#ATHENA REFUSES TO USE QUICK THOUGHT BECAUSE OF THIS

[grape-jucie-dog]

I just remembered something about the "Over and Over" AU.

It's been 2 years since Athena saw Odysseus last, and 2 years since Odysseus returned home.

And Athena was stuck with Zeus that entire time.

Two. Years.

... Oh my gods I'm awful.

[alchemistc]

"Any plans for your days off, Buck?"

Buck knows his grin is a little feral, but he's kind of hoping that'll throw them off the trail. It's barely been a year, and in that time they've had three natural disasters, one copter crash, a boss intent on making Buck's life a living hell, and two almost break-ups.

It's too soon, to know for sure, except Athena and Bobby had known, and Hen and Karen had known even if they were too scared to admit it at first, and Chim and Maddie may have taken a little longer to get there but they'd known.

And Buck knows. He knows he's never felt like this about anyone before. Knows no one has ever had the ability to infuriate him and calm his fears quite like Tommy Kinard can. Knows they could have done this like they joked about six months ago and they wouldn't have regretted it.

Hen is making a face like she's trying to decide if she wants to know whatever head-tilt-cheek-bite sexual innuendo Buck's got in the barrel, because she only appreciates that about half of the time and Buck's praying she decides on no because he's a terrible fucking liar and he doesn't like keeping things from people. But it's sort of a secret, for the next 48 hours, and Buck also wants to bask in it, wants to enjoy keeping it to himself for just a little while.

"Our Buckaroo is all grown up and refusing to over share about his sex life, praise be," Chim chips in, and Buck tucks his chin to his chest and hopes his pink cheeks read as embarrassed.

His phone buzzes in his pocket, and around him lockers slam and voices drift over him. He's only got eyes for the text that just came through.

Bird's ready, suits are pressed, room is paid up. You wanna go to Adele, after? I think I know one of her people.

You know everyone, stop bragging, I'm already impressed

I'm always gonna try to impress you. You still at the station?

Yeah but not for long. I'll see you in like forty

"--right Buck?"

Buck blinks, hums, stares across at Chim.

"Please tell me you're not sexting at work right now."

"Technically, we are off the clock."

"I'll remind Clipboard Buck of that next time he shows up."

He's zipping up his bag when his phone buzzes again.

See you soon, baby.

He's pretty sure he's gonna get away with it - Hen and Chim are arguing about some reality show as they all trudge toward the open bay doors, and though he can hear their voices further back, Eddie and Bobby still seem to be deep in conversation.

Ravi comes out of left field, because of course he does, just finished inventory still clutched in his hand as he rounds the engine closest to Buck. "Hey, Buck, you and Tommy wanna catch that movie tomorrow night? I picked up a shift but I've got like twelve off in between."

Buck winces. Damn, so close. "Sorry, bud, we actually won't be in town."

Which he's realizing now is pretty uncharacteristic of the both of them, and Hen and Chim have clocked it, so he's gonna have to make a run for it, but he catches sight of raised brows and questioning expressions and he can't give them nothing.

"Tommy's taking me to Vegas, we might see Adele, okay bye!"

They absolutely let him make a break for it, let him scramble into the Jeep, let him send them all a quick wave before he peels out of his parking spot, and Buck spends the drive to Harbor viscously ignoring the steady buzzing from his phone.

---

Tommy snags the backpack from his shoulder before he's fully out the door, and tugs a belt loop to pull him close. Buck is pretty sure he'll never get over how much he likes being manhandled, just a bit.

"You wanna tell me why Chim and Hen both wished us a good flight?"

"Ravi ambushed me on my way out the door. Technically, they don't know anything about anything, except maybe Adele."

Tommy's fond smile makes Buck feel all warm and tingly inside, and he basks in the glow as Tommy nudges a knee between the open bow of Buck's legs.

Tommy's expression morphs, a bit, lips dropping as he tilts his head. "You having second thoughts? We don't have to-."

"No. No second thoughts."

"Evan, I know how close you are to your family. If you want to wait, make this something you can share with them, we can hold off."

He's so goddamn charmed by this man - by how he cares, by how well he knows Buck, by a million and one tiny things that Buck gleefully hoards his knowledge of like a dragon over his caverns of treasure.

"I kinda don't want to share you, for this." It's the first time since Tommy's brought it back up that Buck's been able to express exactly why the prospect makes him so giddy, but there it is. Possessive jealous Buck rears his ugly head again, only Tommy has always been a little charmed by that. At least when Buck expressed it in a healthy way.

"The moment they know, it's gonna be a spectacle," Tommy agrees, fingers curling over Buck's side.

"Exactly. So. Take me to Vegas and wife me up before one of them shows up trying to tag along."

He expects the dramatic eye roll, and Tommy's fingers digging into his sides. He doesn't expect the ear-ringing whistle echoing through the bay door to their left, or the smirk on Lucy Donato's face when she lets her looped thumb and pointer finger drop from her lips.

"We should definitely go before any of them remembers to hit her up for more details."

"Why would she -."

"Yeah she caught a look at the manifest and snooped until she found the rings."

"So you're actually worse at keeping a secret than I am."

"They're all gonna know before we land back home."

"Hen's gonna break like thirty bylaws trying to decorate a county owned chopper."

"Evan, seriously, we can still -."

Buck only knows one sure-fire way of stopping Tommy from spiraling too much - he uses the little bit of leverage he has plastered to the open door of his Jeep to catch Tommy's lips, and the resulting pleased hum shivers down his spine. Evan takes a moment to be pleased that Tommy hadn't shaved this morning like he'd threatened, and then he's tilting his head for a better angle and losing himself in it long enough that a few more wolf-whistles make their way across the tarmac -- Wendell and York, most likely, but when Buck finally breaks the kiss to dart a look over Tommy's shoulder, everyone has made themselves scarce.

"You gonna marry me or not, Kinard?"

It's a rare thing, but sometimes, when Buck makes him a little extra wild, Tommy does this growling thing that Buck always feels down to his toes. Tommy kisses him breathless again when Buck responds to this growl with a satisfied smirk.

---

"How much you wanna bet Hen convinces you to do a vow renewal within six months."

Buck's busy nipping at a spot of flesh just above Tommy's transverse abdominis, so it takes a second for his brain to catch up with the words.

"It's gonna be Maddie, and she's gonna rope you into it before you realize what's happening."

Tommy hums, pleased, not denying it, and runs a hand through Buck's hair, palm curling over his crown. It takes Buck a moment to figure out why it doesn't feel quite as familiar as it always does, and then he's reaching for it with a hand of his own, the tips of two fingers sliding along the smooth metal surface of Tommy's ring.

The smile he shoots up from the general area of Tommy's groin is all puppy-dog grin, and he basks in the soft, warm grin Tommy sends back. Buck tracks the crinkle of Tommy's eyes like a lifeline.

"I'm gonna lord it over everyone's head that we didn't get married because of, during, or after a health scare or a natural disaster."

"You asked me two days after we made up because of a flash flood we both thought we were gonna lose each other to, but okay."

Tommy's smile is soft. The fingers that slide around his scalp to brush reverently over his birthmark are even softer. "That time doesn't count, because we didn't follow through. You thought I was joking."

He had, honestly, at first, because they'd technically still been broken up at the time and the adrenaline and the terror at nearly losing one another had still been close. It'd taken him three days and Tommy angrily re-ringing his house key back onto Buck's keychain to realize Tommy maybe hadn't actually been joking about hopping in the chopper the next time they both had 24 off.

He's glad they'd taken the extra time, though. Glad they'd had time to drive halfway across the state in search of a ring shop they could be sure they wouldn't run into anyone at, glad they'd had the time to get new suits tailored, glad he'd had time to fuss over vows he'd still cried about while he was saying them, glad they'd done it without an Elvis impersonator standing just off to the side.

"You're stuck with me now," Buck tells him, and Buck knows Tommy's delighted bark of laughter will keep him warm for years.

[a-bottle-of-tyelenol]

agere athena headcanons !!

— art by gigi —

— requested by @ghostyroyalty —

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

🤍 - athena is a caregiver with big babysitter energy (an alloparent, if you will). she’s never been particularly maternal but she enjoys being called momma since it reminds her of the few children that she did have. she finds humans fascinating and much of her interest in regression surrounds the specifics of it and how it affects them— what it does, how it happens, and what results she’ll get with differing behaviors. some might say she “experiments” on her littles, but it’s really just her learning everything there is to know about them (though, they are absolutely experiments).

🤍 - I personally give her very bird-like appearances and mannerisms. she has massive wings that she’ll use to scoop up a little and hide them away from the world, and she has a nest in her Quick-Thought domain that she often invites them up to nap inside. she refuses to sing lullabies for her littles but she will chirp and whistle in a pretty bird song which works all the same. in a mix of bird instincts and her general intrigue in humans, athena also has the habit of bringing things to her littles, like food or gifts, to both make sure the chicks/hatchlings are taken care of and just to see what they’ll do with them.

🤍 - and because she’s a goddess, sometimes her littles will wander up to her and give her gifts in return and she never knows what to do with them because offerings are usually meant to be more symbolic than anything, but she accepts them all the same. she has a whole section of her domain where she stores all the little rocks, trinkets, and flowers given to her by kiddos with big doe eyes and a innocent smiles.

🤍 - she’s very tall, which means that she often has to lean down to talk to humans at eye level and she finds that appearing physically small helps ease them into their regression. in that same vein, she finds that regressors really like her owl form and love watching her fly around. she finds it very sweet and, when she’s feeling generous, sometimes she’ll let them hang out on her back while she flies around in her primary form.

🤍 - she actually starts out fairly judgmental, seeing regression as a weakness in her strongest soldiers. she finds man’s inability to brush off their emotions to be a hinderance in their performance as soldiers and while she understands logically what trauma does to someone, she finds it difficult to empathize or understand beyond how it works on paper. as she interacts with regression, and the regressors themselves, she slowly begins to open up to the idea and sees how beneficial it can be. it’s to the point where she can go a little overboard and insist its benefits onto humans who don’t regress (which is actually how quite a few people started regressing lololol).

🤍 - she’s a very strict and calculated caregiver with specifics planned out in what a little is to eat throughout the day and what the most beneficial forms of play are. specifically, she likes to use play as a way to practice concepts introduced in training— such as endurance, reflexes, memorization, and strategy. she enjoys physical games like tag or hide and seek because it utilizes a lot of the skills she sees as important.

🤍 - she is a bit of a “tough love” caregiver. she will very much throw a baby out of the nest just to make them fly and she’s accidentally made a few kiddos cry with her blunt attitude. she always feels bad and her intentions are good, but she does definitely struggle with the softer aspects of age regression. she does genuinely try her best, though, and she’s a very quick study so it doesn’t take long for her to figure out what works and what doesn’t.

[janyxbeloved]

KNY oc content, no pics yet, I'm not done with their arts yet. We listen and we don't judge(Unless your oc is genuinely concerning to the fan base, which I hope is not the case) and I've been waiting to share this for a while.

Slayers for now, demon oc is next! Ramble about your OCS too if you want! I DONT GIVE A FUCK IF THEYRE OP BTW I JUST LIKE SEEING PEOPLE GET SO CREATIVE!

Ichiinama Hanakitsune （花狐一稲間 Hánakitsuné Ichiinámá)

"As a child, I never understood why I was the way I was, it just happened. I was a hermit and I never got any friends. No one wanted to associate with me because of how quiet and timid I was at the time. No one wanted me as a friend. And somehow I was unbothered, I wasted my childhood being inside my room or outside under a tree, reading away at books I've read over and over again. Even some demons thought that my hobby was stupid, reminding me why I never had friends as a child when it was all I ever wanted. I trained hard to be where I am today. I can't say my life was wasted doing swordsmanship, I found people who appreciate me for being me. I will never put myself down like that ever again." - Ichiinama Hanakitsune to herself in Abnormal situation

Race: Human

Gender: Female

Age: 14

Height: 170cm(5'7)

Weight: 56kg

Birthday: July 23rd

Hair color: Black and silver

Eye color: Silver

Affiliation: Demon Slayers Corps

Occupation: Demon slayer, Spirit Hashira

Combat style: Spirit breathing

Status: Alive (Before infinity castle arc) - Desceased

Brief background introduction:

Ichiinama was born into the Hanakitsune family, she is smart - Despite the lack of resources, she's managed to impress her parents with her brains, her parents call her and her sister beautiful, however, Ichiinama was never one to express her ideas and inputs, some say she was a hermit. Always stuck with books instead of people, envious of her sister being a social butterfly, she was desperate to have friends but not many wanted to discuss the otherwise "nerdy" topics. So she just kept to herself. One day, her home was infiltrated by demons, killing both her mother and father, leaving her and her sister to fend for themselves. They ran until they came across Gyomei Himejima, Ichiinama's older sister, tired from carrying her, pleaded with Gyomei to save Ichiinama and just leave her - However, despite the given issue, Gyomei refused to take only Ichiinama and took both sisters with him. Her older sister was around 17 at the time of their rescue and Ichiinama was only 10. Now, as the Spirit Hashira(スピリットハシラ Seirei Bashira) - Ichiinama is 14 and her older sister is 21. She attended the final selection at the same time as Muichiro Tokito and Aoi Kanzaki they managed to become friends and Ichiinama finally accepted the fact that she was just mingling with the wrong group because Muichiro and Aoi were actually... Really great friends. Don't allow those looks to fool you, she's actually really nice once you get to know her.

Uniform description

Ichiinama wears the standard corps uniform - Under the watchful eye of Shinobu Kocho, Ichiinama received the uniform that was tailored by another Kakushi NOT Masao Maeda. Ichiinama wears pants, rather than a skirt. Ichiinama also wears a gray Haori with rainy cloud-like pattern. Alongside with gray Kyahan with the same pattern as her Haori, blue tabi socks and dark blue zōri with dark blue straps.

General appearance

Ichiinama wears the standard corps uniform tinted in dark purple. Has black hair with silver streaks that were natural. Silver eyes with spiderwebs as pupils. She looks almost identical to her older sister aside from a few features. Her hair hangs low, past her shoulders. She has glasses on her.

Inspirations:

Athena and Ares (EPIC: The musical)

Artemis (Greek Goddess because she isn't in EPIC)

Japanese paitings

Clouds

Ghosts

Ayano Aishi

Overall abilities:

Ichiinama is a quick thinker, saving some from a potential casualty. Using her brain to formulate all sorts of tactics,

Demon slayers abilities:

Demon slayer mark: During her battle against Gyokko, alongside Muichiro Tokito, she managed to resonate her demon slayer mark with the help of Muichiro Tokito, whom she resonated from.

Transparent world: She was able to access the transparent world and look right through Kokushibo, however, true fear as struck her as she realized she, along her comrades, were most likely bested by this powerful demon.

Songs that would sound similar to her personality:

Just a man - Facing an internal struggle with her personality and her actions. Tends to act out in anger even though it wasn't her intention, she's only fighting for her life.

We'll be fine - Strongly believes she and her loved ones will be okay.

Keep your friends close - As if to say you can't trust everyone you meet for a short period. Wants to get to know people before trusting them entirely. Has trust issues so wants to know people before considering them as friends.

Open arms - Greets everyone in a happy way, the Tanjiro effect helped her understand that you can greet the world with open arms.

Trivia

Ichiinama's name is derived from the following terms: Ichi-i-nama (Ichi-One, i-beautiful, nama-pureness/freshness) - Relatively, her surname, Hanakitsune means "Flower fox".

Ichiinama's level of openness is 40%.

The books she likes to read consist of fiction and non-fiction.

She owns a copy of the Odyssey. (HAHA-)

Other than her Kasugai bird, Ichiinama has two cats Hachi and Katsu.

She is a dual blade user, the charms on her blade were gifts from Muichiro Tokito and Aoi Kanzaki on her birthday.

She has a snow owl as her Kasugai crow. The owl is a shy and timid bird named Rōzuuddo

Ichiinama's hobby is weaving.

Like Genya Shinazugawa, Ichiinama addresses her sister formally, calling her "Aneki" the female counterpart of "Aniki".

Ichiinama has very legible and neat handwriting.

Her favorite food is Miso soup.

Ichiinama views the other hashiras as follows:

"She's beautiful and smart. I like her." - Insect Hashira

"I find him immature. Maybe that's his sense of humor..." - Sound Hashira

"He comes to my library sometimes. Borrows books and then returns them when he's done reading them, he has pretty eyes and I see him talk to Kanroji-san." - Serpent Hashira

"I talked to him a few times. He was mostly quiet but he did want to borrow a book from me." - Water Hashira

"I admire his strength. Despite that, he's pretty nice." - Stone Hashira

"He once bought a book collection for me. I'm thankful he thinks my reading hobby is fun, he has a pleasant aura." - Flame Hashira

"She's really pretty. I love her hair. It's really pretty." - Love Hashira

"He's a gruff." - Wind Hashira

"He's a good friend. Even if he does tend to forget who I am." - Mist Hashira

"I admire my sister. She's strong and she cares for me." - Smoke Hashira

Likewise, this is what the other hashiras think of Ichiinama:

"Incredible talent she has there." - Insect Hashira

"She's too mature for her age! She should lighten up!" - Sound Hashira

"She's not good with her words. But I can see she's doing her best." - Love Hashira

"Quiet child, almost too quiet. She can sneak up on anyone without alerting them, who knows what she can hear with that skill of hers." - Serpent Hashira

"She's meek and timid. Sometimes even sly." - Wind Hashira

"She has good friends, I think I can trust them to be with her." - Smoke Hashira

"She's like a fox... Cunning, smart and quiet..." - Mist Hashira

"I think she's a good person despite her lack of use in words." - Stone Hashira

"I went to her library once, I almost thought she wasn't home because she wasn't there, she snuck up on me and I screamed so loudly!" - Flame Hashira

"I honestly thought she was never home. She's just... So quiet..." - Water Hashira

Jurei Hanakitsune （花狐樹麗 Hánakitsuné Jūréi)

"When I was younger, kids always wanted to be my friend, I was unique, because of my heterochromia, I was also extroverted, people wanted to be my friend and I can safely say that kids preferred me over my sister. However, I wanted to also include her, however the other kids thought she was weird for being so quiet all the time. Seeing the envious look she gave me whenever I catch a glimpse of her staring at me from the second floor of our home... I couldn't help but think why people didn't like her just for reading a lot." - Jurei Hanakitsune to herself in Get it together, moron!

Race: Human

Gender: Female

Age: 21

Height: 177.80 cm(5'10)

Weight: 63kg

Birthday: October 24th

Hair color: Black and silver

Eye color: Red(Left eye), silver(right eye)

Affiliation: Demon Slayer Corps

Occupation: Demon slayer, Smoke Hashira

Combat style: Smoke breathing

Status: Alive(Before sunrise coundown arc) - Desceased

Brief background introduction:

Jurei was born into the Hanakitsune family, she isn't as smart as her younger sister - She was still an incredibly smart person. At a time at night, she heard a noise, seeing her and her sister's parents being murdered by a demon, she quietly carried her sister, Ichiinama, who was awake, who also was only 10 at the time, out a window and left their home, not after lighting it on fire to assure the demon will die for what it did. Jurei ran away from the wreckage for a few hours, exhausted carrying her sister, she came across Gyomei Himejima, Jurei pleaded with Gyomei to take her sister and just ditch her, Gyomei, sensing the selflessness of Jurei, did not abandon her, he took Jurei and Ichiinama with him. Jurei trained hard to get where she is today - 21 and the Smoke Hashira(けむりばしら Kemuri Bashira) and she is thriving well, she is good friends with Mitsuri Kanroji and enjoys accompanying her.

Uniform description

Jurei wears the standard corps uniform - Under the watchful eye of other Kakushi, Jurei received the uniform that was tailored by another Kakushi NOT Masao Maeda. Yes, Jurei wears a skirt, however, the skirt reaches until her calves. Jurei wears a Haori with smoke patterns on it, based on japanese Ukiyo-e. She also wears Kyahan with smoke prints and wears dark gray tabi socks and wore a dark purple zōri with peach pink straps.

General appearance

Jurei wears the standard corps uniform tinted in dark purple. Has black hair with silver streaks that were natural. Her left eye is red and her right eye is silver, she has X-shaped pupils. She looks almost identical to her younger sister aside from a few features. Her hair is tied into low twin drills.

Inspirations:

Penelope of Ithaca (EPIC: The musical)

Hera (EPIC: The musical)

Ryoba Aishi

Obanai Iguro

Cats

Overall abilities:

Jurei is quick-paced and flexible. Along with that, she has really good hearing.

Demon Slayer abilities:

Demon slayer mark: During her battle alongside Mitsuri Kanroji and Obanai Iguro against Nakime, she unlocked her demon slayer mark which enhanced her overall abilities.

Songs that would sound similar to her personality:

You & I - Death cannot seperate Jurei and Ichiinama

Ruthlessness - It's a given that as a Hashira, Jurei has to be ruthless, demons are vile creatures.

Odysseus - Jurei snapped when she heard that Ichiinama was killed by Kokushibo, it fueled her anger and hatred for demons, as an older sister, it's in her right to be angry, the same way Odysseus was angry that Penelope's suitors are going to do diabolical things to her and kill Telemachus so she's fully defenseless. (Unrelated, I cried so much when the saga came out.)

More than anything - Jurei wants to support Ichiinama no matter what, like Lucifer wanting to support Charlie and her dreams of redemption.

Trivia

Jurei's name is derived from the following terms: Ju/Jū can be translated to "Tree" or "Ten", and Rei is translated from "Example". It may be taken as a pun because Jurei is the older Hanakitsune sister, and Hanakitsune is "Flower fox".

Jurei's level of openness is 80%.

Her heterochromia may be a result of hereditary genes. Like her hair color.

Her favorite food is Wagashi.

Jurei has cursive handwriting.

The name of Jurei's Kasugai crow is Shizuka

Jurei viewed the other hashiras as followed:

"She's pretty smart. I look forward to having more conversations with her." - Insect Hashira

"... His lack of self restraint surprises me." - Sound Hashira

"My best friend! She's really strong and I admire her and she's so beautiful!" - Love Hashira

"He looks like he wants to put me six feet under for being close to Kanroji-san. I don't know if that's his resting face but I guess I should be glad that I'm not a boy." - Serpent Hashira

"He's quiet, he reminds me of someone..." - Mist Hashira

"She has good friends, I think I can trust them to be with her." - Spirit Hashira

"I admire him. He's strong and a good listener." - Stone Hashira

"Mood." - Wind Hashira

"Pretty great guy to be around. He's a good person!" - Flame Hashira

"Quiet, but also really reliable." - Water Hashira

Likewise, this is what the other hashiras think of Jurei:

"She's really nice to talk to. I admire her skills!" - Insect Hashira

"She's grown quite well, she's stronger now and still as reliable as ever." - Stone Hashira

"I admire my sister. She's strong and she cares for me." - Spirit Hashira

"She's like... A brown hare. Very fast and agile..." - Mist Hashira

"A really great friend!" - Love Hashira

"... A really great friend." - Serpent Hashira

"She talks a lot, I don't mind." - Water Hashira

"I don't really know what else we have in common." - Sound Hashira

"Bold." - Wind Hashira

"A good listener and a great giver of advice!" - Flame Hashira

[marvel-and-dc-geek]

The Sun Gods

This is a TOA and SNV crossover one shot that I had wanted to write for a while Hope you enjoy!

Okay, I know what you're going to say

“Apollo, shouldn't you be with poor Meg and Grover? Who will defend them there, all alone in the labyrinth?”

And I’’ll have to be honest: they can defend themselves way better than me. The truth is, I still don't understand what happened: we were running away from some strix, and suddenly, I found myself alone.

I gey that the labyrinth is a complicated thing, something only a son of Athena could achieve, but what happened is still weird: I fell through a weird place, and suddenly I was in what seemed to be another pantheon. How do I know? Very easy, as far as I know, you humans haven't built cities surrounded by floating mountains. And secondly, I know Olympus, and Olympus didn't look like that.

Maybe it was Norse territory? I doubted it, I've been in Asgard (long story, I'll tell you another day) and it didn't look like that either. So there I was, alone and armed with my combat ukulele, hoping not to run into another Cyclops sitting on the toilet (not an image I want to see again). To my misfortune, Dodona's arrow seemed to have been left behind, so I couldn't ask a make a quick question

“Don't worry Apollo, you'll be fine,” I heard a very strange voice, was it talking to me? I approached, only to see some kind of giant lizard carrying a very attractive guy on top of it, who seemed to have suffered a cut on his face (which made him even hotter, I wondered if he would give me his number).

If I knew anything about hospitals, it's that the nurses wouldn't let me pass easily. Maybe I should be more concerned about other things, like getting back to my companions, but I was curious as to why the handsome guy with the good name had been injured in the face.

In ancient Greece, my name was relatively common. And it still is, I guess,why not use it? If you had to choose between naming your son after the most handsome god, or giving him a boring name like Achilles, which one would you choose?

Bu clearly we were’nt in ancient Greece, nor modern Greece. I had to know more, so I decided I had to go in there.

I don't know what happened, but suddenly the nurses walked out.

“I hope Mr. Susano wins this round.”

Susano? Like the very handsome Japanese storm god ? Well maybe later I could look him up, he refused to go out with me last time but there was no harm in trying again, right?

Anyway, on to what I came to: as stealthily as I could, the very handsome man was on the gurney, talking to the worried giant lizard. I tried not to get his attention, but of course, I proceeded to stumble against an instant that contained all sorts of noisy junk.

“Hey, what are you doing here?” the giant lizard asked me. The very handsome wounded guy also had his eyes on me.

How can I describe him to you? Because someone so handsome deserves to be done justice.

His hair and eyebrows were pink, decorated with some type of golden laurel. Locks of his hair ran along his very well sculpted body. He had all kinds of other golden decorations: if he wanted to be like me, the sun god, he succeeded very well, especially the chest area, which perhaps I was watching very closely .The scar that ran along his face only added some spice to his appearance. His clothes were a rare mix between a toga and a kimono, so it was very clear that he had good taste.

“I.... “how should I start? ‘Hello, why are you using my name? Why are you as hot as the sun? Who is the giant lizard?’ ”I'm Lester ”

I felt his beautiful golden eyes staring at me: maybe he was going to mock me, or order the lizard to tear me to pieces.

“Nice to meet you, Lester “he said smiling at me. Maybe I felt my cheeks turn very red, or, maybe, and hopefully, it was just my imagination “what did you think about the fight ?”

“Ssssurely you thought it wasssss great, didn't you ? Well I didn't see it, but it wassss obviousssss that Apollo would win!” commented the giant lizard. Wow, he was right, but....

“Ah about that....” How should I explain it ? “Actually....I am Apollo....well, sort of, it's hard to explain...”

“You're Apollo?” If the lizard had eyebrows, I'm sure he would have raised one of them. He looked me up and down, maybe he was trying not to laugh.

“Oh, is that your middle name?” Asked well, Apollo. Oh, how cute it was... “I'm honored that your parents chose that name. Where are you from?”

“Delphi...well that's where I was born” it was complicated, was it my home? I don't know... “no no, my mother named me that because...I don't know, I never asked her.

“The name suits you, your mother made a good choice “ spoke the lizard, he seemed to have concluded the same thing.

“Ah, no no, I didn’t explain myself correctly....I'm a god...well, was” gods normally talking wasn't that hard for me, but the other me was very attractive ”I guess technically I'm you ”

The god raised his eyebrow “hmm, you say some very strange things, my dear Lester “oh, I would love to be your darling ... “what do you think, Python?”

“Python?!?!?!” I backed away, perhaps somewhat cowardly, further behind the bedwhere the beautiful god lay.

“I won't hurt you” said the snake (because Python was not a lizard as far as I could recall) somewhat worried and trying to calm me down.

“Python is my good friend, and I don't appreciate you treating him like that “that’s among the weirdest things I've ever heard.

“Your friend?” I asked, puzzled.

“I guess you killed him as soon as you were born “ said the other god. I just nodded “oh Lester, I think maybe you suffer from an illusion of grandeur, that's a tale that you humans invented.”

“An invention?” How could it be ?” I did it when I was a day old, I was defending my mother !” I insisted

“I have never heard that versssion “ said the snake. What a strange snake no doubt, I swore it was a lizard.

“Maybe you're better off that way” the other me told him- How could they not have heard it? If that is the most famous version! “I had heard about the murderous newborn, but never that it was in defense of my mother” maybe now he believed me!

“Well it was, my stepbrother Ephaestus gave me a bow for it, after Artemis helped me to be born!” I insisted.

“That's new too “ how was it that I knew nothing about my...I mean our birth?

“Mother had to flee from Hera's wrath all the way to Delphi, she took refuge in the oracle that used to belong to my grandmother “ I wish they would believe me, my ego depended a little on it...and maybe they could help me get out of here.

“Well, sssome of that isss true “ gods but why did they doubt me? Oh, right

“Listen, even I wouldn't believe I'm the god Apollo. I mean look at me: I'm a unfit teenaged boy , with a face full of pimples. I used to have my beautiful sun-golden hair, amazing blue eyes, and a six-pack, but my dear old dad decided to punish me in the worst possible way. I wish I looked half as good as you do now, scars and all, you're still three times as beautiful “ yeah, maybe I was a little frustrated ”I don't even have clothes of my own. I had to borrow mine from a son of Poseidon, these pants are too big for me, and I think he wanted to be funny by giving me this shirt with Icarus falling from the sky. I mean it's a great band, but by the gods I wish they would at least have some respect for me. To top it off, I'm a slave to a daughter of Demeter. At twelve years old she already gets to give me all the orders she wants.”

The duo just let me talk. I don't know if that made things more or less uncomfortable, but I hadn't even told half of my situation. Would they believe me?

“I've been in the labyrinth for two days now. Honestly it's much better to be here, but we have to get to Camp Jupiter and warn them that they might die at the next new moon, and....” Wow, that was a lot to think about.

“You ssshould sssit down “I must have looked very upset if the snake that was supposed to be my enemy was offering me a chair. I sat down, because I didn’t feel well.

“You're right, you're horrible,” the other Apollo told to . He didn't need to say it so bluntly, but it was the truth.

“I know...” I wish I could get back everything I was before. We wouldn't be in danger if I had my amazing abilities and great attractiveness.

“But you look beautiful” hey, what ? It didn't make much sense if they asked me.

“How can I be beautiful if I'm ugly?” I was very confused, it was like the prophecies that sometimes just came on their own

“You are the one who has to answer that “ ah...ah heck, I understood how campers felt sometimes.

“Well I was a god like you...now I'm just a kid with acne who's been lost in a maze for two days “ and on top of that, I'd left my friends behind

“And why were you in the labyrinth?” Python asked me ”Who are the people in that camp?”

“It's the camp for Roman demigods. They will be attacked by an idiot who was promoted to god, and...” how did should I put it?

“A camp for demigods?” My attractive other self asked curiously

“Yes,our children go there. Don't you guys have something like that ? It's to keep them safe “in theory, of course ”Chiron is in charge of the Greek one, my son Asclepius was one of the first to go there.”

“Ssson?” The snake and the god looked surprised.

“You're a father?” Maybe my appearance made him doubt. I just nodded “oh such luck, they must be very lucky if they are our children. I would like to be a father too “ wow, he was jealous of me?That just left me with more questions.

“You're not?” It seemed odd to me. I mean you only had to look at him to know that several would volunteer to help him become what. “Well, most of my children are demigods, and several of them are already adults.”

“That's strange, I didn't know godsss could have children with mortalsss” said the snake.

“We can't “confirmed my other self . What a strange place “And what are your children like?”

“Well, speaking about all of them would take a long time” I admitted ”My son Asclepius is the best doctor of all, he's even god of healers. He's a great kid, although he tends to prefer to look older. At the camp I have three cgildren , Kayla, Will and Austin. Kayla is very smart and is an excellent archer, she got that from me and her dad.”

“Her dad?” asked the somewhat confused snake.

“Yes, I had Kayla with a mortal male “Well, what was so weird about that? It wasn't the first time it happened.... I admit I thought dyeing her hair with green streaks was weird, but boy did she know how to show them off “She made sure I practiced archery, my mortal form is not as good with the bow as I wish. Will is a natural born doctor, almost as talented as his brother was as a kid, he had even been taking care of all my wounds. I still don't understand why he's dating Hades' boy, but I hope they'll be happy “they both looked at me puzzled, seriously, every word of mine only confused them more.

“Hades' son? He's dating my cousin Zagreus?” asked the other me “but he's just a kid’.

“Oh no no, he's dating a guy named Nico. He's a lovely boy, maybe just a little strange “ wow this was such a different place ”Austin is the youngest one at the camp, he's barely fourteen, but he's the best musician of the three. “That had made me even angrier at Nero, he tried to burn my children alive... “he got five thousand views in a week with his latest video!” I commented excitedly, my kids were talented.

“Sounds like you love them a lot, Lester” oh how sweet, he was using my other name. Well I didn't blame him, it would be hard to call someone else by my name.

“Yeah! Well I'm not the best father, but I'm trying...” I had to admit that. Gods I was forgetting someone “there's also Georgina...although I don't know if she's really my daughter, but she made me this doll ” it was made with pipe cleaners, I was trying to keep it well guarded. Carefully I passed it to my wounded self.

“She's a great artist” he said as he held it carefully ”you have very talented children, Lester. Or we have, they're kind of like mine too, aren't they?”oh well, maybe…

“I don't know if that isss how it worksss,Apollo, but they're great kidsss.” Wow, it was strange that he was such a nice creature.

“Hey...how come gods can't have kids with mortals?” I had heard them say that, and it was strange “I mean, so you don't know Hercules ?” Come on, he was the most famous demigod, as cool as Asclepius and all my other kids were.

“Oh, he was adopted “ was ?? “I heard he fought a human who managed to outsmart him, although knowing my brother, he must have given his best in that fight “ by the faits, what's going on in this place ??

“Python said you came from a fight...gods, is it in the same one where your brother died?” And maybe it would be good to know how a mortal killed him in the first place

“Yes, and two of my uncles as well“but shouldn't he be sadder ? Eh well...maybe it was better to drop the subject, but I was curious.

“That's how you ended up so wounded, right ?” Although the scar made him more attractive.

He nodded “I fought against the most beautiful man and valkyrie I've ever seen” I couldn't judge him, it hadn't even been a month since I was fighting my ex,so I understood him a lot.

“And who were they?” I was a little curious.

“King Leonidasss and the valkyrie Geirololul “ replied his reptilian friend. Well, more than a friend if you asked me, they looked quite close if anyone .

“Leonidas? The king of Sparta?” It couldn't be or could it? I was sure he had gone to the...oh right, this was a strange place “hey...what did he look like?”

“Oh, he had fair skin, and was tall and muscular, with a rather neatly trimmed beard. Sure, he smoked like no other being I've ever seen, but those are unimportant details “ no, he didn't sound much like the one I knew ”his valkyrie was a tough girl, boy those two made a good pair.”

A valkyrie? Why was she helping him?” it seemed strange to me.

“Ah for the Ragnarok, the gods voted to exterminate humanity.” well, that was...very strange, or at least to me.

“But without humans, no god will have any human to worship them. Won't that make you guys disappear ?” Not to mention how cruel it was “I've heard of pantheons whose gods died because of it.”

“Well no, at least as far as I know it doesn't work that way “ my other self looked a bit confused about what I said ”there are pantheons whose peoples died out, as far as they are still normal”

“Still, to slaughter mankind? And Leonidas on top of that ? I mean he didn't sound like my ex, but anyway...” ah yes, Leonidas and I dated. Oh I loved sleeping in his strong arms and stroking his beard...He and I had a cute little girl, her half-brother made sure she lived comfortably when he became king, but that's a story for another day.

“It must be a strange thing for you, I'm not saying it's ideal, but I couldn't let my family down “ it didn't sound like he would have voted ,although I admit that in his place, I would have been with my muses....

“It is...I won't say I'm the most benevolent god, but...well, I've had several demigod children “ they were still human...shut, wait ”gods not to sound rude, but maybe I should look into getting back ”

“Maybe one of the bosssssessss of the pantheonsss can help you “ suggested Python, wow, who would be there?

“I think you should talk to Shiva, asking Odin or my father is not a good idea right now.Tell him I sent you “ said my other self ”ah before you go, come here for a moment.”

I didn't even question why he asked me to come over, I just did. The god rose slightly and came closer to kiss my cheek: I almost died of embarrassment , I won't lie. I felt a strange warmth, which I cannot describe, but I felt my lost energy slowly coming back to me.

Of course, I am a healing god, so was he by logic.

“Apollo, I don't know if you ssshould use your powersss after the fight” Python opined somewhat worried.

“Ah don't worry, it's nothing. Besides Lester still has a mission to accomplish, it wouldn't be good if he left just like that “ I was trying to keep my coolness, of course.

“Thank you...” I said with my face very red as I grabbed my ukulele ‘it was nice to meet you, “I hope you better soon feel “ugh I was even getting my words wrong, my other self was so cute.

“The godsss are on the other direction “the snake told me as he saw I almost hit the wall on my way out. “And Sssshiva is purple, he has four armsss” ah details, details, I should have asked....

I just walked in the direction the snake told me to go, until I heard a cry. A girl's cry...what kind of monster would ignore her? I searched for her until I saw a girl about my age (well you know, the one I'm like Lester. It's complicated) with short purple hair sitting on the floor crying.

“Hey...are you ok ?” When she heard me she got startled, maybe because I was so handsome and...no no, it was definitely from seeing me so badly dressed in those places.

“Ah, sorry...” she stood up, wiping away her tears ”the last round...gods, I thought my sister would make it.”

A valkyrie...shit, that was awkward, I had just talked to the one who killed her...I sat next to the girl “look, I'm not saying it's easy, but at least you have their memory left ” comforting wasn't my strength, ok ?

“I miss them all “ there were several rounds, according to what Python and my other self told me, and I didn't want to imagine how many brothers and sisters had been lost to both sides ”hey...who are you ? Sorry, it was rude not to ask you. My name is Geir “ I could tell she was trying to be strong....

Demigods always try to be strong, most of them at her age had already lost more than one sibling or friend. Many of my children at that age had already died, or had had to grow up quickly. What if she had to go and fight too? She looked like a sweet girl, just a couple of inches shorter than me. It wasn't fair at all

“Don't worry, call me Lester “What was I supposed to tell her ? It was one thing to talk to a god, but a valkyrie...well the truth is I was never quite sure what they were, but besides, in that situation, it was even more difficult. What could I do? Well, as a god of music... “hey, would you like a song? with my combat ukulele, I can play some fantastic songs”.

I started to play my cool weapon/instrument, no one else could boast about something like that...but well it was to at least make her feel better, I played a happy tune, it seemed that she was smiling. I leaned a little against the wall to play the best part and.....

I fell. Just like that. And landed on poor Grover. And of course, Dodonna's arrow fell on me, at least it wasn't lost.

“Hey no time for naps, run!” Meg helped us up, they didn't seem surprised by my absence.

“Aren't you going to wonder where I was?” I asked as we picked up our pace.

“The passageway took you back to where you were in seconds” commented the satyr “although time may feel different”

But I ended up somewhere else...I'd better discuss that later, for now we had to get out of there. I couldn't help but feel bad for Geir and the other Apollo: losing a sibling must have been horrible...

.

.

.

.

.

“Apollo, do you think Lessster will understand what he needs to be beautiful?” the snake asked the wounded god.

“With time, he will, the poor thing seemed very agitated. He has his virtues, even if it's hard for him to see it “ the pink haired deity answered as he looked at the pipe cleaner doll the god had forgotten ”it looks like he forgot something ”

“It's possible he's already made it back home “he was also god of prophecy, after all, but he could only see what was there “I'll take care of it for him, I hope someday I can give it to him, and that he'll answer my question “although he suspected it would be totally beautiful when he did, in more ways than he had imagined.

“Do you think he was telling the truth?” He looked very agitated after all, if he was hallucinating, it was a very strong hallucination

The pink haired god nodded “I saw his memories...he's a complicated god, but when he gets to know himself, he'll shine brighter than ever” He wished the boy luck, wherever he was.

[regina-cordium]

What are you newsies pjo au thoughts?? I’m so hyped about this

I'm SO glad you asked, because this is fascinating

(Giving a quick shoutout to Rehearsal_Dweller on AO3 and @roideny they've inspired my #thoughts the most)

I don't have parents for ALL the newsies, so I'm definitely open for ideas 👀

Jack - son of Hypnos. HEAR ME OUT. I was tempted to make him a son of Hermes, mostly so he and Race and Crutchie could be brothers. However, Jack's Whole Deal is how he's a dreamer at heart!!!! He sees the way the world could be!! (wait--) I like the idea of him being able to travel in dreams (there's a term for this, but I cannot for the life of me remember it). A lot of the things he paints are things he's seen in dreams, or general ✨vibes✨ he gets

Katherine - this is where I'm stealing from Rehearsal_Dweller and saying daughter of Zeus. Like....imagine being the daughter of ZEUS and JOSEPH PULITZER the need to make her mark as herself instead of as an extension of her fathers. The way she'd refuse to use any surname but Plumber. If you wanna play with pjo canon, her being a prophecy kid would add even MORE stress on top. Give me Katherine blazing her own path not because of, but despite her parents. Going against what they want and expect her to be, to become an actual person and not an idealized hero

Davey - I cannot be swayed from son of Athena Davey. I refuse. He's clever, he's analytic. Going to Newsies canon REAL quick, but I like the hc that he knew what he was doing when he was explaining what they needed to form a union and was posing it as a challenge to get Jack to work with him. Yeah. It also still gives that canon-level "Davey puts everything on his shoulders and feels like he needs to solve everything himself" of sheer anxiety. He's a son of Athena!! He needs to be perfect and smart and know how to do everything!!

Sarah - Davey's twin. She's also extremely clever and really good at reading people and working a conversation into a direction she wants. However, my favorite modern au hc for Sarah is that she's a fashion designer, so I see her focusing more on Athena's crafting aspect. As a result, other than Davey, she's closest with Buttons. She also has a ton of little hobbies that she's picked up because she finds herself going "well, I can't just stay doing the same thing all the time. I need to be well rounded!" and suddenly she knows how to customize dolls

Les - okay, thiiiiis is where I steal from roideny a bit. He has Davey & Sarah and Les are step siblings, and Esther and Meyer bonded over being parents of demigods. That being said, I go around and around on what godly parent he'd have!! Hebe is a good one, as goddess of youth. Hermes is good because Mischief™️ and Race being an awful influence. WAIT. Hold on. I'm going through the cabins and TYCHE. GODDESS OF CHANCE. Lets be real, he's the catalyst of everything!! Without him convincing Davey to work with Jack, nothing would've happened!!! If he hadn't convinced Davey to TAKE A CHANCE!!!! I'm settled, he's a son of Tyche

Race - son of Hermes. I refuse to be moved on this, either. Race is king of pranks. He's SO sneaky, too. That's the real reason he's called Race; one second he's on the cabin's porch, the next he's by the Big House. How'd he get there? Nobody knows. Is he fast??? We don't know. He's actually a REALLY great swordsman, but he prefers fistfights. Nobody expects to get punched in the face.

Crutchie - son of Hermes. Everyone is surprised when they learn that fact. They are in for a rude awakening when their clothes end up on the roof of their cabin. How did Crutchie get up there?? Nobody knows. He and Race are co-councilors, but it's mostly because he knows when to be serious. People tend to go to him with problems, though he and Race are good problem solvers. WAIT. I just remembered Hermes is god of languages too. Crutchie is SO good with languages. It also makes him such a great orator.

Buttons - throwing him here because I've already mentioned he's a son of Athena. I will say I was tempted to put him as a son of Aphrodite, but when I remembered Athena's weaving/crafting aspect I was like "NOW THIS IS BEAUTIFUL" and also Sarah deserves to have friends that aren't her brothers and Katherine

Spot - son of Nike. Again, people are surprised when he's not a son of Ares. However, going back to canon, everything would've been lost without Spot and Brooklyn; he was the key to victory. The Athena and Ares cabins always fight over him for capture the flag. He's so fucking tired.

Now some rapid-fire hcs that I have no good reason for, I just like the vibes

Elmer - Hebe Albert - Apollo Hotshot - Ares Finch - Hephaestis Stray - Demeter Splint - Apollo Romeo - Hecate Much - Aphrodite Blink - Tyche

I am ALWAYS down to discuss other hcs tho 👀

[dadbodbobby]

A mini fic I wrote because I promised @thebuckley-hans that I’d send it to her. Was so proud of it that I decided to post it here.

Bobby and Maddie is an underrated pair and I thought this prompt was perfect to explore that.

Obligatory S6 spoilers under the cut.

First of all, Maddie still felt like she was walking on air. The love and security she felt in this engagement was so different from the last time she did this, and the ring was FOR HER. It just felt like her too.

Doug’s ring was fancy, and big, and so obviously (in hindsight), meant to show off to everyone how fancy and rich and important Doug was. It was like a collar on a dog, to show ownership, she knows now.

But this ring, Chimney’s ring, Howie’s ring, her ring, was a symbol. It was a symbol of love.

A symbol of the long nights spent talking, the bufFridays, the karaoke, the fight to get back to where they once were, the promise to never leave again. The promise to love each other, and their daughter, to stay a family and together. In sickness and in health, for better or worse, for richer and poorer.

All of that being said however, Maddie still couldn’t get the ring off. It had been weeks. Literally weeks, and she still couldn’t get it off. No matter what she tried. And she wasn’t about to cut it off, she wasn’t that desperate.

And even if she was, there was no way in Hell that she was using Buck’s ring cutter to cut it off. She still couldn’t make direct eye contact with her baby brother after learning THAT little tidbit about him.

But regardless, she couldn’t get her ring off with hot water and dish soap, and Josh’s suggestion of butter just made her hungry, so that was a no go. Maddie refused to tell Howie her ring was stuck, it was just too embarrassing. So that’s how she found herself at the firehouse.

Her logic was that out of all the tools that must be in the truck, one of them must be able to get a ring off of a finger without cutting it off. It’s only once she got there that Maddie realized one big flaw in her plan.

How in the hell was she going to be able to look through tools on the truck, find one that looked like it would work, figure out how to use it, get the ring off, clean the tool, and put it back all without being noticed? God this was a bad idea. Maddie hears Chim talking upstairs and panics, speed walking to the downstairs bathroom.

Maddie grips the sink and closes her eyes, letting out a deep sigh. “Okay,” she whispers, trying to calm herself. “I can do this, it’ll be okay. I successfully raised my kid brother for over a decade, I can figure out how to get this ring off without anyone noticing it was ever stuck to begin with.”

“Your ring is stuck?”

Contrary to popular (or correct) belief, Maddie does NOT jump three feet in the air. She simply startles. Anyways, Bobby’s in the doorway, staring at her with a concerned nosey expression.

“No.”

In hindsight, Maddie doesn’t know why she thought lying would work. Bobby was basically the Sue of the firehouse, and married to Athena. Of course lying wouldn’t work.

In the present, Bobby just gives her a soft but knowing dad smile. Maddie feels a quick pang for the girl she once was, the girl who lost any traces of receiving those smiles after losing a brother.

“Bobby I’ve tried everything but nothing works and I can’t tell Howie and I am NOT using Buck’s ring cutter-“

“Why would Buck have a ring cutter?”

“…do you really want me to answer that?”

More confusion, Jesus she thought Eddie was naive about these things.

“You know what, ask Athena. She can explain it.” Maybe she could also explain why it was in the kitchen instead of the-oh dear God!

“…anyways, I can’t get this off and I’m not willing to cut it off, because it’s mine. And I can’t tell Howie because I really do love it, but I need help!”

Bobby gives her the dad smile again, “Just wait here and give me a minute.”

He leaves and Maddie takes the chance to take some deep breaths and ground herself. She does get more antsy waiting for Bobby than she’d like to admit.

Eventually he’s back, with dental floss, of all things, and an apologetic smile. “I didn’t mean to take so long, but one of the prices of being 57 is not being able to wait when you need the can.”

Maddie supposed that was a fair enough reason, especially if he was going to help her. He walks over to her and tears off a decent length of floss. Next, he wraps it tightly around her finger, starting at her middle knuckle and working towards the edge of the ring.

He slips the end of the thread under the ring, pulls it taut, and starts unwinding it in the same direction. Maddie holds her breath, feeling the ring slowly creep up her finger, until lo and behold, it’s off completely and Bobby’s handing it to her.

“Oh my god Bobby, this is incredible, thank you so much!” She wraps her arms around him then, and squeezes. When he hugs her back she can’t help but want to stay like that forever. Maddie honestly couldn’t remember the last time her father had hugged her like that. It felt nice.

He chuckles and responds to her gratitude, before he pulls back. She does too, and can’t help asking,

“Hey, how did you know that trick? It would have never occurred to me to use dental floss like that.”

He breathes through what Maddie recognizes as a wave of grief.

“When Marcy was pregnant with our son, her fingers swelled up a little. Not too badly, but enough that her ring got stuck. We tried everything short of cutting it off, but it didn’t budge. Her mom visited our apartment one day, and she used that trick to get the ring off.

Apparently it had been used for generations by the women in her family. Marcy used to joke that Brooke should go ahead and get a ring stuck on her finger, so she could have practice helping her daughter out. I guess the tradition died with them.”

Okay there was a huge chance that she was about to (understandably) offend Bobby, but she had to say it anyways. He just looked so sad at the thought of that lost tradition.

“Well you just taught me, and I have a daughter. Maybe it’s legacy will live on.”

The look Bobby gives her makes her tear up (“As do most things,” Buck would say, the hypocrite), matching his own tears.

“Thank you,” they keep eye contact for a little bit, and it’s funny. In these past few minutes Bobby’s been more of a father to her than her own father had been to her and Buck since before Buck was even born.

No wonder he considered Bobby his surrogate dad. Maddie was beginning to think that maybe she would be too. She’s too close to crying to be able to talk, so she just nods.

The moment lasts a little longer, before Bobby breaks away to sniff and wipe his eyes. Maddie takes the chance to do the same.

He takes a deep breath, puts his captain face back on like a shield, (or masking, if he’s on the spectrum), her nurse brain unhelpfully supplies, and exits the bathroom like they hadn’t just had a moment.

Maddie waits until the bell goes off, which thankfully doesn’t take too long, before she makes her exit. She enters the main floor just as the vehicles drive out.

Watching the 118 race to the call, she reflects back on everything that just happened. While not a particularly religious woman, she finds herself sending up a prayer to keep her family safe. All of them.

She’d lost a father once, before she lost a brother. But maybe it isn’t too late to be given a new one.

[astaroth1357]

Demigod MC Series: Athena

So. I have to deal with the virgin goddesses… By mythos, there really shouldn't ever be children of Artemis, Hestia, or Athena (yes, Athena was a virgin goddess). PJ got past that by making it canon that Annabeth and her siblings were born from cracking open Athena's skull (yes, that's also more or less the canon explanation). They gloss over it real quick but I remember, Rick. I've always remembered and that mental image has haunted me for years...

I can't, in good conscience, ignore the history around Athena's worship (call it an academic restraint) but I REFUSE to do the skull thing. So, since I make the rules here, I'm going with magic adoption. They still get magic powers, they're just more human than demigod. Cool? Cool.

Demigod MC Series: Intro, Aphrodite, Hermes, Hades, Dionysus, Demeter, Athena

Lucifer

The human that popped out of the portal seemed to have enough sense not to attack everyone in the room for a change, but even Lucifer could tell that was more of a strategic choice than for lack of ability...

Their very existence was highly unusual… and quite worrisome. He wasn't even aware Athena could have "children" of her own, but apparently she had been taking in some particularly bright humans to raise and train like her own...

Unbeknownst to him, a surprising amount of human scholars, diplomats, and generals have her to thank for their trade… and that alone should speak to the level of intrigue at play here. 

Was this an accident or Athena's attempt to plant an Olympian spy in the Devildom too…? Either way, he didn't trust them from the get go…

Look, Lucifer isn’t stupid. Athena is a goddess of Wisdom and War and war happens on more than just the battlefield… 

Since they've shown up records have been going missing, official documents keep getting misplaced, and he swears that there's some kind of bug in the student council room...!

It's infuriating watching the MC suck up to Diavolo when he's almost certain that they're running their own agenda behind the scenes! And he can't prove any of it!! They cover their tracks too well!

Lucifer has one of those corkboards covered in newspapers and string in a secret wing of the Castle - 100% dedicated to just tracking the MC's activities…. The longer they're there, the more obsessed he becomes...

He swears between Simeon, Solomon, and MC he feels like a shepherd wondering why the sheep are growling… The Devildom has never been in more danger than it is right now... Send help.

Mammon

To be honest, he kind of thought that they were just going to be Satan 2.0 but that's not really true.

They're more than just a book sponge! Though they do read, like a lot. Let’s just say from one schemer to another… Game recognizes Game.

They come up with plans and ideas soooo fast, it’s insane! Honestly, there are times where he has a new money-making plot and he just brings it to the MC first to run it over. 

Nine times out of ten, not only do they sniff out any problems but they have a solution for him in a matter of minutes! His scheme game has been on point since they’ve shown up!!

They’re also even better tutoring than Satan is, so he’s even managed to get a couple A’s for the first time in his life! Lucifer actually told him he was proud (which he secretly recorded and now uses as a ringtone much to his brother’s regret...)

So yeah, he likes them... buuut that doesn’t keep him from thinking they act a little weird sometimes... 

Mammon: *points to a unused tower close to the RAD building* Over there is the Tower of Sorrow. We use it for storage.

MC: Ah. Interesting… *starts writing in a notebook, muttering* It may need a few minor tweaks but the location is defensible...

Mammon: *stops* Ya say somethin’?

MC: *looks back up* Nope! Say, you’ve been to the Castle a lot haven’t you? Do you know any good ways in?

Mammon: Uhm… Why do ya want to know that…? *starts looking around for Lucifer*

MC: In case of emergencies. I like being prepared. 🙂

Mammon: Look, I don’t know what Lucifer might’a told ya…

MC: I’ll pay you a thousand Grimm for it.

Mammon: Well shit, ya want those maps with or without color?

... Yeeeah, that’s pretty weird… But it’s probably fine. I mean, as long as they keep giving him money, who’s he to complain? 🤷‍♀️

Leviathan

Also thought that they’d be a lot more like Satan but was pleasantly surprised that they were into more than books.

What else did they like exactly? Military strategy!!

It’s been a looong time since he’s been able to talk to someone who’s actually interested in all the battles he’s fought, both in the Celestial Realm and the Devildom, and their curiosity is kind of flattering...! Not a lot of people take his strategic prowess all that seriously anymore...

Plus, they are the BEST partner to have any turn-based strategy game. Hands down. He once got stuck on a level of D-COM for weeks until the MC walked in and mopped the floor with the AI!! They have a serious head for probability and tactics.

The House once made the mistake of letting these two be on the same team during a Hell Game and they absolutely demolished the competition. Mammon didn’t even get a single shot off before half his team was lost to a rigged paint grenade… It took a whole day to clean up… 

However, Levi’s also noticed some odd things about the human… He likes that they’re interested in his past but maybe they’re a little… too interested?

Levi: -and that’s how we defeated the Four Horsemen before they escaped from Purgatory. 

MC: Wow, Levi that’s seriously impressive!! *furiously scribbling on a notebook*

Levi: Well t-thanks… 😅 But, uhm... are you writing that down…?

MC: Hm? Oh no, just doodling. *they lift up the notebook to show a bunch of cute little sketches on the page… and not the magic-based invisible ink all over them…*

Levi: Oh you draw too? Can you do fanart???

MC: Eh, sometimes. But say Levi, can you tell me about your naval ranks again? I’m still really curious… *gets the pen ready again with a smile*

Satan

Oh, it's been a long game of cat-and-mouse between these two… and unfortunately, it’s been pretty addicting too.

He honestly had every intention of tricking the human into making a huge mess do he could bother Lucifer, but at every turn they proved just a hair too clever for him...

He once gave them a cursed book to “lend” to Lucifer, but they saw through it the moment they touched it and lifted the spell before handing it over.

He rigged a podium to spray glitter during one of Lucifer's speeches but the MC disconnected the trigger mic before he even got on stage. It was pretty dang frustrating...

At one point he got so desperate that, just as a test, he tried to trap them in the House's Music Room. Fortunately for them, it only took a few minutes to work out an escape. They even passed by him in the hallway with a wink!

It's confounding! It's infuriating!! 

...and it's so damn sexy... He should be furious but he’s just in awe!!

Add on that they know their art, literature, and multiple different crafts thanks to the tutelage of their adopted mother and that’s it. He’s finished. This boy is in love.

Truthfully though, a part of him is 90% sure that they’re also gathering state secrets… Like, they’re watching Barbs and Diavolo far too close for comfort - but he just can't bring himself to care. 🤷‍♀️

The MC could walk into his room one day and say, "Hey, do you want to help overthrow the monarchy with me?" and he dreads it because deep down he knows that he wouldn’t say no…

Take some notes, kids. Some bad influences get you to drink or do drugs. Others pull you into a centuries long conspiracy to destabilize and topple rival realms from within… But he has fallen for their brain hard. Devil help them all…

Asmodeus 

They’re pretty clever, he’ll give them that, but uh… Are they a little off to anybody else?

Asmo is a charmer by birthright so he has a bit of nose for when someone’s just a liiittttle too nice… Not much of a nose mind you, because he can be thrown off by compliments himself, but enough to think that the MC might be a little too… “kind” for their own good...

First off, who wants to spend that much time with Levi?? They don’t even seem that interested in anime! They just keeping asking him for old war stories…

Then all the sucking up they do to Diavolo and Barbatos? Look, he gets it. Diavolo is a delicious piece of man-hunk and his butler could give him a lesson or two in sweet-talk (and he has), but they seem to be just a little too… nosy.

Of course, Asmo’s suspicions disappear pretty quickly after they start to spoil him with spa nights and beauty secrets they picked up from “casual research” into the subject.

And you know, get a little Demonus in Asmo and start massaging his back? Oh, sweetie he’ll sing like a bird!! … with gossip. Singing with gossip.

Asmo: So I’ve heard that Lucifer has been spending more time at RAD than usual… His whole club is talking about it, they think he’s meeting with some witch!

MC: Hm, is that so? *works on a knot near his shoulder blades* What do you think?

Asmo: Ooh~! Right there, MC! *purrs and lays his head on his arms* Well come on, this is Lucifer we’re talking about! I’m sure he’s just working.

Asmo: Hmm... though come to think of it, I think I heard him asking Barbatos for the spare keys to the Tower of Sorrow…

MC: Oh really? Huh. *works out the knot and gets up* I just remembered that I left some papers with Satan... I’ll be right back.

Asmo: You’re going already??

MC: *waves him off quickly* I’ll be right back, Asmo. *hurries out the door to do totally on-the-up-and-up things… surely*

Beelzebub 

Honestly he doesn't like this one… But not for the reasons you'd expect.

He agrees with everyone else that they seem a little shady, but Solomon and Simeon are too so it's not like that's anything new... 🤷‍♀️

No, no. He dislikes them because they're the person who FINALLY figured out how to keep him from eating all the food in the kitchen!!

Turns out that the trick was to put a teleportation charm on the fridge door that would send all the food away if it’s opened after a certain time of night… 

And where does it go? The Purgatory Hall fridge. And where does the Purgatory Hall food go…? The HoL fridge…

It doesn’t sound so bad until you remember that it means half of their fridge is now Solomon’s leftovers…. 🤢

After they put the same kind of spell on the pantry, it was all over… He couldn't get midnight snacks from the House anymore… Everything was contaminated by Solomon…

The MC is a nice enough person, he doesn’t have a lot of complaints about them, but he wants them to leave. Now. This is inexcusable… He’s so hungry… and he doesn’t want to die by “goulash” or whatever Solomon calls his latest culinary catastrophe… He’s still too young for death… 😓

Belphegor 

In a way, he absolutely could not have asked for a better person to help him get out of that attic.

… In another way, he got one of the worst possible people to try and kill... Like. They saw through his scheme sooo fast…

How was he supposed to know that the human had training in body language and sniffing out lies???

Getting the door open was a piece of cake for them. They knew enough magic to undo the seals and just rummaged around Lucifer's stuff long enough to find the key to the door. He could not have found a more competent individual for a break out, really.

It’s just… well he didn’t expect to go from locked in a room like a prisoner to tied up in enchanted rope, still like a prisoner but now mobile. 😑 

They even used his own hug ruse against him! They caught his wrists when they got close and tied him up before he could shake them off...

Admittedly, it wasn't exactly the best look for them either - what with walking Belphegor downstairs to the others like a one-man-prison-caravan but they're as silver-tongued as they are sly so they talked their way out of it beautifully… 

And like hell was he going to trust them after that!! And not even Beel liked them so something had to be up...

Well, you want a detective? Look no farther than Belphie (no seriously, it’s in the canon). He can put things together pretty fast when he puts his mind to it and watching the MC for a while gave him enough proof to work off of...

He always knew that, humans were bad news and the MC just proved it to him all over again. They are bad news, bad bad news and they’re going to-!

Overthrow… Diavolo…? Is that what he is getting from them…? Huh…

Wait a second, MC. You might just have him interested… 😏

[lake-cosay]

infinity train percy jackson au stuff because i'm hyperfixating

(quick disclaimer i havent read the books cause adhd but ive been digging into the story as much as i can through literally every other medium lol)

so the basics: jesse is the son of posiedon. the story would follow roughly the same plot as the first book etc, with jesse not knowing he's a demigod, shit goes down, he ends up at camp, gets a quest, etc

even though tulip fits annabeth way better than lake does, lake will take annabeth's place since yknow percy and annabeth end up together and stuff. plus i like the chemistry (i'm specfically thinking of the "you drool when you sleep" moment that's so them)

tulip sorta technically takes grover's place but she's not a satyr or protector or anything she just needs a spot in the trio and that's what's left lol. she's a daughter of hephaestus (you could argue athena for sure buuuut ive seen other ppl say hephaestus and i like that better for her, especially cause then her and lake can be twins).

some details about jesse:

nate is technically his half brother. whitney is both their moms, stephan is nate's bio dad and legal dad to both of them. i feel like their parents would at least let jesse and nate know that jesse has a different dad, but they would keep the god part to themselves to keep them safe.

so here's the backstory with whitney and poseidon (yes i thought it through this much leave me alone): whitney met poseidon when she was young and they had a thing. she knew stephan at the time, he was her closest friend but they weren't romantic. stephan supported whitney's relationship with poseidon as long as she didn't forget him, which she never did. jesse was conceived and poseidon left, as he does, but stephan was there for whitney. stephan helps raise jesse and eventually whitney falls in love (stephan had done that a while ago), and then a few years later they have nate.

jesse knows stephan isn't his bio dad but he doesn't care, they love each other just the same. it's not something a lot of people know either, it's one of the few things jesse keeps private about himself. the only people who know are immeadiate family.

so yeah, stephan and whitney don't tell the kids about the god thing to keep them safe. they're aware of CHB, and they're sure that jesse's swimming skills come from posiedon. thankfully he doesn't show any crazy powers or anything so they're not too overprotective.

upon arriving to camp, everyone's sure he's an apollo kid. the only person who isn't is lake, but that's also only because they saw him control the water. i could see jesse being put in the apollo cabin to save space in the hermes cabin despite not being claimed because they're just so sure he's apollo's son.

jesse hates fighting. he could probably be pretty decent at it if he wanted to, but he doesn't. he avoids having to learn combat as much as possible. he talks to lake about how much he hates it, and lake says he should really learn at the least the basics just for his own safety, so he agrees to let lake teach him some in private.

jesse refuses to choose a weapon, and just uses a shield and his hydrokinesis to fight but only when necessary. the shield is celestial bronze and turns into a bracelet with a charm that's a mini version of the shield.

about lake:

lake is a child of hephaestus, twin to tulip. tulip doesn't know she has a twin. lake was raised at camp and had never left, until one day, they just couldn't take it anymore and left camp. a magical deer (the yet-to-be-named alan dracula) insisted on following them, which they quickly welcomed.

lake doesn't have the usual abilities of a hephaestus kid. instead, they're more like one of his automatons, being inhumanly strong and endurant. though it doesn't look like metal, few things can truly puncture lake's skin. they've also got some pretty bad eczema and a good deal of scars, so yeah. their skin still makes them stand out.

lake especially appreciated the companionship, since once they left, they began being tailed by a monster (who's like an amalgamation of mace and sieve, haven't quite figured that part out yet).

lake wandered the country for about a month and a half, headed west. they didn't know why, they just felt compelled to head west. eventually they ended up in arizona and met jesse, and the two became friends naturally over the course of a few months.

lake had managed to throw the flec-monster off their trail for a good while, but one day, it finds them. jesse's parents hear the commotion, and upon seeing a monster, tell him to fight back. jesse doesn't know how, and lake tries to explain it to him as they realize he must be a demigod too, but lake gets knocked out. alan dracula picks up lake and urges jesse to run, and his parents tell him to follow the deer. at this point, they've realized that alan dracula had led lake to him to protect him. so jesse follows AD, and he takes them to camp half-blood.

lake isn't exactly happy to be back at CHB but that's overshadowed by them worrying about jesse. they watch over him in the infirmary.

lake grew up at camp. not quite sure how they got there, but tulip doesn't know she has a twin until she has her own little adventure where she arrives at camp aroung age 12-13. megan thinks lake (whose deadname is magnolia, maggie for short, MT for really short) is dead.

lake was probably raised by a mix of chiron, hestia, and some of the older campers when they were really young. since they're the youngest demigod the camp ever had, and since they got into so much trouble in the hermes cabin, they were moved to the big house. eventually after tulip arrived and the two of them were claimed (at the same time), they moved to the hephaestus cabin. lake honestly hates it there and wants their bed in the big house back.

lake had a habit of sneaking out of camp to explore, and because they just wanted to be able to do what they choose damnit, but never got far before being chased back in by the flec-monster. that's how they got most of the scars.

their chosen weapon is a pair of celestial bronze daggers that can turn into rings.

i really wanna do something with lake's mirror but i don't really have any ideas lol. sometimes in aus where lake's human (or in this case, part human) i just give them a birthmark on their leg or smthn, ideas are very much welcome!

now for tulip:

like i said, tulip is a daughter of hephaestus. tulip doesn't know she's a demigod until her parents take her to camp when she's about 12. they do it for her safety, and also to give her somewhere to go while they work out the divorce stuff. tulip meets lake pretty quickly and they get claimed together. tulip spends summers at camp but goes home the rest of the year.

tulip is definitely very smart and pragmatic like an athena kid, and she gets along well with just about everyone in athena's cabin. however, she doesn't like battle the way they do. she'd rather be making something than fighting. she still likes coding and brings her laptop with her to camp.

she probably made a little robot who very closely resembles one-one. he's not technically in this au but i'll give him some little cameos.

tulip attempts to bond with lake by making them cool weapons. it kinda works, but not as well as she'd hoped.

one night tulip hears lake leaving the cabin in the middle of the night. she catches up with them, and finds them all dressed and packed and equiped. she questions them, and lake just bluntly states they're leaving. tulip realizes they're serious about leaving camp. she asks them to wait and gives them some extra supplies and weapons before they leave, makes them promise not to die out there, then helps them get away from the flec-monster long enough to get headed away from camp.

tulip definitely worries about lake, mainly cause she's seen just how dangerous the flec-monster can be, but she tries to just trust lake. it's only about 6 months before lake shows back up with jesse, which is very confusing, but ultimately tulip is happy lake's back and this new kid is nice enough. a bit painfully nice, tulip takes one look at him and says he must be an apollo kid. she doesn't understand why lake is insisting he can control water. he can't be a kid of the big three, he's a dork. obviously he's not that kid from the prophecy, and lake just hit their head a little too hard when they were knocked out.

tulip has pyrokinesis, as well as the usual abilities of a hephaestus kid

her weapon is a good old sword, a special one she made that can turn into a variety of tools

a few more little things:

grace is a daughter of aphrodite who can charmspeak

simon is a son of either ares or athena, and would probably have a role very similar to luke's. i'm not gonna think about that too hard though because i have 0 interest in anything simon related lol (i also don't plan on yknow, planning out a whole plot for this so it doesnt really matter anyway)

i was thinking a lot of denizens, namely AD, the cat, atticus, tuba, etc could just be animals who were affected by the gods but i think that's kinda messy and im not gonna do that after all. but if you like the idea feel free to run w it

despite being younger and smaller lake has kicked simon's ass (in capture the flag and sparring) numerous times but simon refuses to admit it

i had a very vague idea involving medusa and reflections. that's it that's the whole idea that's all ive got

i just realized i did not think about amelia or any of the book 4 characters at all oops. sorry

i was very much inspired by these posts so check them out! also heavily inspired by the musical. i would love to know your thoughts and ideas for this because i am hyperfixating so bad lol

[allpjowomenarequeens]

If HoO was a diary-type format

okay a follow-up to this post (and my tags, specifically) because i can

Percy’s chapters would be essentially the same as the PJO series, with funny chapter titles and sarcasm. There would be tons of little references to Annabeth, and lots of “I could’ve kicked Jason ass, fyi”. There isn’t a lot to say on him because we already know what he’d narrate like, but I imagine he wrote the PJO series in the few months between the wars (or at least started it) so he knows how to narrate. His chapters would be some of the longest.

Annabeth would probably have the roman-numeral system. She would be a good narrator but a little bland, but with lots of details on architecture she noticed. She constantly has to stop herself from going on rambles about it. She notes down how exasperated she is over the Jason/Percy thing. Her chapters wouldn’t be too long but not short, either.

Jason would absolutely be using the roman-numeral system. His chapters would be a vague combination of Percy and Annabeths, with Annabeth’s formal writing style and Percy’s constant jabs, plus a little sarcasm (he is sarcastic, yall just flatten him)

Frank’s.... okay so listen everyone else would make little funky references to things because of their respective hyperfixations but Franks constantly referencing his grandmother’s teachings, and his chapters are on-track for the most part.

Piper’s.. idk honestly she talks about her friends a lot and Cherokee legends/stories? Honesty im not that connected to Piper’s character so i cant rlly do her here.

Hazel’s are short because I refuse to believe anyone in the 40s taught her (black, girl, dyslexic, “witch”) to read/write. She’s learning, and shes very proud of herself for doing so, (so is basically everyone else). Honestly Frank probably wrote hers for her (aw) but she’s actually good at narrating otherwise.

Leos are just... chaos. He gets the narration across but he also goes on side-tangents constantly. His are filled with [Editors note: Five page long ‘How the fuck does the Athena Parthenos work?’ tangent was here] or ‘[Editors note: This page was burnt accidentally and rewritten from memory, may not be accurate] or some other variation of workshop-themed destruction. His chapters would be the longest, then they edit out the tangents and cussing (he calls everyone else (except like, Hazel and Annabeth) bitch and you CANNOT change my mind) and it’s like, third-longest next to Percy and Annabeth/Piper.

Reyna’s being a mix of Jason and Hazel (She cant write well either, its literally canon). She’s not sure why Hedge and Nico insisted but honestly it lets her get everything out so she stopped complaining real quick.

Nico’s are so fucking short but he gets the job done somehow?? He’s depressed and traumatised and he knows these will be read later eventually so he isn’t talking about himself too much. Actually, no, he writes the narration in English and the personal parts in italian. But he also takes the time to explain myths and different tellings, with a TL;DR of the important parts.

And in general:

Occasionally they have to stop narrating bc trauma (I.e, During the scene w/ Kym, Percy was the initial narrator, but he realised he couldn’t because he was way too upset and his thoughts were too up-front, so he let Jason narrate it and his draft was voided.)

They aren’t supposed to look at each others pages but that doesn’t stop them because they want to know what each other are thinking. 

There are occasionally notes from others in peoples chapters, like Percy saying “Okay, the word I was looking for was “cyan”, thanks Annabeth” or in Hazel’s there’s “I think the word is “geocentric”? (it is - Frank :))” 

The parts of the diaries (lets be real they need a few) later to be MoA was written first. Sometime during HoH, Jason/Piper/Leo wrote TLH and got Hazel/Frank to start SoN. BoO and the final parts of SoN were written at the same time.

This means that Jason/Percy c o n s t a n t l y note things down in brackets during the time they were amnesiacs. Jason’s “(now, I obviously know why CHB felt like enemy territory)” and Percy’s “(For the record, yes, I knew him and he knew me. It’s complicated. It’s fine(..ish) now)” are good examples.

OVERLAPPING POVS! Gods like during the “crazy dolphin” bit Percy was the primary narrator but Jason/Piper took the time to tell their POV and its just WILDLY different stories. 

Or just little notes like Leo noting something down “Frank gave me a fucking heart attack with that :/”

Gods let these kids have spelling errors. If it is in the diary format let it have doodles in the sides (percy, leo, piper, hazel would all do it dont lie). I think they would have a written diary then type it out so spelling errors would be edited out but the actual physical diary would be so full of errors and pictures in the margins.

Reyna and Nico’s copy got lost/wrecked so many times their POVS are all re-written from memory post-war, but they try to keep it as long as the originals (Reyna leaves out the feelings parts and Nico cuts out the italian parts, but still).

Cupid scene is still Jason’s pov, BUT it completely skips over the actual outing/getting the sceptre/anything that so much as hints what happens there. I imagine it goes:

‘Welcome to Salona,’ Favonius said. ‘Capital of Dalmatia! Birthplace of Diocletian! But before that, long before that, it was the home of Cupid.’ 

The name echoed, as if voices were whispering it through the ruins. 

Something about this place seemed even creepier than the palace basement in Split. I had never thought much about Cupid. I’d certainly never thought of Cupid as scary. Even for Roman demigods, the name conjured up an image of a silly winged baby with a toy bow and arrow, flying around in his diapers on Valentine’s Day. 

‘Oh, he’s not like that,’ said Favonius. I flinched. 

‘You can read my mind?’ 

‘I don’t need to.’ Favonius tossed his bronze hoop in the air. ‘Everyone has the wrong impression of Cupid … until they meet him.’

[Unfortunately, for the next part I got knocked out (...again), so I can’t say for sure what happened. Nico wasn’t up for narrating it as he sustained a pretty nasty shoulder injury. So, sorry, but I guess this part is a secret. I’m going to pick up where I woke up.]

Nico was picking up a sceptre when I came to. ‘Oh, good,’ He said. ‘You’re up just in time for us to head back. We’re shadow-travelling this time, I’m sick of the wind.’

(Yes I copy-pasted the top part and made it first-person)

But yeah Jason would be 100% willing to make himself sound like an idiot to keep Nico’s secret and you can fucking fight me on that one.

Also, like, imagine they did little ending notes? like couple sentence comments at the end?

“Fucking sucked. 0/10, would not recommend. On the other hand, Hazel’s so fucking powerful, good for her. Good for her.” - Percy Jackson, on The House of Hades

“Huh? Oh, yeah. Glad we got that all wrapped up, but we still have Mud-face to deal with yet. (And figuring out how to find [REDACTED])” Leo Valdez, on The House of Hades

or,

“Got gaslighted by a 13-year-old 80-year-old but also met Hazel and Frank and honestly that outweighs the shitty amnesiac experience.” Percy Jackson, on The Son of Neptune.

“It was... an interesting first quest. Can’t say I enjoyed it, but it was a good learning experience. (Is that good? I don’t think Mars will take well to me disliking the quest).” Frank Zhang, on The Son of Neptune.

or,

“Yeah... can’t say I want to do that one again. Meeting everyone at camp was fun, but not like that.” Jason Grace, on The Lost Hero.

Y’know? Just little things like that. 

That's it for now but you get the point

[redbusters]

okay but consider ace attorney characters playing among us

athena loves this game. and she LOVES getting imposter. usually gets caught pretty quick tho, she gets too excited. favorite tactic as imposter is to blame apollo

apollo is literally never the imposter but he always either gets voted off or killed first. athena or trucy accuses him and literally everyone goes along with it every time just because it's absolutely HILARIOUS to watch polly lose it.

ajusticee: i saw athena vent

athenapsych: apollo sus

ajusticee: WHAT THE FUCK LITERALLY WHY ME

trumagic: yeah it's totally polly

ajusticee: YOU HAVE NO EVIDENCE. IT'S LITERALLY ATHENA GUYS.

pianoman: ja that makes complete sense, it has to be herr forehead

ajusticee: WHY DO YOU DO THIS EVERY TIME

*all votes go to ajusticee*

ajusticee: I HATE THIS FUCKING GAME

*ajusticee was not the imposter*

whenever he actually is the imposter he doesn't even get a chance to kill anyone he just gets voted off first because it's funny. it makes him so mad

klavier is okay at imposter, but he's usually a better crewmate. he's able to keep a level head and focus the group. when he's not deliberately pissing off apollo ofc

simon likes to be super sus the whole game when he's crewmate he thinks it's so funny. and then when he's actually the imposter nobody can tell because he's just constantly fucking with them like that. the only person who can actually tell when he's imposter is athena but only sometimes. he's such a wild card that they sometimes just vote him off early regardless

trucy is a GOD at imposter holy shit. she CONSISTENTLY fools everybody. she definitely has the most wins as an imposter out of all of them. and she loves it. she absolutely relishes in it and it kind of terrifies polly. her strats are pretty varied and she switches it up enough so that people don't catch on, but tends to favor accusing other people to shift blame

once phoenix finally figures out how to play (it takes him a while) he also wipes the floor with everyone else at impostor. if you're imposter with phoenix you have pretty good odds of winning. if trucy and phoenix are both impostor just give up don't even bother. phoenix tends to play a little bit more mellow, usually playing the quiet game and calmly interrogating others. his signature court strategy of constantly bluffing ends up really working in his favor here. his favorite is crewmate, though. he likes to defend people being accused when he doesn't think they did it. pretty much the only one to defend apollo when he's getting voted off for no reason. on multiple occasions he has defended trucy only for her to kill him in the next round. phoenix acts fake hurt and she usually ends up giving him a hug afterwards

pearls is also, surprisingly, very good at playing imposter. she's very good at the game and she's so innocent-acting that nobody ever suspects her. she usually cries and apologizes to everyone she killed afterwards though. she streams all of the games on twitch

maya is literally there just to cause problems. she throws out random accusations constantly and throws half the time. it pisses everyone else off and she finds it hilarious

franziska got talked into playing by maya and kay. shes pretty good, and when shes imposter with maya they do really well. it's pretty much the only time where maya tries. franziska rlly likes the game but she refuses to admit it out loud

kay LOVES being imposter, almost solely for the sneaking around in vents. her kills are super well thought-out. she has the maps practically imprinted into her brain. if she can convince edgeworth to play, she kills him first every time because his reaction is very funny

ema mostly stays on cams the whole time. she likes being able to see what everybody else is doing at all times. during voting, she accuses klavier every single time, even if klav is already dead. she just thinks it's funny

edgeworth doesn't play very often, but when he does get talked (aka: forced) into playing, he is absolute GARBAGE at impostor. he can bluff and talk the talk in court, but for some reason he can't seem to lie well when playing this game. it's always super easy to tell if miles is the impostor because he's always super sus.

NEVER LET PHOENIX AND MILES PLAY TOGETHER. they usually debate on and on about small contradictions and then everyone runs out of time to vote

sebastian is just. so bad at the game. he tries so hard. impostors usually keep him the last one alive because they know he will vote wrong regardless of how obvious the correct answer is

everyone talks like lawyers when playing, objections and all

larry always finds the game code somehow, no matter how many times they switch lobbys

[buddiebeginz]

After reading this thread that does a good job giving a quick run down on Buck and Eddie’s journey up until this point like where they’ve been separately and where they are now, I got to thinking about some things especially where Ana and Taylor are concerned.

I was so frustrated earlier in the season when I felt like the show kept shoving Ana and Taylor in our faces and I kept thinking that this was the shows way of saying Buddie was doa and they were moving on but I don’t think that’s the case at all anymore. While it might have seemed on the surface that Eddie and Buck were off doing their own separate things when you look at season 4 as a whole everything with the guys as been connected especially the stuff with Ana and Taylor. They weren’t brought back so Eddie and Buck could have separate love interests they were brought back around the same time as part of Buddie’s journey toward getting together.

---

Ana and Eddie’s relationship really starts in 4x06 Jinx which is telling enough as it is. It’s also in this ep that Eddie keeps trying to prove that he doesn’t believe in supernatural forces. Meanwhile it’s Buck who tells him “it’s like the universe is screaming at you and you refuse to listen”.

Both Ana and Taylor are in Breaking Point 4x08

It’s fitting that this episode is called Breaking Point because I think the show runners knew this episode would piss some fans off but I think that was the point in a way. I think a lot of the stuff with Ana and Taylor in this episode and thought out season 4 really was meant to be a red herring.

We’re reintroduced to Taylor and we see her and Buck become friends although it’s clear we’re meant to think this could go somewhere by that kiss at the end. Ana and Eddie go on a date and at the end he brings her to see Christopher, a pretty uncharacteristic move for him given the pandemic and Chris’ health. This is another way I believe the show was trying to trick us into believing that these relationships were going somewhere.

Plus in an episode that was chocked full of Buck and Eddie off with other people we still had Buddie always on the periphery like when Eddie came home to Buck, a pretty symbolic moment. Then you had Buck and Eddie at the stand off. Buck complaining to everyone who would listen about Albert and Veronica (even though he couldn’t care less about Veronica) and Eddie admitting he didn’t know how to tell Christopher he was dating Ana. The show focusing on both of their love lives but interestingly enough not showing them talking to each other about their problems when they’re supposed to be best friends.

There was a really important scene with Buck talking to Taylor where he admitted that he felt ready to meet someone and “start a meaningful relationship” and Taylor tells him “I’ve met the people you work with your life is nothing but meaningful relationships”. Interesting choice of words there. To which Buck says, “doesn’t seem the same”. Taylor then tells him “do you ever think you need to be patient and let the universe come to you” a line that mirrors what was said in Jinx. So both Buck and Eddie were being told in season 4 that they needed to listen to the universe, ostensibly the signs around them.

Now at the time the show sort of frames this as Buck and Taylor maybe flirting like maybe the signs are pointing towards Taylor, but I think it was just another misdirect because when you put everything from this season together it’s clear that there was a deeper meaning there and it was directed towards Buddie.

--

Ana was in 4x10 Parenthood

This episode was all about parents and it would seem on face value that Ana’s role is about her getting closer to the Diaz family but it’s not. Her role in the episode was to highlight how Buck is Christopher’s other dad. How the only other person Christopher is terrified of losing beside Eddie is Buck. How when Christopher was upset and scared he ran to Buck’s house.

Taylor was in 4x11 First Responders

Again I think the show was trying to mislead the audience into thinking that things could be going somewhere with her and Buck when really they were just developing their friendship. Notice how they didn’t spend any real alone time together getting to know one another like how a show would typically frame a couple in the making. Their only scenes in this ep involved them trying to solve what happened to Sue. Like work partners working on a project. Taylor comes over at the end of the ep with wine but there’s no real intention on her end that she’s interested in Buck and they only talk about the case.

---

Taylor was also in 4x12 Treasure Hunt

This is where things start to get interesting and I think really where the show starts to turn things from just faking out the audience to giving more clues about Buddie.

We get a scene where a bunch of the 118 are talking about the treasure hunt after seeing Taylor talk about it on the news. They talk about how it’s going to get more people hurt and Eddie says to Buck “your girlfriend’s news story is probably not going to help out with that”. Buck says “she’s my friend not my girlfriend”. To which Eddie nods his head like he believes him but he makes a face looking pouty and jealous.

Now why would the show put that line in there and show Eddie being jealous right before the three of them end up working together? 🤔

Buck calls Taylor and asks to team up to find the treasure and at the end of the call the camera pans out to show Eddie. Almost like they would if Buck was keeping things from his so.

Eddie asks Buck to team up but Buck had already teamed up with Taylor so he brings Eddie in the on deal. We then get the kitchen scene with the three of them where it’s obvious Eddie is jealous and as was pointed out in the twitter thread I included above the framing of that scene was definitely intentional. Eddie looking jealous seated in the middle of Buck and Taylor.

Even though the three of them were supposed to be a team we see Buck and Eddie together through most of the important parts of the episode. Like at the end when they find the treasure chest.

There’s a scene with Buck and Taylor at his apartment where he thinks things are going somewhere between them they’re not and it’s not the first time it’s happened. One has to wonder why he keeps trying to put himself out there for something that just isn’t going to happen.

While eating breakfast with the 118 Buck says "at this point I don’t trust anyone” and the camera specifically focuses in and lingers on Eddie looking hurt. When Buck notices he quickly clarifies what he meant.

The episode ends letting us know that Taylor only thinks of Buck as a friend and that’s how we move into the final two episodes of the season.

Also Just like with Parenthood Ana was in that ep to highlight Buck being Chris’ other dad Taylor was in Treasure Hunt to highlight that Eddie isn’t comfortable seeing Buck with someone else.

----

Ana was in 4x13 Suspicion

So I’ve wrote about this in another post but I think that Ana’s whole purpose in this episode was solely for Eddie and Carla to have the convo they did. The show made it clear that Eddie has not been emotionally invested in his relationship with Ana.

We saw Ana looking up the stuff about that mother who was poisoning her son but Ana wasn’t really involved in that whole storyline ultimately it was Buck. Buck was there when they first went to that call and he was the one who went to the women’s house with Eddie at the end despite being in civilian clothes. There was also no acknowledgement of Ana before Eddie was shot. Usually before a scene like that you’d have a couple saying something meaningful like I’m so glad you’re in my life or Eddie deciding to tell her he loves her but instead it was all about Eddie and Buck. It was also Buck who right before the shooting said “that kid is just lucky he met you” when Eddie was feeling guilty for not getting to the call sooner.

Then of course the shooting was framed to be all about Buck and Eddie. To the point that it was like almost nothing else existed in the world for a few seconds. Even when they pulled out of the slow motion all the camera really focused on was them.

----

Now looking ahead to the last episode for season 4 both Taylor and Ana will be in the episode. We can see that Taylor is in the finale just from the promo. It’s not surprising that Ana will be given she’s been dating Eddie and he was just shot.

But I can’t help but wonder why is the show bringing Taylor in to a season finale that is already clearly over flowing with stuff for the characters to do. I mean surely they don’t have screen time to waste? And I don’t mean that as a dig on Taylor. I mean I get the impression this episode is going to be planned to the second with no filler junk. We have the sniper, saving Eddie’s life, Athena and Bobby’s marriage dramas, Maddie’s depression, Buck doing something reckless to save everyone, Buck thinking Eddie is going to die and losing his shit, Buck talking to Christopher, whatever happens in that convo between Buddie.

So again why is Taylor in the finale? We see her with Buck in the promo and it looks like it might be in front of the hospital. It’s possible she’s there to help Buck find the sniper but I think the show could get around that some other way. If you look at how the show has handled Ana and Taylor thus far and how their presence in each ep throughout season 4 was to further Buddie’s story I think there’s only one reason she’s coming back and that’s because Buck is going to confess something to her about Eddie.

---

If we look at 4x13 again it was an episode that was more about Eddie than Buck and it was about discovery and honesty. People discovering things and being honest with others and themselves. I think 4x14 will be similar but with Buck. We can tell from the promos that Buck is going to have a lot of focus in the finale and I think part of that is going to involve him being honest with himself about some things. This will hearken back to the journey he’s been on for the whole season.

In the season 3 finale we saw Buck closing the chapter on Abby finally. We saw him grow and go through so much all season 4. He’s had to face a lot of truths this year. About his parents and about the kind of relationships he’s been in and what he really wants now but I also think he’s still been running. I think given all the hurt he’s experienced he’s been afraid to be truly vulnerable. He said earlier in season 4 he wanted a more meaningful relationship and it’s been in front of him all along yet he keeps running in the opposite direction.

In Breaking Point Taylor came back to 911 to tell Buck the he needed to listen to the universe and I think when she comes back in the finale whatever she says will be an echo of that convo.

My guess is Buck will come to some kind of realization after the shooting and he’ll talk to Taylor about it. I think that Taylor will be the one who pushes him to talk to Eddie and she’ll even likely say that she knew something was there between the two of them to begin with which is a big reason why she didn’t pursue anything with Buck. She knew he was in love with someone else.

----

Which leads us to what happens next

I’ve been thinking about this scene a lot and what might happen here. I’ve seen some people say they think Eddie will ask Buck to be Chris’ legal guardian in case something happens to him or that it might be a dream sequence. I think both of those things are possible but I can’t shake this feeling that when I look at Buck’s face here he looks like he’s being being told some surprising bad news.

I think it’s possible that Buck will go to the hospital with the intention of telling Eddie how he feels only when he gets there maybe Eddie tells him Ana is moving in. Maybe Eddie says she’s going to help take care of him and Christopher. Eddie says he wants to make sure that Christopher has someone in case something happens to him.

Which leaves us on a cliffhanger for the end of season 4 and in season 5 we could get Buck trying to navigate his feelings for Eddie while figuring out his sexuality.

I don’t think the actress who plays Ana will end up coming back for season 5 but that doesn’t have to affect how they leave things at the end of season 4. If we look back on previous seasons 911 is notorious for doing cliffhangers like this. Abby left at the end of season 1 and didn’t come back and it was essentially a cliffhanger to her and Buck’s relationship. The season 2 finale didn’t give total clarity about where things with Ali and Buck were going and by the time season 3 came the actress was gone.

So this whole idea of Ana moving in with Eddie could just be an idea and we won’t actually have to see it happen in season 5. Like Eddie says Ana is moving in but by the time season 5 rolls around we hear that she got a job offer in another state and she took it.

But something else could happen too. Maybe Eddie breaks up with Ana given the clarity he got from the convo with Carla and the shooting. Then he asks Buck to move in and help him and Christopher while he’s still healing. Buck decides that now isn’t the right time to tell Eddie how he feels that he needs to just be there for his friend so he holds back. That would still bring us into season 5 with a will they or won’t they which is ultimately where I think things are headed.

I’ve seen some people speculate that Eddie might tell Buck he’s going back to Texas which I think is less likely but still possible. So Eddie breaks up with Ana and decides he’s going to spend time with his family in Texas. Buck goes to tell Eddie how he feels and before he does Eddie tells him he’s leaving. Season 4 ends where we don’t know when or if Eddie and Christopher are coming back. Though ultimately they do in season 5 but how that all plays out would make for some good storylines and it could open up room for another Lonestar crossover ep too. It would be great to have an episode where Buck and TK talk about how Buck feels about Eddie.

---

I know a lot of people are going to be pissed if anything less than Buddie getting together and living HEA in the season 4 finale happens but I think we need to be patient. If we actually even get one of them acknowledging his feelings for the other it will be a huge step in the right direction towards them becoming a canon ship. But it does feel like the show is taking them more seriously now.

I know that the show could just be queerbaiting us that’s always a possibility at this point but I think it’s okay for us to be hopeful too. I feel like if the show didn’t want to move forward with Buddie they would have put more effort into developing Buck/Taylor and Eddie/Ana and a lot less into Buddie. This would have been the best season for the show to finally cut ties with Buddie if they really wanted to move on and were tired of hearing about it from us fans. Instead they’ve only developed Buck and Eddie more and there’s no getting around all the symbolism in that final scene in the recent episode. It was shot like two lovers.

I think we just need to have some faith that the writers care enough about the characters and audience to not string us along and that this is all leading somewhere. Which for the first time since Eddie arrived I actually think it is I really do think that Buddie will become canon.

If you read this whole thing blessings upon you and your cow and I’m sorry I talk so much. 😝💗

[celestialices]

QUEST!

Greek Mythology x Haikyuu

Haikyuu!Ensemble x Reader

Summary: You were just a perfectly normal student at The University of Tokyo, when suddenly a bunch of 'normal boys', as they call themselves, appeared in your life and started to squeeze themselves into your life. Always saying something like "You're a goddess, we need to take you back to Olympus" (you brushed it off, saying that it was just a silly compliment) and even absurd sentences such as "You got Medusa's eyes" and "You're really Medusa's daughter!"

You really want a peaceful school year, but the universe beg to differ.

004: THE END OF A NEW BEGINNING

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To say that you were surprised by this outcome would be an understatement. Being childhood friends with Hirugami Sachiro, the university’s so-called “hottie”, is a pain in the ass.  Though Hirugami’s a dependable best friend and dotes on you like an older brother, he’s a little shit. He teases you every time he has the chance to, but knows his boundaries. He never leaves your side too; always knows what’s on your mind since he is very “observant.”  The biggest disadvantage of being his best friend, is his fans. Students flocking over you to ask questions about him was tiring. The only one that ruins your day. 

It was bearing, at first, because you thought it’d be cute when you’re one of the reason why Hirugami has a lover. But you didn’t expect it to be.. like this. You had to hide often just to stop them. Ambushing you, preventing you from leaving the university’s premises, it was all too much. That’s where Hoshiumi Korai comes in.  Your friendship with Hoshiumi is... mystifying. You didn’t even know how you tolerated being friends with him in the first place, but it surprisingly lasted up until now. Seeing that you and your childhood friend are indivisible, Hirugami arranged plans for you and Hoshiumi to meet after they became friends through volleyball. “Korai-kun, this is my childhood friend I was talking to you about. From now on, we’ll all be friends, so please get along!” Ever since that day, Hirugami pushed everything and made sure to schedule a hang out for the three of you, thrice a week. There isn’t a day during your high school years that you didn’t see Hoshiumi’s face, that’s all because of Hirugami. And yeah, that’s how the two of you got along somehow. Basically, what Hirugami has, you have to have it too. And vice-versa. But having Hoshiumi as your friend set out a vast of benefits for you. Not only he’s reliable and gives great advices (to your surprise), he’s quick to get irritated. And that managed to save yourself from the crowd plenty of times. His impatient self terrify a bunch of people, so you tend to stick by his side as long as you can. 

The bond you three shared is as tough as old boots. People say that a friendship between three people would never work, saying that one is always left out. That doesn’t mean that you never had misunderstandings, hence you always manage it before it gets out of hand.

So where are they when you need them?  Your legs are about to give up from squatting, hiding yourself in the bushes in order to escape Hirugami’s aggressive followers. You know you look stupid, but it’s better than to be chased by people, right? You checked your phone, seeing no reply from your friends made you want to cry. The text was an hour ago, meaning you’ve been hiding for an hour now. Just what on Earth are they so busy for that they can’t even check their messages?

You just wanted to go home, your mother and little brother, Yuki, are probably waiting for you. Classes ended two hours ago, so they’re probably concerned about your well-being already.  It’s been quiet for too long, so you decided to look up. No fans sighted. Contemplating on whether to just run towards the gate, or stay for a few more minutes until hopefully, a good friend finds you. You let out a deep sigh, about to risk it all when all of a sudden someone shouted your name. Letting out a yelp before looking up from your hiding place, you desperately prayed for your life. Only to see Yahaba Shigeru waving at you. Well, at least he’s close to what you’ve asked for?  Yahaba Shigeru, also a student at your university. A friend of a family friend. Oh, did I mention, an admirer of yours? 

He is handsome, not going to lie. But he’s not really your type. Yahaba is a calm and carefree guy, but also a show-off. If you’re given a dollar every time he pried your attention, you’ll probably become the richest in Japan.  “Hello, Yahaba-san.” You awkwardly greeted with a smile. Maybe after a few exchange of words, you’ll ask him to walk you to the gates. He probably wouldn’t mind, in fact, he’ll probably die of excitement.  “Are you hiding from Hirugami’s fans again?” He chuckled, making you flustered on how he caught up so fast. It’s no secret that you’re the university’s source of information regarding Hirugami. It was embarrassing. “I’ll walk you home, if that’s okay with you.”  Not wanting to turn down his offer, you instantly answered. “Oh, that’s kind of you. Sure.” You cringed a little for your fast response, he won’t think you’re eager to walk with him, no? You don’t really bat an eye at Yahaba, nor answer his advances. False interpretations of a friendly action would hurt a lot.  This won’t take long, I can do this. Standing up, you grabbed your things and walked towards him. He offered to take your bag but you politely declined, thus the fiddly walk begins. 

The stroll on your way home is noiseless, you were utterly astonished that Yahaba didn’t say a word while walking side by side. For far as you know, he isn’t like this; he always has something to say. You want to ask him how he’s doing, but too shy to do so. Your conversations are always one-sided, making you feel a bit bad.  Nevertheless, you’re thankful.  Relieved that your house wasn’t faraway from the university, you reached home in a span of minutes. You glanced at Yahaba after the both of you stopped walking, noticing that he’s already looking at you expectantly. Uh oh. You were afraid to ask him to enter with you out of respect, but he’ll agree no matter what. You just wanted to rest for now, unable to handle a guest in your current state.  “Onee-san!”  Thank God for Shibayama Yuki. Your eyes went from Yahaba to Yuki in a flash, looking at him with wide eyes. Begging to save you from this situation.  “We have a visitor. Hurry up, Mom’s waiting for you.” He said, bowing apologetically to Yahaba.  It took a lot of self-control to refrain yourself from smiling. Instead, you also bowed to Yahaba. “Thank you for walking me home. I’ll see you tomorrow.” You grinned and happily marched towards your house. The house you live in was a basic Japanese one, its build is similar to the other houses, considering that you live in a private subdivision. It’s also big enough for the three of you, and enough for family friends to stay in.  And it a nice house won’t compare to the family you’ve got.  Your mother is a strong woman, she raised the two of you alone. Worked hard to give you and Yuki a lovely home, three meals a day, and all the basic necessities a mother should provide. Anything you ask for would be given in less than a day, sometimes you think she’s spoiling you too much. But in reality, you know she just wants the best for the two of you. She’s amazing.  As for your brother, Shibayama Yuki, he’s a bit shy and gentle. He often likes to keep it to himself, but managed to have a friend. Yes, he has only one. It worries you but he assured that one true friend is enough. He’s also into volleyball, a very hard-working and determined “libero” of his team. Shibayama helps you in anyway he can, always acting as the older one by protecting you from the world. Conclusion, it was perfect. You consider this all as a blessing, you’re grateful for the life you have. Every once in a while, you question yourself on what you did on your past life to have a life like this.  Placing your shoes on the shoe rack, “I’m home.” You say out of habit and glided to the living room. You were greeted with a frowning mother and the visitor Shibayama told you about, having a serious conversation. “You’re here!”  “Yahoo!” Oikawa entered the chamber, immediately smacked by Iwaizumi for breaking the silence and made everyone flinch by his sudden appearance. “Iwa!” Oikawa whined, he doesn’t understand why Iwaizumi consistently hit him, and why he doesn’t ask him to stop either.  “Shut up, Oikawa!” Iwaizumi hissed. How can he be so slow-witted at times when he’s the son of Athena? “I just wanted to up the atmosphere!” Oikawa whisper-shouted. Iwaizumi only sighed, already used to his attitude.  Currently, the chosen deities for Zeus’ quest (minus Sakusa) are gathered together. They’ll be promptly briefed on what to expect, what to do, and their responsibilities to solve this problem before it grows.  This is the first time the deities encountered a major problem that needed the superior gods’ inclusion. Of course everyone will be terrified! Is Medusa’s daughter really dangerous? They don’t know anything about her, it’s safe to assume that she is.  And what’s more terrifying is that no one in the Twelve Olympians noticed a powerful aura in Earth. They’re watching humans from time to time, how is that possible? Is Medusa’s daughter more powerful than Zeus? That’s not possible. But then again, they live in a strange world with thousands of possibilities. Oikawa counted the amount of deities present in the room. Ten. He frowned, did someone refuse to participate in this quest? It should’ve been thirteen as far as he knows, and Sakusa is already in Earth. “Who didn’t chose one?” Eyes were landed to him.  There he goes again. Iwaizumi exhaled, Oikawa is rather weird. One moment he's bubbly and often tell cheerful remarks, next he's saying or asking confusing and alarming words.  “What do you mean?” Akaashi Keiji, son of Ares and Aphrodite, sent by war-god Ares, asked. He’s flustered by Oikawa’s sudden question, totally not understanding it at all. Akaashi is a soothing and composed god. He’s also blunt, calling out the deities on the foolish acts they do. He analyzes everyone and got a hold of their personality, but could never seem to know what’s going on in Oikawa’s head. “Kuroo is visiting Asami at the moment.” Kita Shinsuke, chosen by Demeter, answered. “As for the thirteenth representative, I don’t know either.” He added, also confused on why there’s only twelve of them. Kita doesn’t sugar-coat his words, making a lot of deities afraid to hear his comments. He is straightforward, giving precise answers only. He also does what needs to be done, no one can sidetrack him. His mature way of thinking resulted to him becoming one of Mt. Olympus’ pillars, everything he worked hard for will eventually lead to a something extraordinary, just like Demeter always says. “I heard Hephaestus didn’t send one.” Ojiro Aran, representative of Zeus, replied. Aran is also one of Mt. Olympus’ pillars, an intelligent and a fully-fledged god, that’s what he is. He often solve everyday problems in Olympus along with Kuroo, especially the twins’ mess. Aran is a very reliable god, he’s one of those superior gods everyone looks up to. People often compare him to Zeus, saying that he should ascend the throne as he is the best candidate for it.  “Isn’t that.. illegal?” Suna Rintarou, sent by Hades as a form of punishment from sneaking earlier, questioned. He’s a bit lazy sometimes, but also rebellious. Only he can do that. He appears to be a quiet and nonchalant god, but Suna is expressive to his thoughts; saying what he wants to say that often gets him in trouble. If only this wasn’t a serious situation, they would’ve laughed at Suna’s question. His comments are humorous.  “I asked Ennoshita about it, since he’s the son, you know? But he said Hephaestus didn’t say anything.” Sugarawa Koushi, son of Hebe and Hercules, chosen by Hestia, shared. Under his calm and gentle personality, he’s actually a mischievous god. Overall, he’s one of the helpful and kind gods, and one of Hestia’s trusted servants of Eophertia. The representatives chosen are mostly the ones who’ve passed a year or more after getting their blessing. The only ones that came from this year’s batch were Kageyama Tobio, son of Aphrodite and Himeros, dispatched by Aphrodite due to his formidable dedication, and Kunimi Akira, sent by Hermes and will act as the messenger between two worlds.

Not too long after Oikawa entered, the doors of the chamber opened again, revealing Kuroo Tetsuro in his glory. He walked with confidence, sitting in the center as he is “the son of Zeus and Hera.” 

“Finally, you’re here.” Komori Motoya, a descendant of Apollo but lives with Artemis, spoke. He was sent because he’s the only one who Sakusa talks to, and everyone likes him. A friendly and outgoing god who encourages a lot of deities. Who wouldn’t like him?  “Sorry.” Kuroo apologized. Short and straight-forward. “Asami’s doing well, if you’re wondering.” Kuroo is serious when it comes to conflicts in Mt. Olympus, but he’s usually a laid-back god who likes to provoke others.  It’s like the amount of tension lessened after what Kuroo said. They’re all dying to visit Asami too, if only she was placed in Eophertia, things would’ve been easier.  “Anyways!” Oikawa interrupted. “Do we even know where to search? There’s a thousand places on Earth! How would they expect us to finish this quickly?” He complained. Obviously pressured on the amount of expectations given to them.  “Agreed,” Kunimi spoke, pretending like his father doesn’t have anything to do with this. He could ask him, but he’s certain Hermes will just mess with him. “If the Twelve Olympians weren’t aware of a deity wandering on Earth for the past 18 years, what can we even do?”  “I think Sakusa already encountered one.” Komori announced. Glances were thrown on him. And a chorus of “what” and other incoherent words were followed. “I think! I’m not sure!” He shrieked, distressed at the stares he’s getting.  “Quiet down.” Athena suddenly engaged in the conversation. Everyone looked at her, confused at how she suddenly appeared in the chamber without anyone noticing. The power of a goddess. “Yes, we were informed that Sakusa Kiyoomi run into one, but he wasn’t sure. Still, we’ll start from there.” She declared.  “How..” Akaashi mumbled. But didn’t mind to continue it, at least they’ve got a good start.  “Where is it, Mother?” Oikawa asked. Cliffhangers are undoubtedly not his thing.  “Tokyo, Japan.” 

THE TWELVE REPRESENTATIVES

Ojiro Aran - son of Zeus and Mnemosyne.

Kuroo Tetsuro - son of Zeus and Hera. 

Iwaizumi Hajime - son of Poseidon and Amphitrite. 

Suna Rintarou - son of Hades and Persephone. 

Sugawara Koushi - son of Heracles and Hebe.

Kita Shinsuke - son of Demeter.

Kageyama Tobio - son of Himeros and Aphrodite.

Komori Motoya - son of Aceso. 

Sakusa Kiyoomi - son of Hygieia. 

Oikawa Tooru - son of Athena.

Akaashi Keiji - son of Ares and Aphrodite.

Kunimi Akira - son of Hermes. 

A/N: Hello! I wrote this instead of studying for my exams later, it’s a bit short but longer chapters will come :)) Forgive me if there are a lot of typographical errors, I was suffering from a writer’s block while writing this, I don’t know why. Notes, reblogs and comments are really appreciated! It motivates me whenever I read some reviews :D I’ll probably update again two days from now unless my brain acts up again. Please look forward for it.  If you have some questions or wanting to be added to the taglist (or chat with me!) please send an ask <3  Thank you for reading!

[yandearest]

May The Odds Be Ever in Your Favor (Hoseok x Reader Hunger Games AU) Chapter 3: The Assessment

Summary - Living in District 4 you never thought you would have to worry about being selected for the Hunger Games. With a training centre right near the dock of the houseboat you lived and fished from, your district was known for volunteers who trained their whole lives for a shot at glory and riches. But at age 18, your name is called and no girls volunteer to take your place. Your devastation is answered when Kim Namjoon volunteers for the males shortly after. Tall, muscular, highly intelligent and charming, the years of diligent preparation have bestowed Namjoon with the expectation of being the next District 4 champion after Finnick Odair last won 3 years ago.

Fishing for a living has granted you skills with a knife but, as your mentor Finnick is quick to describe, your beautiful face may well be your best asset.

Upon arrival in the Capitol you are quickly faced with the reality that Namjoon may not even be the biggest danger inside the Arena. Especially when you capture the obsessive attention of District 2′s own volunteer, and killing machine, Jung Hoseok. Hope soon fades from ‘survival’ to ‘the mercy of a painless death’ but Hoseok certainly has other plans.

Pairing - Hoseok x (fem)Reader

Genre - thriller, angst, yandere

Word Count 7K

Warnings - [in later chapters] major character death, graphic depictions of violence, swearing, obsession, dubcon-smut (smut will be marked so reading is optional), gore, unrealistically beautiful oc because I’m a sucker for that shitty trope and want to live vicariously through my writing (sue me)

The following is a dark fic featuring a yandere character, violence, obsession, and coercion. By no means does writing about this in a fictional setting condone any of those behaviours, much like Stephen King writing horror doesn’t mean he approves of psychotic killers in reality. Please avoid reading if any of these warnings makes you uncomfortable.

Previous Chapter: 1, 2

Cross posted on A03 so people can subscribe for updates/notifications

Throughout the course of your life you had found that the more you dreaded something, the faster it arrived. As you sat in the waiting room, waiting for the call to go into the training center alone for your final assessment, you couldn’t help but think of just how fast the training process had gone by, and that in less than twenty-four hours you would be inside the dreaded arena.

During your knot tying session after your incident the on the first day, you had formed a slight friendship with Krystal, who had asked if everything was okay. You had lied, saying you were fine, too afraid of telling her the truth after Namjoon had just blown up on you, and she simply had nodded in acceptance. But you could tell she didn’t buy that answer from the way she seemed to treat you with a little extra kindness. You stuck to her like glue for the rest of the training period, refusing to separate within the career pack without Krystal by your side. It was an odd dependency given she was the smallest of the lot of you, but she had taken to it rather well. She never asked you about it, but immediately went along, making sure you were always by her side during any activity. You could tell Hoseok was furious – constantly shooting glares in Krystal’s direction – but there was nothing he could do without disrupting the whole alliance, and proving that he was indeed the psychopath he had revealed only to you in private.

You had spoken briefly to Finnick about things the night after the incident with Hoseok. As a mentor he wasn’t happy, but his hands were also tied as there was nothing he could do to interfere with another district. He had suggested he could speak to District 2’s mentor to try and get more information on Hoseok’s background but you had immediately shut that down, terrified that it would somehow get back to Hoseok and he would think you were reciprocating his own interest. The idea was also dangerous because it would expose just how threatened you were to their mentor, who could easily use that to their advantage when coming up with game tactics. Finnick had reluctantly agreed not to do anything, but turned the topic of conversation onto your remaining training time. He had suggested a focus on weapons, particularly knives given you already had some experience with them.

“Focus on what you already know,” he had said “Don’t waste time trying to learn new things that others are already experts with. You cannot hope to beat a master with only a few days of training. Hone the skills you already have.”

So that’s largely what you had spent the rest of your training time doing. By her own admission Krystal’s report card had suggested training with a weapon that could compliment her own agility, which worked out well with knives too, so you spent a lot of your time training together. You found out that despite being a District 1 tribute, she was also reaped, and not a volunteer, like yourself. But unlike you she had been trained at an academy, which was standard practice in 1. A far more interesting detail you had learned was she was Yoongi’s younger sister, and he had volunteered after her reaping. You filed that detail away in the back of your mind for future reference, grateful that some sort of partnership already existing in the alliance could potentially lessen the target on yourself later when it came to splitting.

You played off each other, regarding your knowledge of knives. Krystal was far more skilled in close range combat, and she gave you pointers when you trained in sparring using a prop version (made from a material of the same weight, which still caused some bruises, but wouldn’t actually cause stab wounds). She also helped you improve your skills in countering attacks and using a larger opponents’ body weight against them. Looking at Hoseok and Namjoon respectively you were terrified to know her lesson would very much be a life or death skill you needed to learn. In return you talked to her about your experiences with spear fishing and occasionally using a knife instead in shallow waters, passing on what you could about how to throw a knife. It was a skill you had picked up when you much younger, after being taught by your father when you were seven. Your mother had been furious when she found out and immediately banned you from knives until you were old enough to be working on the boat, but your father had still snuck in training sessions whenever the two of you were alone. It was never something you thought you would be using to potentially kill a human, rather than a salmon or tuna. You hadn’t even thought of it then, but it was likely his way of trying to prepare you for if your name was ever drawn from the reaping. Even though it was essentially impossible, a part of you desperately hoped you would survive in order to be able to thank your father in person.

You and Krystal worked well together, you had a natural chemistry, and both of you didn’t feel a need for wasting oxygen with meaningless small talk or chit chat. Your skills both complimented one another and you found yourself learning a lot. It wasn’t much of a bond from merely a couple of days, but you hoped whatever you had worked to build would translate into some sort of partnership in the arena.

The remaining of your training had passed as well as you could have hoped for right up until the final moments of the last day. You and Krystal had taken a bathroom break. Afterwards, when you were about to walk out of the washroom and back into the hallway outside, you could hear familiar voices beyond the door. Frowning, you opened the door just a crack to hear Namjoon talking to Yoongi, Hoseok and Athena.

“Seriously, she thinks you’re in love with her,” Namjoon laughed, clasping his hand on Hoseok’s shoulder. You felt the blood immediately drain from your face and a stone cold chill run throughout your body. You had seen Namjoon and Hoseok getting on better within the last day, but you weren’t expecting Namjoon to be at a level of already throwing you under the bus.

“Really? When did she say that?” you could hear Hoseok ask, although you couldn’t see him from the crack in the doorway.

“First day, back when she was in tears over that pathetic report,” Namjoon replied with a scoff. “Asked her what happened and she went on some crazed rant that you were going to save her. Honestly lost her mind on day one, why the hell we’re supposed to drag her around the arena is beyond me.”

“She’s not that bad, have you seen her throwing the knives with Krystal? Could be useful,” the only female voice had to have been Athena, and you made a mental note to thank her later.

“Please, she’s a baby. Wouldn’t be able to hurt a fly,” Namjoon scoffed. You wanted to storm out and show him how willing you would be to hurt him, but remembering a warning from Finnick held you back, ‘play along and act dumb so they think you trust them and are too stupid to make plans for yourself'. You couldn’t wait for the chance to stab Namjoon in the back at this rate.

“So why are we keeping her around then?” A bored voice you had rarely heard asked. That had to have been Yoongi.

“Her brains may be non-existent, but the empty head that carries her around isn’t too bad to look at. I say we keep her for the sponsors, get us some supplies from her capital fans. Maybe if we can get her to flash those perfect tits she’s covering up we can get extra out of them. Plus, if the arena gets cold I’m sure she can also make herself useful as a bed warmer too.” Your jaw dropped open at the vulgar way your supposed teammate was talking about you. You hadn’t even spoken to Namjoon since the incident on the first day, ignoring him whenever you were in the same living quarters and spending your training time with Krystal. Like hell you would be going anywhere near his ‘bed’ in the arena. Krystal looked equally as disgusted.

“Gross,” Athena deadpanned.

“What? It’s not like what I’m saying isn’t true, and it’s better her than you, right? Beautiful face, hot body, but not the sharpest tool in the shed. Throwing knives from a distance isn’t much of a threat in close combat so we can easily take her out at the end. Hey, Hoseok seeing she acts like you’re going to be her precious Romeo you can be the one to take care of our dear Juliet when the time co-” before you could snap and storm out to attack Namjoon yourself, Hoseok beat you to it. Like a viper, his hand shot out in lightning speed to grasp Namjoon by the throat and slam him into the nearest wall.

“Or how about I take care of you?” he practically purred, springing a jackknife he had somehow slipped into his clothing out and holding it against Namjoon’s throat, until you heard a scuffle of someone trying to pull him off. Yanking the bathroom door open you rushed out into the hallway, Krystal following quickly behind, to see Namjoon leaning against the wall rubbing his throat, as Athena and Yoongi restrained a livid Hoseok.

“What the hell is going on?” Krystal asked, looking between everyone. Even if you had overheard everything, you just stood there next to her, wanting to play up the ignorance they dismissed you as having.

Nobody answered, looking between each other as if waiting for them to be the first to talk. Of all people, it was surprisingly Yoongi to be the one to break the silence.

“Put that thing away,” Yoongi snapped, nodding at Hoseok’s flat knife. “Do you want us to all get beaten to a pulp by the guards before we even get to the arena?” Hoseok complied without any words, smoothly placing the knife back into a hidden pocket in the front of his pants.

“What the hell do we do now?” you asked, staring at the others. “A day before the games and a fight breaks out? How are we meant to work together in there?”

“Nothing changes,” Hoseok spoke. You frowned back, like hell nothing had changed.

“You just pulled a knife on my district partner,” you replied. You weren’t complaining but he didn’t need to know that.

“Nothing changes,” Namjoon repeated to your surprise.

“Seriously?”

“Yes, seriously. We’re men. Men fight. Shit happens but we get it out of our system. Logically we’re still each others best bet in the arena.” Namjoon continued. You had to physically restrain yourself from rolling his eyes at the ‘men’ declaration.

“He’s right,” Hoseok agreed and all you could do was stare dumbly, wondering how the hell the two of them had gone from pulling a knife a second ago, to now suddenly agreeing.

“Like hell I’m leaving you, Athena isn’t leaving me, your district mate isn’t interested in leaving you either, and I assume Krystal has interests in working with you from all that training you’ve done together. Yoongi’s not going to leave his sister, so we’re all stuck together.”

“What if I don’t want to work with any of you?” you challenged.

Namjoon scoffed.

“If you really had the balls to walk away, you would’ve done it on day one. Especially given how I treated you when you were telling the truth.” You glared back at him for blatantly exposing you.

“If you split, you’re the easiest target for all the other tributes.” Hoseok stepped away from Yoongi and Athena to walk towards you. “That’s 18 other people trying to kill you, so you know I’m not going to let that happen. As I just told you, I’m not leaving you.”

You hadn’t heard much from Hoseok since that moment in the hallway on day one. A part of you had managed to convince yourself it was all a stunt, just like Namjoon had said, to psych you out and cause division in your alliance. Hearing him bluntly announce his intentions to the whole alliance, as he came to stand directly before you, caused the delusion to shatter.

“Leave her alone.” You were becoming so entranced by Hoseok’s presence that it took you a moment to process Krystal’s voice as she moved herself closer to you, standing so her shoulder was slightly in front of yours. Your heart momentarily warmed at the gesture before it was doused in the cold ice of your conscious as you remembered his sickening threats from the last time you and Hoseok were alone ‘I don’t care about the others… I’ll slaughter every one of them in cold blood… I’m going to kill them all for you baby and I’ll make you watch so you can see just how far I’ll go for you’

“No Krystal, don’t!” you cried in a panic as you reached out for Krystal and pulled her into a protective hug, putting your body in front of hers before Hoseok. “You don’t understand,” you whispered in a rush to try and explain. “He’s crazy, he said he was going to kill all of you. I tried to tell Namjoon and he didn’t believe me so I was too scared to tell anyone else, because I was scared you’d think I was crazy.”

You were trying not to cry, you couldn’t panic, you couldn’t be weak again like the state they had found you in last time, but it was so fucking hard. Why did you have to be reaped? Why did one of the tributes have to form an obsession with you? Why was your own district mate an asshole who had invalidated you when trying to protect the alliance? All you had wanted was to not be alone in the arena, and now you had a hope of someone you could trust and she was in danger because of you.

“It’s ok, I’m ok,” Krystal whispered back, patting your lower back reassuringly. But a sudden grasp on your waist from behind pulled you away, causing you to lose your hold on Krystal as you slammed backwards into a hard chest with a cry.

“Yoongi take care of your sister unless you want me taking care of her in the arena,” Hoseok’s voice hissed from behind your ears, making your blood run cold.

“No, don’t hurt her, please, please don’t hurt her,” you begged, twisting in Hoseok’s hold but his arms were locked around you tightly. Yoongi didn’t say a word, walking over to Krystal and putting his hand on her shoulder to lead her away. She initially moved to shake him off but you vigorously shook your head and mouthed ‘go’ to get her to leave.

“We’ll see you at the cornucopia tomorrow,” Yoongi turned back to say, before you exhaled in temporary relief as Krystal reluctantly left with her brother.

“Whatever you do with her, I don’t want any part of it. We’re aligned until six and then that’s it,” Athena sneered, drawing your attention over to her as she glared between Namjoon and Hoseok.

“Fine with me,” Hoseok shrugged. Namjoon who was now leaning casually against the wall merely nodded. You could swear you saw a torn look of sympathy from Athena in your direction, but it was gone in a second as she shook her head in disgust and walked off to re-join Krystal and Yoongi.

With Athena gone the tension that hung in the air was so thick it was suffocating. Namjoon continued to rest against the wall, his arms crossed over his wide chest watching as Hoseok still held you by the waist. With Krystal now safe with her brother away from him you realized there was no longer a need to stay compliant in his grip.

“Namjoon, help,” you hissed, trying to move your arms to shove Hoseok off but they were both pinned to your sides by his hold. Hoseok merely chuckled, instead flexing his muscles and causing his grip to tighten.

“No can do little dove,” Namjoon mocked with a pout, moving off from the wall to stand to his full height. “Your boyfriend here’s the one with the knife in his pocket, and I’m unarmed.”

Namjoon raised his hands in mock surrender, his long legs taking lazy steps to walk around the two of you. Hoseok turned, forcing you to turn with him, to avoid his back being left open. Namjoon ignored him, keeping his eyes on you.

“But don’t worry, because in that arena I’ll be armed, and I’ll take really good care of you then.”

“Like hell,” Hoseok scoffed causing Namjoon to laugh.

“Oh, would you look at the time?” Namjoon was now further down the corridor that separated the bathrooms from the training center, where he could see the large clock on the wall.

“Only five minutes left until end of training before they start preparing for our grading. I’ll leave you two alone for now, but don’t expect this generosity again from me in the arena, 2. I trust you won’t harm our little dove until then…”

And with that lingering comment, Namjoon was gone, abandoning you when you needed him.

You felt Hoseok’s arms beginning to loosen, briefly you thought he was going to release you. But instead you found yourself being turned around to face him and backed against the wall. Any thoughts of pushing him off vanished upon feeling the hard metal of the folded pocket knife pushing against your hip as he caged you in.

“What are you doi-” your question was cut off by Hoseok raising his hand to the side of your face and pushing his thumb over your mouth in warning.

For a moment Hoseok was still. He relished the feeling of your plump lips falling silent beneath his thumb, so pliant, like a kiss against his finger. He watched the rise and fall of your chest as you tried to regulate your breathing, inhaling deep breaths in through your nose causing your lungs to expand and your full breasts to push against his chest. Every little detail about you was so soft, so warm and inviting, like you had been designed purely for him. He was absolutely enamored by you and could spend the rest of his life in this exact moment, feeling you against him, but time was not on his side.

“Look at how they all just left you,” he maliciously purred, his eyes narrowing into a focused glare, “you know they’re going to do the same thing in the arena, darling.”

“That’s not true,” you hissed back, “Krystal tried to stay.”

“And yet all it took for her to leave was a simple pocket knife and her brother. And really, when it comes down to it, who do you think she will choose, Her brother or you?”

You tried to swallow the growing lump in your throat and stayed quiet… he’s just trying to psych you out.

“Meet us in the cornucopia tomorrow, you’ll be much safer with us six than left to fend off eighteen others on your own. You’re smart, you have to know they will chase down any career left alone.”

You frowned but nodded, you had already agreed on this, so you didn’t know why he was bringing it up again.

“Good girl, then you know you have to stay with me once we’re all together. Yoongi sees you as a threat to his sister. Your friendship makes her judgment weak so he will take you out if you’re alone with him. And like I just said, do you really want to side with Krystal when she would choose her brother over you at the end anyway? Athena is threatened by you; thinks you’re distracting me from protecting her in the game as part of our district alliance. I don’t blame her for that though, she is right. I would choose you over her. You know I’d choose you over any of them. And then of course there’s your own district partner, who I’m sure you just heard before… would you trust a man who wants to use your body to sell you to fans from the capital for supplies? The one who didn’t believe you when you tried to warn him about me? The one who just walked away and left you to me now?”

An aching wave of hopelessness washed over your body as you slumped back against the wall. If it wasn’t for Hoseok’s arm holding you upright, you would have just let yourself fall to the ground.

“Please stop,” you whispered, the lump in your throat felt like a golf ball choking you inside.

“I can’t, darling,” Hoseok murmured, his fingers over your lips moving to smooth the faint hairs that had come loose from training back behind your ear.

“Not until you understand that you need me in that arena.” His hand came to rest on the side of your cheek, cradling your face in his palm.

“I’ve trained for this my whole life, I’m the only one you can trust to protect you.”

“But how can I trust you? Like you just said you spent your whole life training for these games, training to kill people like me. It’s all hopeless, no matter who I choose.”

“Don’t say that,” He scolded, shaking you by the hold on your waist.

“You saw me pull that knife on Namjoon before, and I didn’t even know you were there. It’s exactly like I told you on the first day of training, I’ll kill anyone who tries to harm you. No one in that arena matters to me, only you. You’re mine.”

“How can you keep saying that!? We don’t even know each other. I don’t understand how you could possibly feel this way about me. It all just sounds like a cruel way for you to take me to the e-”

Hoseok’s mouth silenced your protests, his lips pushing against yours and hands holding you in place. His kiss was searing and dominant, offering no chance for refusal, though as you felt the shivers running down your spine, you didn’t know if you would have been capable if a chance were provided. You had found him physically attractive the moment you had met, and somehow it was like the passion you had seen in his eyes was magnified a hundredfold through his kiss. He was strong and powerful, yet simultaneously gentle. His arm supporting your waist held your body impossibly close to his, whilst the fingertips from his hand on your face were tenderly stroking the skin on your cheek.

Your eyes had unconsciously closed when his face had moved in to meet yours, which only seemed to heighten your other senses. The places where his body made contact with yours were tingling as if flames from a nearby fire were licking against your skin. Everything about Jung Hoseok was warm; his sun kissed skin, copper hair and the heat radiating from his body into yours. You were stunned, and in your frozen state Hoseok moved his lips against your pliant ones to deepen the kiss, the tip of his tongue dancing along the line of your mouth before sliding inside to meet your own tongue and try to coax it to return with his.

What somehow felt like an eternity was in reality a mere few seconds before an announcement echoed through speakers throughout the training center, instructing tributes to cease everything and make your way to a designated area for the mandatory final assessments to shortly begin. Hoseok broke the kiss, leaving you breathless as he whispered upon your lips,

“If you can’t believe my words, then believe that.”

Pressing his lips back to yours quickly once more, he finally pulled back.

“Come on, we have to go.”

You mutely allowed Hoseok to lead you out of the corridor and back into the training center where a Capitol representative with a clipboard was lining everyone up to be taken to the waiting area. There was no talking from anyone as you were all put into your lines and made to follow the representative into a smaller room, whilst the training center was to be rearranged. The waiting room was small and cold with metallic coloring. Black chairs were organized by districts and you were told that one by one you would be brought before the judges to present your chosen skill, where you would then be graded on a score out of twelve. The scores would be announced later in the afternoon, before your final interviews with Caesar Flickerman in the evening.

You wordlessly sat beside Namjoon, not even looking in his direction even though you could occasionally feel him trying to catch your eye. No doubt he would want to dissect your conversation with Hoseok but you had no interest in telling him about anything that had happened. Especially not after how he had treated you the last time you had tried to warn him. Instead you kept your eyes solely on the ground, nervously bouncing your leg as you worried about your upcoming grading.

Everything was happening so fast. It felt like only moments ago when your name had been reaped, since then you had already travelled by train, appeared in the parade and completed your three days of training. You felt sick in your stomach at the thought that the short time that had passed between your reaping and this very moment could possibly be longer than the time you had between now and when you would meet your end in the arena. You immediately tried to stamp that thought out, trying to hold back the overwhelming wave of grief threatening to crash over you. You couldn’t let yourself go down without a fight and giving in to the misery would only reduce you to a walking corpse.

“District 1, female.”

The man with the clipboard had returned to the room to officially begin the assessments. You noted how he didn’t even call for Krystal by her name, just a district number and her assigned gender. How cold and clinical, much like the room they were keeping you in. You wondered if reducing tributes to numbers without names made it possible for the man to sleep at night, knowing he was part of a system that sent innocent children to the slaughter every year.

“District 1, male.”

As Yoongi left with the clipboard man you couldn’t help but notice Krystal didn’t come back into the room with him. So you would be allowed to return to the dorm and prepare for the interviews as soon as you were done. You were grateful this would at least mean a few hours’ break from Hoseok, you would just have to lock yourself in your room quickly before Namjoon would finish after you, and try to interrogate you in your living quarters.

“District 2, female.”

No one had spoken since the line up. All too focused on mentally preparing for the assessment. You felt for the younger tributes who had never picked up a weapon before a week ago, now having to present themselves as fighters before a panel with only 3 days of training. Once again you were grateful for your father for his insistence on training you with a knife, which at least gave you somewhat of a starting point to work with.

“District 2, male.”

You kept your head down and eyes on the floor, watching as two pairs of shoes walked directly past you on their way out of the room.

“No kiss good luck?” Namjoon snickered next to you, deliberately keeping his voice quiet enough that only you could hear him.

You ignored him.

“What’s the matter, trouble in paradise?” he mocked again.

You continued to ignore him, making sure your eyes were pointed on the exact same spot you had been staring at on the ground since you had sat down. Your knee continued to bounce at the exact same pace. You didn’t want to give him a single flinch, not even a minute sign of a reaction, given that was exactly what he was trying to get. You wondered what he was trying to achieve by riling you up. Did he want you to snap back at him and get in trouble? There had been no specific instruction not to talk, the weight of the occasion had instead resulted in the silence, so you doubted it. Most probably, he wanted to get in your head and psych you out before your assessment, likely trying to lower your score. Internally you scoffed, it’s not like you were a major threat to him anyway. You both knew you weren’t a trained career like he was. He was already going to outscore you anyway.

“District 3, female.”

Namjoon had gone from dictating your alliance, to spitting in the face of your concerns, to now mocking you. You wondered if he would’ve treated an actual trained career better if someone had volunteered for the females of 4. Perhaps it was to do with his ego that Hoseok had singled you out and wanted to work with you, even though he was clearly the more powerful tribute between you. He had taken it as a threat. A threat to his chances if you did side with Hoseok given Hoseok and Namjoon were on near equal footing, and the thought you had chosen Hoseok could have been seen as some act of betrayal. Never mind the fact you had done everything you could to try and avoid Hoseok, including telling Namjoon himself and asking for his help. Was he really that stupid enough to be mad you didn’t continue to beg him after his rejection?

“District 3, male.”

You supposed if he hypothetically succeeded and did psych you out into getting a terrible score it would be his own way of re-establishing himself as the desired tribute from 4. A reminder over your head that you weren’t a real career, and being brought into their alliance was an act of charity. A mercy killing to grace you with their presence before taking you out later in the game as an easy option. You longed to prove him wrong. Not just him but Hoseok also, the both of them for thinking you were pathetic and in need of their protection. His mockery and attempted sabotage was only acting as fuel to your fire.

“District 4, female.”

Your head snapped up to see the clipboard man standing in front of you. Wordlessly you nodded and got to your feet. You ignored the feeling of the eyes from the other tributes in the room staring at you as you had to walk past them to the exit. You were lead back down the same pathway you had taken from the training complex to the waiting room, only this time when you re-entered the training center you were the only person inside. Clipboard man hung back in the corridor and the only other people you could see were the game makers through the window in their viewing room. The center layout had been rearranged, with dummies and targets placed in optimum viewing range from the game makers’ vantage point.

“L/N, F/N, District 4, Female, 18 years of age” a voice crackled through the speakers overhead by means of introduction, as you walked over to the marked spot on the floor you had been instructed to stand.

It was a strange feeling looking up at the pompous judges dressed in their flamboyant outfits with pretentiously fluorescent dyed hair and beards. It was as if they were dressed up for an expensive night on the town and you, and the other twenty-three, were their performers for the evening. It was weirdly easy to put the judges in the back of your mind, despite being able to clearly see the room of around twenty people intently staring at you with interest. The all looked so fictional and outlandish that it was easy to dismiss them as some sort of strange figment of your imagination. They didn’t look like real people, which somehow made it possible for you compartmentalize them as imaginary, and instead focus on the task at hand.

Looking at the assortment of weapons on display, you mostly ignored the large range on offer and went straight for the knives. Running your fingertips along the handles you picked out a hunting knife with a blade that would have been around 8 inches long. There were smaller, thinner, knives specifically made for throwing on offer, however the ones you had practiced with back at home were the larger kind on your boat. Gingerly you bounced the handle in your palm, trying to get a quick feel for the weight. Looking up you examined the range of targets that were on display – some quite close and others much further.

You went for the closest target, that was five meters away, as a warm up.

Thwack

The blade sailed easily through the air landing in the yellow zone, on the first circle outside of the bulls-eye. You shrugged your shoulders and rolled your neck with an exhale, not a bad start and a good way to get the nerves under control.

You retrieved a second knife from weapons trolley and took your aim for the next target that was ten meters away.

Thwack

Another yellow circle, except this time your knife landed in the second circle outside from the bulls-eye. Your pursed your lips with a shake of your head. It was still in a decent range but you were hoping to improve on your last throw rather than getting further from the bulls-eye.

You went back for another knife, choosing another one like the last two you had thrown, and lined up for the fifteen-meter target.

Thwack

Red zone, just outside the yellow. If you were aiming at a person, rather than a circle, that would have been lucky to connect. You let out a sharp exhale with a sigh, you weren’t doing bad – you’d made contact with all three targets so far – but you weren’t establishing yourself as a threat either. Not on the level that you knew the other careers were going to be scoring.

Returning to the weapons rack you found there to be one knife left that was in the same size range as the others you had used so far. You turned the knife over in your hand weighing up your final options. There was a final target twenty meters away, but with the rate you were throwing, you’d highly likely just continue to move further away from the bulls-eye. You could always try to throw on one of the other targets again and work to improve your existing result, but it would be difficult to improve much on the first impression of being ‘good, but not great’. Your last option would be the dummies. The dummies were situated on the opposite side of the targets and provided a more human edge to demonstrations. You had elected to use targets in the hope of showcasing solid aim through a bulls-eye, but that hadn’t exactly worked out. With one knife left you decided to try and showcase something a little more realistic.

The dummies were grey and faceless, just human shapes of rubber, which was a lot different from what you would be facing in real life within the arena. If you couldn’t land a shot on a stationary figure you were practically as good as dead. Not only did you need to prove a score to the judges, but you wanted this for your own confidence. With a frown, you turned and launched your blade ten meters across the room into the head of a dummy with a satisfying Thwack.

You didn’t bother to look up to the balcony and see their whispers and nods of approval, instead walking straight over to the dummy and pulling the knife out from the rubber. You weren’t finished yet; you were going to show them what a fishing district knew how to do best…

Grasping the handle, you plunged the blade into the sternum, deep enough to reach what would be the back bone of a human, and dragged the blade down to the pelvis. Pulling the knife out you made horizontal slashes along the chest and the hip where your line down the body had began and ended. Tossing the knife aside, you reached your hands inside of the dummy, pulling it open.

Granted the physical anatomies between a fish and a human were quite different, but the concept of gutting was quite easy to get across.

x

Once the assessment was over you were lead back to your living quarters. With the pressure subsiding and adrenaline wearing off, you found your hands beginning to tremble. You were thankful to have your water bottle as some sort of distraction, shakily taking sips to try and calm yourself down. By the time you finally arrived back to the dorm you were only able to answer Finnick’s “How did you go?” with a quick “fine” as you hurriedly rushed to your bedroom, not wanting to stick around and see Namjoon again until you absolutely had to.

The assessments were scheduled to run until 4:00pm, with the results being broadcast at 4:30pm, before tributes were due to report at the auditorium at 5:00pm to begin preparing for interviews. You were grateful to be from one of the earlier districts, which left you with more free time between the conclusion of your assessment and your next schedule. Your bedroom contained its own en suite bathroom so the first thing you did upon entering was strip off your clothes and head for the shower.

You spent a long time under the hot running water, sitting on the tiles and letting the shower cover up the sound of your crying. It had become somewhat of a routine for you to return from training and cry under the safety of your showerhead where no one else could see or judge you for it. The emotional toll it took to bury your feelings and avoid crying in the training center, in front of the career pack, in front of the judges, or out of fear every waking moment of your life now was strenuous. The shower was your haven, a place where you could wash away the sweat and grime from your day, and allow some form of pent up release. Today’s shower would be the longest one you had taken since entering the capital.

A knock and Finnicks’ muffled voice through the door told you it was after 4:00pm and the results would be broadcast soon, so you reluctantly turned off the taps and began to dry off. You were told that hair, make up and styling would take place in the auditorium later, so you dressed in the most comfortable clothing that you had been provided with; a cashmere sweater and matching sweatpants. You waited in your room as long as possible, before putting on a pair of slippers and walking out to the lounge room at 4:30pm.

Finnick, Periwinkle and Namjoon were all seated on the sofa facing the giant television, which was currently displaying Caesar Flickerman and a co-host you didn’t recognize behind a desk. Wordlessly you joined them, choosing a spot next to Periwinkle on the lounge, the opposite side of where Namjoon was sitting.

“And now for the moment you’ve all been waiting for, the scores!”

You frowned at how enthusiastic Caesar seemed to be over his job. His mouth was spread into a wide grin, showing off his artificially white teeth, and his emerald green eyes (that had to be contact lenses) were practically glowing with excitement. You all sat in dead silence, if it weren’t for Caesar’s voice reading out District 1 you would have been able to hear a pin drop. The results weren’t surprising to you in the least. Krystal and Yoongi both scored 9s, Athena a 9 too and Hoseok 11. The girl from District 3 who had fallen in front of you on the monkey bars only managed a dismal score, the same as her district number. Her male partner only fared slightly better with a 5.

“District 4, F/N, L/N! Oh, she certainly captured many people’s attention at the parade, but is she as deadly as she is beautiful?”

You rolled your eyes with a scoff.

“You better not do that when he talks to you on stage,” Finnick warned.

You sarcastically put on an overly fake smile and fluttered your eye lashes back at him, until your expression was wiped blank by Caesar’s next words.

“Miss L/N, 10.”

Your jaw dropped as Periwinkle burst into enthusiastic applause, Finnick cocked an eyebrow with an impressed nod and Namjoon let out a low whistle.

“Someone’s been hiding something~,” Namjoon sing-songed as you closed your open mouth and took in a deep breath. You shook your head.

“Just the same knife throwing I’ve been practicing,” you replied.

Technically that was not a lie, just an omission of the gutting part. You wondered what it was about your little stunt that had pleased the judges so much. You were hoping to bump yourself to an 8 or 9 to at least try and blend in with the careers, instead you had somehow managed to establish yourself as a threat amongst them. With how much you had been pushed around so far you were glad to at least have one moment of impact. But now you had to be worried about the extra target being a threat could potentially put on your back.

Namjoon didn’t reply further as Caesar read his name and announced his score of 9.

You blanched. There was no way in hell you were more skilled than Namjoon was with a weapon. You looked over, expecting him to be furious, but he merely sat there with a content expression on his face nodding at the TV.

“Someone’s been hiding something,” you repeated Namjoon’s words back to him.

Namjoon’s only response was a smirk.

You didn’t like the way he looked like he knew far more than what he was sharing.

I'm a bit annoyed because I planned to combine the final training day and interviews into one chapter. But I found it was starting to get too long, as this part was already hitting 7000 words.

Next chapter will be the interviews and fallout from certain things the characters say in them

Chapter after will FINALLY be what everyone here wants (especially me) - the actual Hunger Games in the arena

Sorry to keep dragging it out, my brain hates me.

[fullsuuns]

true blue | n.jm

pairing: jaemin x fem. reader

genre: angst, fluff

wordcount: 6.4k

tags: camphalfblood!au, forbiddenlove!au, demigod!jaemin, mermaid!reader, jaemin is son of poseidon in this, it’s also told in jaemin’s pov

warnings: none

synopsis: in which na jaemin finds out he’s more gifted than he initially thought and also takes the risk of falling in love with a mermaid.

song rec♫: neptune - sleeping at last (highly rec this song as it alone inspired this entire fic)

na jaemin had always been a lover of water.

growing up in busan, he always felt inexplicably drawn to the ocean. be it the way the water always felt refreshing to the touch and would instantly clear his head, or how the tadpoles would dance around his toes when he dipped his feet in, he didn’t know. all he did know was that he adored it.

maybe it had been the initial reason he’d joined his highschool’s swim team during his senior year. something about diving straight into water and moving his body in a way that almost felt like second nature to him. getting praised for doing so was just another factor in what drove him to spend more time at the school’s pool than, quite literally, anywhere else. though in his last year, jaemin quickly became a commended athlete for his extraordinary talent.

what other people didn’t know, especially his classmates and his coach, is that na jaemin could do something with water — something that he was sure other people couldn’t. at first, jaemin told himself it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary; that making the water ripple beneath him without even pressing his palm to the surface wasn’t odd.

except it was — that was what he soon realized.

of course, making water move didn’t seem like a big deal; jaemin would reassure himself that it was most likely due to the pressure coming from the pool’s installed filtering jets. everything seemed fine as jaemin dove into the body of water. he hadn’t noticed the pretty bad scrape on his arm, either — and from what? he didn’t even know.

when jaemin had surfaced, his eyes caught the slight discoloration to his submerged skin almost immediately. he brought his arm up and out, water sloshing around him as his eyes inspected the scrape. the wound looked pretty gruesome under the white light, the harsh lighting of the natatorium almost making it appear worse than it probably was.

he was about to just let it be, swim a few more laps — at least that was the plan until he saw water creep its way up his arm. several streams ran over the wound, collectively healing and sealing the scrape up. now in its place was nothing but unblemished skin, as if nothing had ever happened.

jaemin was shocked. his mouth had hung wide open, eyes almost bulging out of his skull as they drank in his now seemingly perfect forearm. he was quick to dart his eyes for his surroundings, hoping no one had witnessed what exactly had just happened. there were various students, all a part of the water polo team, but they were all too busy with setting up equipment to notice jaemin’s situation. he was thankful.

he swam to the edge of the pool after that. he pushed himself up, gushes of water splashing around him as he exited. jaemin power-walked to the locker room, wishing that whatever he’d seen was just a figment of his imagination and that it never actually occurred. he didn’t spare his arm another glance for confirmation, choosing to ignore the incident for his own sanity.

nothing intense had happened since that day, and jaemin had graduated from highschool peacefully. of course, the swim team’s ace had been scouted by big universities, but jaemin had already been set on dropping swim after the pool incident, so he politely turned each one down. (each agent had looked at him incredulously, but jaemin just smiled humbly, thanking them before parting ways.)

the summer after his senior year of highschool had been pretty boring. several hours into the night for various nights in a row, jaemin played call of duty with his friends donghyuck and jongho. he was sure that he even developed eyebags, but ignored the mirror every time he stepped into the bathroom. cold showers always fueled to restore his energy almost completely, keeping him going despite donghyuck’s whines that they didn’t do anything. jaemin would tease that the brunet simply just wasn’t as cool as him.

one day, jaemin had decided to pick up the mail that arrived at his mother’s house just so that she didn’t have to. he was surprised to see a handwritten letter addressed to him, even going as far as having a wax seal on the back. jaemin had dropped the rest of the mail pile onto the kitchen table instead, focused on prying the single envelope with the hard-to-budge seal open.

the letter wasn’t anything fancy, really, but it hadn’t been written in korean. initially, it was written in a language jaemin couldn’t decipher — or at least that’s what he thought until the characters started to float and move around right before his eyes. out of shock, jaemin dropped the letter and envelope to the floor. he’d squeezed his eyes shut, spewing mantras of it’s just the redbull, it’s just the redbull.

jaemin eyed it for a while, the crinkled cream paper unmoving in all its glory. his mother still hadn’t gotten back from work, so it was just him in their house. still, jaemin refused to pick up the letter for five more minutes.

he should’ve known that that had been the start of it all; that it’d be the inevitable start of na jaemin finding out he had magical blood running through his veins.

he simply ridiculed the idea, ridiculed the letter in its entirety until his mother had gotten home that one fateful day only two weeks ago. she’d told him that it was all true — about how jaemin was a descendant of the all-mighty poseidon, god of the seas, and that he was a lot more gifted than he thought possible.

he wanted to cry, laugh, maybe even scream, because he desperately wanted to be told it was a joke. still, the memory of his mother only looking at him with serious, unplayful eyes bore itself into his mind. in that moment, fourteen days ago, jaemin knew that it was true — knew that that was the reasoning behind why he was always different.

na jaemin didn’t want to believe it. he still wanted to be in unnerving denial, even as his mother drove him to what she said was the boundary line that connected the human world to the gifted world. even when their car had stopped at a clearing and she had exited the vehicle, she still motioned jaemin’s figure out.

“i can’t go beyond here, jaemin. you have to go on your own.” she told him when he finally stepped up to her.

“but why?” he asked. jaemin didn’t want to admit it, but his heart was beating sporadically beneath his chest at the thought of having to do this alone.

“i’m not like you, jaemin. you must go on your own and figure out your destiny.”

she’d given him a hug, promising she’d call him. jaemin wanted so badly for her to tell him this wasn’t what was actually happening, that it was some planned-out prank that would land them both on television and get them thousands of dollars, but he knew it wasn’t in his mother’s nature to pull something like this.

as he stepped deeper into the forest with backpack on his shoulders, jaemin looked back to see his mother wave at him. he waved back, a wistful look crossing his features momentarily as he stared at her. with a newfound sense of bravery, and one last look at the woman who raised him for twenty years of his life, jaemin turned back around and ventured farther into the forest, leaves crunching beneath his boots as he searched for whatever it was exactly that awaited him.

jaemin was surprised, shocked, flabbergasted to see that whatever his mother had told him about actually turned out to be true. forty minutes into his walk, and with the sun threatening to set, jaemin reached a clearing.

it greets him in the form of tall, wooden trunks that are formed to create a singular entrance. above it, greek lettering rearranges itself into korean before jaemin’s eyes (just like they had on the letter), and soon, camp halfblood is sprawled over the wood.

he didn’t know exactly what to do from then on. jaemin heard a yell being shouted from inside the open territory, and someone was quick to jog up to him.

“new comer?” the person asked. he looked to be around his age: black hair, youthful brown eyes, and a similar build to jaemin.

he nodded, albeit a little cautiously.

“i’m jeno,” the raven said, grinning, “son of ares, god of war.”

“i’m jaemin.” he greeted. “son of poseidon, i think? at least that’s what i was told.”

jeno’s eyes widened, marveling at him. “no way, poseidon?”

jaemin only nodded again, more confident this time.

safe to say, it took jaemin a while to get used to his new life. word of the one and only poseidon’s son was quick to spread around the camp — or at least that’s what he assumed, because only two days had passed before he’d found out everyone knew of him.

with jeno teaching him battle techniques and all about camp life, jaemin grew grateful at the chance to be given a friend in his new life. of course, there were still times that he missed his old ones.

(he’d told donghyuck and his other closest friends that he’d be away on an internship in the united states for some time, and that his cellphone service wouldn’t allow for international calls or texts. it was a lie, but it seemed believable enough that they didn’t question him.)

jaemin was lucky to reach his mother on the phone the night he’d first arrived at the place two weeks ago. he informed her that he’d gotten to camp safely, that he’d even met a new friend, and she’d been relieved. his mother told him to stay safe and to call her more often, to which he agreed he would do.

more time passed, and jaemin had met more friends: renjun, son of athena, chenle, son of hermes, and jisung, son of demeter. they were all nice boys, despite their initial gawking at finding out that jaemin was a direct descendant from poseidon himself. although the shock was there at first, they were quick to dismiss it in favor of treating him normally — or as normally as demigods could treat eachother — and jaemin was grateful for it.

he’d even gotten his own cabin — a gift from his father — chiron, head of camp, told him. it was a grand cabin constructed close to the edge of camp, away from any and all others (jaemin was happy to learn that) as it overlooked the vast ocean it connected to. over time, jaemin grew to love visiting his dock in favor of clearing his head. the water around him felt like home, and it still served to calm him and keep him peaceful when he was conflicted.

jaemin would visit the dock several times a week just to get a sense of grounding. there were times he would play with the water beneath him, ghosting his palms over the surface to practice creating ripples. the fish that swam under the water were always spooked.

it’d been two months later that something truly happened, something that he never expected to see — or, well, hear.

jaemin thought it would be just another ordinary thursday, except that idea changed when he heard faint groans of pain from behind the giant boulder to his right.

he knew that the rock was beyond the boundary line that separated the camp from the outside world, but jaemin always pinged himself as the curious type. he was quick to round the rock, wanting to figure out what exactly had been making noise.

he didn’t know what he expected, but he certainly didn’t expect to see you laying a ways away from the ocean, tear streaks on your face as you distinctly cried out in pain.

jaemin was quick to rush over.

“oh my god, are you okay?” he asked, panic in his voice as he knelt down next to you.

your tail shimmered under the sunlight, and jaemin was sure he knew what you were. he’d read about creatures like you all his life. he thought mermaids would just be folklore, imaginary. he didn’t believe them to be real at first, but jaemin had also found out he was a demigod so he wasn’t exactly sure about what was real or not anymore.

you definitely seem to be real, at least that’s what jaemin thought to himself.

he was refocused by the time he heard a whimper escape your lips, fear evident in your eyes as you tried to shimmy away from him. with your attempts being fruitless, jaemin’s heart ached momentarily when you lifted your tail only to wail in agony.

“it’s okay,” he assured. jaemin brought his hands forward to show you that he hadn’t been holding a weapon. “i won’t hurt you. what’s wrong? i want to help you.”

you bite your lip. your voice is quiet, yet almost melodical to him when you speak. “my tail. it’s my tail. i can’t - i can’t move. it hurts too much.”

jaemin looked down to see what you were talking about. sure enough, he saw several gashes lining the ends of your tail, some chunks to your fin even ripped off.

his eyebrows knit in sorrow, worry. “who would do this to you?”

he didn’t expect a response, it’d been more of a rhetorical question that he’d wondered to himself. still, he heard your quiet answer. “fishers.”

jaemin looked back at you, smiling in hopes that it could be enough to soothe you down a bit. he didn’t miss the way your irises still held traces of caution and fear, but he was quick to reassure you.

“don’t worry, just let me do something real quick. i promise you’re safe, i won’t even touch you. just let me help. can i help you?”

he waited for you to nod, for you to give him permission to help you. hesitantly, you did so.

you were still a close enough distance to the ocean that the water came alive at jaemin’s command when he held his hand out. he looked to you for any sign of discomfort, letting his tensed shoulders go lax when he only found twinkles of surprise and curiosity in your eyes. jaemin didn’t let the water get swallowed by the sand as it trailed up to you. he directed his palm towards your tail, the water running over the broken fin of your tail.

what happened next made you gasp and jaemin grin. the water was slowly beginning to mend your tail, restoring the previously broken off ends with new, healthier ones out of thin air. by the time your tail was repaired, and you had flapped it experimentally, you cried out in happiness.

“no way! no way, my tail!” you give it another flick, just for good measure. “it’s back!”

jaemin saw the grin on your face, saw the way your eyes shone so brightly, and he had to admit that it served to bring a smile to his lips.

that had been jaemin’s first encounter with you.

two weeks had passed.

jaemin was sure he’d never see you again after that, telling himself you’d most likely never come back a second time. he didn’t tell anyone of his encounter with you; hadn’t mentioned anything about mermaids to anyone. still, two weeks passed and he couldn’t get you out of his head, because simply to him, you were the kind of ethereal beauty beyond those descended from the aphrodite herself.

he’d been seated at his cabin’s dock again. the water was calm, nothing but the faint chitter-chatter from camp the only sound that could be heard. in his silence, jaemin constantly found himself wondering if you would ever come back, if he’d ever cross paths with you again as he dug into his pocket for a stray coin. he threw it into the ocean, watching it leap for several seconds before sinking below the surface.

he let out a sigh.

“maybe something like that was too good to be true,” jaemin spoke to himself. “silly me.”

except, jaemin was quick to turn his head when he felt something hit his bicep. looking down, he saw that what he’d been hit with was a singular pebble — round and smooth and definitely hand-picked. he chose to ignore it, telling himself it could’ve just been a coincidence. then he felt another hard collision to his arm.

he turned faster this time, eyes fleeting as they scoured for location of the source. the top of a head behind a boulder caught his gaze. it disappeared almost instantly, but jaemin knew he saw it. a tiny spark of hopefulness was quick to rise within him when he realized that that had been the rock he’d previously seen you behind.

jaemin got up to his feet, grabbing the small yet striking pebble in his hand. he’d looked over his shoulder, made sure no one saw him crossing over the boundary before he made his way over to the boulder.

jaemin reached the top of the rock soon enough, sitting down as he waited for you to come out. he’d purposely tip-toed so as to not let alert you that he was approaching, and it’d worked as he heard a shriek from you once you made another appearance. the surprise of it had you falling back into the water, in turn making jaemin both laugh and clap his hands in amusement.

he grinned teasingly at you, holding up the pebble next to him. though he wasn’t happy about you throwing stones at him, he was ecstatic to learn that you came back. “is there a reason you’re throwing rocks at me?”

jaemin watched you emerge from the ocean in all of your radiance. he took note that from under the clear water, your tail was fine now, no longer needing care. he also took note that your hair was still pretty despite it being stuck to your wet body, and that you had a mesh bag tied to your wrist.

“yes, actually,” you answered, laughing. your eyelashes fluttered extra prettily against your cheeks when you brought the bag up to him, and jaemin was completely enraptured. “i want to thank you for helping me.”

“you don’t have to thank me,” jaemin said. “but i’d love to know your name.”

“y/n,” oh how beautiful your voice was to him. “and you, my savior?”

a smile prodded at jaemin’s lips. “y/n,” he echoed, testing your name on his tongue. he loved it. “i’m jaemin, na jaemin.”

“jaemin,” you had repeated with a giggle, swishing the bag around in your hands. it was so, so easy for him to be intrigued by you. “i’ve brought you seashells as a gift.”

his heart had fluttered when you placed the mesh bag of trinkets into his palms, various seashells moving around in his grip. the bag was wet. droplets poured down onto jaemin’s jeans, but he found that he didn’t mind. not when you gave him a bright, beautiful grin that had his breath hitching.

that was his second encounter with you.

it wasn’t long before jaemin really, truly started to fall for you. every friday, he’d meet you at the same rock just outside of the boundary line after duties at 3p.m — or, well, when the ocean’s current direction shifted for you (he came to figure out that mermaids simply didn’t calculate time). still, these were the days he awaited most.

he’d share stories upon stories with you about both his camp life and human life. he grew fond of how you attentively drank up every detail from every story he shared with wide, beautiful eyes. you, too, shared counts of your life at sea, though they were more dark if anything.

jaemin’s eyebrows furrowed when he heard of how your kind was hunted, sought after for your fins. you’d told him about how they were magical in the sense that they were able to heal the weak and restore them back to full health. jaemin now understood why you had been so scared the first time he saw you. though he smiled at you reassuringly, his heart broke beneath the surface.

jaemin had grabbed your hand, interlocking your fingers together with a whispered promise. “i’ll never let anyone hurt you again.”

no one knew of jaemin sneaking out beyond campgrounds to meet you. no one even knew that he was sneaking out in the first place until two months in.

jaemin was careful enough to not let anyone see you, always hiding you away from the direct line of sight from camp just had something go wrong.

nothing ever did, at least until that one friday.

he’d been perched at his usual spot on the boulder, sitting cross-legged with you in front of him, your top half emerged enough from the water so that he could place his lips on yours. there was nothing but the ocean and the forest around you, a calm serene setting for when he would kiss you under the shade of the giant camp tree.

jaemin held your hand out, your palm facing towards the sky. you’d giggled, asking him what he was doing, to which he only shushed you with another kiss to your lips. he had to pull away when you placed your free hand on his cheek, deepening it ever so slightly.

“sneaky sneaky.” jaemin tsk’d.

you hummed, tongue darting out across your lips. “nice chapstick. is that cherry?”

“yes it is,” he answered. “now hush, i’m trying to show you something.”

he returned to drawing a figure on your skin, connecting your palm to his right after. your eyes glimmered as you watched in awe, eyes trained on the watered silhouette of a seahorse that floated between both you and jaemin.

“wow, it’s - wow, jaemin. that’s amazing.”

jaemin’s heart thumped from beneath his chest, as it always did each and every time you smiled at him. you tapped an index finger at the floating water, yelping when some of it ran down your arm and back into the ocean. you were shocked at first, but quick to let out a sweet laugh right after. jaemin was happy to see you happy. jaemin was happy that he could make you happy.

maybe he’d been too caught up in you — too caught up in the melodical beauty of your laugh to notice anything unusual. his eyebrows furrowed when he saw your eyes settle on something behind him, the deep pools of your irises growing the same fearful look they had when he first met you, and a panic arose within him. you didn’t say anything as your eyes met his, but you were quick to duck back into the water. jaemin watched you swim away below the ocean with a weak and confused heart.

that’s when he heard it.

the faint, distant call of a camper.

jaemin visibly tensed, his jaw hardening and back straightening at the intrusion. the water that he’d controlled, now fallen, served to create a damp spot on the rock. his eyes scoured the ocean, but he saw no trace of you anywhere. he’d hoped that whoever was calling for him didn’t actually see you.

with a heavy sigh, he turned around to face the random camper — someone he’d never even seen before. still, jaemin tried to muster the best fakest smile that he could account for, even when his blood simmered. the intruder only looked at him warily before turning away, scurrying back to camp.

he was now left alone with nothing but the ocean around him. the sun had almost set, glow peaking just enough from behind the mountains, and that’s when jaemin realized just how fast time would pass when he was with you. sometimes, there were fridays where he would return to camp after darkness had grown, after spending hours talking to you about nothing and everything all at once, but he never once regretted one of those days.

a few days later, jaemin thinks word got out to chiron that he’d been sneaking past the boundary line, because soon he gets summoned into the centaur’s office for what he presumes is that very reason. the place smells of smoke upon his arrival, and the cabin has a surplus of antiques from olympus that decorate the interior. it’s nowhere near as elegantly built as his own cabin; jaemin thought this as he watched the crackling fire from the fireplace. he pushed that down when his wandering thoughts were interrupted by the rough clear of a throat.

chiron is stoic with his gaze, but jaemin is unphased. if he was really here for what he thought he was here for, he didn’t care.

“i hear you’ve been sneaking out of camp.” ah, so jaemin’s assumptions were proven correct. there was a disapproving lilt in the centaur’s tone that made jaemin almost flinch. “to converse with a mermaid?”

jaemin knew he couldn’t lie to weasel himself out of this situation — it simply wouldn’t do him any good when everyone already knew anyway. he’d had the feeling that the camper he’d seen would tell someone as soon as he returned back to camp, but jaemin didn’t care in that moment. he’d been too caught up in feeling distraught over your untimely goodbye to think about the probability of his secret getting out.

he just sighed. “yes, i have.”

except chiron already knew.

“do you know the danger that outside creatures could impose on our kind?” he berated. “that boundary is put in place to keep us safe, keep us away from the danger that the outside world brings. i will not have you stepping outside of that field again - for a pesky mermaid much less.”

jaemin felt his blood boil at the words, at the way the centaur spoke of you so unnervingly. his hackles raised in defense, eyes unsparing as he spoke with a tone full of venom. “do you know who i am?”

chiron must have been taken aback, because surely he hadn’t expected jaemin to challenge him so outwardly.

jaemin continued. “i’m son of poseidon, god of the seas, and unless you want this entire place flooded by the ocean’s water, you’re going to leave me alone, and you’re going to leave her alone. i can handle things on my own.”

he didn’t spare the centaur another word nor did he allow him to respond. instead, jaemin rose from the desk he’d been leaning on, storming out of the cabin and halfway across camp towards his own.

jaemin meant it when he said he wouldn’t let anyone hurt you again. he loved you too much to let anything bad happen to you.

the week that followed was too tense. jaemin hadn’t spoken to his friends in a while. he told jeno he needed alone time, needed to think — to which the raven assured him to take as much time as he needed. by then, everyone knew that na jaemin was seemingly in love with a mermaid, as gossip about those descended from the most powerful of gods always spread like wildfire. he didn’t mind it though, maybe that would get aphrodite’s daughters off his back for once.

the next friday was quick to come.

that entire morning, jaemin had buzzed to see you. he’d missed your eyes, your voice, your lips, and positively everything about you that he grew to adore in so little time. he wanted to speak to you again, to make you laugh again, and to get the chance to kiss you again.

he’d arrived at your spot that evening, your favorite flower freshly picked in his hand. he even went as far as to truly making sure no one had followed him this time by coming out earlier than he usually did.

jaemin waited, and waited, and waited. there was no sign of you anywhere; no breathtaking glimmer of your tail under the translucent water as you swam around him, no teasing splash as you coaxed him into getting in with you, and certainly no familiar ripple as you got ready to emerge from under the ocean.

he waited. but you never came.

jaemin realized he’d been sat there for hours when he saw the ever fading sun begin to hide itself behind the mountains. they’re the same hours he would spend with you, but the time that passed now left him sluggish without your vibrant presence.

still, he didn’t move. he refused to until the day turned into night.

hours later, the sun got replaced by the moon — the subsequent result of time that had passed.

jaemin soon gave up. he figured you’d come another day, and it was left at that.

except with every trudging step back to his cabin, his heart ultimately cracked. the now droopy flower in his hand mirrored the sorrow he felt when he placed it on the nightstand next to his bed, a lone petal falling. he’d been ready to see you again, been ready to give it to you (jaemin remembered that vague memory of you telling him of your favorite flower weeks ago, and he wanted to see that familiar sparkle of delight light up your eyes — simply because he adored it too much).

unable to sleep, jaemin laid awake for some time that night, staring up at the wooden ceiling of his cabin. when he did manage to feel sleepy, eyes fatigued, he closed them with one thought plaguing his mind: he didn’t know where you were, but he really, really hoped you were safe.

jaemin didn’t give up.

instead, he opted to visit your same meeting spot every day after he finished daily training, hoping you’d come back to him at some point. at times, he would bring his ipod and play your favorite song — a song you’d told him stuck with you from a passing cruise ship. you sang the lyrics so prettily, and though tranced, jaemin still managed to jot them down on a piece of paper so that he would have it by the next time you two met up.

he grew to miss you more and more with every passing hour he spent by the unmoving water. he found himself missing the way your eyes would crinkle when he cupped your face to press chaste kisses to your lips, and how you would laugh into his mouth each time. jaemin was sure he hadn’t felt this way about another being before, and he told himself he’d rather walk through the gates of hell than let you go like this.

so jaemin waited. patiently.

another two weeks passed, yet he still came back each day.

it’d been two fridays since jaemin had last seen you. time felt still when he sat on the rock, but he found entertainment in watching voyagers travel from a distance. he noted that the clouds were gloomier today, a sort of overcast that almost threatened to storm against his surroundings, but jaemin didn’t pay it much mind other than that. instead, he found serenity in closing his eyes, and favored listening to the sounds of nature around him.

jaemin first felt a splash hit his left hand, but excused it as just a random ocean wave that’d gotten a little too powerful (those weren’t all too uncommon, especially when a rainstorm was near). with his eyes still closed, jaemin breathed deeply, ears twitching only when he heard the faint chirp of birds behind him.

there was another splash a few seconds later, though this time it’d been undoubtedly bigger than the last. jaemin peered one eye open when he felt both of his arms get drenched, the water now drenching his lap.

safe to say, his mouth dropped open in surprise. a soft gasp followed when he saw you floating in front of him, in all of your divine radiance. your hair was soaked, sticking to your body. droplets of accumulated water had decorated your flushed cheeks, your eyelashes wet with saltwater. still, you looked as gorgeous as you always had to jaemin — maybe even more this time.

he didn’t know how to react — didn’t know if you were actually truly in front of him. he’d waited countless hours for you to return back to him, return to your spot, yet he never expected to see you so abruptly like this.

you opened your mouth to speak, but jaemin had beaten you to it.

“y/n?” he asked almost incredulously. “is it - is it really you? are you really here right now?”

you only nodded.

a grin was quick to plaster itself across jaemin’s face, soon falling when he noticed yours didn’t mirror the same excitement. instead, he took in your sad eyes, the familiar spark that would shine beneath your irises no longer visible. he was confused; sadness was something jaemin had never seen from you.

“what’s wrong?”

“jaemin, i -” your voice sounded distressed, breaking before you could even say anything else. jaemin tried to reach out for you, to comfort you, but you pulled away from him in time so that he couldn’t touch your face. hurt panged at his heart instantly, and he was sure the confusion was evident on his face.

you gulped. “we can’t be together, jaemin.”

it took a second for your words to register, but when they had, they felt like a painful punch to his throat, and jaemin’s heart metaphorically plummeted to his feet.

he recoiled, bringing his arms back to his body. many different emotions swim through him all at once, unsure of how to feel exactly. he looked at your face for any signs of bluff, but was only met with sad, unmoving eyes.

“what? y/n, what? why?” his voice cracked, words laced with distress.

he watched your eyes well up with tears, and his heart continued to break. above the both of you, the sky grew darker, a flurry of clouds passing over the sky rapidly quicker than they ever had before.

you cleared your throat. “we can’t be together, jaem. we’re from two different worlds, and i don’t want you to end up hurt because of me. i - i don’t want that. so you have to let me go. you have to. i just want you to know that i love you and i’m so thankful for you, and i’m so, so sorry that i had to do stumble into your life.”

jaemin wanted to reassure you that you were all he ever wanted — all he ever needed as he heard you babble. he opened his mouth to speak, wanting so badly to console you, but was quick to get interrupted by a loud roar of thunder.

water came shortly after. it poured heavily around the two of you as the atmosphere thickened. jaemin felt his hair get damp, his clothes growing heavy with rain, but he was completely unphased by it when he looked at you — looked at who he fell in love with.

he watched you look up to the sky, felt his eyes begin to water.

“i have to go now. zeus knows i’m here, and he’s not happy,” your voice was distraught as another heavy clap sounded through the sky. the sound made you jolt. “i won’t forget the time i spent with you, na jaemin. thank you for - for showing me your world. and telling me your stories. and loving me as i am. i love you, i’ll truly never forget you, but i have to go.”

jaemin wanted to cry in confusion. he didn’t want to say goodbye. he’d waited too long just to see you again.

tears poured down his face rapidly as he shook his head in denial, begging you to not leave. he reached out his hand to your submerging figure, crying out when you retreated back into the water and swam away with nothing but a final glance at him.

jaemin cried for who knows how long, uncaring of the rain as it pelted his body. the usually refreshing feeling of water no longer served the same purpose at calming him. instead, his body wracked with countless sobs — crying because he missed you, crying because he waited so long just to hear your voice, and crying because he wasn’t sure if he’d ever see you again.

all the other times that jaemin didn’t want to leave this spot felt incomparable to how rooted he felt to the rock in that moment. the sun was gone by then, and jaemin had cried his heart out so much in those hours that his eyes turned puffy and his mouth was parched from dehydration. he didn’t move, couldn’t move when he heard a voice call to him. he didn’t budge, even when he felt a firm hand drop to his shoulder.

jeno sat next to him, silently looking out at the ocean. he, too, ignored the pouring rain.

“i’m sorry, jaemin.” he consoled. jaemin was thankful there was some sort of apologetic tone to his words, it was nice to know someone felt sympathy for him. “maybe it was for the best.”

tears were fresh again as they brimmed behind his eyes. he let them fall.

“i loved her - god, i loved her so much.” the words were strained, tension raw in his throat, but he still managed to choke them out.

“i know she loved you too.”

weeks went by at a slow pace, and jaemin wasn’t any better. he’d still sneak out and visit the ocean sometimes, visit your rock, even when he knew you wouldn’t return a second time. he’d speak to the body of water as if you were there, as if you were in front of him once again. more often than not, jaemin would just cry.

camp isn’t any better from then on; he didn’t find joy in anything anymore. when he wasn’t at the ocean, he spent most of his time in his cabin, crying and reminiscing fond memories he experienced with you. his friends checked up on him every once in a while, but nothing seemed to mend the brokenness of his heart.

he’d heard talk around camp of ongoing sea complications in korea, especially back home in busan. everyone had been confused as to why it happened so suddenly, but jaemin knew. he knew that he was the one causing the sea levels to rise, and in turn, making water travel farther up the city beaches. jaemin couldn’t bring himself to care, though, because he had lost the one thing he cared about most.

jaemin couldn’t bring himself to care because he had lost you.

[nuricurry]

Saint Seiya | Shura, PG-13; "see what's inside"

He still remembers what his father used to tell him about fear. “It’s better to be feared than to be loved. Love is weak. Love is fickle. Fear isn’t something that goes away.” He thinks his father probably has a point. After all, it wasn’t love that kept his mother around. It wasn’t love for his anger, love for how he would break things, love for the horrible things he said to her, or the bruises he left on her face and her arms. It was fear that kept his mother close, fear that stopped her from running away. It wasn’t that his mother loved his father enough to have his children. It was that she was too afraid to refuse him. It wasn’t that she loved Shura enough to stay behind, when she should have tried to get away. It was that she was afraid of what worse his father would do to him if she left. Fear was a powerful tool. It was a weapon with no shield, a toxin with no cure. It was the vorpal sword, the unbreakable steel. It had no equal, and it had no conqueror. Fear lived in the hearts of all men, and that was why it could never truly be erased.

The first time he learned that he was capable of causing fear was the day he finally stood up to his father. It is all a blur to him now. There was a fight, he thinks, though there was always a fight. His father yelling. His mother sobbing. The thick, meaty sound of flesh hitting flesh. He sees his hands, his face, he sees the blood, and that’s all he sees, until he lifts his head, and catches sight of his mother’s face. He sees the fear in her eyes, and that’s all he remembers. That’s all he has to explain why he was taken away, why leaves home, and becomes part of Sanctuary. He’s eight when he begins his training. A late bloomer, some of the instructors call him, as if he was always meant to be where he was, he just took longer than others to get to the same place. That’s a nice thought; better than what he thinks is the reality, that he is here only because he had nowhere else to go. In Sanctuary, he’s taught about Athena. He learns that she is a force of peace, of goodness. That she encourages trust and faith, she does not ask for fear. He likes to hear about Athena. He likes to learn about a goddess who offers hope, someone who rules out of love, rather than a desire for control. (Maybe, he thinks to himself, that is what his father would have been like, if he knew how to love, instead of how to invoke fear.) Training for him comes easy. It’s patterns. It’s structure. It’s the same thing every day. It’s secure. After spending the first several years of his life in constant chaos, the confines of rituals come as nothing short of a relief. He wakes up at the same time every morning, he eats his meals, attends his classes, does his chores, all on a cycle, it becomes familiar, safe, and he relishes in that. Developing his skills fall into that same pattern; it’s a process that builds upon itself. Each day he gets stronger, and each day he learns more. It takes time, but there’s a linear progression, there’s a predictable trajectory, and it’s seeing those changes that motivates him. It also helped that Aiolos always encouraged him too. Aiolos is older than him, more experienced, more confident. Aiolos is loved in Sanctuary, admired, and Shura is no exception. Aiolos has an easy smile, a warm laugh, Aiolos is someone who is easy to love, because there is nothing about Aiolos that isn’t loveable. When Aiolos earns his cloth, he’s humble, but proud. He thanks Pope Shion for deeming him worthy. He thanks Athena for allowing him the chance to serve her, even though her new incarnation is not yet born. He thanks his teachers for guiding him on his journey. Later, he thanks Shura for believing in him, and for the gift he brings him after the ceremony is over, and the crowds have dispersed. He is fifteen when he first thinks he understands love. He is young and naive and punch-drunk, when Aiolos places a hand on his shoulder and calls him his friend, when he says that he looked for him in the crowd after he earned his cloth, hoping to find Shura there with a smile on his face. He thinks he knows what it means to love someone in that moment, because he loves Aiolos’ smile and he wants to protect his laugh, and he dreams of the life where the two of them can be saints together, where he can learn more about love. It isn’t until Shura earns his own cloth, it isn’t until he learns the weight of the duty that comes with being a saint of Athena, that he realizes that sometimes, loving someone is what leads to fear. ”He betrayed us. He betrayed Athena.” He doesn’t want to believe it, because he loves him. He chases Aiolos down with a weight pressing down in his chest because he doesn’t want to be proven wrong. He loves Aiolos, and it’s that love that makes him hesitate, when he finally confronts him, and sees him with that baby cradled in his arms. Aiolos’ body lies at the bottom of a ravine and he is the one that put him there because of his fear. His fear that if he stopped and asked Aiolos to explain, he would learn that his love was misplaced, that love alone was not enough to keep even Aiolos from failing

in his duty. He learns to fear himself after Aiolos. Though, perhaps he always feared part of himself. He thinks back to his childhood, to the last day he can remember seeing his father. The day with the blood, the day that his mother looked at him with fear in her eyes. She must have known what he was, before even he did. It doesn’t matter, he decides in time. His father had a point. Fear is better than love. With fear, he knows what to expect. With fear, there’s no surprise when it hurts, when it backfires, when it stings. “Anyone ever tell you that you think too hard about the stupidest shit?” Deathmask is blunt, crass, and unpleasant. But he’s honest, and Shura can respect that. At least, as much as he can respect anything about Deathmask. Their methods are too different, their standards too opposite. But he is a gold saint all the same, he earned his place the same as Shura, and so he doesn’t challenge him, nor does he refuse his company when it’s imposed upon him. Deathmask buys them alcohol, and by that, he means that Deathmask steals liquor from the bar in the small town just beyond Sanctuary’s borders. Deathmask has long legs and broad shoulders and he hasn't looked a day under nineteen since he hit his first growth spurt at eleven; when he was fifteen he could pass for a solid twenty-three if he tried. So he doesn't have to steal the beer, he could just buy it. But that means having money, at least enough money to buy beer and weed, and Deathmask, who is a weed-smoking shitlord, never has enough money to ever buy anything 'and weed' at the same time. He has his priorities, and they include going to Athens to get a bunch of weed, then stealing cheap vodka before returning to Sanctuary, and harassing Shura in his temple.

“Don’t be jealous because you’re incapable of thinking at all, Deathmask.” Aphrodite joins them sometimes. If there’s alcohol, always, but if there’s not, sometimes. He seems more fickle about company, more selective with his time. Deathmask likes to fill the days with anything that catches his interest, while Aphrodite curates his diversions. How the three of them became...whatever they were, he still doesn’t know. It just became routine at some point, it just became part of the fabric of his day. Like his training, like his chores, like his guilt, spending time with them was a habit now, it was something that he does without thinking about it. Not that all habits are healthy. He trains his body until it bleeds. Until the muscles of his shoulder are torn and the bone dislocated. He hones his weapon to be razor-sharp, and he does not care about the cost. He only notices that it’s strange when someone else points it out to him, when he’s bent over Deathmask’s back, and Aphrodite presses his lips to the maligned blade of his shoulder that is pressed taut against his skin. “Why do you do this to yourself?” Aphrodite asks later, as they’re lying on their backs, and the room smells like sweat and sex. He doesn’t know what encourages him to be honest. Perhaps it’s the pot, or the booze, or the sex. Perhaps it’s the need to get the words out of his mouth, because he’s afraid if he keeps them inside they’ll start to rot where they’re lodged behind his teeth. “Because I am afraid of what will happen if I don’t.” Neither says anything for some time after that, not until Deathmask can no longer bear the silence, and mutters, “That’s fucked up.” He notices it after a while, how after his moment of honestly the way Deathmask seems to be afraid to touch him at times. How when they walk beside one another and their knuckles bump, the backs of their hands brush, his hand will hover, not touching him, but lingering, almost as if waiting for some sign to do more. He will touch Shura’s back when he walks behind him, alerting him to his intention to pass by, but it will be just a quick skirting of his fingers over the collar of his shirt. Not touching him directly. Not establishing full contact. He doesn’t say anything about it, at least not to Deathmask. What he does is speak to Aphrodite, in hushed tones late at night, when the two of them are standing together on watch, looking out from the highest peak of Sanctuary to the valley of buildings below. The flickering of torches in windows and along rocky trails are like a mirror reflecting the sky above, and it’s a quiet time, a peaceful time, where there is nothing but the two of them and the soft, warm Greek wind blowing their voices out into the ether. “He’s an idiot,” Aphrodite says simply, as if there is no other explanation needed. As if that excuses everything. And, maybe to him, it does. He has low expectations of Deathmask’s emotional intelligence, and therefore can’t be disappointed if he never meets them, and can be pleasantly surprised if he surpasses them. It’s a method of self-preservation that he never quite mastered. “He’s afraid of me,” Shura corrects him. Aphrodite says nothing, he just lifts a hand upwards, slender, deft fingers tucking a stray strand of pale hair behind his ear. He isn’t looking at Shura, he’s looking at those hundreds of star-torches, he’s making constellations of the lights in Sanctuary’s windows, and avoiding Shura’s eyes. “Are you afraid of me too?” “No.” It isn’t said in a rush. It isn’t fired out of his mouth like a bullet, he doesn’t say it quickly just to prove that it’s true. His voice, that low, melodic timbre, is quiet, the sound soft but clear. It always feels as if he is whispering into Shura’s ear even when he’s several feet away, and right then is no different. Except he does step forward, he moved in close, and it’s Shura that those pianist fingers of his touch next. He slips his hand between his back and the waistband of his pants, then turns it around and moves it up, into his shirt, following the column of his spine.

Shura can’t help but shiver, gasp, from both the touch, but also the cool wind that blows against his skin, sneaking in between the gaps in his clothes that Aphrodite makes. His nails, long, filed smooth but still sharp, dig into the meat of his shoulder blade, and then Aphrodite’s chin is on his shoulder, and his lips against his ear. “I’m not afraid of you,” he says again, “The only thing that could ever frighten me would be you realizing what I am actually afraid of.” “What is that?” he asks softly, because he needs to know. Aphrodite only smiles before kissing him, and never answers his question.