so, messenger gods are supposedly allowed to enter the Underworld freely, right?
What do you think about the children of Hermes/Iris inheriting this "power"? Obviously on a much smaller scale.
Maybe they could detect the entrances to the Underworld more easily, and, if they concentrate A LOT, they could summon a kind of aura that avoids possible obstacles, such as monsters or evil ghosts?
Or I don't know, any kind of ability that has to do with the Underworld and their role as "messengers"
Psychopomp: (from the Greek word ψυχοπομπός, psychopompós, literally meaning the 'guide of souls') are creatures, spirits, angels, demons, or deities in many religions whose responsibility is to escort newly deceased souls from Earth to the afterlife.
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Mhmmm in theory that is possible that I wouldn’t rule out. I mean with Hermes as a god of thieves, Luke as his demigod child had the ability to magical unlock things as a sort of shortcut power-
So the possibility that the children of Hermes and Irises have the power to something relating being messenger of the gods or being a psychopomp ‘guide of souls’, is just as likely but albeit very rare as you’ve theorized.
Let’s just assume they are able to be messengers to the Underworld and thus being a psychopomp without any large repercussions to themselves directly, despite being half mortal.
I say this because while Hermes and Iris are messengers, they are still gods thus immortal, therefore traveling between the underworld and above it, has no large effect on their souls. So being a demigod that is half mortal will probably have effects cause being in the realm of the dead will definitely do something to you.
At the very least, they are able to locate entrances to the Underworld or slightly above that, they are able to create entrance points to the Underworld. Whether or not they are the only ones to enter through, that’s another thing. Even if they can let people in, it doesn’t mean any other parties will be able to leave is another.
As for Obstacles well…there have evidences of people going down to the Underworld and going through it just fine, so while having a power to just bypass things is just a cheat skill rather than a necessary thing.
Now here where things depend because as a child of Hermes, they’re already born sneaky so they’re able to sneak their way in (which I honestly think is how Luke was able to get the pieces of Kronos from Tartarus. Then again, he probably had the Helm of Darkness. ).
A child of Iris would naturally be able to have a literal aura around themselves that would just deter anything from approaching them. Plus as a child of Iris, I don’t think most monsters or whatever would see them as a threat.
Naturally, it's just better they don’t interact with the monsters or ghosts because if they do, they’re opening themselves to it.
Just think of a child of Hades but everything below one or two steps below them what being a psychopomp proxy, and all the risks, benefits, pros, cons, and etc.
But in all honesty, a whole lot of things could be solved with the fact that if a pyschopomp’s demigod child has the ability to be a guide of the souls, I would pretty much think they’re sort of employed or granted the position, since it's their duty.
So I would think Hades would just give them basically a ‘hall pass’ that allows them go in and out freely out of the Underworld, with their job delivering messages on behalf of Hades and/or Persephone.
Peak season is Spring and Summer when Persephone has to leave the Underworld and the husband and wife are separated by long distance, so you’re pretty much going back and forth to deliver messages and packages. With the added help of Hermes/Iris as their apprentice or staff, you’re pretty much paid minimum wage and stuff.
There’s also the bonus side benefit/job that the child of Hermes/Iris that has inherited the power of messenger, would not only be able to travel between the Underworld and the world of the Living, but also be able to go to Olympus; since Hermes and Iris are the messenger of the gods, the job going into the Underworld is just included as such.
Do you think children of death-related deities (Anubis, Thanatos, Macaria, Hades, etc) see ghosts as what they once were? For example, someone else see a spirit as this translucent being with haunted eyes, but children of death still see them with flesh, proper eyes, actual clothes, all they once had before they passed.
a/n: 'death-related' > chthonic; 1.) of or relating to the underworld; 2.) Pertaining to the earth, earthy 3.) dwelling within or under the earth
Disclaimer: mentions death, decomposition, spirits
Yes….and also no…this is pretty complicated since this is a touchy subject, so this’ll be a personal answer.
It’s not that they can’t, on the other hand, it’s just they just typically don’t? This is because they’re the children of death-related/chthonic deities, so it feels a bit disingenuous to their godly parent realms and their identity. This means they should see spirits of the dead with the marks of decomposition and anything death related because that’s part of death.
On the other hand, they are able to see what they looked like in their prime, because that’s their soul and are able to set an environment.
Personally, the middle-ground answer is really that the spirits appearance is based on the state of their soul which influences how they appear. Children of Chthnoic deities are able to see and influence their appearance as either more living-like or more death-like because that’s part of their domain.
Hii i love your writing <33 could you do headcanons for a child of zeus? l always wondered what it would be like for a child of zeus to be in camp half blood. Maybe they went to the same school as percy and grover brought them back too? How would her getting claimed by zeus change the situation between gods in the first book and stuff(lightning theif) specially since the prophecy said 1 of the kids of the big three wpuld overthrow the gods when they turned 16. Would hera be mad at them and send mosters after them since they're a byproduct of zeuses infidelity ? Thanks in advance ♡
If you’re just talking about being a child of Zeus, I have the headcanons already written in the Major Demigods H/C’s. I already have my own thoughts written about it there.
Though, you’re talking about stuff as if the daughter of Zeus being in the main storyline. Well dear anon, let me first warn you that this is not going to be as cool and as great as it you might think it will lead to be. There’s a reason only why Thalia is there and being a child of Zeus is already a set-up for having a hard life. Not necessary a happy story with a good ending either. That just makes it worse.
[{3/05/2025}: Demigod What Ifs? Masterlist]
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First addressing the daughter of Zeus being a daughter of Zeus.
Hera is already historically going to do something and take out her anger at Zeus’s infidelity again at the daughter of Zeus and her mother.
What’s worse is that this daughter of Zeus would be the second or worse third time Zeus has broken the Oath the Big Three swore after WW2; since depending when, the daughter would be born right after Thalia or around the same time as Jason.
So not just Hera, there’s going to be other gods after her. We already knew Hades will be evoking his wrath at the daughter of Zeus, because he did it to Thalia. Her existence would stoke Hades’ anger even more because what Zeus did to Nico and Bianca’s mother, so for him to break the Oath again? Not looking too well on her prospects.
And following Zeus, it’ll be Poseidon because up until Percy, he hasn’t have any demigods since the Oath; he’s the only god out of the Three to not have any children since WW2 started or had any before the Oath (like Hades).
So for Zeus to break his oath twice/thrice? The gall of him being King and not upholding his own oath, law, and honour? That’s absolutely not fair. Oh it’s all hands on deck.
(Side tangent: Poseidon has a whole lot of restraint for a sea god. He kept his word and it really paints the picture that Poseidon broke his own oath because of Zeus breaking the oath (twice if you include Jason as well), and Hades having his own children still alive really leaves him left out of fatherhood).
If the daughter of Zeus hasn’t died or majorly cursed after all those THREE gods, and more gods along the way, and there are also monsters, SOMEHOW, and I’m assuming they do for the sake of your ask,
I’m going to assume that this daughter of Zeus is either a year younger or the same age as Percy. Then there’s when her birthday is, is it going to be one month or a few months before Percy’s birthday or after that? It’s going to be tight and absolutely nerve-wracking because of the prophecy.
The daughter of Zeus would not be naive to the world of the gods and monsters after what I said earlier. There’s also how she would survive that long being in Nancy Academy with Percy for that long, even if she is a new transfer student. Cause two children of the Big Three surviving in the same vicinity?
Percy only survived that long because of Sally’s endurement and love to be with Gabe to mask his demigod scent, him being ignorant as a demigod, Grover and Chiron doing their absolute damnest to keep him alive and yet they still didn’t know Mrs. Dodds was one of the furies among them.
So that doesn’t paint a good picture for the daughter of Zeus. Even if it was the same scenario like Percy, she already be exposed to the world of the gods, so her demigod scent would be activated. To be hidden, would mean interference from a god like Zeus, and that’s not fair.
The Lightning Thief plot wise, it doesn’t paint well either. Zeus’ thunderbolt is missing so it would be natural for the Daughter of Zeus to target whoever searching for who stole her father’s weapon…meaning she would have to fight Percy in accusation; thus splitting the camp in half much more earlier; between those who support Zeus and those who support Poseidon.
There’s also to consider the Hades's Helm of Darkness also missing at the same time, which is also another thing.
It would be super easy for Luke and Kronos to convince, trick, and manipulate the daughter of Zeus. Not just in the Lightning Thief but for the entirety of the books. That’s where it gets sad/unpleasant.
Percy has always been meant to be the child of the Prophecy, and the one to turn the tides. He has the necessary perspective and personality, his journey as a hero adding to his nature and the people he has met along the way, both good and bad. Those experiences making up Percy for the prophecy to come to fruition is the key.
Anyone else would have succumbed and led to the downfall of Olympus and the gods. If the daughter of Zeus’ birthday is a few months after Percy’s, then it's a matter of holding out till then, and everything is fine. It’ll be a tug of war over who is the child of the Prophecy that’ll make great tension in the books.
If her birthday is before his, well…not so good. She’ll be at peril by the gods to smite her so the prophecy doesn’t come true, like they tried with Percy and Nico. She could have been or is on Kronos’ side. If not that, then she’ll either be in a state to be suspended in time like Thalia joining Artemis’ huntresses or being cursed into one in an untimely way (i.e. being frozen as a statue), or meet an untimely demise (like Bianca).
Hi, I read all your headcanon on ao3 (Brilliant, by the way) and I wanted to know what you thought about a demigod made of clay, but unexpectedly his mothers (yes, mothers in plural) are Nyx and Hestia
Yes, I know it's something very impossible, it's a concept I have for a fanfic and I also have other similar demigods in mind, and a "Scion" as you call them from a somewhat typical origin in what are the Greek myths (later if you want I can spam you with more questions)
I more or less have the concept at the time of his creation, but this question comes more than anything from what the reaction of the others would be, something like the headcanon of "children of x god/goddess" that you did.
Hello! Thanks for your kind words and for dropping by my Ao3 account! I'm glad you liked them! Also pardon for any grammatical answers, I just blitz wrote this and my eyes cannot focus to edit this too properly.
Also like man, I find your idea very cool and fun but also I’m also glad I don’t have to respond of how that can work because I would be chugging cups of tea and looking at the board of how it can work and make sense of it.
But if it’s what the reactions would be, then I can manage that. I’ll give some bullet points that I’ll try to be concise as possible cause *looks at your little boy* yeah, a lot to unpack and digest.
Side note: I do have submissions open so if you really want to send me more asks that all relate to onw another, it’s better if you drop it down in there. Whether I answer them or not depends on my own schedule and time.
First of all, how? How?? I mean yes, they did hear that you were basically crafted out of clay like the first humans by the gods, by Nyx and Hestia, but still how??
How were you made? How does it work? How are you still a demigod if you were crafted by Nyx and Hestia? And how many of you are running around? Is it just you? Or are there more? How many other deities have done the same thing? How much of you physically made out of clay and out of ‘flesh’? How much of you is mortal and immortal? Are you like ⅓ mortal? ⅓ of Nyx, and ⅓ of Hestia? ¼ clay, ¼ flesh, ¼ hestia, ¼ Nyx? Etc etc…
Then the next thing is “Why” and “What” because why or/and what compelled Nyx, the primordial and personification of the Night to make a demigod out of clay? If it was that alone, that’s already something but also with Hestia? The goddess of the Hearth? Two polar opposites? Because you light a hearth at night and that illuminates it the darkness of the night, which is like, why and what brought Hestia and Nyx to craft a demigod out of clay of all things?
People start thinking is it a romance thing? But with Nyx and Hestia’s disposition, that doesn’t seem likely? Is it out curiosity? Maybe from Nyx but getting Hestia to collaborate? That doesn’t seem likely either and Hestia isn’t one to take deals. People can only think there’s a major looming prophecy that Nyx and Hestia only know about and that scares people.
At camp, people aren’t sure how to approach you and neither does Chiron nor Mr. D for that matter. Cause this whole thing is unprecedented and Mr. D cannot fathom why his aunt would do such a thing and he’s worried because whatever Hestia’s reasons, it’s not going to good and not going to react well with Zeus.
I dunno if Hestia would be at camp, but if she isn’t for the sake of the story, then people are worried because for the goddess of the Hearth not to be at Camp or anywhere else, has people more nervousness and fearful.
Speaking of Zeus, he’s not going ot be pleased when he hears about this and he and the other Olympians will be scrutinizing you. Because how much of a threat are you going to be towards the gods? Are you on their side? Or are you one of their potential demise?
For one thing, you were crafted out of clay by Nyx, who is well, was rather opposed to their existence and all that. The only thing that’s keeping you alive or your fate on hold, is that you were also and a part of Hestia, who the gods all love and respect. It won’t help the scrutiny because Hestia is a virgin goddess so while it doesn’t break her vow, it doesn’t seem right that she made a demigod out of clay (which if you follow the logic that Prometheus stole the coals of fire from Hestia’s hearth, but if that’s the case, how did Prometheus steal it from the goddess who always tends to the fire?)
Are you proof their sister goddess has turned her back against them? Their loyal and loving family sister?
Also why did Hestia, the eldest of them all and mature of them all, work with Nyx to make you?
Again if Hestia isn’t here to support you, then that’s not going to help the case.
Back to Camp, they’re not sure where to put you in, because although you may be a demigod, you are technically a child of Hestia and Nyx, which neither which or have a cabin. And while normally, they would put those without a place in the Hermes cabin like protocol, they’re a bit unsure because well, yeah.
People are going to wonder how your powers and abilities work. Like what does it entail and do you just have two aspects or do they cancel each other? Or is there a fusion of both Hestia and Nyx’s aspects and domain that you wield?
In general, there’s going to be a whoooole lot of confusion, shock, wonder, and fear basically.
in the same ideia of that child of Hephaestus that was also an legacy of Aphrodite, and that that child developed some Aphrodite power as well Hephaestus's power. Do you think Hephaestus would be at least a bit bitter about his daughter resembling Aphrodite??
Alright that's gotta be complicated. On one hand, we can't really know what Hephaestus' reaction would be like but on the other hand, this is fictionally speaking so.
But I wanna say if Hephaestus was going to be bitter about his daughter, or any of his children born from the Legacy of Aphrodite resembling well...Aphrodite, then he probably shouldn't and/or wouldn't have had a child with a Legacy of Aphrodite. It's not like the gods can't or wouldn't know either.
Hephaestus may be the god of fire and by extension, volcanoes, but he wouldn't self-destruct or self-sabotage his own well being by doing that.
However, let's just say for the scenario sake that he could be bitter about this (which is a bit projecting not going to lie)-
I think Hephaestus would be bitter at the 'what could've been' then really his demigod daughter resembling Aphrodite.
He would be bitter at the living proof that his daughter of Hephaestus and legacy of Aphrodite who is like him and his (technical) wife, could've been actual real if Aphrodite loved him like she does towards Ares, and had a godly child with him; then say well, his brother Ares and the multiple godly children had with Aphrodite.
At the same time, he may be bitter about his daughter resembling Aphrodite, but he wouldn't be bitter towards her either. If that makes any sense. So yes, while a bit bitter, but it would be bitter-sweet feeling.
There's also the whole story idea potential that Hephaestus falls in love with a Legacy of Aphrodite because the resemblance to Aphrodite is strong but at the same time, he knows it's not her either; seeking and finding that brief love at what could've been but also having it as well. A comfort but also sadness. And the demigod child of Hephaestus and Aphrodite is a further salt to the wound yet also a salve for it for that missing part inside him.
And the thing is, it might not be the tool or exact part for the job, but it works and functions just as well, that keeps the machine, him, running.
Do you think Artemis could accept a boy as part of her hunt? If so, how would it be?
EDIT [8/22/2024]: The answers to this anon question will take parts of Artemis' Greek Mythos to fill in gaps and be applied in the world building of PJO.
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Alright, mythos wise there have been men part of her hunt. But they are very much the exception to the rule and are not standard. Though it’s not probably in the way you’re thinking either.
However, they are very much exception to the rule but also abided by the rules. These said men were Artemis’ male hunting companions, Orion the giant and Hippolytos. Despite having proof there were men* hunting alongside Artemis, it doesn’t mean they would be part of her hunt for various reasons. Orion is a giant so we can’t really be sure how the whole divinity thing is going on so let’s turn to Hippolytos.
Hippolytos was the son of Theseus with Hippolyta/Antiope, and was a devotee of Artemis. He was a hunter and sportsman who turned away from sex and marriage, thus worshiped Artemis and refused to honour Aphrodite. As we’ve seen historically happened with Aphrodite, she causes Hippolytus’ stepmother, Phaedra, to fall in love with him and when he naturally refuses her advances, sets in motion which leads to his death, with the help of Theseus and Poseidon. Artemis steps in when a devotee of hers is harmed and honours him; which depending on the story provided depends how she honours him but regardless his story lives on nonetheless.
From what I can gather from the mythos of Artemis and her hunting retinue, they have to be dedicated to the hunt and follow the words of Artemis. This applies to the boys as well, but with the extra emphasis they are not to mingle with her huntresses that is outside of being part of the hunt, as well as knowing by hunting alongside with Artemis and her huntresses, they may not have the same benefits and blessing as the huntresses; such as the semi-immortality.
While Artemis may bless them in some way as part of her hunt, they’re not able to get everything because at the core of it, her domain is female virgins/maidens/girls.
So men aren’t able to get the benefits because they’re not part of her domain since with Artemis, it’s females, and with men, it’s Apollo, her twin.
Basically, Artemis would only have men in her hunt if they were truly a devotee of Artemis and are sworn off romance and love like the huntresses, but I wouldn’t say they are directly part of her hunt since they wouldn’t have the benefits and protections due to the limitations of her domain.
This is probably cheating and a loophole, but there is a story of Siproities:
Where Artemis turned Siproites, a hunter man/boy who accidentally peeped at Artemis when she was bathing and as punishment, turned Siproites into a girl/woman. Although it’s not unusual for the gods to change peoples’ sexes into the other due to various situations, I subscribed to the version where Artemis probably did it because technically Siproities was a child so she couldn’t exactly kill him because as a child, he fell under her domain of protection but on the other hand, due to being male, it was a slight against her.
If someone really wanted to join Artemis’ hunt, they could ask Artemis that they’re proving their desire to join her hunt and turn into a girl/woman to be able to join, on top of swearing fealty to Artemis and her hunters.
Wait?! I had another idea (I’m so sorry I don’t mean to spam your inbox, feel free to ignore me if you want).
So like, a child of Pandora, Pandora is an immortal in the Pjo universe but not necessarily a goddess. So if she had a kid I feel like they’d be something like a demigod or legacy (considering Pandora was brought to life by the gods) but also like kinda not.
Like do you see the vision.
They just kinda show up at camp and the campers are just slightly in constant fear at the thought of the child of Pandora releasing some kind of evil upon them.
Meanwhile the child of Pandora is just minding their own business and like playing pinochle with Mr D.
I mean you can argue that all of humans are technically a legacy of Pandora, being First Mortal Woman that was formed by the gods…alright I’m joking. I know what you’re getting at lol.
Pandora becoming an immortal after her death would make sense if we go with Pandora being made with the hands of the gods and their essence mingled in with her, and she is immortalised by memory by being said-first woman and also for opening the Jar that led to…humanity suffering all kinds of evil that plague mankind.
I can see her descendants being treated as a legacy, since she’s not really a god so she can’t have demigod children, and you can make the argument that Pandora is a demigod too but schematics and technicality.
As for the legacy of Pandora being received…well legacies and reputation does exceed and carry on very well. With the variation of tellings that Pandora released the plagues of evil was unintentionally, as the gods made her very curious and she opened it unknowingly, or evil and cunning because the gods told her to and she complied; honestly, the gods made Pandora to open the evils in punishment and so it just sticks unfortunately.
Being a descendent of Pandora does have its advantages however.
In the PJO retelling of the story, Zeus took Aphrodite’s suggestion and had Hephaesteus moulded Pandora out of clay; Zeus breathed life into her; Aphrodite gave her great beauty and charm to make her irresistible; Apollo with how to sing and play the lyre; Demeter with how to tend to a garden; Poseidon gave Pandora a pearl necklace and promised she would never drown; Athena gave her cleverness and curiosity and weaving and crafting, Hermes with his ‘deceitfulness’ (In Hesiod version, Hermes gave her boldness and cunningness specifically).
So you can imagine that being a descendent/legacy of Pandora, there’s a chance you either have all of Pandora’s attributes or much like being human, they feel more in tune with some aspects and some not so much.
Storywise; just as the children of Pandora inherit her legacy and gifts, they are also burdened with Pandora’s legacy in what she had done, forever to carry it as long humanity continues, as well as being plagued or cursed with one of the evils that was released from the pithos. Like being chased or cursed with one of the embodiments of the evils.
I think it does fit somewhat that Mr. D playing a game of Pinochle with the legacy of Pandora since well, its Dionysus, he’s immune to any potential vibe that the child of Pandora may be carrying due their lineage.
FUN FACT: Pandora ends up giving birth to a girl named Pyrrha (Fire) who is the first child born of a mortal mother. Pyrrha marries Deukalion (son of Prometheus) and they end up having many sons and daughters…including a girl named Pandora who is named after the first Pandora.
Leading on with the fun fact, it’s only inevitable that if that every legacy of Pandora who ends up being a born as a girl is cursed to bear the name Pandora as a constant reminder of the First Woman’s legacy. Truly a legacy, but what is a legacy?
That Luke Castellan and Rhea kid just made me think of demigods whose mortal parents are also like demigods. No idea why they would want a child with a god considering how most demis don’t have the best life but yeah. Sorry if this sounds like just rambling
Well it's not entirely unreasonable, but also at the same time that's their decision to make and be responsible for.
Demigods are born regardless on whims, in love, and on purpose (though typically I can see the god doing it on purpose). So, if a or when a demigod having a child with a god, and producing a Scion in result, can be one of those things.
If its out of love or by accident, what can you do?
If it's on purpose, well there's probably a reason or the god has a reason to pursue said-demigod. Which...I mean the Fates have something planned which it's unavoidable and you can look at Greek Mythos of those who tried.
It's not a better explanation, but its been confirmed in the "CHALICE OF THE GODS" that once demigods become older, probably close to adulthood, there are lower chances of monsters attacking them so there are times sometimes the demigods can forget what it's like. Especially if their lives a demigod is less tremulous then others.
Like a child of Demeter isn't going to have the same harrowing experience then say a child of Zeus; so their perception of danger is going be very different.
On a general note, we're not entirely sure what the situation of scions/offspring of demigods are like, cause I'm pretty sure they exist. And who knows if a regular child of a demigod have the same problems or threats to their lives as their parent.
I mean, look at all the Greek heroes and kings, that have a god in their line (Usually Zeus or Poseidon) in their line, before producing out a demigod hero.
Or in the PJOverse, all the legacies that we see walking around. The only reason we don't see how dangerous their lives are is because their in the safety of New Rome. Who knows if there isn't a scion of a demigod and god walking around in complete safety?
The only consolation I have to offer if a demigod does have a child with a god, that scion is probably more well-prepared and has more tools in their disposal.
Their demigod parent is already aware of what will happen and they will be armed with knowledge. The scion will know how to fight off monsters and how to protect themselves from them, have ambrosia and nectar for severe wounds, how to spot a satyr hiding among the students, talk with the nymphs around them so there's not alone.
Most importantly, the scion or scions will probably have grown up with the knowledge of or better yet attended Camp Halfblood or Camp Jupiter as soon as they can so they immediately know where a safe haven is.
That is the difference in a demigods life. Because unlike the demigod stories we've read, they're so unaware of the godly realm that they're thrown straight into danger without any idea or tools; which is the difference between life and death.
