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cherrycola27 · 10 months

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false god

Series Warnings: Mythology!AU. Language, alcohol, drinking. Military inaccuracies. Mutual pining, unrequited love. Allusions to and eventual smut. Minors DNI. 18+. Individual chapter warnings will come as needed. Banner Credit @thedroneranger

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Chapter 3: Roses and Gold

"Minthe? What are you doing here?" You repeat as you take a seat at your breakfast bar.

"I came to see you, silly!" She sing-songs as she flits about your kitchen.

"What's wrong? What bad news have you brought me?" You huff, hoping to get straight to the point. "Why do you assume it's bad news? Can't I just come to check on you. It's been a while since you've been home and Hecate, and I are worried about you. Now, where do you keep your wine glasses?" She pivots.

It's always bad news

"Second cabinet to the left from the stove." You instruct her. She claps her hands before bringing down two of them and pouring both of you a glass. "I know that mortal stuff doesn't do it for you, so I brought a bottle of Dinoysus' special blend." Minthe chirps as she sets the glass down in front of you.

You thank her and take a long drink of the maroon liquid.

"So, spill, I want to hear all about this Rooster you're crushing on." She presses you.

You almost choke on your wine when she says his name. "Bradley is a coworker of mine. A colleague. A friend." You tell her.

"A friend—huh. So, I guess you were just being friendly when you saved him today." Minthe chuckles. You glare at her.

Just a friend

"Come on, Hay. I'm your best friend, you can tell me." Minthe takes a seat beside you and hits you with her pleading puppy dog eyes.

"Okay, maybe I have a few feelings for him." You relent.

"Yes! I knew it!" She whoops.

"It's just—" you trial off. "It's just what? Hades you, more than anyone deserves to be happy, especially after what Persephone did to you." Minths grumbles.

"Minthe, I know you never liked her, but I'm the one who hurt here. You saw the burn marks yourself." You remind her.

"Yes, but I don't think Little Miss Spring is as innocent as she claims. She did something, I just know it." Minthe huffs out.

Minthe was nothing if not loyal. She'd been wary of Persephone since the first day she'd met her. Never fully trusting her. And after what happened between the two of you, Minthe was one of the few still in your corner. She and Hecate had been your support group, and they were currently watching over the Underworld in your absence.

"Minthe, do you really think Persephone had me burn her on purpose? Do you think she chose to be scarred for life? " You counter.

"I don't know. All I do know is you were so in love with her, and you had never lost control of your powers like that before, and you would never hurt someone you love." Minthe finishes before downing the rest of her drink.

"But, that's in the past. Tell me about Bradley." Minthe shifts the topic.

"He's kind, smart, and funny. He's genuinely a good person. He reminds me a lot of Persephone, in the best way. But at the same time, he's different. He doesn't shy away from the pain he's felt in life, he over comes it. He doesn't let his scars, mental or physical ones keep him from being his true self. Bradley is just—he's different." You sigh. It's been so long since you've let yourself feel like this.

"I think he sounds wonderful. Maybe he is your soulmate." Minthe takes your hands and squeezes them. The smile drops from your face and you pull away from her.

Soulmate, ugh, you hated that word

"Minth, he's not my soulmate." You tell her. "You know I don't even believe in those. Not after Seph." You sigh.

"Persephone isn't your soulmate. She wouldn't have said those things about you if she was." Minthe defends.

"Even if she wasn't, I've been wandering Earth for three thousand years. If I had a soulmate, surely I would have met them before now. 'Soulmate' is a stupid word made up by the Gods and mortals to give them hope that there is someone for everyone, when their really isn't." You almost shout at her. You sigh and take another drink. The wine warms you from within and calms you.

Good job, Hades, push away one of the only friends you have left

"Sorry. I just—" you shake your head.

"It's fine. You have strong feelings about it. You're allowed to have them." Minthe reassurances you.

There is a long pause. "Hades, I know you think that you don't deserve to be happy or have someone in your life who cares about you, but you do. If you like Bradley, you should pursue him." Minthe tells you.

"How would I even begin to explain to him what I am?" You ask her. "I don't know. But I'm sure you'd figure it out." Minthe offers.

"He's just so good. Too good for me. I'd never be able to live with myself if I hurt him. I mean, what if he saw my true form and it terrified him. I don't think I could live with him calling me a monster or being afraid of me." You sigh.

That would be a fate worse than death

"Hades, you can't let fear hold you back." Minthe takes your face in her hands and kisses your forehead before hugging you. You lean into the hug. It really is good to see her.

"Now for the bad news." Minthe says as she takes a step back.

Of course

"Ah ha! I knew it!" You proclaim as you jump up from your chair. "I knew you were coming with bad news. What is it this time? What's got Zeus' lightening bolts in a twist?" You ask her.

"It's not about Zeus or the other Olympians, Hades. It's about you." Minthe settles into a seat across from you with a serious look on her face. You sit back down. You've never seen her look like this. She almost looks afraid.

"You know how we have assumed that you were still immortal after being cast off of Olympus because you reincarnate every time you die?" Minthe began.

"Yes." You nod your head.

"Well—Hecate and I were visited by the Fates a few days ago, and they took us to the lifeline temple." She continues. "And the Fates showed us your lifelines."

"Lifelines? That's impossible. I only have one. Everyone only has one." You tell her.

"That's what we said. But apparently, when all the Gods were cast off, their lifeline split into thousands of pieces. Each time they died before completing their quest, a line would snap. But they would reincarnate because another line was there. When the Gods completed their worthiness quest, the lines fused back into one unbreakable line." Minthe tells you. The gears start turning in your head.

"And because I haven't completed my quest, I never got the unbreakable line of immortality. I've just been burning through the lifelines." You say.

"Exactly. And for the others, it wasn't an issue, but because you've been on Earth so long, you've used several of them. But that's not the bad news." Minthe cringes and takes a long drink of her wine.

"Well, what's the bad news?" You press her. She hesitates.

"You only have one lifeline left. Hades, if you die again, you become a permanent resident of the Underworld, and not as it's queen. Your death would be the end of the line for you with no chance of reincarnation." Minthe drops the news on you. You suck in a breath as the realization hits you.

You aren't immortal, like you thought. You'd been so careless for so long, and now you only had one life left.

"Okay. I guess I'll have to be careful then, won't I?" You say.

Careful, sure

"Extremely careful. Hades, the next time you're home, I want it to be because you're taking back your rightful place as queen. I know you said you were done trying to complete your quest, but you need to. Please." Minthe begs you.

You promise her that you will. She gives you a smile and hugs you once more before she leaves. After she's gone, the scent of mint still lingers.

"Well, you two, it looks like Mommy is going to have to tone it down." You say as you look at Cerberus and Hydra, who are curled up together on the ridiculous large pet bed you bought for them. Cerby cocks his head to the side, while Hydra holds eye contact with you. You throw your head back and laugh.

"Who are we kidding? We all know that I don't know how to tone it down." You shake your head laughing before going to grab them some food for the evening.

Maybe dying wouldn't be the worst fate

It might be freeing

You get Hydra squared away with her dinner before opening the pantry to get Cerberus his. That's when you see it. "Oh no, Cerby, it looks like you've got just enough for dinner tonight and breakfast tomorrow. I'll have to head to the store across town to get you a refill tomorrow." You tell him after giving him a head scratch. Even though he didn't have three heads, Cerberus ate like he did. While your fur babies ate dinner, you decided on a quick bite yourself.

After all of you had your bellies full, you showered before tucking into bed. Hydra and Cerberus curled up at the foot of your bed and the three of you drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, you woke up early for a quick run. Cerberus came with you while Hyrda preferred to stay home. After a quick shower and breakfast for the three of you, you opted to slip on a simple blue sundress and tie your hair in a ponytail. You weren't in the mood to match pants and a shirt today. You slipped your feet into some sandals, grabbed your keys and headed out.

You made a day of your pet food run, stopping to get your nails done and to pick up some groceries. You were missing home a little extra today, so you decided to pick up everything you needed to make moussaka for dinner when you got home.

When you arrived back at the parking garage for your apartment complex, you knew you didn't want to make two trips to bring everything in, so, using all your strength you gathered all of your groceries and pet food and headed to the elevator. Someone had just gotten on, and the doors were about to close when you shouted, "Hold the elevator, please!"

You had a hard time seeing over the giant bag of dog food, but you could just make out a hand holding the doors open. You dashed through the doors and let out a sigh of relief as you leaned the bag against the wall. "Thank you so much." You breathed out.

"No problem, Hades." You froze when you heard his familiar voice. You dropped the dog food and turned around slowly.

"Bradley? What are you doing here?" You asked him. He chuckled and leaned against the wall. You gave him the once over. He was in gym shorts and an old UVA shirt.

"I could as you the same thing." He fires back. "I live here." You tell him matter of factly.

He nods approvingly.

"So I ask you again. Why are you here?" You asked, praying that his answer wasn't along the lines of him visiting his significant other.

"I live here too." He shrugs.

"Wait—what?" You look at him with wide eyes.

"So we've lived in the same apartment complex for almost two months and didn't know?" You're shocked.

"Looks like it. I live in 1113." He tells you. "No shit? I live in 1013. You're my upstairs neighbor." You both laugh.

Oh, good grief

"What are the odds. Hey, do you need some help with that?" He gestures to your things. "If you don't mind, that would be great." You say just as the bell to your floor dings. Bradley picked up the massive bag of food and follows you down the hall.

"So you have a dog." He says as more of a statement than a question. "And a cat." You tell him.

You pause outside your apartment door and unlock it. You're just about to tell Bradley to set the food by the door, but he marches inside right past you.

"Careful!" You warn him, but it's too late, Cerberus is bounding towards Bradley. You're waiting for him to start barking, but instead, you hear the sweet sounds of Bradley talking to him.

"Oh, who's a good boy, you are. Is that your food? No wonder it's such a big bag because you're such a cute, big boy, aren't you!" Bradley scratches Cerby's ears and pats his head.

Never one to be left out, Hydra weaves through his legs and begins to purr. "Oh, aren't you a pretty thing!" Bradley praises her.

Obviously, your animals like him, why wouldn't they?

You drop your keys on the table and chuckle at the sight.

"What are their names?" Bradley asks you as he moves to sit on your couch, and they both join him.

"Cerberus and Hydra." You tell him.

"You're kidding? Your call sign is Hades, and you have a dog and a cat named Cerberus and Hydra?" He laughs.

"Well, if you didn't notice, Cerby, my Rottweiler is a tripod, and Hydra is a six-toed cat. So, they fit." You laugh as you start putting up groceries.

"How long have you had them?" Bradley asks you.

"About three years. I was in South Korea on a detachment. One night, we went into the city and stumbled upon an animal fighting ring. We called the cops and helped get the animals safe and relocated. Cerberus and Hydra wouldn't leave each other, and no one wanted to take both of them, so I did. It cost me a fortune to get them here, but it was worth it," you say.

"Wow, that's amazing." Bradley says. He thinks that he likes you even more now. You shake your head and roll your eyes as you unpack your groceries.

"Are you hungry?" You ask him. "I could always eat." He responds truthfully. "Well, I'm making dinner. Would you like to stay? It's the least I could do after you helped me." You tell him.

"I'd love to." He smiles as he takes a seat at your kitchen island.

You begin to flit around the kitchen, chopping, mixing, and sautéing. Bradley watches you with wrapped attention. You grab a bottle of wine and pour a glass for each of you. Even if you can't get a buzz from it, you enjoy letting the fruity notes dance across your taste buds.

"So what are you making? It smells amazing." Bradley asks you as you're layer the dish into a pan to bake.

"Moussaka." You tell him. "It's Greek comfort food."

"Greek?" He quirks an eyebrow at you. "Yeah, I'm Greek. First-generation American. My whole family is from Greece." You tell him. It's not a lie, but it's not the whole truth either. "Kolasi is Greek for inferno." You continue.

"That's amazing. Is that part of the reason why your call sign is Hades?" Bradley asks. "That and I used to have a pretty fiery temper back in day." You reply.

Bradley nods his head and takes a sip of his drink. "So your whole family is from Greece. That's pretty cool. Do your parents live around here, or are they back home? Do you have any family around here, or is it just you?" He continues trying to make conversation. You stand in front of the oven and freeze. He sees your shoulders tense up and knows that this is a touchy subject for you.

Your voice drops. It's barely above a whisper when you say, "I—I don't have any parents, and I don't have any family around here. It's just me."

"Oh." Bradley breathes out. There's a pregnant pause. "I get it. It's just me, too. I lost my dad at three, and my mom when I was nineteen." He tells you. You sigh. Bradley thinks you're an orphan like he is. Maybe that's for the best. Honestly, he isn't totally wrong. You stay with your back to him for a long moment.

"I'm sorry if I upset you. I didn't mean to. You're just—an enigma, Hades. I feel like I only know you on a surface level. I want to know more about you. Especially if we are going to be working together." Bradley tells you.

No, you don't

"Well, there isn't much to know about me. I joined the Navy at eighteen, graduated at the top of my class in the academy, and in Top Gun. Thirteen confirmed kills, but I've never been in one squadron for too long." You sigh. "That's about it."

"If I wanted to know your Naval career, I could have read your file. Tell me something deep about you." Rooster prods.

"Deep? Hmm. I have a lot of tattoos. Does that count as deep?" You chuckle.

"I mean, it's not ocean deep, but it isn't as shallow as a puddle." You both laugh at Bradley's comment. "What tattos do you have?" He continues.

"I have the rose and dagger on my arm. Kardiá tis fotiás on my ribs. It means 'heart of fire' in Greek. I have a poppy behind my ear, and then I've got a thigh sleeve of every place I've been stationed." You explain to him. You decided to leave out the details about your last tattoo. You didn't need him asking questions about it.

"Is that deep?" You ask him as you take your moussaka out of the oven and grab a few plates.

"Yeah, and now I feel like mine is stupid." Bradley snorts. "You have ink?" Now it's your turn to quirk a brow at him.

"Yeah." He slides the sleeve of his UVA shirt up and flexes his bicep to show you the Roman numerals etched into his right arm.

You gingerly reach out and trace the black numbering. "Thirty-two?" You question him.

"My mom was into tarrot cards and fortune telling. Thirty-two is the number for strength. I got it for her after she passed. The last thing she told me before she died was that she loved me and to be strong for her." There's a thick tension between the two of you as his words settle around you. "I don't think that's stupid at all, Bradley. It's sweet." You smile at him as you rub a soothing hand on his shoulder.

"Thanks. I've shown you mine. Does that mean I get to see yours now?" And just like that, his somber tone is gone, and his happy personality it back.

"Rooster, are you trying to get me naked?" You joke with him.

"Only if you're offering." You smirks. You shake your head and shove a plate at him before you can do or say something stupid.

He digs in a groans when the food hits his tastebuds.

"This—this is one of the best things I've ever eaten." He tells you appreciatively.

"I'm glad, I think I do a pretty good job with it." You smile at him and revel in his praise as he scarfs down his first plate before sheepishly asking for seconds, which you happily give him. Gods know you cooked more than you could ever eat.

After both of you finish dinner and polish off the rest of the wine, you pack up some leftovers for Bradley. He insisted on helping you with the dishes, so the two of you found yourself side by side working on them. Well, if you were being honest, the two of you were goofing around and playing more than you were cleaning. You were blowing bubbles and splashing each other and giggling like children.

"I hope you know that you're not going to be able to get rid of me now." Bradley tells you. "What do you mean?" You ask him.

"I'm like the neighborhood stray. You've fed me twice. You're stuck with me now." He tells you with a goofy grin. You throw your head back laughing, and Bradley swears it's the most beautiful thing he has ever seen. He loves the way your wide smile curls over your face and how your nose scrunches up and how the tips of your ears turn pink. You look so at ease.

He could get used to seeing you like this. Happy and carefree. It's a stark contrast to the rigid pilot he sees at work.

Soon, the two of you finish up, and you dry the last plate off before handing it to him to put in your cabinet. You turn to toss the dish towel on the counter, but slip on some soapy water the two of you had splashed on the floor and lose your footing. Bradley immediately reaches out for you and grabs your waist to steady you. Your hands attach to his biceps as you regain your balance.

It takes you a moment to catch your breath, and when your brain catches up with the rest of your body, you realize what an intimate position the two of you are in. You can feel the warmth radiating off of him, and his plush, pink lips are right there.

It would take hardly any effort on either of your parts to close the distance between the two of you. Your heart is screaming for you to do it, but before you can, Bradley clears his throat and drops his hands.

"Are you okay?" He asks. "I'm fine." You say in a deflated tone.

"Well, it's getting late, I should probably get going. Thanks again for dinner." He says as you walk him to you door.

"No problem. See you at work on Monday." You call as he walks into the hallway.

"See you Monday." He chimes back as you shut the door and lock it. You press your back again the cool wood and sink to the floor. Cerberus and Hydra both walk over and look at you with knowing eyes.

"Don't look at me like that, you two. It's not going to happen." You tell them.

"It's not going to happen." You repeat, this time as a reminder to yourself. You could let yourself be friends with Bradley. You could even let yourself have a crush on him. But you could never let yourself cross that line.

It's better that way

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multifandomeweirdo · 4 months

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Psyche from Lore Olympus

I just needed to rant about her whole character in Lore Olympus. I am a non-black person of color, so this is my opinions of her through the lens of my experiences and knowledge.

This is how she first appears:

This is after Aphrodite turns her into a nymph:

This is her after her human form was restored:

Her while becoming a goddess:

And this is her after becoming a goddess:

Her design:

Some people complain about her design. I agree that her design is inconsistent. She had straight hair, even as a nymph, until over 100 episodes in. I personally don't mind the change in character design. I'll just headcanon that Psyche straightened her hair or styled it specifically in the earlier episodes, and wore her natural hair in the later episodes.

I see a lot of people criticizing her design saying rather racist things, such as "she looks ugly now and that her earlier design was much better." They also say things like "She's forced diversity. Why do we have to bring diversity into this?" I think the art quality as a whole has declined, so yes, Psyche looks worse, but all the characters do. Specifically calling out Psyche feels more like racist beauty standards than a criticism of the art decline. Also, phrases such as "forced diversity" are just silly. Andromeda, a figure from Greek myths, was the princess of Aethiopia, which was supposed to be somewhere below Egypt. She was described by Ovid as dark-skinned, though she has been white-washed by Western artists (that's why she is now portrayed as white). So yes, there was some (not a lot) diversity in Ancient Greek myths, and anyway, it's a modern retelling! In this modern age, with more awareness of race and issues surrounding it, I don't think it's a bad thing to have a more diverse cast of characters.

I don't think that Rachel Smythe originally intended for Psyche to be black, and it was a lazy choice to change her so late. Additionally, she remains the only black character. However, I'm glad that she met the bare minimum of including diversity, as many authors and artists, even today, don't do this.

I think her design is cute overall, though I wish there was more effort put into Psyche's hair. I do like that they kept her brown skin when making her a goddess, instead of giving her an unnatural skin color. My main gripe is that in the myths she had butterfly wings, not these weird purple feathery things. Even the pearlescent wings during her transition to a goddess were better. But the butterflies belong to Persephone in Rachel Smythe's retelling, so Psyche can't have what was one of her symbols.

Now for the criticisms:

I saw this on @genericpuff's page, but the trope of a white man (Eros) "saving" (kidnapping) a woman of color (Psyche) from her horrible arranged marriage is harmful. Again, I don't think Rachel Smythe included this part intending for Psyche to be black, but that doesn't change the fact that this trope has had very harmful implications and effects throughout history.

Then, Eros leaves her when she, tricked by her sisters into trying to kill him, realizes that he is a god. Aphrodite turns her into a nymph and uses her as a test for Eros.

In the original myths, she completed difficult tasks given to her by Aphrodite to prove her "worth" as Eros' wife. We could talk about how she got help for these tasks, but still. The point is that she chose to go through all that for love.

In Lore Olympus, she is merely a test for Eros to pass. Which has some implications, especially since she is a woman of color.

There's also the harmful trope of a woman of color being turned into a nonhuman. Add on the detail that in the Lore Olympus world, nymphs are lower class. Again, implications.

The gods and goddesses in Lore Olympus look down on nymphs while simultaneously fetishizing them. We see Hera be racist to MInthe and no one stands up for her. We see Hades, who has a flower nymph fetish, dating Minthe but not criticizing his family for their bigoted treatment of his own girlfriend.

I'm seeing some similarities to how people of color are treated. And Psyche, a woman of color, is turned into a nymph by Aphrodite, a goddess. Add on how Aphrodite did all this because she felt threatened by Psyche. In real life, we see how people of color suffer when white people feel threatened by them. So... implications.

Conclusion:

I don't think Rachel Smythe had any harmful intent when making Psyche's character. In fact, I think she probably felt that it might bring joy to some readers to see a black woman represented in Lore Olympus. However, she accidentally wrote Psyche into these tropes that have very real, very harmful implications for actual people of color. She could have used Psyche's suffering at the hands of Aphrodite and the treatment of nymphs as a way to speak on societal issues such as racism. However, she didn't. Hera, a canonical racist, is portrayed as a "good guy" and Hades is rewarded for his fetish with a goddess who looks exactly like a flower nymph but isn't one (similar to how white men fetishize women of color but will only date a white woman. And these white women specifically try to look like the race the man fetishizes, the the point where you could call it black-fishing or Asian-baiting or any other similar term). I don't think she meant to write it like this, but she did. It could be a reflection of her own internal biases, or maybe not.

Either way, this is exactly why research before including a non-white or otherwise marginalized character is so important, especially if you have not experienced that kind of marginalization. Even if your intentions are good, you can write harmful things. Being aware of such tropes and stereotypes can help you avoid them, or if necessary, use them to comment on larger issues. Rachel Smythe did not do that, and now we have a world where the racists are the good guys, rewarded with power and worship, and the oppressed, POC-coded, lower-class characters are punished unless they agree completely with the racist good guys (like the "one of the good ones" racial stereotype where a POC is the "exception" out of a "bad race" because they such up to the white main characters). Meanwhile, the only black character is "rewarded" with godhood, not for completing difficult tasks for love, but rather for doing a god's bidding.

I could be reaching. I could be biased because of my own experiences as a (non-black) person of color. However, I think my experiences are what allow me to recognize harmful things in writing.

So anyway, do your research if you want to include a minority character in your writing. Personally, I'd suggest checking out the @writingwithcolor blog. It's a great resource with lots of information.

Thanks for reading if you managed to survive this long rant.

#psyche #lore olympus criticism #anti lore olympus #lo critical #rant #rant post #harmful tropes #person of color #woman of color

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moony-2001 · 6 months

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Lore Olympus ep. 254 critique

Well I can officially say that Persephone is the most selfish person in the comic

What in the Disney ripoff

So obviously it’s too late and Zeus is poisoned and ✨wow, how convenient✨ Apollo is suddenly there with Leto (who btw we haven’t seen in almost 100 episodes). I don't really want to focus on his confrontation with Eros and Psyche, because let's be real, it wasn't much of a confrontation. No, instead I want to focus on this:

My first thought when I saw the whole blackmail scene coupled with this was "What in the Lion King is this bullshit." Seriously. This is almost verbatim to what Scar says to Simba (except Scar as a villain is actually intimidating and Apollo, well...).

But here's the thing. This is how stupid Apollo is as a villain. Hebe has the least to gain from Zeus' poisoning and death. Look at the list of children that could stand to benefit from Zeus' demise:

An angry War god who was banished to the mortal realm for years by Zeus for pissing him off. Additionally, Zeus slept with his then-romantic partner and was implied to sleep with her often

The estranged daughter who literally thrives on chaos and is basically the goddess of "it's getting a little too chummy around here" who has beef with not only Zeus, but also Hera

A newly revealed son who has a tendency to heavily push boundaries and can't take no for an answer. This son additionally has been making moves to gain power politically

Compare this to Hebe, who we have only seen being kind to Zeus. No where in the comic is she seen harboring any kind of resentment towards him. Even when she criticizes him, it is gentle and she doesn’t push any further when he lays down the law.

Not only that but the whole prophecy- the usurp of power prophecy that Uranus got about Kronos, and Kronos got about his children, and so on- only applies to the sons of the tyrant in question. That was established in the myths, both in the Theogony and the Metamorphosis via a prophecy that usually came from Gaia. So that immediately takes Eris off the suspect list by virtue of the fact that she is a goddess. But even then, Hebe still shouldn't be a suspect.

How is Rachel expecting people to fall for this? Even her audience in some respect is calling out Apollo for being "back on his bullshit". Yet I can almost guarantee that everyone is going to fall for it because the only 2 gods who actually know are trapped in jail, Cassandra is probably going to disappear from the narrative for a while, and the rest of the general cast of characters only shares 2 brain cells between the lot of them. I can't wait to see this drag out over the course of, like, 15 episodes.

The most selfish thing

I just… wow. I have no words. Except yes I do or otherwise I wouldn’t be making this post. So we transition to the second half of the chapter where Persephone talks about her nonexistent connection with the snow and how maybe, just maybe, this is all her. Just like her act of wrath and what she did to Minthe, she has no one to blame but herself. And then she straight up goes “nah”.

I will be the first to admit, the way Rachel wrote Demeter during Persephone's homecoming/proposal was horrific. Demeter behaved horribly to Persephone. Now, I more blame Rachel for poor writing because if you have to make side characters look worse so your protagonists can look better, you suck at writing. BUT that does not excuse Demeter's initial actions and behavior toward Persephone.

However, in this situation, Demeter is not putting Persephone down for what she’s done. Obviously, Demeter is distressed, but she basically says “You tried, but now it’s time for the adults to handle it” and Hades agrees. He fucking agrees.

Demeter is far more capable and mature than Persephone due to being around for thousands of years. Demeter has had experience, she’s worked hard at maintaining everything, and she has even had hardships and failures. But because of this, she is a very very powerful goddess. Thus it makes the most sense for Demeter to step in to handle this situation. It is what's best for everyone, most of all for the mortal realm, which has been immediately affected.

But because Persephone has been told over and over that she’s hot shit, she's special (and has been treated as such), her ego can’t take the blow. She can’t take the L. She makes everything worse because she can’t stand the idea that she’s not special and that she's not this big bad goddess who has control over her abilities.

To me, this is so selfish. Persephone acknowledges that everything is dead. She acknowledges that she is the cause of this destruction. Yet she knowingly makes it worse because her ego can not handle the fact that she isn’t miss fucking perfect. This is the epitome of a child’s temper tantrum- like how when Nemo swims out to sea to touch the boat after Marlin tells him he can't do it. Because that’s what Persephone is. A child. In this case, it does not matter that she’s the age of an adult mortal woman. She is a god. She hasn’t even been around for 100 years. She still doesn’t have a handle on her powers. Persephone is being immature and selfish by stomping her feet and going “No, I can do it." Because of that, she makes everything so much worse.

Hades naturally makes this worse by enabling her. Although I genuinely can’t say I’m surprised since Hades has a history (especially post-marriage) of enabling Persephone’s bad behavior (like rewarding Persephone with sex after destroying the apartment of Leuce and threatening to kill her). When asked rightfully by Demeter if he’s going to do anything to try and talk her off the wall since Persephone has a history of not listening to anything Demeter has to say, Hades basically goes “Nah, my hands are tied, nothing I can do”, Despite the fact that he saw the destruction she caused and ACKNOWLEDGED IT WAS TIME FOR THE ACTUAL ADULTS TO STEP IN. This could’ve been a great moment for someone who wasn’t portrayed as a force against H&P (like the main love interest/husband) to hold her accountable. To say “That’s enough”. But nooooooo. No one, not even her own husband, is allowed to get in Persephone’s way.

Thus, Persephone continues to cause mass destruction and death until she passes out (this is important to note) and Demeter rightfully loses her damn shit.

Final thoughts

This is, I think, the worst chapter of Lore Olympus. Genuinely. As I stated in my last post, I had no idea where Rachel was going to take the whole “Persephone causes winter” idea and that there was no way she could make it more feminist than the original hymn. And boy was I right. Because I guess nothing is more feminist to Rachel than an ego-fueled power trip that results in the death of life in the mortal realm and also probably a good portion of the mortals who probably aren’t built to handle this kind of weather (by Persephone’s own admission that the mortal realm doesn’t get cold).

I'd also like to end on this note: if you're going to be a writer or artist or comic writer, don't treat your audience like they're fucking stupid.

Remember that little note I made about how it's important to remember that Persephone passes out? Yeah, well, that's because Persephone is actually unconscious and not dead. In literature and media today, people often use some version of the phrase "you've killed [x]" as a way to say not that whatever [x] is, is actually dead, but that it died in a metaphorical sense. You see a great example of this in the season finale of Arcane with Jinx. Powder doesn't actually die; Jinx is still very much alive. But Jinx metaphorically obliterated Powder to make room for the new her. The new Jinx, unburdened by her old self.

And that's what Demeter is saying. Hell, Hades even said that Persephone wasn't dead after presumably checking her vitals. Anyone who read the chapter would recognize this. But I guess Rachel thinks her audience doesn't have more than a 4th-grade level of reading comprehension because why else would she put in this, frankly demeaning, message at the end.

Oh boy. Welp. See y'all in my next post.

#anti lore olympus #anti lo persephone #lo critical #unpopular lo #unpopular lore olympus #anti lo #lo hate #lore olympus critical #lo critic #lore olympus criticism #I showed my friend this and they were appalled #and my friend doesn't even read LO

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vixxelle · 10 months

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Hey Raye! Is it okay if you can explain to me what's wrong with Lore Olympus? I've never read that webtoon before but I see it all the time because of how crazy popular that webtoon is. I'm just curious and want to be educated on it if you don't mind.

Hoollyyy shiiiit I have no idea what to tell you.

WARNING: SA, TRAUMA, ABUSE, PEDOPHILLIA, AND FETISHIZATION OF POC

Okay first off, the comic handles serious topics and trauma terribly. It treats things like Persephone’s SA and Hade’s being a domestic abuse victim as drama fuel that is only put in for shock value and to come off as ‘deep’. And with the six traitors, they paint Zeus as having no trauma because his siblings were physically scarred by Kronos while he wasn't. Even though MENTAL TRAUMA FUCKING EXISTS.

(And as someone who has mental trauma despite having an good childhood, that fucking pisses me off)

Persephone is constantly drawn like a child and infantilized while being so sexualized I felt like I was watching a porno straight out of Wattpad.

Hades is a 1000-year-old man dating Persephone, A FUCKING 19 YEAR OLD. A LITERAL TEENAGER.

The comic’s constant slut shaming of women and hyping up Persephone as “The Perfect Woman”. Along with REALLY BAD body diversity and the demonizing of aging.

Constantly pitting women against each other (usually for a man).

Persephone is treated like a special lil princess because she is a “Fertility Goddess”. That alone is weird as fuck, why does she need to be a fertility goddess??? Can't she be a ‘Creation Goddess’ or just the regular ‘Goddess of Spring’??? And that fucking sounds like a poorly disguised fetish…

Hypocrisy GALORE!

Persephone using her body and sex appeal to get what she wants is good and empowering but when someone else does it it's shameful.

It's totally fine for Persephone to start an affair with Hades despite him dating Minthe but when Leuce tries to seduce Hades it's perfectly fine to destroy her house and threaten to kill her.

It's totally okay that Persephone gets special treatment and paid despite being an intern while the rest of Hade’s employees are paid in peanuts. And if you got a problem with that, then you have some issues to work out yourself! It's TOTALLY fine for your boss to act unprofessionally and favor his mistress while paying his employees and slaves nothing!

It's totally okay for Hades to financially/emotionally abuse Minthe and cheat on her with Persephone! Persephone is hotter, a fertility goddess, and PURE unlike Minthe the frumpy, small-chested, dirty nymph WHORE! It's totally fine for Persephone to screw up her relationship and torture/murder her by turning her into a plant!

It's totally fine for Hades to abuse Thantanos, his adopted son! He gave him a roof over his head and a job, which means he has every right to treat him like shit for daring to criticize his darling Persephone!

Persephone kidnapping Zeus’ newborn after he gave birth is totally fine! Zeus was going to give his son to those horrible nymphs to raise! Dionysus will totally be safe with a woman who neglects him to abuse the working class and a blue, long-nosed, abusive flat out pedophile who fetishizes flower nymphs (especially nymphs that look like Persephone) and smokes 24/7!

Literally ANYONE who even slightly criticizes Persephone or Hades is treated like a monster no matter how right they are.

Very bad and limited LGBTQ+ representation.

Comic claims to be ‘Tackling Purity Culture’ despite villainizing women who are promiscuous, painting nontraditional and/or nonmonogamous relationships as bad, and having characters only stick to old-fashioned gender roles and monogamous relationships.

The art in this comic gradually deteriorated from being stylistically cute and interesting from Season one to looking like a mix between the corporate Youtube artstyle and kindergarten art in Season 2-3.

And finally, butchering Greek Mythology by demonizing Demeter for rightfully being worried about her daughter dating a man that can pass off as his dad, turning Apollo into a rapist, turning Leuce into a sugar baby gold digger when she was originally Hades’ first wife, and saying that mortals would ask Persephone and Hades to bless their marriage when IT WAS HERA, THE LITTERAL GODDESS OF MARRIAGE.

So yeah 0/10, do not recommend, absolute trash.

#raye rambles #thanks for asking!#lore olympus critical #anti lore olympus #lore olympus #lore olympus criticism

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n1ghtwarden · 1 month

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contemplating. one of minth's eyes is likely damaged given that orin just straight up pierced it with the tip of their dagger and made it bleed. i'm going to say that it's her right eye (which now has a distorted pupil, decreased vision) and that she prefers to face others by keeping her face slightly turned to the left in order to assess things and others better.

#tw: eye trauma #given what minth faced she should be way more scarred and the fact she only has some superficial tiny ones on her face is wild.#ooc. claireposting.#gestures at my post abt minth and body dysmorphia after being freed from the absolute bc she doesn't recognise or know her own body any mor

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pinklikeroses · 1 year

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Lore Olympus 245

Okay I’m gonna do best to try and keep this brief but if you know me—once I get started it’s hard to stop

Here go

First and foremost this episode was pointless… aside from the brief Demeter cameo…it was wasted time.

Second this was yet another “girl boss” moment or was supposed to be….

The amount of hypocrisy and bullying Persephone does,… at this rate she’s a corrupted, bully using her power to pick on those lesser than her. This wasn’t wasn’t a girl boss moment this was embarrassing. Where do I even start?

First off she should’ve confronted Hades about this not Leuce. For a “modern day” interpretation of the gods this was poorly executed and such a sexist stupid move on Persephone’s part. Ppl will often more than not nowadays tell women to confront their parter not the “other woman”

If Leuce and Hades have history, she should’ve talked to her husband, she should’ve asked him questions! How long had he and Leuce been talking? When did they stop? Did they really have a strong connection or did she misread him? Doe’s Leuce understand the boundaries Hades addressed if he addressed any? And did he make it clear Persephone is the only one for him? Persephone should be holding hades accountable and asking why on earth Leuce would think it okay to instigate an affair in the first place

We’ve seen first hand Hades isn’t a loyal partner. Neither is Persephone. Dude straight up lied to her in the early episodes! Said he was single even though he was clearly dating Minthe , and when Minthe confronted HIM about it he changed the subject ans claimed she had nothing to worry about despite the fact he kept lusting after Persephone any way!

Persephone had a crush on hades knew he was in a relationship and pursued him anyway. She didn’t even bother confronting him about proposing to minthe before they got together. So her confronting Leuce is hypocritical bc before their marriage, before they were together, Persephone was the home wrecker, Persephone was the other woman! She only comes across as insecure and imposing.

Now it was wrong for Leuce to instigate an affair no matter how air headed, but hades should be the one to confront her not Persephone. He should be the one to make it clear he has no interest in her. That he only cares for his wife.

This comic makes it so clear it doesn’t care about women only the “good” ones, the “pure” ones. And some serious favoritism issues with the cast.

Something else I want to bring up and this is super super important is now not only are Leuce and Minthe done dirty in this comic but how it botched up the og myths.

With Minthe and Persephone, in the og myhs , it’s believed Persephone and Hades had other lovers despite being married. They had an open relationship if you will. Even though they could take on other lovers they still belonged to each other, and their lovers stayed in their lane. However the problem with minthe was that was deliberately trying to overthrow Persephone and take her place as queen. Persephone being the wrathful goddess that she was not only turned minthe into mint but stomped her into pieces , and in some iterations— tortured and ate her.

She did this to show she was the one and only queen and no one could Take her place.

The og myth with Leuce, was an ocean nymph kidnapped by hades loooooong before he kidnapped Persephone and made her his wife. He married Leuce and stayed with her till she died and turned her into a poplar tree and placed it in the Elysian Fields.

Turning a woman who too was abducted against her will, forced to marry a god she potentially had loving relationship with—into a sleazy “home wrecker” is vile. It did nothing but add useless tension between these two characters

Hades would make a terrible father. He neglected Thanatos his entire life, gave a woman he wanted to bone more love and compassion than the adopted son he had. The on,y good thing he ever gave Thanatos was a half assed apology and a sandwich. He’s shitty guy with nothing but shitty excuses.

The good thing was seeing Demeter again with the hope she and Persephone can finally talk things out and hopefully patch things up……

#me ramblings #lo critical #anti lo #lo persephone #lo leuce #lo hades #lo Demeter

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pinkboyrc · 1 year

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Some LO opinions/thoughts I would like to dump here

DISCLAIMER : I am strictly going to be talking about LO for what it is, I don’t really care what the myths are about because as far as I know there are many versions of every single God/people. You don’t have to agree or disagree with this but that is all.

1 ) Persephone is an interesting character and I don’t think she is a Mary sue, that just comes off as misogynistic when people say it.

2 ) Regarding the Perse-Hades-Minthe love triangle thing, I don’t think Minthe had any right to get jealous over Hades liking Perse considering she was sleeping with Thantanos. From the sounds of it they had an open relationship, she only wanted it closed off when she saw hades could also benefit from that.

3 ) I do not like Minthe’s character arc ending. I think we should have got to see her and perse interact more after she was changed back into a nymph and more of her time in the mortal realm. Her ending should have been her gaining female friendships that were based on respect and not toxic, that way her ending the friendship with Thetis would have felt more impactful.

4 ) Demeter has not acted out of character in her recent chapters. This was built up from the very beginning, and her relationship to perse is very nuanced which is why we see it is such a struggle for them to see eye to eye. Demeter is not an antagonist, she is very clearly morally grey in this, just like most of the characters in the story.

5 ) Apollo raped perse. Simple as, there is no denying this.

6 ) Perse is allowed to have sexuality and not be repulsed by sex.

7 ) The story was always going to be Hades and Perse getting together so coming into the story and complaining about them being together makes no sense. If you want a story that demonises the relationship go look somewhere else, it is annoying at this point.

8 ) The art was more interesting in season 1 and the first half of season 2. Not to say I don’t like it now but I liked the previous style more to the one we have now. I also like the colours better previously.

9 ) Hades backstory and trauma is very looked over by the fandom and almost every critique of him ignores it or treats him as if he does not have trauma. I think can be boiled down to people still not understanding men can be abused (I’m looking at the minthe stans who defend her verbally and physically abusing him).

10 ) Back to minthe, I think she deserved to get turned into the plant. Girlie fucked around and found out.

11 ) I do not think everything about LO is perfect and there are things to be critical about but if you’re making entire accounts dedicated to it and just straight up making fun of, accusing RS of crimes and overall clearly showing feral dislike of the series, please consider stop reading LO, it’s not healthy to obsess over things that clearly make you unhappy.

12) final opinion of the day is :

Demeter deserved to be queen of the mortal realm, hades is a cunt for denying her that.

#lore olympus

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minthe-lover · 1 year

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Hi, sorry long reply ahead. I despise how lore olympus treats , well, most of its characters/races. But what baffles me the most is how it treats nymphs as second class citizens. The nymphs in mythos ,while not as powerful , were still considered gods/deities. They were literal children of the gods and could be dangerous i. f crossed. I don't see nymphs use any powers as often as the "gods" do. Which is a real missed opportunity. They are basically colorful long lived humans at this point.

And I don't see why marrying one was considered "lower " in l.o because plenty of major gods married them in myth. I don't get the "i have to marry a fellow god" mentality some characters have. Amphitrite was a nymph, one of dubious consent in myth because posiden was gonna start if she didn't agree to marrige (last I checked.)

Hephestus married one after he and Aphrodite split.(slight veer ,I wanna tie in that Aphrodite was always forced to marry Hephestus, she was presented as prize for him. I don't feel sorry for him that she strayed. I actually prefer him divorcing dite then going to marry a nymph later. That could have been a subversion of how sometimes its better to end a relationship and find a healthier one than to try and keep it going. And it could be a critique of forced marriages and why zues [interfering parties] shouldn’t be in charge of them 🤔. I hate that whole , "dite realized ares wasn't good for her, so she left him for Hephestus." modern retelling because it sweeps Hephestus wrongs for the forced union under the rug as well as dite's preexisting relationships. Buuut I digress.)

Metis in some myths is a Nymph. An oceanid if I recall correctly... (ocean nymphs are done so dirty in this comic two, some were changed to flower nymphs for NO reason... rip Leuce, Metis, there's more I'm sure)

But we don't see that, we don't see how strong they can be too. These are mini nature goddesses for Pete sake. What is with the nymph slander in this comic?

And how they are talked down! Amphitrite probably has seen so much slander even from fellow goddesses. And we don't see any commentary on that from her perspective, it comes across as overlooking. Nymphs are fetishized as well as looked down on and it does unaddressed in this comic because its portrayed as a class thing rather than racism... well it could be considered both, but this comic comes across as anti-labor and classiest sometimes.

Why aren't they portrayed with more complexity and power? Daphne is a straight up hypocrite but still looks like a victim by narratives standards. So she isn't called out for her actions while Minthe is.. Minthe had complexity, yet she was still downplayed, victimized, and sympathetic, and rather than play on her complexity, she was villainized ,overly punished, and tossed to the side. I still feel worse for her than i ever will persephone. All nymphs here are accessories and temporary props. Which is sad cus some nymphs were very important in mythos. They're just constant overlooked victims in this work and it crushes me cus their lore is fascinating.

^^^

all great points, I don't have much else to add.

#anti lo #lo critical

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antiloreolympus · 2 years

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5 Anti LO Asks

(Note: All of these asks are before episode 206 (Season 2 finale) so some may be dated.) 1. OK but no one is stopping RS from just making a pg-13 safe comic about them hooking up and thats it lmao. most of the romance genre is just that. idk why she bemoans she can't do what she wants when quite literally she can? unless she means she just wants to draw them having sex, in which case why make a comic then when she could have just kept to her NSFW patreon instead of dragging this comic on for another five years.

2. I’m sorry, I just realized bc of the time skip does that mean Dionysus was also just resolved off screen?? Like with Minthe and Daphne and Eros and Psyche?? Maybe Rachel just dropped all of them 😪😭

3. LO has the (hopefully) unintentional vibe of those terminally online cishets who think because more diverse voices also get a say online that theyre now an oppressed class. like rachel youre not the "subversive" progressive ally you think you are when your entire comic is about Manly Men™️, Feminine Women™️, and how the most oppressed people are actually the uber rich cishets in their straight romance with no actual problems and their villains are *checks notes* gays and poor people.

4. I think my fav part about Rachel is she literally does the exact opposite of everything she says. "This comic is against purity culture!" *reinforces purity culture from the very first ep* "Hera likes modest clothing!" *puts Hera in the most garish outfits* "Hades would never go after a teenage girl!" *Hades goes after a teenage girl* I could keep going but i'd be here all day.

5. I want to also add that during that one "tour of the Underworld" scene (the one where they got Pom soda) Persephone literally said (paraphrasing here) she'd kill something if she had to spend anymore time with flower nymphs, so apparently they're her "sisters" and "as close as you could be" yet she says outloud she doesn't want to be around them. Hell she was in the Underworld KNOWING THEY WERE DEAD and didn't once try to see them? Way to treat your "best friends"/"sisters".

#anti lore olympus #anti lo #lore olympus critical #lo critical

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genericpuff · 8 months

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Sooo lemme get this straight-

You're telling me on Persephone's FIRST DAY OF WORK, she woke up, got into a fight with Apollo, got rescued by Eros and Ampelus, ditched class to spend the day at Eros', then went into work early to get in a swim at the pool where she ran into Hades who had literally JUST GOTTEN INTO WORK AFTER BREAKING UP WITH MINTHE, where she introduced herself to Thanatos - who had, by the way, ALREADY BROKEN INTO HER ROOM BY THIS POINT - and then by the end of the day Hades was opening a whole ass bank account for Persephone just HOURS after they broke up. Persephone found out about the breakup during this sequence and immediately felt guilty, buuuut that didn't stop her from blackmailing Minthe just a couple episodes later ￣へ￣

(also literally on her second day of work she proceeded to break company policy by sneaking onto the beach and then was rewarded for it with a makeout session by her boss)

This comic, man. This fucking comic is actually deadass giving me brain damage.

#lore olympus critical #lo critical #antiloreolympus #anti lore olympus

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lizhly-writes · 11 months

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maybe before he regains past memories normal fan knw is in dire straits and confusedly and accidentally uses the story “mortal lover of death” and whatever else it does it makes kdj and yjh immediately have the urge to kill. neither of them know that the feeling is ‘my parents are seriously dating someone my age for possibly mostly sex reasons? bad’ so it just goes straight to murder

where the hell is this au going.

Right. I'm cracking my knuckles. I am going to start ranting.

There is precedent for Hades having mortal lovers. Minthe, for example, who, depending on the version of the myth, was... either torn to pieces or trampled underfoot by Persephone or Demeter out of jealousy, offense, what have you. For the sake of having an intact protagonist, we'll say it was both Hades and Persephone who went for that hot KNW action.

Leuce was abducted and lived out her years quietly in the underworld, her body turned into a white poplar in the fields of Elysium once she died. This is, incidentally, something she has in common with Minthe. The whole... turning into a plant thing after you fucking die. From our astounding two (2) cases, we can logically conclude that turning into a plant is just what happens as a mortal lover of death.

... Of course, this makes for a spectacularly underwhelming attribute, so let's keep going.

Let's assume some kind of marriage took place, because we can't actually really call Kim Namwoon's anyone's stepdad unless there's some sort of legal(?) bond.

The marriage of Persephone to Hades made Persephone the Queen of the underworld, and therefore, a goddess of death. A chthonic deity, if you will. While I'm not saying that's the kind of power rank up that Kim Namwoon is going to get, because that's ridiculous, especially since he doesn't have immortality, he is going to get something out of this.

A marriage of some sort puts him under the chthonic umbrella and should give him some power in the court of the dead, considering that Hades and Persephone, in some myths, share equal control of the dead. Since he's not a god, there's no way he's getting equal control, but I will say he will have advantage in dealing with things that are dead are undead, and also some very limited control, not unlike a DND player who can cast Animate Dead and Speak With Dead. He also gets a powerup in underground areas, like subway stations and, uh, the Underworld.

I'll also say he's got the ability to enter and leave the Underworld at any point, much as how Demeter Chthonia and Hermes Chthonios refer to Demeter and Hermes, in some way, entering and leaving the underworld.

Now, I did have the urge to give him more things -- for example, control of buried artifacts/machinery -- but I think we will stop there, because if I do not, we will go straight into god territory, and we did specify mortal lover of death in this ask. This is enough things! He can control zombies and teleport, what more could he possibly ask for.

Oh, and yes, he will turn into a plant after he dies, because that's what fucking happens when you're a mortal lover of death.

Now, I have a question for you:

is this the urge to kill your parents or is this the urge to kill your parents' infant of a lover considering knw is actually a decade younger than kdj and yjh.

#asks #anon #normal orv fan knw

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happyk44 · 1 year

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Persephone runs her hand through windblown curls while Hermes whines, squeezing at his heavy hot cock with her free hand. "Thought you said you were a good time."

He's not that much taller than her but he's never felt so small as she leans over his back. Her weight is all encompassing. She just tilts his head back with one finger on his chin.

Hades' eyes are blacker than the void as he looks down, unimpressed. "Doesn't seem like much of a good time to me."

Tears well hot in the corners of Hermes' eyes as Persephone laughs into his ear, mean, and breathy.

He's the best time, an amazing time. Everyone wants to hang out with him!

But the moment he tries to move, she squeezes him, hard, painful, demanding. "Don't." He remembers Minthe, beaten green and bloody for encroaching on what was hers, and refrains. "Good boy."

"He is, I'll give you that, a good boy." Hades' lips quick, a small smile. Like the fucking shine of the sun, blooming hot warmth straight through Hermes' core. "When he wants to be.

"I want to be," he whispered.

It's barely audible to his own ears. Persephone pinches the tip of his cock and he bites back a screech. He's too sensitive for this kind of cock and ball torture. Worked up all day, aching and desperate.

Instant gratification is his vice. He lives in speed, never slowing down, always breathing in the rush, the wind. The quickest high, the fastest lay. He gives as good as he gets but he doesn't stay.

Hades could care less. But Persephone is different. She demands loyalty. Their uncle watched his siblings leave him behind for their pretty pedestals and golden thrones and simply shrugged his shoulders and disappeared to isolation and solitude.

She's not as inclined to do the same.

But he's been good and present. He stuck around all day, splayed out on a bed of roses and silk black sheets. Even when escape was possible. Even when there were other things to do. Even when the fifth orgasm was ripped from the depths of his soul and he was bored.

He grows so bored so fast.

"Can you be though?" She bites the shell of his ear and he snaps at her.

Hades ignores them both. Coffee sits at his side, half drunk, a newspaper displayed in front of him. He doesn't care about what's happening.

Hermes wants to cry.

He knows it doesn't matter to Hades. If he measures up or not. He's not like Minthe, seeking power and glory. Not like Leuce, quick to throw her lover under the bus to save face. He likes the dark and its quiet.

But he is still an Olympian, trimmed up with gold and pretty laurels. And that keeps him at arm's length.

Always has.

It's painful. It hurts more than Persephone shoving him face down into the bed to bruise his already heated ass and drag out another quick orgasm he didn't know he could even manage.

It hurts that Hades won't look at him, chooses to glance up from his reading to smile at his wife while she groans her way into her own satisfaction.

Look at me, he pleads with wide wet eyes. I'm not going anywhere.

Persephone leans over him again, clasping her hands against Hades. He reaches closer to her and kisses the inside of her palm.

Demeter kept her so hidden away from the world, she didn't know who Hades was when they first met. Didn't know anyone's opinion of him - good or bad. The way Olympians thought of him. The way the Underworld crew clung to him like shadows.

She only saw him, Hades. The man.

Not the place.

Unfair, unfair, unfair.

Her hands pull away from his and pop open the button on his slacks. He just turns back to reading.

"Can you be good?" she murmurs as she drags the zipper down. Each click of metal sounds thunderously in his ears.

"It doesn't matter what I can be," he huffs. His eyes never stray from her calloused fingers. "Just what I want to be."

"And what-" The sound of his voice, deep, melodic, pulls Hermes's focus away. "-is that?" Hades's gaze is curiously piercing.

The day they met hits him with blinding aim. He'd only heard whispers before. Newly elected Olympian and seeking more. He wanted to do things. Needed a reason to run farther, faster.

Thanatos suggested it. Drew him up a meeting and Hades had stood impossibly tall and imposing. Staring down at Hermes with the same piercing curiosity as before.

Why are you here, he'd asked.

The words were different before - I want to be a worker, I want to be psychopomp, I want to be of use - but they all meant the same thing.

"I want to be yours."

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Wrote this for @butt-puncher in our discord chat a couple of months ago. Been meaning to post it and finally got the burst of energy to actually do it 😂

#hermes #hades #persephone #happy talks greek mythos #my writing #my original work #angel i bonk you on the head with love so you can remember this thing i wrote at like. midnight in a sprawl during my surgery recovery 😂#honestly thought i was gonna need to tidy it up and make it prettier but it makes a lot more sense than i thought it did lmao #very coherent good for me

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