I doubt I will ever write it but I am deeply amused/horrified at the thought of the children eventually meeting their uncle Pyrrhus.
Y/N and Hypnos never talk about him, at least not in front of the kids. And the few times they did without knowing the kids overheard them, it was always their Father spitting out the words ‘that animal’ like the mere letters tasted foul in his mouth.
And somehow, someway.
They met.
Pyrrhus would be disgusted. ( “they let that worthless mutt breed?”) as he eyed each one of the kids, his scowl deepened and his blue stare turned pure ice when he saw little Phobetor, who offered a nervous, polite smile while trying to hide in his parents’s arms.
Morpheus would be insanely curious, wanting to prod this strange copy of their Grandfather while the twins watched the stranger with unsure frowns, unable to tell if Pyrrhus was actually safe to be around. Phobetor just wanted the stranger to go far away.
It won’t be a long meeting, with Y/N stepping between him and the children, both of the men snarling and barking insults at each other like a pair of wolves.
(The kids are horrified and fascinated, they never seen their Father like this before.)
once they are away from Pyrrhus, their parents warned them to never ever go near him. ( Hypnos would later tell them not to bring Pyrrhus up around their father, it wasn’t good for their Father’s blood pressure apparently.)
I like to think that once fully grown, Phobetor and Pyrrhus will end up meeting the most often, due to Phobetor being the god of nightmares/fears which Pyrrhus had many of.
(“Worthless little worm of a god! Nightmares can’t hurt anyone!” Pyrrhus spat out, nearly foaming at the mouth as he jerked awake, panting. “Unshackled me, lad and I will show you how to actually fight unlike that mutt Father of yours.”
“Uncle. We spoke about this before. Do not insult my father. Nor will I fight you.” Phobetor paused, and in a moment of pure pettiness that would make Morpheus proud. “And I’m bigger than you.” )
Middle of the night WMFTD rambling ( and about my writing.)
So Y/n got hella trauma/PTSD/ect from - well you know, everything.
One of the factors that can worsen PTSD is the lack of sleep. It impacts everything, emotions and memories and ability to process stuff. When Y/N wasn’t getting regular sleep, his own brain wasn’t getting a nightly wash/reset.
( i know they are shades but I hc that they still need rest due to dealing with emotional needs/metal load/social battery/ect.)
so like Hypnos making Y/n have something of a regular sleep break might be one the biggest reason that he had improved so much in term of dealing with flashbacks.
Along Hypnos’ godhood/powers naturally soothing /relaxing morals when he hangs around them long enough ( another hc, i know, i know I’m sorry but i mean with that context, it would make sense to put Hypnos front of house since he could calm shades down. Supposedly.)
Sure y/n still has them and nightmares but to compare to where he was in chapter one to before hypnos lost his powers, he was miles ahead.
Depending if Hypnos get powers back or not. A lot is riding on that.
Luckily for y/n, Hypnos still insisted on naps even without his powers. So that helps with any lost progress.
(I know this might be obvious but i thought i would put it out there anyway for anyone who wanted to read about it.)
So I kept thinking about how Zagreus and Megaera fought to the death regularly. Then in Hades 2 with Melionë with Nyx’s kiddos.
Feeling someone’s last breath, feeling the moment their heart stops as the light leaves their eyes is a strange intimacy of itself. They are dying and the last thing they see is their foe’s face.
and I kept wondering how Y/N and Hypnos might end up in that situation. Also partly blame vamp!y/n for this au as well.
TW: For death and violence between Y/N and Hypnos, written on mobile forgive me for any mistakes.
~
Hypnos, god of sleep and dream, has many duties. One to the house, and one to his sleep realm. He sends dreams and receives them. He is also the keeper of the river Lethe.
He is also the jailer for a certain god.
Y/n is the stuff of horror, a mortal turned monster, killed by Ares but y/n was so overwhelmed by regret, by terrifying rage and deeply haunted by his past that his soul became twisted, that his death became his rebirth.
So you became the god of torment and punishment.
You sowed mayhem among the mortals, and even got to the Olympians, haunting their every step, hissing a list of every sin they ever committed even the ones they never spoke of, a brush of your hands was enough to completely paralyze even the gods.
Athena called for aid to Nyx and she sent her children and it was Hypnos, who was able to put you asleep when the Olympians caught you off-guard by attacking all at once.
Upon learning who you were, that your father was Achilles himself, It was Zeus who tried to tell Hypnos to place you in the river lethe so you could be reborn, pure and pain-free but Hypnos felt such an act was beyond cruel to one unwilling.
Which you very much were, snarling and feral while pinned on the marble floor of the gods’ home, trying to fight off the power of sleep. Eventually even you fell under the power of sleep.
Athena in her wisdom saw it would do no good, since you were already immortal, so she told Hypnos to place you in the dream realm, no one could help you if you were trapped where only Hypnos could go.
And Hypnos obeyed.
To keep anyone from knowing, the gods forced Hypnos to share a vow, to never speak of the god of torment ever again.
Such a creature was best left forgotten.
At first, he was able to keep you in eternal slumber, placing you to rest among the fields of poppies and chamomile, far away from the dreams and nightmares of his realm.
He tied a poppy and a chamomile together, infused the plants with his powers and tucked it behind your ear, his fingers lingering on your face.
Odd, how a god of such pain could look so peaceful.
For a long time it worked.
Sometimes he would stop by to check on you, then eventually he spoke about his day to you, or his family problems or just made a bad joke or two.
He called you his test audience, laughing quietly to himself. It sounded a little sad.
you never responded, never woke up.
His guilt was growing but he kept his forced vow, never speaking of you. Not even when Achilles came with his beautiful, everblue eyes that didn’t hide the confusion and pain when Hypnos told him your name never came onto Hypnos’s list.
which wasn’t a lie, your name never did.
Meanwhile
you knew you were locked away, your body unable to heed to your command. Sometimes you heard the voice of a god, hypnotic and sweeter than a lullaby.
Sometimes you felt gentle fingers on your brow, pushing back into the dark depths of oblivion.
Then one day you woke up.
You stared up into a twilight sky, a gentle breeze drifting over your form, the faint rush of a river reached your ears.
With Hypnos’ keepsake still tucked behind your ear and from how long you've been here, sleep has become a part of you. Shadows, dark and ugly as oil slick, clung to your cloak.
Hypnos sensed the moment you woke up and immediately appeared in his realm.
you locked eyes with him, he was breathtaking, a halo of gleaming stars and ebony circled his head, his wings spread out. In the sleep domain, he was the ruler and creator, a divinity born of the stars, one that you could never reach.
You knew once you were made of clay like all morals, the perfect beauty of this god before you only empathized with it. But now you were made of something else, something wrong and unholy.
The god was beautiful and he was one keeping you in prison, he was the thing keeping you from fulfilling your purpose.
His expression was terrified. He immediately tried to put you right back to sleep.
It didn’t work.
“Let me go.” You rumbled, shadows growing with each syllable.
“I can’t.” He told you, his voice echoed among the flowers. His molten eyes wide as he stared at you. “I really can’t.”
The battle that followed was a horrible one, with Hypnos desperately trying to stay out of your reach and you chasing after him like a demon among the once peaceful realm.
you summon a spear, a twisted mirror of Achilles’ trying to kill him. But Hypnos was more powerful, summoning weapons of kinds from mortals and gods’ dreams to attack you and by sheer luck, a spear of light landed right where Ares landed his killing blow.
You went down. Hard.
As you placed a shaky hand over your wound, knowing that it wouldn’t do any good, You fought for breath as Hypnos warily knelt by your head, his hands moving uselessly in the air.
”I’m sorry. Oh gods, I have never killed before. I am so sorry.” He sounded disbelieving, as if he thought he could never commit such a thing. You tried to laugh, but it came out as a rattling sound.
with the last bit of strength left in you, your arm snapped out like a snake and grabbed his wrist with a brutal fist, covered with black blood, and pressed his hand against your wound. He flinched, trying to get away but you led so tight that his bones grind together.
His eyes locked onto yours.
Your eyes said everything you couldn’t.
Then you died.
Hypnos didn’t know what would happened. But you reappeared, sleeping among the flowers once more, made whole.
When you awakened again, more battles followed with Hypnos somehow winning. But you had been a warrior all of your life. You watched, you learned from your mistakes and it was getting harder and harder for Hypnos to win each time.
It didn’t help poor Hypnos that it seemed nightmares have chosen you, even disobeying their beloved god of sleep.
Then…
A battle you were winning.
Golden ichor spilled from him, a new kind of fear in those beautiful sundrop eyes as he brought everything he had in him to bring you down. It wasn’t enough. Not this time.
Then he stopped, dropping his knees and hands. He was shaking, tears streaming down his face, breaking up the gold that marked his skin.
“Stop. Please just stop this.” He gasped out as you drew nearer. “Why can’t you go back to sleep?”
you said nothing as you knelt in front of him.
“I thought you were at least at peace.” Hypnos told you, his wings slumping as he bowed in his head. He looked exhausted.
you considered his words. You curled a finger under his chin, lifting his face toward your. You leaned down, lips a hairbreadth from his.
“I was, Gentle Sleep.” You whispered. “But not even I can rest forever.”
Then you kissed him as you plunged a dagger right between his ribs. He gasped, his delicate body jerking in shock, his hands grabbing at your shoulders in vain to push you away.
You wrapped your arm around his waist, another hand on the back of his head as you gently brought him down among his beloved poppies and chamomile, your lips still on his
to anyone who didn’t realize what you had done, you and him looked like lovers having a passionate moment among the wildflowers.
his breath huffed against your skin, his eyes going heavy as his body gave up, his arms dropping to the ground, his wings following a moment later. You held him closer, brushing a loving kiss against his parted lips.
You heard a final, shaky breath of your name.
then hypnos was gone.
He would return. Whole and golden and beautiful once more.
you rose, nightmares steadily growing behind you as the portal of the waking world opened before you.
And so rose the tormenter of gods, who's black soul ruined even the beauty of gentle sleep. The soft petal of the flowers brushed against your skin, just now another reminder of yet another sin.
it fueled you.
A reckoning of the gods was coming.
~~~~
and so i like to imagine a happy ending to this bc that just how i roll but this is all i got for now.
Middle of the night/sleep deprived Wmftd ranting ( I am a possum screaming outside of your window rn)
Hopes this makes sense, if not just ignore
So like one of my favorite things about y/n and Hypnos is like at first, they don't look like they belong together.
Like y/n is this stoic warrior with a record of impressive, heroic deeds. He is also this classical handsome/masculine guy that could probably have a harem if he wanted.
So what if he seemed scary and untouchable, it just came with the territory of being a legend and the house guard of the terrifying Hades.
Then there is Hypnos.
Goofy, unable to take a hint Hypnos who squeak a little when he greets people and thinks puns are an eggellent excellent form of comedy.
Like yeah he is pretty but so awkward that most people don't know how to handle him. And being the god of naptimes isn't really that impressive.
So most people at first are just like 'really? Those two?'
But they don't know
They don't know that y/n likes that Hypnos is just so himself, that he can find humor in the most boring moments, that hypnos has a growing list of jokes (that he thinks no one knows about but y/n does and secretly reads it with a smile)
Y/n likes that Hypnos just want to be happy, to have a good life since he been surrounded by people who want glory or revenge or whatever.
They don't know that y/n, out of everything in the whole universe, just needs someone would look at him with a genuine smile then tell the world's most horrible pun. Or playfully give him a hard time then laugh like it was the peak of comedy.
They will never understand that Hypnos brings out that side of y/n who can loosen up a little, to show his own playful, mischievous side (but only around hypnos or his family, the rest of the world can fuck off)
And they don't know that Hypnos can drop that smile around y/n, can just breathe and not feel like he has to wear a mask around y/n. He has to be a certain way for his family, for his job, for strangers but not for y/n.
They don't know that Hypnos likes that y/n plays along with him, that he actually gets hypnos' sense of humor.
That Hypnos can chat about the most random topic ( once he accidentally trapped y/n in a three hour one sided conversation/rant about the poppies and the effects it has on people's sleeping vs being passed out and what the difference was but y/n had just nodded, letting him talk)
Hypnos likes that y/n is so steady, so calming that he can just let himself settle down and just breathe.
They will never understand that Hypnos just needed someone who accepts everything about him, the constant sleeping, the bad jokes and the fact hypnos never quiet fit in.
They don't get that in their own ways, y/n and Hypnos are both outsiders. That they struggle with understanding humanity/society.
Once again they are the same yet not. They both have their own shield against the world. But they can let those walls down around each other.
They might look like they mismatched set at first but those two are more alike than some realize.
having a WMFTD brain rot moment but like a NSFW one. Mainly the power exchange that happens between couples.
(this is 100% purely my rambling take on it, please disregard if you don’t vibe)
(on mobile)
So on the surface level of things, Hypnos is the one who has a higher standing being a god and all. Not mentioned, he is extremely powerful in his own right, owning half of a mortal's life and one of his titles being ‘Conquer of the Gods.’ (Something i plan to address in WMFTD eventually)
and Y/n is a warrior, fought in the big war and a hero with his own cult following but still a mortal/shade. He also totally devoted himself to Hypnos and Hypnos alone. He is the one constantly giving Hypnos gifts, tending to him and such.
To an outsider, I think, it would be like Hypnos has complete power over the relationship.
But that kinda changes when in the bedroom. ( I usually write y/n as a service top and Hypnos as bottom. It varies. anyway-)
Like usually, Y/N takes control over the moment, he is the one who pursues Hypnos. He is the one who takes action, leading Hypnos with kisses, with gentle but firm touches.
And Hypnos is the one to give in, following Y/N and submitting to both his spoken and unspoken commands.
And the same could be said of Y/N to Hypnos’.
all of his cues, he takes from Hypnos.
If hypnos need to be controlled, Y/n would take it from him, with rough, bruising touches and dominating bites that sink moral teeth into divine flesh.
Or Hypnos need to be pinned down and fucked until he can’t speak, can’t think- Y/N does that for him. Y/n would whisper against the tender shell of Hypnos’ ear, drowning out everything else.
If he needs to be cared for, loved and pampered, Y/n is more than happy to do that for him. With soft kisses against Hypnos’ wrist, his neck, his ankle, the rocking motions of their bodies together gentle and slow.
And if Hypnos needs to be the one in control, y/n would give him the leash in every sense of the word, letting hypnos decide what to do with y/n’s body, to let Hypnos decide how y/n would pleasure him.
Sometimes y/n would act as if he was going to take back the power but it only gives Hypnos a chance to decide if he wants to keep it, or give in to Y/n.
In the end, it is always Hypnos’ choice.
But Hypnos also gives Y/N what he needs.
Y/n need something- someone- to care for, to protect and love. He needs someone who won’t turn away from his more ugly side. Y/N needs someone who trusts him completely even though y/n could hurt them -he is a skilled warrior after all- but Hypnos always submit happily, with complete trust and love/adoration in his eyes.
So they kinda become foils to each other, both giving the other what they need.
Y/n is the sun to Hypnos’ moon in terms of action/movement and inaction/rest. But Hypnos carries a little bit of the sun with his warmth and positive energy while y/n has the quietness (or cold) and the dark energy of the moon.
another wmftd brain rot i’m having while trying to get over writer’s block/burn out.
Saw art that brought back memories of an old plot line I decided to not to follow through on. So i feel safe ranting about it. Decided not to do it since i felt like it wouldn’t fit with vibes of WMFTD.
At least, not back then.
I very much considered having Hypnos find y/n’s old bones, or what is left of his body, buried at a tomb that Y/N’s cult protects and worship at.
So along with y/n blood and bones, hypnos ( maybe with the help from Hecate) carefully recover much as he could, along with sacrificial blood of an prized bull and his own golden blood, restores Y/N.
That why he asks about what kind god did Y/N think he would be. Because those thoughts were in the back of his mind and he didn’t dare ask what he really wanted to.
Because hypnos didn’t know if he had the right to even ask such things. He hoped that you would say something because the moment you did, Hypnos would do anything for you… but you never did, seemingly contented to a shade evermore.
But he is a little bitter that Dionysus brought his wife back from the underworld and no one said a thing. Hypnos had a feeling that others would be against him doing the same.
In another au, Hypnos did that exactly that.
He brought you back as a god.
You had no idea what he was going to do. You were in the house, training with Zagreus with the world spun before your eyes.
Then pain lanced everywhere, and blood spilled from your mouth as you shook.
A heartbeat began once more in your chest, a sensation you had long forgotten
Then you woke up.
Hypnos’s exhausted, beaming face over yours, the murmuring of worshippers behind him.
you stared up at him, both yourself and something new.
Hypnos whispered your name, his fingers brushing your cheeks tenderly, pushing sticky hair out of your face.
Okay so gods all have a place that is sacred to them. In this au, Ares tries to kills Y/N in a place that is special to Demeter.
Demeter felt great pity for this foolish mortal, who fought a god and lost. But she finds out he did to save others, like many mothers and daughters.
The ice around her heart melts just a little.
So as he is dying, Demeter was kind enough to divined him. She made him one of her attendants. In her court, he plays as a god/spirit of Decay.
He is what happens after sleep, after death.
The natural decay of the world, of the body, of plants.
Like this I like to think, he would still look like himself, maybe with faint smell of fresh loam, or damp leaves clinging to his skin. Since he works mainly with Demeter, he deals mostly with plants but also animals and unburied bodies.
He would learn every beautiful and ugly part of what it takes for clay to return the Mother Earth. Circles are a common symbol for him, dust to dust if you will along with bugs and moss and fungus/mushrooms.
His eyes would take an unnatural, unholy quality to them, like he can see someone past their rank, their mortal or divine skins. He would known their bones more intimately than their owners.
This doesn’t make him popular. ( surprise me too.)
but Demeter likes that he does his duties and that even after his change, he still watches out for young maidens. ( she was suspicious of it at first but once she get to know him better, she realize she nothing to fear.)
Thanatos still wouldn’t like Y/N since one. He keeps trying to get into the underworld to see his parents but the doors of the underworld remain locked to him.
And two. Hypnos was far too interested in this new god.
And hypnos very much wanted to know everything about Y/N. Especially when Achilles learned what is happening and Hypnos ends up acting as a messenger for them on the sly.
At first Y/N didn’t care about anything but his parents, he just wanted to check on them, then return to his duties.
But hypnos wormed in his way into Y/N’s heart and they slowly fall in love during quiet nights, the snow gleaming like millions of diamonds.
They would rest their heads on soft grass and whispers gentle words to each other, fingers locked together.
Eventually y/n will get to see his parents and became one of the rare gods who can travel between the surface and underworld.
