#𝐦𝐲𝐝𝐞𝐢𝐦𝐨𝐬 : war chisels flesh of flame / ic.

[finalism]

why do so many people want to be manhandled?

[finalism]

@pluumed : cracking, cracking, cracking. skin crumbling in his hands, coreflame spilling forth to the ground, tides of incoherent whispers drowning everything else out and leaving only the white-hot agony of his... no, of their becoming. his moulting and something new appearing where he stood. cracking, cracking, cracking. eye wide as bones snap and veins splinter beneath anaxa's skin. voices, voices echo in what remains of his skull - hands gripping the railing of the balcony the scholar stumbles onto. they're talking again, telling him things he doesn't need - filling his skull as his skin cracks, cracks, cracks-- the pain behind his temples tightening, twisting, sharpening. cracking, cracking, cracking. footsteps behind him, distant amongst the sounds of his own body trying to change - of his body being changed by the titan that pieced him back together for their own entertainment. twisting, stumbling on his heels - wide eye stares back into the building to find tattooed frame stood watching him. too much pain to care - too much distraction and noise to resist-- "mydeimos... won't you... end my misery?"

each coreflame is connected in some way like some sort of short range homing beacon. he can feel the air shift when that divine fire is close by. he can feel the steady burn of aglaea and the flicker of tribios -- a reminder of the protection this golden city has. but what is more concerning is the raging fire coming from the city proper. it reminds him the of the trial, of that all-encompassing flame that threatening to consume the weak; except this one isn't safely tucked away in the vortex of genesis.

to call anaxa the demised scholar seems like an understatement in this moment. there he is, in the heart of that holy fire, threatening to crumble away like ash. he can see the cosmos within his hollow body, can glimpse the celestial garden of thought that cerces created millennia ago. he can feel their overwhelming presence ready to snuff out all that anaxa is. a pitiful sight, and one anaxa seems resigned to.

but this isn't the professor mydei, the human, remembers. what he lacked in stature he made up for in intelligence and confidence. he preached against the divine with few-but-deafening words and touted human thought to be just as godly. and now he will simply succumb to the gods he debated against? no, it doesn't seem right.

demigod kneels down, closer to anaxa. " i will do no such thing. " he declares. after all, he is the heir of strife and fighting the gods is his newly ordained fate. " are you just going to lay down and die like this, anaxagoras? follow your own teachings for once and prove that human might is its own miracle. "

[finalism]

the door is taking its sweet time opening. perhaps this is the gods telling him that seeking out @etherealguard will be a lesson in futility. however, the events within nikador's trial remain fresh in his mind, playing on repeat as if a taunt from the fallen god themself. dan heng's composure within the trial was not lost on him despite the coreflame shaping the trial around the foreigner's own fears. as the eve of a new god draws closer, mydei thinks learning from the fearless would be prudent.

these are the thoughts that plague his mind as the lock finally rotates with a click and the doors to the trailblazers' shared room open. sure enough, dan heng is present inside while his companion seeks counsel in the grove. " i don't mean to take up much of your time, " mydei announces as he steps inside, " but i have need of your insight for an important matter. "

[finalism]

@lovesfolly : eros pushes mydeimos to sit down and crawls into his lap. she then promptly sinks her teeth right into the side of his neck.

no one truly understands the power that eros has over the crown prince, how someone so small can bring the great mydeimos to his knees. and here he is, willingly pushed onto the couch as golden eyes never leave their face. he watches with bated breath knowing full well the hunger shining in her eyes.

hands immediately go to her waist. fingers dig into her flesh to pull her close, feel her against him. gentle but hot breath ghosts against his ear, his neck and before he can say anything he feels the sharp prick of teeth sinking into his skin. a soft moan escapes through his lips as he brings eros closer still.

he can feel her love. he can feel it in her teeth and in the way her tongue licks at his golden blood. utter devotion and desire to be with him. it is a language he understands fully. he also knows that his indestructible body will heal the wound almost as soon as eros pulls away. but he is hers and she may bite him as many times as she wishes until she is satisfied in the knowledge that mydei is only for her.

[finalism]

" well... i could for a little bit... but you have to promise you'll be here when i get back to the mortal world. "

"Can you manhandle me, Mydei?" She's kidding!

@finalism

[finalism]

@lovesfolly : continued from here

her love burns with an intensity unrivaled by anything mydei has experienced. he has felt adoration, fear, disgust, wonder... but never love. not like what it is from eros. it engulfs him like the embrace of fire and mydei wouldn't have it any other way.

the prince leans down to her level willing, hands reaching up to clasp tightly to her arms. " i am yours, " he pledges in a hushed, reverent tone. to be loved brings love and mydei's own heart swells with a ferocious fervor. he leans in closer, hot breath warming the smaller heir's lips.

" just as you are mine. "

[finalism]

@lovesfolly : The tiny heir has made her way over to the prince. Reaching up with a hum to pull him down for a kiss before she's sticking her tongue out at him. "I'll be busier today, but I wanted to at least give you something to think about me~."`

the petal-like softness of her lips is juxtaposed by the sudden harshness of their absence. she leaves him spinning, seeking to cling to the warmth of her body before it is all too quickly ripped from him. outwardly, mydeimos simply blinks in confusions, arms still reaching out to the smaller heir.

and just as suddenly, face twists into a scowl and arms cross. he lets out a " hmph, " sticking his nose up to act more nonchalant than he really is. " such a little trickster. you aren't colluding with zagreus, are you? "

[finalism]

" from now on, i am strife. "

[finalism]

" eros, that is enough. the fight is won. "

@lovesfolly

[finalism]

tense muscles and narrow eyes are what greet @charmonys at the gates of okhema. this winged creature puts mydeimos on guard as he fills the space with an air of divinity far different from that of the chrysos heirs but just as potent. or perhaps less so, locked away like his own until he can claim his right.

" you are also from faraway lands. " it isn't a question though he gives the other time to respond as arms cross over his chest. " hmph, your friends are already inside sharing in the victory of the strife titan's defeat. we have no need for reinforcements. "

hsr starter call

[finalism]

@opuskeeper : see you… in the next life.

" so you've made your decision then. " mydei closes his eyes as he does his best to not let the wave of sadness distract from his will to return to the living. maybe when he returns he will grieve. whatever they had, whatever tenderness they wished to share with one another, is an afterthought in the face of their destiny.

" death and strife have a long history together. " he steels himself as he opens his eyes to gaze down at castorice. " even if your teacher is correct and we will lose our memories of this life...our coreflames will always be entwined. "

clair obscur / accepting.

[finalism]

@opuskeeper : he is looking back respectfully.

he gives a huff and looks away, mumbling under his breath.

[finalism]

mydei is looking very respectively.

[finalism]

mydei hums in thought, looking @reversescale up and down. " you do look pretty light. i suppose if you want it that much... "

[finalism]

well he can't say no to the wife. mydei will sling @lovesfolly over his shoulders like a sack of potatoes and carry them off. " i'm just getting started with you. "

[finalism]

@lovesfolly / continued.

to take up the coreflame means to tie his fate to that of the gods. he is strife. he is everything nikador was. and that includes rage as hot as hellfire threatening to burn him alive. it was a lapse in judgement, really, to confront this man and demand answers to what they did to his beloved. demigod merely wanted repentance but when there was not a single spark of guilt within the villain's eyes... well, the result stains his hands and face and the carpet.

mydei pulls eros into his arms. his voice shakes yet the reasons for the slaughter are not to be second guessed. " if he would not repent then he will never touch you again. " never again. that is all he could think of, blinded by rage with a fire ready to make his body burst. now that the deed is done, that fire has quelled to embers as eros holds his full attention.

he guides them to the other side of the room away from the splatter of blood. yet her face is already stained just by being close to him. is that their fate? to also be tied to strife? " eros. " he cups their cheeks, smearing more blood upon her face. " if i could assure you would never know pain again i would go to any lengths to achieve it. you must understand. "