[Video; Open] 03 Shadows [Dated August 2nd]

[fell_to_hell]

[Nico opens up a video on the Locket for the first time since the memory-sharing incident. He still looks like he’s going to be sick, and is still tired from his summoning the dead stint during the battle a few days ago. At least he’s more alert and not fighting to keep his lunch down today.]

I wanted to share at least one story from my world, gods know there are plenty to tell, and I had some…encouragement.

[He looks off to the side to give an annoyed look at a certain someone who happens to be in the room with him. That someone happens to be Jason Grace, son of Jupiter and moral support extraordinaire.]

Also...when I’m done, I suppose I’ll answer any questions people have regarding my powers. I don’t know if I’ll be able to answer all of them, but I can try.

[Within reason. He’s not about to give away his weaknesses to potential enemies.]

First, I should probably say something about the gods in our world. There are twelve “major” gods, though technically it’s fourteen, but only twelve reside on Mount Olympus, the home of the gods. It’s where their seats of power are. The other “minor” gods go wherever they please, though not a lot of them live in Olympus.

There are two cultures in our world who have the same gods, but with different names and personalities. Mine is Greek, and the other is Roman. Jason and I can hash out the differences between them if you want to know more.

[Jason is their only Roman demigod, at the moment, so...yeah. And Nico is a mythology nerd, so he’s got the rest definitely covered.]

Anyway, this story is a kind of popular one at home. Well, one version of it is, at least.

[Nico looks vaguely annoyed.]

Mostly, it’s mistranslating and a bit of another religion getting in the way of the actual story. Plus, the story is told more in sympathy with one goddess than the other, so the view is a little skewed because of it.

[He shakes his head. He knows he’s stalling. Nico sits back and gets comfortable.]

There was a goddess named Persephone, goddess of flowers and fertile vegetation. She was the daughter of Demeter, goddess of agriculture and a very over-protective mom to boot, and Zeus, Lord of the Sky, King of the Gods...who was, and still is, married to Hera, goddess of marriage and Queen of the Heavens. Yes, Zeus does this a lot.

[It’s really ironic and hilarious that Zeus has two kids who are either very faithful to their lover or have sworn off of love and lust altogether, one of whom lets out a groan at that whole description.]

Don’t remind me.

[Nico rolls his eyes.]

It’s your daily reminder that your dad is…[A man-slut? Player? Stereotypical hotshot jock from high school with absolutely no control over his raging hormones?] ...like he is.

[That’s polite enough. Right?]

Anyway. So. A couple of other gods try to get with Persephone, like Hermes, god of travelers, thieves, roads, other things, and Apollo, god of the sun, prophecy, medicine, music, and poetry. Well, Demeter wants absolutely none of this, and she fights off all of Persephone’s suitors tooth-and-nail because she doesn’t want her to be with anyone Demeter feels isn’t good enough.

One day, Hades, god of the Underworld, Lord of the Dead, chanced upon her and fell in love with her. He met with her in the guise of a mortal shepherd ‘cause...well. He’s the Lord of the Dead. He’s very recognizable and he doesn’t want trouble with Demeter, who will without a doubt stomp her foot down and say no to him courting her daughter.

[And probably because daddy-dearest was shy around a pretty lady. It apparently runs in the family. (minus the “lady” part) (shut up Jason nobody likes a smartass)

Nico is also starting to animate as he tells the story at this point. Talking about mythology does that to him. Normally, his gestures are close to his body when he talks, but as he starts to get into telling the story, his gestures become bigger to show off that excitement. He likes telling Greek mythology to people who’ll listen, and this is honestly a really good outlet for him.]

Soooo...he gets the super amazing idea to ask Zeus for advice. He responds in very typical Zeus fashion, and that’s to say he suggests kidnapping her to the Underworld. [Another quiet groan from Jason and he flops back on the bed, covering his face. Somehow, godly parents manage to be a thousand times more embarrassing than mortal ones. Nico seems amused by Jason’s antics.] Annnnd Hades goes with that because it’s the best he’s got. He rips open the earth, kidnaps Persephone on his black chariot, and they go down to his palace in the Underworld.

Here’s where things start getting...weird, depending on the version you hear. There’s a hymn that details Demeter’s reaction to this whole thing. Her despair at losing her daughter makes the earth wither. Crops are failing, famine is spreading all across Greece, and the people have never had this happen to them before. All of a sudden, the people were experiencing winter when all they’d ever known was summer. Helios, the former sun god, took pity on her and told her that Hades, with permission from Zeus, had taken Persephone away to the Underworld to be his wife. Demeter storms up to Olympus and demands that Zeus get her daughter back. He tells her he can’t, so she leaves Greece in response.

[Not that anybody can blame her, to be honest, but at the same time...lots of mortals dying….]

Meanwhile, in the Underworld, and this is the part of the story not many people know about, Persephone is angry and Hades is just kinda. Showering her with gifts because he really is sincere about it all, even if the whole kidnapping thing is pretty much the worst way to make a first impression. She’s very unimpressed at first, but his sincerity and sorta awkward flattery makes her fond of him.

[Nico shrugs at this point. Gods in love, man. Makes a better soap opera than most mortals can create.]

Eventually, after the mortals plead for Zeus to help them, he actually decides to answer them and begs Demeter to try and come back. She refuses, of course, so he goes to Hades and demands that he release Persephone. Pretty much all like, “Look, little brother, I know I promised you could totally have Persephone as your wife, but we need her back, now, before Demeter starves us all, okay?”

[...okay, yes, there’s a touch of sass in there. At least Zeus isn’t here to rumble thunder in his general direction. Just a son of Jupiter. Who, to his credit, isn’t gonna argue with that sass at all. Dad’s kind of a dick.]

Hades agrees to let Persephone go, but the two then decide to pull one over on the other two gods because who says deities can’t be spiteful? He tells her that eating food from the Underworld means you can’t ever leave, so Persephone grows a pomegranate tree somewhere in there and eats some of the seeds. Hermes takes her back to the realm of the living, and Demeter’s happy which causes the plants and everything to grow again. Winter breaks and now comes spring and summer again. However, she’s quick to realize that Persephone has eaten food from the Underworld, and tells her daughter that they can only meet for half a year because of it. The other half will have to be spent in the Underworld with her husband. And that’s the story of how there are seasons. When Persephone is visiting her mother, the world will come alive again with spring and summer, but when she’s down in the Underworld with Hades, the earth will wither for autumn and winter.

[Nico sits back, kind of taking a short break from all that talking. Long story, and there are some that are even longer, like Odysseus’ tale. Anyway, who even knew that the Lord of the Dead is actually a cutie?]

So...yeah. That’s one story from Greek culture. [He glances over at Jason.] Maybe you can convince this guy to tell you some Roman stories. If he’s done being totally mortified by his dad’s antics and general jerkiness.

[His voice still muffled beneath the hands covering his face, Jason still seems fairly mortified.]

Dude, shut up.

[There’s wicked amusement in Nico’s eyes. Ask the demigods questions and they will see about answering them!]

{OOC: Blue is Jason, black is Nico! You'll be getting both 'cause Jason will pipe in whenever he pleases, haha. Also, for those newly accepted, please feel free to tag into this if you want!}

Comments

[truesight]

[ let it be known that Rachel is really, really stoked to see Nico just- around, in general. no more hiding. it's an awesome thing. she knows better than to say that, but she's thinking it. however, she's not afraid to tease him at least a little bit, just- not about that, at all ]

I think that's the most I've ever heard you talk about anything ever, Nico di Angelo. I like it, I like this side of you. How can we get more of this side of you? Weekly story time? Can that be a thing?

[fell_to_hell]

[Nico has decided to not hide from the people who he sees caring about him, at least. He'll run from everyone else, though.

He does roll his eyes at her teasing, but he's honestly glad to know that Rachel does genuinely want to continue talking to him. Nico's well aware he's been rude.]

Greek myths are seriously long, Miss Oracle. They exercise your voice box no matter what you do. At least I didn't start with the Odyssey or Iliad. We'd be here forever, and there's no way I can recite those stories like Homer can.

[Yes Nico sincerely likes Homer. Sue him.]

Weekly seems too much. Bi-weekly or bi-monthly maybe. Depends on what happens during the month.

Video;

[thenameofscreen]

[She loved hearing this story and she listened to every bit of it with rapt attention. This is the first she's heard about Greek mythology and she thinks she wants more. A lot more. But first-

Have this orange-skinned girl buzzing in.]

I have the questions, if I may please?

Video;

[fell_to_hell]

[What the Styx is with all these people having odd colored something? He'll chalk it down to Other World Things for now.]

Go ahead and ask. Hopefully I can answer them...or Jason might.

video.

[illuminating]

[ Well, she had intended to merely observe, her interest being caught by how poor his health looks. She doesn't always try to communicate, but she at least tries to be aware, if she isn't snagged by some other distraction, silly or otherwise.

She ends up staying for the story, however. It's of great interest to her—learning about gods from other worlds, that she isn't as intimately familiar with.

So, wolf and paper with flowing across in its mouth for the two boys in the locket's screen at the end of it. ]

the gods in your world sound like quite a handful [ As if she's never stolen someone's cooking supper before. ... At least, that's not as bad as some of that sounded? ]

is that jason i hear?

video.

[oursavinggrace]

[oh look, it's his favorite wolf. casually threadjacking to offer ammy a wave and a smile.]

Yeah, it is. Hey.

Video;

[showmeyourwreath]

[Okay, so Flora is following along quite closely, perking up at mentions of flowers and vegetation especially, obviously, but then her faces get progressively more incredulous.]

Wait, wait just a moment, so Zeus consented to having his own daughter kidnapped?!

[And there're just. So many things. She's glad to learn, as ever, but SO MANY THINGS!

But she probably shouldn't comment at length. This is royalty, which immediately commands respect--usually--but more importantly, someone's father. A someone who's right here. So, she won't be r]

Well, that's...something.

Video;

[oursavinggrace]

Zeus isn't really "Dad of the Year" material.

[seriously, you should hear some of the other stories about him.]

Besides, Hades is Zeus's brother, so technically he kidnapped and married his own niece.

[mesmerism]

[ Piper is right there with Rachel on this one: who knew Nico could talk so much? And to a whole group of people, strangers too? It's incredible, and Piper's smiling when she turns on the video. ]

Great story, Nico. Jason, don't interrupt next time.

[ Because he did that so much, right? ]

I've always liked that story except, yeah, kidnapping a woman is not the way to go with inviting someone over.

[oursavinggrace]

[you are the meanest girlfriend gosh.]

Then next time, we can tell an awkward Aphrodite story and see how well you manage to keep quiet about it.

[waterbearer]

So then, in your world, Homer's tales recount true events.

[ Which is sorta slightly almost the same except not entirely. ]

Then you would also know the history of Atlantis. [ Which, tbh, history like that would be, uh, kinda cool. Just to see where it differs and stuff. ]

[fell_to_hell]

[Color Nico intrigued. He sits up a touch straighter, a flicker of curiosity in his dark brown eyes.]

A little more eloquently than any demigod can tell you, but yeah, for the most part. Poseidon's Palace is the closest I've heard of an Atlantis in our modern day, but don't quote me on that.

[ video ]

[greenies]

[ someone's still learning how to use his locket--it sways for a second before thomas cups the dumb thing in his hands, settling on a pair of big brown eyes before eventually opening up to his full face. ]

You guys really believe in gods and goddesses where you're from? [ so far, thomas is getting the hint that maybe people are in fact from different worlds--places where things aren't just ending. it's kind of a weird concept, one he hasn't quite wrapped his head around, but thomas is the man of one thousand questions and he's going to ask them no matter what. ]

[ video ]

[fell_to_hell]

[There's a glint in Nico's eyes at "believe."]

Not believe so much as know. We've met them, and our heritage comes from them. Jupiter is Jason's dad, and Hades is mine. Monsters from the Greek myths are also just as real, and they're attracted to the scent of demigods. The more aware we are of the Greek myths, the more attractive we smell to them.

video;

[boutant]

[ chinhands tbh ]

I've always liked that story.

video;

[fell_to_hell]

[Ariadne has just gotten 100 brownie points immediately for this comment.]

It's a shame not many do. Any gods loyal to Demeter hate the children of Hades and Pluto because of this whole thing.

voice. private.

[orcsurfing]

[ When the feed opens it begins with bright laughter and not just a single voice, three other accompany Legolas's own. The dryads who insist, now that they're all comfortable with all those he travels with, on being around him at all times. Fiercely protective end-ladies, yet most of the time - much like Legolas himself - they love fun, they love laughter and singing and stories. So when they only caught the wind of this, they too listened together with him.

There was four of them listening on this side! And four of them now laughing to certain degrees. ]

You make a great story teller, Nico, your enjoyment of it paints such a vivid and fascinating picture.

[ It's a genuine compliment too! Without an ounce of mockery to it. ]

The story itself was very sweet as well, so very different from what I know.

voice. private.

[fell_to_hell]

[Gods of the Underworld help his soul. It's almost a shame he doesn't have a hoodie to bury his face into. Become one with his inner turtle.]

Ahh...thank you. I've always loved reading about these stories...even if some of them really aren't very kind.

[Okay, di Angelo, let's turn this away from the compliments so that you don't embarrass yourself more than you have already!]

Do you have one that's similar?

video.

[mixcds]

[You had him at Hades. It's a siren call, somehow. He listens closely, remembering this story vaguely from school. He thinks he might have gone looking on his own - GSCE history couldn't have been this interesting.

He's got a question, when he starts up his video. He's all pale skin, veins bruised purple across his face, eyes yellowed and almost starburst. He hasn't had his shot yet; he forgets, sometimes, that he always looks deader before it. He opens up the video ready to ask a question, but backtracks and:]

Did you just say Zeus is your friends dad?

video.

[fell_to_hell]

[Nico frowns in a little concern when he sees Kieran.]

Well, technically it's Jupiter. Jupiter isn't nearly as...bad. Still cheats on Juno, of course, but still not as bad as he is in Greek mythology. The Greek and Roman myths are essentially true in our world. Monsters, gods, giants, and the heroes in those stories...all of them are real.

[He hesitates before asking:]

Are you alright?

[invernale]

[ Even if Harry's heard a version or two of this story before, he listens quietly and thoughtfully. Myths are important to wizards; they're stories, and sometimes there's truth to them, and sometimes there isn't. Even if there isn't, they have power in them that people have given them over all the tellings. ]

Even if it's a bit of a weird love story, it's still a nicer way of explaining the change in seasons. Lacks the whole tension of two armies going to battle.

[fell_to_hell]

[Nico tilts his head to the side.]

Honestly, it's one of the rare nicer Greek stories. A lot of them end in tragedy or it's bittersweet. Your seasons change because two armies go to battle?

[nobleminded]

[The story mention caught his attention. After hearing it all though, he's a bit unimpressed by some of the details. There were stories in their culture about holy beings falling in love with mortals, but someone being a child of one made it sound more to him like these "gods" were mortals as well. Elliot's just going with that opinion right off the bat.]

The leaders of your country consider themselves to be gods? How full of themselves are they?

[fell_to_hell]

[He is amused by this.]

Nah, they don't consider themselves gods...though, I won't lie, they're amazingly full of themselves. The gods themselves aren't leaders of our country, though.

[Although Zeus would totally love people to think he is.]

Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon govern their own spheres of influence, though Zeus is overall king. The mortals, however, are in charge of their own matters...for the most part. Some gods and spirits like to mess around with mortals, either having children with them or pulling pranks on them or just...causing some terrible tragedies for them.

video;

[goldsickness]

[ One could say Thorin does not care overly much for the tales of others, yet when he begins listening to this one, it proves to be engaging and in turn, he feels rather curious to see its end. The strangest manners in which other worlds come to be intrigue him, and this one is indeed an odd one.

The birth of seasons from the broken heart of a mother. It seems almost unreal to him. But then again, stories of how his own world came to be would seem that same way to others. ]

And you... are the son of a god?

video

[devotedqueen]

[After the chaos of the last few weeks, Elincia is enjoying this sort of storytime. She's always enjoyed listening to legends, heroic or otherwise, and stories about gods is no exception]

Your gods certainly sound like a handful.