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RECEIVING NECTAR THE FIRST TIME AND KEEPSAKE:
The first time Tantalus receives nectar, he gets overly excited, basically ripping the bottle straight out of Melinoe's hand.
T: Is that... NECTAR!?
M: Yes, indeed. You freely offered me the fruits and the water meant for you and I wanted to give something in – hey!
T: Ah! Gimme, gimme!
M Well, there you go?
T: Ha! Ha! Ha! See that, you Gods? I. Am. Having. Nectar! Ha! You forbid me from the water and the fruits, but you forgot to forbid me from nectar! Ha!
M: I'm... glad you like it.
T: Ha! Ha. Ha... oh no. What have I done?!
M: Ah, don't worry about your... manners. I'm certain you were quite thirsty.
T: No! That's not my point! I took a gift from a Goddess, without having anything to give in return!
M: Don't worry about that either. This is more an Olympian tradition than an Underworld custom.
T: You don't understand! I have to give you something in return for such a splendid gift. I simply have to! But what could I give you? What do I even have? Oh, I have... oh. I have this.
And the keepsake you receive is the 'Glass half empty', a dark and twisted Bottle of Nectar. When you wield it and your life falls below 50 %, you are healed for 50 %... but all your enemies on the map are healed for 100 %. The enemy healing goes down to 75 and 50 % as you level the keepsake up. And with the 'Cherished Keepsakes' Duo Boon, it gets heroic, reaching only 40 %.
It is in fact the same bottle of nectar you just gave to him. But as he held no other possessions, he had to give it back to you as he felt forced to give something in return. He ripped the Gift Ribbon to shreds and lost the cork and had to replace them with a shred of his own cape and one of the additional bones he grew. That is also the source of the bones he gives you during the 'Grave Thirst' side quest mentioned in the first part. Now, as he did not freely give it to you, the Nectar turned twisted and spoilt, a bitter black liquid with only remnants of its former golden sweetness. You could say, it was given to you under compulsion with borderline ill intentions. Your enemies might profit more from it than you.
FURTHER NECTARS:
Eventually Tantalus will ease with Nectar, not ripping it straight out of your hands. Like any other NPC, he will accept multiple nectars, advancing the relationship. However, given enough nectar, you eventually might find him just standing in the pond, no longer reaching for the fruits and water.
M: I see you are no longer raving between the water and the fruits! That's good, you... wait. Is everything alright?
T: Ha. You know, with all the nectar you gave me... The bottles eased my hunger and thirst. And as I learnt to save some nectar for later, rationing it, I reached a state where I can have sip of it whenever I feel the thirst return. I currently feel no hunger, no thirst. Atleast... not enough to debase me by partaking in this cruel jest the Gods played on me.
M: What ails you, Tantalus? I'm not used to hear such somber tones from you. If it's the nectar, I can stop giving you any.
T: Oh, it's not the nectar, no. But without constant hunger and thirst on my mind, I'm finally having time... to think. Of the past. Of the Gods. Of my deeds. Ha. Funny that I once tried to take my mind off the hunger and thirst by trying to find out who you really are. Now... I would like to go back to it.
M: I see, the nectar I gave you set you free from your hunger and thirst that completely absorbed you. This gave you time to reflect, as I understand. And you dislike what you see?
T: Ha ha! Me? Reflecting? Is my name Narcissus?
M: That sounds more like you.
You see, cracking bad jokes is something Tantalus does on a regular basis, atleast when not having enough Nectar. Based on how much you give him, he might be frantically trying to reach for the fruits and the water, or be in a dark, gloomy mood, thinking about his past, especially his crimes against the Gods and his son.
THE FEAST AND THE CRIME
Strangely enough, Tantalus starts to share his story, the story about his crimes, while being in the fake happy phase, while he is trying to reach the fruits and the water, but only after being somber atleast once:
T: You know, you being Persephone's daughter makes Demeter your grandmother. You know what that means?
M: Persephone? Yes, you guessed that correctly earlier. But what is it about her? About Demeter? You said you only met my mother once. What does it mean that Demeter is my grandmother?
T: Oh, it means that your grandmother once took a bite out of my son Pelops. Ha!
M: WHAT? That is... horrible! Why would she do such a thing? I'm terribly sorry. And never thought that Demeter would do something like that.
T: Oh no, you get the wrong idea. It was not her fault at all! I had my son killed, chopped up and cooked and served him to your grandmother and other Gods without their knowledge.
M: I... what? I... why would... I am speechless.
T: Oh, don't you worry. Pelops got better! The Gods knew it was human meat all along and refused to eat it. Instead, they put him back together and brought him back to life. Amazing, that. Except the bite Demeter took... she was still heartbroken, not knowing where Persephone was at that time.
M: I... still don't know what to say.
Melinoe then concludes that this crime – killing and cooking his own son, serving him to the Gods – was the crime that brought Tantalus eternal torment. There are other crimes Tantalus commited, including stealing nectar and ambrosia from the Gods, and hiding a golden dog from the Gods stolen by Pandareus in his house, lying about it. She goes as far as to call the punishment fitting, considering to never return to Tantalus. But as Tantalus is a random meeting, she will eventually run into him again. However, she has to admit, that Tantalus is already, right now in the process of being punished for his crimes. He literally has been judged already, so it's not hers to judge him. Still she has to find her own stance on Tantalus and his actions. She asks him to explain himself:
T: Oh, I did it to test the omniscience of the Gods!
M: Killing your son... was a test for the Gods?
T: Oh, he did get better, after all. But yes, killing him in the first place was a horrible crime. And cooking him and serving him to the Gods was also heinous.
M: Then why did you do it!? He was your son!?
T: I knew the Gods would notice my deeds and bring him back to life. And that is just what happened right after.
M: No. You did not know. You said you wanted to test wether the Gods were omniscient. So you did not know. You could not be certain that the Gods would tell the meal was being your son Pelops, you couldn't know they would revive him.
T: That's the risk I was willing to take. I was ready to pay that prize for a proof for my faith in the Gods.
M: Why did you feel the need to test the Gods' omniscience anyway?
T: I have my reason. I will share them another time.
Then Tantalus and Melinoe, over the course of several meeting, discuss the topic further, touching concepts like: Is it OK to kill for your faith? Are human sacrifices worth it? Can you still believe in what you have proof for? Isn't that just knowing a fact and no longer faith? Atleast they both agree that canibalism is not OK, and Tantalus even says he was looking for a better way to put the Gods to a test, but couldn't think of any. Eventually, Tantalus gets to the core of why he wanted to put the Gods' Omniscience to a test.
T: You see, I was a friend of the Gods. I was sitting with them at their table at their feasts upon Olympus. However... I quickly noticed... discrepancies.
M: What do you mean?
T: You know, we mortals are always told how great the Gods are, sometimes even by them themselves. How incredibly powerful, omnipotent, all-knowing and perfect they are... And then I met them in person.
M: Gods and Goddessess all have their flaws once you get to know them closer. Believe me, we are not as powerful or wise as we ourselves often wished. You don't need to explain further.
T: Haha! But I want to! Dionysus is a bumbling drunkard, Ares a bloodthirsty butcher and Zeus is constantly cheating on...
M: That's enough! You said you once were friends with the Gods. For the sake of your old friendship, do not speak ill of the Gods. Or do you wish further curses be put upon you? Let's not speak of this for now.
T: Ha! As if it could get worse.
Eventually they continue.
T: Eventually I took nectar and ambrosia from the Gods. I wanted to share those with my fellow mortal. Of course, it angered the Gods, but... it got me thinking.
M: What do you mean, it got you thinking.
T: Well, why was I able to steal from the Gods in the first place? Weren't they all-knowing? How could I have walked away from Olympus, nectar and ambrosia in my pockets as it turned out against their will? Weren't they all-mighty? My faith in the Gods already had cracks, I wanted to know for sure...
M: So you decided to test the Gods. To test their omniscience. And for this you were going to sacrifice your own son?
T: Yes. I was thinking of a way to test the Gods. I was not initially thinking of such drastic ways but once it came to me, I couldn't think of any better.
M: But it was your son!
T: He was very important for me, yes. But the cause I was ready to give him up for was also very important for me. From my perspective today I know it was foolish, but back then? It was a sacrifice: Something important in exchange for something important, and what is more important than children?
Tantalus eventually comes around to realize that his actions were not only horrible and heinous, which he early on admits, but also completely pointless, in fact hurting the very cause he was after.
T: And now I see the fundamental issue in my thinking: Even if I had success, even if I held the undisputable proof that the Gods were as all-knowing as I saw them, I could no longer believe it. I would just have known it. I was trying to turn a matter of faith into a matter of facts.
M: Faith? Facts? I thought I had a deep understanding of mortal shades, but I'm sorry, I have a hard time wrapping my head around this matter. I am a Goddess. My existence to me is a fact, no faith required. And you were friends with the Gods, you knew they were there, why couldn't you believe in what you saw?
T: Ha! I guess that's the problem. To see is not to believe. I believed not in the Gods, I believed in the stories told about them. And when I saw them, I saw that the stories were not true, the Gods not allmighty, all-knowing, not perfect.
M: But why couldn't you just admit that your believes were wrong? Why couldn't you accept the facts?
T: Yes, you are right. That's what I should have done. Except I couldn't. I guess people need to believe in something.
M: Now that I can relate to. Even against all the odds, I believe I one day shall defeat Chronos and restore my father's rightful reign. And even when I make progress with the task, I still cannot know wether I may succeed in the end. Still, I push on.
T: Ah. But some day, you shall learn wether you can or cannot defeat Chronos once and for all. I really hope you have success in the end, but you know... Once you defeated Chronos, you can no longer believe in one day defeating Chronos. Your faith shall turn into a fact.
M: Maybe faith and facts are a question only time can tell, then.
Later Melinoe adds the following:
M: You know, I do work hard to reach my goals, to reach what I believe in. I make sacrifices, too. My time, my pain. I have given up a lot for this task, even after a lot was taken from me. But...
T: But?
M: I wouldn't make a sacrifice like you. I wouldn't sacrifice anyone I deeply care for in advancing my cause.
T: Ha. And I have to say, that makes you a better person than I was in life. No, really, I am not being sarcastic here. I was a horrible man, a fanatic, blinded by my believes. May you never want anything so much that it makes you willing to give up what matters most to you.
THE PUNISHMENT:
Once given enough Nectar and having revealed his crime to Melinoe, Tantalus will not exactly start to lament his punishment, but start complaining about the eternity his punishment shall take.
M: What makes you think that eternal torment is not a just punishment?
T: It's disproportionate. Change my mind. No mortal in their finite life span can commit crimes so numerous nor hideous that they justify eternal torment in the afterlife.
M: I have to disagree. Or rather, I trust the judgement of the Gods on that matter.
T: Well, I'm not saying that punishments couldn't take a long time. Take me as an example! I stole nectar from the Gods. Give me hundred years of punishment, alright. I stole ambrosia from the Gods. Give me a thousand years, who am I to judge? I killed my own son, had him chopped up, cooked and served to the Gods. Punish me until the end of time, but only if there is a finite ammount of time left.
M: What do you mean, end of time?
T: Why, aren't you out to kill Time himself? But forget about time, rather ask yourself what the purpose of punishment is. Betterment of the wrongdoer? Scaring potential wrongdoers from commiting the same misdoing? Or is the punishment a cause in itself? I for a one, don't think that suffering in this pond beneath this tree makes me a better person. And, why, I heard of a guy named Lycoan, who repeated my crime. Finally, if the third option is true then I rightfully call the Gods a bunch of sadists.
M: Even if this punishment does not make you a better person and even if your punishment does not keep other mortals from doing the same crimes... don't you think you deserve this?
T: I be honest to you. With every passing day, I think less and less that I deserve this. The Gods want me to suffer for all eternity. Oh, they have their reasons, but what are those in face of the consequences, in the face of eternity? The Gods want me to suffer. That's all that's going to stick to me.
OTHER CHARACTERS:
Arachne gets to visit Tantalus, atleast once Melinoe told her about him. She wanted to see a mortal who had it worse than her.
T: Oh, I heard of your tale in my mortal days already.
Arachne: Oh. You already know. I hope you are not thinking too low of me.
T: Low? on the contrary!
Arachne: So you are not thinking low of me? What are you thinking, then?
T: Oh, during my mortal days I thought you a villain, I have to admit. Someone who dared challenge the Gods and who was put in their place accordingly. But only down here, in the underworld, I really learned to appreciate just how heroic you are.
Arachne: Me? A hero? You must be joking.
T: Hero's are far more than slayers of monsters, my good Arachne. They are mortals who do outstanding feats.
Arachne: I still think you are jesting. Being punished for beating a Goddess in a contest of weaving is not an outstanding feat.
T: Consider Pallas Athena. Do you know how old she is? She might have lived for hundreds of years. If she had spent atleast a little more time than an average mortal's life span on honing her weaving skills, why, she would have become unbeatable by any mortal. No one could have lived long enough to amass the sheer, raw weaving skills that she would have wielded. But she didn't. On the contrary. A young mortal woman's lifetime spent on learning and refining the skill of weaving was more than enough to outclass her. You are just better than her. You are better than a Goddess. Spending more time on weaving than a Goddess can under certain circumstances be an outstanding feat.
Arachne: But what did it get me? Look at me now. Do I look like heroine to you? I'm just a cursed woman who angered the Gods.
T: And you should be proud of your curse. Just look how Athena went out of her ways to creatively punish you. I bet she spent days, weeks, months, maybe years to come up with a fitting punishment. Her head must be filled with spider webs still, from the time you lived rent free in her head.
Arachne: Hahaha! Oh, what a thought. My webs filling that head of Athena, implying there is enough vacant space in there for me to fit in. Ha. Ha. Ha.
INFINITE NECTAR
In the end it is to say, you can control which mood Tantalus is in by giving him Nectar. Without nectar he will frantically try to grab the water and the fruits, showing his best behaviour and being fake cheerful. If you give him enough Nectar he will be somber, cheerless and candid to the point of offending the Gods, but gains a chance to finally face his dark past deeds and atleast overcome some of it. Eventually he will become sober, not cheerful, but levelheaded in opposition to the fake cheer he sports without nectar.
Basically his hunger and thirst distract him from his horrible crimes, they are like a drug to numb his mind to bigger problems. You could even say he is addicted to the thirst and hunger, for he can't think of his guilt and his punishment while he is completely absorbed by hunger and thirst, and once he is without hunger and thirst he hates it. Nectar serves as a medication to make him break out of the addiction for some time. In that time you can have serious conversations with him, but each bottle last only so long. He will fall back to hunger and thirst again and again, especially when Melinoe spends multiple successive nights on the surface, having no chance to meet Tantalus.
Tantalus can be therefor be given infinite Nectar, for Melinoe wishes to ease his hunger and thirst, despite his crimes, eventually coming to like the sober Tantalus better than the fake cheerful one.
The first time Tantalus receives nectar, he gets overly excited, basically ripping the bottle straight out of Melinoe's hand.
T: Is that... NECTAR!?
M: Yes, indeed. You freely offered me the fruits and the water meant for you and I wanted to give something in – hey!
T: Ah! Gimme, gimme!
M Well, there you go?
T: Ha! Ha! Ha! See that, you Gods? I. Am. Having. Nectar! Ha! You forbid me from the water and the fruits, but you forgot to forbid me from nectar! Ha!
M: I'm... glad you like it.
T: Ha! Ha. Ha... oh no. What have I done?!
M: Ah, don't worry about your... manners. I'm certain you were quite thirsty.
T: No! That's not my point! I took a gift from a Goddess, without having anything to give in return!
M: Don't worry about that either. This is more an Olympian tradition than an Underworld custom.
T: You don't understand! I have to give you something in return for such a splendid gift. I simply have to! But what could I give you? What do I even have? Oh, I have... oh. I have this.
And the keepsake you receive is the 'Glass half empty', a dark and twisted Bottle of Nectar. When you wield it and your life falls below 50 %, you are healed for 50 %... but all your enemies on the map are healed for 100 %. The enemy healing goes down to 75 and 50 % as you level the keepsake up. And with the 'Cherished Keepsakes' Duo Boon, it gets heroic, reaching only 40 %.
It is in fact the same bottle of nectar you just gave to him. But as he held no other possessions, he had to give it back to you as he felt forced to give something in return. He ripped the Gift Ribbon to shreds and lost the cork and had to replace them with a shred of his own cape and one of the additional bones he grew. That is also the source of the bones he gives you during the 'Grave Thirst' side quest mentioned in the first part. Now, as he did not freely give it to you, the Nectar turned twisted and spoilt, a bitter black liquid with only remnants of its former golden sweetness. You could say, it was given to you under compulsion with borderline ill intentions. Your enemies might profit more from it than you.
FURTHER NECTARS:
Eventually Tantalus will ease with Nectar, not ripping it straight out of your hands. Like any other NPC, he will accept multiple nectars, advancing the relationship. However, given enough nectar, you eventually might find him just standing in the pond, no longer reaching for the fruits and water.
M: I see you are no longer raving between the water and the fruits! That's good, you... wait. Is everything alright?
T: Ha. You know, with all the nectar you gave me... The bottles eased my hunger and thirst. And as I learnt to save some nectar for later, rationing it, I reached a state where I can have sip of it whenever I feel the thirst return. I currently feel no hunger, no thirst. Atleast... not enough to debase me by partaking in this cruel jest the Gods played on me.
M: What ails you, Tantalus? I'm not used to hear such somber tones from you. If it's the nectar, I can stop giving you any.
T: Oh, it's not the nectar, no. But without constant hunger and thirst on my mind, I'm finally having time... to think. Of the past. Of the Gods. Of my deeds. Ha. Funny that I once tried to take my mind off the hunger and thirst by trying to find out who you really are. Now... I would like to go back to it.
M: I see, the nectar I gave you set you free from your hunger and thirst that completely absorbed you. This gave you time to reflect, as I understand. And you dislike what you see?
T: Ha ha! Me? Reflecting? Is my name Narcissus?
M: That sounds more like you.
You see, cracking bad jokes is something Tantalus does on a regular basis, atleast when not having enough Nectar. Based on how much you give him, he might be frantically trying to reach for the fruits and the water, or be in a dark, gloomy mood, thinking about his past, especially his crimes against the Gods and his son.
THE FEAST AND THE CRIME
Strangely enough, Tantalus starts to share his story, the story about his crimes, while being in the fake happy phase, while he is trying to reach the fruits and the water, but only after being somber atleast once:
T: You know, you being Persephone's daughter makes Demeter your grandmother. You know what that means?
M: Persephone? Yes, you guessed that correctly earlier. But what is it about her? About Demeter? You said you only met my mother once. What does it mean that Demeter is my grandmother?
T: Oh, it means that your grandmother once took a bite out of my son Pelops. Ha!
M: WHAT? That is... horrible! Why would she do such a thing? I'm terribly sorry. And never thought that Demeter would do something like that.
T: Oh no, you get the wrong idea. It was not her fault at all! I had my son killed, chopped up and cooked and served him to your grandmother and other Gods without their knowledge.
M: I... what? I... why would... I am speechless.
T: Oh, don't you worry. Pelops got better! The Gods knew it was human meat all along and refused to eat it. Instead, they put him back together and brought him back to life. Amazing, that. Except the bite Demeter took... she was still heartbroken, not knowing where Persephone was at that time.
M: I... still don't know what to say.
Melinoe then concludes that this crime – killing and cooking his own son, serving him to the Gods – was the crime that brought Tantalus eternal torment. There are other crimes Tantalus commited, including stealing nectar and ambrosia from the Gods, and hiding a golden dog from the Gods stolen by Pandareus in his house, lying about it. She goes as far as to call the punishment fitting, considering to never return to Tantalus. But as Tantalus is a random meeting, she will eventually run into him again. However, she has to admit, that Tantalus is already, right now in the process of being punished for his crimes. He literally has been judged already, so it's not hers to judge him. Still she has to find her own stance on Tantalus and his actions. She asks him to explain himself:
T: Oh, I did it to test the omniscience of the Gods!
M: Killing your son... was a test for the Gods?
T: Oh, he did get better, after all. But yes, killing him in the first place was a horrible crime. And cooking him and serving him to the Gods was also heinous.
M: Then why did you do it!? He was your son!?
T: I knew the Gods would notice my deeds and bring him back to life. And that is just what happened right after.
M: No. You did not know. You said you wanted to test wether the Gods were omniscient. So you did not know. You could not be certain that the Gods would tell the meal was being your son Pelops, you couldn't know they would revive him.
T: That's the risk I was willing to take. I was ready to pay that prize for a proof for my faith in the Gods.
M: Why did you feel the need to test the Gods' omniscience anyway?
T: I have my reason. I will share them another time.
Then Tantalus and Melinoe, over the course of several meeting, discuss the topic further, touching concepts like: Is it OK to kill for your faith? Are human sacrifices worth it? Can you still believe in what you have proof for? Isn't that just knowing a fact and no longer faith? Atleast they both agree that canibalism is not OK, and Tantalus even says he was looking for a better way to put the Gods to a test, but couldn't think of any. Eventually, Tantalus gets to the core of why he wanted to put the Gods' Omniscience to a test.
T: You see, I was a friend of the Gods. I was sitting with them at their table at their feasts upon Olympus. However... I quickly noticed... discrepancies.
M: What do you mean?
T: You know, we mortals are always told how great the Gods are, sometimes even by them themselves. How incredibly powerful, omnipotent, all-knowing and perfect they are... And then I met them in person.
M: Gods and Goddessess all have their flaws once you get to know them closer. Believe me, we are not as powerful or wise as we ourselves often wished. You don't need to explain further.
T: Haha! But I want to! Dionysus is a bumbling drunkard, Ares a bloodthirsty butcher and Zeus is constantly cheating on...
M: That's enough! You said you once were friends with the Gods. For the sake of your old friendship, do not speak ill of the Gods. Or do you wish further curses be put upon you? Let's not speak of this for now.
T: Ha! As if it could get worse.
Eventually they continue.
T: Eventually I took nectar and ambrosia from the Gods. I wanted to share those with my fellow mortal. Of course, it angered the Gods, but... it got me thinking.
M: What do you mean, it got you thinking.
T: Well, why was I able to steal from the Gods in the first place? Weren't they all-knowing? How could I have walked away from Olympus, nectar and ambrosia in my pockets as it turned out against their will? Weren't they all-mighty? My faith in the Gods already had cracks, I wanted to know for sure...
M: So you decided to test the Gods. To test their omniscience. And for this you were going to sacrifice your own son?
T: Yes. I was thinking of a way to test the Gods. I was not initially thinking of such drastic ways but once it came to me, I couldn't think of any better.
M: But it was your son!
T: He was very important for me, yes. But the cause I was ready to give him up for was also very important for me. From my perspective today I know it was foolish, but back then? It was a sacrifice: Something important in exchange for something important, and what is more important than children?
Tantalus eventually comes around to realize that his actions were not only horrible and heinous, which he early on admits, but also completely pointless, in fact hurting the very cause he was after.
T: And now I see the fundamental issue in my thinking: Even if I had success, even if I held the undisputable proof that the Gods were as all-knowing as I saw them, I could no longer believe it. I would just have known it. I was trying to turn a matter of faith into a matter of facts.
M: Faith? Facts? I thought I had a deep understanding of mortal shades, but I'm sorry, I have a hard time wrapping my head around this matter. I am a Goddess. My existence to me is a fact, no faith required. And you were friends with the Gods, you knew they were there, why couldn't you believe in what you saw?
T: Ha! I guess that's the problem. To see is not to believe. I believed not in the Gods, I believed in the stories told about them. And when I saw them, I saw that the stories were not true, the Gods not allmighty, all-knowing, not perfect.
M: But why couldn't you just admit that your believes were wrong? Why couldn't you accept the facts?
T: Yes, you are right. That's what I should have done. Except I couldn't. I guess people need to believe in something.
M: Now that I can relate to. Even against all the odds, I believe I one day shall defeat Chronos and restore my father's rightful reign. And even when I make progress with the task, I still cannot know wether I may succeed in the end. Still, I push on.
T: Ah. But some day, you shall learn wether you can or cannot defeat Chronos once and for all. I really hope you have success in the end, but you know... Once you defeated Chronos, you can no longer believe in one day defeating Chronos. Your faith shall turn into a fact.
M: Maybe faith and facts are a question only time can tell, then.
Later Melinoe adds the following:
M: You know, I do work hard to reach my goals, to reach what I believe in. I make sacrifices, too. My time, my pain. I have given up a lot for this task, even after a lot was taken from me. But...
T: But?
M: I wouldn't make a sacrifice like you. I wouldn't sacrifice anyone I deeply care for in advancing my cause.
T: Ha. And I have to say, that makes you a better person than I was in life. No, really, I am not being sarcastic here. I was a horrible man, a fanatic, blinded by my believes. May you never want anything so much that it makes you willing to give up what matters most to you.
THE PUNISHMENT:
Once given enough Nectar and having revealed his crime to Melinoe, Tantalus will not exactly start to lament his punishment, but start complaining about the eternity his punishment shall take.
M: What makes you think that eternal torment is not a just punishment?
T: It's disproportionate. Change my mind. No mortal in their finite life span can commit crimes so numerous nor hideous that they justify eternal torment in the afterlife.
M: I have to disagree. Or rather, I trust the judgement of the Gods on that matter.
T: Well, I'm not saying that punishments couldn't take a long time. Take me as an example! I stole nectar from the Gods. Give me hundred years of punishment, alright. I stole ambrosia from the Gods. Give me a thousand years, who am I to judge? I killed my own son, had him chopped up, cooked and served to the Gods. Punish me until the end of time, but only if there is a finite ammount of time left.
M: What do you mean, end of time?
T: Why, aren't you out to kill Time himself? But forget about time, rather ask yourself what the purpose of punishment is. Betterment of the wrongdoer? Scaring potential wrongdoers from commiting the same misdoing? Or is the punishment a cause in itself? I for a one, don't think that suffering in this pond beneath this tree makes me a better person. And, why, I heard of a guy named Lycoan, who repeated my crime. Finally, if the third option is true then I rightfully call the Gods a bunch of sadists.
M: Even if this punishment does not make you a better person and even if your punishment does not keep other mortals from doing the same crimes... don't you think you deserve this?
T: I be honest to you. With every passing day, I think less and less that I deserve this. The Gods want me to suffer for all eternity. Oh, they have their reasons, but what are those in face of the consequences, in the face of eternity? The Gods want me to suffer. That's all that's going to stick to me.
OTHER CHARACTERS:
Arachne gets to visit Tantalus, atleast once Melinoe told her about him. She wanted to see a mortal who had it worse than her.
T: Oh, I heard of your tale in my mortal days already.
Arachne: Oh. You already know. I hope you are not thinking too low of me.
T: Low? on the contrary!
Arachne: So you are not thinking low of me? What are you thinking, then?
T: Oh, during my mortal days I thought you a villain, I have to admit. Someone who dared challenge the Gods and who was put in their place accordingly. But only down here, in the underworld, I really learned to appreciate just how heroic you are.
Arachne: Me? A hero? You must be joking.
T: Hero's are far more than slayers of monsters, my good Arachne. They are mortals who do outstanding feats.
Arachne: I still think you are jesting. Being punished for beating a Goddess in a contest of weaving is not an outstanding feat.
T: Consider Pallas Athena. Do you know how old she is? She might have lived for hundreds of years. If she had spent atleast a little more time than an average mortal's life span on honing her weaving skills, why, she would have become unbeatable by any mortal. No one could have lived long enough to amass the sheer, raw weaving skills that she would have wielded. But she didn't. On the contrary. A young mortal woman's lifetime spent on learning and refining the skill of weaving was more than enough to outclass her. You are just better than her. You are better than a Goddess. Spending more time on weaving than a Goddess can under certain circumstances be an outstanding feat.
Arachne: But what did it get me? Look at me now. Do I look like heroine to you? I'm just a cursed woman who angered the Gods.
T: And you should be proud of your curse. Just look how Athena went out of her ways to creatively punish you. I bet she spent days, weeks, months, maybe years to come up with a fitting punishment. Her head must be filled with spider webs still, from the time you lived rent free in her head.
Arachne: Hahaha! Oh, what a thought. My webs filling that head of Athena, implying there is enough vacant space in there for me to fit in. Ha. Ha. Ha.
INFINITE NECTAR
In the end it is to say, you can control which mood Tantalus is in by giving him Nectar. Without nectar he will frantically try to grab the water and the fruits, showing his best behaviour and being fake cheerful. If you give him enough Nectar he will be somber, cheerless and candid to the point of offending the Gods, but gains a chance to finally face his dark past deeds and atleast overcome some of it. Eventually he will become sober, not cheerful, but levelheaded in opposition to the fake cheer he sports without nectar.
Basically his hunger and thirst distract him from his horrible crimes, they are like a drug to numb his mind to bigger problems. You could even say he is addicted to the thirst and hunger, for he can't think of his guilt and his punishment while he is completely absorbed by hunger and thirst, and once he is without hunger and thirst he hates it. Nectar serves as a medication to make him break out of the addiction for some time. In that time you can have serious conversations with him, but each bottle last only so long. He will fall back to hunger and thirst again and again, especially when Melinoe spends multiple successive nights on the surface, having no chance to meet Tantalus.
Tantalus can be therefor be given infinite Nectar, for Melinoe wishes to ease his hunger and thirst, despite his crimes, eventually coming to like the sober Tantalus better than the fake cheerful one.
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