#i have a lot of menelaus headcanons

[menelaiad]

hi! what are some of your fav menelaus headcanons??

oh anon you've done it now

tall. like. 6ft tall.

not broad. muscley and clearly strong. but leaner. aga and ajax and the like are certainly wider than him.

has been tall a long time. grew very fast. pissed of aga in the process. has a habit of curving his shoulders because of this. trying to appear shorter than he is.

a follower. hence the shoulder thing. he spent a lot of his formative years just. following aga. listening to aga. he was the second son. he wasnt set up for kingship or anything so he was kinda just left.

protected a lot by aga. i feel like menelaus' kinder nature was allowed to grow and flourish and wasnt CRUSHED by atreus because aga ... protected him. menelaus could be himself around aga.

ginger.

grew his hair fucking super long in sparta like the spartan men. even before the marriage to helen. because of the exile and tyndareus' kindness he just felt like sparta was home. so he kinda ... assimilated himself as soon as he could.

goes freckley in the sun.

he always makes a habit to use helen's name. not an epithet. or a title. her name is Helen.

due to not being prepped for kingship. menelaus can not read or write very well. if at all. he's even dictated to or gets people to write for him. after he became king he probably learnt the basics? but i feel all of atreus' energy went to aga (who also cant fucking read tbh)

i personally think menelaus was kinda ugly. or not like. conventionally handsome. but he's just such a nice freakin dude that people can't help but like him.

menelaus likes birds.

despite his. usually dormant nature. menelaus inherits atreus' anger. and it comes out in bursts. like strong. violent outbursts. like you see in book 3 with paris. when menelaus just drags him around and beats him. it's explosive and heated. it burns hot and dies just as quickly. but that is very atreus of him.

menelaus suffers from aches in his wrist after the paris fight and also he develops a limp from the wound in his thigh where he was shot with an arrow.

emotional. very emotional. with both the good and the bad. feels every emotion very strongly. feels others emotions (agaMEMNON in IOA) very strongly.

sharp features. sharp jaw. sharp nose. high cheekbones.

expressive as all hell. raises his eyebrows. makes faces. he is feeling things and his face will tell you what.

laughs a lot. not afraid to laugh and smile. smiles with his teeth a lot.

his smiles never quite reach his eyes but we'll move on from that.

develops a really close friendship with pat over the course of the war. that stems from them meeting at the suitor thing and they had lil chats then. often laments to him about how different things would be if helen had chose pat instead.

loses his fucking MARBLES when antilochus dies. i feel like the atreus anger would have come out again here.

after pat's death and him returning the body, achilles beats him to shit and menelaus doesn't fight back. he takes the blame ...... and the beating.

unintentionally always one of the funniest people in a room. is funny without even realising he's being funny. makes helen cry laughing several times.

i believe he was meant to marry clytemnestra. or at least that was the OG plan. they have a lot of fond yet awkward memories of each other.

blames himself for aga's death. and by extension - cly's.

iphigenia inherited the HOA red hair. watching her get sacrificed fucked him up tbh.

hermione is so SO SO important to him. especially as she was conceived around the whole 'sterile curse' thing in sparta. she is like a lil miracle to him.

honestly? can sometimes be a bit of a bitch.

gonna stop here cause that got REALLY long. but there's a handful of random ones that i wrote as they came into my head SDFGHJKL

#long post for ts /// #i have a lot of menelaus headcanons #like for his whole life #but here's a Taster #u know i love this man #someone: menela- #me: chats PURE WHAM for 147 hours #i also project onto menelaus and believe he has seizures #but that literally stems from 13 year old me projecting when i suffered my first seizre

[dootznbootz]

Greetings, my dear Mads.

Would you be ever so generous and talk about your headcanons about Menelaus & Polites' relationship with Odysseus?

*cracks knuckles*

I think I should preface this and say that I'm ace/demisexual and that affects...everything. Both of these relationships are basically QPP. Forehead kisses, snuggles, just affectionate. (which I have Odysseus VERY strange with. He's very hot and cold. He's extremely affectionate with his family but Menelaus and Polites' are basically the only two whom Odysseus will not glare at if they put their hand on Odysseus' shoulder)

I'll do Odysseus and Polites first as they're shorter.

Mostly takes place during the Odyssey. And these two are friends. During the year at Circe's...yeah, Odysseus cries on Polites' shoulder multiple times. I have a plan for Circe's thing but that's darker and... YEAH. 🥺 Someday I will write it but yeah. Odysseus is NOT well. Nightmares...other thingsksdljf ds

I have many thoughts on the relationship that Odysseus and Menelaus have. I really love having vulnerable human moments and seeing the potential of Odysseus and Menelaus? GOLD MINE!

I think it's because they're kind of opposites yet UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER. Odysseus is a chatterbox and Menelaus is a man of few words. Menelaus is very honorable most of the time while Odysseus is...Odysseus. Odysseus tells stories while Menelaus gets straight to the point. They've been friends for a long time (They literally are each other's wingmen for my fics during the suitors of Helen. And Odysseus loves Menelaus' hugs.)

Odysseus is kind of a dick to EVERYONE during the Trojan war and that is a lot of the "I DON'T WANT TO BE HERE!!! I WANT TO GO HOME!! I MISS MY WIFE AND SON!!!" so he's an ass.

But with Menelaus? He can't be mad. BECAUSE THEY BOTH GET IT. They miss their wives. They miss their kids. And Odysseus is just like, "I can't be mad at you...I know that if it had been Penelope kidnapped, I would have done the same...Wanna go cry together?🥺"

They oftentimes will just...visit each other for a good cry. Holding each other and letting the other ramble about whatever they need. Resting foreheads together. Doing each other's hair. Simply CHILLING! THEY UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER EVEN THOUGH THEY'RE OPPOSITES 😭

Also I have this stupid image in my head that's like a crackfic

Rando: "Hey, How come Odysseus has never stolen from you/stabbed you/insulted you/set your stuff on fire?" Menelaus: "Odysseus? Him?! No! He's a trickster, yes. But he's not a bad man! I'd trust him with my life!" Odysseus: "Yeah! I'm such a fucking sweetheart!" *Someone's tent bursts into flames behind him, from Olive Oil Odysseus purposely set up to light shit on fire*

Idk if I'll get the chance to write this fic idea but I want it to be after Odysseus steals the Palladium. He's alone with Menelaus and "Hey...I saw Helen...She still loves you and she misses you... She says she's sorry."

And Poor Menelaus just breaks. He wants to know everything that happened. And Odysseus answers. Odysseus just holds him while he cries. Probably starts tearing up himself. And just fall asleep together. This has happened multiple times. They can be VULNERABLE with each other!!! Menelaus is one of the few men Odysseus wouldn't steal from or kill in his sleep! Plus it's canon that Menelaus gives the best hugs (I asked Homer. He told me. shush!)

Just....??? AAAAAAAAAAAA

I LOVE THEM!!!! THey are so soft while still being warriors and kings because they're mortal MEN. Who have so many feelings inside them both (especially during Trojan war) I LOVE IT!!!1ksldjf

#I am gently holding them #I also made that whole “Helen and Odysseus are similar” post and I think that HEAVILY influences my love for these two #There's! Just! So! Much! To! EXPLORE!!!!!!! #OdyPen are both chaos and are little shits and are LIKEMINDED. Menelaus gives Odysseus someone that makes him FUCKING CALMDOWN #Mad rambles #shot by odysseus #Don't read more tags unless you're prepared👀 #the circe thing only happened once but...TRAUMA #For Polites thing. Odysseus needs comfort because of nightmares and fearing of “having that strange dream again”. #It's a smut where Circe uses illusions to make Odysseus think she's Penelope during that one time...It's why Circe #finds him pathetic as he's spending most of the time crying and talking about how much he missed “Penelope” and yeah :') VERY ANGSTY #THIS IS WHY I FEEL LIKE I SHOULD HAVE A SIDEBLOG >:( #ask #gotstabbedbyapen #menody

[thegodcyclecomic]

Hello again! Thank you for your post that covered my question on what sources of inspiration you used for Athena. It was super enlightening!

I know this is a tall order because the myths are broad, but could you discuss what aspects of characterization and dimensions you feel are often ignored about Athena? This is me practically begging for a meta post, but I genuinely love hearing your thoughts on her because I agree with your assessment that roughly most media tend to lean to simplistic aspects of Athena. I like hearing from your inspiration notes that you thought of Athena’s childhood with Pallas and how she is more of a pragmatic character that has agency.

I have a lot of thoughts on this so this post won't be as comprehensive as I originally intended, I will be briefly covering the points I want to list out. I try my best to base my writing of Athena on the canon source material, but there will be aspects that veer into my own interpretation/headcanon territory. All Iliad passages here are from the Robert Fitzgerald translation.

Anyway, here are the aspects of characterization I think are normally ignored when authors write Athena.

Her calculating nature / intelligence

This one sounds weird because it's paradoxically the first thing that comes to mind when writing Athena. The issue with this is the same issue when amateur authors try to write characters who are smarter than them: They resort to cheap shortcuts and stereotypes to show a character is "smart".

Examples of this would be the overusage of chess imagery. It's a game that wouldn't exist in Ancient Greece anyway, and it's a measure of spatial memorization rather than strategy. In real warfare, everything is variable to change. Chess pieces don't have motivations or biases that could influence their actions. Opening moves in chess have their counters, but real-life tactics allow you more freedom on how to engage with it.

The next writing shortcut people resort to re: Athena's intelligence is how they use her reading books to show she is "smart" but don't really elaborate on what kind of books she reads of what topics she specializes in which is already in the mythos that can give you lots of ideas.

I mentioned this before but when I started TGC I had a hard time characterizing Athena at first because I didn't understand her domains too well. So you know what I did? I picked up books about military history, Ancient Greek laws, political theory, philosophy, and similar. Learning about these things gave me a perspective of "how would the personification of the state act if they were a person?". Ancient Greece was big on the Social Contract, as exemplified in Socrates's speech in Plato's Apology.

There's a lot more to it, I'm not doing it justice at all in this post. But that's the idea. In the Oresteia, Athena created the practice of cross-examination for murder trials, and then immediately proceeded to undermine the entire justice process by attempting to bribe the prosecution (the Furies). In the Iliad Book 4, she disguises herself as a Trojan soldier to trick Laodokos to shoot Menelaus to break the ceasefire-- essentially enacting what we in modern day would call a False Flag Operation. It's so quintessentially Politician(tm) of her to do.

Athena's intelligence comes from how she seeks to improve and make efficient current systems, like her strategy to Ares's warfare. Or her various inventions in mythos. Another one would be her ability to manipulate people and situations to push for the outcomes she wants. You can see this in her various dialogues in the Epic Cycle:

Athena grifting in the Odyssey in a speech she makes to Zeus about why she should be allowed to assist Odysseus.

520: Athena kept the pace behind them, bearing her shield of storm, immortal and august, whose hundred golden-plaited tassles, worth a hekatomb each one, floated in air. So down the ranks that dazzling goddess went to stir the attack, and each man in his heart grew strong to fight and never quit the melee, for at her passage war itself became lovelier than return, lovelier than sailing in the decked ships to their own native land -Iliad Book 4

and this

100: “Son of Lykaon, I have in mind an exploit that may tempt you, tempt a fighting heart. Have you the gall to send an arrow like a fork of lightning home against Menelaus? Every Trojan heart would rise, and every man would praise you, especially Paris, the prince— you would be sure to come by glittering gifts if he could see the warrior, Menelaus, the son of Atreus, brought down by your bow, then bedded on a dolorous pyre! Come now, brace yourself for a shot at Menelaus. engage to pay Apollo, the bright archer, a perfect hekatomb of firstling lambs when you go home to your old town, Zeleia.” That was Athena’s way, leading him on, the foolish man, to folly. -Iliad Book 4

from what I can understand, Athena's domain of wisdom is not just limited to giving insight to people-- but also in obscuring the truth and leading others to their ruin. Which is in line with one of Athena's epithets which is Απατουρια (Apaturia) "Deciever".

Often times in other adaptations, they relegate Athena's intelligence to spouting random facts or a "nerdy" personality. Or they nerf it so that she doesn't solve these braindead plots in 2 seconds. Take Athena from Lore Olympus for example, the Athena of canon would've never allowed any of this shit with Persephone and Apollo undermining Zeus to happen TT_TT if you have to make your characters stupid for the story to work, then it is a bad story hands down.

2. Interpretations regarding Athena's relationship with heroes

This is something I see a lot where Athena is written to have a personal investment in her heroes like they are "her blorbos" (actual words I've seen people on this hellsite use for this). I'd like to direct your attention to this passage from of Athena speaking in Iliad book 8.

My father, now, is full of a black madness, evil and perverse. All that I strive for he brings to nothing: He will not remember how many times I intervened to save his son, worn out in trials set by Eurystheus. How Heracles would cry to heaven! And Zeus Would send me out of heaven to be his shield. Had I forseen this day that time he went down, bidden by Eurystheus, between Death’s narrow gates to bring from Erebos the watchdog of the Lord of Undergloom, he never would have left the gorge of Styx!

The way I understand this passage is that Athena does a lot of "NPC questgiver" tasks for Zeus in an attempt to curry favor from him. It's a calculated choice on her part and not something she does out of the kindness of her heart. A similar situation occurs when Orestes asks Athena for aid, she helps him on the insistence of Apollo.

Regarding Odysseus, I'm sure there is some fondness she has for him-- but that doesn't stop her from allowing him to be struck by storm (as collateral damage for the crimes of Ajax the lesser for raping Cassandra in Athena's temple). Or from her setting up the suitor problem so she could convince him to murder them all.

If you've noticed, all of Athena's champions are some kind of high-ranking warriors. A king or general or prince. You would think that the goddess of wisdom would favor the philosophers more, or would choose more often to avoid violence. But Athena is very quick to choose violence, it's who she is. And she needs a tool that she can use as a blade.

(these are my interpretations, if you disagree thats fine) 3. Athena as a "peaceful" goddess

This one makes me laugh and also drives me insane.

There are two Homeric hymns that directly and clearly contradict this idea.

(HOMERIC HYMNS 5 - 33, TRANSLATED BY H. G. EVELYN-WHITE) a. The Homeric Hymn to Athena

Of Pallas Athene, guardian of the city, I begin to sing. Dread is she, and with Ares she loves deeds of war, the sack of cities and the shouting and the battle. It is she who saves the people as they go out to war and come back. Hail, goddess, and give us good fortune with happiness!

b. The Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite

...Yet there are three hearts that she cannot bend nor yet ensnare. First is the daughter of Zeus who holds the aegis, bright-eyed Athene; for she has no pleasure in the deeds of golden Aphrodite, but delights in wars and in the work of Ares, in strifes and battles and in preparing famous crafts. 

What I find insightful about the second one is that it gives a specific reason for why Athena cannot be moved by romantic love. It's because war occupies the space in her heart that love would normally be. Both hymns specifically name drop Ares, so the idea that Athena finds Ares's violence to be repulsive is just blatantly untrue. If anything, she adores it. The time it would become an issue for her is when his rampages act against her greater interests, which is the source of all their duels in canon.

Other proof for Athena being generally violent can be inferred from her characterization in the Iliad, the instances of which are too numerous to list here.

4. Athena's personality defined by her lack of childhood.

I mentioned this in another post, but Athena was born from Zeus as an adult (though in TGC I changed this to being born as a pre-teen. This is intentional and serves a purpose). What we know about psychology today is that for normal social and emotional development, young children need to form an attachment with at least one primary caregiver. Athena being born as an adult means that she would've missed out on important development milestones that other gods would've gone through.

I will preemptively say that before you bring up the "theyre Gods they're not like humans" that as far as mythos is concerned, the way that gods behave and think is almost exactly identical to that of humans. They experience the same range of emotions humans do, as well as grief and trauma. So I will consider that their psychology is also the same with the difference being that they might experience mental degradation not typically seen in humans because of cumulative negative experiences over a long period.

Back to Athena, the only framework she would have to start from literally being born yesterday would be the fragments of memories she gleaned from being inside of Zeus's head. I think this would be confusing for her, as these are from the first-person perspective of Zeus, so using his memories but lacking context for those experiences might lead to an early identity crisis. Athena would then have to play catchup in learning extremely fast everything to fill those blanks.

This is why I think Athena has a hard time forming personal connections. She doesn't have a true equal. Athena's relationships are defined by power imbalances and transactions, and that is how she understands relationships in general to work.

5. Athena's humanity.

I think what bothers me the most about Athena in adaptations is the lack of humanity given to her character. I know I just went over why she's a manipulative machiavellian character, but what I see is that Athena often gets relegated to the Unfun Stick in the Mud character. She exists to ruin the fun of the Fun Chaotic Dudes Dionysus, Hermes, and Apollo. She doesn't have anything going to her except being a snitch and a daddy's girl, or worse, she exists to be "put in her place" by other male gods. This is why I really dislike Fedini's and "incorrect greek gods" take on Athena. I think there's this underlying biases that an ace-coded goddess can't have anything interesting about her, because all media on tumblr and fandom these days are broken down to fucking shipping instead of seriously engaging with the source material. I've seen people call her a Mary Sue or act like she is an annoying bitch for exhibiting personality traits that would be praised in a male character (the traits of a Byronic Hero).

Portrayals of Athena go one extreme or another, either she is a wholly Good goddess or she is a Villain/mere annoyance. It's a real shame to see, because I hope I can show you now that she is a wonderfully complex and morally grey character. I want to see Athena's curiosity and how she tries to understand the world from her own perspective. I want to explore her relationships with Zeus and her siblings like Ares and Apollo outside of the Meme'fication of Greek mythology.

Anyway, that's all I can think of for now, I hope this answers your question. If you have any point you'd like me to explain more, I'd be glad to make another post in greater detail.

#athena #tagamemnon #greek mythology #greek myths #the god cycle #ask

[ieatsmallorphansnamedtom]

Haley hcs?

Yes, I love Haley so much. I don't get how people don't like her. Here are your headcanons anon! Tiny mentions of her fourth heart event and the Flower Dance? Nothing much though.

Haley Headcanons

Her last name is Blanchet. Pretty name for a pretty woman! They have a little habit of flaunting about it, but surprisingly still very little people know.

She's good friends with Leah. They both have very artistic interests, so it's no surprise they'd bond over that. She'll send her pictures for Leah to use as references and Leah will advise them on the best places and times for good photos. Haley doesn't go to the bar often, but when she does, she's always with Leah catching up on how the other is doing.

As a teen, her parents enrolled her in beauty pageants. They never won any, but they've got some second and third place medals hung up on her wall. She would definitely do it again, but it's such a long way to the city and she'd be staying away from home for a long time.

She knows a lot about floriography and sends her friends bouquets with different messages. They're lowkey mad if the farmer gives her a bouquet first, considering she's already spent hours articulating the perfect message to send through the local flora.

Their goal in the valley is to make a calendar of all the locals having fun in their day-to-day lives. The only problem is getting photos of them acting natural. She asked Alex first, and he immediately struck a pose, so that did not help. So, she's had to become pretty good at snooping around in order to get the photos she wants.

They've gone through lots of different styles when trying to find the one that she feels most comfortable with. Emily takes a lot of joy in showing Alex photos of her teen punk phase as punishment for not doing her chores.

After the jam jar incident, she started training with Alex! Nothing serious like him, but little exercises to get some muscle into them. So far, it's embarrassing, with Alex dotting over her and all, but it's fun. When Alex found out, he may have screamed. And Haley may hold that against him. Perhaps.

It's usually Emily she dances with, not Alex at the Flower Dance. No matter how much they play it up, they love her sister and secretly thinks she deserves to win the Flower Queen title every once in a while. But not this year while she still has her streak going.

She adores butterflies. Their dream wedding is in a butterfly chamber during the spring. Her favourites are the Menelaus Blue Morpho and the green Thecla Paphia. Emily made her a dress with a butterfly collar once and it's one of her most prized possessions.

I know I mentioned this in my post about everyone's taste in music, but they LOVE Blondie. It's nearly concerning. Alex went on a road trip with her once and had to sit through eight hours of Maria.

When she becomes friends with the farmer, they take them shopping wherever they want. No matter the farmer's sense of fashion, Haley's taking them to a store exactly for it. Classic Lolita? Done. You wanna go to a Hot Topic? She's already there waiting for you, dressed head to toe in pastels.

They've tried their hand at sewing and found it to be fun! She has a couple teddy bears named Mister and Missus bear appropriately. Emily claims to have caught her playing with them, but Haley denies it with her life. She was totally having a tea party with them.

-~-~-

And done! I hope you like these headcanons, anon (and whoever else is reading this). I really like them myself. I love Haley and was so happy when I saw someone asked for her. Thanks for the ask!

#sdv #sdv headcanons #stardew valley #stardew valley headcanons #sdv haley #haley stardew valley #stardew valley haley #stardew haley #stardew headcanon #headcanon #ieatsmallorphansnamedtom

[johaerys-writes]

Hey!

That ask about favorite mythological characters made me wonder…do you have favorite mythological relationships? With "relationships" I consider them all (romantic, friendship, family, etc...).

Homeric relationship canon.

Homeric headcanon relationship.

General relationship canon.

General relationship headcanon.

Obviously we know that Patrochilles is one of them, but if you want to talk something about them that maybe you don't usually talk about here you can consider them for the ask too!

(And anon from ask about the characters, sorry for copying your model a little lol)

Hi there!! And sorry for taking so long to answer but this is SUCH an interesting question and I have so much I want to say here. I'll try to be as concise as I can:

1. Homeric canon relationships 

Homeric canon has an ABUNDANCE of relationships, both romantic and platonic, and it's just really hard to choose a favourite, or even just a couple of favourites. I feel like I could talk forever about every single relationship in the epic but I'll try not to 😅

I love the relationship btwn Hector and Andromache, the scene with Astyanax and Hector essentially telling them goodbye is one of the most powerful and enduring scenes in the epic. I also really like Hector's relationship with Helen, as well as Helen with Priam; it just feels like they accepted her wholeheartedly into their family despite Paris bringing her there being the root cause of their suffering! And that's so neat to me!! I feel like Homer is a masterclass on subtle characterisation and *showing* the Trojan culture instead of telling us.

Other relationships that I find fascinating in the Iliad are the deep bond between Agamemnon and Menelaus and how protective they are of one another- like you can always count on Agamemnon to look after his little bro lol. The bromance between Diomedes and Odysseus is also really interesting and it's also kind of funny the way other characters in the Iliad acknowledge it. Also pretty much any relationship that Achilles or Patroclus have with other people in the Iliad (Phoenix, Briseis, Iphis, Thetis, Ajax, Odysseus) that shit is like catnip to me I want ALL OF IT and it's literally what I spend a LOT of my time thinking about ahah

As for Odyssey relationships, Peisistratus and Telemachus are CANON okay :)) and they are among my favourites, and another one that's really sweet and heartbreaking is Odysseus and Argos. The best doggo in the history of doggos

2. Homeric headcanon relationships

- Aaaaaahh gosh where do I START!! okay okay so I have a looooot of headcanons about the gods in the iliad and their relationships to their pet humans, I just fucking love thinking about Apollo being obsessed with Hector and maybe something dubcon-y going on between them 👀👀 As well as Aphrodite meddling in Paris and Helen's relationship and maybe having a taste trio somewhere in there 👀 SPEAKING OF TRIOS how cool would it be if Menelaus and Paris decided to settle their differences in a DIFFERENT FASHION and maybe agreeing to a menage-a-trois of sorts >:) Maybe Aphrodite has her hand in that too...... hehe

Also damn listen I'm not going to go into too much detail here but I am literally feral thinking about Achilles and Patroclus who have a sort of more open relationship and are free to mingle as they see fit. Like think of young Antilochus having a huge crush on the Best of the Greeks and Achilles taking advantage of that.... or Patroclus deciding that he simply *has* to invite Automedon to their bed one day, or maybe even fool around with him when Achilles is off with his ships warmongering somewhere. And then when they meet again they tell each other all about their escapades, and.... well..... can't blame a guy for getting all hot and bothered all over again >:))) huehuehue

3. General relationship canon

Generally, I'm always really interested in the relationships between the gods, both the Olympians and the Titan-born. I love thinking of the sibling bond between Artemis and Apollo for example, that they might have wreaked havoc together growing up lol. I also like thinking about Aphrodite and Ares and the way the ancient greeks used to ship those two and how that association came about (love and war), as well as the relationship itself which is both familial (brother-sister) and romantic in nature.

I also really like some of the tragic love stories in Greek mythology, such as Artemis and Kallisto, Apollo and Hyacinthus, Orpheus and Eurydice, Iphis and Ianthe. The lore is full of love stories with unhappy endings like that, but it’s kind of neat that we have some queer representation at least 😅 (except in the case of Iphis and Ianthe who got their happy ending!!) 

In another ask I also mentioned the relationship between Medea and Jason which I also find super interesting, as well as Theseus/Ariadne/Dionysus/the Minotaur (now THAT would have been an interesting polycule lmao... jk..... unless 👀)

4. General relationship headcanon

Okay so there's no headcanon that springs to mind right now, but there is a slightly niche thought I've been entertaining for a while now. So there's this play by Aeschylus called 'Prometheus Bound' which presents the story of Prometheus and his defiance of Zeus as we know it, HOWEVER Aeschylus introduced a plot twist in that play where Prometheus is the son of Thetis. His inspiration for this was a little detail in the wider legend of Achilles, where the prophecy that is given to Thetis is that the son she will bear will not only be greater than his father, but if the father is Zeus, their offspring will change the world order. Zeus doesn't know this so he sleeps with her, and then Prometheus is born who indeed changes the world. I really love this little spin on the myth of Thetis and the famous prophecy, and it also got me thinking about how Achilles would fit into that, like what would it be like if he learnt about it or even met his stepbro?? That is just fascinating to me.

Thanks once again for this ask!!

#greek myths #greek tragedy #greek mythology #the iliad #homer's iliad #homer #the odyssey #homer's odyssey

[idamante]

Idomeneus!!! Favorite thing about them!!! Random Headcanon!!!

ask game

Favorite thing about them:

His name! It's the reason why I actually paid attention to him. And how he killed some guy in the Trojan War by spearing them thru the mouth

Random hc about them:

I have a lot of hcs about him, but here's some i like to share:

1) he's simultaneously the lover of his wife Meda and his 'best friend' Meriones.

2) the reason he went to Sparta for Helen's hand was not only because his father, Deucalion, served as an Argonaut and was friends with the Dioscuri, but also he needed a powerful woman to legitimize his claim to the Cretan throne after Catreus was ousted by him. When he didn't end up with Helen he had no hard feelings (unlike some... Diomedes) and married Meda, a childhood best friend.

3) never shuts up, very talkative and dramatic. People say he's a classic pretty boy due to having the looks but assuredly not having any brains because he talks a lot. He's fairly observant, but likes being catty since it annoys people (like Agamemnon)

4) good friends with Teucer #weareaforgottenpartofourownfamily they probably slept once. Let him stay in Crete after being exiled by his father.

5) because he's cousins with the Atrides, he acts like a mischievous, younger cousin to them and pulls a lot of pranks. He and Menelaus gets along the most, and there'd been rumors that Idomeneus was almost arranged to marry Anaxibia.

6) very offended with the idea the Cretans fuck bulls. Do not joke about it with him.

#tagamemnon #loise rambles about idomeneus #idomeneus #NONE OF THOSE ARE SUPPORTED BY CANON. BTW. #this is me wanting a 'bit' of Idomeneus content (aka mep

[kallistcs]

GET  TO  KNOW  THE  MUN.

what made you pick up the muse you have? For my main three - Ganymede was where it started. I just randomly in mid 2019 got to think about Ganymede's myth and that I like Zeus/Ganymede so I started reading Greek myth text sources and at the same time started RPing him. (Not on Tumblr, however.) Paris came about ~two years later, not connected to having read the Iliad (which I did the year before), but rather because I saw an ask reply/art made for that ask reply about Menelaus/Paris and suddenly my brain was hijacked. :') Adonis would be the last I picked up among my main muses. Something probably got me thinking about Persephone and Adonis and how perfect/cute it'd be as merely familial and since I love familial relationships, here we are.

is there anything you don’t like to write? AUs of powered/magical/etc characters that are entirely mundane/humans. Boring to me - if I'm playing a character that is "more" than human in some way, that's how I want them to be! Horror isn't my thing either, and angst, while I do like it, needs to be carefully balanced. (Too much/dark/relentless and it becomes tiring and just depressing to me.) Character-specific; I really am not going to play along if a thread with Paris has the other character dislike him for no clear reason or make him into a punching bag/blame him unduly. Yeah, he Did Some Things, but things I see around tends to a lot of the times have people and characters blame him in ways that puts him as uniquely responsible or blameworthy, etc and I'm not here for that.

is there anything you really enjoy writing? Family relationships! (There is a reason Luke & Vader is one of my favourite things ever and I latched on so hard to a purely mother and son interpretation for Persephone and Adonis.) Ships too lol, but within those, aside from the usual fluff and being ride or die for each other and a little bit of angst - protectiveness and possessiveness. Power dynamics, and I do love d/s flavour for ships a lot (not all, sometimes that just doesn't make sense, but. Yeah.)

how do you come up with your headcanons? Usually while thinking about characterization and relationship connections. Events in a character's life, etc, and extrapolate from there, either because of vibes or that it makes sense. For Greek myth characters, however, some headcanons come straight from having read some scrap of lyric or such that said something and I just went "yeah sure lol that sounds excellent". Which is specifically how/why some of Adonis' favourite foodstuff is cucumbers (from a fragmentary poem of Praxilla).

do you write in silence or listen to music? Silence. All my writing is done that way, because with music/too much noise in general I can't think. Creatively or otherwise.

do you plan your replies or wing them? Hmm... partially plan them? I read a reply that I'm going to respond to several times and sort of mentally map out what I'm going to do with it before I start putting it into words. Things can change from there, of course (depending on if I feel I'm getting too wordy or what's being said need to be broken off earlier because it'd be too much to respond to in a single reply), but I do usually have a... vague scaffold? to work from.

do you enjoy shipping? If shipping = romantic ships only; absolutely, but not to the exclusion of family relationships, which is some of my favourite things to play out. Parental or siblings! Those type of relationships can be at least just as important as romantic ones and may RP-wise be what I am more focused on, depending on the character! But I'm also a ship-hound for certain characters or just a character and my OTP for them...

what’s your alias / name? Unni!

zodiac sign? Scorpio, though I'm not very fond of it lol :v wish I had something more... nicer? Talking just looks-wise. A scorpion isn't very fun lol

birthday? Middle of November!

favorite color? Purple. Any shade of purple, but I like the bluer ones a little more.

favorite song? Hmm... I don't think I have one, really, but I'm rather fond of I Lived By One Republic.

last movie you watched? Ok lol it was Stockholm Bloodbath, historical action movie set around/about the events of... well, the Stockholm bloodbath.

last show you watched? I don't really watch shows so none (unless we should go back real far).

last song you listened to? I was skimming through a character playlist yesterday, so - No One Mourns the Wicked, from the Wicked musical, as that was the last song on the playlist.

favorite food? Chicken legs in some manner/chicken in general. I just love chicken ok. xD Otherwise pancakes (not American ones)!

favorite season? Late spring/early summer. Summer if I should settle on just one instead of picking transitions between/middles of two haha.

do you have a tumblr best friend? Nnnot really? (':

tagging: anyone who feels like doing this!

[eternally--mortal]

So right now I’m stuck between two headcanons, and I’m going to need some help picking a favorite.

(Warning: insanely long post filled with Geeking and Greeking out, with lots of references to mythology)

Headcanon One: Annabeth is Penelope (from the Odyssey)

Honestly, I’ve lived for years with the opinion that Annabeth is a first generation soul, but I’ve come to the recent conclusion that, if she were reborn, the only acceptable soul for her would be Penelope’s.

(There are some good arguments to be made for her being Odysseus, but I don’t like that theory, largely because Odysseus is a grade A dick—which we’ll get into later, don’t worry—and that Penelope totally deserved better, which I think Annabeth gets through Percy, among other things.)

Now some of you might be saying, ‘yeah, I get it. Penelope is a badass who totally tricked all of those idiot suitors. But she also spent all of that time crying. And not fighting back. That just doesn’t sound like Annabeth to me.’

Let me remind you: Odysseus was gone for twenty years. He took all of the fighting men with him. Which meant there was no one at home to raise the local boys into civilized Greeks who respected women, and there were also no respectable men to speak up for Odysseus’ family. Telemachus was a baby when Odysseus sailed off to war, and he didn’t have anyone to train him like his dad had. No hunting wild boars and getting insane scars like Odysseus did as a kid. Penelope was raising Telemachus alone, and she couldn’t afford to put up a fuss, or else these immature men-children would have killed her child. In fact, at the beginning of the Odyssey, the suitors are flirting a bit too closely with the idea of murdering Telemachus.

Which brings us to Greek culture at the time, beginning with an anecdote about the Romans (bear with me).

Let’s remember that, in the Homeric cycle + Virgil’s official fanfiction, Rome was born from the remnants of Troy. Aeneas (a son of Venus) fled to Carthage where he married their queen Dido, knocked her up, and then ditched her while he ran off to marry some other chick and build the Roman Empire, all because the gods told him to.

(I’m going somewhere with this. I promise)

Well, the Romans must’ve had some guilt over the shit that Aeneas put Dido through, because they decided to give women marriage rights. By which I mean? You guessed it!

Divorce.

Roman women got to own their own property. And they got to keep it when they married, which meant that they could divorce their husbands and still retain all of their property.

The Greeks? Not so much.

Greek women were educated, mainly for the purpose of running a household and managing finances. But most of them were kept inside the household and away from contact with men. When they did go outside, Greek women had various layers of dress to hide them from prying eyes. Too hot in the summer? Bring a parasol. Wear a giant hat. But those layers stayed on. These women had no ownership of their property. In fact, in many ways they were property. And they had absolutely no rights to divorce.

Now let’s think about the women of the Trojan war.

Note for a moment that Helen and Clytemnestra were Penelope’s cousins. Also note that these three all endured great suffering because they were women trapped in a society that treated them like possessions.

(I mean, the Spartans weren’t like that. But the general conglomerate that we understand to be ‘Ancient Greece’ were. At least, as far as my limited research is concerned)

Helen had a whole hoard of suitors vying for her hand before she married Menelaus (and, I would like to note, that Odysseus was one of those suitors). And they weren’t exactly the most peaceful crowd. After she was married off to Menelaus, there would have been no legal escape. It didn’t matter that Helen loved/lusted-after/whatever-you-want-to-call-it Paris. Legally, she was trapped.

So what did she do?

She ran away with him.

And it turned into a giant bloody mess.

People like to blame Helen for starting a massive war, but you know what? Screw all of those people. Or, better not, like the women of Lysistrata, for gods sakes stop screwing them. Because the real problem here is definitely the fact that these women had absolutely no autonomy.

(I promise this will come back around to Annabeth eventually. I’m just trying to make a point here.)

Clytemnestra? She had an affair while her husband was away because ten years is an awful long time to be alone in a palace where no one takes you seriously because you are a women.

Did you know that she set up this whole chain of Greek towers and posted watchmen at them so they could send fire beacons to let her know that the war was over? And, by the way, those towers were very effective for relaying the message far faster than the soldiers could have sent a person? Far faster than they could sail home?

And everybody else thought that she was totally insane for devising this system. And when she told them that the war was over they didn’t believe her.

Sounds kind of like Cassandra, whom Agamemnon brought home with him as a concubine (right in front of his wife’s salad). And when Cassandra warned him that his wife was going to kill him, he wouldn’t listen to her.

Go read Seneca’s version of the account. His human psychology is incredibly moving, and his portrayal of Clytemnestra is so relatable. She agonizes because she still loves her husband, but she knows that he’ll never forgive her for her affair with Aegisthus. Even though Agamemnon has brought home a concubine war prize. (Oh, and let’s not forget the fact that she’s still rightfully furious that her husband sacrificed their daughter on an alter to the gods so that he could kick up enough wind to sail his fleet to Troy and go retrieve Clytemnestra’s twin sister Helen who didn’t want to be retrieved) In her despair at the ever-growing guilt and frustration, Clytemnestra decides that the only way forward is further into the pit. And, frankly, in the society she’s stuck in, she may be right.

But Penelope is smart. She’s the only one to minimize the damage to the people she loves. She gets a remotely happy ending after twenty years of suffering because she bides her time and plays the game. Penelope is clever, she is quick on her feet, she knows the rules, and she knows exactly how to use them.

Sounding like Annabeth yet?

Now of course, the next question would be: But I thought Penelope loved Odysseus. Why would she ever leave him in the underworld to be reborn if she could be dead with him forever?

As I said before, Odysseus is a dick.

Penelope had to rely on a husband because her autonomy was stripped from her. The only people who could really save her would have been her supposedly-dead husband, or her son. The rest of the men on Ithaca were either too old or were trying to force her into a marriage so that they could be king. A marriage that she had successfully managed to hold off for twenty years, all while managing to ration the palace’s resources (But it’s not like a woman could rule an island, right? Not like she’s intelligent or clever enough for that).

In the Odyssey where we’re reminded over and over again that Athena is a force to be reckoned with, and that Odysseus is only still alive because Athena keeps interceding on his behalf, even down to the very last minute—which Zeus had made illegal, by the way (see my Percy as Achilles post for more information on that), it’s fascinating for us to see Penelope treated so poorly. But look at the way Odysseus treats Athena. She appears to him in person (super illegal) and she has to chew him out because he tries to yell at her and say that she hasn’t helped him at all and that he’s had to do it all by himself.

By himself, huh? Like all those times his pride got his shipmates—his own people over whom he was meant to be a fatherly king—killed? Just like how he sat and cried on Calypso’s island for seven years instead of trying to find a way off? Like how he totally stopped trying to get home when he was hanging out with Circe? And he impregnated her???? (Which isn’t in the Odyssey itself, but is explained later in the Homeric cycle when his and Circe’s bastard son comes back and kills Odysseus and takes Penelope for a wife. Yeah, great ending for Penelope right there. Thanks, Odysseus. Oh, and the sources I looked at indicated that Minerva ordered the marriage. Apparently Athena/Minerva is used to ordering people around about whom they should or should not marry. . . I don’t even want to dig into that . . . ).

And then, when Odysseus does come home, he hides himself from Penelope and decides that he has to test her to see if she’s still faithful to him.

Seriously, like her twenty-years of clever maneuvering and patient suffering weren’t enough for him.

And, yet again I want to remind everyone that Odysseus would have just as eagerly married Helen. That he happened to get lucky that Menelaus was chosen instead, and that Penelope was as intelligent and marvelous as she was. And that she was so faithful to him even though he never seemed to show her the same respect.

Right. Because Penelope is the one who needed to prove herself.

There’s no way that a woman with that level of intelligence would sit in the Underworld, watching dead souls enter who talk about how society is progressing and women have rights now, remembering all the times her husband cheated on her, and how his bastard son killed him and forced her into marriage at the behest of an angsty Roman craft goddess with a personality disorder, and everything else — there’s no way she would have processed all that and not wanted rebirth, in my opinion.

And, if we follow my theory that the rebirth process chooses your future life based on your past development and growth, it’s only logical that Penelope could be a daughter of Athena.

And that Athena would know her soul.

And that Athena would love her as a favorite daughter.

Until Percy Jackson complicates everything.

At this point I would like to reiterate that, in spite of all of Odysseus’ ungrateful sass, he was, like, Athena’s favorite mortal. She blessed him. She loved his clever mind and his snark. She forgave his hubris endlessly because he was her person. She was so proud of that little shit.

I would also like to point out that Poseidon spends most of the Odyssey viciously trying to kill Odysseus. Poseidon knew that Athena liked him. He may have had multiple reasons to target Odysseus, but Athena was no doubt on his mind the whole time. Especially when she kept trying and succeeding at stopping him. She put a lot of work into helping Odysseus triumph over Poseidon.

So you can understand why Athena might be a little extra upset if Penelope/Annabeth is suddenly falling in love with Poseidon’s favorite son.

Who, if you agree with my pre-existing headcanon, also happens to be Achilles.

That would piss Odysseus off so much.

I can imagine Odysseus sneaking his way out of the underworld through the doors of death and managing to stay hidden when the doors were officially closed, successfully using his wily tricks to avoid Thanatos —Possibly with a little help from his favorite goddess. I can picture him hunting down Percy to kill him. Until Annabeth steps in the way and has to tell her ex-husband (wow, is that ever a weird revelation for her) to get lost. At which point he decides he needs to kill her and drag her back to the underworld with him.

There are booby traps everywhere for the next few months. Fancy contraptions. He starts with little gifts at their door—mini ‘trojan horses’—and escalates when he realizes that obviously Penelope is going to know better than to let this Poseidon-son-Achilles-devil-child open a mysterious package that might very well be from her ex.

Odysseus finally catches Percy alone and is all “You stole my wife!”

And Percy has to be like “It’s the 21st century, dude. I’m pretty sure Annabeth can speak for herself. I can’t make her do anything. That’s why I love her.”

At which point Annabeth springs a trap on Odysseus. Because he’s been so fixated on Achilles’ usual brute force that he doesn’t consider that Percy might have learned something from Annabeth, and that the two of them might know how to work together. He doesn’t even begin to consider that Percy, unlike Odysseus, knows how to communicate with his significant other, and that he knows when to ask for help.

(Also, fun fact for those of you who want Annabeth to always have an ‘A’ name, Penelope’s original name was “Arnacia” or “Arnaea”.)

The other headcanon is, of course, that Sally Jackson is Penelope.

Consider, for a second, the idea that all mortals who can see through the mist were originally participants in the original myths —Not demigods necessarily. You’ll notice that Achilles was really the main Greek demigod to participate in the Trojan war. Not only was Achilles the son of Thetis, but his father, Pelius, was a son of Zeus. Odysseus? A legacy multiple generations back, maybe, but not a demigod. Neither were Menelaus or Agamemnon. All of these people were involved with the gods, but they weren’t really direct relatives. (Although Helen was a daughter of Zeus, as was her twin sister, Clytemnestra. Go girl power, I guess. And I should probably mention that Penelope’s dad was the king of Sparta, and that her mom was a naiad. But the men! The men were mostly mortal).

The point is that, godly blood or not, those involved would retain some of the blessings they had in their first lives.

Luke’s mom, Percy’s mom, Rachel Elizabeth Dare—all of them would have lived lives intricately tied with the gods, creating an impression of the mythical world that carried from one life to the next.

Just take a look at what Penelope went through and tell me it doesn’t sound like a palace full of Gabe Ugliano’s ordering her around for more beer and bean dip and trying to kill off her annoying brat so they could take the throne and live easy off bean dip forever.

Imagine Sally Jackson instinctually knowing ‘I’ve been through worse. If this is what it takes to protect my son, I’ll do it.’

Also, gotta love the complete reversal where she gets to know Poseidon and falls in love with him knowing who he is because she’s Finally Found A Man Who Won’t Hide His Identity From Her Or Test Her For Her Loyalty. So that man happens to be the god who made her ex’s life hell. So what? Poseidon is an emotional person. At least he’s upfront about it.

Odysseus crawls his way out of the Underworld and confronts Sally going “You slept with the murderous god who ruined my life and kept me from coming home?! And look at this disgusting monstrosity that you produced!” *gesturing to Percy who may or may not also be Achilles*

Sally politely reminds him that she’s not his wife anymore, and that she still has access to a certain mythical creature’s head, and that if he doesn’t stop threateningly gesturing to her son she will have two ex-husbands on display in the Museum of Modern Art.

#sally jackson #is such a boss #Penelope deserved better #sally jackson is Penelope #Annabeth chase is Penelope #I can’t decide #I love them both #and Athena is so conflicted because she has mad respect for that woman #pjo #percy jackson #percy jackon and the olympians #pjo headcanon #annabeth chase #percabeth #Percy is Achilles #riordanverse #Athena’s trying to hard to be the goddess of arranged marriage #goddess of war indeed #Greek mythology #Odysseus is a dick #this doesn’t even scratch the surface

[dootznbootz]

Hi! I want to know more about the Water wife, I´ve a really small understanding of this take on Penelope and i wANT TO KNOW MORE!!!!

Thanks for being so kind! 💙

I WILL HAPPILY

(understand that these are just headcanons/my ideas and I'm very silly)

Go through the tag of #my headcanons if you want more stuff though honestly, as...I write a LOT about her.

Not gonna lie, this is a LOT of rambling. Also certain things I won't say as I DO plan to someday write Odypen's courting and I want the readers to "fall in love" with her ALONGSIDE Odysseus. We already know him. But the Odyssey kind of keeps a lot of her intentions/sneakiness hidden on purpose because she's just as much of an enigma to Odysseus as the Narrator in a way. (it's one of the things I love so much about her). I hope to write her in a way that "reveals" HER as well.

Honestly I'll try and tag all my stuff with her with Water Wife (maybe without tm because...that was just for the silly and it's sometimes annoying to dig up the emoji thing on computer)

I take a lot of liberties with everything "nonmortal" (demigods, nymphs, etc.) because honestly it's just genuinely fun to write about plus I'm neurodivergent :P also have chronic pain, so I like writing SOME of my gals doing athletics. Mostly just Penelope and Helen being SUPER into it while other women have some activities they like. Ctimene for example, likes running and Anticlea woodcarving (who Odysseus learned it from)

Also silly thing, but one thing I always try to keep in mind is the idea of "A lot of people write women just reacting and not affecting" and I feel like people think Homer and other Ancient Greek Authors do that when...No. They write very dynamic and complex women. Penelope isn't JUST "sobbing" when the suitors are there. If it weren't for her schemes, she'd be married already. BUT NO!!! She's so cunning and held them off WITHOUT physical force!!!

"She should've killed them-" YEs! BUT there are also the political implications of that and xenia to consider!!! Literally at the end of the Odyssey, Athena has to calm everybody down!!! She couldn't do that without even more angry people coming at her!!! rtdyfugh ANYWAYS

I also take "likeminded" and sprint with it. For every shitty/wonderful thing Odysseus has done, she's rooting for it or would do something similar. They're as full of love as they are full of hate.

These two are that "evil couple" sometimes. She's sitting in his lap and they just humiliated someone publically and laugh at them and then they start nuzzling noses, giggling.

She's prideful in many ways as well and she's not against throwing someone under the bus if she needs to and WILL blackmail. You're afraid of snakes and she doesn't like you? "Oh my gosh! What do you think of my new snake necklace?"

She's pretty reckless often in her youth (Her and Odysseus both got that Adhd swag). For example, in my one fic's first chapter, it mentions how she ate a catfish that is making her sick. She rushed in and wasn't even thinking about "...Hey, isn't this one kind of weird?" She was pretending she was fine at first when she clearly wasn't as she doesn't like showing "weakness" (plus adrenaline). Also as she just gave birth like, 8-9 months before, she's in a weird funk of feeling strange about how her body has changed a bit despite recovering very well (water helps!). She's soooo happy she took the "beast" down. While sick, she knew she was reckless and mad at herself.

She's actually closest with Helen probably. Her siblings are a bit older than her and as she was born in a creek and quite smaller because of it (Naiads being affected by the waters they were born in) she got teased by some other naiads for quite a while. Helen is also, a little shit, in her own way so these two loved doing silly shit often. (Penelope, Helen, Menelaus, Castor, and Pollux, were this very strange little squad of kiddos who just...did random shit. They each have scars and knicks from their silliness (except Helen and Pollux))

Some of the scales she has on her arms and one shoulder, dry out quicker, from one of the times older naiads got a hold of her and kind of ripped at them :'D "Puddle girl"

It's something she carries with her in a way and when her water breaks with Telemachus, she hides it at first being like "Hey, let's head towards the caves!!!" until Odysseus realizes and he's so frustrated and upset with her has to scoop her up. (her stubbornness and recklessness) He scolds her after everything calms down like two weeks later.

Funny enough, I've had this idea for a LONG time even before I watched the 90's Odyssey. Odysseus just gives that vibe of "I'm not fucking leaving." don't he?

Odysseus: I can't believe you did that. The Canals were closer, Penelope- Penelope: I know but he'd be so much stronger if he were born in the caves and he is. AND I'm fine!!! I'm actually doing very well.

She hates bracelets. She usually ends up breaking them from messing with them too much.

Athena technically spoke with her first before Odysseus but Athena was WATCHING Odysseus for a longer time.

She's really close with her parents because her eldest sister got married quite young and her brothers are in the military. She goes running with dad often (let me have this) and she enjoys swimming (ofc), running, and pankration (Idk why I think it's really neat but I do)

She's got a scar on her temple that is kind of hidden by her hair from when she got washed away once when she was little (the scars she DOES have are because of her own novice attempts at healing, otherwise she doesn't have really any) and she's got a little crook in her nose, something she's self-conscious about as it was one of her first times "setting bone" with water and so it didn't end up perfect. It's not too noticeable but of course, you notice your own flaws more than others. (When she finally allows Odysseus to kiss her face, he immediately places a little kiss on her nose.)

There's...SO many more but yeah. a lot of basics.

#honestly for behavior? If you're thinking “that's something Odysseus would do.” then yeah. she MIGHT do it a different way #but she'd want the same result #Water Wife #Mad rambles #shot by odysseus #my headcanons #ask #aaronofithaca05

[kashuan]

I’ve fallen HARD into the Helenus hyperfixation, so what are your favorite headcanons/Just general things about him? Or you can ramble about him if you want, I’m not picky.

• Second oldest of Priam’s sons (I don’t think it’s ever specifically stated but I hc it Hector > Helenus > Deiphobus > Paris) • Mama’s boy (takes after her in all ways) • There’s a lot of versions for how he and Cass got their prophetic powers; my version is when Cass got hers first around age 11~, Helenus saw how much positive attention that (initially ):) got her, and as her twin and a boy he felt slighted/jealous of it and asked Apollo to give him the ability too...Hubris Punished when that came with seeing his city being destroyed, along with how in the future the Greeks would use that ability of his to help accomplish that.  • Isn’t cursed like Cassandra but may as well be for how much his family listens to him (this is p much canon) • The long suffering straight man of the family tbh, surrounded by a lot of Extra personalities • Was well respected among his people but definitely was in Hector’s shadow, though Hector always treated him as an equal • Didn’t know how much Hector felt that way though until he named his son after him (Scamandrius was in some versions Helenus’ real name, and he was renamed Helenus after he got his prophecy powers.) Story of his life tho that the population decides to call the boy Astyanax instead • Popular with women but only has eyes for Andromache  • Met Andromache as a boy when he was visiting Thebes with Hector but was too shy to talk to her where Hector wasn’t. Regrets the Could Have Been but also supports Hector/Andromache with how obviously good they are for each other so that never turned into true jealousy, just some understandable envy • Chryseis had a crush on him (took that one from this v good book series) and if he wasn’t hung up on Andromache it would have been mutual • Good fighter but excels more academically; extensively studied history, foreign languages, etc. Would make for an especially good emissary and wanted to be the one to go to Sparta but Priam was like no, let’s send my new favorite son who has no training whatsoever and is a known womanizer. Helenus looks into the camera. • Out of all his brothers was closest with Deiphobus, who I hc as being rough around the edges but not an outright Dick until later in the war; after he forcefully married Helen that was one of the main things that made Helenus leave Troy • That and Paris desecrating the alter of Apollo. Miss me on that version he helped the Greeks because he was jealous Helen didn’t marry him (I hc he rather tried to get her back to Menelaus, like she was canonly Asking For at that point, but Deiphobus stopped him). • The most hc of hcs but I have a big lengthy story about him and Menelaus becoming friends starting with when he was a captive of the Greeks and maybe someday I’ll make a comic about it :^) • He ends up helping the Greeks with the understanding that less of his family and people will die if the war ends sooner than later (Results May Vary) • Did not sign up to be Pyrrhus’ friend or father figure, Pyrrhus considers him a friend and father figure (also another good hc I’d already thought of but that book series fleshed out really well)

#i'm forgetting a ton of little details #not to mention all my gen 2 headcanons but that's completely my own story so #LOVE this man who's got like 3 lines in the iliad #the iliad #conspiramo

[ceciliasheplin]

Master post for all my fics so far

I’ve put here most of the tags but not all, so please read them. My recurring themes are: Reylo is madly in love, Happy ending, Redemption/Healing of some sort. Let me know what you guys think!

Morpho Menelaus

Rated M, 1189 words, One-shot

📎https://archiveofourown.org/works/24635509

🏷 Modern AU, Grief/Mourning, Pinned Insects, Swearing, Butterflies, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst

Rey works at an insectarium and notices a recurring visitor at the butterfly exhibit.

This fic is the ao3 version of a twitter fic that I wrote for this prompt by @reylo_prompts:

"Ben and Rey work at a zoo Rey always finds Ben in the butterfly exhibit, he likes to go there when he’s sad."

Ever since the Roll-out came out, I’ve been in love with the butterflies, like many fellow Reylos, and couldn’t wait for them to show up in the fics. My headcanon is that the butterflies are a symbol of the love between father and son, so tragically broken apart (by cruel writers). I love this little fic. It makes me happy. It gives me closure and hope.

🦋🦋🦋

***

A Quick Death

Rated M, 2293 words, One-shot

📎https://archiveofourown.org/works/24563752

🏷 Canon Divergence, Post TLJ, Wounds, animal blood, Mention of death penalty, Forgiveness, Redemption

This is my contribution to a Prompt Gangbang event: “Rey finds Ben tied to a tree.”

I can’t write fix-it fics because TROS made canon so bad, there is no fixing it other than ignoring that piece of shit of a movie completely, in my opinion. So I divorced myself from that and live in denial ever since, never missing an opportunity of writing about what it should have been.

🌳🌳🌳

***

What Am I Here For?

Rated E, 25577 words, 16 chapters

📎https://archiveofourown.org/works/23903074/chapters/57471235

🏷 Modern AU, Breylo, Polyamory, Heavy Angst, Grief/Mourning, No Incest, Skywalker Family Drama, Loss of appetite, Consensual Infidelity, Internalized Prejudices, Domestic Fluff, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Threesome - F/M/M, Everyone Is Alive, No Pregnancy, No Kids

This is the Breylo version of this old prompt by @reylo_prompts: "When Ben is declared missing, and then presumed dead, his fiance, Rey, is heartbroken. He returns years later, only to find she didn't wait for him as she'd promised she would."

This is my favourite fic that I wrote. It features smut but it’s not a smut fic, I wanted to write something different this time. Also, I had a lot of grief to let out and needed to find a way for these characters to heal and find a happy ending, even after all they’ve been through. I poured my heart out writing this one. I’m still in love with my poly babies Rey, Ben and Kylo and always will be.

❤️💛💙

***

Smitten

Rated M, 16065 words, 8 Chapters

📎https://archiveofourown.org/works/23306047/chapters/55821535

🏷 Modern Setting, Angel Rey, Human Ben, Mild Smut, Loss of Virginity, Protected Sex, Family Drama, Fluff

Rey is an angel who falls to protect human Ben from demon Snoke. They fall in love while figuring out the truth about Ben's family.

Inspired by Diablo (the video game) mythos, but this fic is super fluffy. Listen, I just wanted a feral angel girl to protect SoftBoi Ben, okay? And fall in love and bone him along the way...

😇😇😇

***

Macrolepidoptera

Rated E, 3215 words, One-shot

📎https://archiveofourown.org/works/23588158

🏷 Modern, Mothlo, Porn with Feelings, Hurt/Comfort, Monsterfucking, Body Worship, Biting, Blood Play, Fluff and Angst, Cuddling & Snuggling, Dark fic

Rey runs after her Mothman to show him how much she loves him

MOTHLOOOO!!! I fell in love with Mothlo and had the urge to let the whole fandom know, haha. Really, this is about Kylo believing he’s worthy of love and Rey being true to herself. Another favourite, because I will always love those sweet monsters who are better than so many ‘nice guys’ we meet out there.

🖤🦋🖤 

***

Ash & Blood

Rated E, 6596 words, One-shot

📎https://archiveofourown.org/works/22568317

🏷 Medieval, Dark fic, Murderous Lovers, Minor Character Death, Betrayal between friends, Violence, Kylo Ren is Not Nice, Rey is not nice, but they love each other

Bloodthirsty warrior Kylo Ren is betrayed by his men and must flee. He is helped by a mysterious woman and her friends. He joins forces with them to get his revenge.

My first dark fic. It was a gift for my wonderful friend. It was a lot of fun to write people being bad.

🗡🖤🔥

***

Heal

Rated T, 4379 words, One-shot

📎https://archiveofourown.org/works/22537060

🏷 Canon Divergence, Angst, Fluff, Kyber Crystals, Force Bond, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, Sharing a Bed, Visions

A few weeks after the Battle of Crait, the Force connects Rey and Ben again on several occasions as she is trying to heal the legacy saber's Kyber crystal.

Another gift for a Valentine’s Day exchange. When my giftee asked for soft romance and Rey touching Ben’s hair I rubbed my hands together and gave an evil laugh because it’s what I do best, haha. This is my first T rated fic and it’s very soft and cute.

💎💎💎

***

High Seas

Rated E, 19923, 10 chapters

📎https://archiveofourown.org/works/21640174/chapters/51602203

🏷 Pirate AU, Porn With Plot, Mention of Reyux, Infidelity Kink, Praise Kink, Light Dom/sub, Dom Kylo Ren, Sub Rey, Betrayal, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Name-Calling, Dirty Talk, Rough Sex, Period-Typical Sexism, Slut Shaming, Revenge Sex, Pirate Rey, Lovers to enemies to lovers, Mention of pregnancy at the very end of the epilogue

Rey is stuck in a loveless and sexless marriage. So she turns to the alluring Commander Kylo Ren to quench her thirst.

This is my dirtiest fic and I love it to death. I’m not the best smut writer in the world, but this porn was liberating to write. Also, I wanted to write Ben as not a Softboi this time, and Rey as someone a little more flawed than what I usually do. Horny Reylo at their best.

🏴‍☠️ 🌊

***

The Tide

Rated E, 14949 words, 6 chapters

📎https://archiveofourown.org/works/20658665/chapters/49060343

🏷 Canon Divergence, Slow Burn, Hurt/Comfort, Domestic Fluff, Angst, Eventual Smut, Mention of abuse, Kylo Ren Needs a Hug, Gardening, Spoiler for Kylo Ren comic, No Pregnancy, No Kids

This fic was based on a prompt from @reylo_prompts: “The Resistance catches Supreme Leader and decides on his execution. Rey promises that if they do that, the Jedi won't support their cause any longer. Nevertheless, they proceed. She leaves. Several years later, Palpatine's return prompts the Resistance to seek Rey out. They are shocked to find her peacefully living with very much alive Kylo in a cute cottage on an outer rim planet.”

In sharp contrast to the latter, this is mostly plot driven. I wanted to write about them falling in love gradually, facing who they really are and what happened in canon (I wrote this before TROS came out so some of my lines sound kinda funny now). Also, Leia and Ben have a chance to make things right here, something that will forever be missing in my heart.

🏡🌻🌏

***

The Dark Prince

Rated E, 38471 words, 17 chapters

📎https://archiveofourown.org/works/20739284/chapters/49274468

🏷 Fantasy AU, Slow Burn, Curses, Demons, Angst, Fluff, Smut, Attempt Self-Sacrifice, Battles

In a fantasy land, Rey, a Jedi Monk, travels across the land in the winter to end the war the First Order has been waging. There, she finds their great power being challenged by a small but brave group of dissidents, the Resistance, and also by something else. A demon who haunts the woods nearby and attacks those who dare to cross the forest.

This was my RFFA fic. I tried to create a world where the heroes would be able to fight and win by not fighting what they hate but saving what they love.

***

Something Beautiful

Rated E, 6186 words, One-shot

📎https://archiveofourown.org/works/20263963

🏷 Medieval AU, Arranged Marriage, Fluff, Angst, Smut, Loss of Virginity, Virgin Rey, Virgin Ben Solo, Gentle Sex

Rey begrudgingly agrees to marry her greatest enemy and fears her wedding night.

This fic was inspired by a prompt from @reylo_prompts: “Lord Ren forces orphan Rey to marry him. On their wedding night he refuses to take her because he wants her to be willing. Rey is both enraged and frustrated. She may hate him but she isn’t exactly opposed to being ravished by her husband.”

This is my most successful fic. I loved the idea of a character being so sure of something and then be proven wrong. It’s basically two dumb virgins figuring it all out, connecting deeply in the process. And I could never have a fic where Rey is a passive onlooker in her own life. She knows what she wants and she’s going to get it.

🏰🌕💞

***

The Balance

Rated E, 70382 words, 21 chapters

📎https://archiveofourown.org/works/17664236/chapters/41660696

🏷 Canonverse, Slow Burn, Eventual Smut, The Force Ships It, Softboi Ben, Rey is confident, Lightsabers, Force Bond, Kylo Ren Redemption

It has been a few months since the battle of Crait. Both sides are rushing to rebuild. Rey is getting stronger as a Jedi. Ben, however, is feeling unsure. They cannot forget about each other as dreams haunt them both. A series of events brings them together again.

Okay, this is my first fic... It’s bad... Like, really bad... I’m not disowning it but this is cringeworthy, even if I still love it and stand by some of my ideas. We all gotta start somewhere, right? Also, it’s better than TROS... 😘

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Big thanks to @leofgyth​, @reylotrash711​, @thehobbem​ and starcrossreylo for the betas and moodboards. I love you guys!

#reylo #reylo fanfic #reylo au #breylo #reylo fic #reylo prompt

[ofprevioustimes]

🌷😘💜💅🏻 for helen & leda uwu

☆ Headcanon Prompts: accepting!

🌷 = Is your muse likely to be the one to make the first move, or would they wait for the other to make a move first?

Yes to both of them! I'll do my best to keep from rambling indefinitely about Spartan women but it appears that this was in fact a cultural thing. They were known to be assertive and it was no different when it comes to picking romantic/sexual partners. On the other hand, they like this assertiveness to be mutual. They have very low tolerance for partners who are too slow and a lack of confidence in courtship is their biggest turn off.

😘 = Does your muse like to flirt? Do they like to be flirted with?

Yes to both again! 

(Spoiler alert: Leda and Helen are nearly the same person... Same tastes, same personality.)

However... Helen tends to be more flirtatious while Leda is a bit more serious. There are reasons for that: 1) Leda wasn’t born a Spartan, she adapted into their culture and approves 100% of laconic speech, 2) Helen is almost chronically addicted to flirting. She’ll flirt with a table if she’s bored. Of course she doesn’t always flirt with romantic/sexual intent, sometimes it’s just plain manipulation or just something to do in order to pass the time... But yes, she does it excessively. 

💜 = Does your muse date others based on their appearance or personality, or both?

It’s kind of uncool to say appearance, isn’t it? But it’s what it is... And it’s another part of ancient Greek culture that is a bit incomprehensive to us. Beauty was status. Having a toned body from exercise was status. Hotness was something to be worshipped. It meant blessings from the Gods. 

Due to this huge disparity between the ancient and today’s understanding of beauty, the power of Helen as a character often tends to be overlooked, but I digress... She has chemestry with all kinds of people, personality-wise, she can even go to bed with someone she utterly hates (like she absolutely hates Paris after that infamous duel with Menelaus), but good looks are mandatory. Not only good looks, exceptionally good looks. That’s how it goes with my Spartans.

💅🏻 = Does your muse always try to look their best around their partner, or are they comfortable wearing anything around them?

I’m not saying this because she’s my muse but... Helen always looks her best. That is the point of this character. Leda was also famously beautiful (hence the Zeus fling), but to answer your question... They don’t dress up for partners. They do have a habit of dressing in rich clothes and wearing lots of jewelry and painting their eyes with kohl, but that was part of the ritual of being queen/priestess. Picturing them at home with a partner, left to their own devices to do whatever they want, they’d probably choose to be naked all the time. Which is also a cultural thing. Spartan women often exercised nude or seminude along with the men - issues of body and sex are natural and comfortable for them, so either in modern or in canon, if they’re able they’ll just stay naked unless it’s very very cold. 

#[ i didn't mean to make this so huge it just happened lmao ] #[ thank u! ] #helen: hcs. #leda: hcs. #helen: asks. #leda: asks. #seaprofound

[dootznbootz]

Hiiiiiii I just saw the character ask thing :))))

Can you tell me about your NOTP, random headcanon and unpopular opinion about Helen of Sparta?

Thank you so much!!!

I'll save the one that'll get me crucified last! 👍

Random headcanon: Both Odysseus and Penelope were given a "photographic memory" by Athena. When Athena had "forsaken" Odysseus it was taken away. Makes it nice because a lot of the more fucked up parts of the Odyssey are a bit more "fuzzy" for him. And he hates feeling "so out of sorts". He gets it back though.

Also Athena technically took Penelope under her "wing" like, one month before Odysseus.

Unpopular Helen Opinion: In MY FICS, (It's okay if you don't agree!) She is built like Rose Quartz from Steven Universe. She doesn't have a perfect "hourglass figure". She's got some pudge on her tummy. Girl is TALL (Demigod) and CHUBBY. One of the important components of Helen and Menelaus' relationship is that they are both strong enough to lift each other. Also she's the most beautiful woman in the world and chubby women are hot af lskdjf She also SUCKS at singing. She's good at wrestling and spear work. (Sparta. I also love athletic women. Plenty of chubby women are also athletic af. If you think otherwise, literally look up women's Olympic sports participants.)

Homies, know that my NOTP can be YOUR OTP and that's okay! We can still love each other and be friends! Ignore the rest if you just don't want to see that, but know that while it kind of will be in my fics, it's probably not in the way you want it to be.

Please don't hate me and know I don't hate you or think I'm "correct"!

It's OdyDio. Heads up but in my fics, know that they had a weird "middle school romance" that ended badly (Odysseus randomly decided to bite Diomedes while they were kissing and then ran away when they were around 15-17. It was Odysseus' first relationship and he freaked out and got embarrassed and now Odysseus makes it everyone else's problem. It's canon to me. It's fucking funny) and now they're weird exes who are the fucking WORST to each other and compete to be "Athena's best boy".

These are the reasons why so avoid them if you don't want to read that! :'D This is the only time I will ever be on the "Odysseus hate train" because he's such an asshole to Diomedes.

I feel so bad about it. 😭 I'm a freak who likes Odysseus/Menelaus (probably having a BROTP or a QPP going on) I think it's because Odysseus is just... SO MEAN to Diomedes. And when he's not mean, he's just neutral. There is not really any "Diomedes, you're the best guy!". Especially when have Sthenelus and Diomedes saying I love you to each other To ME, they are like co-workers who work GREAT together on the battlefield and on missions, but never do anything outside of that.

When Diomedes asks for help, Odysseus sprints away from battle. When Diomedes compliments him before the night raid, Odysseus literally is like "Dude, you're not the only person who knows I'm good at stealing. Let's go."

Odysseus, that long-suffering, godlike man, replied: “Son of Tydeus, don’t over-praise me, or censure me. You’re speaking to the Argives,                           who know everything about me. Let’s go. Night is passing quickly. Dawn approaches. The stars have shifted forward. Most of the night                   has passed, two thirds of it, with one third left.”

(Ian Johnston, Book 10)

Odysseus is an asshole but he's still so mean to Diomedes! 😭 ESPECIALLY WHEN DIOMEDES IS SO FUCKING NICE TO ODYSSEUS!!! I know that's what probably makes them so compelling to so many lovely folks but I love fluff BECAUSE I'm so tired of toxic relationships irl. I don't...I don't see how I can make OdyDio fluffy 😥 With OdyDio, I feel like I'm watching my bestie (Diomedes) get back with their toxic ex who mistreats them (Odysseus). Diomedes is actually quite polite to the others. Even when Agamemnon scolds him, he tells Sthenelus to think nothing of it. He compliments Odysseus! He listens to the gods when they tell him "Hey stop fighting!" and listens to Athena! Like he's violent and a killing machine but he's respectful! He's a traumatized, respectful, killing machine! He bitches at Paris but everyone has done that! That's something everyone partakes in /j

It bothers me even more because when Odysseus is with Penelope, he's so wonderful and loving? And that the Odyssey barely mentions Diomedes? And since Odysseus runs away from Diomedes when he asks for help, it boggles my mind that books earlier, he goes into a rage when his friend gets killed!

[...]but hit Leucus, a brave companion of Odysseus, in the groin,                                           as he was dragging Simoeisius away. His hands let go. He fell down on the corpse. Enraged at Leucus’ slaughter, Odysseus strode up, through the front ranks, armed in gleaming bronze. Going in close, he took his stand. Looking round, he hurled his glittering spear. As he threw, Trojans moved back, but the spear found a mark. It hit Democoön, Priam’s bastard son, who had come from Abydos, where he bred horses for their speed.                                    Angry for his friend, Odysseus speared him in the temple.

(Ian Johnston, Book 4)

Odysseus, you prick!!! You go on a rampage when your buddy gets killed but sprint away when your STILL ALIVE BUDDY asks you for help?! ASSHOLE

I DO plan on Diomedes going to visit Ithaca with Sthenelus while Odysseus is still gone. They ARE kind of friends/frenemies during the end of the war but it's a weird thing where Diomedes cares about Odysseus but Odysseus tolerates him. Like he left him to die. I love Odysseus. He's my special little guy but he treats Diomedes, another special little guy, like shit 😞

Also just...Most of anything about OdyDio (fanart/fanfic/etc.) it's of them fighting or bickering or betraying each other or being very sexual. I already plan to write Odysseus (and Penelope) as Aspec CODED and so I...just really don't care for that??? There's barely ANYTHING of them being soft. BECAUSE THEM TWO TOGETHER just aren't soft... I personally don't like couples that are mean to each other 😭 (I'm not even including the whole "betrayal with the Pallidium" because it makes me sad to think about. I don't consider it canon.)

Menelaus though?

I have plans 😌 These two bring me comfort and are a special brotp

#I'm so sorry!!! #please don't hate me :') #I just feel like I should warn you all before you get into my fics😭 I don't want to give you whiplash and then for you to end up sad becaus #of my bullshit opinions. #I don't know if I should tag this with Anti but let me know!!! #...I think I have war flashbacks of the shipping wars of 2016🙃 #gotstabbedbyapen #ask #Mad rambles #shot by odysseus #menody #I care about diomedes so I just don't like thought of him being mistreated :') #notp #The Simps™ #toxic exes #my headcanons