counterpoiise

[counterpoiise]

“No, you’d probably be here to gloat.” Ethan blurts sarcastically, though there’s not nearly as much heat behind it as there might have been normally. 

“...Sorry. Force of habit. You wanna sit? I promise I won’t be rude again. It’s just… Y’know.” He shrugs. “You sorta single-handedly turned the tide in your guys' favor. Which is fine, obviously; good beat evil and all that, right?” His single eye rolls. 

His elbows are on his knees, so he rests his face in his hands, staring at the darkened strawberry fields. “I didn’t get to see your side in action much. Were they really a bunch of ghosts?”

@counterpoiise || [ cont. ]

Nico's expression is unreadable as he looks at the guy, hands stuffed in the pockets of his jacket, before he nods a little. Truth be told, the campfire sing-alongs are some of Nico's least favorite times too. He doesn't generally like to sing in front of people, and he's not really one for touchy-feely times either, especially when everyone looks at him like he shouldn't be there anyway. He gets it. Hades is spooky, so that means Nico is spooky.

Not that Nico has done anything to change that, but still.

He nods a little. "He didn't really bring me back," Nico protests, "and I didn't come to glare either." He shrugs a little, eyes drifting back to the rest of the camp for a beat. "I don't really like the campfire either."

[counterpoiise]

Relief. Things were corrected. Things were balanced. He wasn’t wrong for what he’d chosen. 

She opened her arms to him a second time, and he didn’t hesitate for a moment. He stepped back into her grasp and held on tight, resting his face on her shoulder. Quietly, he wondered if all gods ran hot, or if the affection was just warm, like it was supposed to be. 

“I know it’s not forever. But I’ll keep fighting for it. You deserve that. You deserve… belief. I’ll tell people about you.” He promised. “They should know.” 

He wouldn’t let go until she did. 

Still, even as comfortable as the embrace was, something was pecking at the back of his mind, a question that he wasn’t sure he was allowed to ask.

“Hey, Mom…? What can you tell me about, um… fate? Maybe the Fates? I’m not… I’m not sure– I didn’t see them, but, sometimes, I feel like I was supposed to.”

she had always wanted this. a son to call her own, a boy who was hers. nemesis was not so foolish as to wish things could have been different for them - but now, with ethan in her grasp and no rules telling her she could not keep it that way, nemesis was reluctant to let it go. they could keep the scales even together, couldn't they? where was it written that such things were forbidden?

"everything is balanced," nemesis assured him, smiling distractedly. her gaze drifted away from him, a glaze over her eyes. "though it will not stay that way forever. it rarely does- oh!"

distracted as she was, nemesis did not notice what ethan was doing until he had done it. his arms, so much bigger now than they had been when he was a little boy, embracing her tightly. bigger now than he had been, perhaps, but still possessing the desperation of a child.

nemesis blinked as he pulled away, surprised, mostly - but also unsure of how to feel. it was easy to forget that people needed these kinds of things, that affection was as important to them as vengeance.

"do not apologize," nemesis insisted. "i should have... expected that, i suppose. you do not ask anything unreasonable."

debating for a moment, nemesis finally settled on opening her arms again - a proper hug for her son, who had endured much. even boys brave as he needed their mothers. "come, and let me give you this reward properly."

[counterpoiise]

Ethan scowls darkly. “Appease me, huh? Like you can just pay me off to forget what happened? Do some quests and win my forgiveness? Like the Olympians? Yeah, sure, Elizabeth. Appease me. That’s totally how this works.” 

His appetite is rapidly waning, so he puts his arms on the table in front of him, signaling for Monty to hold off for now.

The other demigod seems to be giving them space, blessedly. 

“Don’t apologize. Just commit to it, Klymenos.” The son of Nemesis cocks his head. “You think I care what you told them about me? No, Elizabeth, it’s not about that, and it’s never been. See, I can make peace with the knowledge that whatever people say about me behind my back will bite them in their asses later, courtesy of my own mom. Lie about me? You’ll see the consequences for that eventually. Spill my secrets? Better not have any of your own.” He drums his fingers on the table. 

“See, I don’t need to be afraid of whatever you blabbed about to your dad; what I need to fear,” his fidgeting stills, and he splayed out his hands on the table, leaning forward to make sure she’s looking him in the eye, “Is what else you could lie to my face about. What else you could say that I’ll believe like an idiot. You played me for a fool, Klymenos, and I don’t let go of shit like that easily.”

He sighs, leans back against his seat. Doesn’t break eye contact. “But I don’t wanna see you groveling, either. Own it, Elizabeth. You did betray us. And I betrayed the camp. Think they’re gonna see me as a trusty ally ever again? Of course not, and they’re right for it. Now, whatever you’re doing here on the surface, maybe you should go do it.”

elizabeth is mortified when he speaks the truth about their situation. she's racking her brain for a simple memory erasing spell when ethan spills the beans: the man is also a demigod. one of the lucky ones to reach adulthood. she glances back and forth between the two, fingernails digging into her palms. the young woman wants to smack the son of nemesis for pulling such a cheeky prank on her. nevertheless, she is here to talk, not smack him around. although, she's sure his mother would look the other way if she had.

with a deep breath in and slowly releasing it, repeating once more. she's calmed down enough to not thrash him. "yes, we need to talk about the titan war. i wish i would've spoken to you sooner but alas i was tangled within my own grief to think more clearly." she begins, closing her eyes for a moment to keep the tears at bay. with any luck, she'd cried them out.

"i need for you to understand that i never betrayed you, luke or any of the demigods under luke's campaign. i wholeheartedly believed that luke wanted things to be better for all demigods, for the gods to see us all. he just foolishly believed the lies of a tyrant. any information i passed along to my father was solely that of what KRONOS planned. things did not go the way i had planned, unfortunately." she pauses, glancing over at the older male demigod standing beside the counter.

'oh, for styx's sake'. elizabeth slides out of the booth, pulling her wallet from her jacket. she approaches him, pulling out two crisp one hundred dollar bills. "i'm vegan and ate before i left the underworld. use that to cover the cost of feeding those individuals sleeping on the streets." she then pulls out another hundred and puts it in the tip jar before returning to ethan's booth.

"there. that should appease you." she sighs, "that came out harsher than i intended and i apologize. i..-" her voice trails off as she struggles to find the words. "i just wish to make things right between us. i'll answer any questions you have for me, nothing is off limits. just please let's talk this through."

[counterpoiise]

Ethan definitely took a wrong turn somewhere on the way down, didn’t he? 

Great. Whoever this was, he really needed them not to blab about an intruder, or this was going to go sideways in the worst way possible. Should he be apologizing to his mom? What did he do to earn this bad of luck? Not only did Kronos send him on a mission alone, but now, it was being sabotaged.

The son of Nemesis didn’t sit just yet. He didn’t even move his hand off of the sword handle at his hip. The underworld was making his skin prickle. 

“Hey, wait a minute; don’t insult my mom like th–” His eye caught on the glass bottle filled with a honey-colored drink as the other guy offered it up to him.

No, scratch that. Ethan’s eye caught on what was obviously a glass full of nectar. 

Oh, shit. 

“I mean!” He paled. “I’m so sorry; I didn’t– I didn’t mean any– I was just standing up for my mom, y’know?” 

His mom, who also, as it turned out, couldn’t have been that angry with him. This god thought he was a Camp Half Blood camper. “Um, yes!” Ethan ran with it, hoping it would also gloss over his possible impertinence. “I’m on a quest! Super secret, though, and on a deadline. I should probably get going, in fact; don’t wanna keep, er, the big guy waiting.”

Closed starter for @counterpoiise || Starter Call

Zagreus looked up in surprise he could sense that Ethan was alive, a mortal. He could feel the blood pumping through Ethan's body. Zagreus was taking a much needed break in one of the chambers of Elysium, taking a sip from a bottle of nectar. It wasn't often that someone was trying to get in to the Underworld, usually it was shades trying to escape back to the land of the living. "What are you doing in here? And how did you get past Cerberus." Zagreus gestured to Ethan to join him and to rest for a while. The journey here must have been long and Zag was intrigued. "So what are you doing all the way down here?" He got a good luck at Ethan and laughed a little. "Nemesis' son right? I can tell, you both have the same resting bitch face." Zag held out the bottle for Ethan to take a swig. "Demi-god on a camp approved quest?"

[counterpoiise]

Ethan nodded, at first just agreeing with the hypothetical. 

Until it registered that she was serious, and, surprising himself, he felt like he wanted to, too. 

The weapon at his right hip– a new one, a wicked one– weighed heavily at his side suddenly; he’d intended it to be a secret, a sort of last resort measure that the fewer people knew about it, the greater the surprise threat it could be. 

But this was his sister. If he couldn’t trust her, he couldn’t trust anyone. Sure, they hadn’t known each other long, but as far as Ethan was concerned, they’d been family for forever. He’d fallen into her step easily, and he was quite sure that he’d never let her leave his orbit as long as he could help it. Perhaps ever again, if he dared to dream of good things.

He pulled the celestial bronze dagger out into the light, and it glistened like it was wet (it was, and it wasn’t with water).

“Think this’ll work?” He asked with a demeanor that was clearly put on; it was much too casual for what he was holding. 

“Just, don’t touch the blade. Seriously; this thing isn’t just sharp.”

it's a nice image, a god begging for her forgiveness. she didn't know who she'd like to see beg more. she didn't feel particularly connected to these beings who'd created so many of them, but cared so little about them they'd discarded them to lives as messed up as her's had been. she hadn't even grown up listening to stories about them. no one had cared to tell her anything.

she looked up at her brother from the floor, nodding. "i wonder how long it would take me to carve my name in a hunk of marble like that." she carried a regular pocket knife with her, but she was pretty sure the blade would break if she tried to carve into anything but a tree. "i know i shouldn't but i kind of want someone to know i was here too. you know, before it's our turn."

[counterpoiise]

take some deep breaths. it's over.

After The Battle || Accepting

Ethan knew that voice. Even while his head swam, his abdomen burned, and he wondered just how hard he had hit the ground (despite Alabaster’s magic slowing his descent; gods, he wished his friend was here). Even with all of the distractions and discomforts present—

Ethan knew that voice.

“Oh— Odysseus?” He groaned. “I didn’t see… where have you—?”

Wait.

“Why are you over here?”

[counterpoiise]

"I sincerely wish I wasn't hearing this."

Angry Starters || Accepting

Ethan’s jaw snapped shut at that— but not for long. “Easy for you to say! You’re not even related to the gods! You don’t get it. My mom should have claimed me by now. But she hasn’t! Me and all the other unclaimed kids are just shoved in a corner somewhere because the big bad Olympians can’t be bothered to demand any change for us— and Chiron apparently doesn’t care enough to petition them about this. Why isn’t there a cabin for us? Why isn’t there room?”

Ethan had been a fool. He’d thought Odysseus would understand. But he wasn’t helping Ethan’s frustration in the slightest— frustration which started to prickle at the backs of his eyes.

“Whatever. Forget I said anything. Can I be excused from archery for the day? I’m not even good at it.”

[counterpoiise]

Angry & Irritated Sentences, Vol. 26

(Angry and irritated sentences from various sources. Adjust phrasing where needed)

"I guess your family didn't teach you many manners, huh?"

"You gave me an empty gun?"

"How I spend my money is not your business!"

"From now on, it's my rules. If I tell you to shut your mouth, you shut your mouth."

"Are you so blind that you're unaware we're on the verge of a grave crisis?"

"I don't presume to know everything about your life. Why do you think you can guess at mine?"

"Wait a minute! You used me as bait?"

"You can't have everything you want just because you want it."

"How come you can't be smart like that?"

"I think you finally overstayed your welcome."

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"You're in my pyjamas!"

"Just what were you doing under my table?"

"I'm getting a little weary of this attitude."

"You know, the next time you make a plan like this, you could at least let me in on it!"

"There are times I think you don't take me seriously. I think that ought to change."

"That is a part of my life that I don't discuss with anyone, and I don't feel that I know you well enough to discuss it with you now."

"I'm very sorry - did I give you the impression I was asking?"

"Didn't you hear me calling you?"

"I have said all I intend to say on the matter."

"What is it I'm supposed to have done?"

"You ask a lot of questions."

"Are you trying to destroy this family?"

"What is it about you? A death wish?"

"I'm not in the habit of making mistakes."

"Aren't you getting a little tired of this? Because I know I am."

"I sincerely wish I wasn't hearing this."

"Can you leave me alone for five minutes, please?"

"Why don't we stop pretending that I'm brilliant and you're simple for one moment?"

"The sooner you face the facts, the better."

"Let's not start this tedious argument again."

"If I wanted schooling, I'd have gone to school!"

"I'm going to be special. You'll see."

[counterpoiise]

send me " outside perspective " + a situation, and i'll write a short drabble from an npc's perspective seeing my muse in that situation

ie. a civilian seeing a superpowered muse use their powers, or a passerby seeing a crime centered muse committing a heist, etc.

[counterpoiise]

Reblog if your rp partners (and followers) are great writers and you love each and every one of their portrayals!

[counterpoiise]

Angry & Irritated Sentences, Vol. 26

(Angry and irritated sentences from various sources. Adjust phrasing where needed)

"I guess your family didn't teach you many manners, huh?"

"You gave me an empty gun?"

"How I spend my money is not your business!"

"From now on, it's my rules. If I tell you to shut your mouth, you shut your mouth."

"Are you so blind that you're unaware we're on the verge of a grave crisis?"

"I don't presume to know everything about your life. Why do you think you can guess at mine?"

"Wait a minute! You used me as bait?"

"You can't have everything you want just because you want it."

"How come you can't be smart like that?"

"I think you finally overstayed your welcome."

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"You're in my pyjamas!"

"Just what were you doing under my table?"

"I'm getting a little weary of this attitude."

"You know, the next time you make a plan like this, you could at least let me in on it!"

"There are times I think you don't take me seriously. I think that ought to change."

"That is a part of my life that I don't discuss with anyone, and I don't feel that I know you well enough to discuss it with you now."

"I'm very sorry - did I give you the impression I was asking?"

"Didn't you hear me calling you?"

"I have said all I intend to say on the matter."

"What is it I'm supposed to have done?"

"You ask a lot of questions."

"Are you trying to destroy this family?"

"What is it about you? A death wish?"

"I'm not in the habit of making mistakes."

"Aren't you getting a little tired of this? Because I know I am."

"I sincerely wish I wasn't hearing this."

"Can you leave me alone for five minutes, please?"

"Why don't we stop pretending that I'm brilliant and you're simple for one moment?"

"The sooner you face the facts, the better."

"Let's not start this tedious argument again."

"If I wanted schooling, I'd have gone to school!"

"I'm going to be special. You'll see."

[counterpoiise]

Not a headcanon, but one more follow up to this post. (warning for putting yourself in Ethan's shoes when he lost his eye)

If the snap deal doesn't really seem all that scary, just take a moment to imagine that in the time it takes for your heart to beat, one of your eyes, half of your vision, just winks out forever. It goes completely black, and you cannot ever fix that or take back the decision you made. It's so simple, it's so quick, and the buyer's remorse will not have any mercy on you. To be honest, I actually think it was a comfort for Ethan to have Nemesis there. Regardless of what was happening at the time, I refuse to believe that she doesn't care about her child. She wanted him to be the savior of the world's balance. Being mom's current favorite is both parts difficult and special (more balance). She was there for him, even while having to do something that was necessary to keep everyone else alive. She was there while he did what was right. (And vice versa).

[counterpoiise]

Headcanon: follow up to this post. The reason Ethan has a facial scar is that it's simply part of the physical manifestation of the deal he made. It did scab over, it did have a natural healing process, but it wasn't necessarily a result of Ethan taking a dagger to his own face, or his mom clawing it out. It was just part of the magic.

[counterpoiise]

Headcanon: I see a lot of takes on Ethan’s losing his eye moment where people portray it as extremely physically painful and violent, and I understand why… but I disagree with it. Here’s my thinking: My non-diegetic reasoning is that it just doesn’t fit with the universe that Riordan has written for it to be anything that gory. And I totally understand fan interpretations deciding to dial up the tension/horror/grim realism that comes with adventure fiction (I am a major horror fan myself!), but it isn’t necessarily something I personally enjoy or seek out in this specific story/world, since I like how goofy the book universe can be sometimes. I enjoy that we get a nice blend between heartfelt, earnest moments, moments of extreme tension, and tone-lightening comedic beats. So, for my own Ethan, I’ll stick to that tone. Further, my diegetic reasoning for why it probably didn’t hurt is that we see how gods make deals with demigods multiple times throughout the series, and most of them are very similar. It’s extremely easy for gods to simply, literally, snap their fingers and enact their side of the bargain. So, I headcanon that that’s exactly what happened: Nemesis snapped her fingers, and Ethan was down an eye, but had sealed a hero's destiny for himself. Also, an important thing to keep in mind here is that if it were something as quick as a snap, that does not in the slightest take away its narrative weight— and in fact, I would even go as far as to argue that it enhances it. It was easy for Nemesis to snap her fingers and take his eye (reinforcing the power disparity between gods and demigods, a common theme in the books). But it was a permanent, instantaneous change for Ethan that he can never, ever reverse. That’s exactly what making a decision can be like. Ethan made his decision, and so it was set in stone. It was fated. It was important. And, quick as it may have been in my Ethan’s canon, it likewise doesn’t erase any trauma it may have created (although I actually don’t think this was even like. Top three most traumatic things he experienced, and I don’t write him as feeling like it was) for him. Ethan’s trauma isn’t defined by one or two single moments; it’s defined by repeated scorning by the gods and by camp, and by Kronos. The most traumatic part of losing his eye was not the moment it was taken— it was in the aftermath. The natural regret of such a life-changing decision; the natural difficulty to adapt as quickly as the incident that caused the need to adapt happened. Often, moments that split our lives into two (“before” and “after”) are much, much quicker than we expect them to be. And the lasting effects are, inversely, much, much longer than we want. For me, when I write Ethan, the real pain of losing his eye was in the guilt that he felt when he regretted it in the early days. It was in the countless hours spent training to compensate for his blind side. It was in knowing that it will permanently change how people will react to and treat him. Idk, I just think there’s much more important pains and traumas that Ethan experienced that I don’t see acknowledged as often in the fandom because most of the focus is solely on eye gore or how angsty the scene could be made. And, hey, no shaming here; gore and angst are some of my favorites, so I don’t think anyone is wrong if they headcanon differently than I do, and I celebrate fan works that have a different, and even opposing, view of canon than myself (that’s what makes fandoms rock!). But on this blog? In my canon? Ethan didn’t feel pain when his eye was taken. In the moment, all he felt was the euphoria of ambition, and the determinedness to follow through with his destiny. (And quite a great deal of fear and nerves, though he wouldn’t admit to that if asked).

[counterpoiise]

              𝐀𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐞—

     —an   independent,   selective,   private,   and   20+   alabaster   torrington   blog   with   mythology   magic   that awaits   you.   written   by   aj—

                                                𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐬 𝐈 𝐃𝐄𝐕𝐎𝐔𝐑

[counterpoiise]

𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱𝗻'𝘁 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝘁 ? 𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝘁, 𝗜 𝘀𝗮𝗶𝗱 "𝗜'𝗺 𝘀𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲"

Independent, private, highly selective & low activity multimuse blog focused on various 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐤𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐞, 𝐦𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲, 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 & 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚 . Brought to life by Jane ( 27+, she / her, brazilian ) .

[counterpoiise]

❛❛ whenever you reach crossroads, there are always at least three ways to go… four, if you count going backwards. ❜❜ / ©