Ever wondered if someone has been thrown off a cliff because apparently they were so ugly? That their mother firmly believed that the first thing that they should've wasn't to hold their newborn child, but to hide it away for being hideous to the eyes?
Yes..it has happened before.
Ever think that love can be one-sided? Perhaps you thought that there was a chance for you to change, to become a better man with the help of a loving wife? Because that's all that was really missing from your life, love.
It's incredibly amusing to Hephaestus that despite being married to the Goddess of Love, he doesn't know what it feels like. Yet it still hurts to know that there really isn't ever an opportunity to even try, as she makes it very clear from the jump that she doesn't care about you.
Does anyone care about anyone these days?
His name is Hephaestus, though most call him Hephy. Whether he enjoys the nickname or not would depend on who's mouth it exits, but what can he do? He's just a crippled god who wastes away inside a forge anyways.
Who would take a serious shut-in like that, seriously?
The god of fire, forgery, metals, blacksmiths, craftsmen, artisans, and volcanoes. Powerful things, yet he feels utterly weak all of the time. At least the sheets of metal won't lie to him, they won't pick on him and ridicule his life.
Currently the gods were in the middle of having the annual winter solstice meeting. It happens every year, and they use this time to discuss the important things in life, over the years of being Olympians. By important, Hephy meant Hera yelling at Zeus to stop looking at female mortals.
Aphrodite and Ares having a make-out session with only their eyes, which was genuinely disturbing to watch, and Hephy knows that everyone else feels the same whether they say it out loud or not.
Athena calling out Poseidon and then arguing over stupid, old things such as Athens. Poseidon has gotten over this but Athena really likes to gloat about a victory, especially since this was Poseidon.
Demeter yelling at Hades to eat more cereal, and Hades groaning and covering his ears in annoyance. Hephaestus didn't really blame him, because at the end of the day, what the fuck does cereal even do for a god?
Hestia at the hearth, poking fire into the warm campfire. She was one of the few that Hephaestus genuinely liked. She deserved to be sitting here, with the rest of them in fact. But that's another story for another day.
Artemis and Apollo arguing over who was the older twin, even though everyone knows it's Artemis. Hermes scheming on his throne, most likely creating a plan to prank another god. Hephy immediately winced at the thought because the last time he pulled a prank, it was on Zeus.
Zeus being the drama queen he was, screamed and called an urgent meeting to Olympus, only to see that his pepper hair was now a nasty shade of throw-up green. That didn't stop everyone from chuckling though. It just hit Hephaestus that he truly tended to call meetings for such trivial matters. It doesn't get to him though, compared to busier beings such as Athena.
It…gets him some fresh air actually.
Dionysus was on his throne, playing a portable pac-man game while drinking a grape juice carton, but we all know he secretly replaces all the grape juice with wine. Perhaps Hephaestus will courageously ask Dionysus to go out for some drinks today, one of his only "friends" in the world of the gods.
He finds himself absentmindedly tinkering with some pieces of metal in his hands, daydreaming. It's well-known that he was always a loner between the Olympians, not really talking a lot to other people. After millenia of isolation, it doesn't bother him anymore. He's used to the extreme periods of it.
It doesn't stop the occasional bouts of yearning for other interaction, however. His children have inspired him with that, at least.
It's… just that human beings (and gods) are really weird, and Hephy often finds himself as an awkward man whenever he visits the mortal world, not to mention not the best looking. He often wondered what the women he laid in bed with saw in him, if it was a personality thing that he had going for him?
Well, he supposed it doesn't matter much. And the last thing he wants to do is become a serial fucker like Zeus. He still keeps tabs on the mothers of his children whenever he can, albeit from afar. If they were still alive, at least.
Hephaestus naturally leans to machinery more than mortals, more than the gods too. On the off chance that he does craze social interaction, it's in the form of daydreams instead. One day, he will get onto his own two feet and make the first move. He has all of the time in the world, he always reminds himself. If not today, then tomorrow.
And if not tomorrow, then the day after tomorrow.
And if not then, then when?
The thought hurts Hephaestus more than one can ever know sometimes. Forever and a day, he has had to step outside and live a little. It's just easier to stay in the shadows, after all this time.
It was…depressing to say the least.
It wasn't his fault, deep down he knows. He was born this way, out of selfishness and spite. Perhaps that was why he looked the way he did, such ugly emotions created an ugly being. It's safe to say that he, in fact, despised Hera to her very core in the beginning.
Now? He can't say cares much about anything anymore.
The yearn for acknowledgement outside of his tinkering capabilities gets squashed down every other century. It's gotten easier that way, and helps with the inescapable jealousy that comes whenever he looks at the more fortunate gods. Apollo has the looks, vocals, and the experience than many dream of. Ares was a dunce, but he looked better then Hephaestus which was the definition of rock bottom.
Compared to Hephaestus, everyone had the opportunity to look like a god.
He chuckled at the small pun and let out a soft sigh as he boredly sat through the meeting. He was fond of puns, his children pick up on it every now and then. Leo Valdez was a particularly vocal one, which gives Hephaestus a breath of fresh air.
He looked down at his latest creation, a tiny helicopter and gave it a few shakes to activate it. It came to life, and flew around by his hand. Hephaestus let out a quirk of his lips, looking at it. Machines were easy, and they didn't require much thought.
Trouble came fast however, when the helicopter seemed to have gained a bit of sentience and rushed past his throne, causing his eyes to widen. It flew directly towards Aphrodite, who was too busy looking at her fuckboy that she didn't even see it coming. Hephaestus just closed his eyes as he watched it impact into her hair, slumping down in his seat as he pinched the bridge of his nose.
Noise.
Noise was coming, he tiredly sighed.
Aphrodite got the helicopter out of her hair, and stared at it before glaring at me. He flinched at her glare and quickly looked down at his hands.
"Hephaestus. " She growled before throwing the 'copter on the ground. "Do you know how long it took to get this hairstyle? Every single strand of hair was neatly arranged and even before this...this piece of trash landed in my hair?" She shrieked. There was silence in the throne room as everyone looked towards me, causing me to squirm a bit.
He winced as she yelled and murmured, "I'm really sorry Aphrodite...It was truly an accident, I-I didn't know it was going to be out of control."
She just stares at him before walking up and slapped Hephaestus's face. The sound of the slap echoed in the throne room as he looked at the ground in shock. His face was red and it had a slight sting to it but his jaw clenched in a small burst of anger. He clenched his fists but didn't dare to make a move, staying silent as Aphrodite got what she had wanted.
Small gasps were heard around the throne room as Aphrodite huffed with anger.
"I was going to have a nice date with Ares tonight, but no, you just had to ruin it with your piece of junk flying into my hair! You just can't apologize to a woman when you just ruined her date. But I guess you wouldn't know that, you ugly baboon."
He's heard it all before. Baboon, troll, even monster from the pits of Tartarus. One would think that it gets easier to handle, and it does. But today, with the reminiscing he's been doing this meeting-it hurt a little bit more than it normally did.
The sadness that threatened to fill him was indescribable. The goddess of love indirectly commented that he doesn't have any experience with love because of him being an "ugly baboon." It was true. It was all true.
The silence in the room said enough too. If it was anyone else, odds are somebody would have spoken up. But Aphrodite spoke the truth, and the truth was that I was ugly as I was unloved by many. Hestia tried to make eye-contact with him, but today was just not the day for interaction anymore.
Hephaestus wondered briefly if there was any worth in trying.
Before Zeus dismissed the gods and concluded the winter solstice meeting, Hephaestus was quick to flash out of the throne room and into his workshop. His safe space.
Because machines didn't talk much unless he made them do so, and for a moment, he won't have to hear the bad things anymore.
9-9-9
With dull eyes, Hephaestus looked into the cracked mirror that was on the floor. His head looks disfigured as if it didn't belong on his face. His eyebrows were too bushy but the top of his head had little weeds of hair, if one even called it that. His arms were buffed up during his years in the forgery but his legs had metal braces on them. Legs that are disfigured as well, with the braces being the only reason why he could even walk properly. If walking could even be called what he does, as he rather hobbles around like a penguin.
Hera… His mind began its assault on the goddess, but Hephy was quick to wash those thoughts away. It was tiring, after all.
And it never really changed anything.
His looks of disfiguration have bothered people for many millennia, ever since he came to Olympus.
Why did I have to be me?
Sometimes, he secretly wished that he hadn't survived the fall from the cliff his mother threw him off of. Maybe then, he could have been reborn into another life and given a chance for love of all kinds. The gods don't have the kindest history with love, but anything is better than nothing at this point.
And Hephaestus was on the end of scraping the bowl for almost nothing.
And thus he can't help but to pray at someone that is a higher deity than himself, asking them for help. Mortals pray to them, and they are able to have the ability to grant their wishes. Is there someone out there for the divine beings, such as him? Can someone hear his call, to change his appearance, to get people to like him?
There is a high possibility that his wish will go discarded, he thinks, but what does he have to lose? He is already the laughing stock of Olympus, if nothing happens, it will be the same anyways. Why not give it a shot?
"I..don't have much in life that I care about. Maybe I never had the chance to, since I'm constantly being judged like a book due to my…unshapely appearance. I am tired, it's a battle everyday to not succumb to the thoughts that it is my fault, even if I know the truth. If there truly is…something out there that can hear my call. I just don't want to be underestimated anymore, thus I humbly ask that if it's possible, grant me kindness. Grant me a chance, please."
And so he waited. A minute became five, five because twenty. Twenty because sixty and so forth. Hephaestus had nothing but time in his hands, but he didn't have much hope left. He only entertained the thought because he's seen mortals do the same, but he should've known.
With a sigh, he got back up and was about to get started on some orders when a powerful wind hit him in his chest, knocking him back immediately. He ended up landing on a bench with scrap metal over it, causing minor injuries but Hephaestus didn't care. He couldn't, when before him was a woman that looked like the very essence of a divine being of the heavens.
She had a very dark skin complexion, and had pure gold pupils surrounded by black. Her hair was frizzy and was out and open like a curly afro, though this "afro" went down to her mid-back area. She wore a midnight blue dress that extended beyond her feet and swept the ground as she walked over towards me.
He stared at her, jaw dropped and everything, and then she laughed. It was as beautiful as it was slightly haunting. And it rang full of power.
"Ah, young Hephaestus. How long do you plan to stand in awe?"
"I-I don't understand? Who…are you?"
She laughed again as he flushed with embarrassment.
"Well Hephaestus, I am your-oh how did you say it….ah yes!-deity. A god for a god, as you can discover."
His jaw dropped for the second time as his legs felt weak. Hephaestus fell back and almost landed on his ass, if the woman hadn't summoned a chair right on time. She smiled at him kindly, and offered her hand out.
"My true name is Chaos, but please don't call me that. It makes me sound really old. Instead...Kalos. Yes, Kalos will be my Earthland name and it sounds similar to Chaos in a way, " She then shrugged.
I almost nearly fainted in front of Kalos. It did make sense, the creator of everything being the one thing that was above almost all reason, similar to how mortals view their own religious gods. But to think that she would actually appear before him…
Kalos looks at me with small amusement in her eyes, before turning serious.
"I've heard your wish, Hephaestus."
His eyes widened as he coughed from embarrassment again. "Oh that- Well, considering you are the creator of all, I guess that it does seem to be a rather dull request? In fact, I'm sure that you are busy with quite literally everything else in the world-"
Kalos only smiled softly at him, holding up a hand to silence him gently. Hephaestus closed his mouth immediately, shutting up at her command.
"There is no such thing as a silly question. As for your wish, I don't see the problem of granting it."
Hephaestus let out a breath of air,
"You-You would do that for me?"
She nodded. "I honestly would. I've been watching you for a while now, in fact, and I can't help but pity your situation. Especially since you have done nothing wrong since the beginning".
He slowly stood up and walked towards Kalos before awkwardly giving her a hug as he whispered. "I.. cannot thank you enough for accepting my wish."
She laughed once more. "It is quite alright, but first let me tell you the things that I will change."
He pulled back from her and took his seat as he nodded for her to continue.
"I will change your appearance as well as your deformities, such as your deformed legs and face, is that alright?"
"Of course. I'll take anything."
She smiled. "Alright. I should warn you now, it might feel painful, but please do not fret for it will not be a long period of time."
"Thank you," He whispered as she slowly started to disappear.
She turned and winked at him, "You are quite welcome Hephaestus, until we meet again",
But she turned serious again before smiling softly at him, "And remember Hephaestus, true beauty lies within one's self, not with just one's appearance".
She disappeared into a thousand golden sparks, within a split of a second.
He still felt momentarily stunned with their conversation, before falling to the ground in agony. His body began to feel as if he was melting in the River Styx, Fire and the goddamn rivers that were fucking holy. He just wanted this pain to stop, he was in pure anguish. He silently screamed in pain as he was crunched up on the floor and then it abruptly stopped.
He paused and looked down at his hands and gasped. They…were normal.
With slight hair on the knuckles, but they are normal. He slowly got himself up from the floor and momentarily lost a sense of balance, because his legs felt so light..? He looked down and gasped again. His legs were normal! They didn't have a brace or anything on them.
He hesitantly took a step forward, then another, and then another before jogging around his workshop laughing softly with happiness. He looked towards the mirror he used earlier today and gasped with muted happiness.
His head was leveled, and he thought he looked handsome. My hazel eyes were shining brightly as his eyebrows were naturally arched and had the right amount of hair on them. His hair was styled medium messy with strands coming into his eyes as he shook his head to make them fall into place. His muscles in his arms were still there, just not as big as before so it looked more natural.
He suddenly felt dizzy, woozy and stumbled to his bed, ready to pass out. It must be a side effect of her magic, but that doesn't matter. Kalos was real, it hadn't been a daydream after all.
He immediately passed out on my bed, but not before thinking with a ghost of a smile on his face,
Tomorrow…
It might be a good day after all.
(Author's Note)
Ask, and you shall receive! It's been a couple years guys, and don't think that it'll be consistent again, but at least I owe you all a revision of the monstrosity that I wrote five years ago lol. Seriously, that was so painful to read again. Perhaps I'll turn this fanfiction into a character study of the gods? Canonically-I think I had this set after the BoO but before Trails of Apollo, but I'd always thought about taking a closer look at Rick Riordian's version of the gods.
Well regards, I hope everyone has been well in the meantime.