schneefink

My solution to wondering which recs I should post next is to post all of them at once, so here is a mix of very different "Hades" stories, including one comic.

Mortal Coil by

spiderbirdo
Comic, gen focus (Zagreus & Thanatos, Zagreus & Persephone), AU, 27 chapters plus bonuses (master post on Tumblr); content notes: graphic depictions of violence, repeated major character death (temporary), ~suicide (let me know if you want more detailed warnings)
Summary: An alternate universe fancomic for Hades where Zagreus makes a deal with Chaos to become mortal, leaving his body behind and the events that follow.
Why I love it: The story is great, both very sad and hopeful, and the art is beautiful and wonderfully expressive. I love the colors and perspectives and panel layouts.

A Fellow Student of Death by

themoonflower
24.3k (series: 66k, WIP), Ares/Thanatos(/Zagreus)
Summary: Ares is disliked by most of his Olympian colleagues, but as long as he has Thanatos he has everything he needs.
Then he is asked to help Zagreus break out of the underworld, and things get complicated.
Told from Ares' POV, this follows the main plot of the game.
Why I love it: Great look at Hades' Ares. This story mainly covers his relationship with Thanatos, including the delicious fall-out from Ares finding out about Zagreus' real goal, and the beginning of his relationship with Zagreus, and I really like all the layers of allegiance and feelings. I also like Ares' relationships with the other gods, especially Aphrodite.
The rest of the series, which I also enjoy a lot, includes short sequels and more Ares backstory.

fly down and feed at their hand by

decant
2k, Chaos/Zagreus, tentacle sex
Summary: Chaos has some observations to make on the subject of reactions to stimulus.
Why I like it: Of course Master Chaos can manifest tentacles for study. I love how eager to please Zag is.

a year in the garden, four days below by

Stacicity
11.7k, Persephone/Hades (main), post-credits
Summary: Up in the world above the earth still spins and the seasons continue to shift. Down below, Persephone sets her hands to the soil and brings her garden back to life.
Time and work will bring her family to bloom as well.
Why I like it: Great post-credits Persephone PoV, I really enjoyed her complicated feelings about being back and her interactions with everyone.

come healing by

AceQueenKing
3.3k, gen, Megaera & Persephone
Summary:Megaera punishes oathbreakers, but it's not until Zagreus intercedes that she decides to go after the once-queen of the underworld, who abandoned her throne.
Why I like it: Takes place between Zagreus' first escape and the credits. An interaction I would not have thought of but I enjoyed it.

I'm a Straight Shooter, But You're a Moving Target by

PennamePersona
4.3k, Artemis & Zagreus, post-epilogue
Summary: She doesn’t like that he tricked her. For all that she tolerates Hermes, there’s no real fondness in her heart for deception.
But she wants to like Zagreus. She wants to see if maybe, just maybe, she wasn’t being such a fool when she’d offered comfort and kindness and told him he wasn’t alone - she was there, as much as she could be. She knows that even talkative, charismatic people get lonely, sometimes.
She needs to understand him better, is what it comes down to. And what better way to understand her prey than observation?
Therefore: tree-sitting. Perfectly sensible.
Why I like it: This is exactly the Artemis post-epilogue story I hoped someone would write.

Petals for Armor by

stygius
22k, Megaera/Zagreus, hanahaki
Summary: When Megaera falls ill with a strange affliction, she tries to keep it secret, especially from Zagreus. But as her condition worsens and becomes harder to hide, she realizes she can't keep him at arm's length forever. Sooner or later, something's got to give.
Why I like it: I really enjoy this look at Meg, and how much she values control and struggles when she feels weak and helpless, and her relationship with Zag.

heart rend by

dangerousaudino
3.7k, Artemis & Aphrodite, ~missing scene
Summary: Artemis and Aphrodite come to a tentative understanding -- and maybe a bit more.
Why I like it: I really like both goddesses here and their relationship.

Again and Again by

SailorFish
3.8k, Achilles & Zagreus, canon-divergent AU
Summary: Achilles stood up. He had been expecting the stranger since Megaera had stalked past him, elegant despite the anger and blood dripping from her.
An AU where Zagreus was raised by Demeter and ends up fighting his way through the Underworld regardless - just in the opposite direction. Guarding the entrance out is the terrifying monster Cerberus, but guarding the entrance in is Achilles, best of Greeks. And he has strict orders not to let anyone in.
Why I like it: Very cool AU, very nice Achilles reluctantly becoming fond of Zagreus, both fun and feelings.

red fatigue; ruinous flight by

storm_warning
6.5k, gen, Zagreus character study, mind the warnings
Summary: “It just-- it must be nice to have something like that, don’t you think?”
“How so?” Thanatos prompts again, feeling like he’s missing something.
“Something to believe in,” Zagreus says, a bit too mildly. “Someone to pray to.”
Why I like it: Great look at Zagreus during the events of the game, before the first escape.

still, there is no escape by

FieryGaze
9.3k, gen-focused (Zag/Than), post-epilogue
Summary: “Thanks, Than,” he said. “Really.”
“It doesn’t seem like there’s all that much I can do,” Thanatos admitted, looking sidelong at him instead of at the sea. “You really are bound there. Strongly. It doesn’t seem right, somehow.”
“What do you mean?”
“You burn so bright. You’re full of life. It seems like this place should embrace you.”
“I thought you said you didn’t like it here.”
“I said it has its benefits.”
-
Finally, the reality starts to set in. Zagreus is never getting out.
Why I like it: I try very hard to see the ending of the game as a happy ending, and mostly I succeed, but when I fail it looks approximately like this story.

but he can't cough the water up by

gendernoncompliant
1.2k, gen, Persephone, missing scenes, grief
Summary: Zagreus is her son, but Persephone is no mother.
Why I like it: Very good look at Persephone during the events of the game.

Cabbage by

felinefelicitations
4.3k, Cabbage the tortoise
Summary: A shadow appeared over him, then resolved into a two-leg face framed by brilliant orange wings and he tried pulling back into his shell. Except the one leg hurt.
This did not seem like an event he was going to survive. He considered biting. He could bite.
Why I like it: Did you know that Hermes has a tortoise in his messenger bag? I missed it, until I read fics about said tortoise (which apparently according to word of god is called Chelly, but not in this fic.) This is sweet.

Shitty Boy Corner by

red_smear
43.7k, Theseus/Zagreus and others (series: 8 completed works)
Summary: Theseus is NOT attracted to Zagreus and Zagreus is NOT attracted to Theseus and they may have mutually agreed to having sex but they are NOT enjoying it. ...Okay, maybe. But in the angriest way possible.
Asterius is a good boyfriend/rival and the long-suffering holder of the trio's only brain cell.
Mild-escalating-to-moderate kink throughout, instances of Thesterius and Than/Zag/Meg, please see works for other relevant tags.
Behold: a hatefucking comedy duo.
Why I like it: "Hatefucking comedy duo" indeed. When I'm even vaguely in the mood for humiliation kink etc. I enjoy this a lot.

there are questions I can't ask (now at last the worst is over) by

procrastinatingbookworm
3.6k, half-nereid!Achilles & Meg, grief
Summary: Hades and Persephone deliberate the fate of Achilles. Megaera steps in, and ends up with her hands full with the responsibility to curb suffering rather than enact it.
Why I like it: I really like their relationship in the game, and here it's more raw still.

all the spaces between us by

jirin
7.6k, Zagreus/Thanatos, getting together, canon-compliant
Summary: For a place full of the dead, crammed with ghostly shades and nothing but the endless lull of eternity unchanging, gossip sure travelled fast in the Underworld.
Or, Zagreus mulls over his relationship with Thanatos while the rest of the Underworld get overly invested.
Why I like it: This is sweet, such a nice look at both of them, pretty much throughout the events of the game.

the price of life, the price of death by

NohaIjiachi
41k, gen-focus (Zagreus/Thanatos), AU
Summary: Zagreus escapes his fate in a different way. He is not any less strong for it.
Why I like it: In this AU Zagreus is physically weak, meaning he can't fight his way out of the Underworld. That doesn't stop him trying to leave, and I love how things develop from there.

I hope you enjoyed some of the Hades recs I posted :)