them across the river. And unless that someone is, let's say, a small child giving him a shiny rock, he demands a coin as payment.” He explained. “And I can’t just make him ferry everyone. He's still a son of Nyx, and she adores her children. I need my relationship with her to be positive.” Him and his siblings paying her proper respect where their predecessors failed had quite literally been the deciding factor in them solidifying their power.

Persephone groaned. “I can't think of anything to solve that…”

“It's alright.” Hades reassured her. “I don't want you to fix all of our problems. The thing with Cocytus isn't urgent. Let me worry about running things, alright?”

Persephone took a deep breath. “Alright… you still haven't told me about Elysium.”

“Ah. Elysium.” Hades gasped, before rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “It's where the god's favored go. Heroes and legends, people who have made. If they request for their families to come with them, I allow it, as long as this family isn't in Tartarus. They've earned their paradise.”

Persephone hummed, thinking. “I have a request…”

“Ask it, then.”

“Could you… maybe… allow the truly virtuous into Elysium as well?” She requested, smiling. “Consider it as them earning my favor.”

Hades chuckled, before reaching out and tucking a curl behind her ear. “Truly, you are too good for this place. Your request will be taken into consideration. I do believe that's all.” He then declared, straightening in his seat and stretching his arms above his head. “Is there anything else you're wondering about?”

“Well,” Persephone started, frowning. “I was wondering about some of the people living in your house. I do believe the three judges aren't gods, and neither is the head maid or your other head of security…”

“Oh! That's because they aren't.” Hades started explaining. “With the exception of Medusa, most of the servants in my house are shades that circle in and out of Asphodel. Minos the First, Rhadamanthus and Aecus were kings who made a good name for themselves and usually reside in Elysium, so I have them judge most souls in my stead. As for Medusa and Asterion…” He sighed. “They're monsters. They can't be judged on the same standard as humans, and I found it easier to simply… not. Especially poor Asterion. So, I have them serve my house until they're ready to rejoin the cycle.” He then got out of his seat, and offered her his hand. “Now, I do believe we should go get something to eat. Are you coming?”

Persephone smiled, taking his hand. “Lead the way, O Hades.”

[masteryoftheseas]

@takenamiss​ asked: “Do you know my father?” He asked carefully, lips pressing together in a shy sort of way. Lelantos had asked questions when he was a boy but soon realized how pointless it was. He would never meet him. He would never know if there was any.. resemblance. But now that they were being released.. well.. he was going to meet him, right? And for a rare time since boyhood he was feeling anxious. Perhaps he could win some information from someone who had also once been a stranger to his father. Surely Eurybia had met him due to the friendship between him and his uncle. His mother had told him that Coeus was sensitive in his own way, intelligent, focused. But he had heard plenty of bad things, too. Stoic, insensitive, cruel, selfish. Perhaps his mother was biased. Blinded. Or perhaps not. He wished he could get some clear idea of him, so he’d know what to expect. Or perhaps avoid.

  At first, Eurybia was at a loss for words. Perhaps she should have expected the inquiry but not directed toward her. She only knew Coeus through Crius and rarely conversed with him alone. She talked more with Phoebe and even more with Asteria after she married Perses. Coeus was unsure about pairing any of his daughters with Crius’s sons although the sea goddess never understood why. Despite Crius’s disappointment in them, he still prided himself on having the best suitable sons to marry off to the other titans their ages. Hardly the brutes Iapetus and Clymene created. But once Eurybia and Phoebe handled arranging Perses and Asteria, he started to sway to the idea. 

  She didn’t have anything that would satisfy Lelantos’s curiosity and it saddened her to disappointment him. She couldn’t offer him a lengthy character study about his father and spin tales of their times together. He wasn’t her friend. Just a brother in law through Crius. Crius was one of Coeus’s closest friends but he wasn’t around to provide the titan any details. 

  “I knew him, yes, but not intimately. My husband...your uncle Crius did though. They were great friends and understood each other in a way that’s hard to describe. I think it’s because they are not as loud and savage like your other uncles. Crius and Coeus had to be the ones to ground your uncles and perhaps Oceanus if he was around.” Eurybia finally answered him with a sigh. “Coeus was always courteous and polite to me whenever I was around. He didn’t talk much but also I didn’t with him. If anything, we really only talked when it came to arranging my son Perses and your sister Asteria. He was quite protective of her but Perses wasn’t one to worry about. Now if my eldest son Pallas married Asteria or Leto, then there might have been an issue.” She chuckled softly.

[iapetusneume]

fanfic never have i ever! i'm not fussy about fandom, but in any fandom we share, have you done fix-it fic? if yes, what is your favorite? if no, what would you fix in a ffxiv fic?

I actually have a few! 1 Dragon Age, and 2 Warhammer 40k

Delivery - where Anders gets Ser Pounce-A-Lot back in DA2. Because what the fucking hell Bioware? You're going to take away his cat? Not on my watch!

A Clean Slate - thanks to the wild nature of 40k canon, this is actually a plausible way for two of the characters who died to be brought back to life. There is plenty of argument on whether one of the characters can be brought back this way - because right now his soul doesn't exist - but I am writing fanfic and I'm fixing it, lol.

Actions Speak Louder Than Words - the big fix here is the fact that canon hasn't had these two characters see each other yet after being separated for 10,000 years. And one character really needs a hug. He gets it and then they have sex

[percabeth4life]

Does it ever just blow your mind that when the Gods didn't help Percy and Annabeth in Tartarus, their greatest enemies did? i.e. Bob and Damasen? Just something I find really cool.

Well, for one it does make sense. Tartaros is a prison, it isn't someplace a God can casually hop in and just start helping. At most they could throw something in and hope it reached the kids but like- that isn't a thing I'd expect them to do.

But yeah it is cool that the enemies help. I think it would've been even cooler if there'd been a reflection of that on land too, instead of just foes fighting there.

[andejoe]

The three humans sitting in my exam room all laughed at me. I lowered my hands, as if focusing less on my task would magically make them make sense.

"Oh." Human Julia ceased laughing first. "Wait, you're serious?"

Stevan quieted his laughter and Mira wiped laughter tears away from her face.

"Böt, you do know that basically 95% of humans never leave their own solar system, right?" Julia asked.

I stared at Julia, waiting for the laughter to start up. Surely this was a joke.

"I think like 98% never even leave their home planet," Mira added.

"That was my family. They never wanted to go anywhere! I wanted to go to Saturn for my tenth birthday, and they took me to a Saturn themed diner. We lived on Iapetus!" Stevan exclaimed.

"You think that's bad?" Julia turned towards Stevan. "My cousin thought traveling across the continent was 'too far'. It's not my fault the coolest hikes were in the mountains. Worst sweet 16 ever."

"My aunts cried when they found out I was going to college on Eris. They thought I was abandoning the family. Wasn't far enough away for me," Mira said.

The joke wasn't ending. The medical wrap fell from my hands. I stared in horror at the three conversing in front of me.

"Böt, you feeling alright?" Stevan asked.

"You are telling the truth?"

"Yeah," Stevan confirmed.

I felt sick in my stomachs. I was mostly positive my biology didn't allow for vomiting, but I didn't have another word for how I felt. "There are 98% more humans alive?"

"You really thought the majority of humans were traveling the galaxy?" Mira asked.

I didn't trust my voice. I nodded confirmation.

"Oh no, Böt, no. Most humans don't have the desire to travel like that. People get comfortable where they're at and they don't want to go anywhere," Mira said gently.

"Doesn't most of your species stay on your home system?" Stevan asked.

"Of course, but my home system isn't a death trap!" I felt better getting the words out. "I don't know which is worse, the humans comfortable living in a nightmare or the ones who got bored of it!"

"Hey Böt, you should probably sit down for a minute. You look kind of sick," Julia suggested.

I did, collapsing into the open cot. Julia got up and knelt down carefully to scoop up the dropped medical wrap.

"Alright, Stevan, I know you busted that rib, so let's get you an xray first. Mira, here, wrap your foot while I help him." Julia took charge of my assignment, despite being injured herself.

"Who died and put you in charge?" Mira asked, her tone suggesting joke.

"I have 4H training and worked a ranch back on Earth. Either of you have more medical training?" Julia asked.

Neither answered.

"That's what I thought. Now, wrap your foot, and Stevan, hobble over here."

I laid on the cot, eyes staring directly at the radiated light above me, praying for relief from my symptoms. Stress could cause near paralysis, but I didn't understand this unease in my guts. I listened to the humans care for themselves, jovial and boisterous.

I would never understand humans.

[mythologymadness]

@asssneksual asked for stuff about Atlas.

Alright, admittedly, i love the Titans. Chthonic things and Titans. I dunno what it is but a deity, a being THAT old? So interesting. Atlas is a Titan i regrettably DON'T know a lot about.

Now onto Atlas. So. He's this big strong dude right? Yeah! Kronos likes him and all is well with the Golden Age of Tyranny!!

Atlas was the leader of Kronos' army. He was known for being strong, good at fighting and bestie. This man could fight forever. Bestie's the Titan of endurance. That's like. Doing stuff for a while and not being tired

Due to supporting Kronos, Atlas was punished once the gods had won the Titanomachy. Unlike the other Titans, most of whom were cast down into Tartarus, he had a different punishment.

Atlas holds the sky, not the earth. This is a common mistake and I'd like to explain why!! In 'ancient' art Atlas appears to be holding a globe. This is a lie as most of the Ancient Greeks did not believe the world was spherical, MUCH less in Homer and Hesiod's time. Most of Ancient Greece viewed Gaia as a plate.

After Ouranos was disposed of, the sky could no longer hold itself away from Gaia and proceeded to try and fall closer to her. Thus, Kronos set Hyperion, Iapetus, Koios and Krios to the east, west, north and south respectively. They are the Pillars. Their existence made sure the sky stayed away from Gaia. Now jump forward to the aftermath of Titanomachy. The pillars are in Tartarus. There is absolutely *zilch* stopping the sky from crashing down to earth and destroying everything.

Fast forward, Zeus and co using their brains and looking at who's the strongest. Their best bet is *probably* Kratos, the god of strength, but he's Styx' son so out of the question, so the next best guy is Atlas. Atlas is chained under the sky on Othrys whilst he holds it up.

Now that we've gotten that part out of the way let's get into fun things.

Atlas is *also* attributed to teaching man how to map the stars, thus be able to sail, and just general astronomy or astrology or whatever the damn thing is called. Probably both tbh. (Imagine Atlas being like "mmmm of course you're a male scorpio")

This comes into play when you look deeper into his myths. Atlas was not always a Titan. Sometimes he was just some dude. Just some basic ass dude talking about stars and walking everywhere. I dunno much further into that but if y'all want me to research it i will.

Atlas also helped our good pal Heracles! What a fucking bummer! i hate that guy! Heracles got him out from under the sky, held it up, had Atlas get the apples because his punk ass was too short, then tricked Atlas into taking back the sky.

So... I hoped that answered your question? If not feel free to lemme know *in an ask* what u and ur mom were fighting about over Atlas and I can directly answer!!

[eligos-venator]

Iapetus - Is your character afraid of their own mortality?

Eligos's main drive has always been the fear of death. That supposed fearlessness that he has staring down angry beasts and man alike with a weapon in hand? It isn't courage that pushes him forward into the fray. It's fear. He fears the slow death of starvation, and by extension, becoming so feeble he cannot care for himself and then subsequently starve. He needs to win to earn money to avoid this, and so faced with that fear constantly nipping at his heels, he charges forward to put distance between it and him as he searches for a solution to escape it.

As a result, Eligos has long sought what he sees as a true immortality, or rather, a combination of eternal life, youth, and regeneration of the body so that he doesn't condemn himself to an eternity of torment if he's severely injured after the fact.

Having exhausted his search in finding an answer in the sciences, Eligos is now looking at the void and what it may contain in hopes of that if science has no solution, perhaps magic might have the answers sought, or those of the void itself might lead to an answer, with how they themselves seemingly can last for eternity.

Thank you for the ask @vazaymir !

[anotheroceanid]

Oh my gods thank you for answering me I'm about to sleep so I'll annoy you more tomorrow if you keep answering my asks, Kronos thoughts on Percy? Just because of the Rhea dress up series I'm now starting on your ask blog

Don’t worry, it’s nice talking ✌️

Hm… okay, but as I said, Titans can be creepy. (this can be considered a bit darker than the previous snippets, and it gets a bit of titan lore from WTHB, but nothing that counts as an spoiler)

You know these old guys who will look at you and tell you that you look just like their deceased wives? That was Kronos. But at a much younger age, Percy thought it was super normal being compared to a long-recluse titaness.

See, everything was happening so fast ever since he got to camp, that never once he reflected much on the “you look like your grandma” talks. He thought it meant in a “she sided with the Olympians too, now they’re not even on speaking terms with her anymore”, and coming from the guy who ate his kids, Percy wasn’t paying much attention.

Years later, it definitely snapped to him.

Probably talking to one of the other elder titans, he’d come to realise how much Kronos used to really compare him to his former wife. Even in the way he spoke to Percy. Weird. Weird. Weeeeird.

The thing is: after a millennia or two living on Tartarus (and worse, without a body), you don’t end up well. Kronos, all his siblings would confirme, was never in a good place… mentally speaking.

Their father detested him more than he detested anyone else, and in the meanwhile Ouranos worshiped the ground Rhea walked on. And Kronos had a huge, huuuuge crush on her ever since… ever. No need to say that Ouranos was 100% against it, that was his little girl, his favourite, the jewel of his world, one good thing about having kids is that one of these kids were Rhea.

But Rhea liked Kronos too, when he was just that silly guy that made her laugh, so she hoped eventually Ouranos would soften a bit to this potential relationship. Well, it never happened. The whole thing with the coup went on. Rhea could’ve told his father that her mother and brothers were conspiring against him, but turned out she liked Kronos more than she liked their father.

Kronos was very smug about it.

About the time the coup happened, some of the titans were already married. Tethys and Oceanus had a lot of kids already, Hyperion and Theia had Helios and Selene already, and it was just a matter of time before Koios and Phoebe started having kids too. Krios was trying to woo his violent sea lady and Iapetus was doing just alright as a bachelor (until Clymene was born, but that’s an entirely different story), and the other titanesses were still in their “Boys??? Ew!!!” era. So, Rhea and Kronos got together. Everyone knew it’d happen. Happy ending, right?

Nope. As stated before, Kronos never been in a nice mental state. But Rhea loved him very much, and thought Kronos’ turmoil was just a matter of time (yes, a pun) and that he’d be fine sooner than later and would like have kids just as much as Hyperion but a little less than Oceanos (she didn’t want to have that many kids).

Then, she got pregnant. And he ate the baby. Then again. Then again. Then again. Well, we all know the story about how it got to the rock.

But Kronos… not so much. Maybe something deep (as Tartarus) down, he felt bad about it. Maybe he did want to have kids. Maybe he even liked the kids that he had. He made a joke about his daughters’ future weddings on the day Helios got married to Oceanos’ eldest girl, Perseus, who was Kronos’ favourite niece. He spoke about them like they were sitting just beside him, not in the bottom of his stomach. That was terrible. Rhea cried a lot.

So everything to say: Kronos is not very aware of reality as it is. He’s a terrible person (titan, whatever), but he’s also a very confused one. So at the sight of Percy, he didn’t see Percy… At least, not all times. Usually, he’d see Rhea playing in a younger, boyish figure. Sometimes, he’d see his enemy. And sometimes, it’d mix. And if Rhea was a bit wilder, well, he wasn’t exactly the same either, so whatever.

And if if Rhea had loved him more than she loved her father once, maybe it could work again, right?

But Luke didn’t want to cooperate with this part of his plan. Thankfully.