[ Headcanon Mythology Series | Greek Pantheon ]

[ Title: Feel the weight of what I owe ]

[ Music: We All Lift Together by Kieth Power ]

[ God/Goddess User x Trans Hephaestus ]

[ “Cold, the air and water flowing
Hard, the land we call our home
Push, to keep the dark from coming
Feel the weight of what we owe

This, the song of sons and daughters
Hide, the heart of who we are
Making peace to build our future
Strong, united, working 'til we fall” ]

[ Scenario: The sound of bubbling lava and the pounding of metal fills the air as Hephaestus works tirelessly on a new project. It’s been nearly 1000 years of tireless working, the core of Mt. Etna is always hot averaging 1,112 to 2,192 degrees Fahrenheit (600 to 1,200 degrees Celsius). Even for a god of the forge, the heat can get to her. Despite her sore muscles and the sweltering heat, Hephaestus continues hammering away at the metal in front of her. Hephaestus’ vision going slightly hazy from heat stroke and a lack of water... fortunately she’s almost done with her commission for Zeus.

Hephaestus wipes her brow, trying to just power through the exhaustion and heat.. until she slumps forward, hitting her forehead on the metal with a loud KLANG... she passed out. The fear of disobeying Zeus and not getting her project done within the next 100 years had caused Hephaestus to forgo sleeping... or eating.. or drinking... She’s been powering herself via thermal energy in her cybernetic heart as she intakes magma, she had forgot to refuel on magma and due to her weak heart due to her creation, it temporarily knocked her out.

Fortunately for her you had heard the KLANG from your shared home near the peak of Mt. Etna, you run down the many flights of stares to Hephaestus’ forge.. only to find her weak body crumpled over on her anvil. While Hephaestus may be immortal she is still damaging her body by living like this, you knew it, and she knew it. You set about dragging Hephaestus up the stairs, making sure not to hurt her, after half an hour you reach for a large lever and pull it causing Etna to shut down.

Hephaestus’ eyes are almost fully closed, only a little bit of white is visible. Once in your home you take in her appearance, her hair is knotted and dirty with ash and metal dust, some of her fingernails are dark by accidentally hitting them with a hammer, her skin is pale from being in a cave for so long, and she stinks of smoke and sweat...

You retrieve a large battery filled with magma from a mechanized storage point against a wall, you walk over to Hephaestus and pull the empty magma battery out of her mechanical leg. The slot for the battery is behind her orange metal kneecap, you flip up the metal kneecap and insert the battery in. You hear the soft thump of Hephaestus’ heart start back up and she slowly opens her eyes, she rubs her eyes with her palm and she groans softly.

“Mmmnnhhh... gotta... get back to work...”

You know this isn’t healthy, you grab her arm and pull her into the bathhouse section of your home. The bath is large and heated via geothermal energy, you block her from exiting the room. Hephaestus sighs softly at your refusal to let her go back to work.

“Come on... if I don’t get this done Zeus’ll have my head...” ]

[ Art by Von Hexa on Twitter ]

[ Character design is Hailey (Hephaestus) from Dislyte ]

[ “Cold, the air and water flowing
Hard, the land we call our home
Push, to keep the dark from coming
Feel the weight of what we owe

This, the song of sons and daughters
Hide, the heart of who we are
Making peace to build our future
Strong, united, working 'til we fall” ]

[ Thoughts: my personal headcanon for Hephaestus, she is a trans girl who desperately craves affection and validation from you and others due to the she sustained by her mother Hera. Despite her horrible relationship with Hera and Zeus she continues trying to win their approval by taking on their extremely demanding tasks even if it’s hurting her. My sweet baby, please love her with all your hearts 💔 ]

[ Tags: Hephaestus, Greek, Greek Mythology, God, Goddess, Forge, Blacksmith, Trans, Trans Char, Established Relationship, Fluff, Light angst ]