I hear Athenas war cry in the shouts of protests, fighting a war now closer to home, I see her in the young women with picket signs clenched tightly in their fists
Hera curses the names of the abusers The ones who break families and marriages Her voice heard in the wedding bells of young lovers
Poseidon now resides in a beach home Going out every night to pick of trash left by the day Shooting daggers at the drunk men letting their bottles be swept away
Demeter can be heard cursing the politicians refusing to believe in global warming Names of scientists and studies on the tip of her tongue She is found teaching young children how to grow their food at the community garden
Ares is found on the front lines of a different war, not fighting but protecting the innocent Guiding classrooms of children away from gunfire, His shield protecting the terrified
Apollo can be found at opens mics Reciting his latest works Or walking down the street in docs on his feet and a guitar on his back He knows he’s the coolest
Artemis is seen on the streets Her bow and arrow have long left her Carrying nothing more than a knife and mace She hunts a different kind of monster now
Hephaestus resides in a workshop at all hours of the night Creating custom pieces for the right price and a warm smile The hammer making him feel invincible
Aphrodite’s song is heard in the breathy kisses of teenagers Shes found walking down the street, lips a blood red Punching the men who dare disrespect her
Hermes is seen with a smirk as he walks long well-traveled roads Delivering the messages of those needing to be heard Traveling, telling stories, and wearing out another pair of shoes
Dionysus’s voice heard only over the pounding bass in the bar Keeping watch over young girls drinks Dancing, partying and living as he throws another one back
Hades is seen weeping over the graves of those taken much to soon Looking to his wife for comfort He’s long lost his faith in humanity
Persephone found in the gardens beside her mother in the spring Brushing off girl’s dirty knees and putting flower crowns on their heads She can be seen holding onto hades as he mourns the loss of life
Hecate will be found running metaphysical shops Bringing hope to powerful women wanting more Selling potions, nobody thinks will work And collecting graveyard dirt for a new spell
Zeus is watching over everyone Watches Athena cry Hera curse the men, he being one of them Poseidon’s glares Demeter’s harsh words Ares raising his shield Apollos singing Artemis as she tracks a new beast Watches Hephaestus work Sees Aphrodite punch Hears Hermes words Sees hades weep And Persephone plant and comfort her partner And grins as Hecate keeps magic alive
hades isn’t a badass. hades named his three-headed-guard-of-the-underworld-dog spot. hades whispers to his flowers to make them grow. hades grows fruit. there’s no sun in the underworld.
hades isn’t a badass. stop saying this false thing
In myth, Hades’ most remarked upon traits are 1) how responsible/reliable he is, 2)how sober-minded he is, 3)how dedicated, implacable, and long-remembering he is, and 4)how boring and grim most of the other Olympians think he is to be around. Oh and notably, that if you play him a song he likes, he’ll basically give you anything you ask for(though not without conditions).
Hades is, canonically, a gigantic nerd. If they’d had trainsets, he’d have been the Olympian who collected trainsets, meticulously corrected with exacto knife and hobby-paints the errors toy-makers introduced to those trainsets, and then endlessly talked about those trainsets to anyone sat next to him at Thanksgiving Dinner 😐 When he wasn’t trying to rope them into an interminable discussion about gardening or divine law, that is 😐 😐 He’s the sort of god who frequently handed out punishment like giving someone a million-piece puzzle where every piece is shaped the same, that resets itself at the start of every day if you don’t complete it, and then he keeps the last piece on his person at all times as a secret private joke for eternity because he finds you personally distasteful(not even because he’s mad at you or hates you particularly; he just doesn’t like you as a person) 😐 😐 😐 He is. A Gigantic. Nerd.
He’s also like one of the only gods who is faithful to his wife. And he listens to her like when she asks for a soul to be released and he’s like “But honey, the rules.” And she just gives him that look and he goes “Yes dear,” and lets the soul go with the easiest freaking instructions ever in a myth. And the human still fucks it up. Not his fault Persephone, not Hades’ fault this time. Essentially, Hades is sorta like the accountant suburban dad who collects really specific figurines and gets really grumpy when people mess up his lawn. Do you know how hard his wife worked on those roses? He is calling his attorney. Oh wait, he is also an attorney.
Filed under: Favorite Myths
Everybody knows it’s Persephone that you’ve got to watch out for.
I really want to write a fic about how creepy and haunted the Brecilian Forest is because it’s canon that the Veil’s thin throughout due to how many wars were fought within it and how much blood was soaked into the roots of thousands of trees, how many forgotten ghosts from forgotten battles still walk and cry out for their brothers in arms, looking for a battlefield that was reclaimed by the forest generations ago. There are spirits roaming free of the Fade, angry and confused and lost in this strange static world that isn’t the right shade of green, living trees that can lie dormant for centuries until a poor sod ventures too close. At night, all you can hear is the rush of wind through an unbroken canopy that spans so many miles, but it sounds so regular it’s like some huge beast breathing, or thousands of voices muttering and whispering together as one. The forest is alive.
It reminds me so much of all the stories about the fae that I read growing up, about how the forest twists and turns around you to keep you trapped and walking in endless circles without realising it, you’re not supposed to look over your shoulder if you hear weird noises, the trees are as old if not older than the mountains and they probably know you’re walking past them, they’re aware on some level comparable to an animal. That forest glade looks so serene and peaceful, why don’t you sit down and stay awhile so the sun can warm your skin, the trees were always that tall, there’s nothing hungry and envious lurking in the shadows that will fur your bones with moss for stepping beyond them into the light…
And the Dalish are just… used to it all. They’ve grown up with it, they know how to survive and navigate and which areas to steer clear of if they want to stay alive and whole, no matter how inviting that forest glade looks. They ignore the whispers they swear they can hear in a crackling campfire. They pray to Andruil to give them keen eyes, and Dirthamen to hush the whisperings that the People aren’t supposed to hear.
I don’t feel like that’s addressed enough by the fandom. If it has been, please please please give me links. And if anyone is inspired by this post and writes something because of it, please @ me so I can read and share it! really want to read about the Brecilian being an actual horror movie/faerie story Ancient forest.
