myth shitposter :)

but idk who i want to include,,, can you guys name drop some gods that i haven’t done yet? honestly any pantheon is fine tbh but id definitely love to do more aztec and egyptian :))

genuinely i think Oceanus and Pontus think Poseidon is an idiot hahahah!!!!!!!

something weird in my timeline is that Oceanus is older than Pontus.. because Oceanus was created by Gaia and Ouranos, and Pontus was created by Gaia after she finally got Kronos to kill Ouranos..

he was the "better" version of Ouranos. but by that time, Oceanus has already grown into a "mature" god.

i think at first Oceanus and Pontus don't really interact much at all-- Oceanus is traumatised by "primordial" gods because of Ouranos, and Pontus simply has no motivation to bond with Oceanus- he's not a child, and he doesn't seek a relationship with him.

but as time passes, i think they do find themselves coming face-to-face, especially as Pontus' own children grow up and overlap with Oceanus' domain.

they're cordial with each other-- they're both mature and they stay out of each other's way.

Poseidon is more exuberant. he thrashes around and makes waves, literally. he's got an ego too... so i definitely think he steps on Oceanus and Pontus' toes.

but even more than Pontus, Oceanus gets along really well with Nereus, Pontus' son... Nereus is like if Oceanus was happy.

he's more jovial, more friendly, but super smart and responsible and diplomatic... so gets along well with Oceanus.

Nereus also knows what it's like to have 500 children that he's super protective of, so that's more commonality with Oceanus.

hello! thank you for the interest, apologies for the late response <3

my original set of Selene hc's here

the gist of it is Selene is a very stoic goddess.

she's the firstborn of Hyperion's kids, and even though she's born during an age of peace (post-Ouranos, pre-Kronos going crazy), she's one of the older second gen. titans, so she learns to be responsible very quickly.

i picture her as having a very dark and witty sense of humour.

because of the nature of her domain being the Moon, when she grows into her power, Hyperion takes her to meet Nyx, and there's an instant connection-- she's very much a daughter to Nyx and a sister to all her children.

Prometheus is also one of the elder second gen. titans, i haven't really decided who's older- Selene or Prometheus, but they are very close.

Selene is also very much a keep-to-herself sort of person-- she never likes to be the centre of attention-- she's not shy, she just doesn't care about anything in particular.

in saying that, she's not callous-- when she sees Kronos going crazy, she is motivated to fight alongside her siblings and cousins... but when Prometheus gets imprisoned for helping humans, she recognises that there is no point in fighting against Zeus and is the first one to say that she won't protest.

i think this is an important part of her character because it makes her distinct from Artemis-- Artemis is also a generally quiet and stoic goddess, but i think Artemis actually likes attention on occasion. she likes being praised, but Selene literally doesn't care.

speaking of Artemis, i actually don't picture the two having much of a relationship-- i think they definitely get along, but Selene is very removed from Olympian politics so they only hang out sometimes.

i imagine that when Artemis gets bogged down by the drama of Olympus, she finds respite in Selene's house if she's not with Leto.

about Endymion... as i said, Selene really doesn't care about anything much except her peace and quiet. she's seen billions of humans come and go, but he really catches her eye.

there's some ambiguity about who Endymion really was-- shepherd, prince, astronomer. i think he was sort of all-- he was a prince because his father was a King-- but this is at the very beginning of the age of heroes, when civilisation had only just been brought back by Deucalion after the Deluge-- so being King doesn't really mean you have lush palaces and stuff, you're basically just like a landowner.. a chief of a small town.

so, Endymion would still tend to his father's flock and be a shepherd. and while he watched his charge, he would gaze at the night sky, and having a tendency for astronomy, would catalogue all that he saw-- and he is one of the first astronomers of his time, which is why he catches Selene's eye.

there's also a version of the story allegedly by Hesiod where Zeus allows Endymion to be the "keeper of his own death"-- so i imagine that Endymion does still marry the mortal Asterodia, and Selene allows them to have however many children to ensure that Endymion has kids to take up his lineage on Earth... but then when he gets older, Selene appeals to Zeus to let him stay with her forever-- so by her grace, Endymion remains youthful even though he's actually old.

i dont think Endymion ever loves Selene. he only loves Asterodia. but he knows what the vengeance of the gods is like, so he chooses to sleep forever, ageless, slumbering on Mt Latmus where the light of the moon can still reach him as she pleases, but he can still be close to Asterodia.

whoo! last ask in my inbox about bittersweet, i think this is @cinematropes.. i'll try and wrap up the whole story with this.

so, last thing i said was that the Charites try to drop some subtle hints that Aphrodite is cheating-- they do this because Aglaea has known Hephaestus since he was born (she's older than him), and she knows that he's a good guy and he deserves better.

but Thalia convinces her sisters that they owe Aphrodite enough to confront her directly and get her to confess to Hephaestus rather than them doing it for her. and unfortunately, Aphrodite doesn't want to because she thinks it's better for Hephaestus to not know-- so she makes them swear on Styx not to "speak further on the matter".

Aglaea is wily. she's not gonna let an oath stop her. so she does small things like purposely leaving Ares' cloak on Hephaestus' bed to try and get the message across without actually speaking further.

Hephaestus at first doesn't get it, but then slowly picks up on it-- but he doesn't let Aglaea know that he knows. because he just can't believe it.. he's not convinced, until finally, Euphrosyne tells Hephaestus to see Helios.

and Helios, with his all-seeing eyes, shows Hephaestus what he has seen:

he has a rant with Dionysus about the unjustness of it all, and then he gets the idea to return the pain and humiliation he's felt sevenfold to Aphrodite and Ares.

he commissions Athena to make a beautiful bedspread for his and Aphrodite's anniversary, and Athena doesn't realise what it's for until she goes to his forge to deliver the gift, and sees the blueprints for his puppet show on the wall.

Athena is against the idea. she says it wrong to take revenge in such a humiliating manner and that he should go about it by the book. but Hephaestus is a lot like Hera when he's pissed off-- he's cold, he's mean, he's vicious. he lays into Athena, one of his closest friends, about all the times she's sought revenge-- he talks about Arachne and Medusa's fate (i know i know, Ovid was wrong whatever whatever, i needed drama!!!) and basically calls Athena a hypocrite. which she also gets pissed off at, but she knows that Hephaestus is just angry. and she cares for him. so she makes her peace, gives him the bedspread, and leaves.

so Athena's the only other person who knows what Hephaestus is up to.

then, it's just as the myth says-- Hephaestus gets everyone together, and while his wife and brother are doing the horizontal tango, suddenly the house's walls fall apart and they're suspended like puppets on a stage.

most people are absolutely horrified, the only exceptions being Apollo, Hermes, and Dionysus, who are having a bit of a giggle coz they don't think it's that serious, and c'mon... didn't everyone already know what Ares and Aphrodite were up to?

Zeus gets mad and summons everyone to an emergency court session-- yeah, Zeus is a cheater himself, but he justifies it by saying he's the King and it's his duty to provide heroes and role models for mortal men because the gods aren't omniscient and omnipresent and they can't be there all the time.... Ares? Ares is just indulging himself and defying Zeus' own order that Aphrodite should marry Hephaestus.

while they wait for court to begin, Ares and Hephaestus are locked in room together which ends up in a physical fight until their little sister Hebe comes in and berates them.

on the court stand, without their fists, all three idiots (Ares, Aphro, Heph) lay into each other about what they really think about each other... the dialogue below is a little too cheesy and modern, it wouldn't have ended up like that in the comic, but it relays the gist of it:

and then, Zeus allows everyone to have a say in whether their should be punishment for the adultery or not. plenty of people say it's harmless, but importantly, Hades and Artemis say that there should be punishment-- Artemis is an important "punish them"-vote because this is after Orion-- she still remembers how Apollo killed Orion to prevent her breaking her vows of chastity. and vows of chastity are just as important as vows of marriage. so that's her stance.

and then, after hearing all this. i invent my own part of the myth, and allow Zeus to bestow a completely new punishment on Ares:

and this is why, in the previous ask, i say that Ares is not there for the beginning of Eros' life-- he's been banished to Earth, he doesn't even know Aphrodite's pregnant.

now. the end of Ares' role in the story marks the beginning of Aglaea and Hephaestus' relationship.

see, Aglaea helps Hephaestus because she thinks he's a good guy-- she never ever expects him to take revenge in such a horrible, disgusting way. and she actually hates him for it. she feels used.. she still likes Aphrodite, she's part of her entourage... and to see Aphrodite pinned up like that, even if she was in the wrong... it wasn't what Aglaea expected.

so she lays into Hephaestus, gets angry for abusing her kindness. says that he's not who she thought he was.

and Hephaestus just takes it. because you know, he really wasn't expecting Ares to get banished. banishment is serious because if Ares catches some disease on Earth, or he breaks his bones, or he gets into a fight and gets stabbed-- he will literally die as a mortal. he will not come back... and Hephaestus couldn't have imagined that he was sending his brother to die. he feels bad... immediately.

obviously, Heph doesn't divulge any of this to Aglaea. but, intuitive as she is, she suspects that maybe there is more to Hephaestus' mind than just pure revenge.

so she tries to get close to him. she hangs around the forge, just being a friend:

a character quirk of Aglaea's is that she uses too many words that maybe don't make too much sense together when she gets excited, so there's a lot of Aglaea talking and Hephaestus just going "what. ?"

Hephaestus tries to push Aglaea away, but she's a charitable goddess, it's in her nature. so she always manages to make herself useful around the forge, and Hephaestus just can't get her away:

eventually, they become good enough friends that Hephaestus explains to her the pain he felt on discovering Aphro and Ares' treason, and how he just wanted them to feel what he felt.. how he didn't plan on everything going so extremely wrong. and Aglaea advises him to just forgive himself, forgive Aphrodite, and just move on.

so eventually, Aphrodite and Hephaestus meet- and yeah it's awkward, but Hephaestus comes away feeling a little less miserable. he's still not ready to be Aphrodite's friend, he doesn't want to really see her at all, but it's progress.

as for Aglaea... Hephaestus really does like her, but he's not ready for a relationship, so actually for the remainder of the story, they're not in a relationship at all. it's too soon.

the last part of Bittersweet is Hera having a party for Ares' birthday (while he's still banished), and Hephaestus extending the invitation to Aphrodite (much to Hera's chagrin)... and then Aphrodite talking about potential baby names for her soon-to-be-born kid, and Hephaestus suggests "Eros", which Aphrodite loves. and of course, you know how that went.

the last scene is Hephaestus being invited by a very tired Aphrodite to be the first one to hold newborn Eros (Ares is still banished), and you get a sense of hopefulness about the future with the new life.

then, of course, a prologue.

mortal Ares (who calls himself Theophanes), is welcomed back into the fold as a divine god, he meets his kid, he reunites with Aphrodite, and finally, he sees Hephaestus face-to-face and apologises. now this is 100 years into the future, so by this time, Hephaestus and Aglaea are in a relationship but have not yet taken vows, until Ares tells him that both brothers will get married to their loves on the same day in a humungous wedding, Zeus-and-Hera-style:

and that's it. that was my idea for Bittersweet.

How would aphrodite and ares meet? Would their affair have started before the marriage?

Would aphrodite actually love and/or care for hephaestus? At some point

Did hera arrange their wedding

Also loved the zeus x hera piece you shared with us hehehe

@cinematropes glad you liked my zeus x hera moment <333 they will always be my faves,, i've never had to rewrite a scene with them because i always just know exactly who they are and what they would say to each other,,, they're so rent-free to me.

sooo as i wrote for your other ask, no, in Bittersweet, Ares and Aphrodite do not have an affair before the marriage.

actually, Aphrodite has never had a lover ever until she marries Hephaestus because she's basically JUST been "awoken" by Delphin/Poseidon, and then hauled straight to Olympus, and then she gets married.

their meeting is at the same point that Aphrodite meets all the younger Olympians-- prior to this, she has only seen those in Poseidon's kingdom, like Amphitrite and Delphin, etc., and then she meets Zeus and Hera, but that's it.

would Aphrodite actually love Hephaestus? i think she thinks she loves Hephaestus at the start-- again, she's never been in a relationship, she doesn't know better until she meets Ares and that's love. and i think also, there is added pressure on her as a goddess of love to have this sorta perfect relationship-- but being the god of something doesn't mean that the thing is perfect for you all the time. Hera is the goddess of marriage and hers is rickety at best. Aphrodite's just more... attuned to that element. she recognises it in others, she can inspire it at will...

which is probably how she manages to stay with Hephaestus for so long while being with Ares and neither god flips until quite a bit into the story... i wouldn't say she's manipulating them as such, but, she is the goddess of love... it just radiates off her. people can't help but like her.

now, even if she doesn't love Hephaestus. she definitely does care for him. in her mind, not telling him that she loves Ares is her doing good by him-- Hephaestus lives happily with his wife, she still keeps her relationship, no one knows any better. she's not malicious in doing this. she genuinely thinks she's helping Hephaestus.

and even after the relationship falls apart, when both ex-spouses have given each other space and distance, and the wounds are sorta trying to heal, she still talks with him. i think Hephaestus is pretty pivotal in Eros' life-- Ares is not there for the beginning of his son's life (idk if i've ever explained this before, i'll get to it in the next ask)-- and that's because Aphrodite does care for Hephaestus. if she didn't, she wouldn't have let Aglaea marry him.

did Hera arrange the wedding? no, in my story, Hera's pretty against the marriage at first.

Hera's a very instinctual goddess. the moment she sees Aphrodite, she recognises her seductiveness, her ability to attract trouble. she knows it from the get-go. and she doesn't want that for her son, either of them.

but, what Zeus says goes at the end of the day, and she just sorta thinks, better that Aphrodite's with Hephaestus than with Zeus himself. it's not ideal, but it could be worse.

and for what it's worth, Hera does try to warm up to Aphrodite. she doesn't ill treat her. but then when the whole Ares-Aphro-Heph thing goes down, then she gets pretty cold to Aphrodite... she treats her the way she treats most of her step-children-- barely uses her name, hardly looks at her, invitations to events are after-thoughts.

hellooo i think i already answered this ask, but at the time, the actual message wasn't showing up in my inbox, so i just screenshotted it and responded here. but there's another ask in my inbox asking to hear more of my plan from it, so i decided between this post and the next post i answer, i'll sorta just divulge what my intent for the story was.

thank you for showing so much interest in my silly story, i truly never thought it would mean anything to anyone!! and im very sorry for not replying for a whole year, i got employed, i moved away... i just don't usually have any time for this blog anymore :(((

ok so i previously talked about how the first part of the story sees Poseidon/Delphin finding Aphrodite, Zeus inviting her into the Olympian community, Hera gets pissed off, but ultimately trusts in Zeus that Aphrodite wont cause future trouble.

next, Zeus has to figure out wtf to DO with Aphrodite to make sure he can keep his word to Hera.

all the young Olympian males (and Poseidon) immediately want to marry her, and I wrote that even Hades goes a bit red looking at her because there's just something about her that's insanely attractive. and of course, Persephone gets pissed off--- my timeline here is that Persephone and Hades were already married when Aphrodite came to Olympus (they're actually married before Athena's even born, but that's not relevant to this story).

here's the scene i wrote for this.. it's a little bit silly, a little bit funny.

anyways. hades and persephone are actually the REASON why Zeus elects to marry Aphrodite off to Hephaestus-- Persephone was put into the exact same situation when she first came to Olympus (see below for my plan for my Hades x Persephone story):

but all the ruckus immediately calmed down after she actually ends up marrying Hades... she's tucked away in a quiet part of the world, out of the spotlight.

notably, you'll notice a key difference between the two excerpts above-- Hephaestus vies for Persephone's hand but not Aphrodite-- that's because Athena is born between the two events, and she's the one whom Hephaestus really truly genuinely loves for the first time ever, and after he loses a bet with her where he has to promise to stop asking for her hand, he sorta "grows up" and matures, so by the time Aphrodite comes around, he's really not that interested.

and of course. that makes him a prime target for his father, who sees that Hephaestus is the most mature, and he also lives on Lemnos, so Aphrodite will be out of sight, out of trouble, but still have a really good life with his own son. win-win.

now, Aphrodite is GENUINELY happy to marry Hephaestus in my story. she's basically a newborn, she doesn't know much about the world, she only knows that Zeus is King, and she's not going to go upsetting the king. yet. she just wants to be a good, likeable goddess. and Hephaestus is a decent guy. she doesn't love him, but she can make it work.

obviously, a couple months into it, Aphrodite quickly realises that Hephaestus is always busy, always working-- the mortal world is brand-new and needs a lot of attention.

Ares, in typical younger sibling fashion (im a younger sibling so im allowed to say this), is always pestering his older brother Hephaestus for little favours, little modifications to his weapons-- so he's naturally always at Heph's house. but now, Aphrodite's there too. Hephaestus normally isn't at home (becoz work), so now Ares just has to awkwardly talk to attention-starved Aphrodite.

she DOESN'T flirt with him or tempt him or entice him at all. she doesn't have the thought in her head. she's just trying to get along with her brother-in-law. but unfortunately,, love and war are far more alike than love and metalwork so this is what unfolds:

Ares quickly sees how isolated and lonely Aphrodite is getting while his brother goes to the forge, and while he says nothing to Aphrodite, he does bring it up with Hephaestus behind-the-scenes.

and Hephaestus notes it. he apologises to her, and he invites Aphrodite to the forge for the first time ever. it's hot and grimy down there-- not Aphrodite's cup of tea (important because it's the opposite with Aglaea)-- but she's the smiling, supportive wife. she's just glad he's making an effort to include her.

but, it only lasts for so long. they drift apart again, and even worse, Aphrodite starts to notice how Ares seems to get disregarded a LOT because of his war domain. and she starts to feel sorry for him. and then she starts thinking about him. and then it all just sorta spirals into the realisation that they get along so well, so much better than she ever gets along with Hephaestus.

and Ares, always too young for his vote to count for anything, always too violent for his talents to be useful for any project, always too uncouth to be the perfect prince in his father's eyes,,, finally starts to feel some recognition from his sister-in-law. and he feels bad for the way his brother treats her. and then he starts thinking about her a lot. and then it all just spirals out for him too-- he loves her, he loves his brother's wife.

so they start cheating together, becoz obviously that was the only option for them.

now mostly they're happy. but Ares does love Hephaestus, and he feels sooo bad every time he sees Aphrodite. Hawk-eyed Hera notices the extreme ups and downs in Ares' mood and knows exactly what he's been up to, and naturally, she's pissed-- she tells him off, and Ares agrees that he needs to stop. and he begs his mum to not say anything to Hephaestus, and unfortunately Hera agrees because she hopes Ares will do the right thing.

and he tries to!!!!! but Aphrodite is too irresistible. she convinces him they'll be alright together.. she can't lose him, because then she goes back to the reality of her miserable marriage.

SUMMARY: Odysseus, in the disguise of an old beggar, is treated warmly by his pig-herder Eumaeus who informs him of all that has taken place around Ithaca in his absence. Meanwhile, Athena brings Telemachus back to Ithaca where Telemachus finally meets his father, and the two conspire to kill all the suitors. Penelope meets Odysseus as an old man, but unaware of who he truly is, shares with him her own plan to marry the suitor who is able to string Odysseus' bow.

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SUMMARY: In Book XIII, Odysseus finally takes leave of King Alcinous and the Phaeacians, and arrives, at long last, in his homeland Ithaca. Athena meets him on the shore and reveals that it was by her will that Odysseus has survived his troubles. Together, they hatch a plan to restore Odysseus' house to its former glory, starting with Odysseus being transformed into an ugly old beggar so that none may realise that King Odysseus has returned.

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HIIIII DISNEYVAMPS (@cinematropes)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

yes of COURSE i remember you. i actually got your other ask.. but like. it is NOT showing up in my inbox. i can only see the email copy:

i knew as soon as i read the fanart part that it was YOU!!! and you know i actually think about your art sooooo often. i love your art so much it is so good 😭 i would trust you to draw more/the rest of my comic if im being completely serious 😭😭😭

[tumblr] is really bugging out for me because if i search up your blog, i see it. but like. if i search for it on my phone, nothing comes upppp!!! i thought that only happens if you're blocked but you are most certainly NOT blocked for me?!?! so idk. i'm sorry.

anyways. the only pages i got up to were these:

and i started on my design for Delphin, who i envisioned (for drawing convenience) could transform into a dolphin-man thing?

but like. that is literally it. this was from 2021, and the canvas for this page has not changed A BIT!! the art is sooo cringe hahahahahahah ugh which may or may not be part of the reason why i stopped

as for plot ideas. i've sorta dropped bits and pieces of it through my hc list:

Gist of the comic

more background to Aglaea (and her sisters)

i wrote out the entire plot in google docs. and some scenes i had a very clear vision for, so i can drop some of those ig?

this first one is shortly after Poseidon finds Aphrodite. he instructs Hermes to go to Zeus and tell him about Aphrodite and to arrange a meeting with Zeus so that she can be inaugurated as a fully-fledged goddess (each god needs Zeus' blessing to be assigned a domain)... importantly, Hermes isn't supposed to tell anyone EXCEPT Zeus,, but like. he's HERMES!!!

i tried to capture sort of.. the "jealous" side of Athena. the im-gonna-start-the-Trojan-War side of her. and when Apollo says "something witty", it's because i couldn't think of what precisely he should say!

this part is when Zeus and Hera meet Aphrodite. Hera, naturally, hates Aphrodite and she has a little.. not really a fight. but Zeus and Hera have a go at each other:

sorry about the indents... essentially the paragraphs that are indented happen before Aphrodite is named Goddess of Beauty. and the stuff that is not indented happens after Hera finds out!

i have more stuff. this is like. just the first few chapters (there was supposed to be a prologue + 62 chapters + an epilogue in total).

i'd say the first few parts, aren't too different from the lore. but i took some creative liberties towards the end that i REALLY really thought were brilliant... but like. genuinely i had so many ideas for the comic. i don't know where to begin explaining it all.

feel free to ask me about any specific moments in the story that you're interested in.. like. ares and aphrodite meeting... or how hephaestus & aphro even got engaged to begin with. there are side stories too- like Aphrodite learning about who Ouranos is, Hephaestus visiting Helios, and the story of Athena & Hephaestus' "romance" (i did NOT follow canon here. it doesn't suit the story to make Hephaestus unlikeable. and i could not redeem him if he did anything to Athena. so i twisted that myth up to be much more likeable and sorta cute i guess.)

Hades is such a journaler. i know he is.

he makes a point to write for at least 30 mins every day. i think this makes sense because, he IS the god of the dead. there is so much memory in the kingdom of Hades-- some sad, some terrible, some happy, some delightful. and he feels every one of those memories.

so even if he isn't outwardly emotional, i do think he is on the inside.

i think journaling is a great way to keep track of events. to write down the thoughts you have. it's not for anyone else to read, and certainly, i don't think Persephone reads it. but i think Hades does chronicle the events of the day, even if it's just a one line entry saying "3345 BC: Zeus fucked up again."

i also think that the kids tend to stay in the Underworld when Persephone leaves, so being with his children is the best way to cope with being without his wife.

for Persephone, i like the idea that if she burns flowers, the "spirit" of those flowers drifts into the Underworld, so Hades and the kids will randomly see petals falling through one specific part of the Underworld and they'll know that Persephone is standing right above them... thinking about them, missing them.

Demeter's not cruel either. okay at the start, she protected Persephone zealously and didn't want to see hide nor hair of Hades.. but she's warmed up. especially for her grandkids (who are her nieces/nephews also 😬)... she loves those gremlins. she's always working with Dionysus to invent new flavours of wine, and new cakes and yummy fruits for Persephone to bring with her back into the Underworld.. and these are special foods; they're more resilient to the decay of death that lingers in Hades... where most foods just instantly decay, Demeter's harvest will last at least the season before it starts to fade.

He deserves some romanticisizing, you know?

ummm yesss always 😢

ok so (one version of) the lore says that Nephthys disguised herself as Isis in order to sleep with Osiris and in this process, conceived Anubis.. and then Set found out that Anubis wasn't really his and he got pissed and killed everyone.

i don't like the idea that Nephthys ever cheated. it doesn't contribute anything useful to the story... so imo Anubis IS Set's son 100%... he's not Osiris' at all (i mean cmon... have you seen Set and Anubis?? they look like father and son).

but that doesn't mean that Anubis and Osiris don't have a relationship!!

so. in my timeline, Nephthys sends Anubis to live with Isis when he's an infant (becoz she's scared of Set etc etc and Set is fresh from killing Osiris and taking over). he has no recollection of either Nephthys or Set.

so naturally, Anubis adores the only constant god in his life, Isis. she's his hero. she's what a god is to a mortal man. and so, of course, the love that Isis has for Osiris (that she regularly talks about while she raises Anubis and Horus), it gets imprinted on Anubis.

Anubis grows up with great reverence for Osiris. but he doesn't actually know who Osiris is. they've never met.

now.... no one (except for Isis) has even seen Osiris since Set gave him the axe (literally lol)... because now Osiris is in the Duat, ruling, and he is not allowed to leave there unless he is summoned by The Council (i.e., the Ennead) (something i made up lol).

so, when the Contendings go down, that's the first time that Anubis (and Horus) meet Osiris... because Osiris emerges from the Duat to lecture the Ennead on their indecisiveness.

and you know what? he is sorta just as great as Isis always made him out to be. he's the rare case of "never meet your idols" being completely wrong. he's the real deal.

since Isis sees Anubis as her own son, so Osiris immediately accepts Anubis as his own son too. there is no question about it. he's the boy that his wife has loved and nourished... so why should he disagree? sure, he's the son of the guy who killed him brutally... but the sins of the father aren't the sins of the son in Osiris' mind.

now, post-Contendings, Set leaves with Ra on his redemption arc and this pisses the hell out of Anubis because deep down, he WANTS a relationship with his Dad and he sees Set leaving with Ra as a cop out-- he doesn't have to face any real consequences.

and i think Osiris recognises that.

but he's already made the mistake of missing the signs of jealousy and anger in Set, so he decides not to repeat that mistake with Anubis.

so he gives Anubis a promotion... an extremely honourable one-- he becomes guardian of the dead (fitting since he dedicates his life to protecting Osiris' widow) and receives the task of weighing the hearts of the dead (again, fitting because he is so righteous as a character and has a strong moral compass). and Nephthys was also involved with the embalming process, so it's sort of like Anubis' inheritance.

anyways. so Osiris is the one who personally invites Anubis to join him in the Duat. to become a god of the Underworld.

i think Anubis is shocked at first. he fully expects Osiris to hate his guts because of his association with Set. but then he accepts, eagerly. he wants to prove himself. Horus already had his turn when he contended with Set. now it's Anubis' time.

Osiris is super good to Anubis. he's like a second dad.

he gives him constructive feedback, not too critical, not too sugar-coated.

he actually makes dad-jokes (which Set rarely does).

Osiris is probably the first to pick up on the blossoming romance happening between Anubis and Anput... and he never tries to force Anubis into admitting anything but like... he knows. he hints at it sometimes, like telling Anubis about a secret garden in the far corners of the Duat that is completely beautiful but also guaranteed to not have anyone else walking through it... y'know. hints.

omgggg you haven't specified anyone in particular so can i pls use this opportunity to rant about Kronos, Prometheus, and Zeus?? that's like uncle-nephew, father-son, AND brotherly... it's a 3 for 1.

OKAY. so pre-reading for these hc's is my titan hc's megapost especially Kronos' section.

essentially, i had this idea that, before he went completely LOOPY... Kronos was actually... a great guy. kind, generous, loving... in particular, even though he never though of mortal men as anything fantastic,, he did believe that... as God-King, it was his duty to protect them. to protect ALL living things.

now. in my timeline, Prometheus was born shortly after Kronos kills off Ouranos... he's not the first child of the titans (Oceanus and Tethys were soooo "busy" lmao), but because Kronos and Iapetus (Prometheus' dad) were so tight... he's sort of the first real nephew for Kronos.

he's the little kid who is always hanging around the palace. and Kronos ADORES him!!!!!!!!! he's a good kid with a bit of mischief up his sleeve--- basically a mini-Kronos, or at least, how he used to be as a kid himself.

so... even though Prometheus is not Kronos' own son... he treats him as if he is.

on his birthday, Kronos will have the whole palace erupt with colourful fireworks... there will be singing.. dancing... the finest banquet you could possibly ask for. and it's like that basically every year.

Iapetus is a prankster himself, but having to raise a bunch of children, he's sorta slowed down. he doesn't enjoy pranks being played on him. not to worry though--- Kronos is child-free (this is before Hestia has even been conceived) and carefree... and he has the perfect partner-in-crime for shenanigans; Prometheus.

so, uncle-and-nephew are always causing a ruckus for Iapetus.

after Kronos starts to recognise that he CANNOT have any children because Ouranos' prophecy says that they'll depose the Titans (and Kronos loves his siblings too much for that to happen),, i think he starts to envision Prometheus as his heir.

they are sooo likeminded. he gives Prometheus special rights... the privilege to sit at his table. the privilege to give advise on strategy even though he is so young and has no experience at all.... because those things will set Prometheus up to be a great King.

see, Kronos is not hogging the throne for himself, he never intended to rule forever... he just couldn't let his own blood sit on the throne. but someone else's son? it could work.

Prometheus never wants the throne, actually. i'm not even sure he knows of Kronos' intentions for him. but he loves his uncle. he loves being in the palace. he loves walking through their domain and seeing the "lesser" creatures. he learns from Kronos to have a desire to protect them, but on his own, he learns to love them for their uniqueness, their fleetingness. it's so beautiful to him as an immortal.

now, enter Zeus. when Zeus comes, it marks the beginning of the next stage of Prometheus' life. he's suspected Kronos' insanity for a long time, and Zeus is now the proof of it.

even though he loves Kronos, he loves the world that Kronos has created even more and he knows that the right thing to do is to depose of Kronos and make Zeus the king.

so Prometheus and Zeus start to spend time together in the months approaching their takeover. Prometheus is older than Zeus and he's had royal training in the art of war. he's not as good as Oceanus' daughter Metis, but between the two of them, they train Zeus; and he's a quick study.

when they're not training, Prometheus and Zeus develop a quick friendship. it's as if they are brothers. both of them have such a strong sense of justice and commitment.

Zeus has no doubt that Prometheus will be his right-hand man when they win.

both envision a future that is peaceful and free from terror.

but they never hash out the details. and Zeus has a broader perspective than Prometheus-- he accepts that some lives will be lost, and that not all can be saved. Prometheus is more naive; he wants to save everything.

i think this difference in thinking is what makes Zeus a more appropriate king-- he's more logical. he's willing to make the tough decisions.

now, when Zeus becomes King, he wipes out the Golden Age of Men that Kronos created. he does this as a "cleanse"-- a clean state. no reminders of Kronos. Prometheus doesn't like this, but he sees Zeus' reasoning and accepts, especially because Zeus promises a better life for them-- they won't be dependent on the King's good graces, they will have minds of their own to think, they will be able to work.. to live their own individual lives (which is not something they did as such under Kronos).

these new men are the Silver Age of Men. but when Typhon is unleashed, Zeus chooses his battle strategy plan in a way that results in many of the Silver Men dying; they're just fodder. and it is not clear to Prometheus whether this was an accident or purposeful intent on Zeus' part.

so things begin to sour between Zeus and Prometheus.

Prometheus is mindful of the madness that runs in Zeus' blood... he wonders whether he is turning into Kronos 2.0.

Zeus thinks Prometheus is getting hooked up on small details. he wonders whether Prometheus is yearning for the days of the Titans,, when he was the golden heir (Zeus has pieced together from Prometheus' loving recounts of his time in Kronos' palace pre-insanity that Kronos meant for bigger things for Prometheus, even if Prometheus is unwilling to acknowledge this himself). he wonders if Prometheus is envious of the throne.

and so, paranoia starts to brew between the two who were once as brothers.

still, Zeus tries to have peace. he allows Prometheus to craft the next age of men, the Bronze Age. this is different to the previous two ages where it was Zeus and Kronos who made them-- now it's Prometheus' chance. and Prometheus loves it. it was what he was always meant to do.

now, of course, we know the story of Prometheus learning that the men must make sacrifices to the gods, and to make it more economical, he plays a trick on Zeus to establish a new standard for sacrifices. and Zeus does not take kindly to this at all.

i think this is the tipping point. all of the paranoia and anger that has been brewing between Zeus and Prometheus comes to a head-- they fight, they say things they don't really mean. and they do it in front of everyone.

in the middle of the court-- Prometheus unleashes his fury at Zeus, complains of his disrespect for the creatures he is supposed to protect.. he accidentally says that Zeus is just as bad as Kronos, perhaps worse.... and that's Zeus' greatest fear, isn't it? that he'll be just like his dad.

so Zeus fights back with the only way he can; he exiles his friend, his brother... makes him suffer... makes him sit on a mountaintop in agony while an eagle eats his liver but the true punishment is that Prometheus is watching over the village he made... watching Zeus torment them day-by-day, and he is powerless to stop them. when the Deluge comes, Prometheus watches his men drown, he hears them crying for help. and he can do nothing.

the only way to come back from this point is... time. and luckily, they're gods. they have all the time in the world. hundreds of years pass before Zeus, who has now been so involved with humanity that he has begun to understand what it was Prometheus loved in them so much, sends his son Heracles to free Prometheus from the mountain and rejoin Olympus.

and Prometheus has spent far too much time on the mountaintop, contemplating, thinking, that like Zeus, he now sees a much bigger picture-- he still loves humanity, but he also learns to appreciate the gods that he lives alongside as well. so when he returns to Zeus, he does not bear anger. he forgives him.

UM YEAH !

okay, necessary pre-reading for this hc list: the lettuce incident 🥬

content summary: Osiris was Baldr-levels of adored by the rest of the pantheon because he was just a supremely lovely and kind-hearted person, and Set (who was always a little prone to violence) always thought that that made Osiris WEAK and unfit to rule properly.

i'm envisioning the kind of world where gods live amongst humans, as their rulers, but still on the same earth (unlike, say, the Olympians who live in Olympus far above Greece and only sometimes visit to do a little chicanery).

now, even though the gods are much more powerful than mortal men, there are other threats to mortal and immortal civilisation alike; demons and monsters and other foul creatures. some probably have twisted the hearts of mortal men to serve them, thus expanding their force. and their goal is always to take Egypt from the gods and drown the world in darkness and chaos.

so, the gods have to battle these people and take an active part in the lives of their creations... and Set, being a war god, is very much a battle commander, and he's always in the heat of the battle not far away giving orders-- he's actually fighting. so he knows what the war is like, and hence why he has no faith in diplomacy, only absolute death for his enemies.

OKAY. so that's the premise that leads to Set slowly hating Osiris and plotting against him but what happened BEFORE? what about when they were kids?

i honestly think they were all super close-- Osiris, Isis, Set, Nephthys (that's the age order i imagine).

personality wise, Osiris had a little bit of an ego. he's a little cheeky, but very loving and honest... not malicious.

i think Set wasn't malicious either, but he was a bit... darker. Osiris' idea of a prank is jumping out from behind a wall is saying "BOO!" whereas Set's idea of a prank is chopping someone's hair off... so you know.. it's a bit more serious.

but even with those discrepancies, Set and Osiris spent a lot of time together and really loved each other. as brothers do. i think they were always pushing each other to be better.... they're basically what i envision Anubis and Horus to be like.

i think when they start getting older though, Geb starts preparing Osiris for his role as King (he's the oldest after all).. and that means Osiris starts spending less and less time wit his family. with Set.

for Osiris' part: he's never been all that keen on being King... he sees Set with his sisters, with his friends, and wishes he was with them.

for Set's part: he loves leading others into battle... he sees Osiris with Geb, learning from their father about what it is to be the protector of the people... and Set loves his father soooo much... he is his role model! and Set wishes he was in Osiris' place.

so... i think their childhood was solid.. but in their teenage-young adult years, the relationship starts to sour. and Osiris tries to save it... he does! he is always inviting Set into his palace, always telling him to be seated at the right-hand of his table like he's a second King.

but i think as Set's heart darkens, he cannot see the kindness in what his brother does, he can only interpret it as Osiris boasting of his birthright.

Osiris isn't perfect either. i think there are definitely times during his reign where he chose passivity when he should have chose action, so there are definitely parts of Egypt that were lost during Osiris' reign, even though in general, people loved him....

i think sometimes Osiris underestimates Set. he starts thinking that Set is a little too war-obsessed... as he gets older, Set's opinions start having less weight to him. and Set knows that. so that contributes to the tension.

okay and then we have the ✨lettuce incident ✨ which i already wrote before.

what about AFTER the incident?

well... i think being with Ra really cleanses Set of his jealousy. he begins to understand Osiris better and, seeing as how both brothers now ascend to much much greater roles than merely King of Egypt (Osiris now presides over the Dead, and Set aids the mighty Ra against Apep)... i think both of them are able to see a bigger picture. they forgive each other.