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idksmtms · 4 months

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You Are Not One of Us (Poseidon x Norse Goddess!reader) - Part 1

Full Request

AN: OMGGGG my first request! And it’s an absolute banger too??? I feel like a queen, I truly do.

I know the original request was more about Marvel-based Norse mythology but I’m not a Marvel fan so I went with original Norse mythology! Hope that’s ok!

-Also yes, this is a place where we pretend the Hades-Persephone myth isn’t as messed up as it actually is and is a sweet love story instead, fuck off-

-I know Hestia is supposed to be a virgin goddess and never marry but like… I’m thinking of a cute hearth goddess and how she could love Hephaestus and I want that for them-

Final PS. that corner pic of Toby Stephens doesn't fit the rest of the aesthetic, I know, but I saw it while searching and it had me quivering so I had to add it.

Summary: Zeus and Odin have brought peace to the worlds of the gods. With peace comes love. But all is NOT fair in love and war.

Word count: 6,187

Trigger Warnings: she/her pronouns, AFAB reader, profanity, innuendo, age gap (even tho they both thousands of years old), god racism?? Idk they act like “foreigner gods” is a bad thing, lusting, liking the fact that he looks older (is this a warning???), (please let me know if I missed any)

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians characters. I do not claim to own any of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians characters. I do not own any pictures used nor do I claim to do so.

Always appreciate comments, likes, and reblogs :)

It was the dawn of a new era when Kronos was thrown to Tartarus. His evil had touched more than just the world of the Greek gods, sending ripples through the very world of mythology itself. Though the worlds of the Norse and the Grecians were thousands of miles away, their gods had often met on the battlefields. A multitude of stories, now lost to time, told of the wars of snow and sand, told of the loves made and broken between viking idols and spartan gods. But upon the ‘death’ of Kronos, the new king of the gods found himself in a forgiving mood. Odin too, having given up so much for wisdom, realised the best way forward was to have peace in all aspects under his control, once and for all.

The two gods met deep in a forest exactly halfway between what is now Greece and Norway, a forest that eventually became the town of Vlasim in the Czech Republic. No one other than the two kings knows what was said in order for the peace pact to be made, but they left with promises of order, friendship, and an invitation for the Asgardians to visit the stronghold that is Mount Olympus.

When Zeus returned with this news, they all rejoiced and began ensuring Mount Olympus looked better than it ever had before. After all, they still needed to outshine these other supposed “gods”. Hera took charge of ensuring the entire place glowed, already beginning to argue with Demeter on how the flowers would look best. Aphrodite was already picking out her best dresses and sprucing up her hair, Artemis and Apollo hopping off to go hunting for some creature that would show their true prowess to the Asgardians (secretly hoping they would make it back in time). Dionysus was left in charge of the entertainment, though he was quickly focused only on providing wine for the entire table, and Hephaestus and Hestia found comfort in quiet corners of the room, watching all the chaos unfold. Hades had been unbothered, promising he would show up with Persephone when the Asgardians arrived and nothing more before disappearing in a puff of smoke back to the underworld and no doubt the loving arms of his wife. Poseidon was… well he didn’t know how he felt. If he was honest, he was beginning to feel old. Life as a god wasn’t all it was cut out to be, and it had been dragging a bit recently. His millennia of existence were beginning to catch up to him and he wasn’t sure how to jumpstart his enjoyment again. He had even taken to wearing an older form recently, a man still in his prime, but one with the wisdom of a thousand years subtly showing itself in the lines around his eyes and mouth. A man still corded in muscle but with the stockiness, width, and strength of one who had had one hundred lifetimes to hone it. This seemed like exactly the kind of thing he needed to reintroduce excitement to his life. Though Zeus had not included him in the peace talks, he was happy to be part of the governing that came after, to help maintain the peace between the gods. For once he felt he could happily commend his brother for a job well done.

And he was excited to meet these new gods, apprehensive too of course, but… excited. It would be a good opportunity to measure themselves up to the others in their world, to truly decide if they were as invincible as they believed they were. Poseidon believed it was important for the gods to have a wake-up call every now and again to their fragility, and he was sure this would be one of them.

Across the world, in the realm of Asgard and the halls of Valhalla, ale was poured and songs were sung as the gods rejoiced. Odin sat on his throne high above the others as some danced, some fought, some feasted, and some passed out from too much of everything too soon. Odin watched over them all with one of his rare smiles, a hand resting atop the one Frigg had placed on the arm of his throne. Even Loki, occasional friend, occasional enemy, had joined for this celebration. He was proud of what he had achieved, of the worthy sacrifices he had made, to not only bring him eternal wisdom, but to bring peace between two races of gods. Odin turned to Frigg, leaning down to kiss her cheek. She blushed, turning to him and pressing one on his cheek in return.

“Everything is well?” She asked, caressing his cheek just under the eye he had given up.

“Perfect,” he sighed, then looked back out to the dancefloor where his children now pranced jokingly.

Thor laughed heartily as he began to chug from his mug, froth spilling over the sides of his cheeks as his friends clapped and cheered. Loki even smiled, though he was more caught up in trying to continue his conversation with the little goddess sandwiched between her brother and him. Odin’s youngest child, the newest addition to Asgard, giggled at her brother’s antics and the clever commentary the god of mischief whispered in her ear. She was still young by the standards of the gods, having only seen a thousand sun cycles, and she was treated as such, cherished by all who looked upon the daughter of Odin, the goddess of love, so loved in fact, that Odin had chosen to bestow his own title of god of war onto her. The goddess of love, and war, Y/n Odinsdottir.

You were excited for this trip to Mount Olympus. You had been aware of the Greek gods since your birth but you had not had the opportunity of meeting them in battle. Being only a thousand years old meant you had been coddled for five hundred of them, and though you had been given the title of goddess of war, you still felt you had to earn it. Balancing the powers of love and war was a struggle you were still learning. You had spent the last five hundred years trying to choose the right warriors to bestow your blessing upon, the right vikings to give the power of love (the second being especially difficult as you had only felt familial love thus far). This would be an opportunity to learn from these other gods, to not only enjoy a new era of peace but to build on your own skills.

Odin, Frigg, and Thor enjoyed your excitement, watching with smiles as you pranced about in different dresses wondering which would be the best to wear, brushing out your hair and carefully pinning the dark blue tresses into an updo. Though you often changed the way you looked (shapeshifting came with the job of being a love goddess for all mythologies it seemed), you never changed the blue hair. You had quickly grown fond of it, and the natural movement of hair in that colour reminded you of waves on the ocean, a particular favourite spot of yours. Even past the blue hair, you often wore blue dresses in varying shades, simply because you had come to love the ocean, and thus the colour blue. The other gods often remarked that love was not black nor white, rather it was blue.

On the eve of the grand meeting of the gods, you had sat beside Loki in a stone alcove high above the feast hall of Valhalla, watching the slain heroes rejoice for another evening. Though it was in Loki’s nature to be a trickster, you had come to enjoy his company and often seeked him out when you were bored or nervous. He knew the history of the gods almost as well as Odin, and you enjoyed the way he told his stories with exaggerated voices and dancing movements. You loved learning about all that had happened before you, all the battles the gods had fought, the relationships they had made, long before you were even a thought in Odin’s head. On a night like this, when you had too much energy to just while away the hours, you found Loki and begged him to tell you a story. You were still young, and possibly your power as a love goddess had an influence too, but he found he could never quite say no to you.

“Alright, little goddess, settle in, for tonight I tell you a story of love and perilous heartbreak, a story that involves lovers who should never have met, lovers who had no business being together, and who fate punished for it,” Loki began, eyes sparkling as he gazed deep into your own. You shivered and nodded, excitement and just a hint of fear tickling your spine. You sat back against the stone wall and brought your knees to your chest, resting your chin on top of them and waiting for Loki to begin again.

“So many years ago that neither you nor I were even a thought in the dust, one of the aesir fell in love with a goddess of another land. Though their names and abilities are lost now, we know that the aesir was one of our strongest, almost indestructible. The goddess was special in her own right, among her own people, and these two great clans warred for many centuries. Years and years were spent slaughtering each other’s families, using human battles as their own, bleeding each other dry until there was barely anything left to call them gods.

During one such battle, this aesir had broken through the front lines of the opponents, but was stopped dead in his tracks when he laid eyes upon a beautiful goddess helping to heal what she could. He was enamoured by her, so enamoured that for the first time in any battle he was nicked by an arrow.” Loki paused, seeing the way your eyes widened and began to get teary, and he smiled gently. “Do not worry little goddess, it was only a small cut, and he was able to heal, but the true wound was in his heart. He wanted to find this goddess, to be near her, to love her, and yet every day he had to fight her people, without fail.

One day, he decided to stay back while the others fought, and he snuck over to the other side to try and find his goddess. He disguised himself as a butterfly and fluttered around their camp looking for her. Again, when he found her he was struck dumb by her beauty, and instantly changed into his true form in front of her. She was terrified, and she almost began to yell for help, but he begged her not to. He promised her his life, his very essence as a god, if only she would give him a chance to show her how much he had come to love her. Of course she was apprehensive at first, he was the enemy after all, but she allowed him this.

The aesir took his knife, cut his palm, and dripped his blood onto the ground. With the first drop, he created a new flower and named it Linnea, for her. With the second, he created a flurry of butterflies that would follow after her wherever she would go, do whatever she wished of them. And with the third, he created a thin gold thread. He took one end of the thread and tied it around his wrist before offering the other to her. He said that if she took it, he would bind himself to her, soul to soul. That if she loved him back, they may be separated, but the gold thread would tie them together forever and wherever they may be, they could always follow it back to one another. The goddess, won over by his utter devotion, accepted his offering and promised to love him back until the end of her days.

Each night they separated to their own camps, connected only by the gold thread, and each day while the battles and the war raged on, they would sneak away to far off places to be together and live in a happiness their people couldn’t seem to find. But all was not well for the lovers, for the Norns had spun their threads and knew that the price of their love was one no god could ever pay. And so, one day when the lovers snuck off, a god from this other clan who had been promised this goddess’s hand in marriage decided to follow. He saw this ultimate betrayal and sounded the alarm. Both lovers were dragged back to their camps in shackles, the aesir and the other gods unsure of how to punish them.

The eldest of the aesir knew what must be done. The lovers could never be together, it was simply impossible, and he spoke with the leader of this other clan in a moment of truce. They were both in agreement, and the elder was sent off to complete this task. He ventured to Yggdrasil and found Urðr, Verðandi, and Skuld. He had Verðandi remove any memory or thought of the goddess from the aesir’s mind. He had Urðr remove any trace of the goddess from the aesir’s fate. And he had Skuld remove any future with the goddess.

When this was done, the elder returned to the camp and found the god to see if the Norns had worked true. He had no memory of the goddess, and seemed returned as he was to the aesir. On the other side, the same had happened to the goddess with her own fates, any trace of the god removed from her thoughts, memories, fate and future. Everyone thought all was well and normalcy had returned, but both god and goddess felt the eternal tug of a gold thread wrapped around their wrist that no one but them could see. Both attempted to follow it but it seemed to never have an end. They would stand in front of each other, and look straight through the other, never able to see one another again. Forever they were cursed to wonder why they were pulled toward something they could not see, something they would never be able to find.” Loki finished with a sigh, looking at you as you sat curled up against the wall opposite him. You were frowning, tears collected at the corners of your eyes and lip trembling.

“I didn’t like that story,” you mumbled, shaking your head and wiping at your eyes. “What was so wrong with them loving each other?”

“Little goddess, we are terrified of the things we don’t understand. We don’t understand love, we don’t understand why it evades us but not those we hate. We don’t understand why it makes us love those we do not want to love.” Loki began to stand, brushing off his legs and shirt with a shrug.

“Then… then none of you understand me. You are all terrified of me. I am the goddess of love, am I not?” You asked, looking up at him with fearful eyes. But Loki just smiled and patted your head.

“You help us understand love, little goddess. That is why we need you, because without you, we would all be even more lost. Imagine that,” he smirked and chuckled, then walked away, mumbling something about readying for the journey to Olympus.

When the Norse gods began to arrive on Olympus, the Vanir entering first, the gathered horde of Greek gods and goddesses and spirits began to mumble and talk among themselves as they judged the foreigners that now walked among them. The Grecians felt their dressing was superior, their peplos were so white that they would burn the eyes of a human. The gold edging was pure and shined as if it was freshly polished and not thread. The purple cloaks they all donned would bankrupt every village in the human world just to get enough dye to make it look that bright. They were… amused? Intrigued? Maybe even disgusted by the fashion of their guests. They all wore varying shades of red. They had either thin linen garments with animal furs draped across their shoulders and arms, or donned thick tunics of sheepskin and wool pants with leather belts decorated with axes and swords. Both groups were… apprehensive to mingle.

Zeus and Hera sat on their thrones and looked down on their guests, nodding greetings as they watched for Odin and Frigg. Poseidon and Hades sat on their own thrones to the side of their brother. Hades was turned to the side and conversing solely with Persephone who stood just behind his throne, leaning onto it and smiling down at her husband. Poseidon just sat back and watched the gods enter the grand hall, resting his chin on his hand and trying not to yawn with boredom.

The entrance of Odin and Frigg could not be missed. As they crossed the bridge into Mount Olympus, they were surrounded by the Aesir. Odin held Frigg’s hand, both dressed in traditional Viking fashion. Frigg wore a modest woollen strap dress in a shade of red so deep it looked like she had bathed in blood. Her grey eyes were smudged with black on the lids and her hair was braided on both sides and tied back, resting on a black fur stole draped over her shoulders. Odin was dressed completely in black, from his eyepatch to his tunic and sheepskin pants. But his cloak was of the pure white fur of a bear, the edges dragging on the ground behind him.

Thor followed behind his father, dressed as a common viking, but with Mjolnir dangling from his wrist, shiny and almost glowing. Baldr walked beside him, a simple white tunic and black pants comprising his outfit. But it was his hair that was the talk of the audience, so pale and white that it seemed to glow itself. He was a handsome creature, youthful and majestic, with a muscular body and a gentle smile. The muses began to giggle as they watched him walk past.

It was after Thor and Baldr had separated to stand beside their father and mother, that little gasps and whispers began to pervade the air. Behind them had walked Odin’s youngest child, wearing a dress of blue that draped over your body like water. It looked like it had been made of the thinnest netting all gathered and crushed together then draped over your body in the fashion of the Greeks. The fabric was so light near the top that it looked like the very froth of a wave, and darkened as it flared out behind you, the hem almost as black as the deepest trenches of the sea. Like your mother and father, you had draped a fur over your shoulders, hoping to appease your people. You had wanted to blend in with the Greeks, had wanted them to feel respected (you were entering their home after all) but you still wanted to look like a viking.

The Aesir walked forward as Zeus stood from his throne, followed slowly by his brothers and Hera. He smiled at the approaching group, waiting until they were just in front of the thrones before speaking.

“Welcome, all, to Mount Olympus,” his voice boomed, and a small flutter of claps sounded from around the crowd. “Thank you for joining us, and for ensuring peace between our peoples for the rest of our eternity,” he smiled, and Odin bowed his head in thanks, letting go of Frigg’s hand to hold both of his own in front of himself. “Please, converse, rest, enjoy the sights of Olympus and partake in the refreshments,” Zeus gestured his arms to the tables of ambrosia that stretched so far that even the gods lost sight of their ends. With that, he sat back on his throne, and waited for Odin and Frigg to approach.

Hades took the opportunity to grab Persephone’s hand and try to slink off but the goddess just chided him and forced him to sit back in his throne as she went to see her mother. Hel chose this moment to approach him and the two began a stilted conversation about their individual worlds of death. Hephaestus and Hestia, who had taken up to joining together in situations of unfamiliarity, sat together in the corner, whispering among themselves. Apollo found company in Bragi, though both instantly began speaking in verse to try and prove who was the better poet.

Artemis, Ares, and Athena had crowded Thor and Tyr and were all in different positions of trying to look dangerous, unamused, and intrigued at the same time. Aphrodite had pounced on Baldr, but found competition in the muses who had already made their way to surround him, and soon found herself flirting with Freyr. Hermes and Loki too had found delightful conversation with one another, full of ideas of thievery and trickery.

And Poseidon was… enamoured. Since the moment he had laid eyes on you he had not taken them away. He had slowly sat back down in his chair, worried that if he stayed standing his knees may give out. You made a god weak. You were beautiful, ethereal, magical, beyond anything even the gods could think to conjure. And your dress… oh that dress, had you chosen it for him? Had you arrived with a mind to capture his very essence? Because it started with that dress. You looked the very soul of water, the very thing that made a world impossible without it. Your hair, your luscious hair, so blue that it reminded him of his palace, of the places deepest in the sea where he felt truly at peace. And the small smile on your face as you meandered between the different groups of gods conversing, slightly shy of your place, but not unhappy. It was the smile of a fresh pearl, one that shined under even the dimmest of lights.

Poseidon watched you walk about, not entering any conversation but not shying away from listening to the others speak. Your pretty face never once dipped into a frown, and he felt like he would never truly catch his breath if he could see you in his line of vision. It took every bit of his godly power to force his eyes away, and he was both angered and thankful when some god (who seemed to be the only one who looked as old as he probably was) walked up to his throne and began conversing about fish.

You were so happy that Njord had listened to your little prompt to go speak to the god of the seas, because it meant he finally pulled his eyes away from you, and you could begin to watch him in return. He had been the first of the thrones you had looked at, and the only one you truly cared about now. His eyes were such a dark blue that they reminded you of the ocean, of your favourite place in the ocean in fact, and they seemed so… knowing, as if one look at another told him everything he needed to know about them. His form was majestic, stoic and strong, with broad shoulders and thick arms that made you desire something you had never desired before. You wanted him to hold you. You wanted him to wrap those arms around you, to run your fingers over those arms. Were you bewitched? Were you cursed? Even his hair made you feel desire, those beautiful locks of hair that resembled celestial bronze, neat yet still unrestrained with a particularly unruly strand falling onto his forehead. You wanted to run your fingers through that hair, to feel if it was truly as soft as you imagined, to press your nose into it and inhale the slightly salty scent that surely clung to him, that you had come to love as much as the sight of the ocean itself. You wanted to feel his beard on your cheeks, under your palms, to know if the white hairs that threaded through it were any coarser than the others, to know what it felt like to have a man’s face in the palms of your hands. Your entire being felt as if it was on fire, and the more you stared at him, at the slight signs of age that showed themselves in the lines by his eyes and mouth, the more you felt it burn inside you.

Someone cleared their throat to your right and you gasped, whirling on them as a blush branded itself on your cheeks, as if your body wanted to betray your thoughts. You smiled, hoping to cover up whatever embarrassment may have shown on your face, and gazed at the god before you. He was about your height, if not a little taller, with a grin that reminded you of Loki’s. His hair was black and combed back smoothly in a rather regal fashion. His eyes were black too, you noticed, so black that you couldn’t differentiate the pupil from the iris. You smiled brightly at him, bowing your head in greeting when you noticed the little wings that protruded from his shoes.

“My goodness! Your shoes!” You exclaimed, gasping and pointing at them with a delighted little laugh.

“Yes,” he laughed along, “they help me travel quickly when I am tired, though they do often have a mind of their own,” he joked, and you laughed loudly. He had a sweet voice, one that would sound happy even when he was sad. “I am Hermes, son of Zeus, what is your name?” His eyes were sparkling and you found you enjoyed it.

“I am Y/n of the Aesir, goddess of love and war,” you introduced yourself, holding out your hand to him. Hermes held it as if it were a precious gift and pressed his lips to your knuckles. You had never felt so regal.

“Ah, yes, Odin’s youngest, I have heard of your prowess on the battlefield.” Hermes was surely a charmer, you thought, and you smiled brightly, a tinge of pink to your cheeks.

“You flatter me, I am still unproven as a goddess of war, though I suppose I do plan a strategy well,” you smiled cheekily, shrugging nonchalantly and holding your hands behind your back as you swayed girlishly.

If there was one thing you were proud of, it was your ability to fight. It was the reason your father had given you this title, your cunning ability to break down your opponents in all sorts of ways, to plan out a fight before it had even begun. Simply put, you were good at it, you could defeat Tyr with ease now, and even Thor had become no challenge. While you still struggled with the love side of your godly abilities and duties, you could always rely on your fighting.

“What about you, Hermes? What are you the god of?” You asked, tilting your head in question.

“Many things, trade, luck, travel, and thieves,” he answered breezily, though his smile betrayed his pride. “I am the herald of our pantheon, the messenger of the gods.”

“Well you are very important then, for where would we be without our messengers?” You told him sweetly, and all he could do was nod. His chest filled with warmth and he knew he had to be careful or the affection that now bubbled inside of him would erupt from his mouth.

“You are wise as you are sweet,” he simply replied, and you just smiled brightly before turning to face the group and stepping slightly closer to his side.

“You remind me of Loki, though he is not a brother, I see him as such,” you told him, and a small pang hit him in the stomach. You had already passed him off as a brother it seemed. But Hermes just shook his head to himself and smiled at you again, leading you toward a display of flowers just to the side that was one of Demeter’s favoured experimental projects. He was tenacious, if nothing else, and he would eventually get you to enjoy his company as something more.

Poseidon had ended up enjoying his conversation with Njord (who was surprisingly intelligent and rather engaging when conversing about fish) but when the god had left him he instantly began to look around for you. Any good mood was squashed when he saw you walking off arm in arm with Hermes, and a thunderous look settled across his face. Somewhere on earth a storm began to brew. Luckily, you didn’t walk far, and he was able to watch over you from his throne, though his mood had already soured, and continued to sour the longer you stayed attached to Hermes’ arm.

Hades, who had finally rid himself of Hel’s company, Hestia and Hephaestus from their corner, and even Dionysus from his seat at the ambrosia table with a jug of wine bigger than his head watched Poseidon. He was acting rather odd, and they could all now see why. His eyes had not left the girl-goddess since she had arrived, and he was miserably failing if he was attempting to be subtle. They had noticed the goddess watching him in return, the pink tint on her cheeks and the sparkle in her eye, and a teasing giggle seemed to build in all those watching. How poignant for Poseidon to fall for the goddess dressed like the sea. Hades stood from his throne and made his way to his brother, sitting on the arm of his throne and smirking at him.

“I will admit, brother, that she is beautiful,” he told Poseidon quietly. The god of the sea snapped his head to his brother, and scowled.

“I have no idea what you are talking about,” he answered simply, but Hades just laughed, patting Poseidon on the shoulder.

“Oh brother, you truly do not understand the art of subtlety, do you?” Hades raised an eyebrow and Poseidon stared at him bewildered. “You have watched that one since she arrived and done nothing but that. And goodness, the way you watch her! Have you never seen a woman?” Poseidon shrugged his brother’s hand off of his shoulders and had the decency to look slightly sheepish. He had assumed no one would notice. Hades noted the slight shame in his brother’s expression and sighed, smiling gently.

“Do not worry, I will tell no one, though I may not have anything to tell as she does seem to be enjoying Hermes’ company,” he added teasingly, and Poseidon growled at his brother’s back.

He was distracted by a commotion that had arisen near where Hermes and the goddess had stood. Now a group had gathered around them, fluttering with whispers, and he was too curious not to know what was going on. He walked swiftly from the throne, standing just behind some of the minor gods in the group and peering over their heads.

“So you are a goddess of war, your brother has said?” Ares asked, hands on his hips as he stared down at you. You smiled up at him, nodding your head.

“The goddess of war and love,” you told him. Athena and Aphrodite, both stood just behind Ares with their arms crossed over their chests scoffed.

“A goddess of war and love? Must not be good at either,” Aphrodite murmured, voice snarky and loud enough to be heard by everyone. Athena smirked, hiding a chuckle behind her hand. You frowned at this, looking toward the two goddesses, but Ares just moved so you would be forced to continue staring at him.

“She is a guest, do not be rude,” Hermes spat, but Ares and Aphrodite just waved their hands in twin moves of dismissal.

“I am the god of war, she is the goddess of love, we have the right to ask questions of a guest who resembles us so closely,” Ares smirked at Hermes, but he was quick to return his gaze to you. His eyes were like fire, hungry and angry, ready to burn whatever he looked at.

“So, what exactly do you do? Do you make enemies fall in love and end wars?” Aphrodite snarked, tilting her head and staring at you like you were just something annoying that had flown into her path.

Poseidon wanted to intervene. He was desperate to come to your defence, to have the waters flood Olympus and drown each of them until they were nothing but salt in the sea. But before he could step forward to your aid, he saw the subtle changes in you. He saw the way your eyes hardened, any trace of the happiness and gentleness with which you had treated everyone thus far disappearing. He saw your back straighten just a tad more, your shoulders pushing back and your balance shifting just slightly forward onto the balls of your feet. You clenched your teeth together for a moment before relaxing your jaw and looking up at Ares.

“Would you like to fight me?” You asked simply, folding your hands in front of you. Ares began to laugh, a deep guffawing laugh that had him bending backward and puffing it into the sky. Aphrodite tittered, pressing her fingers to her mouth and turning to the side as her laugh tinkled into the air. Even Athena smirked, though she didn’t say anything nor laugh, just a widening of her lips and a slight disbelief at your stupidity in her eyes. “Is there a problem?”

“You have just asked to fight a REAL god of war, child, what am I to do other than laugh?” He replied, throwing his arms out and gazing at the crowd.

“Careful, brother,” Hermes spat, but you just placed a hand on his arm, stoic expression not changing.

“You could fight me,” you answered simply, beginning to tie your hair back. “Unless you do not believe in yourself, REAL god of war?”

Ares snarled, baring his teeth at you before stepping back and throwing off his purple sash. It would only be a hindrance to his fighting ability. You smiled, broad and bright, and a longsword appeared in your hand. A glorious weapon, with a handle of white bone carved from a broken fang of Fenrir. The blade was black like onyx, but fashioned from the strongest metal the dwarves could find and forge in Nidavellir. It was your favourite. You spun it in your hand lazily, inspecting it for a moment before turning to look back at Ares. Your eyes flashed blue, so quickly that if anyone had blinked they would have missed it. Then, with a smile so gentle you seemed you could never hurt a fly, you attacked.

It took you no more than five minutes to have Ares on the floor, your sword pointed at his throat. You were swift like wind, clanging your sword against his before twisting around him and kicking the back of his knee and then the other to flip him over as he fell. Not a hair out of place, you smiled down at him, pressing the point just a little into the skin of his throat before pulling it away completely and sending it back to Asgard. Ares stared up at you with eyes so wide you thought they would pop out of his head. He was winded, puffing on the floor as he tried to figure out where he was, what had just happened.

“How did you…” Hermes stared at you, mouth wide open.

“I told you! I’m good at strategy. He is cocky, and he underestimated me. He believed I was being cocky, and thought that when I saw him with his sword I would be apprehensive. He did not expect a swift beginning attack, nor did he believe I would risk trying to go for an obvious place like the back of the knees. To know your opponent is to be able to defeat them. Simple.” You smiled at Hermes, shrugging and turning away from the crowd to venture around the flower display and find one you hadn’t seen yet.

Ares sat up, Aphrodite gulped, and Athena turned away, walking off. The entire group began to whisper about what they had just witnessed, the story spreading to all the gods and spirits quicker than a wildfire. They slowly dispersed, leaving Ares on the floor with Aphrodite gently patting his shoulder in a sad attempt at comfort (which he shoved off as he stood and stormed away).

Poseidon watched all this and waited until he had walked back to his throne to let himself smile. He leaned back and replayed the fight in his mind, chuckling at the way you had stomped on the back of Ares’ knee with your delicate shoes. Oh he was absolutely enthralled by this goddess, and he didn’t even know your name yet…

Taglist: @josxkl1m

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goodolreliablejake · 14 days

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Skelly's new mode of speech and manner feel false, and I think that beard is fake. Which is actually a really cool reflection of his characterization in the first game, where he had an ambiguous, multiple choice past.

If I recall correctly, one rumor floating around was that he was a thief. Did Hermes say that? I can't recall. Then when he reveals his past as Schelemeus, it turns out to just be a prank he's pulling on Zag. Except then there turns out to be further evidence that Schelemeus actually existed.

When I first saw Schelemeus in Hades 2, I actually wasn't sure it was the same Skelly we knew. I mean, sure he looks the same, but for a moment I wondered if this was a joke more along the lines of "the guy he was pretending to be does actually exist, he was just mocking him for a laugh." But his stories of Zag and events of the past game quickly dispelled that notion.

To me, this all suggests Skelly and Schelemeus as personas that a single trickster uses to his advantage depending on the situation, with Skelly probably closer to who he is behind closed doors, but Schelemeus netter reflecting his heroic nature and motives. Perhaps in life he lived through a Bug's Life/Three Amigos type situation, where an unlikely rogue finds himself pretending to be a noble hero, only to end up becoming one in earnest.

When the Queen of the Underworld was kept secret, the world was frozen by vengeful Demeter, Hades feared war with Olympus, and the Prince tried to escape in a plot for peace orchestrated by Night herself and the Goddess of Wisdom, the best way to help was as a greedy fool, the type no one would suspect. When all out war broke out with a Titan, and the dead were evicted from their eternal resting place, the bigger help was a noble and heroic figurehead to rally those lost souls.

Point being, don't sleep on the comic relief skeleton/training dummy. I legitimately think he's one of the series' most well-developed and interesting characters.

#hades 2 #hades game #skelly #Schelemeus

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unhingedhyacinth · 1 month

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Demeter Cabin headcanons 🌾

---------------🌼🌼🌼��🌼🌼---------------

❃ The Demeter cabin are best friends with the dryads

❃ they constantly visit the Athena cabin because they have books about plants and agriculture in their bookshelves

❃ the Demeter cabin lends a certain amount of plants/herbs to the Hecate cabin every few weeks, the Hecate cabin in turn make a few stuff to help the Demeter cabin grow plants quicker

❃ they hug trees.

❃ they climb trees with the Hermes kids and hang out with them

❃ they brought coffee to camp half blood by somehow creating a mini coffee plantation. everyone literally loves them for it.

❃ the aphrodite cabin ask the Demeter cabin for flowers that they can braid in hair

❃ they have an unending supply of snacks because like a quarter of their plants are edible

❃ you know how we have pen stands? the Demeter cabin have seed stands. everywhere.

❃ they like to annoy Nico and their excuse is that "his father kidnapped their cousin" but they all collectively agree that persephone is better off as the queen of the underworld

❃ the force the Hephaestus cabin to build flower crowns for them. they've given in.

❃ they like to give everyone on camp a certain plant or tree associated with them as a joke.

❃ the Apollo kids come to the demeter cabin for help with medicine.

❃ they all have stories of trying to hug a cactus or a poisonous plant from their childhood.

❃ speaking of cacti, their form of taking revenge is asking the Hermes cabin to put a line of cacti next to someone's bed so that when that someone wakes up they step on a cactus first thing in the morning. but this is only reserved for people who have done something HORRIBLE, because the Demeter cabin is usually chill

❃ they grow grapes so that they can get on the good side of Mr. D

#Demeter #cabin 4 #demeter cabin headcanons #they are definitely tree huggers tho #like no matter how big a tree is they hug it #plants #percy Jackson #riordanverse #riordanverse headcanons #percy jackson headcanon #heroes of Olympus #pjo headcanon #pjo hoo toa #demigods #camp half blood

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genericpuff · 7 months

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Don’t know if anyone’s asked this, but will Adonis show up in Rekindled? Or is that not part of the scope of time you plan on covering?

Considering I'm trying to hone the focus back in on Persephone, Hades, and Demeter for Rekindled, I likely won't get a chance to cover Adonis, however Aphrodite and Ares will be key players in Rekindled's story, so once it's over, I'd love to do Adonis' story as a one shot or something. The thing is that a lot of the myths I want to do don't technically occur until after Persephone is Queen of the Underworld, so I'm trying not to include too many myths that aren't directly relevant to The Hymn to the Demeter or the characters that I've involved in Rekindled, not just to keep Rekindled focused on the story it's trying to retell, but also to ensure that these stories get proper screentime and don't have to get squished in as side plots. That also includes the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, and Eros and Psyche!

I can't guarantee I'll be able to do them all as one shot comics after Rekindled is over, but I'll certainly try my best because some of them I really, REALLY wanna do haha

#lore rekindled #lore rekindled comic #lore rekindled ama #ask me anything #anon ama #anon ask me anything

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cosmerelists · 9 months

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Cosmere Characters as the Twelve Olympians

[Spoilers throughout! Please assume that each entry will contain spoilers for the character mentioned through the most recent book for that character--aka, spoilers for Rhythm of War in the Navani entry, spoilers for Warbreaker in the Blushweaver entry, etc.]

Hey look, I’m using my Classical Studies PhD for something! :D Anyway, here’s my take on which Cosmere characters would be best suited to take on the roles of various gods from the Greek Pantheon. And yes, there are 13 here since like everything in Greek mythology, the canon members of the Olympic Pantheon are disputed.

1. Zeus: Gavilar (Stormlight Archives)

Zeus is the head of Olympian gods, the king of kings, and a Grade A jerk-ass who is often cruel to his wife, lovers, kids, etc. Gavilar has a lot in common! In the Theogony, Zeus ends a generations-long war among the gods through force and cleverness, much as Gavilar “unites” Alethkar. Zeus is held up as the emblematic king, and Gavilar is now a kingly symbol as well. Yet in his private life, Zeus is a total asshole to his wife Hera and is cruel to any of his kids that he sees as “flawed” (like tossing Hephaestus right over the side of Olympus). Gavilar is abusive towards Navani and not a great father either. So in terms of both accomplishments & flaws, Gavilar would make a great Zeus. That’s not a compliment.

2. Hera: Jasnah (Stormlight Archives)

[Note: the relationships among the gods are disregarded for this list! I’m not saying Jasnah is married to her father!]

Hera is the queen of the gods, and she does tend to get a bad rap in mythology; most of her stories are about her jealously tormenting various women whose only crime is being assaulted by Zeus. But in general, Hera is a protector of women and a standard of femininity: in her cult and in her statuary, she is regality and femininity personified. Jasnah is always meticulous in her presentation and looks like the ideal Alethi woman. In her scholarship she promotes and protects women, but she is also no stranger to resorting to violence when she deems it necessary--sometimes violence that others may feel is too far. Like when she kills a bunch of criminals to teach Shallan Philosophy or when she literally has an assassin on retainer, planning to kill Aesudan. Jasnah may not act out of jealousy as Hera usually does, but both of them are perfectly willing to kill in service of larger aims. Also, much as Hera has a bad reputation, so too is Jasnah denigrated as a heretic. And finally, Jasnah is now literally the queen.

3. Poseidon: Queen Fen or Kaladin (Stormlight Archives)

Man, I really had a hard time with Poseidon, god of the sea and patron of sailors. In terms of the sea-faring aspect, Queen Fen felt the closest: she rules a coastal city and is literally a patron of sailors. So she works in a literal sense.

If we’re thinking of Poseidon more as “the other powerful one” (since Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades are the three brothers who divide control of the world) and as the “earth-shaker,” then I could see an argument for Kaladin. Kaladin is closely associated with the Stormfather, who does all of the earth-shaking and storm-brewing on Roshar, and Kaladin rides his storm. But mostly, I’m not gonna lie, I just think it would be funny for Kaladin to be the god of horses.

4. Demeter: Raboniel or Rlain (Stormlight Archives)

Demeter is the goddess of agriculture, so Raboniel was probably not your first thought. But listen, the Hymn to Demeter concentrates on how Demeter reacts to her daughter Persephone being taken by Hades. Demeter first searches frantically, then simply halts all agriculture until Zeus is ready to negotiate. And when I think of someone who will do literally anything to help her daughter, no matter who might be harmed in the process...I honestly think Raboniel, who created a god-killing weapon that could be used against her own people in order to end the suffering of her daughter. Plus, Demeter is both someone who halts all agriculture, dooming humanity, but also tries to turn a baby into a god in thanks for a human family’s hospitality. And Raboniel too is both ruthless and oddly generous to those she respects, as her relationship with Navani demonstrates.

Or there is Rlain, who is currently helping the people of Urithiru figure out how to farm through singing, much as Demeter taught agriculture to Triptolemus. Plus, Rlain lived among the humans as a spy, which reminds me somewhat of Demeter living among the humans while pretending to be one. And Demeter does try to bridge the human-divine gap by turning baby Demophon into a god, and Rlain is trying to bring humans & singers together.

5. Aphrodite: Blushweaver (Warbreaker)

Aphrodite is the goddess of love and sex, and Blushweaver really is the obvious counterpart here. Like Aphrodite, Blushweaver is a gorgeous, well, goddess who is open about her sexuality and who embraces pleasure. Especially in her Roman incarnation, Aphrodite is also a guide and supporter for her heroic son Aeneas, which is somewhat similar to Blushweaver’s role in getting Lightsong to, well, get off his ass and do something. Finally--and forgive me in advance--in the Iliad Aphrodite tries to get involved in the Trojan War and it goes badly for her, and Blushweaver also meets a bad end after trying to be involved in martial politics. Although, like, Aphrodite just gets stabbed in the hand and Blushweaver dies so the two aren’t that similar.

6. Athena: Azure or Jasnah (Stormlight Archives)

Athena is the goddess of war and wisdom--so more like strategy and cunning in war, rather than sheer violence (for that, please see Ares below). Athena leaps fully formed from Zeus’ head, already fully armed, and is the patron of heroes like Odysseus. From the perspective of her men, Captain Azure just sort of appears and seizes charge of the city guard, and she uses both good strategic sense and fighting prowess to protect the city. She also dominates in the traditionally male field of warfare and helps out a bunch of men, which are things Athena also does.

But I also want to recognize that Jasnah would make a good Athena if I hadn’t already used Jasnah for Hera, which is my personal preference. Jasnah has the intelligence, the wisdom, and the sheer fighting prowess (she fights on the front lines in one book). Jasnah also nourishes a hero (Shallan) which again suits Athena.

7. Artemis: Shallan (Stormlight Archives)

Artemis is the goddess of the hunt and of wild nature. The “hunting” aspect first drew me to Shallan, considering that as a member of the Ghostbloods, Shallan is always hunting something or someone. Shallan also has a keen interest in nature, studying cremlings for fun, going on archaeological missions to the Shattered Plains, and being sad when that chasmfiend that was trying to eat them died. Artemis is also no stranger to bloody violence, like when she turned Acteon into a deer to be torn apart by his own dogs (ouch) because he spied on her bathing. And Shallan is no stranger to poetic justice, as when she strangles her own father with the necklace he gifted her.

8. Apollo: Lightsong or Renarin (Warbreaker, Stormlight Archives)

Apollo is the god of light, music, prophecy, and healing. I have to use Lightsong here given that his name SCREAMS Apollo--light and song! Plus, Lightsong has the powers of prophecy and of healing, and he is a fan of beauty and luxury. Lightsong is also super hot, as Apollo (knows that he) is.

Renarin is another character who possesses both future sight and healing powers, which is an Apollo-esque combo. I will say that I don’t see as much of a match personality-wise between Apollo and Renarin, since I like Renarin whereas Apollo does things like curse Cassandra for not having sex with him and hunts Daphne until she has to turn into a tree to escape. Like, Renarin literally would never.

9. Ares: Dalinar or Vin (Stormlight Archives, Mistborn)

Athena is the god of strategy in war, whereas Ares is the god of combat itself, in the sense of sheer, unrelenting, somewhat mindless violence. Honestly, the Thrill in the Stormlight books would be a good approximation of Ares’ power: it gives a person incredible fighting prowess, but with no real sense of any larger concerns of strategy or logic. So Dalinar as a fighter who understands and has embraced the Thrill would make a good Ares--a more tempered one than the Ares of mythology, if we’re being honest. And in a similar vein, Vin is also very, very good at wreaking incredible havoc. She slices through entire armies, cuts people in half with swords, kills a god...she would also make an excellent Ares. And since Vin basically has godlike status as of Mistborn Era 2, she’s nearly in this role already!

10. Hephaestus: Navani (Stormlight Archives)

Hephaestus is a craftsman god, especially blacksmithing and metalworking. He also has an unhappy marriage, as he is married to Aphrodite who barely gives him the time of day in most stories (she’s busy getting it on with Ares). Navani is an inventor of fabrials and a patron of others. She’s the one who manages to invent god-killing weapons in Rhythm of War, which is very Hephaestus-coded. She’s also no stranger to an unhappy marriage with a spouse who mistreats her. Finally, one little story about Hephaestus in the Iliad is how he keeps the peace among the bickering Olympians, which is reminiscent of how Navani has to keep the peace among the Alethi nobility back when Gavilar used to leave all of that to her.

11. Hermes: Hoid (all books)

In the Hymn to Hermes, Hermes is a trickster figure with one goal in mind: getting admitted to Olympus by any means necessary. And he does this by tormenting Apollo with various tricks, all the while taking advantage of the fact that he just born yesterday--how could Hermes the innocent little baby do anything bad?? Anyway. Hoid is also a trickster figure who loves disguises and false names and doing whatever is necessary to get what he wants. Hermes is also an inventor and storyteller, and Hoid has those qualities as well. Finally, Hermes in other iterations is a guide, someone who can lead a hero through dark places. And Hoid takes on that role too, guiding people like Shallan or Kaladin through some of the darkest periods of their lives.

12. Hestia: Rock (Stormlight Archives)

Hestia is the goddess of hearth and home, and she’s associated with the fire in the hearth. To me, this is reminiscent of Rock whose stew is the central place of belonging for Bridge 4. Rock also does not fight--and neither does Hestia, who is one of the few gods who lacks any mythology about vengeance or violence. Instead, Hestia is the deity who makes sure you have a home.

13. Dionysus: Adolin (Stormlight Archives)

Dionysus is the god of wine, indulgence, and gender fuckery. And I know the obvious candidates for a Dionysus are the Returned from Warbreaker, but I’ve already used them. And I think I can make a case for Adolin! Adolin likes his wine and his women, and thanks to his relationship with his mom, he acts in ways that seem unmasculine to the Alethi--like being more physically affectionate and emotive. And Dionysus too had an un-Greek heritage that made the Greeks read him as foreign in the Bacchae. Plus, Dionysus does ultimately end up in a stable relationship with Ariadne, much like Adolin with Shallan. Finally, Dionysus is something of a shit-stirrer; when he shows up in Bacchae he turns that town upside down. And let’s not forget how Adolin murdered a high prince and is one of the few main characters to have not bonded a spren. He goes his own way. Sometimes violently. But mostly he knows what he likes and he’s not afraid to show it.

#cosmere #cosmerelists #Gavilar #Jasnah #Fen #Kaladin #Raboniel #Rlain #Blushweaver #Lightson #Renarin #Adolin #Shallan #Azure #Dalinar #Vin #Navani #Hoid #Rock

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hueningsloverr · 4 months

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౨ৎ persephone !

pairing: soobin x fem!reader summary: pomegranates and persephone. that's what soobin had come to learn. word count: 0.5k

most of your past lovers chose to call you tasteful names, crude insults surrounding the general theme of you being a monster. but you were no monster. you were just a woman.

in a way you were like a pomegranate- it was obvious when someone didn’t love you properly. all your past lovers left with red stained hands and disappointment etched across their face.

that’s why soobin was so special - he was able to get you to open up without forcing you so aggressively that you snapped. he didn't force you to suddenly bare yourself to him, he was slow, moving at your pace instead of his.

soobin was nothing like your past lovers. he was the exact opposite. he took the time to memorise you; to him nothing was 'too insignificant'. he remembered your favourite artists, colours, songs, and even time of day. everything mattered to him. and that is what made him matter so much to you. he knew of your affinity for greek mythology, and though most found it unsettling, he found it intruging.

'persephone and hades?' he queried, his head cocked to the side as his eyebrows furrowed. where had he heard those names before? he tried his best to pay attention in classes.

'they were believed by the greeks to be the king and queen of the underworld! there's a lot of retellings of their story, but in most of them...'

he watched in awe as you rambled on and on, eyes filled with nothing more than adoration. so what if you were a geek? a nerd? you were cute.

'but a common theme is that persephone ate the seeds of a pomegranate, meaning she was forced to stay in the underworld forever. but hades worked a deal out with her mom, demeter. that's why we have seasons!' you grinned like a small child showing a finger-painting to their parent. and soobin felt a sense of pride grow within him.

'we have seasons because... hades and persephone are in love?' he laughed slightly, his head not fully wrapped around the idea.

'we have seasons because both hades and demeter wished to be by persephones side, but neither could leave their realm. so...'

he felt bad for constantly finding himself in a daze, but there was such an intoxicating way in which you spoke about mythology that made him feel like a teenage boy again.

it was that very same day soobin realised for himself how similar to a pomegranate you were. he thought it was silly, comparing his girlfriend to a fruit, but in his head it made sense.

you symbolised life to him, you were like regeneration - allowing him to become a new version of himself he was not even aware was possible. all the symbols of a pomegranate could be applied to you - the myths and the stories revolving around the reddish fruit. it was odd, yet also endearing.

hades and persephone - a story of love that probably never should have been, a story of love that seemed impossible.

to soobin, the rulers of the underworld were not so different from the two of you.

except, whilst he was just hades, you were both persephone and the pomegranate. and instead of persephone being stuck with hades, it was soobin who found himself stuck to you. all because of how desirable you were.

a/n: i know! i know! usually i don't really include specific genders in my writings... but i love pomegranates and what they stand for as a literary device and i wrote this while on vacation as i watched my dad tear into a pomegranate whilst my mom looked like she was holding a small child

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cardicoven · 5 months

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🥀Book Review: Persephone's Pathway: Wisdom, Magick & Growth by Jennifer Heather

Full Title: Persephone's Pathway: Wisdom, Magick, Growth Author: Jennifer Heather Published by: Heather Publishing (seemingly self published) 2020 Good Reads: Link My Quick Review: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5) stars. Persephone’s Pathway which while flawed and at times meandering is perhaps the best resource available for the modern pagan worshipping or working with Persephone and I wholly recommend it. Official Blurb: Persephone's Pathway is one of balance and duality; embrace the dual goddess archetype of Underworld Queen and Spring Maiden in order to achieve harmony. This book shares the wisdom of Persephone, along with spells and rituals to help you in your daily life. Shadow work exercises encourage you to work with the Underworld aspect of the Dark Goddess, whilst flower magick celebrates the joy and gentleness of the Spring Goddess. Blend the dark and light aspects together to experience how they shine a light on each other in this celebration of wholeness and authenticity. Personal Reason for Purchasing: Was looking for a pagan/witchy perspective on Persephone and stubbled across this one. (Bought from Amazon UK)

Overview of the book's contents. Introduction: A solid introduction, focusing on what the purpose of this book will be, and the author’s goals in writing it, namely ‘an exploration of the mythology and Symbolism surrounding Persephone, along with chapters dedicated to a facet of what she can teach us’, ‘both a collection of information and tribute to her’. Chapter 1: 'Who is Persephone': Introduction to Persephone, her role, dual nature, The Eleusinian mysteries, possible connections to Erishkegal (a mesopotamia goddess originating 4000 BC), and of course the Homeric Hymn to Demeter. Chapter 2: 'Historic Origins': An exploration of the genesis of Persephone in Mythology, through to the Evolution of her story in present day literature. (A personal highlight). Chapter 3: 'A Myth Retold': A modern retelling of the hymn to Demeter by the author. Chapter 4: 'Symbolism': An exploration of the artefacts associated with Persephone, both modern and ancient, the creation of a unique glyph/sigil for Persephone and an extensive and detailed discussion of association/correspondences, some ancient, some contemporary and lastly her common epithets. Chapter 5: 'Creating an Altar': A collection of suggestions and guidelines on creating your own altar for Persephone and common offerings to gift the Goddess. Chapter 6: 'Persephone Magick: Begins with a basic beginners to magickal practice, followed by a recipe for a Persephone Anointing oils, a guide to connecting to Persephone, an innovation and an adaption of the Orphic Hymn to Proserpina.

The Seeds of Persephone A collection of chapters surrounding what the Author considers to be the six core aspects/values which Persephone embodies. Seed 1: 'Union': Focuses on Shadow-work, divine alignment for body and Spirit union, and includes a spell for Spiritual union of lovers, guidance surrounding meditation, shadow-work rituals, and a recipe for a love attraction oil. Seed 2: 'Balance': Begins with a discussion of how to, and the importance of maintaining balance in one’s life, including a meandering discussion of grounding, living with the seasons, incorporating nature into your life, meditation, seasonal altars, self-care, massage, and yoga. Lastly it includes recipes for a Persephone Beauty Elixer’ cream/lotion, a medicinal tonic, a spell for resolution, and a spell for making a decision. Seed 3: 'Intuition': Looks at ways to develop one’s intuition, including an outline for a Persephone focused Lithomancy technique (10 planetary stones, 6 Persephone stones (named for each of the author’s ‘Seeds’: Fertility, Justice, Balance, Union, Sovereignty and Intuition), three tarot spreads and the script for a guided meditation. Seed 4: 'Sovereignty': Is a discussion of [personal Sovereignty, and self-esteem, with journal prompts. Guidance on enchanting a power talisman, and a spell for protecting personal boundaries. Seed 5: 'Justice': Focuses heavily on Persephone in her Queen of the Underworld Aspect, touching on several myths in which she acted as a Purveyor of justice, (Orpheus and Psyche, and a discussion on Trust in regards to the Goddess. Followed by Several spells for truth telling, reflection on behaviour and fair resolutions. Seed 6: 'Fertility': Focuses on Persephone's Spring/Maiden Aspect. Followed by a discussion of Maiden goddesses, Flower Magick, creating Floral elixirs, cleansing sprays, a flower bathing ritual, and spell jars/Witch’s bottles. Followed by the Associations/correspondences and finally a script of a guided meditation, to meet Persephone in her Spring Aspect. Appendix: The Orphic hymn to Proserpina, translated by Taylor Thomas 1792.

Personal Thoughts and Review. I’m conflicted about this book. The first half is an excellent primer on Persephone and including her into one’s personal practice however, the second half the ‘Seeds of Persephone’ are at times Meandering, unfocused and clumsy, but there are jewels among the ramblings.

The book appears to be self published, so I’m inclined to be kinder to the Author than I would otherwise be; however, Persephone’s Pathway could really use reformatting (text justified etc), and would benefit immensely from an informed and passionate editor. Nevertheless this book is an excellent edition to the libraries of those of us who work with Persephone.

Aspects in detail. General content: The first half goes over a lot of content around Persephone, in some detail and is appropriately referenced through allowing the reader to research further. The Second half (the Seeds) is a mixed bag and approaches certain subjects extremely casually, namely Shadow-work and herbal medicine. Persephone’s correspondences: Primarily contained to Chapter 4, the Correspondences are in depth, reference and diverse. However, there are inaccuracies, the most obvious is a mention of Corn/Maize being cut as a part of the Eleusinian Mysteries. As a New World crop Corn was not in ancient Greece at the time and as such has no historical connection to the Mysteries. From my own understanding the crop cut during the Mysteries was likely Barley, a grain though to have great significance to the Eleusinian Mysteries as a part of the hallucinogenic cocktail thought to be drunk by initiates, barley is also part of the offering given by Oddyseus to summon Persephone (“first with milk and honey, then with sweet wine, then with water; and sprinkle white barley-meal above”). Rituals and Spells: It’s Always interesting to see another practitioner's approach, and covering a very broad scope although, I wish they were indexed since they appear throughout the book. Origin Myth retelling: An interesting retelling, possibly my favourite version, however it is not without flaws. Guided Meditations: Enjoyable and Interesting, these scripts approach many aspects of Persephone’s Mythos. Journaling Prompts: These appear seemingly at random in the latter half of the book, but are nevertheless thought provoking. Recommended Reading: While good to see, it is worthy of note that none of these books reference Persephone, Hellenic Polytheism, or Shadow-work. Which are the topics I would like to see additional material given some of my concerns with the book itself. Bibliography: Extensive and good practice.

The Seeds in Detail. Given their significance to the book I’ll review these chapters separately: Union: a clumsy chapter whose advice on Shadow-work is surface level and possibly dangerous for a beginner or someone who is mentally vulnerable. But this chapter does handle the topic of Love workings with the required levity. Balance: Waffling and honestly feels like filler, of the seeds this one is disappointing and feels like lost potential. Intuition: a major highlight of the book, a detailed exploration of Lithomancy, well written and thought provoking. Sovereignty: A good chapter, if a little long winded. Justice: Spectacular, discussion of Queen Persephone and of how to connect to the Underworld Aspect. A personal highlight. Fertility: An excellent close to the book but desperately needs reformatting.

Final Thoughts. I wholly recommend this book especially as a gateway into working with or worshipping Persephone. Despite its flaws, it is the best resource I’ve found on Persephone from a pagan/witch perspective, and my practice is better for reading it.

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girl8890 · 2 years

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JK | Hieros Gamos (III - Final)

BTS ML | Mood Board

Summary: Falling in love with your soulmate was the easy part. The hard part is finding out what you have to do to complete that soul bonding rite, especially when he’s the one that’s left to tell you the truth.

Paring: God!Thanatos!Jungkook x Goddess!Reader

Genre: greek gods!au, soulmates!au, smut, angst, some fluff

Rating: 18+

Warnings: secrets reveled, horror stories, full fates casting, unwanted reading of the mind, jealousy, vaginal sex, loss of virginity, oral sex (f), fingering, completion of sacred marriage, family arguments, virgin!reader, big time skip, jk is such a gentlemen and in loveeee~

A/N: You know how I tag the genre as some fluff? Well, this where that fluff comes in. I just love making jk in love with reader, and out of all times for that fluffy cuteness to come, now is the time! Hope you are all ready for this long ass chapter, enjoy! 🖤

Part I | Part II

。・°°・°°・。。・°°・°°・。。・°°・°°・。

You wake upon the softest surface you have ever slept on. Feeling a fabric similar to silk under your fingertips, and you smile as you smell the scent of pomegranate clog your nose. The pigment oder making you wonder how close the fruit might be to you in this moment.

Your smile slowly drifts away once that smell registers in your brain completely. There’s no pomegranates in the cave. There’s no plants that aren’t in Elysium or at least sacrificed to the gods that ever come near the underworld.

That’s when you remember everything that happened yesterday… how you left the cave, got attacked by souls, were saved by being flown away in the air, finding out who your best friend truly is, how you and your best friend… you did…

Your cheeks heat up thinking about what Jungkook did with you yesterday, digging your face further into the pillow. Pillow? You blink a few times against it, then push yourself up to see just what and where you fell asleep. You look around the room, and find yourself in a strangers room. There’s no one there, but you’ve never been there before to know who’s room you were in.

The sheets your on are gray, and the blanket and pillows are sheeted in black. The walls around you are colored in a deep cream, with sketches of what looks like a war carved in all over. You turn to your left to see an opened up balcony, and you realize then that must be how you smelt pomegranate before, but that could only happen if your in… if your close to…

You gasp when you realize where you are. You must be in Hades and Persephone’s home. You know the story of how Persephone ate six pomegranate seeds to stay with her husband for half a year, rendering Demeter, her mother, pleads useless to get her away from the unseen one. Unlike most gods and mortals alike, Jungkook told you the story in truth. Meaning there was no rumors to cloud what really happened to the couple, as in: they were in love.

You wonder how you didn’t think he was involved with the story, at the time. But looking back he talked about it like he was involved. So many gods, especially those that reside in the underworld, were involved with Persephone, Hades, and Demeter dispute. It only coming right a close when Persephone ate the pomegranate seeds and now she goes to the over world six month out of the year (for spring and summer), and then stays with her husband for the other six (fall and winter).

You feel a small smile twitch the corners of your mouth upward at the reminder of the last night you saw the queen of the underworld. It was close to a decade now since you last saw her, and she didn’t even know you were there at the time, but you knew she was kind by the way she presented herself.

Persephone came to the fates to ask if her and Aidoneus - Hades - would ever have children. Although the fates casting was not clear, they told her she would have three. You always wondered if she ever did have the children she wished for.

You sigh, thinking about the queen, then you continue to look around the room you woke up in. It’s dark, but overall normal looking. Nothing to make you think it’s a room of someone who cared about there room more then just somewhere to sleep.

Just as you’re about to wonder about it’s owner, you see the case over the bed. One that looks like it hasn’t been used in a long time, but the outline of the sickle that once laid in it makes it clears who’s room this is.

This is Jungkook’s room, and your in the god of death’s bed.

This witch needs to shut the fuck up.

You startle when you hear Jungkook’s voice inside your head, looking around like he would suddenly appear in thin air.

What should I say to her? … The witch isn’t helping.

You raise an eyebrow, wondering how you’re able to hear him in your head right now. It’s then you see the glowing link you saw when you both were… in the cave, stretch out in front of you again. The line leads to somewhere behind the wall, and you put two and two together to understand that Jungkook is behind that wall.

Before yesterday, you never saw such a thing before. You also never heard Jungkook’s thoughts before yesterday - well, you assume it’s the next day - and the thought of his words that were said inside of your head has your heart picking up in speed.

I love you, we’re the words that shock your soul to its very core. It wasn’t your words, just like the ones that flooded your mind before. They were Jungkook’s words… and they were directed towards you.

Maybe not directly, but he thought them and felt them. You bite your bottom lip, fighting back a smile. Even though he still has a lot of explaining to do, you’d be lying if you said you didn’t feel the same about your friend. If you can even call him that, anymore. Would after what happened between you two, the intimate moment you shared, make you more now?

Shaking your head, you try to remove the thought. The string connecting you two together fading but still there. Like it’s trying to just not be in the way.

You swallow thickly, looking at your connection that you’ve felt for so long be right there in front of you. You wonder if Jungkook felt it too. How it pulled you two together until your hearts connected. You wonder more what it means. What it all means! And you have a feeling the god of death knows the answers to all your questions.

You close your eyes, trying to concentrate on the god in question. There must be a way you can talk to him back. That not just random thoughts could be exchanged between the two of you. Can Jungkook even hear your thoughts?

You try not to think about it, nervous about what he could have heard, but either way you push. You push your mind to extend to the god that’s filled your mind before you even knew what he looked like.

———

“For a man with wings you tend to fall flat on your face when it comes to women,” Hecate scolds, not liking the situation Jungkook has made for himself and the underworld.

Jungkook rolls his eyes, pushing off the wall he was leaning on to tread up to the goddess of witchcraft. “It’s not just any other women, Hecate. It’s her.”

Hecate’s eyes widen slightly for a second before she sobers. Her naturally solum face never changing. “Nonetheless, she’s the daughter of the fates. I much prefer to not have another Demeter epidemic in the underworld.”

“Oh, please! The fates don’t scare you. You just hate that you know about this and the king doesn’t.” Jungkook’s words are true. The king of the underworld does not know about you, or your connection to Jungkook. A secret Jungkook wanted to keep all to himself, but since little miss read everyone’s mind without asking decided to read Jungkook’s mind on a particular day he preferred her not to, she’s now involved.

If Hecate had the patience for Jungkook, she would scoff, but instead she keeps herself neutral. “You know he should know. He should know who sleeps in his domain, and if what that hollow of a brain of yours is speaking the truth, she will be here for quite awhile.”

Jungkook’s eye twitch’s, hating that Hecate not only read his mind during a moment he was lost thinking of you - to be specific the you from yesterday - but that she decided to judge. Why are all the goddess that swore their maidenhood as off limits to all so judgmental?

“Because unlike you, Jungkook, us ladies can keep our pants on,” Hecate replies to Jungkook’s thoughts.

He breathes through his teeth, readying himself to fire some hate back at her, but before he could he hears your words loud and clear in his head.

I’m awake.

It was only two words, but enough to have Jungkook’s mind racing with all things you. Well, his mind is always racing with all things you, but after what you two shared yesterday has his brain running imagine after imagine of your face like a movie.

Jungkook looks towards the door of his room, the one your just beyond. He turns away from Hecate, not wanting to speak to the witch anymore, but she stops him just before he leaves the conversation completely.

“You must tell him eventually. The king and the fates deserve to know that’s she’s here.”

Jungkook sighs, feeling his body deflate at knowing Hecate is right. “I know, and I’ll tell them. Can you just… give me some time?”

Hecate purses her lips, looking at the god that’s older then her like a child. But, she’s relentlessly. She’s never seen this god so torn between his king and a women before. Before Jungkook swore off women all those eons ago, he would bring her own followers to bed with him without a thought. He at least made sure their maidenhood was already gone before taking them, not that it made it right since they were never able to bear children afterwards (if they were still able to anyway).

The goddess wonders if you were the reason he swore off women. The reason he kept himself away from any willing women - which sadly, there were many - and if so, Hecate is entirely grateful for you.

“Fine, but Jungkook, a little word of advice?”

Jungkook rolls his eyes, wanting to leave the witch and get to you as fast as possible. With a annoyed tone, he asks, “What?”

“Don’t do what Aiden did with Persephone. Tell her the truth before you bed her.” With those last word and a swish of her auburn hair, Hecate leaves Jungkook staring after her flabbergasted.

He coughs into his fist, feeling his ears heat up red and he tries to cool them down before he enters the room you’ve been most likely patiently waiting for him in.

He was already planning to tell you the truth when you woke up, whether Hecate gave the advice or not, but now he’s suddenly feeling anxious. There’s not just the rite of completing hieros gamos that he needs to talk to you about, but what it means for the two of you. What will happen to you after you complete it with him. If, you want to complete it with him.

Jungkook looks down at his feet, stalling. You’re such an innocent goddess, and there’s few of them like you. Having to be the one to explain to you what it all means is a scary thought. What if you don’t want him? Or worse, what if after he tells you the truth about what it would do to you if you did it with him you would leave him? Seek another to do it with, even?

His jaw tightens at just the thought of you being with someone else. After seeing how you reacted to him yesterday he doesn’t want anyone else, but him to be the one to stir those feelings in your again.

Over the eons he tried to be good. Never taking another women because he knew you were always there. You may not have known who Jungkook was to you, but you were there nonetheless. Always there to cloud Jungkook’s mind, and he never strayed from his loyal love he silently gifted you. He just never had any jealousy’s to worry about either, so if you were to leave and find someone else…

Jungkook’s fist clenched around his sickle, his weapon of choice gleaming in the light. He tries to think of something else - the positives of if you’re okay with it. Well, the sex for one. Jungkook’s already smirking at the thought. And if you are okay with never being able to have kids and staying with him in the underworld for eternity, then everything will turn out great and his years upon years of waiting for you would have been completely worth it.

Yup positives.

Fuck, this is going to be hard.

Jungkook then realizes something then, as he pushes through the door to his room and finds you on his bed on your knees. Two pretty eyes blinking up at him, and the top of your chest and neck still covered in his love marks he left from yesterday… even if you were to leave, his love would still be completely loyal to you.

You would still be the one to cloud his mind, even if it would be thoughts of you with another. You would still own his heart. He just prefers to be gifted yours as well.

———

“Jungkook!” You beam with a smile as you see him enter the room - well, his room, but lets try to ignore that fact so your face doesn’t decide to heat up at the fact of you being in his bed.

Jungkook once worried expression sobers when he hears you say his name and sees the smile you greet him with. How can a being truly be this perfect? He thinks he would gladly kill anyone for you, but right now he has to try and protect you from himself as he feels the pull of your connection strengthen in that moment.

He had a feeling the hieros gamos connection would one day start pulling you towards each other. He just didn’t predict it would be the first day you saw him in person! And now, even when you were asleep, anytime you two were close to each other the rite begs to be completed. Even as he watches you squirm in your spot, obviously feeling the same tension as him, he tries to be the good boy he’s been around you for decades and walks in the opposite direction of you.

He sits in the chair about five feet away from you, and tries his best to smile though the tension that just laid like a blanket on top of you both. “Hello, Nae sarang. Did you sleep well?”

You pick at the blanket your sitting under and try to ignore the wave of want that coursed through you before. Also ignoring how the connection line connecting Jungkook and you suddenly got brighter by him just entering the room.

“Um- fine, thank you.” You glance at the bed. “I’m guessing this is your bed?”

Jungkook raises a confused eyebrow at you, wondering why you even need to ask. “It is.”

“Oh,” You say through an exhale of air. “Thank you for letting me use it. Although, I don’t quite remember falling asleep in it,” The end of you sentence gets smaller as you speak. Another memory from yesterday flooding your mind on how you passed out after orgasming against the god in front of you.

Your eyes widen, and your cheeks heat up into a rose hue. Jungkook doesn’t need to read your mind to know what just crossed it, and he smirks at the fact that he can still affect you like this even after he has you so intimately wrapped up in his arms yesterday.

“Yes, well, I couldn’t just leave you in the entrance of the underworld. That cave can be dangerous for a goddess like yourself, not to mention is really creepy.”

You shrug your shoulders, feeling thankful for the slight subject change. “I don’t know. I thought that cave was quite beautiful.”

Beautiful.

The memory of the first word that his mind caught of yours crosses Jungkook’s mind. How perfectly fitting it is that you thinking the word beautiful matched your own description perfectly to Jungkook, but it also brings his mind back to what he needs to speak to you about.

Jungkook clears his throat, and scoots forward in his chair. The connection tugs again, but he ignores it. Using his elbows on his knees he leans closer to you. “Y/n, I feel I have some explaining to do.”

Your smiles falls a little - to Jungkook’s dismay - and you nod your head because he does in fact have a lot to explain. “Yes, I think you do.”

Jungkook winces at the harshness of your voice, but he believes he deserves it. Even if he wants to blame he fates on him being untruthful to you, there was never a promise of him not telling you who he was. That was all him. All because he was scared of something you never cared about in the first place.

He still feels dumb about it. Not realizing that your his soulmate and his soulmate wouldn’t care about such stupid, trivial things like the past or rumors.

“I want to start with staying I’m sorry. I’m sorry for not telling you who I was or reveling myself to you when I should have.” You go to tell him it’s alright, and that explanation has already been done with, but he interrupts you before you had a chance. “I know your going to tell me it’s fine, but it really isn’t. For me to be untruthful with you over a fear is not right, and you deserve better. For that, I apologize.”

You take each of Jungkook’s words in, processing them and being mature about how you take them. Truthfully, your over that lie, but it does still feel good to hear him apologize about it even now. He had his reasons, and the fact that his reasons were out of fear alone is a little endearing. Especially when that fear was of your rejection.

“All is forgiven,” You say with a closed lip smile.

Jungkook’s corner of his lisp twitch up when he sees you smile again, tapping the sharp part of his sickle against the table in front of him before he completely puts it down. This next part… is going to be the hardest.

“I’m glad you forgive me, and I hope you keep that heart of gold you have when I explain to you why you’ve been stuck in that cave all your life.”

Your eyes widen, and your smile falls. Out of all things for Jungkook to explain, you were not expecting him to be able to answer that burning question of yours. “Y-you know why?” He nods his head. “Tell me! … please.”

Jungkook combs his fingers through his hair, hoping the fates don’t curse him with a terrible future ahead after he tells you this. “You know who your father is, correct?”

You nod your head before voicing the truth. “Yes, it’s Tartarus. That’s actually where I was heading before-“

“You were what?!” Jungkook’s stands up so fast his chair almost falls back behind him. He had a feeling you would be curious about the place, but he didn’t think you would want to go to the worst place in all of existence all alone! “Y/n, Nae sarang, please tell me your not serious.”

You feel smaller now, not expecting Jungkook to get so mad about you going there. You know by the few things the fates talked about that the place was bad, but also the ignorance they bestowed on you not letting you know how bad it actually is.

“It’s the realm of my father. I don’t see-“

“You can’t! I mean- you shouldn’t.” Seeing you suddenly scared sobers Jungkook’s temper a little, but it doesn’t stop him from trying to convince you to never ever go near that place.

His feet move on their own accord, until he’s right in front of you at the edge of the bed. He kneels down in front of you, taking your hands in his and staring deeply into your eyes so he makes sure you hear his every word.

“The fates have told you about Cronus, right?” Your eyes blow out wide at the mention of the Titans name. Although you’ve never met the demon of a god, your blood runs cold out of fear of who he is and what he has done.

In the smallest of voices, you reply, “I have.”

“He’s there. Trapped, yes, but he’s still there, as well as a bunch of other monsters. Not even the king or queen of the cursed lands go there unless they absolutely must go.” Jungkook rubs his thumb across your knuckles, trying to sooth you from this horror of a story he’s about to tell you. “He also maybe trapped, but if he somehow gets into your mind… I-if he can get into your thoughts a-and me show you things…”

Jungkook’s stops there, suddenly overheating at just the thought of Cronus getting into your mind the way he has others. Few have ever ventured there and returned, but those who have - especially women - never return the same once Cronus has filled there minds with such terrible imaginations that feel too teal to be what they actually are.

“Hey- hey- hey,” You say as you let go of Jungkook’s hands and put your hands on top of his shoulders. You don’t know what’s going through his mind right now, but by the way he’s shaking at just the thought of you going there, and his warnings he’s giving you are all because he cares about you. He cares about you enough that he’s telling you the truth about the monstrous place and not spearing any detains. Something not many people have given you the gift of respecting your old enough to know. “Okay, Jungkook, I won’t go. I’m sorry I even thought about it.”

Jungkook breathes through his nose, trying to control himself before he flies to Tartarus himself and stabs Cronus with his sickle a bunch of times for something he hasn’t even done - even though he deserves a few stabbings for everything else he’s done.

“Don’t apologize, Y/n. I know you were just being curious, and it is your father that realm consists of, after all.”

You nod your head a singular time in understanding, and now your wondering how this even got brought up in the first place. “Why did you bring up my father, again?”

Jungkook’s eyes widen for a second, and then he rocks back and forth on his spot on the floor. Because of the shock and fright you just gave him, he completely forgot what he was about to tell you for a moment.

“Right, yes, Um… so your father. He is the realm itself of Tartarus, but he didn’t bestow your mother the gift of pregnancy for no reason. The fates and I believe that you were given a power like no other.”

Your shocked by what Jungkook is saying, but somehow out of everything he just said only one thing sticks out the most. “When did you and my family talk?”

Fuck.

“Never mind that now, I’ll be explaining that soon. But, have you by any chance felt… different since you left the cave? Any new abilities, I mean.”

You look down at the string of connection connecting you and Jungkook, then look back up at him. “Well, yes. I never saw this string before.”

You point at the connection you two have like he can somehow see it. Jungkook looks down at where you’re pointing, and all he sees is the bumps in the blanket of where your legs are underneath. “What string?”

“The one connecting us together.” Jungkook’s eyes widen, and his breathe catches. “It’s been there since yesterday, and I never saw it before. What do you think it could be?”

Jungkook has a feeling he knows what it is, he just wasn’t expecting you would be able to literally see it. Of course, out of all abilities for you to have you had to have the one where you can see - and most likely manipulate - hieros gamos connections.

Well, he was going to have to explain it to you sooner or later. Might as well be the latter.

“What do you know about the rite of hieros gamos?”

———

After Jungkook tells you all about hieros gamos, your looking at him with brand new eyes now. It all makes so much more sense! Why he’s always been there, why you always felt a pull to him, and how your feelings for him are so strong even after he’s kept such big secrets from you.

But even after he’s explained all of this, it seems like what you have should be impossible! You two never had sex. You would very much remember doing that with him, and what you two did yesterday doesn’t count for the rite. On top of that, you can legit see the connection, so it’s not like he’s lying to you.

“S-so I can see the hieros gamos connection.” Jungkook nods his head. “And we have that connection, but it’s not complete?” He nods his head again. You feel the blush on your face brighten, realizing what he’s silently suggesting from you. “And you want to complete it w-with me?”

Jungkook eyes widen ever so slightly, and he looks away from you out of embarrassment. The simple answer to that question is FUCK YES, but because Jungkook is a gentleman so he says instead, “I won’t force you into anything, Y/n. This is a lot to take in so I understand if you need some time. I’ve waited this long for you and I’ll gladly wait another decade or two for you, Nae sarang.”

You look at Jungkook with stars in your eyes, feeling your heart grow a little bigger for the god in front of you. How can someone lay upon you so much pressure, but make you feel so much love at the same time?

Gods! You need to have confidence in this. He’s waited so long for you, and, in a way, you’ve waited a long time too for this. Maybe he was captivated by you from the second you were born, but you loved him even before you knew what he looked like!

Your his Nae sarang, whatever that means. You look back at Jungkook, realizing out of all your life changing questions the smallest of them all has not been answered yet. Except, you won’t realize how big that question is until he answers.

You blink up at him, clenching the skirt of your dress between your fingers as your stomach builds with nerves. “Um… Jungkook… what does Nae sarang mean?”

Jungkook looks at you fondly, thinking back about when he first started called you that endearment. He knew you never knew what it meant, but you also never asked. It was his own way of admitting his feelings to you without you even knowing. Without him defying the fates that he promised he would be patient with you.

“It means, my love,” A quiet gasp escapes your mouth as you hear his confession. Jungkook caresses your cheek with one hand, and gently grabs a hold of your other hand in your lap. He can’t help but want to touch you as he retells the story about how he knew he loved you outside of the connection you two shared.

“When I first realized who you were to me, I wanted nothing to do with you. My life was just fine without adding love to it, and you were just an infant, so I thought these overwhelming emotions would go away eventually. I’ve seen many gods and goddess lose their hieros gamos bond with each other over the years, so I thought if I just stayed away from you, we would eventually lose it too…”

Although his words right now are cracking your heart right down the middle - unable to fathom a life without Jungkook now - it’s crazy to you to think this all started once you were born with him. You stay silent as he continues to tell you the tail about how he fell in love with you.

“But it never went away… it got bigger and bigger, until I just stopped trying to stop it. Once you turned 16 and the combination of our worlds bloomed my whole body ached to be near you. I just-… I couldn’t stay away from you after that.”

You raise an eyebrow at him, not understanding a part of his story. “What combination of our worlds?”

Jungkook continues to look at you with a small smile, absolutely loving retelling you all the moments he cherishes so much with you. “The tree at the back of the fates caves. It didn’t just grow there for no reason. It grew there when you were able to-“ He cut himself short, not wanting you to think you hitting maturity was the reason he came into your life. “The tree grew there and it - in a way - beamed me to you. It was-… honestly, it felt like it hurt to even be away from you.”

Your eyes widen for a second at thinking Jungkook was in pain. “Hurt you? That doesn’t sound romantic at all!”

Jungkook chuckles, rubbing your cheek with his thumb when you don’t understand what he’s trying to say.

“No, Y/n. I don’t mean physically. I mean right here.” He then picks up your hand in your lap, and places it on his rapid beating heart. A part of him he truly believes will only come alive when you’re around.

You feel Jungkook’s heart beat under your palm, and looking into his eyes that haven’t once swept away the fondness he has for you. Although, now that you think about it, fondness is too small of a word to describe what he’s really feeling towards you. What he’s always felt towards you.

“You really love me, don’t you?”

Jungkook has thought of a million scenarios of how he would one day tell you he loved you, but out of all them he never expected it to be this way. With you sitting in his bed, after you ran away from the fates, and asking him a question you already should know the answer to.

But this scenario ended up being the best of all because of what comes next.

“I’ve loved you longer then I knew what the word really meant.”

It takes five seconds for Jungkook’s words to be processed for you, but once they do you know your answer to what you’ve been wondering about yourself since before you can remember.

You’re Y/n, daughter of the fates, father of Tartarus, goddess of connections… And wife of Jungkook. The god death.

You just need to go through one more glorious trial before you can claim that last title completely. And your happy to make the first move this time.

You grab onto the sides of Jungkook’s face, and smash your lips against his. He automatically recuperates the kiss, and next thing you know he’s crawling on top of you onto the bed. Using his arms to support him next to your head. He cages you in his arms, and the way his lips feel against yours has your stomach doing flips. The feeling of both of you together like this already addicting.

Unlike yesterday, this kiss was all on the both of you. There wasn’t some force pulling you two together, just the increasing amount of love that did it. And you do love him.

“I love you too,” You say against Jungkook’s lips, making him gasp into your mouth. He pulls away from you but only about an inch away. Looking into his eyes now, all you can see is yourself reflecting back at you. If this was an alternative universe, then there would be cartoon hearts in both of your eyes.

“Fuck, do you really?” Jungkook asks like a five year old kid instead of a deathless and ageless god.

You smile up at him, rubbing both of his cheeks with your thumbs and reveling at the goosebumps that follow. “Yes. Yes, I always have-“

Jungkook interrupts your confession with another searing kiss, and your everything but upset about it. You whimper as his tongue dances across your bottom lip, asking for entrance. It’s when he grinds down on you, his growing erection rubbing against your core, that you gasp into his mouth and his tongue attacks your own.

To Jungkook you taste like honey and rose water. Two tastes he never thought he would love so much. To yourself he tastes like passion and affection. Two things you never knew had a taste and it’s dizzying you.

As your tongues dance in each other mouths, you feel his hands start to explore you. Your hands stay clamped on his shoulders, but you already feel yourself arching as his fingers dance across your skin. Your arms, your sides, your legs. They go everywhere.

“Fuck, your so beautiful, Y/n,” Jungkook says against your lips, making you swoon with affection. “Please let me keep you forever.”

Just when he’s about to explore the places you want him to explore the most, that he suddenly stalls, and backs away from you entirely. You look at him, and unlike what you thought you would see - a face of worry - you instead see something far worse.

A face of a terrible realization. How could Jungkook forget? It was one of his most frequented worries, but the second your lips pressed against his he forgot everything. And now all that was about to happen, him finally being able to have you in his arms the way he craves the most, may never happen because of something he can’t control.

“I need to tell you something…”

Your blink up at him, feeling whiplashed. You silently nod your head, suddenly feeling anxiety bloom within you. You back up in the bed when Jungkook starts to crawl back on it. Both of you sitting across from each other. Jungkook makes the silence stretch way to long, and seeing his hands shake isn’t like him. Granted, you’ve only been able to actually see him for two days, but he’s not an antsy person. Always cool and collected, unlike right now.

You can’t take it anymore. You grab onto his hands, gently rubbing his knuckles with both of your thumbs. “Jungkook…what’s wrong? What do you have to tell me?”

Jungkook looks into his lap, only glancing at your joined hands in the middle, but feeling like he needs to hold onto them for dear life - afraid you’ll run away if he doesn’t.

“What do you know about me, Y/n? I mean… the god of death and my abilities?”

Your eyes widen for a second, not expecting the question. “I know your the reaper of souls. That a single touch from you can kill any being if you want to.”

He nods his head, still not looking at you. “That’s correct. Anything else?”

You dig into your memories, trying to find the stories the fates gave you about the god of death and his abilities. Once it clicks in your head whats he’s worrying about, you tighten your grip on his hands and a small smile blooms on your face.

“I don’t want children,” You blurt out.

Jungkook whips his head up at you, eyes wide. “Y-you- wait, what?”

You giggle, feeling lighter now that you understand why he became so worried before. “I said, I don’t want children. I never have, and never will. Was that your worry?”

Jungkook’s eyes don’t shrink back to normal, and now his jaw has dropped. He’s never asked you about if you wanted children, but he also wasn’t expecting that to be your answer to his unspoken confession.

All women who lye with death are rendered infertile, that’s why he also never slept with virgins. They don’t know what they want, especially at such a young age. All his past conquests being mostly newly born nymphs or praisers of Hecate who were already half dead and not able to have children anyway.

He sighs, “But how do you know that?”

You raise a pointed eyebrow at him. “Come again?”

“How do you know you’ll never want children?”

And now it’s your turn to sigh. You just never did. You were treated like a child for the majority of your life, so having your own wasn’t ideal for you. Not to mention you have very little experience with children in the first place. Not many mortals under the age of 18 coming to the fates to request a new path. That, and, you feel like your life has just started. Even if you’ve been alive for decades, until yesterday you’ve never been truly free. Children are the last thing on your bucket list right now, and if for some reason you want kids in your future you could always just look over at Jungkook and think; he was worth not having any for.

You explain every single one of your thoughts to him, and you don’t miss how he slowly gets closer to you as you speak - invading your personal space (which, lets be honest here, you don’t care).

“Are you sure?” He whispers so close to your face that you feel his breathe fan. The smell of mint clinging to your sense of smell “There’s no turning back once it’s done.”

You still see the worry in his brow, and you lift your hand to wipe it away. “Hundred million percent.”

Then Jungkook couldn’t take it anymore. He smashes your lips back together, and the whole conversation is lost behind you. There’s no more worries once he has you in his arms, and the whimpers start pouring from your mouth into his. Stirring him on to start up right where you both left left off - to touch you everywhere he can get his hands on.

When you feel him cup your breasts in both hands is when that feeling from yesterday starts to bloom inside of you. You open your mouth wide into a moan, and he kisses your bottom lip as you do. His lips kiss down your jaw until they stop at your neck, attacking the surface there.

Sucking, biting, licking, and kissing is what you feel. All the while he continues to give both your breasts affectionate squeezes.

“Tell me, Y/n,” Jungkook says against you neck. All you’re able to reply with is a quite hum, unable to say anything while your mind is slowly getting fuzzy to everything else besides his hands and lips. “Have you ever touched yourself before?”

He squeezes one of your breasts again, his other hand dragging down your body until it reaches your hip. You arch your back and whimper when he licks a particular strip up a sweet spot of yours on your neck.

“Y-yes,” You reply with tightly closed eyes.

Jungkook then detaches from your neck, looking down at his fucked out goddess that’s only gotten this way from a few kisses and caresses from him.

He’s taught girls that thought they knew there way around pleasure, but your different then them. For one, the obvious reason, he’s in love with you. Not a single girl from the past has ever made his heart beat so fast in this moment that it feels like it’s about to explode out of his chest. Secondly, your intact. A virgin, untouched and know nothing about the art of love making. Your a blank canvas to Jungkook, so he needs to tread lightly about how he treats and talks to you.

Jungkook’s kisses you lightly on the lips, and whispers against them, “What did you think about while you did?” Your face heats up at his question, and Jungkook’s smirk only raises. “Who did you think about? Who did you imagine touching your body like this?”

As you go through a mental overload of things to respond with, Jungkook begins his descent down your body - kisses ever part of you clothed and unclothed.

“Y-you trying to get me to say you?” You say as he begins to kiss your clothed hip bones. The two bones jutting out while you have your legs half way bent with his head in between them.

Jungkook chuckles against your hip, and then nuzzles your abdomen. “Oh, Nae sarang… I know I’m the one you imagine.” You gasp at his cheekiness. “I just want to hear you say it.”

With a couple more pushes of his body downward, he gets to your thighs. The slowest of kisses get pressed to the inner part of each of your thighs, and you can’t help yourself but whimper as you watch. One particular breathe of his as he switches over between legs has your now soaking pussy clenching on nothing and it’s driving you crazy.

Jungkook bites his lip as he glances in between your legs, wanting to see and taste your pussy so badly, but he doesn’t stop the slow pressing of his lips on each thigh. He’s become a very patient god over these past centuries because of you, so he’ll gladly wait another just to hear you say it. Although, the intoxicating smell of what’s hiding under your dress that’s so close to his face right now may have him swindled to push forward anyway.

He never finds out if that would be true, though, because after a few heated silent moments you’re nodding your head and admitting, “I… I think of you… I would hear your voice in my head and imagine you talking to me as I did it.”

Jungkook’s smiles against your thigh, feeling his ego grow times ten, but he’d be lying if he said his cock didn’t just jump in his pants because of your words.

“Such a naughty girl,” Jungkook’s teases, making your rose colored blush stretch down to your neck. He then looks down at his next destination, and swallows thickly. He rubs his face against your thigh, suddenly nervous about something he’s hasn’t done in a long time. He knows he’ll enjoy the taste of you, he’s enjoyed ever other taste of you thus far, but having something he’s only seen in his wildest of dreams that’s only a dress flip away is a new experience.

“Gods help me,” Jungkook whispers to himself. You don’t hear him, but by the way he’s staring at what’s between your legs is making you sweat. So you decide to be a little daring. Wanting to show him your not as innocent as the fates make you out to be.

Jungkook’s eyes move away from your center when he sees your fists start to bunch you your skirt, slowly moving the garment up your thighs. It’s like everything is moving in slow motion in front of him as you slowly reveal your barely covered, soaked through the cloth, wet pussy.

Jungkook’s mouth runs dry when he sees your womanhood for the first time. It’s only covered by a practically see through garment, but it’s there. His eyes darken as he looks you over for the first time.

Your essence is leaking to your thigh, and every time you move your leg it sticks to the opposite surface. The smell of just how aroused you are hits his nose, making him have to hold back a moan. He feels his tongue jut out, and he plays it off as him just wetting his lips although he just really wants to taste you.

With an experimental finger, Jungkook drags his finger down your clothed core. He feels the soaked cloth become sticky to his skin, and then he’s pulling his finger away at the sound of a whimper. He looks back up at you, and the sight is breath taking.

One. Fucking. Finger.

All it took was one touch of his finger to have you close to tears and breathing like you ran out of air. If this is how you act by just one touch of his fingers, he wonders how you’ll act when he finally goes down on you. And Jungkook can’t wait anymore.

With the wettest and longest strip of his tongue, he moves the barer cloth away and licks up your pussy. You arch your back and scream his name into the quiet room, “Jungkook!”

It’s music to his ears, and he wants more of it. He licks every single one of your crevices, and smells your aroma fog his senses as he does. At some point the barer cloth gets in his way, so he pulls it clean off your body altogether, making you jump in your spot on the bed. You don’t get much time to process his action, though, because then his face dives right back between your thighs.

“So good. I knew you would taste so good,” He says without taking his face off of you. You arch your back when he speaks against you pussy, moaning a particularly high moan you’ve never done before.

You cup your hands together, and cover your mouth as his decent on your pussy starts making the most lewd noises comes out of you. Jungkook is to busy at the moment to notice, but soon he’ll layer his tournament with his fingers in your slit. Sucking on your clit while his fingers rub at your wet folds. He probes a finger gently inside of you, reveling at how tight it is for just his finger.

He starts to wonder how he’s going to fit in you, but then he hears a very clear and loud muffled moan, and looks back at you. He sees your hands covering your mouth, and two blood shot eyes looking down at him near your fingers.

He freezes everything. For a second he thinks he went to far. For a second his heart was ready to rip apart at the thought of him hurting you, but then you uncover your mouth and ask him in the most sexiest breathless voice he’s ever heard before, “W-why’d you stop?”

Jungkook shakes his head, his worst nightmare fading from his mind as he takes in your appearance now. Your eyes aren’t blood shot out of tears of sorrow but out of tears of pleasure. And your covering your mouth because… your embarrassed.

No. Jungkook won’t allow any of that.

He takes his hands that were once busy on your pussy and thigh, and pulls them away from your face to hold them near your waist. Your starting at him wide eyed, not understanding why he would do such a thing.

Why? He hears in his head from you.

And he answers back with, “Because I want to hear you.”

Then he’s diving back in, using his hold on your wrists now to push you deeper onto his face. The second his tongue touches you again, licking inside your hole like it’s trying to dig for a diamond, you arch your back to the heavens and cry out so many profanities you don’t know how the rest of the underworld can’t hear you.

“J-J-Jungkook… God! Fuck! … I feel like I’m dying.”

He chuckles against your pussy, and your to blissed out to notice what little correlation you just made with your words and him.

He pulls his face away from you, your essence dripping off his chin, but then he’s letting go of one of your wrists so his finger can then start to play with you again. You hum as his rough fingers start to rub you in all the right places.

“No dying yet, Nae sarang.” You blink down at him, way too dizzy in the head to understand a world he’s saying. “Deaths currently off duty.”

Those are his last words he gives you before you feel like you’re actually dying. His tongue returns to sucking on your clit at the same time his finger enters you, and it overheats your entire body. Forget seeing stars, you see fucking galaxies by the way his fingers are rubbing your insides. He’s finding spots inside of you you’ve never found before, and licking at all your crevices you never thought would feel good.

With more more press to a sweet spot, and sucking of your clit, within seconds of him your cumming harder then you ever have in your life! You swear there was even a few seconds you blacked out after that. Only his name on your lips as you cum on his face is echoing back to you in your head.

By the time you come to planet earth, you look down to see Jungkook lewdly licking at his fingers and lips. He revels in the taste of you, and can’t help but jut against the mattress. He’s so hard right now it feels like he’s close to pain, but he won’t be in pain for long.

“How was that my little goddess?“Jungkook asks with a knowing smirk.

“T-that was… t-that was wow.” This is now the second time Jungkook has run you speechless by orgasms, and you feel your entire body shutter when you imagine what it might feel like when he actually enters you.

You’ve heard through many sad tails from women that have visited the fates that not all sex experiences are pleasurable for women. Sometimes it hurts, especially your first time. But then you remember the few women that have actually gone to the fates for love, and you think there’s no way they would go there if they didn’t love their husbands.

You love Jungkook, and he loves you. More importantly, for your worries right now, you trust him to never hurt you.

The even slightest bit of worries wash away, though - when Jungkook sits up, and removes his shirt. Your jaw drops, and shit it immediately closes once you realize how embarrassing that is. You knew he was fit, you felt it yesterday and today while he was on top of you how hard his body is against yours (not including the obvious part of him in his pants right now). But what you see now makes the words cut like a god seem like a understatement.

In few words… Jungkook is fine as fuck!

He lets you take your fill, biting his tongue to control his laughter. He then tilts your chin up with one finger, and smiles down at you like he’s a sexy devil instead of a deathless god.

“See something you like?”Jungkook ask. You scoff at him, but your face is still red as a tomato. “Such a little feisty�� goddess.”

You raise an eyebrow at him, your breathing finally going back to normal. “Wonder why the cosmos paired us together.” It was a rhetorical question and one laced with sarcasm. Jungkook’s grins at you, taking your comment as it was and not taking it to heart.

“I think-“ Jungkook starts as he leans down to your face, making you back up against the pillow behind you. “It paired us together because it knew there had to be someone like you for me to fall in love with.”

Jungkook kisses both of your cheeks, holding himself above you by his strong forearms. You lightly glide your fingers across his arms, feeling the veins under your fingertips. He is such a beautiful being, and starting up at him in all his handsome glory really does make you wonder why the universe paired you two together.

“What do you mean?”

He glides his nose across your own, teasing the touch of his lips to yours. You bite your bottom lip, pulling it through your teeth as you gaze into his two love sick eyes.

“Someone I would never reap.“ The one the reaper will never reap. “A deathless person like myself.” A goddess she’ll be. “And someone who I’ll be craving to take.”

Taking in his words has your insides twisting, and your pussy craving what he’s willing to him. Jungkook smashes his lips back on yours before you can crave to long, though. Its all clothing being ripped off, and the twisting of tongues from there. You don’t even realize your completely naked underneath him until Jungkook attaches to your nipple. The feelings you had from yesterday when you two were in this exact position sparks within you.

Your moans soon turn to gaps, though, when you feel something new, and foreign, and hard against your thigh. When did he take off his pants?

Jungkook feels you stiffen underneath him, his hands stopping in there tracks down your body as he unlatches his mouth from your chest. He knows you feel his want for you, and by the way your eyes widen he wishes it could be any other way. He wishes this wouldn’t hurt as much as it’s going to, and maybe if you weren’t a vir-

His blood starts boiling before the thought fully registers in his mind. There’s no space for what ifs anymore, anyway. Your here, naked in his bed, and underneath him practically begging with your eyes for him to take you. Wanting him to take you for the first time, and trusting him enough with your soul for eternity.

He whispers through the connection something that could have brought tears to your eyes if it wasn’t for your nerves.

Are you sure you want this?

Are you sure? Are you sure that you want the one and only person you considered to be your friend as a life partner? Someone who has been with you longer then your memory stretches, and has loved you before you even turned two hours old?

“Yes…” Jungkook licks his lips. “Take me, Jungkook.”

And who is he to deny you?

With a comforting arm underneath your head, and his other hand supporting your thigh, he slowly enters you for the first time. There’s pain, yes, but you feel an even bigger emotion spread within you. Spread through the both of you.

It’s a feeling deeper then love, and when he moves ever so slightly inside of you, stretching your insides to accommodate him, it’s almost catastrophic. Like the universe is giving you a brand new feeling that only you and Jungkook could feel.

“Nae sarang… are you… okay?” Jungkook says between deep breathes. He knew you would feel good, but he didn’t think you would feel this good. If it wasn’t for his amazing restraint, he would be fucking you so hard that you couldn’t see straight. The feeling of you surrounding you is so tight, and he now understands how making love is so much better then regular fucking.

Your just so perfect.

You nod your head, and squeeze his body closers to yours so your chest to chest. “Please move, my love.”

Jungkook groans into your neck, the pet name from you in English somehow sounding even better to his ears then his own nickname for you. He picks up his face out your neck, and stares down at you as he starts to move within you.

Whoever said the god of death isn’t a gentlemen is surly mistaken, because the way he treats you in this moment is like fire skating around ice. Maybe it’s the fact that your a virgin - was a virgin- or that your the first person he’s ever been in love with that he treats you like a glass doll, but either way you admire his patience with you.

You’ve never had someone care for you like this, and you particularly love when there’s a singular thrust he drives inside you to hard, Jungkook’s resolve nearly breaking, that drives you up the walls and having you cry out in pure ecstasy.

“Jungkook… My-My-…”

My god, was what you were meant to say, but instead you started moaning and the words were lost from you.

Jungkook shakes his head, remembering how to breathe when he hears you moan and whither in his arms. He didn’t even realize how stiff he was until now, but seeing your face contort the way it is now has him back to reality.

“Please Jungkook, can you… Ah!”

With a stronger grip on your hip, and him now gripping on the headboard behind you he starts thrusting into you with earnest. Moan after echoing moan is heard within this room, and Jungkook’s ears are capturing every sound.

The second you gave the go ahead, he took it. And fuck it feels like your melting his cock by how hot you’re getting around him.

Jungkook smiles down at you, and kisses your open mouth as you moan. When he starts to feel you clench around him a moan passes through his own lips. You rip at his back with your nails as he drives into you full force, unable to hold back any noises like before. You’ve never felt this good before, and truthfully, neither has Jungkook.

“Your so tight, and wet, and warm… fuck, baby, your so perfect for me.”

You both are so engrossed with each other that his words hit you right in the stomach, making you to close to be considered normal to reaching your end. It’s when Jungkook thrusts against a particular spot inside of you that it starts coming. It starts with your toes and then it’s vibrating across your every limb. It’s a quacking of an orgasm that he continues to fuck you through.

“Fuck, Y/n… shit you feel so good. The way you tighten around me feels like you’re trying to rip off my cock, ” Jungkook curses into your neck. He tries to keep himself steady as you ride out your orgasm, but it’s like he can feel it in his spine. The pleasure of what you’re doing only increasing by the seconds and making you both dizzy.

He pushes himself up by his arms, and your legs wrap around him to connect at the ankles. This angle not only has him driving into you deeper and harder, but with each thrust your clit is being pressed against. Your back arch’s, and your hands grab onto the sheets. Jungkook’s watches how you both reconnect and disconnect, and he sees how wet you truly are. He has to clamp his eyes shut. Feeling how wet you are is one thing, but seeing it is another. And if you were to say…

“Jungkook! So good… so good!”

You don’t know how it’s possible, but even just coming off your own orgasm you feel it again. It makes no sense, but you don’t think about it as your toes curl, your pussy clenches, and you feel Jungkook grow even bigger inside of you as you cum again. Your words and the feeling of your clench around him drives him to get three seconds away from cumming.

He drops against you, holding you tightly in his arms as his own orgasm begins to coarse though him. It’s all to much, but you hold him through your third orgasm of the night, and then your feeling his own inside of you.

There’s no warning besides a loud grunt in your ear when he cums. It shakes your fricken soul, and it has the both of you quacking and holding into each other much tighter.

And then you both feel it.

Your emotions became his emotions, and his became yours. Every thought, experience, or count of love crossed between you two is being shown to your eyes in front of you. Your chest are pressed against each others, and you feel Jungkook’s arms tighten around your body as he holds you. Both of you knowing that your both about to see some amazing images of each other as the truth of each others love is completed.

You gasp when you see yourself as a baby, the emotions that crashed into Jungkook with them that day.

He feels your emotions when you first realized you loved him, the day he told you the story about the war. Jungkook remembers that day, although not quite like you. He thought the story scared you, but you actually heard Jungkook’s every word as a way of him not treating you like a child.

That’s how the fates treated you, and you hated it. When Jungkook told you this horror of a story, him feeling like he’s doing the wrong thing by letting you know needed Information for being a goddess, he understands how your heart grew a little bigger for him.

Both of the days you fell in love with each other had double firsts. Both of you being each others first loves, as well as you being the first person he cared about and him being the first person to respect you.

You blink your eyes open, and see Jungkook already staring back at you. You both felt it, and you both saw it. The lightening of emotions and the connecting of souls that just climaxed from the two of you completing the rite. You smile, knowing your connected with Jungkook in this way now, and then something you’ll never get tried of hearing is said.

“I love you so much, y/n. I didn’t- you never told me that you felt that way… back then.” He means to say this as a way of clearing the air of the overwhelming emotions still pouring into the both of you, but there’s a hint of sadness there too. If Jungkook knew you loved him sooner, you could have been what you two are now sooner. But he knows that’s mostly his fault. Never being able to tell you the truth being the reason why. The past is the past, though. And Jungkook knows a thing or two about being stuck in the past. “I’m so glad I have you.”

Your smile never wavers as you look at Jungkook lay on your chest. You gently comb your fingers through his hair, feeling him hum against you - finally content with himself. He only pulls out of you after you start to whimper from over stimulation. Jungkook already getting hard again because he’s waited a millennium to be like this with you, but he’s willing to wait a few moments before he can ask you for more.

I’ll wait forever for you.

Your feeling a little drowsy now that you’ve come down from your high, but his thoughts echo all around your head. Before, it was always like a whisper. Something so small that had the potential to grow, and now that it has each word is clear as day. You wonder if it will always feel like this.

“I’ll make sure you always feel like this,” Jungkook answers your unspoken question. “I’ll make sure you never feel lonely again.”

He makes good on his words by scooping you up in his arms, and making you giggle as your suddenly picked up and cradled like bride. But I guess, you are a bride? You honestly don’t know how any of this works still, but your fine with figuring it out slowly.

His wings sculpt around you both, making it seem like it’s just you and him in this world. You glide your fingers down a set of feathers and feel the softness dance on your fingertips.

“They’re beautiful,” You comment.

“Yes you are,” He responds back. You look back to face Jungkook, and his eyes are only on you. You were clearly talking about his wings, but Jungkook can only think about you in any context in this moment.

You nuzzle your check against his peck, and hum in content like he did before. Jungkook bites his lip, fighting back an obvious smile, as he looks down at you.

“You make me so happy,” You say softly, still in a daze. “Can we please never leave here? Let’s not face the fates, and just… be here. Be together.”

Jungkook’s smile falters a little, but not completely. He wonders if he’ll ever be able to not smile around you again, but then he realizes he already has the answer - you’re the only reason he smiles. It’s just the mention of the fates that irks him. He knows they probably know what happened. They aren’t able to see your fate, but they can see his. Heck, they probably knew this day would come before even he did.

But still, one day you’ll want to see them again. He pulls you closer to him even though your already smushed against him because he can’t help but think they may try to take you away from him. Would they be that cruel? To cast a fate that he would lose you somehow?

You don’t need to read Jungkook’s thoughts to know he’s upset, although the emotion is pouring through your every blood cell at the moment. You sit up in his lap, and hold his face in your hands, and kiss him.

“I’m yours,” You say against his lips, and he stiffens underneath you when he hears your words. Eventually melting into the kiss.

It’s fierce, and powerful. Nothing to suggest more then kissing, but it’s intimate nonetheless. It’s your own promise to Jungkook. A promise that your not going anywhere, and that you two are forever bonded.

And just in case he doesn’t get the hint, you say through the hieros gamos bond the promise you’ll make every day if you have to.

I love you always, Nae sarang.

———

You never thought ten years would be your limit, but here you stand at the precipice of the cave you once lived in, readying yourself to see there faces again.

These past ten years have been crazy. Anything that has to do with Jungkook and you separate from the rest of the world has been as you expected: wonderful.

You’re team, really. You don’t go with him to the mortal realm and reap souls, but you love dictating who they will love for life in the future after they drink from the River Lethe, and then watching their souls drift to a new life.

Hades - Aiden, he likes to be called - and Persephone have opened you up to the Underworld with open arms. They didn’t even need a full introduction when you first met. Hecate being as loyal as ever - to everyone, but Jungkook - told the king and queen that first night after she snuck into Jungkook’s mind by accident.

The first night you were there, turned into five. That’s right, five whole days and nights of where Jungkook wouldn’t let you out of his room for any reason. It got to the point where even his mother, Nyx, was banging on his door and wondering what the fuck he was doing.

That was awkward first met and greet with the goddess of night. You being just on your hands and knees bent over the chair in the room while Jungkook was thrusting into you no more then a minute before hand. The goddess Nyx - similar to every other deity - welcomed you with open arms, though.

Within a month you knew everyone. Within three months you knew ever square inch of the underworld. And then within a year you claimed this place as your forever home, eating a full fruit of the underworld and not looking back. Forget six seeds, you had no one else outside of the underworld that your cared about and would want to see.

Well… you did have three someone’s. But there technically, if you squint, in the underworld. And now your going to see them for the first time in ten years…

Jungkook wasn’t happy about it. Him being prepared to stop reaping souls and keep you captive in your shared room to prevent you from leaving. For which you had to remind him that you’re your own person, and just for an extra measure - you reminded him just how much you love him with your mouth alone. Sucking him dry until he passed out.

Jungkook still held you close that night - like he does every night, but that night it was as if he let go of you then you would somehow disappear.

“Do you have to go?” Jungkook asked with the smallest of voices.

“I’ll only be gone an hour or two,” You assured before you kissed him on the cheek. You look into the eyes you’ve woken up to and fell asleep next to everyday for ten years, never getting tired of the sparkle within them, but with this everyday knowledge you see his sadness. You feel his sadness. It crushes your heart, but the only reason it’s there is because he loves you with all his being. “I’ll never leave you, Jungkook.”

“Such a big promise from someone so small.” You roll your eyes and then playfully hit his shoulder at his tease for your height. “Kidding! … I just- I just love you so much…”

You hate the smallness in his voice. It still echos in your head now, as you take your first step into the cave you were raised in. The first leap to the past you kept behind you for so long, you were willing walking back to.

The first thing you smell is the smell of thread. It’s a smell that hasn’t been lost from you in these last ten years. You wonder who’s fate they are currently sewing together, but as you walk further into the cave, you find out.

The three fates sit at there three seater sewing stand, pressing the humans fate and writing out how their life will play out before it has even begun.

“Hello, daughter.”

“We were wondering-“

“When you would visit.”

You smile at their familiar way of talking. Each word being passed through each of them as they talk. Unlike ten years ago, you see the visible only to you link between the three of them. You’ve learned a lot about yourself over these past two year including your abilities. One of those abilities being that seeing the hieros gamos link was not your only ability, but any link between connected beings.

You learned this when you met Orpheus for the first time. He did not complete the rite with his true love Eurydice when he went into the underworld to beg the king of your realm for her to come with him back to the mortal world. Despite that, you saw the link between the two of them, even if he did not see Eurydice’s spirit until the final second he shouldn’t have, you saw the romantic fate the two of them shared.

It was pink unlike yours and Jungkook’s. The hieros gamos link being blue. The fates link is a shimmer gold. A bond that will only break once one of them dies. Something the fates haven’t even written in the twine yet.

You walk up to the fates, wanting to reach out and touch their line but stopping yourself. Not wanting to know what would happen if you touched such a sacred bond like that. The other bonds you’ve touched had made their feeling stronger, but your not sure what will happen if you touch a link that’s been so fragile over the years.

“Hello, family,” You start with. “Who’s fate are you creating, today?”

You watch your mother’s smile grow, and your aunts lips switch upwards with hers. It’s like your reading off an old script as you ask that question. That question being something you would always ask, and being one of your favorite types of stories.

“A man who’s life will not be long.”

“He will have great hopes, and bear many babes.”

“It won’t be until he gets too greedy with his women-“

“That the last women he swelled with life will slit his throat.”

“Ending there love-“

“That never grew-“

“To what it was meant to be.”

From the outside looking in, it seems like the fates just casted a hopeful, but tragic life for this one man. But that is not the case. Unlike the fates, when you look at the twine you see a very important thread being carved inside of it as they sew in his 20s.

He will fall in love with his soulmate at the age of 22, but she will die before giving birth to their fifth child. Him slitting his own throat because of her, and a life cut short at the age of 30.

This is something you were never able to see before. It’s like you were finally given glasses to read out the fates castings that once either confused you, or you read to literal. You smile at the thread, even though the ending is still tragic it’s a life he filled with love.

Your mother, Atropos, cuts herself off from twining with a snip of her scissors. The other three sisters stopping once the thread has weaved through the spindle all the way.

All three of them sit up straight, and look at you at the same time.

“How have you been?”

“Pff! She means how’s the husband?”

“Any grand babies yet? Ow!”

“Death cannot bear children!”

“Stupid sister.”

“Oh… I forgot… sorry… your still my favorite niece, though!”

You roll your eyes and smile at your aunt Lachesis. Her foolishness was always so entertaining to you. “It’s fine. We don’t want children anyway.”

All three fates raise their pointed left eyebrow, then they look into the ether to find Jungkook’s thoughts on the matter.

…

“Damn.”

“She’s right!”

“Must still be a good- Ow! I was going-“

“To say-“

“Marriage,” Your mother shakes her head. Jutting out her bottom lip in an angry pout at her sisters.

You laugh and it feels so foreign to do around the three of them, that even that fates look over at you in wonder. You clear your throat, coughing into a closed fist.

“It has been good, yes… but must admit I didn’t come here for a family visit.” Although you still love your family dearly - even after they kept you trapped in the fake life for so long - you forgave them at the same time you forgave Jungkook.

In the end, you got what you wanted on your own path, and maybe that’s what the fates wanted for you the entire time. Maybe that’s even why they didn’t stop you that day - because it was time. You realized this when the three of them never came after you. Not even a whisper of a fates revenge tail being rumored across the three realms.

“Then why-“

“Did you come here-“

“Daughter?”

You answer, by looking in the direction of the place you first met your true love.

———

You expected the tree to somehow be withered and wilted. A tree unkept or visited by the one who empowered it made you think this way. But when you stepped into the small clearing you used to visit so often, you’re surprised to not only see it still standing but bigger then before.

The carnations are sprouting wildly upon the top of it, and the bark is still strong and brown. There’s not an inkling that you ever left that place to begin with.

“How can this be?” You ask no one in particular.

…but someone answers.

“It was made from a hieros gamos bond. I told you it would still be here.”

You smile when you hear the love of your life’s voice from behind you, but you turn around with a pout as you face him. “I told you not to come!”

Jungkook rolls his eyes, but the bright smile he grows when he sees your face takes the attitude away. He walks up to you, and envelopes you in his arms around your waist. You smooth your hands up the front of his shirt, connecting your fingers together when your two hands meet behind his neck.

“Maybe I was curious about the tree too.”

You pull your lips into a thin line, unbelieving his very obvious lie. “Mhmm… and I love flying.”

Jungkook’s wings spread out behind him, like they can hear you mocking them. He chuckles lightly, then leans down close to your ear and whispers, “You don’t mind flying when we’re in the air and I’m fucking-“

You shove him away before he can say anymore, playful swatting at his chest. “Your so gross!”

“Then your in love with a gross god.”

You roll your eyes, but that statement has never been more perfectly- “True.”

Jungkook beams at your confession, and he clasps your fingers together with his because he can’t help but want to touch you every time you confess your love for him. You look over at the tree after a silence spreads between the two of you. Not silence out of nothing to say, but silence because you both are basking in the place you first exchanged words in.

You both end up sitting under the tree underneath the branch Jungkook used to love sitting on, staring up at the beautiful flowers. Your hands are still conjoined with his in the middle of the two of you, but you stay silent nonetheless. Both of you are remembering all the pining and longing you both did for each other here, and to think if either of you just opened your feelings up sooner then the life you live with each other now would have started much sooner.

But that’s not what keeps either of your silence in that moment, either. It’s the pure love you both feel here. You decided to venture here when you own day felt it calling to you. Like you needed to show the tree that you were in love with the person it grew for. You lean onto that said person’a shoulder, and breathe in the loving aroma around you.

“Wow,” Is all you say. It’s all you need to say because you both feel what this place is radiating right now.

Love.

And your love for each other, along with this tree, will be forever deathless

The End

。・°°・°°・。。・°°・°°・。。・°°・°°・。

Pomegranate - Symbol of death and fertility. In Greek mythology, the pomegranate was known as the 'fruit of the dead' as it was said to have arisen from the blood of Adonis. It also prominently featured in the myth of Hades and Persephone.

River Lethe - Also known as the Ameles potamos (river of unmindfulness), the Lethe flowed around the cave of Hypnos and through the Underworld where all those who drank from it experienced complete forgetfulness.

Orpheus and Eurydice - read the full tragic love story about these two here.

Ending Notes: I want to give a big shout out to the author of the book Receiver of Many because reading that series over again inspired me to write this mini-series. If your interested in reading more Greek mythology stories, this one being about Hades and Persephone, I definitely recommend checking her series out!

I’ve also had this idea in my head for like a year, and only about two weeks ago decided to write it out. I don’t know why I didn’t have the confidence before to write it, but now that I did I absolutely love what I did!

Please leave all your feedback down below, or you can even message me. I really love hearing from y’all, and I’m not lying when I say it inspires me to write when I see positive feedback.

I hope you enjoyed this mini-series as much as I did writing it. Until next time my curious cats ఌ

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taurussoulastrology · 5 months

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Mythology Series #1

Persephone (asteroid 399)

The goddess of spring and queen of the underworld, AKA Kora, was the daughter of Ceres(Demeter) and Zeus (Jupiter). Throughout the story, I will keep it as Ceres and Zeus.

Even though Persephone isn't part of the planets and is only a minor asteroid, her mythology and archetype is a story to know. In my opinion, I see her connected to the Taurus Scorpio access. She's also part of the triple moon symbol as the waxing crescent representing the maiden. Her mother Ceres is represented by the full moon, the mother, and Hecate, the waning crescent as the crone. If you're into rituals or getting into them and looking for a goddess to work with, Persephone is one to consider. I work with her and feel very connected to her through my natal chart placements.

So there are quite a few different stories about how the goddess of spring also became the queen of the underworld, I will tell it the way I know and how I feel it fits best with her in my mind.

So The Story Goes Like This. One beautiful day Persephone was out picking flowers when she was kidnapped by Hades (Pluto) and brought down to the underworld. (She would have been kidnapped by Hermes which is Mercury as no god was able to cross to the underworld or back, in another series we'll talk about Mercury as he was messenger of the gods since he was not a god himself he was able to go to the underworld and back.) Ceres was so distraught trying to find her daughter as she was extremely close with her. She begged Zeus to send Hermes to go fetch their daughter. What Ceres didn't know was that Zeus promised Persephone to his brother Hades so they would be married. Persephone was not happy. She longed to go back home with her mother. Ceres being so angry, she used her power and made it so that there was no harvest for the mortals. Zeus freaked out! He loved being worshiped by the mortals, and with no harvest, the mortals got pissed and vowed to stop worshiping him. So he talked to Hades and asked him to send his daughter back home. During this time, Pluto/Hades had been trying to get Persephone to submit to him by beating her and raping her, but she refused to be his queen. He had even promised that all the gods would worship her, but she was not interested. She just longed to go back home. Zeus asked Hades to please send her back, and he agreed since she wouldn't submit to him as the story goes. But he's sneaky, before letting Persephone leave, he asked her to at least eat something. So she ate six pomegranate seeds and then let Hermes take Persephone back to her parents. Ceres was so thrilled, she used her powers to bring back the harvest. She then thought that it was too easy to get her back and asked Persephone, "Did you eat anything before you left the underworld?" Persephone told her mother about the pomegranate seeds. Again, her mother became enraged as these seeds made Persephone connected to the underworld. So Persephone would have to go back in order to stay alive. She would be allowed back to Earth for springtime, but would have to return to the underworld again. When Persephone would have to leave and the harvest ended (Autumn Equinox, Mabon), and when she came back, so did the foliage and grains (spring equinox, Ostara). Eventually, Persephone made the best of her situation even though her mother was not happy. Ceres refused to change things to the way it was.

Persephone stepped into both roles; the goddess of spring and queen of the underworld.

This story shows how to integrate both the light and the dark. It shows great strength and inner power. It shows how you can transform yourself with a change of perception and willpower.

Now I equate Persephone to the Taurus-Scorpio axis because we have spring in Taurus season, the foliage and flowers are all in bloom (and even thousands of years ago spring equinox was actually during Taurus season). When Persephone goes back to the underworld that starts the Autumn Equinox, but remember Libra was once part of the Scorpio constellation, and that's when we have the equinox. Also, Scorpio is ruled by Pluto and is the sign and energy of transformation. As I mentioned earlier, she's also part of the triple moon symbol (below), being the waxing crescent. So if you work with the moon, you're working with Persephone in a way already.

Like I mentioned, there are many versions to the story, and with mythology, we can change them a bit to fit the times we are in or to fit how we resonate with it.

Finding an archetype or archetypes to connect to can really help any healing process. Also knowing the archetypes of our solar system can help you better understand astrology and your own charts.

I feel I resonate with Persephone through my chart as my Cancer moon is a waxing crescent, Ceres is cazimi to my Taurus Sun 8th House. Persephone/Asteroid 399 is also in wide conjunction to my North Node, they both inconjunct my sun/Ceres and Pluto/Ascendant. During my solar returns, it's spring, and everything is in bloom when the sun conjuncts my Ascendant it's during autumn equinox.

Some items to use for rituals to work with Persephone:

●Offerings - pomegranate seeds, lily's, narcissus(yellow flower similar to daffodils), roses, violets, crocus, iris, jasmine, or larkspur, bones, apples, acorns, bare branches, milk, honey, red wine, or corn. These all depend on the time of year. Also you can use these to decorate your altar with.

○Really, you can use any spring flower as she is the goddess of spring!

●Wearing a floral crown or an iron crown depending on the time of year.

●Wearing pastel colors during the spring and summer; dark colors in the fall and winter.

●Using our wearing garnet. The word "Garnet" is derived from the Latin Granatum and can be associated with pomegranate due to the color.

●Carnelian, ruby, onyx, obsidian, or any red or dark colored crystal. Garnet, obsidian, and onyx are wonderful protection stones, too. The dark stones are symbolic to shadow work, rest, and renewal. The red stones are symbolic of passion, connection, and renewal. Using green colored stones during spring or clear quartz and amethyst for anytime of year.

*There's also a great book about her if you're interested in learning more about her and rituals to work with her. It's called 'Persephone's Pathway' by Jennifer Heather.

The symbol below represents Persephone and is a combination of Ceres and Pluto along with the Cresent moon and 6 dots to represent the 6 pomegranate seeds.

#MythologySeries

#TaurusSoulAstrology

#Persephone

#AstrologyCommunity

#astrology community #Persephone #mythology #archetypes #i love astrology #asteroid 399

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ramblesanddragons · 19 days

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Lore Olympus ended, and I didn't even know it. I just caught up. In the end, the main problem with the story was the pacing. It went so slow, then hit hyperspeed. I liked the closure of the characters who suffered through abuse and how women helped heal other women and so forth. Plus, Persephone and Dementer healed their relationship, which good for them. Boy, that would be nice...

It's been so interesting watching the pop culture mind shift on Hades and Persephone since the comic came out. For a long while, people thought it was so romantic and framed it as Hades and Persephone run away lovers or that he was saving her from a controlling mother or he let her be her real self. Lately, I've been seeing people leaning towards Demeter's "side" and that Hades is awful.

In the original text Zeus is clearly blamed for all of it except the pomegranate thing. That was all Hades but the rest was Zeus. Persephone was probably Dread Queen a LONG time before all the spring stuff happened.

I enjoy the Persophone living her best "nice but weird girl" life away from her mom take on the story for personal reasons, and I'll keep enjoying those, but those other takes are valid too. There's no way to know the "true" myth of any story (see Hephaestus making stuff to protect baby Zeus in one myth for the most amusing example. Unless the guy built a time machine to go help his dad, which sounds like a fun story, actually.)

This is a long way of saying I enjoyed LO. It didn't deserve all the crazy hate it got. Do with the myths what you want there is no canon just also don't claim your story is the "original" version of it. If the gods have an issue with it, they'll let you know.

#greek mythology #lore olympus #I do wonder what happened to Leto?

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coinandcandle · 2 years

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Persephone Deity Guide

Who is Persephone?

Known as Prosperina to the Romans, Persephone is a Greek goddess of spring and the queen of the underworld, ruling alongside Hades. Due to her mythology, in antiquity, she is closely related to all aspects of womanhood and female initiation, including girlhood, marriage, and childbearing. (This is an ancient view of what womanhood means and does not reflect my personal views on the topic).

Parents and Siblings

Persephone’s parentage varies depending on who you ask

Demeter (her mother in the most popular variation)

Zeus (father in the most popular variation)

other variations include:

Styx (and Zeus)

Rhea (and Zeus)

Posiden (and Demeter)

She has no full blood siblings, but has plenty of half-siblings from both Demeter and Zeus, most notably:

Arion (brother)

Corybas (brother)

Plutus (brother)

all from Demeter, and

Apollo

Artemis

Athena

Dionysus

Heracles

Perseus

and many more from Zeus.

Lovers or Partners

Hades

Adonis (in some tales, in others he is more of an adoptive son to her; in some tales, he’s both. Greek gods, am I right?)

Children

In Orphic myth her children are

Melinoe

Zagreus (later turned Dionysus)

The Erinyes

Epithets

Kore, Kora, or Cora - the maiden

Nestis - the fasting one

Despoina (literally "the mistress of the house") in Arcadia.

Hagne, "pure", originally a goddess of the springs in Messenia.

Melindia or Melinoia (meli, "honey"), as the consort of Hades, in Hermione.

Malivina

Melitodes

Aristi cthonia, "the best chthonic".

Praxidike, "subterranean queen. The Eumenides' source [mother], fair-haired, whose frame proceeds from Zeus' ineffable and secret seeds."

Agauē, “venerable”

Arrētos, “she who must not be named”

As a vegetation goddess, she was called:

Kore Soteira, "the savior maiden", in Megalopolis.

Neotera, "the younger", in Eleusis.

Kore of Demeter Hagne in the Homeric hymn.

Kore memagmeni, "the mixed daughter" (bread).

Demeter and her daughter Persephone together were usually called:

The goddesses, are often distinguished as "the older" and "the younger" in Eleusis.

Demeters, in Rhodes and Sparta

The thesmophoroi, "the legislators" in the Thesmophoria.

The Great Goddesses, in Arcadia.

The mistresses in Arcadia.

Karpophoroi, "the bringers of fruit", in Tegea of Arcadia.

Notes

Persephone’s most popular story, the abduction of Persephone, is possibly derived from the ancient Sumeria myth of Ereshkigal, goddess of the underworld who was abducted by Kur, the primeval dragon of Sumerian mythology, who forced her to become ruler of the underworld against her will. Keep in mind that there are many versions and interpretations of this myth.

Another story about Persephone involves her interaction with a Nymph named Minthe, who used to be one of Hades’ lovers. Minthe boasted that she was more beautiful than Persephone and would win Hades back. Persephone didn’t take kindly to this boasting and stomped Minthe into the ground, turning her into a mint plant.

Other popular stories are Adonis and Persephone, one creation myth, as well as many more.

It’s possible that Persphone is an old Cthonic local deity of agricultural communities that was absorbed into Greek mythos.

Persephone played a part in many different festivals and rituals in the Greek and Roman world. Many festivals were held in which people would reenact her abduction and her being found again by Demeter. In Syracuse, there would be an annual sacrifice of small animals and a public drowning of bulls.

Among the cults dedicated to Persephone, the largest one was located in Sicily and Southern Italy.

For her connection to the Underworld, Persephone is often mentioned in curse tablets and on gold leaves that were buried with people who had how to act in the afterlife inscribed on them.

Modern Deity Work

Correspondences

Due to being a popular deity that was widely worshiped, the ancient correspondences of Persphone vary. Some symbols and attributes were more popular than others, and some were localized or cult-specific. Regardless, any traditional or historic correspondences will be marked with a (T).

Rocks/Stone/Crystals

Ruby

Quartz

Pink Tourmaline

Herbs/Plants

Poppies

Pomegranates

Corn

Grain

Asphodels

Willow

Animals

Pigs

Roosters

Symbols

Scepter

Torch

Festivals and Rituals

Thesmophoria is a three-day festival celebrated by most of the Greek world; though the female cult of Demeter and Persephone were known to celebrate it more. This festival was probably celebrated around October-November. In some places, this festival or certain aspects of it were exclusive to women.

Chthonia, where four old women would be chosen to sacrifice four heifers with sickles. This festival honored Demeter in connection to Persephone.

Offerings

Honey (T)

Art (statues, pinakes, etc) (T)

Pomegranate (full fruit, the seeds, or juice)

Flowers, especially wild spring flowers!

Floral scents or like perfumes, oils, or incense

Any of the items or depictions of the items listed above

Wine

Bones

Chocolate (some say specifically dark chocolate)

Acts of Devotion

Dancing to a song that reminds you of her (T)

Creating any art that reminds you of her (T)

Tend to wildflowers or your garden if you have one, or even houseplants.

Celebrate the festivals/holidays mentioned above

As always, your personal correspondences when interacting with a deity will mean much more than anything you find online, but this isn’t a bad place to start!

References and Further Reading

Persephone - Mythopedia (they also have a pretty huge reference list so please go take a peak!)

Persephone and the Seasons - Hellenic.org.au

Hymn for Persephone by Sappho (vis Sacredtexts)

Persephone - Theoi Project

Persophone - World History

(please message me if you are a follower or devotee of Persephone and would like to be added as a resource that someone could reach out to in regards to her!)

#deity deep dive #Persephone #Persephone deity #deity work #deity guide #witchcraft #hellenic #hellenic pagansim #pagan #witchblr

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ladynicte · 1 year

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Persephone eventually warms up to Nico, because honestly, Nico is down at the underworld every other day, and spending what little time she actually gets to spend with her husband at their home, being bitter about this kid, is just not worth it.

So she tells herself to go easy on it, at least just a little bit more, and then, eventually they find themselves forced to spend more and more time together, and the kid doesn't really like her, and she doesn't like him either, but they discover there's some things they can agree on.

Some to do with Hades, and the way he runs the place, some to do with the servants, and the shades, the ghosts too.

At some point she even finds herself laughing and nodding along, as Nico complains over some job Demeter had him do during his time on the fields, tending to Persephone's own mother's precious harvest.

She can relate, she realizes it is nice having somebody else around to chitchat about that. Most don't even remember what the surface was like at all anymore.

But, of course, she doesn't preen on him at all.

She's Queen of The Underworld, she's the master of the house, she cannot be seen going so easy on anybody. In the underworld the rulers have a very important reputation to uphold.

Afterwards, the whole mess with the sword happens, because she is Persephone, and she's not about to just sit back while there's outside forces threatening her family like that.

She's smart, she knows she doesn't really have that many options in the underworld if she doesn't want the Hades himself to find out immediately.

So she calls for Nico, that boy Percy Jackson, and that other girl, child of Zeus.

She's sure it be fine, deep down in their realm, hidden away by the darkness, nobody has to know she's getting help from this specific set of demigods.

When she sees Thalia she's reminded of quite a few things relating to Zeus, his wife, and the children that get caught in their crossfire.

Persephone, she has always been fond of the heros, they are brave and passionate, and fun. They are not afraid to chase after what they want. She knows about that.

She's met quite a few heroes, who reached the end of their tragic life stories already, hearing their tales, Hera tended to get involved in their lives more often than not.

More so the ones related to Zeus in any way. Persephone knows the feeling.

When that whole mess is dealt with, she expects maybe more than just some smugness from the kid, at least, it's not like she's ever been very kind to him, but no, it never comes.

Persephone realizes she's now officially been both of the roles she met in her own youth, the bastard child, and the insupportable step-mother.

She was never all that fond of Hera, but she never thought she would ever relate to her, and yet, listening to those heroes's stories.

She realizes maybe she's really been a little bit like Nico's personal Hera.

Not to the same extent of course, but well, aren't there enough bitter godly queens fighting their husbands, and hating their offsprings already.

Neither do the demigods nor the gods need another one.

But still, she's Persephone and she is to be revered, so she doesn't just start being nice for no reason to Nico, but if she does curse him a little, with some actually not so bad things, like sudden flowers that blossom and wither away, just as fast, wherever he steps, or if she grants him some bigger control over the cold he can produce.

If she slips him some secrets about her mother's harvest, and how to best handle it, that she herself had to learn the hard way on her youth.

Who's gonna tell her anything for it.

If it makes her husband happy, to see her more at ease and comfortable in their home, even when Nico drops by, that just means the house as a general is doing better now.

So no, Persephone does not care at all for the child her husband had with that other woman, and godly intervention is completely prohibited.

But, if she knows something is gonna happen, maybe she just so very happens to leave one of her precious pomegranates right where Nico can find them, and if one of her loyal servants just so very happens to be nearby, and lets it slip just how useful those little seeds can be, it's not like anybody really has to find out, right.

#Persephone #nico di angelo #pjo #hades #demeter #im a sucker for all of the underworld becoming a family okay they are a little bit messy they fight and all but they love each other #hades would be super glad to see his wife and his son getting along I know this in my heart #hestia would be super happy that nico has a home #nico would be super happy everybody else is happy #everybody would be happy here #Luna's headcanons

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iliketoshakepeare · 1 year

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I am genuinely fucked up every time i read or watch or hear somewhere that Hades is Zeus' little brother.

Fun fact, out of the six siblings (Hera, Hestia, Demeter, Poseidon, Hades and Zeus) Zeus is the youngest.

I'm sure most people know the story of how Zeus defeated Kronos, his father, but here you go:

So Kronos got a prophecy that his son would be be stronger than him and would eventually defeat him. So he thought the best thing to prevent this is to kill all his children. From years to years, Rhea (his sister and wife) gave birth to five children and just as they were born Kronos would eat them.

By the time Zeus, the sixth child was born, Rhea knew better and gave a huge stone to Kronos, so he ate that instead of the baby. Then she sent Zeus away to Crete where he was raised by nymphs until he was strong enough to return and defeat Kronos. He basically cut his stomach open to kill him, and his siblings came out as fully grown adults.

So the conclusions of the story are:

Don't try to prevent a prophecy cuz it won't work

Rhea is an absolute queen for doing what she did

Zeus is the little brother™️

And just because Hades is always portrayed shy and antisocial doesn't mean he's younger than Zeus, who is known as powerful and extroverted.

Thank you for reading this, i just had an urge to rent about that

#the whole truth is that i filled out a multiple choice quiz about greek mythology #and there was a question about who is hades to zeus #and i clicked older brother BUT NO because the RiGhT aNsWeR was little brother #and i was like what since uh when #greek myth #greek mythology #ancient greek mythology #mythology #zeus #hades #kronos #rhea

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genericpuff · 1 year

Note

My least favorite part about Lore Olympus is how they handled be loved characters in the myths like Demeter and Apollo. Both were powerful and highly respected Gods who weren't always the best, but had good intentions.

But Demeter is meant to be this controlling and emotional abusive mother when the most she did in the myths was not trust men? Like it's bit her fault she was just Zeus' side chick and she didn't want her daughter to have the same fate, but with that dude's brother.

Apollo was anything but a rapist. Sure he was not the best with love, but he mostly rolled unlucky with either people who didn't love him or people who died young. And Rachel makes him out to be some villain bad guy who doesn't understand boundaries instead of some god who represents ignorance. Greek mythology was MADE to explain why things happen the way they do and to explain human error, like Zeus having the human error of not keeping his dick in his pants.

BUT ZEUS CAN BE MADE MORE SYMPATHETIC, YET TWO GODS WHO WERE ALREADY SYMPATHETIC CAN'T BE?

honestly I've mentioned it in other discussions, but RS seems to just like... have a huge issue with women wanting to be anything other than a trophy wife.

Minthe doesn't want to "settle down" with Hades even though that was never her intention in the relationship and Hades is the one pushing the boundaries of the relationship? She's a gold digger taking advantage of a King and doesn't deserve to be loved.

Demeter wants to become Queen without the need for a husband and fights for the votes needed to be elected even though not a single other ruler has had to campaign for their position? She's just "jealous" of her daughter for becoming Queen through marriage and "salty" at Zeus and Hades and Poseidon because they're all rulers and she isn't.

As for characters like Apollo, they're always framed as villainous or manipulative (or outright abusive) when it's with the intent of making Hades look better. They never did this with characters like Hermes or Hephaestus because they were never interested in Persephone, but Apollo and Ares are both depicted as idiotic scumbags for the sole purpose of making Hades look like the 'better option' for Persephone. When you remove Apollo and Ares from the narrative though, and purely observe Hades based on his actions, Hades... isn't good for anyone, either. It's just really easy to make Guy A look good when Guy B is a r*pist. It's the lowest possible bar.

Basically so many characters are demonized far from their original versions for the sole purpose of pushing Persephone and Hades together, because RS doesn't know how to write a real story with real character progression. She's too afraid to give Persephone and Hades legitimate, deeply-rooted flaws or traits that would have to be challenged by the narrative in any way, so instead they're these boring self-insert projections that need everyone else to be on their worst behavior to make them look better. It takes effort to write main ship characters with real depth, whereas it takes zero effort to just make every character outside of the main ship an asshole to make the main ship characters look more redeeming by comparison.

#lore olympus critical #lo critical #anti lore olympus #antiloreolympus #ama #ask me anything #anon ask me anything #anon ama

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mmkin · 4 months

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A Most Willing Queen (Hades x Persephone)

Well, here it is for my fellow Hades and Persephone fans/enjoyers - the first chapter of the story! It's posted on my AO3 here but there is also a cut under the lovely GIF of Hades.

Content/trigger warnings - Teen safe (some flirting) Mentions of bullying.

A Most Willing Queen

I've loved mythology since I was a kid, and the myth of Hades and Persephone has been one of my favorites since I was introduced to the wonderful world of myths. I also enjoy the retellings of myths and fairy tales, I was a kid when Disney's Hercules came out and I loved it, even though the movie diverged from the myths in some wacky (but fun) ways. Recently, I watched the cartoon that was made from the movie and really enjoyed myself and then watched the movie again. Ahh, nostalgia ahoy.

So I decided to do a Hades and Persephone story, using the world/characters from Disney because well, this version of Hades is a heckin lot of fun. Persephone appears in the movie near the end when the gods are gathered around Hercules in gratitude. She’s the one with blonde hair and pale purple skin, and a headpiece/headdress thing that looks like a flower.

I like classical/historical retellings of mythology and fairy tales but I also enjoy fun and light-hearted retellings, whether set in the modern day or just using modern language and anachronisms (like this version of Hercules)

In classic mythology, Hades is the oldest brother, but in Disney's Hercules, he's the youngest, so I am using that. The time frame for this is a bit ambiguous as it spans years, but it begins not too long before Hercules is born.

So here we go, and I hope you enjoy this! All feedback is welcome. This was quite a challenge for me to write because historical fiction is one of my favorite genres and I had to keep reminding myself that anachronisms were perfectly ok – and needed – here. I’ve never written anything like that before, so I tried my best to capture some of the humor one could find in the show or movie, especially with Hades.

Brief historical note – the aulos is a two-piped flute. It can be seen in classical Greek art and I wanted something other than a basic flute or Pan pipe.

o0o0o0o

Mother did not like bringing her up to Olympus too often. Persephone wasn't sure if she should be glad for that or not. She was the daughter of a mighty goddess, one of the Dodekatheon, and her mother was also one of the children of Cronus himself. Pretty high up there in the hierarchy and yes, Zeus defeated Cronus and the Titans, but he hadn't done it entirely on his own. And as her mother would point out, lightning bolts don't feed mortals. And one of the fastest ways to become happy is with a full belly, which Persephone couldn't argue with. God and mortal alike enjoyed a good meal and going to bed with a full belly. Even if the gods didn't need food, the banquet tables of Mount Olympus were piled high when there was a party.

Since she was born, the importance of the cycles of Nature was ingrained into her. Mortals died, plants died, but that was part of the cycle of life, and it was Demeter’s job to help maintain that balance, and as she got older, some of that responsibility became Persephone’s. For she was also the Goddess of Spring, dancing through the fields and causing the flowers to bloom as Greece warmed from its yearly cooling.

But doing that, and all the other things through the year got tiring. Persephone dreaded the idea of eternity following the same routine. Whenever she expressed boredom, her mother always scolded her, reminding her of how important it was to ensure the plants grew as they should, going through the cycles. Or she would switch up the nymphs that attended her daughter, thinking that fresh faces would help alleviate some of that boredom.

Persephone was always supposed to be bright and cheery because, after all, she was the Goddess of Spring? And who wanted a quiet or gloomy spring, her mother would point out. Persephone could appreciate how important it was to be mindful of Nature and the blessings and rhythms of the earth. And all that jazz.

But sometimes she just didn't feel like doing any of that. She just wanted to enjoy peace and quiet, and not listen to the chatter of the nymphs or her mother's lectures. And she didn't want to wear that stupid flowery headpiece her mother chose for her when she was performing her goddess duties. She got the theme – Demeter's plant theme was pretty in-your-face to anyone who looked at her, but the flower motif was so overdone.

“Can you believe it? Hera’s pregnant again!” Mother laughed, clapping her hands with excitement. Persephone held back a shrug as she sipped some nectar. Even though having a baby was a pretty big part of nature, she’d always thought the process somewhat messy. Nature didn’t just involve plants, after all, even though animals were more Artemis’s domain.

“That's lovely. She and Zeus look so happy," Persephone said politely. She wouldn't begrudge another couple's happiness, even if the party was not as fun as she'd hoped it was. Mother was constantly at her side, giving her little opportunity to have a real conversation with another god. Sometimes another goddess would seek Mother's attention, and Persephone would try to sneak away, but Mother would eventually notice she was gone and go after her. Agggh.

That would change when Artemis approached them. She wasn't sure if Artemis had needed to talk with Mother, or if the Goddess of the Hunt was trying to help out the younger goddess. Maybe because Artemis's mother had been pretty protective until the wild young goddess had proven once and for all how independent she was.

Persephone let out a sigh of relief as she moved among the other gods – some of whom she had not seen in years – and taking in the grand sights of Mount Olympus. It did feel a bit strange up here, being so far away from the earth. She heard snippets of conversation, much of it centered around the upcoming baby, but also of various other things – dealing with worshipers, petty rivalries with other gods, the latest fashions, and the like.

Some of the gods here had been here since the beginning of creation and she felt awed by them. She’d heard the tales of how the Titans had been crushed by Zeus, who set the order of the world right so that mortals could live in peace. And then he’d apportioned lots to himself and his brothers, and those who had helped him in the mighty battle against Cronus and the other Titans.

It was said that Zeus, in his wisdom, granted the lots according to each god’s abilities. And it was something that seemed to have worked. No one could deny that Poseidon or Demeter were not happy – or suited – with the spheres they’d be given headship over. And likewise for many of the other gods.

Except for one. Gloomy as Hades might be, it was an open secret that he was unhappy with his lot. Someone had to take over the Underworld, but no one else wanted such a morbid place when there were delights in heaven and earth to be enjoyed.

She'd only seen him a few times and never exchanged anything more than a few polite words with him. But she felt bad for him after hearing the way the other gods talked about him. Maybe he wasn't as handsome as Apollo, or as friendly as Hermes, or easy-going as Poseidon. But she couldn't imagine that being stuck with a place no one wanted would do favors for anyone's mood.

She blinked as the very deity she was thinking about slunk past her, looking quite pissed off. Probably Zeus had another dig at him. It seemed that the gods rotated through the same few sets of jokes about Hades. About him being so stiff. Or having a fiery temper. And sometimes a bit of wrestling, as many brothers did, but Hades never looked like he was having any fun when Zeus or Poseidon had him in a headlock.

Most other people would have just laughed at Hades behind his back as he sulked off. Persephone stared for a moment before retreating from the party, almost gliding after him.

He stepped outside. Thick wisps of clouds surrounded the pavilion, and Hades muttered to himself as he slid his hand across his hair. She could practically feel the tension radiating from him. Suddenly, he whipped around, scowling at her. Several meters separated them, and she flinched back at his sudden movement. He blinked in surprise and straightened himself.

“Yes?” he asked diffidently, though she could still sense his anxiety and stress.

“I-” She blinked and looked at him. “I just… um.” It sounded so logical in her mind, but when it came time to speak, she found herself unable to express just what she wanted to say. “I’m sorry you had a bad time and… um.”

He raised his eyebrow. “I don’t remember the last time anyone showed any concern about how I was at these parties.” He slid across the ground, wisps of thick gray smoke curling around the hem of his clothes. It was hard to not feel intimidated as he towered over her, but he seemed more interested now instead of angry. So she continued, feeling a little calmer.

“I mean, the jokes and comments people say. Mother says it’s just how things are, but…” She shrugged. “I don’t see them treating one another the way they treat you. They’re jerks.”

There was an almost imperceptible shift in his expression. “That is observant of you, Persephone.” The way he said her name sent a small shiver down her spine, and against the darkening sky, the blue flames that danced around his head were ethereal. He didn’t look so scary like this, with the gentle twilight around him.

“Um, thank you?” she said with a small smile.

“No, no, really. You’re a breath of fresh air, you know that. I mean, aside from being the Goddess of Spring and all that. These parties are a drag and babe, you really made my day.”

Babe? But when he said it like that, it didn’t bother her. Had any other god called her that…

Mother told her about how her flowers brought joy to people. And Persephone knew that. She could see the joy in people’s faces when they saw flower-covered fields, when they plucked flowers and inhaled them, or used them for oils and perfumes, and so on. But it was nice to see that she’d brought happiness to a tired and bitter god with a few kind words.

She blushed and laughed shyly. “So… um, what’s the Underworld like?” she blurted out. He slid closer, wisps of smoke trailing around her feet.

“Eh. Could be more lively. Decor hasn’t been updated in a few thousand years, but who’s there to impress? The dead? They just pile up and I wonder if the place will ever get full. Doesn’t seem like it, but hope springs eternal.”

Despite his morose description of the Underworld, Persephone was still intrigued. She’d lived on earth. She’d seen heaven. Wouldn’t it be interesting to have seen the underworld, too? Before she could ask another question, she heard her mother shout out her name.

“There you are! What are you doing out here?” she demanded, barely noticing Hades.

“Mom! I just needed some fresh air.” Quickly, she glanced at Hades. A little help here, bud?

“It does get loud in there,” Hades said. “One can only see the same faces and hear the same jokes so many times…” He rolled his eyes. Persephone bit back a smile as she met his eyes. “Anyway, I’ve done my duty and made my appearance, so I believe it’s time for me to amscray. Got my duties in the Underworld that Zeus so generously bestowed upon me. Good night, ladies,” With that, he gave mother and daughter a small salute and disappeared into the ether.

“What was that about?” Mother demanded.

“What was what about?” Persephone asked with genuine confusion. She hadn’t done anything she wasn’t supposed to, was she? She’d just chatted a bit with Hades, who… well, actually didn’t seem quite as bad as the other gods thought.

“What did you talk about?”

“What? Mom!” Persephone said with a small huff. “Um, I asked him about the Underworld.” She left out the rest of it, though she did wonder if her mother ever stopped to think about how stupid the whole ‘let’s pick on Hades and call it teasing’ schtick was.

“Why?”

Persephone wanted to roll her eyes at that. “I was just curious about what it was like in a world opposite of ours. Figured who better than to ask than the god who ruled that place, right?”

“Mmm.” Demeter scowled, but quickly settled her face into a pleasant expression. You don’t have to be so protective, Mom! Jeez. Despite her mother's efforts to shelter her, Persephone wasn't ignorant of what mortals did. After all, her mother's work was inevitably tied with fertility even though there were other goddesses that resided over marriage or love. She saw the way that some of the gods looked at her and knew what they wanted.

She was curious about that sort of thing, but she hadn’t come across anyone that she would give serious consideration to. Her mother really needn’t worry about her, but there was no point in telling Mom that...

o0o0o0o

Persephone sneaked away from the nymphs as they danced and played their musical instruments, the cheery notes of lyre and aulos accompanying singing. It was something she often did when she wanted to simply be alone. She’d ask the nymphs to play music and then sneak away during their jam sessions. Yeah, Mom would scold, but without any evidence of wrongdoing, what could Demeter do but think that her daughter was weird?

The shade provided a welcome respite from the sun that had beat down on her head when she was with the nymphs, and she flipped her blond hair over her shoulder. The shade seemed to get thicker the further she went into the woods, and she paused as she looked around. The light at the edge of the woods seemed so far away.

“So what’s a pretty little thing like you doing in a place like this?” she heard someone ask. She yelped and spun around, nearly tripping over a root before she saw Hades, sitting against a tree.

“You should know better than to sneak on people!” she exclaimed softly, quickly straightening herself and brushing a loose strand of hair from her face.

“Babe, if it’s any consolation, I wasn’t trying to frighten you. But yes, it’s a habit of mine.”

Yeah. She could see that. “Okay, sure. But what are you doing here?” she asked.

“I’m here to see you.”

She gave out a small, surprised laugh and gestured to herself. “Me?”

“Why not? Things seemed to be going nicely on Olympus with our little meet-and-greet, but your mother barged in. I figure, this time, we could take the chance to relax a little and get to know one another better. Sound good?” He grinned at her.

Some – okay, a lot of – women would have been repulsed by that fanged grin. But there was an odd charm about it. It wouldn’t have looked right on any other god, but it suited him, just like the blue flames and dark smoke did. She stared at him for a few moments, considering the implication of Hades’s interest in her.

The other gods mocked or scorned him. She’d offered him a kind word and like he said, it was like fresh air. It seemed only natural he would seek more. Considering what she knew of him, could she blame him? And she would be lying if she said she wasn’t the least bit curious about him.

“… Yeah. That does sound good.”

He stared at her for a moment as if he could not believe his luck. It was cute how his eyes widened and his lips puckered a bit as if he was trying to decide if she was teasing him or not.

Damn, the other gods really had done a number on him, hadn’t they? Seemed like some therapy was called for, but that was not for the here or now. He blinked and quickly collected himself, running his hand across his head. His flames seemed to burn a little brighter. Now that she thought about it, there was a certain appeal around Hades that was lacking in gods that were considered more conventionally attractive.

He leaned back against the tree. “In that case, have a seat.”

She waved her arm, and one of the roots from the tree flexed up, raising itself high enough for her to be seated comfortably.

When she was seated, she was just outside of his reach, but he could lean over and grab her. She saw the wisps of gray smoke curl around her feet and wondered if perhaps she’d made a mistake. He might be socially awkward, but he didn’t have ill intentions, did he?

She looked up at his face. They stared at one another for a moment before both of them opened their mouths to speak. She gave a small, sheepish laugh and gestured for him to go first.

“So, what are you up to?” he asked casually.

“Not much, really. Just had to sneak away from the nymphs for like, the umpteenth time. How about you?” she asked.

“I decided I needed a break. I mean, I’m the ruler of the Underworld, who’s gonna tell me I can’t take a break.”

“Zeus, perhaps,” she pointed out, seeing a glimmer of a scowl on his face before she continued, “But you can be sure that he won’t hear of it from me.” She flashed him a smile, and he relaxed visibly, chuckling and shaking his head.

“And you won’t tell him if I have a drink, either?”

“Oh no, no. My lips are sealed!” With that, she made the locking gesture on her lips. He grinned and with a wave of his hand and a puff of smoke, a martini glass materialized, with an eyeball in place of the olive. She blinked and looked at it, trying to not look grossed out by the eyeball.

“Oh, how rude of me. Would you like one?” he asked.

“Yeah, sure. Just, without the…” She pointed to the contents of his glass.

He snorted quietly at that, but a drink materialized for her, thankfully sans an eyeball.

“So, it seems that perhaps I’m not the only one who needs to get away sometimes,” Hades commented as he took a sip of his drink.

“Not as much as you do, I think. But yes.” She sighed before she took a sip. “Oh, that’s strong. But good.” It was different from the beers and wines that could be produced from the grain and grapes grown in Demeter’s fields. The flavor was sharp and not what she was used to, but after a few more sips she was used to it. “It’s just… the same thing. Over and over. Year after year.” She was a goddess, and so she didn’t need to be as concerned about the passing of time as mortals. “Planting, growing, harvesting, preserving, the same grind over and over like some rat race and I feel bad about thinking about it like that way because nature is so important and I don’t want to disappoint Mother and-”

“Whoa, whoa. Hey. Take a deep breath. Have your drink,” he coaxed. She took a deep breath. Sometimes she would feel anxious, but then Mother would tell her she had nothing to be anxious about, and that there would be nothing to be anxious about as long as she did her duty. She reached up to run her hand across her hair, thankful she wasn’t wearing one of these flower headpieces. “Someone as young and cute as you shouldn’t be so stressed out, hey?”

“I'm one of the older gods of my generation. I just look young." Fresh-faced spring to her mother's more matronly appearance. She didn't hide the mild annoyance in her voice.

He stared at her for a moment before nodding. "Oh yeah, that's right. You don't come to Olympus very often, and neither do I. But may I say you look fantastic for your age."

“Is that meant to be a pick-up line?” she deadpanned. He grinned at that.

“Is it working?”

“Not really.”

His face fell so quickly at that it was almost comical, and weirdly enough, she felt a little bad for him. He was interested in her, but he was not doing the best job of showing it. Some people were just socially awkward, but she imagined that being picked on constantly didn't help. So she wouldn't be one of these people.

“It’s just that I get so many comments on my looks. How cute I am, how fresh I look, and all that. It’s not very original.” She took another sip of her drink. “Really, if you’re going to try to hit on me, maybe go for something a little more creative?”

He stared at her with his mouth open for a second before he quickly collected himself.

“All right, all right. You know what? That’s fair enough. I get what it’s like to be typecast, so…” He squared his shoulders as he looked down at her, and she could tell that he was putting serious thought into it. That was more flattering than she wanted to admit. “How about this? If you were a taser, you’d be set to stun?”

It was her turn to stare at him with her mouth hanging open for a second. That was more flattering than she expected. He blinked at her and looked nervous when she said nothing so he thew out another one.

“So, aside from taking my breath away, what do you do for a living? Do you have a Band-Aid, because I scraped my knees falling for you? No wonder it’s so gray around here, all the color is in your eyes.” With each line, he drew a bit closer to her, inch by inch. She did not move back, though some others would have.

Seeing the God of the Underworld trying cheesy pick-up lines on her caused her heart to give an unexpected flutter. She gave out a soft giggle. His eyebrow quirked in mild confusion as he tried to figure out if she was laughing at him, or just enjoying his lines.

“Do you have more?” she asked.

“More what? More lines? You want more?" he asked, delighted surprise in his voice. "Well, then. Are you an artist, because you're so good at drawing me in? Are you a time traveler, because I see you in my future? Do you know what my toga is made of? Boyfriend material." Closer still he leaned until his face was only half a foot away from her own. She might have felt threatened, but there was something… exciting about having him in her personal space. The smoke swirled around her feet and lower legs, but the pressure was gentle, barely even there.

What would it be like having Hades as a boyfriend? Aren’t you getting a little ahead of yourself, Persephone asked herself. She barely knew him! She blushed as Hades looked down at her, wiggling his eyebrows at her in a playful leer.

Mother would have told her to run. But she just stared back at him and smiled sweetly before she finished the rest of her drink. “I’ll admit, these lines are pretty funny. And I do thank you for humoring me.”

“I like a woman with a healthy sense of humor.”

She thought about what she’d seen on Olympus and the way he was treated. “I like a man who can make me laugh,” she retorted gently. This time, when they stared at one another, it wasn’t awkward. She was certain her lavender cheeks were more pink than purple now.

“Persephone!" one of the nymphs screeched. The spell was broken, and she gasped quietly as she spun around in the direction of the voice. The other woman was still a ways off, but she did not have much time. Annoyance flared up, and she took a deep breath before turning to Hades, seeing the blue flames edging with red as he glowered in the direction of the voice.

“I… gotta go. Sorry," she said. "Mom's been in a mood lately and I really don't want to provoke her. But it was nice to see you again, Hades." She handed the glass back to him, and he took it, their fingers touching for a moment and giving her a pleasant tingle.

“Wait,” she heard him say as she rose from her seat and turned from him. She stopped and looked over her shoulder at him.

“I suppose you wouldn’t object to me seeing you again?” he asked as he reached out, picking up her hand and placing a kiss on the back of it. For a god of a cold and dark place, his lips were surprisingly warm.

“Not at all.” Her voice came out a touch thicker than she’d expected, and she found herself not wanting to pull her hand away. “Bring a few more of these pick-up lines next time, will you?”

He chuckled at that and nodded. “Until then, Persephone.” He disappeared into the ether, and Persephone stood there, staring at the spot where he’d disappeared, all the gloom gone before her friend found her.

o0o0o0o

Pain and Panic peered at their lord and master from behind one of the pillars in the throne room. There’d been something a bit off about Hades since he came back from his last visit to Olympus. A couple of times, they’d caught him sitting on his throne, staring off with a wistful expression neither of them had ever seen. He’d just come back from the surface world, and there was no mistaking the moony expression on his face.

“Could it be?” Panic whispered to his companion. They’d served Hades for hundreds of years and been around enough mortals – usually to spy or cause mischief on behalf of Hades – and seen them act like this. Old or young, male or female. They might be servants from the realm of the dead, but they’d seen enough of Aphrodite and Cupid’s work.

“If this came from one of Cupid’s arrows, it won’t end well,” Pain responded worriedly. They remembered that too well, even though it’d been ages ago. Manufactured love might be strong, but it wasn’t true love. It was like trying to replace real vanilla extract with the imitation stuff, and for one such as the God of the Dead, it simply wouldn't do. Really, it wouldn't, as the whole Leuce affair had shown. Talk about a dumpster fire.

“Hopefully the girl will be nice?” Panic replied.

“Well, there’s that,” Pain replied, crossing his fingers and hoping for the best.

#writing #strawberrycatbeans #villain gets the girl #fanfiction #hades #hades and persephone #persephone #disney's hercules #disney's hades #disney hades #disney persephone #hades/persephone #mythology #greek mythology

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