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Archive of our Own: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HyacinthMemorial
I’m in love with Greek Mythology right now, so that’s what I’m writing about. Currently posting my story Forgotten Age on AO3, where it shall remain.
I write these stories for fun, not for finance, so you should never have to pay to read my work. But, if you like my stories, let me know! I love reading comments and polite criticism.
That story is 18+ so please be aware of that distinction. My content is really not for anyone under that age, and it contains many dark themes and images based on Greek Mythology.
I like discussing Greek Mythology too and posting my overwhelming emotions about things I read or think about, but I’m not really an expert on anything. I don’t have a degree in classics or humanities, and I work in healthcare for my day job. Somehow, those two things intersect in my mind frequently. I’m an EMT working on my nursing degree, and I work in an Emergency Department where I get an interesting look at the sad state of the “American Healthcare”system.
Apollo is the main character of my story, but all the gods feature at some point in my mythology retellings.
Just imagining the physique of an elf who’s lived a couple thousand years of running up and down literal trees, fighting and clambering around… that’s got to be quite something.
The tallness, corded muscles stretched across long bones, someone who looks lanky only because he’s so tall, but taken altogether, Legolas would be terribly strong and frightfully capable.
“Tall as a young tree” signifies uncommon height.
Tolkien explicitly states that he is “immensely strong” and could draw a great war-bow with ease and speed.
This guy would be such a mind-bender to try and figure out, because at first glance you might think he’s just a tall, lean dude. He’s a fair elf, and maybe he looks a little dainty at the first glance. But the proportions just serve an illusion. He’s big, but he’s also very fast. But not only is he fast, he is very strong. Faster than such a big guy should be. He’s not a broad tank of a being, he doesn’t have the powerful and broad dimensions of a hefty strongman or a stout and strong dwarf, but he is strong enough to do demanding tasks that require great strength at startling speeds with that deceptive physique.
He’s too big, he shouldn’t be able to move that fast, no man could ever be that big and move that fast… but also, you can’t hear him either! He should be clomping around like a horse with all those bones and muscles to haul around, but he’s light-footed and you would never hear him coming. In order to be that strong, he’s got to be heavy right? It’s got to slow him down, right? Except it doesn’t. It’s like none of it weighs him down at all.
You don’t really realize the dimensions of this guy and how scary he could actually be until you get real close. And then you realize he’s huge. He’s tall. He’s got muscles that work to make all the insane things he does look easy. He walks like none of this weighs him to the ground at all. His bow would humble the greatest bowman among humanity, and he makes it look like child’s play to draw over and over again. There’s such presence to him that you should at least be able to hear him coming, because you’d hear any man that tall and strong coming towards you. But you don’t.
He should be scary, with all these things added up…
But he smiles and laughs easily, he sings to himself as he does things, he talks to kings and lords and peasants and children all the same. He acts like a Most Normal Guy, except he’s generally quite cheerful as well in the middle of terrible happenings.
And then you learn his father is a king. The last Elvenking left in this world. He is his son and heir.
And you would never know, because he never says it for himself.
You only learn because someone else says it out loud.
“Oh yes! That’s Legolas of the Woodland Realm, one of the Fellowship of the Ring, son of the last Elvenking!”
This towering, uncanny, fair creature is one of the most powerful people in Middle Earth, and you would never know beyond the hint of his physical strength and presence. His focus is not on himself, always reaching outward to his friends. He is not prideful in his own power, but concerned with the people around him.
Looking only at him, you would be charmed and unnerved in tandem, because he is so very tall and strongly-built, and also humbly pleasant and cheery.
“average person eats 3 spiders a year” factoid actualy just statistical error. average person eats 0 spiders per year. Spiders Georg, who lives in cave & eats over 10,000 each day, is an outlier adn should not have been counted
This time, we’re delving into Artemis’ perspective and her feelings about Apollo, her twin brother who used to be a sunshine boy but returned completely different after their mother’s death.
After a misunderstanding, Artemis accidentally sees something she wasn’t supposed to, and her worldview crumbles.
Things are really starting to unravel, and it only gets more complicated from here on out. As always, @hyacinthusmemorial and I would appreciate if you checked out the story we co-wrote together.
Mind the tags, author’s note and warnings. Happy reading!
I’d like to take a moment to highlight something specific about this chapter, and how it’s written. Artemis is blind to her brother’s inner dark turmoil, she knows he is not the brother from her childhood, but she doesn’t have all the facts. I think they have realistic issues, especially for kids who have gone through something terrible.
This story is about the things that drive people apart and the things that bring us back together.
Artemis’s POV is limited. She’s not a perfect person, she doesn’t react how we want her to react, she reacts how she would react. This is a teenage girl, who doesn’t know why she doesn’t get along with her brother.
I'm very excited to say that I am now posting Of Stone and Clay, a Hyacinthus/Apollo story. It's the sequel to my story Of Lion and Larkspur, and it is the beginning of a sort of saga within my series about the relationship of Hyacinthus and Apollo throughout the years of their marriage as they explore what it means to love. This story also discusses some of Apollo's most meaningful relationships, such as his relationship with his son Asclepius.
Chapter 2 & 3 are now posted! Excerpt below, warnings for gore and a god murdering someone who hurt his child.
“Call me Paean,” the boy said, and before Teleclus’s very eyes, he grew into an older boy.
He had a bow on his back, arrows slung in a quiver, and he stood before Teleclus, and said, “Close your eyes, my son.”
Teleclus obeyed, shutting his eyes, and clasping his hands together as the god went into the house—he heard the screaming, the wailing, and he always wondered what Apollo had done to the master. He saw it not as it happened, but he knew their deaths were not easy, a plague spreading out to the rest of the house, even the dogs behind him started vomiting, whining, and he realized later what it meant to be loved by a god—it meant vengeance, it meant destruction on your behalf.
A hand slid along his cheek, and that melodic voice said, “Keep them closed.”
He felt arms slide under his, and he was picked up, set on the hip of his father.
“I am sorry it took so long,” the voice said into his ear.
Teleclus disobeyed though as they left. He opened his eyes, and he never forgot what he saw in the courtyard of his old master: the bodies, the red blood painting the stones. His master hung by a rope from the house itself—blood all over his body.
“A plague has come to this house,” the voice of his father said, “They will know they have displeased the gods.”
Teleclus later wondered if that was what his father wanted him to believe or what his father wanted to believe, but he never did hate what had been done to that man.
They were a decent walk away when he was set down on the ground, a hand on his as they walked away.
“Where are we going?” Teleclus asked, looking up at the golden-haired boy.
“I am taking you to a good home,” the boy said, “Where caring hands and gentle voices reign, not screams and punches. You will be safe there, this I promise you.”
Teleclus nodded, and he looked up at the boy, “Are you truly my father?”
I'm very excited to say that I am now posting Of Stone and Clay, a Hyacinthus/Apollo story. It's the sequel to my story Of Lion and Larkspur, and it is the beginning of a sort of saga within my series about the relationship of Hyacinthus and Apollo throughout the years of their marriage as they explore what it means to love. This story also discusses some of Apollo's most meaningful relationships, such as his relationship with his son Asclepius.
My new favorite category of Apollo is him arguing with death—its giving enemies flirting and I’m here for it. It’s a little different from how I portray it in my stories, they’re a little softer with each other, but the essence is the same. Apollo bartering with death for life, putting himself at risk as an Olympian being so close to Death itself for the sake of a man and his wife.
This plays a huge part in the work I’m going to release soon, which I’m very excited about.
Here’s the source for the pic: https://classics.mit.edu/Euripides/alcestis.html
<!--quoteTitle> by Euripides, part of the Internet Classics Archive
My new favorite category of Apollo is him arguing with death—its giving enemies flirting and I’m here for it. It’s a little different from how I portray it in my stories, they’re a little softer with each other, but the essence is the same. Apollo bartering with death for life, putting himself at risk as an Olympian being so close to Death itself for the sake of a man and his wife.
This plays a huge part in the work I’m going to release soon, which I’m very excited about.
Here’s the source for the pic: https://classics.mit.edu/Euripides/alcestis.html
<!--quoteTitle> by Euripides, part of the Internet Classics Archive
Hera discovers Apollo is missing. This leads to more than one devastating revelation and forces Hera to question everything she thought she knew about her troubled son.
This chapter is a major turning point in the overall story, and @hyacinthusmemorial and I have been really excited to share it! Mind the tags, warnings and author’s note. Happy reading!
I could probably wax on and on about Hera in this story, but I'll just say this -- she's not a cartoon villain. I think that's important, so if you want Hera trying to be a good mom and facing really intricate situations, this chapter might be for you.
Hera, tortured by the beauty of Ganymede, and with the soul-consuming sting of jealousy in her heart, once spoke thus:
"Troy gave birth to a male flame for Zeus; therefore I will send a flame to fall on Troy - Paris, the bringer of woe.
No eagle shall come again to the Trojans, but vultures to the feast, the day that the Danai gather the spoils of their labour."
-> Greek Anthology 9.77, Epigram of Antipater of Thessalonica
To the people who want Hyacinthus and Apollo content and to the people who enjoyed my Hyacinthus/Apollo fanfic from last year. This is a plug-in to go read Of Lion and Larkspur again. The reason why is that I intend to release a sequel sometime next week, and it super helps reading that one if you're fresh on the events of Of Lion and Larkspur.
The story being released is called Of Stone and Clay, and where Of Lion and Larkspur was from Apollo's POV, this is from Hyacinthus's POV. It also features the POV of another character, who tells the story of Apollo & Asclepius through someone else's perspective. Again, it fits into my series as a whole, but if you aren't interested in reading all of that, these two stories could sort of stand-alone.
Below is an excerpt:
They were entering a rocky area, mountainous as they made their way south to Amyclae—there would be many rocky paths ahead until they reached their home. A few days of walking if they faced no issue, and according to Hermes, their way was guarded.
“Are you sure you have no need for sandals?” Hyacinthus asked, turning to Apollo, who was walking on the rocks with no apparent qualms.
“I am sure,” Apollo said, looking up at him.
He looked more hale than he had for several years, Hyacinthus reckoned. There was tissue on his flesh, there was some weight to him that mysteriously added after the Fates had turned him into a god again.
“Alright,” Hyacinthus said, still doubting his lover’s decision to go without footwear.
Then again, most statuary of him was barefooted—maybe the imagery was more accurate than Hyacinthus previously thought, thinking of the image of the god in Amyclae and the god walking next to him. There were similarities, but then, there were the obvious differences. The statue gave the god more musculature—not that Apollo was not fit and strong, but he seemed more slender. He was still masculine, but there was an almost feminine curve to him. His shoulders were not as broad, but they were straight, and he liked to be clothed as much as the statue was nude.
That was a curiosity to Hyacinthus, who looked at his lover closely, trying to divine his thoughts.
“Are you quite alright?” Apollo asked, turning to look at Hyacinthus.
“I am just thinking of your statue in Amyclae,” Hyacinthus said to him, "They really missed the best parts of you, I think.”
Apollo raised an eyebrow at him, and cocked his head to the side, “And what, pray tell, are the best parts of me?”
Hyacinthus smirked, looking at his lover’s pretty form all the way down. He was wearing a white chiton, shouldered on both sides, his clavicular notch an angle shape that cut a sharp edge, his eyes blue, gleaming like a cloudless sky, then they flashed green in odd intervals, and his full lips, ready for kissing.
“I could kiss the statue,” Hyacinthus contemplated, "But it would have none of your warmth.”
“Yes,” Apollo said. "Statues tend to be quite cold—it is fortuitous then that you have its very model right here before you.”
Hyacinthus chuckled and he grabbed Apollo’s hand to kiss it, pressing his lips to it.
“We should find a place to rest for the evening,” Hyacinthus said.
“Oh yes,” Apollo said, "Excellent idea.”
It was said with irony, and Apollo trailed along at his side as he searched for a flat spot with enough trees around for firewood. They were not in a forest, but there was brush and bush around. Hyacinthus contemplated it as he looked for a good spot to rest—the day still had enough time for that at least.
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Organization for Transformative Works
Chapter summary: What the Olympias think of Apollo is far different than what's going on beneath the surface. After his foster brother sees the poster with the evidence of his past, Apollo's mind starts to spiral helplessly out of control.
Author's Note: This chapter is less lighthearted, and it's where my warning about wholesomeness being canceled comes into play. This modern AU is gonna be devastating in the short run, but in the long run, @xiaofanfan888 and I have big plans for the family.
Please, if you click in, take note of the warnings.
When all his kids are called into the Principal’s office, Zeus has to wonder if it's his parenting style. But, apparently, it's just a cosmic aligning of everything going off at once. At the conference, Zeus and Hera are surprised to discover that one of their children is being bullied. As Zeus works to uncover who is targeting his child, secrets are revealed. The family starts to unravel in response. A story about family, mistakes, and in the very long run: second chances.
The weather is nice, and I’m poking my head out of hibernation to start posting again.
@xiaofanfan888 and I have made this masterpiece together. I probably survived the winter because of writing this.
Anyway, if you want a complicated story about family, parenting, and childhood trauma told through the Greek gods set in a modern world, this might be a story for you.
The lovely @hyacinthusmemorial and I put a lot of time and effort this winter into writing Grounded and we’re super excited to finally share it with everyone!
This fic updates every Saturday, and it would mean the world to us if you checked it out. The first two chapters are currently available.
When all his kids are called into the Principal’s office, Zeus has to wonder if it's his parenting style. But, apparently, it's just a cosmic aligning of everything going off at once. At the conference, Zeus and Hera are surprised to discover that one of their children is being bullied. As Zeus works to uncover who is targeting his child, secrets are revealed. The family starts to unravel in response. A story about family, mistakes, and in the very long run: second chances.
The weather is nice, and I'm poking my head out of hibernation to start posting again.
@xiaofanfan888 and I have made this masterpiece together. I probably survived the winter because of writing this.
Anyway, if you want a complicated story about family, parenting, and childhood trauma told through the Greek gods set in a modern world, this might be a story for you.
