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An Idiot's Guide to the Underworld [Worm/Hades]

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CuriousQuasit said:
Something I've been musing on is that depending on how the two settings here are connected, things could get incredibly interesting.

Basically, there are two options: either the world - including multiverse - that Taylor knows is in some way connected to the world of Hades (the game in general, that is), which raises some huge questions, both metaphysical and mundane; or it isn't, at least until Taylor ended up there, which raises even more.

I'll admit, I'd find the latter more interesting (though I'm sure it'll be good either way) if only for the reaction it'd provoke from Chaos, and probably from Zagreus in turn, when they ended up visiting.

After all, imagine you're taking a wee jaunt to meet Primordial Chaos, the genesis of all things - y'know, as you do - and then they turn to your companion and say, "I am the creator of all things that are, that were, and that ever will be. And you are none of these."

Honestly, what the fuck do you even do in that scenario?
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Taylor meets Primordial Chaos and they're all 'oh there you are, so I dropped you in the Styx huh? Well, that wasn't what was supposed to happen (in your reality, the Jews were right you know), but it was my fault for having such useless butterfingers, so I guess you can keep your divinity.' and it turns out that all of this was an accident caused by Primordial Chaos accidentally dropping Taylor's soul in surprise at discovering just how many deaths she was (partially) responsible for.

Garreon said:
This is very true.
If we go by rules of other works, take PJ's for example.
Hades can make expansions of the Underworld, but it costs him money, although being the god of gems, precious metals and riches he always has cash in hand.
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Yeah, making sure the Underworld has enough space for all the dead people isn't the problem, the problem is making sure that they're organized, with the various shades going to the correct parts of the Underworld instead of just roaming willy-nilly.

Hades despises disorder, which is why Zag refuses to clean up his room.
 
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If Taylor is sun themed then she will be able to stay outside the underground during the day... and die if she stays out at night.

One interpretation of the sun is that it does die every sunset only to revive at dawn.

Another is that during the night... the sun travels the underground.
 
Pinklestia said:
If Taylor is sun themed then she will be able to stay outside the underground during the day... and die if she stays out at night.

One interpretation of the sun is that it does die every sunset only to revive at dawn.

Another is that during the night... the sun travels the underground.
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Assuming Taylor's sun theme comes from the Khepri 'part', she's only the morning sun. Khepri (the god) is the scarab-headed deity that pushes the sun into the sky every morning, often interpreted as a subordinate or aspect of Ra as part of the trinity of Khepri, Ra, Atum, representing the morning sun, the midday sun and the setting sun respectively.

So if her sun theme does let her avoid the Styx for awhile, it would probably only be during the morning\sunrise.
 
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Helot said:
Dusa went in there and came out YESTERDAY! It's so messy, TIME got lost in there! CLEAN YOUR ROOM SON!
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Don't worry Zag has a backup plan. He'd heard about Hercules's stunt with the stables and is intending to temporarily divert the river Styx through his room to clean it out. What could go wrong?
 
jwolfe_beta said:
Don't worry Zag has a backup plan. He'd heard about Hercules's stunt with the stables and is intending to temporarily divert the river Styx through his room to clean it out. What could go wrong?
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Does he want the Styx to drown him? People tend to forget that the Styx, Cocytus, Phlegethon, Lethe and the Acheron aren't just rivers with fancy names and powers but deities as well. Wouldn't surprise me if they could materialize their consciousness in the form of a Naiad. Heck, does Zagreus want Pallas on his case for doing the same thing Heracles did to his wife? Although lets be fair to Zagreus here, his is just a messy room, not giant stables full of more crap than King Augeas can use to fertilize his crops.
 
Garreon said:
Hey Red and Blue take their research seriously.....and i kinda did the same just to confirm that it was true, although I had heard before the thing about Keroberos meaning Spotted One......by the olympians now i want to see Taylor call Cerberus Spot within earshot of Hades and Zagreus it would be hilarious.
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Well they take their research seriously to a point, they are huge Athena apologists and basically take any version of a myth that shows her in the best light as THE myth. It's usually not an issue except in episodes like the Arachne one.
 
I personally saw the description of the sword being 'crossing boundaries' was a reference to her ending up to Hades reality from her reality.
 
OxfordOctopus said:
Everything rumbled, accompanied by the harsh groan of stone-against-stone. The world grew darker, Taylor could feel herself almost sink down, the pressure of whatever this was weighing heavily against her back. Her breath came out hard, panting, nearly a wheeze as she felt her legs buckle, trembling beneath an unseen, almost unfelt weight. She could hear Hypnos next to her saying something, but it sounded like it was underwater, too muffled to make out. Her vision swam, red tinting everything, encroaching in like it might swallow her again, drag her back down. Be done with it.
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<CONFLICT!>
OxfordOctopus said:
"Enough, Lord Hades," Nyx's voice cut through the din, the groaning, sounding crystal clear in her ears. "She is clearly beyond her wits, give her a stay of execution so that she may regain them."
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<SPOILSPORT>
OxfordOctopus said:
Following their gazes up, Taylor caught sight of, true to their word, Dusa 'cleaning the rafters of bats'. Bats about the size of small dogs, one of which she had a snake wrapped around the throat of and was bludgeoning headily with the feathered end of her duster.

Taylor blinked, reached up to try to rub at her eyes. When the black spots faded, she could still see it. The bat went limp after a few more violent cracks between its ears, falling over limp. Almost eerily, the massive bat was slowly dragged back onto the rafters, where it slid out of sight.
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<BEST GIRL>
OxfordOctopus said:
"Well, alright," she said, glancing away. "You still only get one boon for one of you. Enjoy, or something." The woman flickered, then pulled apart into three separate motes of light.
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<IDIOT'S GUIDE TO GROUP TRIGGERS>
OxfordOctopus said:
"You're pretty good at fighting for someone who was born today, though. Did anyone happen to teach you?"
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<PRIDE>
OxfordOctopus said:
Her back jostled against something hard and spiky. She twisted around, blinking the black spots out of her eyes as the whining in her ear from the blastwave finally started to peter off, replaced by the urgent rattling hiss of the urn she'd just bumped into, which was currently sparkling and glowing with purple energy. The face on it was morose, a steely sort of expression, and it was the last thing she saw before it exploded too.
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<THINKER MINUS ONE>
OxfordOctopus said:
Aspect of ??? - Stygian Blade
A blade seemingly meant for traversal between boundaries.
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<INTRIGUING>
OxfordOctopus said:
Something almost sheepish crossed over his expression, his jog faltering into a more sedate walk. "Well, when you died, I was worried?" A short, awkward laugh escaped him, mostly under his breath. "It looked really painful, and you took such a long time to fully be taken by the Styx. So I got revenge for you on the bombers and, er..."

"Let yourself die," Taylor finished for him, her thoughts grinding to a sudden halt.
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<BAD SCIENCE>
<INSUFFICIENT RIGOR>
OxfordOctopus said:
Hades' gaze turned flinty. "A long winter has destabilized the mortal communities on the surface," he informed her tightly, and something about how he said the word made her think that he was withholding something about it. "They fight wars over dwindling grain and liquid water, and with each day we become more and more inundated with the dead.
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<WASTEFUL>
<ENDBRINGERS>
 
Should be interesting when Zagreus and Taylor eventually make their way up to the Temple of Skyx. Will they be double-teaming Hades or will Taylor be facing her own 'final boss' on her own? I vote for Nyx.
 
Garreon said:
Wouldn't make sense since Nyx is the one encouraging Zagreus to get out.
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What I meant was that whenever Zagreus gets through the Temple of Skyx he needs to fight Hades in order to take that last step into the surface world. However if Taylor is present for the fight, things get ruined because a lot of what father and son talk about aren't things they would willingly share with other people. Also letting the two godlings double-team Hades seems a bit unfair.

So instead have Taylor fight her own solo final battle in order to be allowed to leave the Underworld. And since Hades had more or less gone 'you're responsible for her' to Nyx in regards to Taylor I could see her being slotted for the role. A sort of ironic setup where she is encouraging one child to escape the Underworld (if only for a brief time) but now must act at the final obstacle for another.
 
Another possibility could be Taylor having to actually deal with Cerberus rather than just bribing him/them (is Cerberus singular or plural? Zag acts like Cerby is one, but with how only one head likes pats that means the heads have distinct personalities) out of the way.
 
Shinji117 said:
Another possibility could be Taylor having to actually deal with Cerberus rather than just bribing him/them (is Cerberus singular or plural? Zag acts like Cerby is one, but with how only one head likes pats that means the heads have distinct personalities) out of the way.
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They would have to be split up for that to work. Cerberus gallops off somewhere to eat his Scooby snack Satyr sack after Zagreus gives it to him.
 
zhuull said:
Well they take their research seriously to a point, they are huge Athena apologists and basically take any version of a myth that shows her in the best light as THE myth. It's usually not an issue except in episodes like the Arachne one.
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Didn't they just take the older, not-Ovid source for that one? Ovid's popular, but that doesn't make his versions of any myths more (or less) true or anything.
Shinji117 said:
Another possibility could be Taylor having to actually deal with Cerberus rather than just bribing him/them (is Cerberus singular or plural? Zag acts like Cerby is one, but with how only one head likes pats that means the heads have distinct personalities) out of the way.
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Well, could be one being with three heads and only likes one of those heads getting petted? But it's a bit unclear, yeah.
 
Great Greedy Guts said:
Didn't they just take the older, not-Ovid source for that one? Ovid's popular, but that doesn't make his versions of any myths more (or less) true or anything.

Well, could be one being with three heads and only likes one of those heads getting petted? But it's a bit unclear, yeah.
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They say they use several sources and that's fine, but they don't present any sources but their pet ones as the actual myth. There's never any discussion on how some communities pushed this version over that version for instance. And this always somehow seems to line up so that butter wouldn't melt in Athena's mouth.

I live in a town named after that evil bitch and it pisses me off to see such a lack of nuance when dealing with her mythology.
 
zhuull said:
They say they use several sources and that's fine, but they don't present any sources but their pet ones as the actual myth. There's never any discussion on how some communities pushed this version over that version for instance. And this always somehow seems to line up so that butter wouldn't melt in Athena's mouth.

I live in a town named after that evil bitch and it pisses me off to see such a lack of nuance when dealing with her mythology.
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The majority of information we have on the Ancient Greeks, especially regarding mythology, comes from the Athenians.

The Athenians had opinions about certain subjects, one of those opinions was that Athena was the bestest divinity ever who could do no wrong and always won everything because she was the patron deity of Athens and Athens was clearly the bestest city-state ever that could do no wrong and always won everything.

This bias is also why the vast majority of Ancient Greek mythology shits all over women in general; the Athenians were incredibly patriarchal even by Ancient Greek standards and they habitually sabotaged every myth that showed any woman in any kind of favorable light, except Athena for obvious reasons.
 
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