#Hermes met Apollo before he met Zeus and that means so much to me actually

[literallyjusttoa]

Two rough sketches about how being one of the only Olympians with one (1) functioning parent probably made Apollo way more prepared for Hermes and Dionysus. Apollo has been the number 1 coolest parent sibling for the past 4000 years.

[a-god-in-ruins-rises]

🌞🔮🪽

kinda long

🌞 - Which deity(ies) are you closest to/do you worship the most often?

inexhaustive list: zeus/jupiter, mithras/sol invictus, apollo/helios, dionysus/liber/bacchus, pan, athena/minverva, hecate, wotan/odin, saturn/cronus, indra, agni, mitra, varuna, hermes, etc. (this gets complicated fast because of both inter- and intra-pantheon connections)

🔮 - Do you delve into topics like the occult or the mysteries? Do you do anything esoteric?

i do! have since i was pretty young (had a grandma who was a witch and she taught me a lot at a pretty young age and then i met a romanian occultist when i was like 12 or 13 and he taught me more). but i probably have a lot of controversial opinions about it and i don't really give much credence to most "pop" occultists. like the golden dawn stuff or the blavatsky stuff. i think it has some wisdom but not a lot and people who base their occultism on that stuff (stuff from the last two or three centuries) i don't care for.

basically, anything after agrippa's three books is suspect to me (some people bring up my admiration for freemasonry but freemasonry has its roots before this point).

🪽 - Do you believe in angels and/or demons? If yes, do you worship or work with any?

yes, i believe in them but not in the way abrahamists do. i've talked about this before but for some reason i can't find the post. but yeah, i believe "angel" is more like an official title and can apply to a variety of beings; from the gods to minor deities to local spirits to individual humans. angel just means one is a messenger/intermediary. so it's not like christianity where an angel is a special class of being.

what you think of as angels (like guardian angels/guardian spirits) is actually what i'd call a demon. or, sometimes spelled daemon or daimon. but a demon/daemon is a morally neutral term. there are good demons, bad demons, complex demons, etc. the good demons are obviously the closest to what you'd imagine to be angels. and i do worship and honor them, of course, when appropriate. most commonly i worship the agathos daimon. but i worship and/or "work" with a great many. i make offerings to local land spirits pretty regularly and they would be appropriately classified as demons/daimons. "daimon" can apply to any kind of miscellaneous lower spirits; from local spirits, to house or family spirits, to the spirits of dead ancestors, to minor gods, to the spirits of heroes, etc. so when i worship my ancestors you could say i'm technically worshiping demons/daimons.

[northern-polaris]

>:)

DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT A QUALIFIED MYTHOLOGIST NOR IS STUDYING MYTHOLOGY MY PROFESSION i just know about greek mythology because it gives me happy chemicals in my brain. JUST PUTTING THAT OUT THERE BECAUSE I RECOMMEND LOOKING AT ACTUAL SOURCES OF INFORMATION OVER THE VERBAL VOMIT I’M ABOUT TO SUBJECT YOU TO IF YOU WANNA KNOW MORE ABOUT IT

Okay

So Dionysus

Fun wine dude. Guy who throws wild parties. Bro wakes up in a ditch in the middle of nowhere with no idea what day it is. The fucker who invented a dildo(yes you read that right) because he wanted to keep his promise of letting some guy smash but the man died before Dionysus got back from the underworld. 

Totally just a fun superficial dude with no terrifying history involving disembowelment, cults, eldritch horror, insanity, and rebirth haha :]

WEEEeeeelllll

I’ll just start with the widely accepted myth of how Dionysus was born. 

Zeus was doing what he typically was known for doing, having sex with everything but his wife, and picked up a new girl by the name of Semele. Hera, said wife of Zeus, catches wind of her and zips on down to the mortal world in order to investigate. She disguises herself as an old woman and meets with Semele, they talk for a bit before Semele reveals that her lover is none other than Zeus himself and that she is pregnant with his kid. 

At this point, Hera wants her dead, but they never outright kill people in myths because I don’t know so she comes up with a plot to have Zeus inadvertently kill her instead by having him reveal his true form to her.

So Hera responds to Semele with a “they all say they are secretly a god to get some, how do you know for certain that your lover is Zeus? You should have him reveal his true form to you!!” and Semele is all “that’s a great idea, old woman who I have never met before in my life :)” 

So next time Zeus visits, Semele makes him promise to give her one thing that she wants no matter what, dude says yes because idk and she says that she wants him to reveal his true form. He tries to convince her out of it, she insists, so he reveals himself which promptly reduces Semele into smithereens.

“BUT WHAT ABOUT BABY DIONYSUS?????” you might be wondering

Never fear! Mother may be nothing but a pile of dust on the ground, but the baby stayed intact! The little guy was premature so Zeus did the only logical thing to do in this situation which was CUT OPEN HIS ‘LEG’ STUFF THE BABY IN THERE AND SEWED IT BACK UP. 

I also want to mention that saying ‘leg’ was often a euphemism for a dick back then so do with that information as you will 

ANYWAYS baby grape child finishes maturing so Zeus cuts him out and who he gives the baby to changes from myth to myth. They range from Hermes, a mortal king and queen who raise him as a girl, Persephone(IMPORTANT!!!!) etc.

Now. In terms of the other gods in the pantheon, Dionysus is the youngest. What I mean by that is that the Hellenistic version we typically think about when we picture the god was much more recently cultivated than the other godly counterparts. Gods like Apollo, Ares, Athena, even Hermes(the second youngest) all showed up in texts like the Iliad which was written some time between 8-700 B.C. AND THAT'S JUST WHEN THEY BEGAN TO WRITE STUFF DOWN. THE ILIAD WAS AN ORAL TRADITION LOOOONG BEFORE HOMER GOT HIS HANDS ON IT. But Dionysus was not there at all. Absolutely no mention of him. 

Now why is that?

For a good period of time, people thought that Dionysus was what they called an ‘imported’ god. A divine figure that came from traders from outside nations who the people then adopted as their own with a bit of tweaking to make it more appealing. It would explain why people didn’t write about him earlier in the Hellenistic period. But that theory was disproved. Here’s how:

The Hellenistic period of ancient Greece is the time frame typically pictured when you think of ancient Greece like the pantheon and the acropolis, before that time was the “Greek dark ages'' where there is little to no recorded writings from this era, and then there was the Mycenean period. The Mycenean period is the predecessor to the Hellenistic period. People in ancient Greece thought of the Mycenean period as we do for the Hellenistic period. Point is: they are ancient. 

Now we know that Dionysus was NOT an imported god because RESEARCHERS FOUND HIS NAME IN MYCENAEAN WRITINGS OF LINEAR B(linear B was the Greek writing system before they adopted the Phoenician alphabet later on. There is a linear A writing system used by the ancient Minoans who lived on Crete, but it's still untranslated to this day). HE WAS THERE ALL ALONG WITH THE REST OF THE OTHER GODS.

Why wasn’t he mentioned then?

Simple answer was that he wasn’t advertiser friendly yet. 

In the Mycenean inscriptions, Dionysus was less known as a party god and more of a deity of pure insanity and madness. 

He was then picked up by the wine cult that dated back long before the Mycenean period, possibly to the invention of wine itself.

I’m skipping a lot of details but I do want to talk about the Persephone, the queen of the underworld. She had a son named Zagreus. From what little is written about Zagreus, it is inferred that he is a powerful underworld deity. This may seem random but bare with me. It’ll make sense in a second. 

Now, later down the line as the Hellenistic period is slowly building up momentum, Dionysus was picked up by a cult that centered on orphism(life, death, and rebirth, named after Orpheus who ventured into the underworld to bring back his dead fiancé, almost succeeded, but failed). They worshiped figures that entered the underworld and came back out. Persephone was obviously included, but why Dionysus?

Well, there is another retelling of Dionysus’ birth. I’ll try to be short with this but essentially: Persephone is his biological mother(the father is either Hades or Zeus). Dionysus is prophesied to be more powerful than Zeus. Hera is pissed so she orders a bunch of titans to rip apart the baby and eat the bits, Athena saves his heart, gives it to Zeus, and he either sews it into his ‘leg’ or gives it to Semele(i don’t know either but i digress). 

This form of Dionysus is usually depicted with more animalistic features like horns and hooves(think satyr). In the cult, they referred to Dionysus as ‘Dionysus Zagreus’.

What did they do in this cult? Well they got stoned out of their minds and drank.  The people believed that the state of drunkenness was possession from Dionysus and it would allow them to tap into his powers. It was composed of women, slaves, and noncitizens of Greece, basically anyone who wasn’t the favored majority. It was a way to escape oppressive city state governments. 

Now here's that fun disembowelment bit I mentioned earlier. In both tellings of Dionysus’ birth, he ‘dies’ and is reborn. There were symbolic rituals that basically acted out the retellings in order to give tribute per se. It mostly involved bulls cuz Dionysus was represented by bulls, but that… is not the only thing used as the sacrifice. How Orpheus died was not a coincidence. It’s called σπαραγμός (English: sparagmos).

Moving on, there was a few written myths and celebrations of Dionysus in this weird period post-Dionysus Zagreus, but he still isn’t the party dude we know just yet. There were several attempts to suppress the cult from many major city states, but it continued on until one fucker came along. 

One guy who changed everything for better or for worse. Dude’s name was Alexander.

THE BITCH COULDNT STOP CONQUERING SHIT AND EXPANDED THE HELLENISTIC WORLD EXPONENTIALLY. 

A side effect of this was that the rulers of this expanded Hellenistic world became stupidly rich. What did these rich losers like to do? 

Party and get shitfaced

So they picked up our grape boy and made him their patron god of partying while also sprinkling on some conquering associations and TADAHHHHHH

Here we are.

IN CONCLUSION:

I just think he’s neat :>

I have such a terrible need for soup but alas I donut have the money to spare for it 🥺

[greekbros]

"greek-Bros: Phallic Judgement"

*Surprisingly, Dionysus had gone back to Rome to cause more mischief with Hermes, this time they've brought Ares along*

Dionysus: *again disguised as a wine seller* ok gentlemen, behold. The foulest creatures to crawl on the face of the earth. *Shows just random Roman citizens*

Ares: *who for some reason decided he wanted to disguise himself as the world's most intimidating slave* ......ugh....the goats? *Sees a goat*

Hermes: *cleverly disgusted as farmer* haha no. You see, these guys are absolutely weird. They insist of "rationing" Sapa, they have taxes for literally existing and above all.....their wine is watered down! But they have the best bread I've ever tasted though.

Ares: ... really?

Dionysus: don't be fooled by their baked goods my dudes. These are cruel and unrelenting scum folk. Uncultured, ignorant, and above all....they've inslaved every single country they've conquered.

Hermes: .....it's mostly about the wine isn't it?

Dionysus: ....*turns dramatically* their most unforgiving sin.

Ares: *has wondered off to see a statue of himself*.....my dick isn't THAT small.......*looks at the name plate saying "Mars"* ......I can't believe these guys misspelled my name....*takes some charcoal, scratches out Mars and writes Ares*

Centurion Gaurd: Excuse me slave! Where is your master! Slaves are not allowed near the devine statue of the gods.*sees that Ares has wrote his name on the statue's nameplate* What the?

Ares: *doesn't know the centurion was referring to him considering he's in disguise* .........*turns to the see the back of the statue* ....at least they got the ass right.

Centurion Gaurd: EXCUSE ME! Please stop making remarks about the sacred statue! You've defaced sacred property!

Ares: *slowly peaks over to the centurion* ....hey ugh there's a thing on your helmet*

Centurion Gaurd: oh really? *Pats around his helmet* where?

Ares: *points to the centurion's face* There's a shit attitude a little all over your FuCkInG ugly mug.

Centurion Gaurd: *realising what he meant* YOU'RE UNDER ARREST!

Dionysus: *walks into the situation* Oh there you are Skippy! Bad boy I thought I told you to stay close to me and not open your mouth! *takes a little stick and weakly whips Ares's shoulder with a single thing of wheat*

Ares: *confused* ...wut?

Centurion Gaurd: Is there YOUR disrespectful slave?

Ares: wait you said I was going to be a noblem-*gets a loaf of bread in his mouth by Hermes*

Hermes: please shut up or we'll leave you here to fend for yourself.

Ares: *kinda just enjoying the bread* hmfhmf.

Dionysus: You see my good sir, my slave is extremely stupid, dumb and has testicles the size of grapeseeds. He was used as a human kickball when he was an infant and was raised by goats. He can't help himself sometimes. *Tries to clean the charcoal off the statue*

Ares: *angry noises* ?!?

Centurion Gaurd: .....Ok...you have the pay the "Disrespectful Slave" tax fine.

Dionysus: .....*grumbles and takes a bag filled with gold coins* ....*gives it begrudgingly* .....*grits his teeth* have....a...good day.

Centurion Gaurd: *takes the gold and sees that it's drachma* .....hmm.....*takes out a piece of paper with a semi-crude wanted poster of Dionysus, Apollo and Hermes* ......hmm.....I watching you....sir. *leaves to find Mortus*

Dionysus: *turns to Ares and glares at him* ....you owe me 20 drachma.

Ares: *has finished eat the bread* Why? Don't these mortals know we're gods?

Dionysus: No! We're here in disguise so that was can destroy the city again. You are here to make sure the country doesn't get a chance to get back up.

Ares: Fuck yah. *Literally has no idea what he agreed to*

Hermes: *saw the wanted poster in the centurion's hand* ugh...guys we REALLY need to finish what we came here for because they're definitely on to us.

Dionysus: yeah yeah I know....come on let's go. I want to destroy the coliseum again.

Ares: what's a coliseum?

Dionysus: *suddenly a huge grin forms across his face* Hermes .....is the coliseum....open?

Hermes: let me check. *Literally speeds next to the coliseum and saw a Roman sign that says "Grand Re-Opening" and zips back to Dionysus* yeah. It's open.

Dionysus: perfect. *Pops a waterskin filled with wine, and chugs it* oh gods I'm FuCkInG dry. It's like this place sucks your very essence or something.

Hermes: hmm....yeah, shame really. *as he was following Dionysus and Ares, he accidentally dumbs into a familiar face* oops sorry miss.

Octavia: *turns around with a baby in her arms that looks suspiciously familiar* Oh pardon me sir. I didn't mean to bump into, the market seems rather busy today doesn't it?

Hermes: It's ok, I was just heading to-*knotices the baby* .....ugh...

Caius the baby: *smiles at Hermes as if he knew Hermes was his dad* ba-ba :D

Octavia: Oh sweetie, daddy is working. Oh children are so wonderous, even at a few months old, they have such an imagination. By the way, have we met before? You look so familiar....are you from the countryside?

Hermes: uuggggh *trying his best to not look Octavia in the eye* yeah, I get that all the time. Trust me I have some of my own, I mean children that is. Also no I don't think I have? *Literally hoping she doesn't recognize him even though he shape shifted into her husband a year ago*

Caius: *still happily cooing over his real dad*

Dionysus: come on buddy le-*put two and two together and scowls at Hermes* ......you didn't.

Hermes: ugh....

Dionysus: nevermind we're off! *He pulls Hermes to the direction of the coliseum*

Octavia: hmmm what a strange young man. He's handsome though.

Caius: *coos in disappointment* :(

*later*

Dionysus: *rubs his hands* hehehehehe....

Hermes: this better be worth it. I thought we would write our names on the temple walls here or something.

A Roman Announcer: Ladies and Gentlemen! This grand reopening of the Coliseum shall be in honor of our Lord and Emperor Caeser!

Caeser: *does the Royal British wave*

Dionysus: peeeeerfect.

Hermes: ......hey I got to ask...why did you bring Ares?

Dionysus: some bulky bastard is currently the head champion gladiator here, he use to live on Crete before the Romans decided to kidnap a few warriors there....let's just say my pettiness will come with effort.

Hermes: ......ok seriously man what are talking about?

Dionysus: look no one says that their dick is bigger than mine and actually gets away with it.

Hermes: ....you know....you could just smite someone. I mean it's not graceful....but it's effective.

Dionysus: hoho, I'm going to make this extra dramatic.

The Roman Announcer: And now! You're great champion, Maximus the Well-Endowed!

Maximus: *a huge, hulking man came out, roars out* HAIL CAESAR! *Leans to the announcer* I am going to get my 20 hot virgin women after this right?

Announcer: *whispers* yes yes. AND HIS CHALLENGER *looks at a note which was scribbled on his hand* ..... "Skippy the Not-Well-Endowed"! *Looks back his hand still not believing what he had read*

Ares: *is just happy to get into a fight, however was oddly enough only was only wearing a loin cloth and a helmet, armed with a shield and spear* ......oh boy, a whole stadium just for killing? These people rock!

Hermes: ........you didn't....

Dionysus: yep.

Ares: *steps side to side like an exited kid* comeoncomeoncomeonstartthefighting.

Maximus: Alright Skippy, time to end your tiny dicked existence. *Raised his sword on to Ares but Ares was able to break it with his helmet* !?

Ares: ....that's it?

Maximum: *confused* ugh....*waves to order in more weapons, all of which fail to hurt Ares*

Ares: .......aw come on...you guys have some shitty ass weapons. Bet YOUR weapon is just as shit.

Maximus: grrrrr.....YOU PUNY SLAVE! *Rips off his armored skirt* See! You're fucking wrong!

Roman crowd: *gasps*

Dionysus: .....

Hermes: *whistles* holyshit....dude this guy is hung.

Dionysus: If there's one god who can contest me....the only god who's dick is so epic, so powerful, so irresistible, so near perfect......that Aphrodite can't FuCkInG resist it on a daily basis.

Hermes: Heracles?

Dionysus: No buddy, Ares. Ares is the guy who's dick is better than mine I mean come on a guy who shags the goddess of love more times than any living thing HAS to have something going on down there

Some Roman Karen: EXCUSE me is pronounced Venus! We don't use greek words here.

Dionysus: Please leave me alone lady.

Some Roman Karen: *rhees in anger*

Dionysus and Hermes: *both are struggling to ignore her*

Ares: ....ok...that dick of your isn't that great.....*rips off his loin cloth* .....THIS....is a dick.

Crowd: *the women and gay men swoons over the perfect of Ares's bare body, men quake and cringe at their own feeble members and put to shame*

Caesar: *completely unimpressed and decided to leave* hmf. Pathetic.

Maximus: *wriggles in shame* HOW c-C-C-could this be?! The most PERFECT COCK? Oh my gods why is it fucking glowing?!

Ares: ....what you don't shave yourself weekly? I mean come on man that's how you keep the ladies coming back?

Maximus: *starts crying a little*

Dionysus: *cackling uncontrollably* SO THATS HIS SECRET! *writes on a piece of paper saying "shave, dick, weekly"*

Hermes: *still not fully understanding why all of this* ........you brought Ares here JUST to emasculate some gladiator?

Dionysus: Oh much more than that Herms.....much much m-

Roman Karen: EXCUSE YOU SIR ITS MERCURY!

Dionysus: *has had enough and turned her into a chicken* there much better.

Hermes: .....are you ok? Did you have your wine today?

Dionysus: I RAN OUT OF WINE LONG AGO!

Hermes: *deep sigh* not again.

Ares: *now in full naked display* ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?!? *The crowd roared and cheered*

Dionysus: well....yah want to set the animals free from their cages?

Hermes: fuk ye-*feels a tough and strong hand practically crushing his shoulder* .....*turns to see an old man who clearly was Zeus* .....

Zeus: .....boys.....

Dionysus and Hermes: .....Uh Oh.

Zeus: *took each of them by their ears like a discontented mother* you're BOTH grounded for bothering these mortals and above all abusing the dark, unholy power of the sacred male member ....if I had a third arm it would be reserved for Ares. *Looks down at Ares now just doing some naked dance for the crowd*........*deep and disappointed sigh*

Dionysus: but dad, I do that like everyday.

Zeus: I don't care if I don't discipline you or Hermes right the now, Hera will have MY male member nailed to the wall.

(Later that day)

Mortus: *inner noir detective monologue* after several months, nothing. Absolutely nothing. The suspects disappeared from the face of the empire. Likely their crimes have caught up with them. My only consolation to solving this case....is the mysterious birth of my son and my faithful wife. .... speaking of which...why does Caius have blue eyes? Me and Octavia have brown.....did ...she?....nah that's impossible.

The Centurion from earlier: MY LORD! I FOUND THE SUSPECTS!

Mortus: *dramatically turns around* This better be the right ones this time.

*much later after apparently an orgy broke out at the coliseum*

Mortus: .... Absolutely disgusting. Practicing Sexual Festivities without a license is punishable by crucifixion, Mark.

The Announcer (Mark): B-b-but sir! It wasn't my fault! Some slave was to challenge Maximus and they just decided to remove their clothing and everyone went wild! ....to be fair the slave did look a little attractive BUT the fornicating ceased once the slave disappeared.

Mortus:....was he accompanied by a portly, dark haired ..... individual?......an extremely attractive blonde slave and a thinner more athletic young man with brown hair?

The Announcer: ...hmm...well yes minus the other slave.

Mortus: Hmmm.....the plot thickens.....are these the mysterious criminals that destroyed the coliseum last year?....What is the motivated behind these depraved individuals?.....

The Announcer: ugh...why are you talking to yourself?

[racetrackhigg]

Newsies as Greek Demigods

yes i know most gods/goddesses are gods/goddesses of more than what i listed but it’s just too much

Tell me if you want to know about someone in specific

ZEUS, king of the gods and god of thunder (cabin 1)

- lmao no

HERA, goddess of marriage (cabin 2)

- ...she doesn’t have any kids

POSEIDON, god of the seas (cabin 3)

- also no sorry

DEMETER, goddess of harvest, agriculture and fertility (cabin 4)

Mush Meyers

- He’s been at camp for 2 years

- He stays all year round

- His dad died trying to protect him from some monsters

- He really misses him

Finch Cortez

- He’s been at camp for a little over a year, and he doesn’t stay all year round

- He was given up at birth and was adopted by two moms which are the best

- We love them

- They know about camp but not that he’s a demigod (they think it’s just a normal summer camp)

- Finch is actually really introverted

ARES, god of war (cabin 5)

Spot Conlon

- Cabin 5 counsellor

- Has been in camp for 6 years (since he was 10)

- He stays in camp all year round

- He’s dating Race

- Don’t try to beat him at Swords and Shield. You’re going to lose, it's not worth the embarrassment.

- Has gone on quests before

- Not his favourite thing but then again i don’t think anyone really enjoys them

- I mean he used to but then there was this really bad one so now he doesn't

- He doesn’t like talking about it

Hotshot

- He’s been at camp for 4 years

- He stays on camp all year round

- He had it really bad before coming to camp

- Like,,, REALLY bad

- Someone give him a hug

ATHENA, goddess of wisdom and battle strategy (cabin 6)

Katherine Plumber

- Cabin 6 counsellor

- She stays all year round because she doesn’t have a good relationship with her dad :/

- She’s been in camp for 3 years

- You’re not winning at capture the flag if you’re against her sorry not sorry

- She was claimed almost as soon as she got to camp

- She’s mad that Athena doesn't trust her with any quests because she knows she can do it (big Annabeth energy)

-Honestly jealous of David when he got his quest

David Jacobs

- He doesn’t stay at camp all year round

- Has been at camp for a year

- Actually kinda hurt when Sarah decided to join the hunters

- He is really bad at capture the flag and it’s sad

- Athena took her sweet time claiming him

- Poor Dave got a quest barely a month after getting to camp

- It didn’t go as planned

- But it wasn’t bad so yeah

- He went with Jack and Sarah

APOLLO, god of music, the sun, archery, prophecy and medicine (cabin 7)

Jack Kelly

- Cabin 7 counsellor

- Has been at camp since he was 9 (he’s 17 now)

- He stays all year round

- He’s v e r y competitive when it comes to capture the flag

- It took Apollo a whole fucking month to claim him

- He’s embarrassed that he’s so bad at archery because he’s a son of apollo and yet he can’t do it right

- He’s loves arts and crafts because he gets to paint and stuff

- Has really bad ptsd from a really bad quest (glances at Snyder)

- But like honestly he’s had it worse than everyone else and really needs a hug

- Give him a hug

- He’s been dating Davey for 3 months

Crutchie Morris

- He came to camp with Jack

- They were in the same foster home

- He was 7

- Really really likes arts and crafts

- Not as much as Jack but still

- He’s soooooo good at singing like omg how

- Plays s o m a n y instruments

- We love him

- He’s so talented it’s not fair

- But he is a son of Apollo so

Elmer

- He’s been at camp for 3 years

- He doesn’t stay all year round

- He lives with his dad, step-mom, and 3 younger siblings

- Has a huge crush on Albert but is too shy to tell him 👉👈

- Plays the violin!

ARTEMIS, goddess of the moon and archery (cabin 8)

Sarah Jacobs

- She decided to join the hunters shortly after her quest with David and Jack

- Her godly parent is Aphrodite (who is Not Happy about this)

HEPHAESTUS, god of blacksmiths, craftsmen, and volcanos (cabin 9)

Jojo de la Guerra

- He’s been at camp for 2 years and he doesn’t stay all year round

- He's dating a guy he met at school (Mike)!!

- The guy isn’t a demigod but shh

- He puts others before him so he ignores his own feelings and problems which isn’t good

- But he’s getting better at saying no to people and taking time for his mental health!

- He’s been on one quest

APHRODITE, goddess of love and beauty (cabin 10)

Racetrack Higgins

- Cabin 10 counsellor

- Has been in camp for 5 years (since he was 11)

- He used to go back home (er- whatever home the system put him in) for the first 2 years, but now he stays at camp all year round because it’s better than being stuck in the foster system

- He’s a dancer. Idc the AU you can take that hc out of my cold, dead hands.

- When he first came to camp people thought he was going to get claimed by Hermes and were kinda surprised when it was Aphrodite

- He has charmspeak!!

- Yes he does participate in capture the flag who do you think he is

- He’s dating Spot and Aphrodite ships it so hard

- Has flirted with every guy at camp at least once

- People go to him for relationship advice but he genuinely doesn’t know what the fuck he’s doing

- He’s gone on quite a few quests before and he honestly doesn’t like them

- Mostly because there was a really bad one which really fucked him up

- That was his last quest (so far), and it was with Spot. Yes it brought them closer but honestly it wasn’t worth all the shit that happened to both of them on the quest

HERMES, god of thieves, travel messenger of the gods (cabin 11)

Albert Dasilva

- He doesn’t stay at camp all year round

- He lives with his step-dad who is actually really nice

- He’s been at camp for 4 years

- He got claimed almost immediately

- Great at capture the flag

- Hasn’t been in any quests but really wants to!!

- Wants to ask Elmer out but he doesn’t know how

DIONYSUS, god of wine (cabin 12)

Oscar Delancey

- He’s been at camp for 2 years

- He doesn’t stay all year round and lives with his older brother, Morris (who is 23 years old)

- People think he’s rude and a bully but if you take the time to get to know him you’ll realise he’s actually not that bad

- He’s just really defensive and doesn’t trust easy because before he moved in with his brother he lived with his uncle who was abusive

- Don’t @ me i don’t see the Delanceys as complete bad guys okay

HADES, king of the underworld and god of the dead (cabin 13)

Smalls

- She's been at camp for 4 years

- She stays all year round

- (jokingly) makes fun of Jack because she’s better at archery than him

[starrynightofcontradictions]

Trials of Apollo: Tower of Nero: Review

It took me a lot longer to write this than I thought it would. I started and finished Tower of Nero the day it came out and immediately cried when it was over. There was so much about it that I loved, but I’m so sad it’s over. I’ve tried to figure out why it felt so bittersweet to me, and I think it’s because this is (quite literally) the first series I’ve been with since the beginning. I got into Percy Jackson right after House of Hades came out. I’m pretty sure it only took me a few weeks to finish the Lightning Thief to House of Hades. When Blood of Olympus came out, I was sad it was over. When I think of all the other book and tv series I’ve been into over the years, I find I usually get into them after they have been out a while or after they are over. But I Trials of Apollo holds a place in my heart because I was with it from the start.

One of the things I loved going in was that there wasn’t so much hype around it compared to PJO and HoO. It felt like things had quieted down a bit, and the fandom was kind of small. I also think this was the first time I’ve loved being apart of a fandom that was kind of small (I’m talking the people that were really in it for Apollo and his character development- not just Solanagelo and the cameo appearances.)  The fandom was cozy, and the books were always fun, even when they were dark. I’ve been anticipating the ending for some time.

However, I miss being in between books. I miss coming up with new theories. I miss reading other people’s theories. I definitely have my own head canons that didn’t come true, but a girl can dream. (Camp Director Apollo was a missed opportunity- come on Rick.)

A few things I loved:

Lu: I was super suspicious of her in the beginning, but I grew to love her throughout the book. I need more of her and Apollo bonding over their love for Meg. I think one of my favorite bits was her flipping off Apollo with her mechanical hands. I’m glad Meg has her as a mom figure.

Dionysius: He grew on me. Whatever. He’s still a jerk.

Apollo being proud of his kids: Every scene with Apollo and Will (and Austin) I adored! He’s so proud of his kids- it’s so cute. Apollo being good with kids, in general.

Meg wasn’t the one to kill Nero: I expected Meg to be the one to do him in. I really did. In the end, though, I’m glad she stood up to him without having to kill him. That probably would have been to traumatic for her.

Apollo and Meg: I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again- Apollo and Meg’s sibling relationship is my absolute favorite thing about the whole series. I’m a sucker for the found family trope. They’re such an unlikely friendship personality-wise, but they actually have a lot in common. I’m glad the series ended on them. “I was just happy to be with her” sucker punched me in the heart and made me smile at the same time.

What I didn’t love:

The ending wasn’t bad. It met my expectations. It didn’t exceed them. I mean nothing really happened that I wasn’t expecting. I just felt like Apollo was still kind of sad by the end. I expected him to go through a phase of being a little depressed and unhappy as a god again, but I figured that would be a stepping stone sort of thing. I was really expecting to see him apply everything he’d learned and gained towards a higher purpose. I mean we kind of get the sense that he’s going to be around for his kids and for Meg. But there’s also this feeling that he changed but the world he’s in didn’t and there’s nothing he can do about it. I knew there was never going to be an “Overthrow Olympus/ Bring Zeus to Justice” sort of plot. That would have taken way to long. But it felt like Apollo just went back to the circumstances he was in before, but as a much better person. And I feel like it was continually brought up as an internal problem that Olympus no longer felt like home to him (and the Sun Palace never really felt like home, either -that’s in Tyrant’s Tomb, I swear). I honestly expected Apollo to either forsake Olympus and decide to only ever turn up for important meetings or go all in and try to reform the Olympian council. I didn’t expect to be on Team Dude Should Have Stayed Mortal. It just felt like his internal struggles were never fully wrapped up.

I wasn’t too disappointed, though. The ending was pretty good.

My Personal Head canons include but are not limited to the following:

-       Apollo does eventually become Camp Director after Dionysus’s punishment is finished.

-       He becomes an unofficial God of Redemption helping gods that can be helped and building allies on the Olympian Council. (He ends up a lot closer to Hermes and Mr. D, as a result) He can’t overthrow Zeus, but he can make his immortal life more manageable and help people along the way.

-       He becomes God of Loopholes when it comes to helping demi-gods on their quests.

-       I still head canon Meg becoming immortal. I know it will probably never happen in canon (though I would totally read a Meg stand-alone book), but I don’t care. I’d love to see her as the immortal protectoress of southern California fighting wildfires and whatnot. (Plus, Apollo needs someone to bug him for the rest of eternity.)

So, if any fanfic writers want to have at it with these ideas- be my guest! A special thank you to everyone in the ToA fandom. Apollo has become one of my favorite characters, and your character analyses/fanart/content has made this journey so much fun. I hope we stay active as the PJO show come up and onward. I love you all! XO

[paladinwife]

I'm sure you're already gonna get some but just to be sure, all of the mythology asks for Raiden :> (both of them or either, your choice <3)

Me blasting Rules of Nature as I answer this

Also because this is a lot this will just be Metal Gear Raiden! Baal will have to be separate

Zeus: How did you first meet your f/o(s)? How did you feel about each other at first?

So I’m still working through this, but: my theory is that the people that hurt and nearly killed Elise were involved with the Patriots (not that she knew), and so her pursuing revenge resulted in her basically accidentally walking in on the plot of MGS2. She and Raiden run into each other this way some time shortly after the whole incident with Rose (where, in this timeline, he won’t forgive her and refuses to take her back). After their chance meeting they actually start bonding and see each other more and more.

Hera: How did you first start your romantic relationship with your f/o(s)? How did the way you feel about each other evolve to get to that point?

And this jumps off perfectly from the last question! Like I said, after their meeting, they start getting closer and spending some actual time together. At some point, Raiden realizes he’s following Elise like a puppy, but he’s nervous considering how badly his last romantic relationship went. Eventually, though, his feelings win out and he does approach her about dating, and Elise is happy to accept.

Poseidon: Do you and your f/o(s) like to travel? If so, where do you like to go? Is there anywhere you’d like to go that you haven’t yet?

Raiden and Elise travel a lot for their careers, but I think they really want to travel together. First priority is to go somewhere with a nice beach and just have a relaxing time, I think. But there are so many countries they want to see together when they have the chance.

Demeter: What’s your favorite season, and how do you like to spend that season together?

Elise loves autumn - not only is it her birth month, but the weather is lovely, and she loves to have some tea and enjoy the leaves changing color. Raiden doesn’t have particularly strong feelings on any season, but he appreciates how happy autumn makes his wife, and also that’s it’s Wife Birthday Time. Besides, he has some unfortunate memories associated with spring.

Athena: Are your f/o(s) interested in any particular hobby or interest of yours? Have you taught them about it, or let them watch you, or anything similar?

Elise, particularly after getting some cyborg augmentation in her arms and hands, starts getting really interested in visual art, especially painting. Raiden doesn’t know shit about art, but he knows that what his wife creates is super cool and he’s so proud. Also, Elise is a bit of a fitness buff to try to keep the human parts of her body strong and healthy, and Raiden is more than happy to watch if not join her just for the fun and moral support.

Apollo: What do you like best about your f/o(s)? What does your f/o(s) like best about you?

Ask this question to either of them and their first response will be “everything”. They adore each other. If Elise had to pick one, it would be his strength - not physical (though she is impressed with what he can achieve there), but the fact that he just keeps going despite everything. She had a lot of admiration for him in that regard and does her best to stay strong too. If Raiden had to just choose one, he would choose her heart. Not only is she the first person to treat him kindly and let him just exist as himself, but he sees the kind and gentle way she handles other people. She has a lot of love in her heart for others, and he doesn’t see a lot of that, so he thinks it’s beautiful. Also, he’s quick to add, she’s smart as hell and he admires that so much.

Artemis: Do you have any LGBT+ headcanons for you f/o(s)? Do you share these identities? Feel free to share anything else special about your LGBT+ identities.

They’re both bi as hell. I’m aware that most of Metal Gear is very bi, but Elise and Raiden are both extremely bisexual and love each other in an extremely bisexual way.

Ares: Are you ever protective of your f/o(s)? Are they ever protective of you?

Oh, both. Mutual protectiveness. Raiden being protective of her is obvious, but at any given time Elise is ready to fuck up anyone that would dare hurt him any more. Also they’re both more than ready to fight each other’s shitty exes.

Hephaestus: Do you and your f/o(s) ever like to get gifts for one another? What kind of gifts?

Yes! I’ve previously addressed Raiden’s tendency to get Elise cheesy souvenirs when he travels - he likes getting her little things like that. He also likes picking up things that remind him of her. Elise is also aware of Raiden’s tendency to not get things for himself, but one time she bought him something nice that she thought he’d like and he has treasured it ever since. It’s not about the actual thing, but more about the fact she loves him, right? She also apparently gets him t shirts that say silly things because he loves them.

Aphrodite: How do you and your f/o(s) like to show love to each other? Feel free to include your love languages, if you find that helpful.

Raiden kind of struggles to figure out his own love language and shows love in multiple different ways. I think, though, his primary one is quality time, and he very much appreciates just being around Elise. Second is physical touch, as he ends up really loving giving physical affection to her and the warm feeling of her skin. Elise likewise dabbles in all of them to a degree, but she tends towards acts of service - she will constantly go out of her way for him in a way that isn’t lost on him. She also does have quite the way with words that makes him feel all warm and fuzzy.

Hermes: Was it love at first sight? Slow burn with lots of pining? How fast did your relationship progress?

Raiden fell very very fast. He was like a puppy following her around. In spite of his trauma, or maybe because of it, he melted at her kindness and care right away and couldn’t get enough. Elise was a little slower, but I feel like she was surprised at how fast she fell. They were both careful in progressing the relationship, given their trauma, but it’s hardly a slow burn.

Hestia: What makes you and your f/o(s) feel at home? 

Raiden’s answer is Elise herself. Before he met her he didn’t have anything that strongly felt like a home - recall that Rose got mad at him for having a mostly empty bedroom because he didn’t come back to it often. It was Elise being there that made him want to come home more often. It’s less about the location and more about coming back to her, you know? Elise’s answer is actually similar - she’s not from where they live now and has moved around a lot in her life. Her attachment is more with him than to the place.

Dionysus: What do you like to do with your f/o(s) for fun? Is there anything fun you’d like to try with them?

Actually? Watching movies together at home. Raiden has a strong interest in that kind of thing, and watching them at home means he doesn’t have to try to pretend to be “normal” around others, whatever that means. It’s kind of been their thing since their first date. They certainly try lots of fun things together, but that one is special.

Hades: Would you ever consider a pet with your f/o(s)? What kind of pet? If you already have one, what is the pet like?

Honestly he deserves a dog. Again I’m leaning towards a bigger dog, but I think he’d love any dog. Just give this man a dog and he’ll dote on it. I’m particularly fond of a GSD for him because he kind of reminds me of one.

Persephone: How different are you and your f/o(s)? How do you deal with each other’s differences?

Honestly, more similar than you’d think. Aside from some shared trauma, they’re both very strong and persistent, and they’re full of compassion for others. I just think their strengths lie in different places. Really the similarities helped them bond quicker.

Nyx: Do you have any children with your f/o(s)? Would you ever consider children (biological or adopted)?

Well, I’d consider John (normally mothered by Rose, but now mothered by Elise herself) their son. I also made the mistake of referencing “children” to Justice, implying more than one, so uh. Watch this space.

(Thanatos answered here!)

Hypnos: Do you like to sleep together or share a bed with your f/o(s)? If so, what position do you sleep in? Does anyone hog the blankets, or have a stuffed animal, or have nightmares and need the other for comfort? Anything else along those lines?

Anyone who has played MGS2 knows Raiden is not naturally comfortable sleeping with other people. It takes him a while, but he does get to that point with Elise. Even better is that he finds that Elise soothes his insomnia and troubles with nightmares a lot. They tend to sleep hugging each other, by Elise’s request but with his enthusiastic consent.

The Erinyes: How does your f/o (or f/os) respond to someone mistreating you? Do they confront the person? Do they comfort you? 

Raiden. Gets. Furious. He can’t stand the thought of someone mistreating his wife. He would fight them if necessary. But at the same time, Elise isn’t that different: hell hath no fury like Elise pissed off that you’re mistreating her husband, who has been through enough.

The Moirai: What is your “happy ending” for your ship? How do you end up? What kind of life do you want together?

It’s for them both to finally be at peace. They’ve been through so much, and now that they have someone that they can truly trust, they can finally let their guards down and just exist peacefully. I think that’s the happy ending for them, regardless of everything else about how they end up.

(Calliope answered here!)

Thalia: Discuss any fluff ideas you have for your ship. What kind of affectionate or sweet scenarios do you like best for this ship?

Raiden really likes holding hands with Elise. Not only is he tickled by how tiny her hands are, but he finds it very soothing. Sometimes it’s hard for him to pretend for the public to be a completely normal un-traumatized person, but her touch and her hand put him at ease. He asks to hold hands with her a lot.

Melpomene: Here’s your dedicated angst question: discuss any angsty or hurt/comfort ideas you have for your ship.

This is hard, since I see this as such a happy ship. But the one thing is: when it comes to their first child, instead of faking a relationship and devastating Raiden, Elise probably tells him what’s going on and goes into hiding to protect her and their child. She probably had to have his first child alone and desperately hope that he would come back to her alive, and that’s a pretty painful thought.

Euterpe: What song(s) suit your ship best? Any particular lyrics that fit well?

From Take My Breath Away, the titular song for the ship:

That’s pretty painful but also very fitting.

Erato: Does any canon ship remind you of your ship (if you like those)? What tropes or ship dynamics apply to your ship?

Remember the girlboss/malewife pair from FMA and how iconic that was? That’s them for sure.

Terpsichore: Have you and your f/o(s) ever danced together? What kind of dancing? Formal dress or completely informal jamming out in your home?

Oh definitely they would. Elise is the only one with formal dance training, but Raiden is a romantic at heart and wants a dance with her, formal or not. I can see them just slow dancing in their house, so happy they’re in love.

[victorian-vampir]

So like. I said I was gonna do this a while ago but now I finally am. How was the finale of Blood of Zeus supposed to make me feel? Zeus died and 1. I just didn't care because there was no reason for me to, nothing seems to have changed now that the king of gods is dead, no one even seems real concerned, not even Hades??? Who surely knows his baby brother is dead???

2. I just.. I feel nothing for anyone in that show. Aside from Kofi who is probably the best character because he's had like a collective 10 minutes of screen time where he had like two lines each time and otherwise he's just there.

That's what blood of Zeus is. It's there. It wasnt good, it was okay. By no means amazing and you'll probably have more entertainment from watching basically anything else on netflix. Blood of Zeus is only more than subpar if you like being bored and you skip the ending.

No I have many things to rant about so let's open this up:

Why did Seraphim have the Bident? Why did he have control of it? Why did Hades look like that? Why was Seraphim more interesting than our main character?

Why did Seraphim blame the gods for the death of his mother? He did that by his own free will and ZEUS TELLS HIM IT WAS HERAS FAULT. Which I still don't know why. It did nothing. Seraphim didn't change what he was doing, no one changed what they were doing regardless of what the gods or other characters said to do! But even then, if that did change Seraphims opinions of motives that would feed into the war Zeus didn't seem to want to have but did fuck all to stop from happening.

Heron sucks. Like a lot. He's not fun or witty, he's not a greek hero, he's just angry at Zeus or Seraphim or he's confused about things and that's it. That's as far as he goes. He's not interesting of fun to watch hes just there for us to follow. I can remember nothing he did that actually interested me because even the background gods had more appeal. You know why greek heroes are fun? They're tricksters. Most suck as people and are just doing good things usually for their own benefit. Heron is so fucking bland, I could watch cocomelon and have a much better time than any point when Heron was on screen.

Why was Hera like that? What was her motive? That Zeus cheated on her and I guess loved the woman for.. some reason? She should know she isn't the first or only woman Zeus had loves. But he's done this before, four of the offspring from him doing this before are standing behind Hera like everytime she's confronting Zeus about stuff. But she's not directing anger at them, she never even glances at them. It's only Heron she cares about despite the fact Zeus mentioned Heracles. So Hera has already done a revenge plot on Zeus's kids before.

Why NOW does she want to kill him? Why does she want to kill him? Why does she want civil war to spark between her literal family. She was just as upset about Heracles so Heron was her breaking point? A useless mortal when Apollo literally drives the sun? When Hermes is a psychopomp? When Artemis has an entire clan of archers? When Dionysus can drive people insane??? This milquetoast human guy is her issue?

Why was Zeus stabbed just to like.. heal it and it to never be brought back up? How long was Apollo in the ocean? Why was he not driving the sun?

Hera having that "He really did love me" moment when Zeus died? Means nothing to me because he TELLS HER THAT. He tells her that immediately when she asks. And sure he hesitates to tell Hera he doesn't love the other woman too but guess what Hera! You're immortal and his fucking wife while she isn't either of those things. You're being a petty bitch but you never once pull the wife card like you can.

Why does Zeus love Herons mother? We get no backstory for why Zeus loves her at all. Did he start off loving her? Did he develop love for her? But he only went there for sex, right? So what's up with that? What's his reason? I wanna know the reason for out characters actions and we get nothing.

The amazonian chick? I fear for her. She's the love interest I can feel it and fuck do I not want her to be. Like, leave Alexia alone. Please don't make her fall for Heron. Please. They're both so boring, I can't even describe.

Kofi, Evios, Apollo, and Hermes are the only interesting character in this story. And none of them do basically anything. They're the only characters I cared about and they were useless. Everytime Apollo and Hermes are on screen they're getting beat up or they're reacting to their dad saying something. These gods were as useful as the human beings we met three episodes ago.

What was Poseidons reason for anything? He didn't care what Zeus had to say at any point and even when Hera was clearly wrong and clearly up to no good in seriously obvious ways he stayed on her side until the ocean was put at risk. WHAT THE FUCK?! It's Poseidon!

I guess I'm glad they made Hades neutral? Like he usually is with god drama? But was he actually? Did the gods just.. ignore Cerberus? Did they ignore the Bident they should KNOW belongs to their brother? Especially Hermes??? Is Cerberus not get guard of the underworld in this universe? Why not? Explain that. Please. This is a major god who is HARDLY EVER MENTIONED DESPITE HIM DEFINITELY HAVING THE POTENTIAL TO BE SUPER IMPORTANT.

I like that they made Apollo Bi? But it also properly was just there to get a couple brownie points. Apollo is already bisexual in actual mythos so like.. it's assumed this version of Apollo is too? You don't get brownie points when Greek mythology is already so overwhelmingly queer. You don't have to show us the god is gay, the only people watching are greek mythology nerds who already know Apollo likes dudes.

I don't know. I'm just rambling about stuff that bothered me I guess. I was eh with the show but the finale ruined it for me. I said before that I'd probably watch season 2 but I'm not so sure now? I'm sure all of this has already been said so I'm just going to add to the pile but whatever. Sorry for any typos, I'm a little sick and I'm not gonna reread it all.

[ohmyhera]

the tragic ending to an already tragic tale

T/w:mentions of r*pe,m*rder,p*edos, and Zeus saying some uncomfy things. Please proceed with reading this at your own discretion because this is chalked full of angst, more than I usually write for y’all so be careful.

“Nico-”

“You’re keeping it, now stop talking”Nico hissed. Will huffed and pulled the jacket—Nico’s jacket, tighter around his waist. It was cold, and they were wet and nothing seemed to be going as planned. The clouds grew darker and seemed to cover the sky completely only adding to their plight. Will paled, he didn’t do too well without the sun. His eyes fluttered towards the sky and he shuddered. The longer it was gone, the weaker he grew, it was his Achilles heel, the reason why he wasn’t allowed out on quests. He was a liability. Now, as the sky grew dark, and the clouds grew heavier, so did his fear. He wasn’t just a liability, he was Nico’s liability. And that made him feel even worse.

They were treading dangerously into no man's land, with the sun gone for gods know how long Will didn’t have access to his powers. Any of them. So that also means he was no help, he was as useful as a human who could barely shoot an arrow, and they didn’t even have arrows thanks to the Artemis girls accompanying them on the trip. They’d gotten split up about yesterday which already spelled bad news. Will knew it was the Gods doing, split up the team and they’re easier to pick off. It was practically the first rule in the book of killing a demigod. 

They could have taken refuge in the underworld but Will wouldn’t—no, he couldn’t survive down there. Thanks to his unique skill set he would quite literally die if he stepped foot down there, no sun equals no Will. He frowned, he was completely useless—

“Shut up”Nico said. It was said so casually that Will actually went to apologize, but Nico shook his head.

“You’re thinking too loud, it’s stressing me out”Nico said. Will titled his head a bit.

“You can read my thoughts?”He said. Nico’s mouth quirked up in his own attempt at a smile and he shook his head.

“No, but I can read your face. You won’t be any good out there if you’re distracted”Nico said.

“If we ever get to where ‘there’ is”He said, folding his arms. He wasn’t sure if it was the cold or his nerves causing him to tremble, but here he was, trembling. He should have just stayed at camp, but his big mouth opened on its own when Nico volunteered to go. They all looked at him funny but sent him out regardless, they’ve never seen him fight but that also meant they didn’t have proof that he couldn’t. And he can! When he’s not seconds away from collapsing against a tree. He was starting to see doubles and quickly blinked his eyes, and it helped. Until it didn’t. He found himself walking slower,his heart beating faster and Gods it was so cold…

“Will...Will!”

The trees above him spun and he hit the ground with a thud. 

“Fuck!”Nico said through clenched teeth. He threw himself to the ground and grabbed the blondes wrist feeling for his pulse. He felt it pulsing faintly, almost as if he was frozen. He bit his lip and squinted at Wills body, yellow tendrils of spirit floated around frantically trying to find a way out. He let out a shaky breath, Will wasn’t dying, he was just unconscious and his soul was in shock. His soul...his soul was in…

“Shit!”Nico shouted and pulled off his backpack searching for anything to keep his body warm. There was nothing in there but his sword,Wills arrow and some ambrosia. They really needed to start packing better. His mind raced and his body froze, if Will's soul went into shock he might not come back the same, he might...they might...Nico shook his head and pulled the blonde into his lap. He wasn’t going to let that happen, he wouldn’t. He folded his body over Wills and tried to remember something,any incantations that Will or the Apollo kids have ever said. He tried desperately to keep his body warm in the meantime.

But then it started to pour.

Harder than Nico had ever seen in both the lives he lived, this wasn’t an ordinary storm, this was foul play. This was the Gods doing. Nico gasped as the freezing water pelted the two and his mind soon knew nothing but anger. He knew not to provoke the Gods, he learned that from watching Percy get his ass handed to him more times than he could count, but now he knew. Now he knew how it felt to have the Gods slowly but surely try to take everything from you.

“What the fuck do you want from me Zeus!”He shouted towards the sky, Will's pulse was getting slower and he could feel his own pulse in his throat. “Tell me what you want you bastard! Call off the storm and face me! Are you scared or something!”

He felt a gust of wind behind him and resisted the urge to whirl around and choke the god. He didn’t have much time to think before the god was standing before him. No, Nico thought as his stomach dropped, that was too easy, it’s a set up.

“Well now, who do we have here?”The god said.

“Nico,son of Hades,”He said, surprised that his voice didn’t waver. “I said call off the storm”

“From the mean words you used, you’re in no position to be making demands”The god said.

“You don’t think anyone is in a position to do anything”He spat, “What’s your damage, Zeus? Don’t you have enough people to fuck with? Or is there not enough people to fuck? Are you getting bored again with your concubines? You feel the need to interfere on a simple fucking quest!”

He was red hot mad now. All he wanted to do was stab the god until he bled or sparkled or combusted or whatever it was that they did when they no longer existed. The god looked at him in disgust before flicking a finger and suddenly, Nico couldn’t breathe.

“You demigods—no no, you Hades brats think you have the right to talk to me anyway?”The god fumed, “I am a god! I can wipe you from existence,bring you back and do it all over again until you’re begging me to die!” He clawed at his throat but he wouldn’t give in, it felt good to get under his skin, to piss him off.

“But I won’t do that” he released the binding on the brunets airways and once again nico fell on top of Will—shit, he needed to save Will. Zeus seemed to ponder and shook his head.

“No I won’t do that or your daddy will wage war”The god said, “I don’t know why he cares for you brats when you do nothing for him, you hate him, you’re disgusted by him but yet he still loves you”

Nico felt his eyes sting and he quickly blinked it away, he wouldn’t fall for this.

“You rotten little halfbreeds don’t deserve his love, you do nothing but train up the next generation of miscreants and then die a hero”The god scoffed, “A hero, please. We haven’t had heroes in centuries. Aeacus,Amphion,Arcas, all my boys”

“I didn’t summon you here for you to bitch at me”Nico growled, “I summoned you to get an answer to a simple question, and no I don’t fear you, I don’t think you’ve met me but everyone who's ever crossed my path knows i’m not afraid to die young.”

“You’re an imbecile,”The god said.

“You’re a pedophile,a rapist,a murder-”Nico started, this time the god actually did choke him. The brunet was lifted far off the ground and he was face to face with the god he wanted to kill the most right now.

“If you’re going to disrespect me, say it to my face”The god said. 

“Let go of my throat and I'll disrespect you all day long”He wheezed, he was thrown to the ground without a care. His body hit the dirt with a thud and he bit back a groan, he wasn’t letting zeus win this one. He peeked over at Will, at this point he only cared that his soul was still in his body. They’d cross the other bridge after Nico finishes giving Zeus a piece of his mind.

“Stop fucking with me and answer my question!”He spat.

“You have a cursing problem”The god said offhandedly.

“You have an impregnating problem”He said, “you hate us so much then stop creating us, use a condom!”

“You’re lucky I'm not killing you where you stand”The god warned.

“Stop making promises and just do it already!”Nico exploded, “Kill me Zeus, just kill me!” “I can’t!”The god shouted back, “your father would wage war and i’m tired of war!” “Then stop causing them!”Nico shouted, “And stop changing the subject! Call off this damn storm and tell me who’s hiding Hermes so we can both go back to not seeing each other's faces!”

A wicked grin grew across Zeus’ face and Nico gulped, yup, definitely a setup.

“Nico, son of Hades. If you were really trained right then you’d know there’s always an ultimatum”The god said. As soon as he heard ultimatum his body ran cold, fuck.

“Name your price,”He said quietly.

“Not so bold now are we?”The god grinned, “Seems like you have something to lose”

“Just name your price!”Nico snapped.

“Your temper needs work”The god warned.

“That’s rich coming from you”He huffed, but it went ignored.

“I’ll tell you where Hermes is being hidden and even how to get there if…”Nico followed the Gods eyes to Will who was still unconscious. His eyes widened and he shook his head quickly, no.

“No, not him”Nico said, “He’s got nothing to do with this”

“I’ve made my ultimatum”The god said, “He’s pretty,he’s blonde, why wouldn’t I want him?”

“No!”Nico growled. And the god laughed, Zeus laughed.

“It hurts having the one you love ripped away from you doesn’t it?”The god howled.

“I’m not in love with him!”Nico shouted. “Then why are you playing martyr!”The god said, alight with fury. “Besides, it doesn’t take a god of love to recognize attraction”

“Take me”Nico said, the words were out of his mouth before he could stop them.

“Take you?”the god questioned, “Why would I take you?”

“I will do whatever you want,”He said through clenched teeth. “Take me and do what you see fit, but I want a new ultimatum”

“Humor me”The god said.

“Fix him”He said, “Fix him, give him the information for the quest and make sure no harm comes his way”

“That’s asking a lot of me”The god said, “You have to sweeten the pot”

“I am Hades' only son in history!”Nico shouted, “I would be a rarity on mount olympus, parade me around like some exotic pet, I don’t care! You wanted something the other gods never had and that’s me!”

“Cocky aren’t we?”The god said.

“You know it’s true”Nico panted, his chest rose and fell rapidly. “Take. Me.”

“Hmm”The god said, “That does sound pretty good, promise you won’t try and run away?”

“I promis-”

“No”The god said, “We’re making this deal...on styx”

There was a clap of thunder and the rain only intensified. Nico felt his life flash before his eyes. Christmas with mama and Bianca,the lotus hotel,his first few years at camp half-blood,Bianca’s death,the crush on Percy,meeting Will, his 18th birthday and how the Apollo cabin sung so loud it woke the mermaids in the lake,the way Will smiled so wide it reached his eyes as he smeared frosting across Nico’s nose. He was stunned into silence, all he could do was nod.

“I need that in words”The god said.

“I swear...on Styx”He whispered, another clap of lightning sounded and a pair of golden handcuffs appeared around his wrists. Immediately the clouds retreated and the sun was shining more brightly than ever.

“Well”he looked at Zeus, “Are we going?”

“No”The god said, “You’ve got someone to say goodbye to”

Nico’s eyes flooded with realization, “You bastard!-”

“Nico?”Will said in that sleepy voice, “What happened? Did I fall asleep?”

It really was a set up, this was planned, this was entirely planned and Nico fell for it. Split up the team and they’re easier to pick off. It was practically the first rule in the book of killing a demigod. 

This was just the beginning. This was the first move in Zeus’ cruel game of chess.

“You won’t be seeing your Nico for a long time”The god drawled, “Also you really should have confessed your feelings for him earlier because now he’s all mine”

“W-what!”Will stuttered, whirling around. “Nico?”

“He practically begged me to take him”The god continued. “I would feel pity for you if I had any pity at all”

“That’s not true!”Nico shouted and immediately felt a surge of flaming hot pain sear through his body. He wailed and his knees buckled from underneath him as he waited for the pain to subside.

“Tsk tsk”The god said, “Techically you did and Styx doesn’t like a liar”

Nico felt tears roll down his face and he was still screaming. He tried to complete the quest, he tried to keep Will safe but he failed. He did everything he could and he still failed.

“I would say I hate to break up young love but that wouldn’t be true, would it be my new pet?”The god said, “What was that you called me Nico, a bastard? A pedophile,a murderer, a rapist?”

All nico could do through the pain was nod.

“Well i’m all those things”The god said, “but so. much. worse”

Fuck Zeus,Fuck Styx and fuck the gods, he should have converted to the Egyptian Pantheon a long time ago. He looked up to see Will practically frozen in his spot, tears of his own streaming down his face. He wanted to reach out but even the thought of it sent another wave of pain coursing through his body, even his mind was shackled to Zeus.

I love you, he thought defiantly. I love you, my heart belongs to you, my heart bleeds for you, I’d do anything for you—each thought sent a new wave of pain shooting through his body.

“I’m sorry”He croaked. It was the only thing he could say. The last thing he saw was sorrow in Wills eyes, and the once bouncing soul come to a sharp stop and crack. Will’s soul was broken. 

And it was all his fault.

A/n hey guys, I’m alive! That was different than what I usually write but I hope you enjoyed it!

[intelligentdumbass]

Two Bros

Sometimes the messenger couldn’t help but think back to the moment they first met. Sometimes he wondered if his brother did too.

--------------

It was a bright and sunny day, and he was a mischievous little piece of shit.

Apollo glared at the young boy and yet, despite the fact that he had just threatened to throw the bastard into Tartarus, his expression slowly softened.

Hermes grinned. “I’m willing to trade this lyre for the cows!”

--------------

‘Things were so much simpler, back then’ the god thought, as he sighed, laying down on an open field and gazing up into the night sky. Speaking of Apollo…

A head suddenly popped into view, accompanied by a familiar melodious voice.

“What’re you doing here?”

Hermes blinked. “I-” “I’m on a break; somehow sleep wasn’t cooperating with me tonight, so here I am. Hey, if anything, I should be the one asking you that!”

“Ah well, sorry if I startled you then. I was just passing by.”

“Since when did you like to walk around in the dark in some random ass field??”

“Bored.”

“...you okay?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” His brother seemed confused by that remark and just smiled.

The messenger internally cursed. Now the moon wasn’t the only thing his eyes were focusing on.

‘Things were so simple, back then.’

‘How did this happen and how the fuck did I get here??’

Perhaps Perseus had softened him up more than he thought he did.

He was glad to finally see him again, though. Contrary to what he was used to, he could barely even recall the last time he had ran into him. How long had it been, a month? Two months? Three?

Hermes sat up and asked, “You’re really free tonight?”

“Well, I did just say that I’m bored, didn’t I? What about it?”

“So am I.” He looked quite determined all of a sudden. “You wanna hang out? It’s been a while.”

“I guess it has been a while.” Apollo thought for a moment. “What do you have in mind?”

---------------------------------

“Uh, Hermes, where are we going?”

“Wherever the fates will take us!”

“So, basically what I was doing before I bumped into you, walking around until I find something interesting.”

“Well then mister-know-it-all, can you think of something better? Hmmmm?”

The god held in a laugh. “No.” He glanced around, the grass crunching under their steps. “I suppose, with your company, this is sort of… nice; kind of relaxing actually.”

“Heh, of course it is!” The messenger just hoped that the moon wasn’t too bright. “Being around me is the best!”

He raised an eyebrow. “Debatable.”

Hermes pouted, at which Apollo could no longer contain his laughter, not that the younger god cared. If anything, instead of taking offense, it only made him smile.

Then he sighed.

He was a patron of thieves and deceit; his brother was the god who never lied. He had always thought that they would never get along, but it seems that the fates thought otherwise.

He still remembered how it used to be. Back then, his brother would look like he was judging him every time he walked into the room. However, unbeknownst to him, that wasn’t true at all, but that interpretation was through no fault of his. Apollo had always been hard to read, especially back in the early days when he barely knew him.

He’s not sure when, but at some point that judging look was suddenly accompanied by a dazzling smile. The first time it happened though, he recalled that it had been slowly replaced by a small frown.

--------------

“Is everything alright, Hermes?” The blonde raised an eyebrow.

He merely blinked, laughing it off. “Of course! Just got a little distracted for a second there.”

--------------

Ironically, similar to how it was in that memory, Apollo had to snap him back into reality again; this time by having to grab a hold of his arm to prevent him from mindlessly walking off a cliff.

Needless to say, it took a while for Hermes to convince a concerned god of health that everything was okay.

---------------------------------

He could never truly figure out when the predicament first took root; when this feeling really started to grow and gnaw on him. All he knew was that it was probably indirectly influenced by that incident with Perseus and just, everything about Apollo in general. Then again, what the hell did he know? Even Athena realized he was head over heels for him earlier than he did.

--------------

“Hermes,” She whispered. “You’re staring.”

--------------

He shook the thoughts out of his head and tried to regain his bearings. They were sitting on the edge of a cliff overlooking a nearby town. Not only that, there was also music in the air, and his eyes darted to the turtle lyre in the musician’s hands.

This time Apollo noticed. “Did you prefer the silence?”

“Nonono, not at all.” He paused. “By the way, how’s Asclepius?”

“He’s doing fine, now that he’s well adjusted. I’m just glad he’s back.”

Hermes could’ve sworn something about his brother’s gaze felt mildly… bittersweet, somehow.

And so for a few moments, that was all it was, the hum of their lyre. They had no other company aside from a curious deer, a few feet away, munching on a patch of grass.

Then his eyes fell onto the city, specifically one of the blonde’s temples, and an idea popped into his head, but not before briefly arguing with himself.

‘Ooooohhhh, are you going to perform another song number to cheer him up?-’

‘Hey! I thought we agreed to never talk about that ever again!’

‘I mean, it technically wasn’t your voice that ruined it. Remember? Goldie actually quite liked it. You were just a clumsy dumbass that tripped and knocked everything over.’

‘Shush!’

Well, at least the remark about his singing made him feel a little better. This new plan to cheer Apollo up, however, had nothing to do with that and would hopefully be a lot less risky.

“You hungry?” Hermes asked. “I could kinda go for some honey cake right now.”

“Honey cake… I do like me some honey cake and I guess there is nothing that’s going to stop me from just, making one right now.” He paused, before turning towards his brother. “You want to help?”

---------------------------------

Olympus’ garden was huge; its depths filled with paths most don’t even know of. It was here that the two gods sat down on top of a small hill, right in front of a giant crevice that overlooked all of their creations.

Apollo was the one holding the plate that held their precious honey cake. “We really like coming here, huh?”

“Who wouldn’t? The view’s spectacular.” While his brother was busy staring off into the horizon, Hermes took the opportunity to take a small bite out of their dessert. “Damn, the cake tastes really good by the way.”

Apollo was about to protest about the bastard sneakily taking the first bite, when Hermes softly pressing a tiny piece of cake against his mouth.

“Come on goldie, try it!”

He gave him a look, but still ate it anyway. “Mm… I guess so, not bad. Actually, kinda proud of it!” His eyes faintly lit up.

Hermes couldn’t help but smile at that. “We should do this more often-”

To his surprise, this time Apollo was the one that help up a piece of the dessert for him. “We really should.”

The messenger reluctantly obliged and took a bite, but suddenly froze. The blonde was holding his chin and had used his thumb to brush away most of the crumbs near his lips. Now he felt a little dizzy.

“Maybe I should ask the others for some recipes-” Apollo stopped, immediately getting worried when Hermes had his hands over his own mouth and started choking.

-------

“Hey, hey, hey Herms?-”

“Y-” “Yeah, yeah I can hear you, I’m fine-”

“Fine my ass!”

“I mean, well that’s not wrong either-” “Oh my fucking gods I HATE MYSELF SO MUCH-” Hermes just covered his mouth again while Apollo frowned in confusion, but decided that there were other far more pressing matters to attend to and continued analyzing his brother’s condition; even placing two fingers on his neck to check for this idiot’s pulse.

“What the hell happened?! You looked like you had a fucking heart attack.”

“I… I think you’re over thinking this. It was probably just me being a dumbass.” He laughed nervously.

Apollo didn’t seem very convinced.

Hermes internally cursed himself again; placing his hands on both of the blonde’s shoulders. “So I choked on a cake, so what? Look, seriously I’m fine, okay? Come on, relax.”

“If you say so…” It was obvious that it barely comforted him at all. Still, Apollo felt bad when he frowned. He didn’t want the messenger to start blaming himself and feeling guilty about ruining the mood. “I’m sorry.  I was just really worried.” He briefly paused, before muttering, “I love you. Even if we’re gods, the last thing I want is to see you suffering or incapacitated-”

“It was just a fucking honey cake-” “wait.” Hermes stared, suddenly feeling like he could barely breathe; only managing to just barely stutter out, “W-” “What did you just say?”

The musician looked puzzled. “Hm? Did I say something I shouldn’t have?”

“Huh? Nononono! I just-” The thought of making Apollo feel even worse made his insides knot; panicked, he just blurted out, “I-” “ILOVEYOUTOO!”

Apollo didn’t expect that response at all. He barely had any time to process anything when Hermes stood up, about to scram, but a stray grapevine made him trip at the first step.

The messenger heard someone giggle. One second he was face first onto the ground; the next he was suddenly looking up at a familiar blonde, cradled in his arms.

“I had a feeling you were hiding something from me…” Apollo’s frown turned into a teasing grin.

“Pft! What in Zeus’ name are you talking a-” “about…” His voice slowly trailed off the moment he felt a hand cup his cheek.

Apollo just, laughed. “My, my, who knew the charismatic silver tongue bastard could be as red as-”

“Oh fuck you!”

The god raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

Hermes paused, and then cursed, now avoiding eye contact.                                                        

“You alright? For someone who knows the mortal realm like the back of his hand you look… kinda lost?”

He was reluctant to even respond this time. “No shit; this isn’t something I’m experienced in.”

“Experience in what? Navigating the road to my bed?”

At that point his brain might’ve just malfunctioned, while the other chuckled; his smile only getting wider.

“Okay sorry, sorry. I couldn’t help it-” He stopped.

His arms were empty.

-------

Fortunately, in the process of trying to run away, Hermes somehow ended up back at the hill. He was hesitant, but curious, and the moment he took a closer look he immediately felt his heart drop. Apollo didn’t really look upset but rather… unexpressive?

Apollo hadn’t run after him because he figured that the messenger needed some time to breathe, so you can imagine his surprise when he found himself suddenly wrapped up in a hug, accompanied by a shit ton of apologies.

“I… Herms, it’s okay.” He laughed, giving him a few pats on the back. “I’ll be fine; now you’re the one over thinking things.”

The god was suspicious, but didn’t pry any further, at least for now. Instead, he just hugged a little tighter. “Still, sorry for being an absolute fucking disaster.”

“No need. Hey, on the bright side it was kinda cute-” The musician felt a faint punch on his side, causing him to laugh even more.

“Anyway…” Hermes sighed, pulling away. “What happened to the honey cake?”

“It’s over here.” Apollo picked up the plate that he had set aside, and broke off a small piece of the dessert. “You still want some?”

The messenger stared at it for a bit, and then parted his lips.

---------------------------------

Instead of waking up to the walls of his room, his eyes were greeted by familiar tuffs of gold. Hermes immediately sat up and tried to get his bearings. It was then that it hit him.  

They haven’t left at all; they both fell asleep in the garden.

That wasn’t the only thing he noticed. Looking around, there weren’t just tiny drops of morning dew on the grass, but several puddles scattered all over.

‘Huh? Did it rain?’

He glanced at the blonde. Neither of them had a single speck of water on them.

‘Guess he’s just that hot, huh?’ He softly snickered at his own pun.

He knew he probably had a few jobs to do, but instead of standing up, he just laid back down, wrapping an arm around the musician’s waist and gave him a quick peck on the lips.

Unbeknownst to Hermes, Apollo smiled, and that wasn’t the only detail he missed. The vine that had made him trip was gone, like it never existed, but what did it matter? All the messenger cared about was going back to sleep.

[thegoodgayshit]

Luz’s mother really doesn’t want to send Luz to camp. She knows once she leaves, there is no going back. But Luz has a knack for getting into trouble, and one day she stumbles into the same type of people her mother would have preferred she avoided. After helping Luz dissolve her high school bully into dust, Eda and Lilith know right away that this kid is just like them - a child of the gods. So Luz hops on a Pegasus and heads to Camp Half-blood, where she embarks on a dangerous quest that makes her both friends and enemies... and she might even save Olympus along the way.

Chapter Five: My Rival Has to Save Olympus

The victory party for the blue team was in full gear in the pavilion, but Luz was too distracted to even enjoy it. Her brain was running a mile a minute, and every time she had a thought she zoned out, unable to ignore it.

She didn’t know how to feel, which was starting to become a habit. On one hand, she had never been so excited in her life. Her father had claimed her, in front of everybody, and announced to the whole camp that Luz was his. She had never known anything about her dad besides what her Mami had said about him, so now that she could really put a name to who he was, Luz felt seen.

But a part of her, a part that she hated that she felt, was angry and resentful with her father. He had known who Luz was her whole life, and he had never once visited her or helped out her Mami when they were struggling. Luz remembered when she had worked three double shifts back to back, and almost collapsed with exhaustion. Hermes could have helped them. He could have been there.

As they were shedding their armor and freshening up together to head to the pavilion for the celebration, she expressed this frustration to Willow and Gus. The pair had shot her sympathetic smiles as Luz shifted Aletheia back to a ring, and tucked the buzzer into her shorts pocket to return to Eda at the celebration.

“We know how you feel,” Gus said quietly. “Most half-bloods never know or meet their godly parents.”

Willow nods, “Gus and I have been at camp for years and never met ours.”

Luz swallows her frustration. That isn’t right. It isn’t fair for a parent to just abandon their kids because they thought they had better things to do.

“But the upside is that most of us have our siblings!” Willow adds with a gleam of excitement. “They make being a half-blood a lot more fun.”

Willow had a point there. Now that Luz was claimed, she couldn’t believe she actually had siblings! Well, half-siblings. After she’d been claimed, Viney and Jerbo had run-up to her and pulled her in for high fives. They told her how excited they were that she’d be staying in their cabin, and even called her their sister. Luz had never felt any kind of sibling love like that before, and without even realizing it, her eyes had gotten misty and her throat had closed up with affection.

“You’re right, Willow,” Luz said, giving her a genuine smile.

The trio walked practically arm in arm to the pavilion, and when Luz saw it, she gasped. The place was practically unrecognizable from the last time she had seen it at breakfast. The tables had been covered with white tablecloths, and there were tasteful blue streamers and decorations hanging from the columns. The sun was setting so there was a beautiful glow over it, and torches were lit everywhere to light it up. The place was packed: with demigods, nymphs, and satyrs all partying together. When they walked in, a demigod from the Dionysus cabin saw them and cheered when they realized they had played on the blue team, laying laurels around their necks.

“Holy Zeus,” Gus exclaimed with glee. “I forgot how awesome the party can get when the Dionysus cabin wins the games.”

Luz was grinning excitedly and she pumped her fist in the air, her previous worries long forgotten. “This is awesome! I love being a half-blood!”

They quickly adapted to the party and Luz couldn’t ever remember having so much fun. A lot of the red team players were there despite their loss, but a lot of them were having too much fun to actually hold a grudge against the blue team's cabins. Luz was soon chatting amicably with demigods from both the Apollo cabin and the Hephaestus cabin, but she did notice as she wandered around that the Ares campers were nowhere to be found.

“By the way Augustus, that was an awesome distraction by the creek today,” one of the Apollo campers, who had introduced herself as Bo, said. Gus rubbed the back of his neck with a nervous laugh as Willow and Luz turned to look at him.

“What is she talking about, Gus?” Luz asked with a frown, and Willow raised a brow as well.

He was starting to look more and more stressed. “Well, I might have suggested to Viney that Amity and her friends had it out for Luz and that if she was stationed somewhere Amity could find her… she’d be willing to put aside her chances of winning to challenge her.”

“You used me as bait?” Luz yelped, her eyes widening. Gus put up his hands defensively.

“Not exactly! I just knew that an opportunity to take the flag might present itself if the red team's best swordfighter was otherwise occupied.”

“You used her as bait,” Willow said with a disapproving frown.

“Sorry, Luz,” Gus said sheepishly.

Luz shrugs, assuring him she isn’t upset. Despite her surprise with the whole situation, Luz wasn’t mad. It’s not like they’d been hurt. In fact, it had been pretty great all things considered, but that wasn’t because Luz was a skilled camper. It was that she had gotten lucky and had a few tricks up her sleeve Amity and her friends hadn’t been expecting.

Amity… Luz was still really feeling guilty about using the hand buzzer. Even if Amity was mean to her, she hadn’t deserved to be embarrassed like that. And even if the buzzer was a magic item and technically allowed, Luz felt like a cheater. Without even realizing she was doing it, Luz started to scan around the pavilion for her, wondering if she was at the party.

As she looked through the crowd, her eyes finally fell on just the girl she was looking for. Amity was standing at the edge of the crowd, with Edric and Emira next to her. Luz put her goblet of lime soda down on the table and excused herself from the conversation, turning and heading towards them slowly, not sure how to integrate herself into their circle.

As she got closer, Luz made out that Amity’s face was bright red. Emira was nudging her with her elbow, and Edric grinned at her cheekily, and Luz wondered if she should just turn around and come back later. But then Amity’s gaze shifted towards Luz and the pair made eye contact, and her blush faded into a scowl.

“Oh, it’s you,” she scoffed, and Luz winced.

“Hey, Amity…” she tried.

“What do you want?” She asked, clearly not interested in humoring their conversation. “Haven’t you done enough to make me look like an idiot?”

“Quit being mean to your friends, mittens,” Edric said, and Amity’s scowl deepened.

“She’s not my friend.”

With that, she turned heel and stormed away, and Edric and Emira laughed to themselves, which made Luz furrow her brow.

“What’s so funny?” She asked them, and Emira cocked an eyebrow.

“The fact that mittens got played today, cutie,” she said, and Luz couldn’t help the embarrassed blush that formed on her cheeks. “She’s the camp's pride and joy, and she just got outsmarted and outmatched by the new girl and her team of underdogs.”

Luz wasn’t sure if she should be offended or not. The twins didn’t give her a chance to decide.

“It’s always fun getting mittens hot under the collar,” Edric added with a sly smile. “Like telling her exactly where you were so she’d ditch the flag and run after you instead.”

“You guys were the ones who told her where we were?” Luz asked in shock. “But you sabotaged your own team and lost!”

“We don’t consider knocking mittens down a peg a loss,” Emira shrugged. “Besides, you’ve seen how she acts. Somebody had to do it.”

It looks like Luz hadn’t been the only half-blood played by the Blight twins.

Luz shuffled her feet guiltily. She needed to talk to Amity. “Look, you guys are cool and all-”

“Mhmm,” The twins nodded together.

“But I need to find mittens, I mean… Amity.”

“Alright, but you’re way too fun for her,” Emira said with a grin, shooting her a wink. Luz definitely needed to go before her face got any redder than it already was.

She broke off in the direction Amity left in, keeping an eye out for green hair. She walked around the back of the pavilion and paused when she caught sight of Amity. She was sitting against one of the columns in the dark, out of sight and away from the rest of the campers. Her knees were tucked into her chest as she sat on the floor, her head pressed against them with her eyes screwed shut. Luz realized that she was on the verge of tears.

She walked towards her slowly and uncertainly. “Amity… I’m sorry.”

Amity looks up at her and her eyes narrow as she scoffs. “Seriously? Just leave me alone.”

“I didn’t mean to embarrass you,” Luz pleaded, and Amity turns and glares at her, but Luz thinks it’s more out of sadness than anger now.

“Well, that’s all you’ve done! First in front of Eda, and now this?” Luz opens her mouth to try and defend herself, but then Amity gets to her feet and strides towards her.

“You made me look like a fool in front of the whole camp!” Amity cries out, and Luz is taken aback by how her voice cracks with hurt. “You think it’s so easy to be a half-blood, but I have been working my whole life to get to the top.”

Luz is realizing now that this goes much deeper than just a fun game of capture the flag. She is speechless when Amity points an accusing finger in her face, her voice rising desperately. “You lost. I had you completely disarmed and you tricked me. You cheated! Say it! Say that you didn’t really win!”

Luz’s shoulder drop and she says to Amity what she’s been thinking since the game ended.

“I didn’t really win.”

Amity doesn’t really know what to say at that, and her expression drops immediately. Luz turns and slides down the column into a sit. Luz reaches into her pocket and pulls out the hand buzzer, showing it to her. Amity slowly sits down next to her and looks.

“Eda gave me this after we saw you in the arena yesterday. I knew I was going to lose after I saw you with your sword. You’re the better camper. But I tried really hard to learn.”

Amity is now looking at the buzzer with a guarded expression like she isn’t sure what to think of it. “It’s enchanted with condensed lightning, I knew the second it touched me.”

“Eda is a daughter of Zeus…” Luz mused, pursing her lips. She turned her head to look Amity in the eyes.

“I’m sorry. This whole half-blood thing isn’t coming naturally to me like it does for you. I’ve had to improvise a little bit.”

Amity’s gold eyes blink into hers before she sighs. “Maybe you aren’t a cheater,” she drops her gaze to the floor awkwardly. “I haven’t exactly been the friendliest camper around. I’ll think on that.”

Luz feels a little smile begin to prick on her cheeks, and she thinks that maybe she had Amity pegged wrong. Maybe she’s not a bully after all.

Suddenly, a scream echoes from the pavilion, making Luz’s blood run cold. It’s followed by another, and then another. Luz and Amity both shoot to their feet, their expressions darting to one another in alarm.

“What is that?” Luz asks, and Amity’s eyes just widen in fear before she draws her sword and races around the column towards the party. Luz swallows and touches her ring, and then she’s holding her knife in her hand and following after her.

When they race into the pavilion, Luz’s heart drops. Campers, nymphs, and satyrs scatter everywhere as a dozen of what looks like literal skeleton soldiers have drawn bronze swords and slash through tables, aiming for any living bodies they can. They are almost nothing but bones, wearing bronze armor and hissing angrily. They all speak together at once, and the words send chills right down Luz’s spine.

“Children of the gods will pick their side,” they say, over and over again like on a rhythm. “The fires of Olympus will finally die.”

Luz sees Eda and Lilith standing protectively around a group of unarmed campers, slashing their swords valiantly at six of the twelve approaching skeletons while King growls angrily at their feet. Lilith swings expertly, hitting two of them in one go as they dissolve. Eda raises her sword to the sky, and the air stinks like ozone before pointing her sword at one, and a thunderbolt streaks across the blade and smacks it right in the chest, disintegrating it. Luz knows she isn’t needed there. The daughters of Zeus have it under control.

Amity has made a running leap towards her siblings who are face to face with two skeletons. She slashes down through the back of one, and her siblings each make a swing with their own swords, so Luz thinks they’ll probably be okay for now.

Luz scans the clearing desperately for Gus and Willow. She hears them before she sees them. Gus thrust his spear through one skeleton as Willow stands in front of Viney, protecting her from two others. The head of the Hermes cabin has collapsed onto the floor, clutching her arm. Luz’s protective instinct kicks into overdrive at the sight, and she roars in anger, charging towards one skeleton and slashing with her knife, dissolving it into dust as Willow’s sword makes short work of the other one.

Luz scans around the clearing and realizes that all of the skeletons have been disintegrated. Eda and Lilith quickly try to rally the scattered campers, and Willow, Gus, and Luz lean down to Viney in worry.

Luz almost blacks out at the sight. She has a deep slash down her arm from a bronze sword, and blood is running down her arm and soaking the ground and the shirt.

“Owwww,” she groans quietly, gritting her teeth. Luz thinks this is definitely not just an “Ow” situation.“What do we do?” Luz yelps in alarm, but Willow is already on it. She has turned to the Apollo campers, most of who are slowly starting to file back into the pavilion after scattering.

“Medic! We have an injured camper!” She yells, and the girl Luz had met earlier, Bo, heads over urgently and drops to her knees, pulling a first aid kit from her belt.

Gus pulls Luz away from Viney. “She’ll be okay, Apollo is also the god of medicine. We need to listen to Eda and Lilith.”

Luz gulps, looking at Viney to make sure she’s ok. The girl smiles feebly at her and gives her a shaky thumbs-up, so Luz does what she’s told and heads over to the circle of gathering campers.

She stands with Willow and Gus in the crowd, and most of the campers have returned to the pavilion post skeleton attack. The other campers who didn’t attend the party have also come when they heard the ruckus, so Boscha and the Ares cabin are there too, with Skara and some of the other Apollo kids right behind them.

Luz sees Amity and her siblings in the crowd too, and Amity is being fussed over by Emira, which she is not having. She pushes her away, wiping at her face. Luz realizes there is a cut on her cheek, which she must have gotten when she ran to help her siblings.

Eda and Lilith stand on a table so everyone can hear them, with King prowling anxiously at their heels. Eda is trying to whistle to get the crowds attention, while Lilith is chatting lowly to the boy who sits at the Head table with them and King. Barcus, the camp’s human oracle. The camp is quiet very quickly, all of them nervously glancing around like at any moment more skeletons might show up.

“Everybody, please calm down.” Lilith eventually says as she pulls away from Barcus to address the crowd. “I know all of you are scared, but everything is going to be fine.”

“How did those skeletons get through the camp’s magic?” One camper called from the crowd, and Luz’s brow furrowed. She’d forgotten the camp had enchanted barriers to protect them and was wondering the same thing. From what Willow described, they were almost impossible to penetrate.

“There are some ways to bypass the camp's magical borders,” Eda answers with a frown, her gold eyes scanning through the crowd. “Somebody inside camp could have summoned them, or an immortal being could have given them our location. That is not what is important. What we need to focus on right now is the call for a quest.”

There was a ripple of whispers at that, as campers eyed one another nervously. Luz isn’t sure what the problem is.

“What’s the big deal?” Luz whispers to Willow, who is worrying her lip. “Quests sound kind of cool.”

“A quest is only given to campers when something serious is happening in our world, or when a god requests one. They’re very rare and very dangerous,” she whispers back. “Only the strongest half-bloods are nominated for one.”

“There is something we have been keeping from you all.” Eda continues, and Lilith seems to pass her an annoyed look, but Eda just continues. “Hestia, the goddess of the hearth, is missing. She was kidnapped from Olympus earlier this week. The gods did not want us to take action until we were given a sign that it was the right time to proceed.”

There is a loud commotion at that. Luz blinks and turns to her friends with her mouth dropped open. “Hestia has been kidnapped? Like… the goddess of the hearth? How is it even possible to kidnap a goddess?”

“It’s happened before in stories,” Gus says offhandedly, fidgeting nervously with his hands. “Hephaestus caught Aphrodite and Ares a couple of times. It’s very difficult though.”

Eda purses her lip at the commotion and then glances over at Viney, who is being treated at one of the tables. She stamps her foot loudly to keep the attention of the crowd. “Now is as good a sign as any that we must have a quest. Barcus is willing to give a prophecy to one nominee, who will be tasked with finding Hestia and returning her safely to Olympus.”

There was another shout of noises as names began to be called into the air. One of the campers shouted, “why don’t you and Lilith go? You’re the daughters of Zeus, and you have plenty of experience.”

Eda and Lilith shared a look before Lilith shook her head. “We must stay here, in case we need to protect Camp Half-Blood from another attack. Someone else must go.”

Luz wasn’t sure who said it first, but then, from around the clearing loud and clear rang out: “I think it should be Amity.”

Once it was said once, the whole camp seemed to be in agreeance.

“Yeah, Amity is one of our most experienced campers!”“She’s one of the best swordfighters I’ve seen…”

“And she’s tough, she’d be able to carry through with it.”

A smile split Luz’s face when she realized what was happening. Amity’s hard work was finally paying off like she’d confessed to earlier. The camp really did see her as the best of the best. Luz turned to find her in the crowd, and when her eyes locked on Amity, her expression made her do a double-take. Amity didn’t look excited, or proud. She looked terrified.

“Why isn’t she happy?” Luz asked with a frown.

“Don’t be too hard on her,” Willow muttered, and Luz was surprised by how sympathetic she looked. From what Luz thought, Willow and Amity’s relationship wasn’t that great. “Being nominated is a hard job.”

Amity eventually took a breath and steeled her expression, moving forward to stand next to Eda and Lilith. Lilith looked at her slowly and then cleared her throat.

“Amity Blight, do you accept this quest?”

“I do,” Amity said, wiping any previous nervousness off of her face.

Barcus slowly stepped forward and shifted the glasses on his face. “Amity, if it’s alright I’d like to give you the prophecy somewhere quieter. It’ll just be for a moment.” Luz had never heard Barcus speak before, but it was a lot huskier than she’d thought it would be.

Luz watched Amity swallow, before nodding her head. The pair slowly made their way behind the pavilion and out of sight.“As per rules of the quest, the nominee may choose two other campers to accompany them on their journey.” Eda continued, shifting the sword in her hand back into Owlbert. The little owl cooed and perched itself on her shoulder. “When Amity returns, she may choose her companions.”

“Gee, I wonder who it’ll be,” Gus mumbles sarcastically, and Luz thinks he makes a good point. Boscha and Skara have already pushed their way to the front, and the campers parted, knowing who Amity would choose.

When Amity and Barcus make their way back to stand next to Eda and Lilith, the crowd seems to be holding their breath. Luz examines Amity as she approaches. At first, she assumes Amity is just being serious due to the situation, but as she looks closer she notices her shoulders twitch, and her gold eyes betray her. Luz would know that look anywhere. Whatever she’s just heard has terrified her.

She doesn’t even wait before speaking. “I choose Boscha and Skara as my companions.”

The two other campers step forward quickly, each taking place at Amity’s side. Luz, like the rest of the camp, figured this might happen, so it’s not surprising. What does confuse Luz though, is that when they stand next to her Amity isn’t looking at them. Instead, she turns looks directly at Luz. They make eye contact, and then Amity quickly turns away. Luz feels the breath leave her body, but she’s forced to turn her head back to look at Eda.

“Amity, Boscha, and Skara,” she says, sizing them up with her eyes. “You will leave tomorrow at dawn to go and find Hestia and return her to Olympus.”

“We won’t fail,” Amity promises, and now that Luz has seen what Amity is actually feeling, she wonders how she says those words with so much confidence. She wonders if Aphrodite’s kids have similar public speaking skills to the Hermes campers.

While three nominees head out of the pavilion with Lilith to discuss their plans for their journey, the rest of the campers are instructed by Eda to help clean up the mess. Luz’s muscles are aching from the game of Capture the Flag, and even more so after fighting the skeletons, but cleaning helps keep her mind off of everything that’s just happened. Besides, she gets to work with Gus and Willow, which is always a bonus.

Eda dismisses the three of them in particular after they almost collapse in exhaustion from lifting one of the broken columns back into the air, holding it in place so a camper from Cabin Nine can use their enchanted blowtorch to put it back together. Luz trudges alone back to the Hermes cabin, and when she pushes open the door she hopes to see Viney back in the bunk. But it’s just Jerbo sitting there alone on the bunk below hers. All her other siblings must still be cleaning up.

“Where’s Viney?” Luz asks worriedly, “I thought you helped carry her to the infirmary?”

“They want her to stay overnight for monitoring,” he says, the exhaustion heavy in his voice. “She’s probably going to be okay though.”

This doesn’t calm Luz down, but she supposes there’s nothing she can really do. The anxiety from today weighs heavy in her belly, so she goes into her chest and grabs her new pj’s and her phone, and she gets ready for bed before hiding the phone in the waistband of her shorts before climbing into her bunk.

She knows she isn’t allowed to have one, so she waits until Jerbo is snoring lightly below her before she opens it up and texts her Mami. After the chaos of today, she still has so many unanswered questions, some of them nobody can answer but her.

Hola, Mami. Eda is letting me use my phone to text you and tell you about today. We played capture the flag and my dad claimed me. I guess you already knew this, but he’s Hermes. He passed along some abilities to me I didn’t even know I had. Did you know I am a really good public speaker? I was able to get my friends to push themselves a little harder today and we ended up winning the game. It sucks it couldn’t come in handy all those times I got in trouble at school. Maybe if I’d known I could have talked my way out of those messes.

She hits send on the first paragraph and worries her bottom lip between her teeth. There are so many other things too, but she doesn’t want to scare her Mami or make her think she shouldn’t have let Luz stay here.

My friend, well, I guess she isn’t really a friend. More like a rival I guess. She got assigned a quest today. She’s going to find a missing goddess and save Olympus. Despite how crazy that all sounds, I’ve never been happier than when I’m at Camp Half-Blood. I think I finally found my kind of people like you always wanted me to do. But I still really miss you. Maybe I’ll ask Eda if I can call you soon. Buenas noches, Mami.

She tucks the phone under her pillow, and before she knows it exhaustion takes over her and she falls asleep.

The dreams come for the second time. This time though, she isn’t at school. She’s somewhere warm, and there is a cool summer breeze blowing in the distance. She feels the rocky ground beneath her feet, and the air is crisp like she’s up high.

Then there’s the laugh again, and the same feeling of the sword poking against her back as the last one. She holds up her hands in surrender.

“Your friends are scared, little hero.” He whispers into her ear, and Luz swallows, trying not to make a sound. She looks up at the sky and realizes she can see the peak of a mountain, the top of it covered in a sheet of white snow.

“The gods were cruel to me, too. They ruined me, made me obsessed with earning their honor and glory. And what did it get me? You are their pawn, just as I was.” The breathing gets closer to her ear, and Luz squeezes her eye shut, willing this to end.

“Think to yourself, what will their glory get you, little hero?”

She shoots awake wildly from the nightmare, panting and drenched in sweat.

[phantaloon-books]

I finally read The Tyrant's Tomb and boi I loved this one so much, so here's some my opinion on it (they're not in chronological order)

warning, this is long af and sorry for cursing a bit, I can't help it

Apollo's character arc is lowkey one of the best Rick has written, I'm sorry if you don't agree, but he's gone from wanting others to solve his problems and relying on the halfbloods to intentionally avoiding others doing things for him, volunteering for the quests and saying it should be him that faces the terrible stuff so that demigods and other creatures don't suffer

something really interesting is how his perception of himself has changed, and it's almost worrying how genuinely self depreciating his inner dialogue is, because he no longer sees himself as mighty Apollo, he sees himself as worthless and useless Lester, and his narration is highkey depressing

Also, Apollo disliking and being somewhat disgusted of the god he used to be, realizing the horrible things he had done and how horrible he was and that he looked worse as the former Apollo than as Lester, regretting things he'd done, that's top tier development

(I'm sorry but I love the entire scene with the ravens, the part where he just screams "I'm sorry" it feels as if he isn't just apologizing to the ravens, but to everyone who's been affected by what he's done as a selfish god)

Reyna so openly turning down and laughing at Apollo for suggesting they be together is my favorite thing ever lmao I couldn't stop laughing, like she knew what gods can do if you turn them down (even if it was just mortal Lester) and she didn't give a damn, it was so fucking funny

people say Rick only includes diversity for the sake of including it and to gain popularity, but I still enjoy the fact that he does, because as a teacher he must have had all kinds of students of all religions, colors and sexualities, he includes diversity because he's seen diversity. anyway my point is I love that we have Lavinia, a Jewish lesbian from a Russian family, and she's not ashamed of being any of them

I'm sorry I just love Apollo so much, I've grown to respect him so much, and even if Hermes once said them gods often forget their oaths and promises, I have a feeling Apollo won't ever forget Jason's request that he never forgets what's it like to be mortal

Frank still admiring Apollo despite everything, and despite the fact that he looks like a messed up teen makes me go all uwu

Frank being portrayed as this clumsy and awkward kid but also this powerful and brave leader is my favorite thing ever because I think Frank is underrated and I dare to say that he's one of the strongest demigods we've ever met, even stronger than some of the nig three children

the whole thing about the undead army is honestly so creepy, especially when we see it from Apollo's perspective cause se him slowly succumb to the venom's effect, and that part in Tarquin's tomb where he "calls Lester to be part of his undead" was genuinely disturbing, at least to me

some books in the past have touched the part of the nature spirits not being given enough attention, but I really enjoyed how Apollo comes to realize that he only worries about demigods and gods when all lives are worth the same - mortals, halfbloods, nature spirits, gods, and even monsters

again, I love Apollo's arc, it's just AHH he's becoming so caring of life it just makes me happy

Reyna choosing herself to make herself happy is everything, and inspiring to every single woman who is told by others that they need someone to be happy, I just love it, because self love is the most important love of all

I haven't said anything about it, but man I love Meg and Apollo's friendship, they just care so much for each other, Meg who's so scared of losing her loved ones and Apollo who's so scared of not being able to be loved or to love, but they still love each other, and I'm glad it's not romantic, because yes fraternal love is also what people need, and their friendship is what they need

aurum and argentum being cute doggos rather than the steely (no pun intended) and cold dogs we met in HoO warms my heart. I don't understand why they're so cute and adorable, or maybe that's just how Apollo sees them, but they seem to act like actual dogs in this book

the fact that Reyna never confirmed nor denied being attracted to Thalia just makes me all hyped up, like we love Theyna

Apollo just gives off Eddie Brock vibes throughout the entire book and that's hilarious asf. ever since the start he's said to look like shit, feel like shit and be injured with deathly poison that will turn him to a zombie. if that isn't Venom vibes I don't know what is

I've said it once and I'll say it again, Frank Zhang is one of the strongest demigods Rick has ever introduced in a series, and him facing two immoral and godly in power emperors, burning one to death with his own life fire and injuring the other enough for Apollo to do the final kill is top tier

"If I'm going to burn, I might as well burn bright. This is for Jason." bitch actual goosebumps

We've seen countless deaths before, but something about Frank killing Caligula and Apollo killing Commodus seems so... mature I guess is the word, or well for a more mature audience. I can't describe how or why, but it feels more real, more like actual human death

I can't deal with how human Apollo seems in this book gosh I really am sorry I keep bringing this up, but I feel such warmth

the story of how Frank overcame his curse is actual BS and as much as I love Frank, it makes no sense that they spent all that time thinking of ways to keep the wood secure only for this. idk I mean id that were the case wouldn't the curse had vanished when he broke Thanatos free? he was willing to die then just like against Caligula, so why now but not then?

Don reincarnating into a laurel is peak bittersweet feeling and it actually hurt because in a camp where fauns were seen as dumb and useless, he helped Lavinia organize everything and destroy the canon things on the yachts

I'm still not over Jason's death, he really did deserve better. It makes sense, plotwise, because out of all of the huge characters from the past, Jason, Percy and Annabeth's deaths would impact others the harder, and push them to do better. And I understand that you gotta show, not even the main characters survive sometimes. Still, I'm hurt.

Thalia talking to Apollo during the funeral for the fallen campers made me actually weep. I'm not sure if it was because of Jason, or when Thalia talked about how much Artemis loves Apollo, or when Apollo "accepted" halfblood children of Zeus as his family

Also, you know who deserved better? Harpocrates, damn right he deserved better. I nearly cried when I read his death, cause he embraced it like one would an old friend in happiness. He and the Sybil deserved better. Dakota also deserved better

On the other hand, I tried so hard not to laugh at 2 am as I read Tarquin demand answers from a cat? he genuinely thought a cat would tell him where the Sybilline Books where and I couldn't handle that

This book is cruel but in a much more human way? The maiming of the pegasi wings? that's horrifying, but in such a human way, unlike what we've seen in any of the greek/roman gods series, and it's unsettling

Meg is braver than any of the other demigods were at that age (maybe excepting Nico), cause she's not embarking on a quest to retrieve an item or rescue someone or bring back their sister from the dead, she's facing her own abusive father while aiding a somewhat weak mortal in releasing the oracles and gaining godhood back. what's she getting from it all? absolutely nothing, she's gifted some seeds and she hangs out with unicorns more than other people and she's lost everything, but she's willing to lose more to help her friend. she's heroic like no one else is, because she's the first who doesn’t want anything more than being with her friend (Percy wanted whoever was taken back, Annabeth wanted to be able to be more, Nico wanted to bring back Bianca, even Bianca wanted freedom). the only other person who didn't have somewhat selfish (but kot wrong) interests while doing something heroic at a young age has been Hazel. What I mean is I love Meg and everything she does

Thalia being that chill over Jason's death bothers me so much, as if she wasn't the happiest when she found out the brother she lost 14 years ago was alive after all, and she had a part of her family back, and it was ripped from her, and Thalia is just not one to easily forget or move on from things, it's just unrealistic that she would only need a little furious session of throwing things to be okay with Jason's death as if her brother was not just taken from her all over again. it's impulsive Thalia we're talking about, who fought Percy when dealing with Annabeth going missing, it's just not her to be over his death that quickly. Sorry for Rick but I think differently

I also kinda don't like that Tyson went from being freaking General of the Cyclops, to the guy that has the Sybilline prophecies or whatever, it's important and all, but he would have been of great help during the battle and they had him waiting for help in the shrine hill like his potential went down the drain

but a thing I really loved was how different Camp Jupiter seems from Lester eyes compared from Percy's or Hazel's or Frank's perspective, it's hilarious. The other three see this place where everyone is serious and shit but Apollo just sees beyond the seriousness and it's actually refreshing, cause he's the first not to make CHB seem immature in comparison and like I said before I hated that in previous books

also Reyna laughing watered my plants, cured my depression, and made the world okay again, I just love her

all in all, this is my favorite book of ToA so far, and I'm really excited to see what's to come, and how Apollo and Meg will face Nero and Python, but more  than anything I'm looking forward to what will happen to Apollo, and whether if given the choice, he'd go back to being a selfish god or remain mortal for a while, with his newfound friends

Also I really miss Annabeth so can I please see Annabeth, I just want to see her cause she won't deal with Apollo's shit and I can't wait to see that, I miss my girl

[silverlightqueen]

Olympus - Jeon Jungkook

Hermes, God of boundaries, travel, communication, trade, language, thieves and writing, and Hemera, Goddess of day

(greekgod!au - Hermes!Jungkook x Hemera)

Summary - High up in the clouds of Mount Olympus, the tallest of its kind in the ancient country of Greece, live a community of the most powerful beings to exist on this Earth. Their communities are not unlike those that they watch over, those of the humans. A clear political, economic and social hierarchy exists between the beings, some ruling over the others, some more wealthy than the others, some more powerful than the others. Their lives are much like those of humans, all of them working and living in homes with their families, normal names, normal jobs, normal lives. Some could even be considered ordinary. But those that are considered ordinary… our stories do not focus on those. Our stories focus on those that are positively extraordinary, to say the least. Our stories focus on seven Gods and seven Goddesses, powerful and strong, learning the most basic and human thing to exist; love. 

Word Count: 5.7k+

a/n: finally part two !! I hope y’all like this, lmk what you think, hmu if you wanna be tagged in the next part, and make sure you read the first part before this one !! x

Disclaimer: This is no way accurate to Greek Mythology, so please don’t come in my asks correcting me lmao

Warnings: a lil bit of profanity I think and discussion of sex but no actual sex lol

Character List:

Kim Seokjin – Dionysus

Min Yoongi – Hades

Jung Hoseok – Hephaestus

Kim Namjoon – Apollo

Park Jimin – Poseidon

Kim Taehyung – Ares

Jeon Jungkook – Hermes 

Three weeks after Dionysus and Hestia’s wedding, and Olympus is back to usual, everyone working from dawn ‘til dusk every day. Dionysus has changed, it is clear to see, the God of chaos tamed and laidback, and Hestia has changed too, the Goddess of the hearth and home out and about much more. One morning, a particularly ordinary morning of a particularly out-of-the-ordinary day, the Gods of Olympus make their way to the biannual meeting, held by Zeus at the town hall. The seven Gods that our stories focus on walk up the long road to the town hall together, six out of the seven exhausted. Hermes, though, is positively energetic. ‘Herm, can you tone down the enthusiasm a bit? I’m getting tired just watching you,’ Hades complains. ‘What’s gotten into you recently? You’re never usually this bright and bubbly, you’re always worse than the rest of us in mornings,’ Apollo asks. ‘Are you getting laid?’ Ares enquires, and Hermes laughs. ‘No, I’m not, Ares,’ he replies with a roll of his eyes. ‘What is it then? Because something must have changed,’ Dionysus asks. ‘Nothing, really. I’ve just been getting more sleep, I guess,’ he replies as they reach the entrance of the town hall. They each sign their names in the signing-in book before heading into the main room, taking their usual seats in the front row. ‘How’s Tia?’ Poseidon asks Dionysus gently. ‘She’s good, she’s good. She usually comes with the girls, and I come with you lot, so we thought we’d continue on like that,’ Dionysus says, explaining why he and his wife aren’t together. Hestia arrives then with her six friends, sitting in the other half of the front row. They all wave to each other, close friends after the events of the wedding, before going back to their own conversations. 

Zeus appears on the stage then, his wife, Hera, stood beside him. Hera, the Goddess of marriage, officiated Dionysus and Hestia’s wedding, so he waves at her, getting a kind smile in return. ‘Good morning, Olympians. It’s been a fantastic half-year, and I’m sure we can keep this going for the rest of the year,’ Zeus begins, before droning on about different statistics over the year, very few in the room paying attention, especially our main characters in the front row who believe they’re above it all. The meeting ends eventually, everyone practically running to escape, but being in the front row means it’s not so easy to leave without being cornered by Zeus. ‘Hermes!’ Zeus’ voice booms from behind the group of men, Hermes groaning before turning with a smile. ‘Yes, your grace?’ he asks, polite as ever, burning on the inside. ‘I’m very impressed with the way you’ve been getting through your work during the past few weeks. I thought I’d check your workload for today before the meeting, and you have around twenty minutes work, max. Take the day off and do that work tomorrow,’ Zeus says, the other men’s eyes wide at his benevolence. Zeus wasn’t a dictator or tyrant, but he worked them all hard, so for him to give a day off is somewhat a big deal. ‘I… really?’ Hermes asks, lost for words, and Zeus nods, ‘You’ve earned it, my boy.’ ‘Thank you for your kindness, my grace,’ Hermes says, bowing his head. ‘Thank you for your hard work,’ Zeus replies before turning to his wife.

‘Has Hekate been up to something?’ Ares asks, looking around for the Goddess of magic. ‘I doubt it, don’t you remember the consequences last time she cast a spell on Zeus?’ Apollo says, thinking back to what happened to the poor girl. ‘How have you been getting through your work so fast, Herm? it doesn’t make sense,’ Dionysus asks Hermes, who shrugs. ‘Hasn’t anything changed?’ Hades asks, and Hermes ponders this for a moment as they head towards the exit. ‘I guess…’ he says, and the other men prompt him for a proper answer. ‘The days seem to last longer when I’m down on Earth, so I can get more done on one day than I normally would. And then night seems a little longer too, so it feels like I get more sleep,’ Hermes explains. Gods like Hermes, whose work focuses down on Earth, rarely spend more than a few days at a time on Olympus. Sometimes for weeks at a time, he’ll be down on Earth doing work. And for Gods, time works differently down on Earth. Where an hour has passed for humans, for Gods, it could be seconds, or days. Depending on the God of time, and the Goddesses of night and day. ‘That’s suspicious,’ Apollo says. ‘It’s just a coincidence,’ Hermes says, waving it off, and Dionysus laughs. ‘I doubt that, Herm. I have a feeling Nyx has something to do with it. She’s obviously dragging out the night, and making Hemera make the days longer too,’ he says. ‘Ooooh, does someone have a crush on our little Herm?’ Hephaestus teases, putting his arm around Hermes’ shoulder, the latter trying to push him off. ‘No, she doesn’t,’ he says, frowning.

‘Go speak to her, Herm. The girls are all at Tia’s; they’re having a girls’ day,’ Dionysus says, with a roll of his eyes. ‘Haven’t they, like, got work?’ Ares asks in annoyance. ‘None of them have urgent work like we do. Nyx and Hemera have schedules set in place for day and night. Athena only needs to work when there’s conflict. Nemesis works part time to cause conflict. Tia has schedules and spells set up already and only has to check on them every now and then. Demeter’s like Poll, only gets called up when needed by Zeus. It’s only Aphrodite that has to work every day like us, but apparently she’s been allowed to take a day off,’ Dionysus explains, and Ares rolls his eyes. ‘Zeus has always had a soft spot for A, it’s not fair,’ he complains. ‘Anyone with a brain would have a soft spot for A,’ Poseidon says, speaking for the first time. ‘Why’s that, P?’ Hades asks, all of the other men falling silent to listen. Poseidon doesn’t join their conversations very often, opting to stay quiet and listen, so when he does contribute, they all naturally want to know what he has to say. ‘Have you met her? Have you seen her face?’ Poseidon says matter-of-factly. ‘Have you seen her ass, more like?’ Ares jokes, laughing with Hephaestus and Hades. ‘Don’t be disrespectful,’ Apollo says, launching into a speech about not treating women like objects and Aphrodite being an amazing woman besides her looks and body. ‘Listen, Herm, speak to Nyx, find out what’s going on,’ Dionysus says to Hermes, who nods.

The group of friends split up as they exit the town hall, heading to their different workplaces, promising to meet at Dionysus and Hestia’s house after work. ‘Go now, Herm,’ Dionysus instructs over his shoulder, and Hermes nods, heading towards Hestia’s house. The walk there, he wonders what he’s going to say to Nyx, nervous about sounding like a fool. When he reaches the front door, he knocks tentatively, hearing female voices inside. The door flies open a few seconds later, Nemesis stood in the doorway. ‘Hey, it’s Herm. Come in,’ she says, moving aside to let him in. Hermes is definitely terrified of Nemesis; the girl may be much shorter than him, but her presence is twice the size. Her hair, falling to her waist in big, bouncy waves, is a bright red, and her face is always set in a determined look. The God steps in, Nemesis leading him through the living room, where the girls sit in comfy clothes, glasses of wine in hands, the fire roaring. ‘Hey, Herm,’ Hestia says with a smile, patting the empty seat beside her. ‘How did you guys get back so quickly? We left a little after you,’ Hermes says confused. ‘A has somehow managed to get her hands on some winged horses, so we flew back,’ Hestia explains as Hermes sits down, Aphrodite smiling at him angelically. Poseidon was right; she really is beautiful. Her long black hair falls to her waist and her tan skin is clear and smooth, her eyes round and dark, and her lips plump, almost always stretched into a smile, revealing pearly white teeth. But she’s intimidatingly beautiful, like one of those queen bees at high school. Always kind to the weird kids, popular and loved, everyone wants to be her or be with her. But obviously she isn’t the perfect angel everyone makes her out to be, Herm thinks, now that he knows she has a multitude of human lovers. Not that that’s anything to frown upon, of course. Just… not the norm.

‘What’s up, Herm? Why have we been blessed with your presence?’ Nemesis says sarcastically, leaning against the door frame. ‘Um, I actually came to speak to Nyx,’ he stutters, Nyx’s eyes widening in surprise. ‘Me?’ she asks, and he nods. ‘Um, okay. Come into the kitchen,’ she says, leading him through into the other room. ‘What’s up?’ she asks curiously, the volume suspiciously low in the living room. ‘Zeus praised me today, for having gotten so much work done in the past few weeks, and the boys were asking me how I did it. I said that the days were longer, so I had more time to do my work, and the nights were longer, so I was getting more sleep. Di said that you were probably the one doing so he made me come ask you why,’ Hermes explains, Nyx’s face becoming more and more amused by the moment. ‘Ah, Herm. How do I explain this? It’s not me doing it,’ she says, and Hermes becomes even more confused. ‘Who is then?’ he asks, and she raises an eyebrow. ‘Come on, you’re a clever boy. Work it out. If it’s not the Goddess of night…’ she trails off, and the sentence finishes itself in Hermes’ head. It’s the Goddess of day. ‘Hemera?’ he whispers, and Nyx nods with a small smile. Hemera hadn’t even crossed his mind; the small timid girl that hid behind her blonde hair all the time is not someone he would’ve ever guessed.

‘Why?’ he asks, and Nyx grins. ‘I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but the girl has a bit of a soft spot for you, if you know what I mean,’ she says. ‘Oh. Ohh,’ Hermes says, realising that Hemera has a crush on him. ‘What does she achieve from it though?’ he asks. ‘Nothing, Herm. It makes you happier, though, right? And I guess that’s what she wants,’ Nyx shrugs. ‘Oh. Do you think I should speak to her?’ he asks the girl. ‘Obviously, you idiot! The girl likes you, for God’s sake, of course you should speak to her,’ Nyx says exasperatedly. ‘What do I say?’ he asks, panicked. ‘You don’t have to ask her to marry you straight away, Herm! Just make general conversation, small talk, get to know her first, you moron,’ Nyx says, and Hermes nods, hanging on her every word. ‘Oh, and don’t do it in front of everyone because she’ll get super embarrassed and clam up. Do it when everyone else is talking between themselves, or involve her in a conversation with other people, okay?’ Nyx advises, Hermes making mental notes. ‘Come on,’ Nyx says, the two heading back into the living room. ‘Are you staying, Herm?’ Athena asks, her kind eyes on the God. ‘No, I should probably get going,’ Hermes says. ‘Do you have work today?’ Hestia asks, her eyes narrowed at him. ‘I… no, Zeus gave me the day off,’ he admits. ‘So, have you got plans?’ she asks, her eyes even narrower now. ‘Um, no, I don’t,’ he says, scratching his neck. ‘So, you’re staying then,’ she decides, and Hermes gives in, knowing there’s no point arguing against Hestia; she may be kind but she’s the most stubborn Goddess he’s met.

He sinks into the seat beside Hestia, instantly being handed a glass of wine, as the girls launch into gossiping about who’s doing what, or rather, who’s doing who. Hermes listens dutifully, getting caught up in the gossip himself, hanging on every word, gasping in all the right places. It’s almost as though he belongs there with the girls, the group of them speaking about almost everybody on Olympus through the course of the day, getting through bottles (upon bottles) of Dionysus’ wine, becoming more and more relaxed. Until they begin speaking about relationships. ‘I just don’t know what to do anymore,’ Aphrodite slurs, having had more wine than the rest of them put together. If Hermes had had the same amount of wine she’d had, he’s sure he’d have passed out around an hour ago. ‘It’s just not fair. I’m the Goddess of love, and I’ve never even been in love myself! It’s like I’m destined to just be a matchmaker, nothing more. No one’s even ever loved me!’ she wails, eyes beginning to water, and Hermes becomes alarmed at the thought that she might start crying.

‘Aphrodite, you are kidding, right?’ Hermes asks without even thinking, the group turning to look at him. ‘What do you mean?’ she sniffs, still looking ethereal despite the tears dripping down her face. ‘I think at least 90% of the Gods on Olympus have been in love with you. And even some Goddesses,’ Hermes says. ‘But they don’t love me! They just think I’m pretty! They don’t care about what’s beneath! No one’s ever loved me for me! Do you know how that makes me feel? So inadequate, and never good enough! They just want to get me into bed, so they can say they’ve slept with me! That’s it! And even then, they probably won’t be able to fulfil my needs!’ she wails, Hermes’ cheeks being tinged with red at the mention of Aphrodite’s needs not being fulfilled. ‘Okay, A, that’s enough wine for you, babe,’ Hestia says gently, taking the glass from the other Goddess’ hand. ‘Who do you know that’s been in love with her?’ Hemera asks Hermes, speaking to the God directly for the first time as the others comfort Aphrodite. ‘I… um… well, I’m pretty sure Ares had the biggest crush on her, for years. Apollo did, too. And I think Hephaestus as well. Just look at Zeus! He has the biggest soft spot for her! If he weren’t married, I think he would’ve tried to get with her by now,’ Hermes says, opting not to mention his own crush on the Goddess a long while ago. ‘He already has,’ Hemera says dryly, Hermes laughing at the girl’s bluntness.

‘See, that’s the worst thing; we can’t even comfort her, and tell her it’s not true, because it is. She’s right. No one has ever loved her for her. They’ve only ever loved her for her appearance, and for the reputation that comes along with her being the Goddess of love. It’s hard for us to see her go through this,’ Hemera says, Hermes watching the Goddess with interest as she speaks. Hemera has always been timid and quiet, but watching her speak about her friend, the confidence and conviction comes out. She clearly feels strongly about Aphrodite’s situation, as her passion comes through in her words. The hard set of her jaw and the way her small hands run through her bright blonde hair makes his heart contract, realising with a jolt how gorgeous she is, the fire in her blue eyes beautiful. ‘She’ll find someone, some day. If she can’t, where’s the hope for the rest of us? I’m absolutely doomed if she can’t,’ Hermes jokes, Hemera not really laughing along with him. ‘Don’t be silly, Hermes. There’s plenty of Goddesses out there who find you attractive,’ Hemera says stiffly, Hermes becoming embarrassed.

He’s suddenly aware of a pair of eyes on him, and looks around to see Aphrodite watching him keenly, her eyes narrowed with a small grin on her lips. The other Goddesses are still trying to give her a pep talk, but Aphrodite looks much better now, smiling at the God slyly. Her eyes flit to Hemera before meeting his again, her smile growing slightly before she juts out her chin. Hermes suddenly feels a wave of confidence hit him, and he turns back to Hemera, saying the first thing that comes into his head; ‘Are you one of them?’ He’s taken aback at his own brazenness, the low confidence and arrogance in his voice nothing he’d ever heard before. But Hemera’s reaction, a slight blush appearing on her small face, fingers beginning to twirl her hair, eggs him on further. ‘Because I’ll be ecstatic if you are. Nyx told me you’ve been making the days longer, and asking her to lengthen the nights whilst I’m on earth, and I really appreciate that. Maybe you can make the days even longer for me, so I have time to come back and see you sometimes,’ he says, not even realising that these words he was speaking had been thoughts, but as they come out, he realises they were. That he’d been thinking them as he’d watched Hemera throughout the day, realising that maybe he has a little crush on her too. ‘I… why?’ she asks timidly, and he smiles gently. ‘Because you’re really quite beautiful, Hemera, both inside and out, and it’d make me the happiest God on Olympus if you agreed to let me take you on a date one night,’ he says, and her mouth drops open. Hermes suddenly realises that the room is silent, the other six Goddesses in the room staring at them, and Nemesis finally breaks the silence. ‘Did you just ask her out?’ she demands, and Hermes nods confidently. ‘About time,’ Nyx huffs, Hemera still staring at the God. ‘Is that a yes, Hemera?’ Hestia prompts. ‘Yes! Yes, it is. I’d love to,’ Hemera stutters nervously, the other Goddesses cheering.

They hear a knock at the door then, all looking up out of the window to realise that it’s dark, and they’d been gossiping all day. Hestia waves her hand and the front door clicks open, Dionysus’ jovial voice booming through the house. Seconds later, the six Gods troop through the door, taking seats around the room. Ares sits as far away from Athena as possible, the Goddess regarding him with an amused grin. Dionysus makes a beeline for the floor beside Hestia’s seat, resting his head against her knee as one hand of hers comes to rest on his shoulder. Apollo also makes a beeline, but for Demeter, the two instantly beginning to speak about work. Hades takes a seat beside Ares, he and Nemesis eyeing each other with frowns. Hephaestus takes the seat beside Hermes, trying to avoid Nyx’s watchful gaze. Poseidon stands beside the door, leaning against the doorframe broodily, no seats left for him. Loud conversations break out, Hephaestus asking Hermes how his day was, but the God is completely unfocused, thinking about the events that had just occurred. Only when he spots Aphrodite’s inky locks disappearing around the corner does he excuse himself, following her into the garden.

‘Aphrodite!’ he calls into the darkness, the Goddess stopping in her tracks, and walking back towards him with a small grin. ‘What did you do?’ he demands, fists balled up at his sides. ‘What do you mean?’ she asks amusedly, her raised eyebrow and crossed arms making her look more like the high school queen bee than ever. ‘What was that spell you cast on me? Making me ask Hemera out like that?’ he asks. ‘I didn’t cast a spell on you. I read your mind and then gave you the confidence to do what you wanted to do,’ she smiles serenely, Hermes being caught at a loss for words. ‘Wait, what? You can do that?’ he asks. ‘Yes, I can, Herm. I’ve known for a while that you’ve had a bit of thing for Hemera, ever since you saw her at the wedding, even if you didn’t know it yourself, and I knew that she had a thing for you, so I made what you both wanted to happen, happen,’ she says matter-of-factly. ‘Oh, right,’ Hermes says, slightly embarrassed. ‘So you should really be thanking me,’ she says with a grin, and he begins to stutter out his gratitude. ‘I’m kidding, I’m kidding. Just remember, I only ever want to make people happy, okay? Tenfold for my friends. So if I ever do anything, I do it to make you happy,’ Aphrodite smiles, a slight sadness to her tone, before turning away. That’s when he spots a flash of blue hair at the bottom of the garden but, before he registers it, he hears a cough behind him. He turns to see Hemera stood there, the Goddess smiling. ‘So,’ she asks, ‘when’s our date?’ 

-

‘You can open your eyes in 3… 2… 1… now!’ Hermes says, Hemera instantly opening her eyes. She gasps instinctively, looking around in wonder. ‘Oh, my God,’ she whispers. ‘Do you like it?’ he asks shyly. ‘I… I love it, Herm. It’s beautiful,’ she replies, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. Hermes and Hemera had already been on two dates, those both on Olympus, and they’d got on like a house on fire. The hours had flown by, and the two had been counting down the time until they could see each other again. For this date, Hermes had decided he wanted to surprise Hemera. He decided to take her down to Earth for the first time. Deciding not to show her the stereotypical tourist places like Paris or Venice or Tokyo, or the popular picturesque places like the northern lights in Iceland, or the fjords in Norway, or the Niagara Falls in Canada, he took her to a place he’d stumbled across once. ‘These are the Rainbow Mountains of Zhangye Danxia, in China,’ he says with a small smile, watching as Hemera’s eyes scan the colourful peaks with vigour. ‘I thought I’d take you somewhere unique for your first time on Earth. Somewhere unique, like you,’ he says embarrassedly, scratching the back of his neck, and Hemera meets his eyes with a small smile. She pulls him up against her, and tilts her head up, closing her eyes. Hermes gets the message and gently presses his lips against her. Within seconds, their hands are roaming over one another, mouths passionately moving against each other.

Hemera breaks away after a few minutes, both of them breathing heavily. Looking at him, Hemera realises that she’s ready. She’s ready to let him in, more than she’d ever let anyone in before. ‘Are we going back to Olympus after?’ she asks, and Hermes shakes his head with a smile. ‘I found us a beautiful house to stay in, in the woods. I think it’s some sort of place that can be hired, but no one’s there at the moment, so…’ Hermes trails off, Hemera nodding. ‘Is there, um, any chance we can go there first? And then come back here tomorrow?’ Hemera asks, and Hermes looks at her in confusion. ‘Do you not like it?’ he asks. ‘It’s, um, it’s not that, Hermes,’ she says, waiting for him to understand, thinking he’ll be embarrassed once he does. But the smirk that spreads across his face surprises her. ‘Why do you want to go then?’ he asks, tongue rolling in his cheek amusedly, and Hemera looks up at him in embarrassment. ‘You know why,’ she says, blushing, and Hermes pulls her up against him. ‘I want to hear you say it, babe,’ he says lowly, looking down at her with a smirk, and Hemera blushes again. ‘I… I want you, Herm,’ she says quietly, Hermes’ eyes darkening at her words. Their surroundings change instantly, a result of Hermes’ powers, the two suddenly stood in the middle of a big rustic bedroom, one wall windows revealing the darkening woods outside. He regards her with a dark and lustful gaze, Hemera’s eyes wide and innocent as he speaks; ‘That’s all I needed to hear.’ 

-

‘Sit your ass down and tell us everything,’ Nyx commands the second Hemera walks into the living room of Dionysus and Hestia’s house. The Goddess of day takes a seat between Demeter and Nyx, all of the other Goddesses watching her intently. ‘It was amazing. I never knew Earth was that beautiful,’ Hemera says, and Nemesis huffs impatiently. ‘We can talk about the boring humans and their boring Earth after. I wanna hear the juicy details about little Herm,’ she says, Demeter and Athena rolling their eyes, Hestia looking amused as Nyx nods in agreement with Nemesis. Aphrodite sits in the corner with a smug, knowing look on her face, grinning at Hemera. ‘I had a really good time with him. I really like him, a lot.’ ‘Did you guys… do anything?’ Nyx asks, wiggling her eyebrows at Hemera, who promptly blushes. ‘Oh, my God, you did!’ Nemesis exclaims. ‘We don’t have any virgins in the friendship group anymore!’ Athena exclaims, just as Dionysus steps into the room. ‘Did not need to hear that. Pretending I didn’t hear that. Going to the bar with the boys. Goodbye,’ he says, promptly leaving without looking at any of the girls. ‘Was he any good?’ Hestia asks, getting caught up in the gossip too. ‘Well, it’s not like I have any experience to compare him with but, yeah, I think so. It… it felt good,’ Hemera stammers out, the other girls squealing save for the love Goddess.

‘Aphrodite, you’re awfully quiet,’ Demeter observes, and the girl grins. ‘You guys do know that I already knew this was going to happen? I knew about Hestia and Di, and I knew about this. I know about what’s going to happen to all of you. And, no, don’t even bother asking me what, because I can’t tell you or it won’t happen,’ she says, the revelation a shock to the other girls. ‘Why did we not know that you know the fate of our love lives?’ Nemesis demands, and the girl shrugs elegantly. ‘It never came up in conversation. That’s my job. I know what’s going to happen to everyone’s love lives, and I just help to speed things up. I’m a catalyst,’ she says, the girls listening attentively. ‘So you know how we’re all going to end up?’ Nyx asks, and Aphrodite nods. ‘I know all the boys’ fates too. Except Poseidon. He’s hard to read. But anyway, that’s why I’m so quiet. I knew all this was gonna happen. I knew exactly what Hemera and Hermes were gonna get up to in that house in the woods,’ she says with a knowing smirk, Hemera burying her head in her hands as the other girls shriek.

‘Why is it I always walk in on you all screaming?’ Hephaestus says as he enters the room, the other boys behind him. ‘We’re just excited to see you,’ Nyx says with a grin shot his way, the God grumbling under his breath as he takes a seat beside Hestia. ‘What happened to the bar?’ Hestia asks as Dionysus pulls her up from her seat, and sits down in it, pulling her back down into his lap. ‘Ares started to a fight,’ Apollo says as he squishes into the armchair with Nemesis who complains, but makes space for him anyway. ‘Seriously? You were there for, what, five minutes?’ Athena says, and Ares scowls at her. Hades throws himself down onto the floor beside Athena as Ares squashes up between Nyx and Hemera. ‘Guess I’m better at war and conflict than you are,’ he says, Dionysus shushing him before a fight begins. Poseidon loiters at the door as he always does, and Hermes loiters there beside him. ‘Come sit, Herm,’ Ares says with a sly grin, and Hermes dithers. ‘Where?’ Hemera looks over to Aphrodite who sits quietly in the corner, observing the scene, and the girl juts her chin out to the Goddess of day, who promptly stands up, despite not recalling wanting to do so. ‘You can sit here,’ Hemera says, Hermes turning slightly red in the face. ‘Where will you sit?’ he asks, and she laughs. ‘Well, on your lap. If you don’t mind,’ she says, and Aphrodite interferes once more, Hermes smirking. ‘I don’t mind at all,’ he replies, everyone, even Poseidon, looking shocked at the exchange. Hermes sits down between Demeter and Ares, and Hemera sits on his lap, leaning back into his chest.

‘Well, I’m guessing you two enjoyed your little trip to Earth,’ Apollo says amusedly, and a laugh ripples around the group. ‘Maybe we should look into a little holiday,’ Dionysus says to Hestia who nods in agreement. ‘Yeah, you definitely should. I know some great places on Earth you can go,’ Hermes says, Hemera nodding. ‘It’s true. He took me to this amazing place,’ she begins, but is cut off by Ares. ‘Let me guess; Paris?’ he says, and she shakes her head. ‘Venice?’ Hephaestus asks, and she shakes her head again. Everyone begins guessing at this point, naming all the romantic places on Earth they’ve heard of. ‘Santorini?’ ‘Hawaii?’ ‘Bruges?’ ‘Bora Bora?’ ‘The Maldives?’ ‘The Amalfi Coast?’ As the room is distracted listening to Hemera explaining where they went, Dionysus turns to speak to Poseidon. ‘Sit down, P, have a drink or something,’ he suggests quietly, but the blue-haired man shakes his head. ‘I should head home. I’ve got a long way to go,’ he says, just as Hemera finishes speaking.

‘That sounds amazing, Hemera,’ Poseidon says, obviously not wanting to take the attention from the newest couple in the group. ‘Don’t try to change the subject, P. We’ve been telling you to move to Olympus permanently for ages now. Why don’t you just do it? It’d save you all the hassle,’ Hermes says, and Poseidon shakes his head, his hair falling into his eyes. He looks like he wants the floor to swallow him up, hating being the centre of attention. ‘I have to be near the sea, you know that,’ he says quietly. ‘Doesn’t mean you have to live in it, miles and miles away from the rest of us, P. You know Olympus is short journey from the nearest ocean on Earth,’ Apollo says, and Poseidon shakes his head again. ‘I have a castle there now. I can’t just abandon it. And I like it there. It’s my home,’ he says, Ares scoffing. ‘Bullshit. You just like living where you can get to all those nymphs easily, without any of us seeing,’ Ares says, tension quickly descending on the room. Poseidon’s face sets with anger, but he doesn’t say anything, opting to turn and leave the room instead, and the Gods and Goddesses can hear the sound of the front door opening and closing a few seconds later. ‘Good job, Ares,’ Apollo says angrily, Ares shrugging with a roll of his eyes, though the guilt in his face is plain. ‘Go after him, Di. Or Hades,’ Nemesis prompts, but Dionysus shakes his head. ‘Aphrodite, you should go,’ Dionysus says, Aphrodite looking startled, and the boys only just notice her sat in quietly in the corner.

‘Me?’ she asks. ‘Yeah. You’re good at things like this,’ Dionysus says, and they all know it’s true; she’s definitely the mother figure of the group, the mediator in moments like this. ‘And it doesn’t hurt to see a pretty face when you’re angry,’ Hestia says, a laugh running around the room. ‘I’ll go in that case,’ Hades says, prompting more laughter as Aphrodite rises from her seat and leaves, going after Poseidon. The conversation soon moves back to Hermes and Hemera, Poseidon and Ares’ little argument completely forgotten about. ‘So are you guys dating now?’ Nyx asks, and Hemera and Hermes exchange a glance. ‘We haven’t actually discussed it,’ Hemera says, eyes still locked with Hermes’. ‘But we can discuss it now. Do you wanna be my girlfriend?’ Hermes asks, a shock running through Hemera at the words. She looks into his big brown doe eyes, shining like the stars, and he smiles his endearing little bunny smile, his face crinkling adorably. ‘I’d love to,’ she replies, their friends all bursting into cheers. ‘God, I really need a man,’ Nemesis says a few moments later, everyone bursting into laughter. ‘What about Tartarus?’ Hephaestus suggests, more laughter rippling around the room. ‘Oh, yeah, the God of the pits of the underworld seems like a right laugh,’ she says sarcastically, and Hemera takes the chance to go after Aphrodite whilst everyone’s distracted, quickly whispering where she’s going to Hermes before she sneaks off.

When she steps outside, she’s surprised to see that the sky is dark, time having gone extremely fast since she arrived. Poseidon is sat atop his winged horse at the bottom of their front garden and Aphrodite stands beside him, the two speaking in hushed tones. Poseidon is visibly more relaxed, and looks as though he is about to crack a smile before he spots Hemera. Aphrodite follows his gaze and instantly heads up the front garden path. ‘Hey, Hemera, you okay?’ Aphrodite asks, and Hemera nods. ‘I just… wanted to ask what you did to me,’ she says, and Aphrodite smiles. ‘You needed a prompt to do what you wanted to do. I gave you that prompt. Now go back inside and join your lover boy,’ she says, still smiling, but Hemera can’t help but focus on her eyes, and the sadness that seems to be in them. ‘It’s cold out here. Make sure you guys come back in soon,’ Hemera says, and Aphrodite nods. ‘Um, we’ll be inside in a few,’ she says, and Hemera goes to enter the house once more before she stops. ‘Are you okay, A? You don’t seem yourself,’ she says, and the Goddess of love smiles an inexplicably sad smile. ‘Don’t you worry about me, I’m fine. Now go, be happy,’ she says, shooing Hemera back inside, and Hemera shuts the door beside her. Her heart nearly breaks when she spies through the peephole and sees the smile slide from Aphrodite’s face, her eyes filling with tears.

[thanzag]

a (not!fic) trial

please enjoy my rambling not-a-chapter summation (can we call it a summation if it’s 3k words?) of zagreus’ time in athens and the trial against the furies

fic masterlist here

CW for discussions of past abuse in this chapter, and i’ve got some notes at the end regarding it as well.

it takes zagreus about four more days to make it to athens. he definitely has his first real mortal contact by asking someone for directions, but he’s so amiable that it’s not really a big deal. to the mortal, anyway. he, personally, is thrilled to speak to another person. secretly, he’s starting to think that that delight isn’t going to go away any time soon. long periods of solitude do not suit him, he is discovering. no matter how much time he spent sulking in his rooms at the House, before

but anyway, he makes it to athens. has to stop and get more directions, though this time he is more confident in it. definitely passes the public baths somewhere along the way and yearns to give them a try. baths aren’t really a thing in the underworld! the blood of the river styx just wicks itself off of him every time he’s died, after all, and that’s the closest he ever gets to water.

he does make it to the areopagus, though, sometime after the sun’s highest point in the sky. he’s not sure what he was expecting, but to find Hermes and the person that must be Athena standing there, waiting for him — well. that was never in the cards.

‘cousin, it is good to see you,’ athena says when he approaches, meets him half way. hermes has already flown almost directly into him and wrapped him into an eager hug, which — hermes is just great, zagreus has decided.

‘and it is good to see you, Lady Athena’ he answers, taking a knee in front of her. she laughs, a little, at him.

‘that’s not necessary, zagreus. you are family, not a stranger. don’t forget that,’ and then she’s helping him back to his feet. ‘i got your message from hermes. we can have a trial by this time tomorrow, if it suits you.’

‘oh, i mean — that’s great! if. if it suits you? any time is fine, but as soon as possible would be ideal, i guess —’

hermes bumps his shoulder from his place at zagreus’ side, drawing his attention.

‘if it’s alright with you, boss, i could represent you in the trial. i mean, i think i know more about what you’re going through than any of the others, just by virtue of being down there so much!’

zagreus can’t keep the grateful smile off his face. he doesn’t know what being represented means or requires, but he is so thankful for hermes.

‘i’d really appreciate that, hermes. thank you.’

athena leaves shortly thereafter, citing a need to pull together the jurors for the trial. but not before she clasps him on the shoulder one last time and calls him cousin, again. just another reminder that he is, in fact, family to her. not related, but family.

hermes leaves not long after that, too, because someone has to take a message to the furies to let them know they’re being summoned for the trial. but now, standing alone on the top of this hill, in the (metaphorical) shadow of the acropolis, he does not feel quite so lonely as before.

zagreus ends up finding somewhere to camp out and rest — he doesn’t know enough about mortal customs to even think of asking to stay the night with someone, and i don’t know enough about ancient athens and their customs to know how they would take to a visitor. i’m assuming pretty well? like it’s something in the vein of the christian idea of ‘any stranger could be an angel in disguise’ kind of thing, but. this is not!fic for a reason, i didn’t want to try to look it up. i’ll be honest.

anyway. zagreus, camping out for the night. despite the fact that he’s been roughing it for the last week and a half, a) being on the surface has given him opportunity for the most rest he’s had in months and b) sleeping in nature is GREAT to someone whose previous ideas of nature was, like. tartarus, and asphodel, and elysium. which is to say, not real nature. there’s no animals in the underworld! it’s just not the same.

i think that someone shows up, before the night is out. i’m spitballing, but it’s either hermes coming back, or thanatos making another showing. i’m on the fence. i’m thinking it’s thanatos, because — he promised, and hermes happened to run in to him when he was delivering his message to the furies, anyway.

so than appears, while zagreus is awake this time — he’s laid out on his back, looking at the stars. he’d be reading the codex if the light was better — achilles had a surprising lot to include on the surface world. there’s a part of zagreus that wonders if, maybe, achilles put it in just for him, for when he finally escaped.

but anyway. than appears, standing looming while zagreus is stretched out on his back with his arms beneath his head. he’s a visual picture of calm, though his mind is whirling. the idea of just — letting whatever is going to happen, happen, tomorrow, well. zagreus has never liked having a hands-off approach to his own fate. but athena and hermes are gone, so he’s just internalizing it.

‘what in the world are you doing, zag?’ than asks instead of saying hello, and zagreus turns his eyes from the stars to the god of death, who is in the middle of phasing his scythe into nonexistence.

‘looking at the stars, of course,’ he replies, and despite all his worry, he can’t help but smile. he sits up. ‘it’s good to see you, again,’ he says. makes as if he’s going to stand, but than just holds a hand out to him.

‘well, don’t let me interrupt your stargazing,’ than says, voice dry but with his lips quirking up into a little smile. he takes a seat of his own and, with zagreus watching him, lays out beside him on the ground. ‘how are you liking athens?’ he asks, as if this is a normal situation, and zagreus gives him a strange look before eventually giving up and laying back down. he turns his eyes to the stars again.

‘it’s alright. i mean, it’s beautiful. and the mortals are… interesting. people are so different as shades.’ he sighs. ‘i met with athena, and hermes. there will be a trial tomorrow.’

‘it’s okay to be nervous about it,’ than says, shifting a little on his back. ‘i’ve never seen a trial before, but i’m sure athena would talk you through it if you asked her.’

‘but what if i —’ zagreus huffs out a sigh. he doesn’t really want to talk about this, doesn’t want than to know how insecure he’s feeling about it, but — what other options does he have? he could talk to the thin air, later, but that won’t help him. ‘what if i’m not good enough, and they let the furies drag me back to the underworld?’

‘i can’t imagine that’s going to happen, zag.’ than shifts again, and now they’re pressed shoulder to shoulder. ‘you’ve got two olympians on your side, not including any of the ones you’ve yet to meet. they had faith in you to escape, and you have to have faith in them to help keep you out, if it comes to it.’

‘you think it’s that easy?’

‘i didn’t say it was easy. just that you have to.’ than laughs, a little, but it’s something kind. ‘i guess you’re right,’ zagreus agrees after some time, and turns away from the sky to look at than. ‘we talk enough about me, though. how are you?’

‘i don’t think that’s true,’ than says, snorting. it doesn’t make any sense to zagreus, but than carries on anyway. ‘i’m good. busy, because ares’ war doesn’t show any sign of stopping, but these things happen.’ he shrugs. ‘i haven’t been back to the house much, but hypnos did ask me to tell you hello. and achilles says he’s very proud of you.’

something squeezes zagreus’ heart at that, and he rubs at his eyes with the palm of one hand. ‘i’m glad you’re here,’ is what he eventually says, when his eyes are no longer so wet. achilles is proud of him, and than is here.

i think that than (much like zagreus) does not actually know anything about constellations, but they lay there in silence (or mostly silence) for a long time before than announces that he has to go. this time, zagreus is already on board with a ‘proper farewell’, and is hugging than close and tight, for as long as he dares to, as soon as they’re both standing.

than tells him one last time to have faith, and then he’s — gone.

the trial is, of course, an Ordeal.

there are twelve mortal jurors, athena as judge, hermes representing zagreus, and the furies (mostly meg) representing themselves. in what counts as an audience are much of the rest of the pantheon — zeus and poseidon, hephaestus and aphrodite, hera and dionysus. ares is busy with the war, of course. apollo is, naturally, pulling the sun across the sky. artemis is tied up with something that no one can put name to, and the same applies to demeter.

the highlights of the trial, i think, are this —

the furies state that their call to Torment zagreus is because of filial betrayal, which is countered by hermes because of, you know, the verbal and emotional abuse. alecto pipes up and says that that behavior is normal for hades, that he treats everyone that way, and besides, zagreus deserves it, which REALLY wins her points with the jury. (it doesn’t. that’s sarcasm.)

athena asks, as softly and gravely as she has ever spoken, if he could share some of the abusive experience with the jury. hermes starts to rattle off things that just he has seen, in that fast-paced, nearly-tripping-over-his-words way, but zagreus puts a hand on his arm to stop him short.

‘i think it will mean more from me,’ zagreus says, and steps forward to address the jury and the furies and athena and half the pantheon.

zagreus talks about — everything that can come to mind, without really thinking about whether it benefits his case or not, because he’s out of his comfort zone, here.

he mentions the guilt trips that he puts cerberus in the middle of, as if it’s zagreus’ fault that the hound had been left ignored and to his own devices to tear up the house. he mentions the way that, if anything can be made into his fault, it is. he mentions the way that he is never even remotely treated as an equal — always as a child. and he has not been a child for a long time, had once upon a time held responsibilities in the house, but hades never talked to him the way he talked to megaera or thanatos or even hypnos, or achilles. was never once given an ounce of respect or even a begrudging moment of his time that was not laced with ‘why are you bothering me’ attitude. is that truly family? if it is, is that not its own filial betrayal, to treat someone bound to you by blood as if they are the scum upon the bottom of your shoe, for no reason other than existing?

aphrodite sniffles in the audience behind him when he does finally stop talking. meg is watching him, face steely except for her eyes, which are — softer than he’s ever seen them. though maybe that’s just a trick of the light — the sun can do so many things. tisiphone is standing at the back of the fury trio, quiet and watching, but alecto tries to jump in with an invective tirade that has meg putting her hand out to stop her. even the jurors are watching him with strange, pitying expressions.

but he doesn’t want pity. he wants to be free.

the jury goes to deliberate, and zagreus and hermes linger together while they wait. he wants to talk to meg, but of course he can’t talk to meg. she’s on the job, like this, and he doesn’t want that meg. and he doesn’t want to get her in trouble. hermes must see him looking, though, because he gets an elbow to the ribs for it.

‘you and the fury megaera, really?’ he asks. ‘that must make things quite complicated, huh?’

‘something like that,’ zagreus answers, but meg has turned her eyes to him at the sound of her name, and he looks away from her.

the olympians are talking, too, though athena stays separate from all of them, and none of them come down from the clouds zeus had pulled up for them to rest in. it’s a low murmur of voices, of voices that he’s familiar with and some that he doesn’t know, but the pity in their words is audible far beyond how their voices carry. he hates it, but he’s getting what he wants, so — he can’t complain.

the jury returns after some time, and things fall back into place, into silence. the olympians know better than to disrespect athena’s process, here.

the jurors rule in zagreus’ favor. it’s — so simple. it seems too easy. but the furies are told to lay off  his back, and (though zagreus doesn’t know this) they don’t get half the effort to soothe ruffled feathers as they did during orestes’ trial. probably because meg doesn’t push for it — because alecto is going to be pissed one way or the other, and tisiphone doesn’t really care since zagreus himself has not murdered anyone. it’s — unnervingly easy.

alecto leaves immediately, in a rage, and tisiphone makes her own way toward what must be the entrance to the underworld that is nearby. zagreus, through a complicated series of eyebrow movements and head gestures, gets meg to meet him alone.

‘meg, i —’he stops, tongue-tied. she doesn’t look mad, not like alecto, but she’s not happy, either.

‘what, zagreus.’ there’s a strange tone to her voice.

‘meg, i can’t thank you enough for — for helping me like this. i know you never pulled your punches when we fought, but this is… different.’

‘tch. maybe i shouldn’t have.’ as a sentiment, it’s not one he was expecting.

‘what? why! i thought you’d be happy you didn’t have to stand miserable guard in tartarus with your sisters anymore.’

‘you realize we aren’t going to see each other again after this, right, zagreus? it’s not like i’m thanatos, who can just leave the underworld at will to come see you.’ she scoffs in disgust, whether with herself or him he doesn’t know, and crosses her arms.

‘i’m… i’m sorry, meg. you know i had to do this.’

‘i know, i know, you need to find your mother.’ it sounds like she’s brushing him off, but it doesn’t feel like it. no one is ever going to understand his need to find persephone, and he’s starting to realize that. no one else feels adrift like he does.

‘it’s not just about that,  meg. i mean… if someone talked to you — if i talked to you or treated you the way that my father treats me, what would you do?’

‘hmpjh. you wouldn’t live through it.’ she’s at least looking at him again, though, which is a win of its own.

‘right. exactly. and i — may not agree with everyone that called it abuse, but i… i’ve been alone for the most part for the last week and a half, up here, and i’m happier than i’ve ever been. and it’s not because of the fresh air and the sunlight, meg.’

he sighs when she doesn’t say anything, and reaches out to touch her arm, her wrist. that she doesn’t flinch away is its own win. ‘i care about you, meg, and i’m going to miss you. and i’m sorry that you — you’re going to miss me, too.’

she makes defensive noises that amount to ‘as if,’ but she drops her whip to the ground and curls her hand around the wrist of the hand that’s touching her. her fingers are cool and a little rough. her bright-pink lips are a wry smile.

‘you’re really doing this, aren’t you?’ she asks, touching him and looking at him in such a weighted way that it settles, like a warm weight, on his shoulders.

‘i think it’s too late to go back, now, isn’t it?’ he answers, and she laughs. he knows now that her expression before, during the trial, wasn’t a trick of the light. her eyes are damp. so are his.

‘good luck, zagreus,’ she tells him. ‘maybe you’re the god of stubbornness, but i don’t think anyone else will be able to do it if you can’t.’

‘thank you, meg. if you do end up on the surface and ever want to find me —’ she shakes her head, and he thinks a tear might track its way down her face.

‘don’t count on it.’ she squeezes his wrist, once, and then pulls away. ‘i’ve got to go.’

zagreus watches her leave, fluttering up into the sky. when he turns his gaze back to the ground, her whip is still there, coiled on the ground. he picks it up and tucks it into his tunic, and hopes that she won’t be too angry when she realizes she left it.

NOTES so, zag’s descriptions of his experiences in hades’ house come from conversations from the game itself, but i also projected hard onto this scene and a lot of my headcanons everywhere else, too. the same thing goes for zag’s idea of -- that what happened to him doesn’t count as ‘abuse’. it took me years to realize that being afraid when someone passive aggressively folds socks in your direction, or does paperwork in your direction, for zag, is not normal. and i don’t think zagreus reacts to these things with fear -- i don’t think at any point he’s really shown fear of hades, and this is where he and i are different. he’s going to get mad before he gets upset, IMO.

but. anyway. before i accidentally ramble another thousand words in the AN, i just wanted to say that -- not all of my descriptions come from canon, here, but the ones that don’t are from my own, literal experiences.

[aj-artjunkyard]

Trials Of Apollo Oneshot Series  CHAPTER FIVE

This is a post-ToA chapter! Takes place after Apollo regains his immortality.

I sighed. Strolling aimlessly through the halls of my palace on Olympus, I wondered if it had always been this unappealing. The gold trimmings seemed fake. The extravagant furniture felt uncomfortable. Even my bed was too big. Every shiny object played murder on my eyes, and every smooth surface was too warm to be refreshing. It just wasn’t homey. Not like the Waystation or Aeithales or either demigod camps. It felt more like a sized-up garage to keep a fancy car in. 

I found myself yearning to be outdoors - no uncommon craving. Like my twin, most of my domains are set in the great outside world. I threw open the golden double doors of the balcony, closed my eyes and breathed in the fresh Olympian air. There was still something missing. Furrowing my eyebrows in frustration, I opened my eyes and glanced around for anything that might sate my dissatisfaction, when my sight landed on a certain figure making her way through the buzzing streets of Olympus and towards the entrance of my palace. I felt a natural smile creep onto my face. I would have to look for the missing thing later. Right now, I needed to be with my mother.

…

We had been in this comforting embrace for almost ten minutes now. I combed my fingers through Leto’s caramel hair while she sobbed into my shoulder, her frame shaking considerably. I felt the wet tears soaking through my jacket and dampening the shirt beneath. I pressed my lips against her forehead, hoping to make her content enough to talk to me. Eventually, she pulled away and reached up, running her fingers through my hair, almost to reassure herself that I was actually there. She looked deep into my eyes, while tears danced in her own. I took her hands in my own, and gently led her to a white sofa, which was far to big for the space of the room. It looked like whoever had put it there was just trying to cram as much unneeded furniture into one place as they could. Oh wait…that may have been me.

Leto sat down beside me. She sniffled a little, avoiding my eyes. She fiddled with the brooch on my toga. I held her hand. She squeezed it. 

“Apollo…” she trailed off, seeming lost in her mind.

“I’m alright now Mother,” I said in an effort to soothe her. “I’m immortal again. I cannot die. I learnt a lot too. And I want to apologise for not being the most attentive of sons. I should visit you more, and I will! Really, father was right to-”

“-NO!”

I fell silent, shocked that my mother would ever scream in such a tone. She looked at me, and I noticed how tired she was. No doubt staying up to watch every second of my quests, worried sick that something might happen if she took her eyes off me. It would not be out of character for her to do such things.

“Your father was not right to punish you in such a cruel manner. To have you forced into servitude, with next to no natural means to protect yourself or others!”

“Honestly, Mother I-”

She held up a hand for quiet. I obeyed.

“I know you should not have done the things you did. I know you’ve learned. That does not warrant your father’s merciless behaviour. You kept getting hurt and I could do nothing, he said if he caught me in the act of helping, he would make it worse for you. He said there would be more deaths, more guilt. So I obliged. I made sure he didn’t catch me. I convinced Artemis to send her hunters. I persuaded Hermes to crash the sun, and Athena to lure you to the child-” she paused. “-Whom I have been caring for. He is named Cindeo - the one who escapes danger.”

I nodded. “I see you have been taking care of everyone.”

“That is indeed my sole purpose, yes. It distracted me, which Artemis says is a good thing. But still…I was watching. That day on the boat.”

I swallowed a lump in my throat. I knew exactly what she would be referring to before she even said it. “You stabbed yourself.” 

I drew in a sharp intake of breath, remembering the pain.

“I knew Medea would heal me.”

“You did it willingly.”

“It was only a distraction.”

“What was? Your life?”

“Caligula needed me alive more than my friends did.”

“They all needed you in the end, Apollo! I needed…I needed you.”

We sat, not talking. Just staring at each other, mentally comparing our broken pieces. I was willing to gather my pieces - make something new. I knew my mother wanted that as much as I did. We hugged again, this one lasting even longer. Neither party minded. Her caramel hair still smelt of honeysuckle, a trait inherited by my sister. She was still soft and warm and safe. After all these centuries, she had not changed. I was glad. 

After an eternity, we separated. I examined my mother, my medical urges setting in. 

“You look like you haven’t slept since I woke up in that dumpster. You need rest.”

She shook her head. “Apollo, you just got back. If you think I’m going to-”

“And I’ll be here when you wake up. Why don’t you use my bedroom? That way you won’t really be leaving. I’ll still be around, I promise. Even if you sleep as long as Gaea did.” She tried to protest, but I easily guided her to my sleeping quarters. By the time we arrived, Leto was practically using me as her only way of staying upright. I gently laid her down on my king-sized mattress, and she immediately melted into the warmth of the duvet. 

I made my way to the kitchen, intent to taste ambrosia for the first time in months. A shape shimmered into existence on the blinding white counter. A freshly baked pie. Curious, I picked up the little note beside it, which read in perfect ancient greek calligraphy;

You deserve it! I love you!

-Leto

I chuckled and called down the hall, “Go to sleep!”

To which I received a muffled “I am, I am!”

I grabbed the pie and sniffed, enjoying my newly heightened senses. I could tell exactly what was in it. Ambrosia, sugar and chunky slices of…baked apple. The smell smacked me as violently as my realisation. My palace was golden, hard and shiny. It was devoid of life. Life like that of a particularly bossy half-blood. I decided to call in a discreet demigod quest.

…

“Soooo…about this quest.”

“Yes?”

“It was to help you plant stuff?”

I patted down the soil around a sweet-smelling Hyacinth. We sat in a huge garden positioned behind my palace. I had never fully understood why it was here. What was its purpose? Why would you look at some boring old trees when my palace was right at the end of the long, wide strip of grass, glowing golden and easily mistaken for a beautiful sunset in the evening?  Once, I had even petitioned for the land to be flattened and used for a theatre (Dionysus and the muses backed me up, but Demeter, Poseidon and Artemis were strongly against it). But now, I smiled to myself as I began to see its importance. 

“I don’t know what you find so complicated about this, Meg. I thought you liked gardening.”

My former master scrunched up her nose, pushing her cat-eye glasses further up her face. Her hands were caked with mud and the knees of her new leggings were already ruined. She had not wanted to change her dress, but when Percy mentioned to Mrs Jackson that she was still wearing the same borrowed garment from several months before, Sally had sent a package and insisted she change clothes every once in a while. Meg had donned the teal tunic and green leggings ever since. Such was the fashion sense of The Meg. 

“Well, yeah. But I don’t think you’re allowed to call it a quest.”

“You were summoned to assist a god, were you not?”

“Duh.”

“So you are on a quest.”

“To plant flowers.”

“Mm-hmm.”

Meg shrugged. “Okay. But how do you plan to explain it to Zeu-” I cleared my throat loudly, glaring obviously at my reckless young friend. How many times did I have to tell her that names hold power? I definitely did not have a bullet-proof backup plan incase my father did find out, so I did not want to draw his attention and let him in on my little secret. That would not go well for anyone, trust me.

“How do you plan to explain it to your father?” Meg corrected. Satisfied with that adjustment, I turned my attention back to my Hyacinth. 

“I’m not going to.”

“That’s a stupid plan.”

“I would have thought you’d know me better than to assume I have a real one.”

“That’s fair, you’re pretty dumb.”

“Hey!” I threw a clod of dirt at her, which hit her right in the centre of her forehead. We shared a look of mild amazement. I actually hit my target. It had been a while. I grinned with triumph, but it was soon smacked off my face as I got hit full whack with a dirt ball to the cheek. Then our eyes met in silent challenge. We both accepted.

It only took fifteen minutes for the massive garden to become an all-out war zone. There was no safe place. Dirt flew every direction, and we both took advantage of our own abilities - Meg using plants to trip me up or willing the dirt to fly with excruciating accuracy, and me, using beams of sunlight to reflect off Meg’s glasses and blind her, and when I found her charging at me, I flew over her head, just to be annoying. 

When Meg shoved half a dozen handfuls of mud down my shirt, I decided to play dirty (well...dirtier). I conjured a hose, and watched with enormous enjoyment as Meg’s cocky grin melted into morphed into one of realisation and fear. I blasted her. 

We chased each other around the grass, continuously soaking each other (Meg had used a plant pot as a bucket and filled it in a nearby pond) until the sky started to dim. It was early January, so it wasn’t too late, maybe six o’clock. Cold and exhausted, we made our way back towards my palace. My mother was waiting in the kitchen when we arrived, a new apple pie steaming on the dining table. She tutted at our wet cloths and sopping hair. With a wave of her dainty hand, Meg and I immediately dried.

“You let the other one go cold, dear,” Leto smiled, gesturing at the pie. Two golden-rimmed plates, complete with solid gold knives and forks which shimmered into existence beside it. 

“Thank you Mother!” I said excitedly, kissing her on the cheek and sitting down at the table. Meg looked more wary. She eyed my mother suspiciously, while Leto smiled softly at her. Stepping closer to the table, perhaps under pressure, Meg inquired, “Is there ambrosia in it? I can’t eat much of that stuff.”

Leto laughed. “Yes, dear. But only traces. Only eat a slice or two, and you’ll be absolutely okay.”

I turned around in my chair and grinned over the backrest at them. 

“Meg, it’s fine. She wouldn’t hurt a fly, would you, Mother?”

Leto looked horrified. “Of course not! Why would I damage such a harmless creature that’s so vital to the nutrition of other creatures?” 

I gave Meg a look. “See?” 

Meg seemed satisfied with that answer, but was still cautious in her approach to the table. But after no more than fifteen seconds, she was shovelling in mouthful after mouthful with incredible velocity, rapidly cleansing her plate of any crumbs. My Mother watched her with intrigue, and I could almost see the cogs turning in her head. While Meg helped herself to seconds, Leto quietly pulled me aside.

“When was the last time the child ate?” She whispered urgently, casting solicitous glances over at my young companion. 

“It can’t have been long ago. Meg eats a lot,” I reassured. Her shoulders relaxed, her gaze softened. Leto looked thoughtfully back over at Meg.

“Does she have somewhere to stay?”

“I believe she intends to become a year-rounder at Camp Half-Blood. She’ll be with her siblings and cousins there. Her family.”

“Mmm…”

“Mother?” Leto peered deep into my metallic gold irises. Then back looked at Meg. Then back at me. “What are you thinking?”

“If she is to remain at Camp Half-Blood, you will not be able to meet with her. I implore you, son. Look into the future. What possibilities do you see for her there?”

I concentrated, absorbing in every part of Meg’s being and taking into account every decision I’d ever seen her make. (Being a god, this was easy. Oh, how I enjoyed the wonders of a working memory!) I started off simple to ease myself back into prophecy, by predicting where her fork would land next. [She will miss the pie and stab the plate] Clank! My power proved to be working. I stretched myself a bit further, into next week. I saw her hold up a red flag in triumph. [She will win Capture The Flag for the Demeter, Hades, Dionysus and Apollo cabins] Yes, that seemed plausible. 

Then I looked years ahead, in fast-forward. I laid every likely option and decision for Meg out on a metaphorical table in front of me and examined them all. Useless nonsense rushed past me as I sifted through the possibilities. [On May 23rd, she will eat meatloaf for dinner] [Exactly two weeks from now, she will push a son of Dionysus into the lake] [In three years, she will set Peaches loose on a rabid Manticore] None of these helped me. I searched for the correct timeline, the one where she stayed at Camp. I found it. 

[She will miss Apollo] Fair, I would miss her too. [She will feel lonely] I will too, friend. [She will distance herself from anything to do with Apollo, including his children] Wait, no- [She no longer considers Apollo to be a friend] STOP!

My eyes flew open. My mother held onto my arm, steadying me. Meg had turned around in her chair, seeming concerned. 

“You okay?”

I stumbled for an answer. Would she really dismiss me? Would I dismiss her? “Uh, yes. Yes, everything is fine.” Meg’s eyebrows scrunched behind her cat-eye glasses. The rhinestones caught the light, and shone brightly. 

“You look sick,” she announced, with her usual Meggy bluntness.

“Thanks,” I grumbled. “Meg, it’s getting late. Perhaps I should send you back to Camp.”

Meg pouted. “Why can’t I stay?”

“You know why. Father can’t find out you’re here.” 

Meg groaned. “Ugh. Okay. Just don’t forget about me or I’ll march right back to kick you in the kneecaps.”

I smiled. “I would not dream of it. See you soon.” I waved my hand and Meg evaporated in a shower of gold, and I felt her reappear safely at Half-Blood Hill.

My mother turned to me. 

“Well?”

…

We sat on the cold stone steps of the amphitheatre, where I’d dazzled the demigods into minor depression with my Lydian and one-four-five Progressions so many moons ago. 

It was late afternoon and the sun shone softly through the trees, scattering beams of light around the secluded area. I appeared similar to what I had a few days ago, only this time I had donned a more ‘modern’ look from my usual toga. I wore an ACDC t-shirt under an unzipped orange and white jacket. My jeans were worn pale at the knees and hems, which contrasted the bright red of my nike trainers. Only my hair was much the same - long, blond and flowing down to my shoulders. 

Little sparks of light bounced cheerfully off of Meg’s rhinestones. She kicked a pebble down the steps, and watched in fascination as it skipped, making tic tic tic sounds all the way to the bottom. She was still wearing the same teal tunic and green leggings, her gardener’s belt hanging loosely around her waist. After a few minutes of comfortable silence, she spoke.

“You said you wanted to ask me something?”

I nodded. “Yes, but I want to inform you that how you answer will not affect my view of you in the slightest. I will always admire you, whether you turn down my offer or not.”

“Offer?”

I laced my fingers, trying to think of the best way to word it. 

“Following your recent quest,” (Meg snorted. I continued.) “I realised that I will not be able to see you as often as I would like. I will not be able to intervene on future quests, or protect you much beyond what my father allows. It will most likely be a long time before all the gods begin to treat the mortals as beings. I will also have to endure the endless mocking from my fellow gods, simply for changing my morals, and someone with mortal experience would be good to keep me straight. So, my offer to you, should you choose to accept it, is the offer of immortality. I would like you to live on Olympus, with me.” Meg’s eyes widened. Her jaw dropped. Seeing this, I rushed to hastily add to my unexpected statement. “Now, please know that this is not a one-time offer. You can say ‘No’ now, and come back later! Or not. Whatever you choose, I’ll always be looking out for you, okay?” Meg furrowed her eyebrows and blew out her cheeks in concentration. I watched her, not quite knowing if I should say more. 

“Will I have to leave Camp forever? Will I be able to visit?”

“That’s the thing. You would only be allowed to visit if you have a specific purpose for coming, and you would have to make sure it’s iron-clad just in case Zeus confronts you about it. But I am working on finally getting those laws abolished. Hopefully, one day, you will be able to come simply because you want to. The catch is; I am not sure how long it will be until that happens.”

“So all my siblings might be dead.” I smiled sympathetically, feeling the chance of her accepting my offer sinking dramatically.

“Most likely.”

Meg gained her closed-off expression, her guards shooting up to prevent any and all emotional damage. I held my breath, waiting patiently for her to respond. It took a few minutes. Finally, Meg uttered at an almost indecipherable volume, “Can I think about it?”

I breathed a sigh of relief. That was not a no. There was still time to convince her.

“Of course, dear Meg.”

Abruptly, Meg stood and sprinted back towards Cabin Four without another word. I had expected this, but it still threw me through a loop. I ran my fingers through my luscious blond hair, and inhaled deeply through my nose. While I was lost in my thoughts, a voice suddenly piped up and made me jump a foot in the air in surprise.

“Hey Dad!”

Gasping sharply and clutching my hand to my thumping heart, I turned to meet the speaker. My son, Austin Lake, stood before me holding a battered, grey-silver saxophone and smiling nervously. I gestured for him to come and sit with me. He complied. 

“You here to see Meg?”

I wrapped my strong arm around him, and pulled him close to my side. “I was going to visit you kids too, but you ruined the surprise.” I punctuated my statement with noogie on Austin’s cornrows. He giggled and shuffled closer to me, absolutely failing at being inconspicuous. I didn’t mind. My kids and I are born to be obvious. Why hide something good?

I gestured to his beaten saxophone. “What happened there? The Ares kids?”

“Nah. I never found the one I lost in the labyrinth, so I had to take this old one from the back of Cabin Seven. I don’t think it’s been used since before that orientation film was made.” He shrugged nonchalantly. “It sounds fine, but I wish it had I bit more…I don’t know…pizzazz? Flash?”

“A bit of shine is never amiss,” I agreed.

“It doesn’t matter anyways. I tested it out on Miranda Gardener and Sherman Yang, and they did kiss when I played ‘Careless Whisper’, but it just doesn’t help the whole YouTube thing, y’know?”

“Of course. Sometimes people simply refuse to take you seriously unless you look the part. A frustrating yet universal part of showmanship - one that none of my children should have to deal with.” I waved my hand, and the old saxophone glowed, and began to fix it’s dents. The tired looking grey colour ebbed away and darkened, a black sheen taking it’s place. The keys and rods however, brightened until they shone gold. Soon Austin was holding a very classy jazz saxophone that matched his black woollen peacoat. I am extremely conscious of the instrument matching the style of the musician, hence why all my instruments include some form of precious metal or stone.

Austin’s brown eyes glittered with pure excitement. 

“Thanks Dad! You’re the best!” He launched himself into me hugged me like he would never let go. I drew him closer to me, savouring every moment. I heard him mumble something unintelligible into my chest.

“What was that you said?” I asked. My boy tilted his head up slightly, so I could only see his eyes and above past the folds of my ACDC tee. He repeated himself a bit louder.

“Do you read all our messages? Like, the ones Chiron gets us to write to our godly parents?”

I chuckled, raised one hand for dramatic effect and recited: 

“Hey dad! I’m Austin

Chiron said you like haikus

Poetry is cool”

“Nooooo….” Austin groaned. “I can’t write poetry for my life…”

“I think it’s great! You were only, what,” I counted on my fingers. “Seven at the time?”

“And already better than your dad!” An unknown voice rang out loudly from behind us, making us snap back from each other and whip around to face the impish figure. Hermes held up his hands in mock surrender, his signature stupid grin plastered on his face as he sauntered towards us. His dirty blond hair bobbed in its curls with every step he took. He nodded to Austin.

“‘Sup kid? Did anyone ever tell you about the time Apollo was obsessed with Limericks? Maybe you could compose one of those about your old man’s ‘awesomeness’,” (emphasising the ‘awesomeness’ with air quotes. Humph!) “and send it to me later, yeah? For mocking purposes only, of course.” Austin shifted uncomfortably, clearly not thrilled to have been interrupted from rare cool father/cool son bonding time. I knew how tricky Hermes could be, and I definitely did not want to put my son through the embarrassment of somehow signing off his mother’s inheritance to cattle farmers in Indonesia, so I took initiative. 

“Austin, why don’t you go show off your new saxophone to your siblings? I promise I will come back to visit again soon.”

Hermes snorted. “Yeah, maybe don’t swear on the Styx though, bro. Dad wants to see you about some flower planting quest.” His grin spread like he had just cracked an atrocious pun, and was awaiting the groans of his audience. “He’s soooo mad.” I gave a reassuring smile down to my apprehensive son. 

“Do not worry about me, child. Hermes is a known fibber. I’m sure he’s not that furious. It will be fine.”

...

It was not fine.

As soon as I entered my father’s personal throne room, I could tell. The enchanted ceiling was dark with storm clouds. The atmosphere was thick and heavy with static and tension. I felt a trickle of sweat run down my back.

My father sat on a proud marble throne, its veins of grey curling like smoke throughout the white stone. The king himself wore a smart navy suit, complete with a matching tie and a mid-length salt and pepper beard that overshadowed his mouth. His long hair was styled not unlike my own, except a lot darker and less flamboyant. He took the form of a man in his late 40’s, but could only be shown by the unfashionable wrinkles around his eyes. He was well built, and, despite my love for my eight-pack, far more muscular than I thought was attractive or necessary. He glared down his nose at me as I walked down the aisle of blue carpet towards his feet.

He must have been forty foot tall, which was big even for a god. I stood at a more natural twenty. I did not dare make myself bigger. I did not want my father to be under the impression that I wanted to intimidate him. I did not. 

I bowed at my father’s feet and lowered my head, waiting for the word to stand up. It did not come. Instead my father spoke in his low growl:

“Apollo.”

I swallowed my anxieties and forced myself to look up into his eyes. They were not their usual electric blue, as so many of his offspring had inherited, but they had been clouded over with a thick, angry grey mist. His dark brows were furrowed in concentration. A permanent scowl was fixed on his features. I willed my voice not to squeak or crack. 

“Yes, father?” Zeus’s scowl deepened.

“Do you think I am witless, boy?” He rumbled.

“I - no, father,” I stammered. Zeus leaned forward in his throne, glaring holes through my head.

“Do you think I am beneath you?”

“Wha - no!” My hands subconsciously gripped my jacket and fiddled furiously with the zip. I could feel my godly sweat making the cool metal slippery. The air around Zeus condensed into a dark haze. Lighting cackled like an entourage of jeering bullies, laughing at my panicked face and hopeless predicament. 

“YET YOU STILL DISOBEY ME?” I took several deep breaths. I was a god. I had faced python, while mortal, and defeated him. I was still undoubtedly terrified, but I thought of Meg, of my children, of Perseus Jackson. They needed me to take this first step into defending the demigods. My face hardened. My voice was calm, quiet and deliberate, but hid a tsunami of fear.

“Name the law.” My father’s raised bolt faltered, reflecting his confusion. 

“What?”

“Name the law,” I repeated. “Name the law I have broken by ordering a demigod, whom I know well and am sure is capable of being assigned a task, to go on a quest.”

Zeus gritted his teeth, and growled in his gritty voice; “I watched you play, boy. Do you think you are humorous? Do you think you can scorn my gift in such ways? I gave you immortality. I made you a god! Yet you run around like a hooligan, associating with these lesser beings, for what? Your twisted idea of justice? I am the god of justice, you insolent child. I have decided our laws, and I can make more laws if I so wish. Do not test me.”

“As I remember brother,” a feminine voice cut the thick tension of the room, “You need council approval to decree a new law. Am I correct?” Zeus scowled, but his anger visibly dissipated. He sat back in his chair as the dark clouds surrounding the throne lightened into grey wisps, like one might see on a dull autumn’s day. I did not dare turn my back to my father to see the speaker, though I knew the voice well - a voice older than Zeus’. I kept my kneeling position, hearing the footsteps of the graceful Olympian stride down the single strip of carpet, stopping just behind me. I felt a soft hand on my shoulder. It pulled me up until I stood beside the tall, warm figure of Demeter, the goddess of agriculture. 

She wore a simple, emerald-coloured dress that flowed down to her ankles, revealing a pair of bronze-coloured sandals. A thin, gossamer shawl of sage-like hue was wrapped around her shoulders and hung around her tanned arms. Her wavy blonde hair shared an alikeness to that of Sleeping Beauty’s. A ring of glittering corn stalks circled her brow. Her form was a few inches taller than my own. She kept her hand firm on my shoulder and glared defiantly up at Zeus with those striking green eyes. 

“Margaret is my daughter. I invited her to Olympus to congratulate her on finishing her quest, as is customary. She and Apollo simply conversed over some flowers.” She looked down at me. “And I for one, am pleased that Apollo is finally making good use of that great space.” I smiled up at her, then glanced nervously at Zeus. His mighty hand stroked his beard in thought. At last, grumbled and said; 

“Very well,” his deep voice echoed throughout the hall. “But be warned. Next time that mortal comes to this land with no believable reasoning, I will not be so merciful.” 

“Of course, my lord.” Demeter and I both bowed in respect (well, more so ‘custom’ or ‘fear’ than respect, but whatever) and made our way out into the cheery sunlight, leaving the clammy throne room behind us.

We wandered down the streets in silence, watching all the minor deities, cloud nymphs and satyrs frolic and chat excitedly. I got a few gazes from a group of dryads, but thought nothing of it. Perhaps they had heard of what I did for the Palm Springs residents. Did dryads have some sort of mental link or Whatsapp text group? I imagined it would go like: “Hey gurrrll!!! ;D You see all this heatwave shiz??? Gone!!!! Apollo is #greatest” or something similar. After a few minutes, Demeter pulled me to a park bench that overlooked a large, shimmering lake. Ripples glided across the water. Every now and then, a tentacle rose above the surface and plunged back under, sending a spray of droplets to dampen anything in a metre radius. Some hippocampi splashed playfully around the shallows, some allowing a pod of Naiads to stroke their noses and fuss over how cute they were. We watched.

“You did well by my daughter, Apollo,” Demeter mused. She kept her eyes on the lake. No doubt, she was not comfortable congratulating her least favourite nephew, but I admired her determination to go through with it anyways. I may not have done the same. “I am surprised.” 

I gave a short laugh. I was used to being mildly insulted. It did not phase nor offend me. 

“Meg is truly an extraordinary demigod. You must be very proud.”

“I am.” A small smirk appeared on her otherwise neutral expression. “She is one of my best.”

“She could live here. You’d get to see her. I would too. I think a wild demigod energy such as hers is well needed around here.” The goddess of grain raised an eyebrow, and peered down at me from the corner of her eye. “I have offered her immortality,” I clarified. “She has not yet answered. I think if she accepts, you should be the one to grant her the immortality. Of course, I can do it myself, but I thought it may be more impactful for a mother.” She furrowed her brows, and her corn crown seemed to catch the light of the late afternoon sun, making her eyes hard to focus on. 

“Zeus would not approve.”

“Zeus wouldn’t have a say,” I countered. Demeter only nodded her head ever so slightly, her face scrunched in concentration.

“Very well. I will accept if she accepts.”

…

Apollo was stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Meg simply could not understand him. She lay belly down on one of the thick branches of the tree that supported the newly built Cabin Four like a panther reclining in the jungle, contemplating her idiot friend and his dumb offer. She sniffed, shifting her head on the uncomfortable bark. She liked Camp Half-Blood. The food was good, there was some people her age that she could beat in a fight - and older campers she could beat too - sword practice was fun. So was capture the flag. But Meg was alone, and maybe that was good. People crowded her on the first few days after the end of the quest, wanting details about the most dangerous parts. She had even been given a necklace with a single green bead on it that held a picture of a writhing serpent - Python, the monster she and Apollo had slain. Every now and again, an Apollo camper would ask questions about their dad, and she always made sure to give them less than flattering (but truthful) answers.

But that had worn off after a while. People left her alone, apart from Billie Ng and Miranda Gardener, who she was trying to teach how to summon a karpos (they were pretty bad at it). She hated that she missed her partner in crime. But if she left, she would miss her home, where she belonged.

‘Ughghhh” Meg groaned, sliding ungracefully off her branch and landing on the floor with a whump. She rolled onto her back and scowled at the unfairness of having to deal with feelings. Time passed. Eventually, she decided to make a call.

…

I didn’t scream. Nope, definitely not me, the cool and chill god of a-heck-load-of-things. No, I’m quite sure I stayed calm and collected at the sight of Meg McCaffrey appearing in a shimmering vapour form - in my shower. 

Fine. I may have screamed. But you cannot blame me! It is one thing to take a shower with a ‘date’, and quite another to be peeked on by a twelve-year-old. I frantically made my best efforts to cover my perfect physique for the sake of the child, who immediately threw her hands over her eyes and made a ‘gross’ face. She wore a baggy Camp Half-Blood T-shirt over her usual dress, and a single bead hung by a thread on her neck.

“Meg, what the actual-” I hissed, cutting myself off. I took a deep breath and held my tongue to refrain myself from swearing in front of a kid (my mother would never let me hear the end of it if I didn’t). “Why are you Iris Messaging me? Now, of all times?”

“I didn’t know you were in the shower, dummy.” Meg blew a raspberry, her vapour form producing a few bubbles in the process. “I didn’t think you had to wash since y’know,” she gestured at my tanned body. I covered myself a little more, even if she did still have her eyes shielded. 

“I don’t. It’s just relaxing,” I grumbled, grabbing a towel, wrapping it around my waist and stepping out into the steamy bathroom. I kept the shower running so the Iris Message could continue, which involved getting the towel wet. I prayed the extra weight would not lead to any unexpected revealings. 

“I’m not supposed to be taking to you, Meg.”

Meg uncovered her eyes and snorted. “Says who?”

“Says my father.” I felt my face darken. “He heard about your little quest. He told me you could not come here again with out ‘believable reason’.” I punctuated the last part with air quotes.

“I told you that you should’ve had a plan.”

I rolled my eyes and scoffed. “I did have a plan! My plan was for him not to find out.”

“How’d that work out for you?”

“Shut up.” I could not resist the smirk that played on my lips. I wanted to be around my friend more often. She was one of the few who still talked to me as an equal (kind of). The other Olympians…let’s just say they didn’t exactly show me the same level of respect has they had once done, with the limited exceptions of Poseidon (who had been mortal once before) and Artemis (who had never respected me - its a sibling thing). “Listen, I cannot guarantee that my father isn’t keeping a close eye, so let’s make this quick. What did you want to tell me?” 

Meg’s face lost its humour. I was afraid she’d back out and end the message. Instead, she spoke. “I thought about your offer.”

I felt my chest swell with hope. Maybe she’d say yes. Maybe she’d come up and be my friend for eternity. Maybe I would have one more person to talk to. “And?”

“No.”

My smile faltered. I felt all sense of excitement in me shatter in that moment as I struggled to put together a sentence. “Wh…what?”

She looked down at her rough, calloused hands. “I don’t want to be a god. I don’t want to live directly under Zeus’s thumb. I killed Nero. I killed him because he was awful and forced me to do stuff I didn’t want to do. He made me feel stupid and useless. I got rid of that.” She stared me directly in the eye. “I never want to feel like that again.”

The argument I’d prepared died in my throat. Could I really blame her? After all, she was right. My father didn’t even allow me to talk to my friend. Meg didn’t want to be oppressed like I was. She was free. That was a feeling I could never truly have. I’d given up on it long ago.

“Yeah,” I croaked. “Okay.”

“Okay,” she mumbled back. “Bye.” Her figure disappeared, and I was left alone, standing in the all-too-quiet bathroom. 

“Farewell.”

***

It had been several months since Meg had declined my offer. I still thought about her and my children every day. I searched for and aided a few of my less remembered offspring, guiding them to their respective camps. Thirteen-year-old Seamus, ten-year-old Anthony and two-year-old James made their way to Camp Jupiter. Nine-year-old Aiden, twelve-year-old Dwayne and six-year-old Marigold travelled to Camp Half-Blood. I had just ensured the safe arrival of Marigold, the curly blonde-haired excitable young demigod who seemed to have inherited my ability of Photokinesis, a rare and promising talent for my children to have. In other words, I was exhausted. So I teleported to the most calming place I could think of.

I collapsed down underneath the aged mountain laurel tree. It was located high up in a rocky, unforgiving mountain range, but overlooked the beautiful view of the other mountains, the lower halves shrouded in white mist. We often met here. 

Beside me sat a young girl in a grey puffer coat and black leggings, her long dark hair tied back in a high ponytail. She was busy whittling on a long piece of wood, and so, did not look up at my arrival.

“Brother,” she greeted plainly.

“‘Sup?” I replied weakly, exhaustion filling my voice. I watched Artemis whittle for a while, my eyes half closed, the bow slowly taking its shape and the sound of the knife scraping evenly across the smooth surface calming me. “You making this for one of your hunters?” 

“Yes. Being their leader has responsibilities, you know.” 

I blew out my cheeks in exasperation. “At least you never have to go chasing down kids all over the world to drag to two camps in North America.” Artemis paused her whittling, and looked at me quizzically. “My son, Diego,” I clarified. “His mother is Spanish. He did not want to leave Madrid. But I finally convinced him after, what,” I tried to recall. “Three days? Ugh. Sometimes I just wish there were a few more camps around, ya know?”

The huntress had gone back to her work, her face contorted in concentration. “Mmm.”

“Are you even listening?”

“Uh huh.” I elbowed my beloved sister in the ribs, an effective attention-attracting tip I had learned over the course of my punishment; courtesy of Meg McCaffrey. Artemis glared daggers at me. “What?” 

I beamed my most innocent smile. “You weren’t giving me enough attention, Artie.”

“Sod off.” She grunted. She will always deny it, but I saw a slight hint of a smirk seep through her annoyed facade. I grinned to myself as I decided to be as provocative as possible. I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and snickered at her crabby expression and ancient greek curses as she tried to push me off. 

There are many perks to being a sibling, dear reader, and annoying the younger sibling (or the one that appeared to be younger anyways) is most definitely in the top three. Along with the whole ‘If You Anger One Of Us You Deal With Both Of Us’ Ride-Or-Die attitude we can have (of course, this does not apply to every situation. See: the time Hermes pushed me into a very deep swamp, and all my dear sister did was laugh until she could no longer breathe). 

Eventually, Artemis melted into the hug, leaning her young head against my chest. She took a deep breath and quietly said; “I am going to tell you something.” 

I drew her a little closer, my embrace no longer meaning to provoke, but to comfort. I leant my cheek on her head.

“What’s up?”

“I am only telling if you do not get big-headed about it.”

“When have I ever done that?” I teased. “Honestly, I’m rather offended that you would even insinuate-” A small hand flew up past my face and grasped a lock of my beautiful, long hair - and yanked it downwards. “OW!” I rubbed my scalp and huffed down at my smug sister.

“You deserved that.”

“Uh huh,” I grumbled, unimpressed.

“What I was going to say was that I really did miss you, Ollie.”

“I missed you too. And I never got to say thanks. Y’know… for that time in Indianapolis. I couldn’t because the others were always around so… thanks.”

Artemis fiddled with a loose string on my sleeve. “Yeah, well. I had to pay you back for that time with Atlas and Luke…” she waved her hand, gesturing vaguely to the air. “So yeah. I guess I owed you one.”

Several years ago, my dear sister had taken the weight of the sky off a young maiden in an attempt to save her from being crushed. She succeeded, but at the cost of holding up the burdensome pillar of clouds for days without rest. By the time she made it back to Olympus, she was faint and required several days of rest (as ordered by her doctor; me). The topic was not often talked about. I wished everyone would have the same attitude over my embarrassing adventures. Still, I remembered mother and I being worried sick, and Zeus coming thundering through the door when he heard about her. We thought he was there to console or mourn, or maybe hatch plans on how to save her from the titan’s clutches. If you thought ‘What? That doesn’t sound like Zeus!’ then congratulations! You are learning. He told us that a demigod quest had been despatched, and if he were to find either of us interfering, he would rip out the ‘Number Ten’ lighting bolt. But not to worry, oh readers! He didn’t catch me.

Artemis shifted under my hold. We fell into a comfortable silence, and I found myself thinking about Meg again. Her tyrannical attitude, her odd fashion sense, her scent of baked apple. I could see every rhinestone in her cat-eye glasses. Every stitch in her well-worn dress. I got to thinking about how we would meet up again. A brilliant thought crossed my mind.

…

“Are we sure this is a good idea?”

“Relax, you big baby. It’ll be fine.”

*CRASH*

Meg blew a raspberry at the window she’d just obliterated. 

“Well done,” I congratulated dryly. Meg kicked me in the shin, then readied another nerf bullet.

“I’m gonna miss if you keep distracting me!”

“Oh, was my mere presence distracting? I didn’t say anything!”

“Shut up,” she grumbled, sticking her tongue out in concentration as she aimed for the makeshift target we’d made and blu-tacked on the wooden wall. “I’ve got the gun and you’re being annoying.” I kept my mouth shut. The bullet was let loose with a twang. It went right through the hole where the window had once been. There were shouts from outside varying from “Get down, get down!” “Do not worry! I predict it to be no- six letters. Starts with ’T’” “Trench?” “Top-hat?” “That’s two words, Aloe.” “My bad.”

Of course, we were back at Aeithales. Palm Springs had welcomed us back with open arms. And I had my cover story set. I was here to personally check up on my Sibyl, as to not neglect my duties over prophecy, which was one of the reasons I’d been sent to Earth in the first place. I’d even gone to the extra trouble of making sure my dad was okay with it the day before. (“Because, you know, there may be some of my friends down there, cacti spirits and such, and I know you told me not to communicate with-” “APOLLO! IT’S TWO IN THE MORNING! GET OUT OF MY BEDROOM!”) So I figured I would be fine. 

It was currently quite late, maybe eleven o’clock, and I had hung around all day. Just as Meg finally hit the target, I said;

“Perhaps I should get going. Do you want to spend the night here or go back to camp?” Meg sniffed. 

“You don’t seem too bothered.”

“By what?” I asked. “Did I do something? Forgotten something? Today isn’t your birthday, is it?”

“No,” she stated bluntly, going back to aiming at the target.

“Care to elaborate?” I enquired cautiously. I did not want that nerf gun aimed the wrong way.

“You offered me immortality. I turned it down. You don’t seem upset.”

“My dear Meg. I simply respect your wishes, like I said I would.” I laced my hands together, trying to convey my feelings in an accurate way without bursting into a song that has all the feeling pre-written. “Your reasoning was sound, and while I do not fully understand your final decision, I trust your judgement. Besides, Percy Jackson turned it down too. So maybe it is not as valuable as I first thought.”

To my delight, Meg smiled. Albeit a small one. “Thanks. Do you think we’ll ever get to meet up? Without all the secrets and planning and stuff?”

I sighed. I really hoped so. “I do not know. One day, perhaps, my father will change his mind. I do not know when, or how. But I have hope that he will. As long as we keep working on him, yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Right!” I clapped my hands together like I had seen dads do in movies to symbolise the end of a touchy conversation. “Now off to bed or I’ll turn you into a traffic light.”

I closed the door as quietly as I could, careful not to waken the sleeping demigod. Her snores were muffled as I strolled through night, evaporating and reappearing in my palace. I wandered the golden hallways for a while, taking in every piece of decoration and furniture in a different light. The palace wasn’t cold and useless as I had first thought. It was dazzling and elegant and me. I had been under the impression that because I wanted to heighten my morals and personally intervene more often, it would require changing everything. But it didn’t. So what if I liked shiny stuff? I can have good taste and still be an awesome god! It simply wasn’t the problem. It was only what I had lacked that had bothered me. And, looking down to Palm Springs one last time, I knew I had found it. 

This was kind of a one off! The next chapter will be back with mortal Apollo during the trials. i just wanted to try something different.

[flightfoot]

2/2 Poseidon outright apologised to Percy for giving him heroes fate. Not all gods were oblivious to how much heroes suffer. Not every god gave them quests for trivial matters, Their existance is necessary, since gods can't do some things, but not everyone averted their eyes from it. Do you think Apollo will realise, that he was one of the worse gods in that regard, and not everybody thought the way he did? That some of the Olympians faced the reality head on, and he was just fooling himself?

It’s true that not all the Olympians averted their eyes from it. Poseidon, Hermes, and most of all, his own twin, Artemis, all seemed to fully realize how tough being a demigod is and how much mortal lives are worth. Artemis willingly took the weight of the world from Annabeth, a girl she’d never met before, knowing it was a trap, so that she could save her! She TRIED to refuse giving the Earth over to Percy, believing that the weight would kill him. And she properly expressed her thanks at them rescuing her, absolutely REFUSING to allow Percy and Thalia be incinerated! I imagine that as horrified as she is at all the pain and suffering Apollo and his friends have been through, she’s glad that he’s AT LEAST now acknowledging to himself, and to everyone else, how much mortals are worth.

I dunno about Apollo being one of the WORST Olympians on that front. He’s worse than Poseidon, Hermes, and Artemis, certainly. But I’d say he’s better than Ares, Aphrodite, and Dionysus (especially as Bacchus). Ares is just kinda a jerk, and can be pretty scary to hang out with. This one sentence in The Last Olympian, where Ares is greeting Clarisse, makes me wonder…

She looked pretty overwhelmed. All she could do was nod and blink, like she was afraid he’d start hitting her, but eventually she began to smile. (343)

I do wonder if he’s yelled and hit her in the past. He seems to really want his children to EARN his help. Also, there was that time he cursed Percy in Titan’s Curse, just because he was still pissy about Percy beating him, fair and square.

Aphrodite just doesn’t seem to care for individual people much. She helped Percy out in Titan’s Curse, but that seemed to be because she loved watching his love story. She was fine with leaving Artemis to rot, and she really wanted to make Percy’s love life more “interesting”. It’s kinda hinted that she’s behind the love triangle that develops between Percy, Annabeth, and Rachel. She also was hinted to be behind the whole love triangle Annabeth was in, with Luke and Percy (that one was always weird). She really just seems to regard mortals -and probably immortals too, given Apollo’s track record - as interesting stories. She accidentally slips up and says as much to Annabeth, Hazel, and Piper in Mark of Athena.

“Well, I can’t take credit for all your troubles,” the goddess said. “But I do love twists and turns in a love story. Oh, all of you are such excellent stories - I mean, girls. You do me proud!” (234)

I think she’s actually the worst one at not treating demigods like actual people. Heck, I dunno if she treats ANYONE like an actual person, except for maybe Ares. 

Dionysus is a massive jerk, but he does help demigods occasionally when he doesn’t have to, like when he drove Dr. Thorn’s minions mad in Titan’s Curse, cures Chris in the Battle of the Labyrinth, and asks after the welfare of his remaining demigod son, Pollux. That being said, that’s AFTER he’s been Camp director for several years at least, and has had to interact with them on a daily basis. He still likes to PRETEND he doesn’t care, at least. And if Bacchus is anything to go by, before being forced into close proximity with demigods for extended periods of time, he really didn’t regard them as people worth helping. Which is especially bad for him, since he WAS a demigod! He should know better!

Athena seems to know and care about the plight of demigods, and she’s especially protective of her own children. 

Can’t judge Demeter, she doesn’t really have characterization beyond “cereal”.

Hestia loves and cares about everyone. She doesn’t really do much directly, though.

Hera is pretty pragmatic about demigods. She helps out Percy and Annabeth in Battle of the Labyrinth because she knows they’ll be needed, not because she cars about them on any personal level, and she wanted to abandon Nico. She lets Percy wander around aimlessly for months while being pursued by gorgons before she FINALLY decides to lead him to Camp Jupiter. The only demigod she cares about on any personal level seems to be Jason, and even that’s REALLY messed up, since she seems to consider him to be her property. No surprise with Hera, though, she’s kinda known for being a jerk, ESPECIALLY to everyone even tangentially related to her husband’s affairs.

Hephaestus just seems kinda awkward around demigods. He does the sort of casual-threatening thing that the gods tend to do, but he’s nice enough, and he doesn’t take offense very easily. He actually seems to have a fairly similar level caring that Apollo does, where he at least TRIES to keep an eye on all his children. He’s just more awkward with people than Apollo is. A LOT more awkward. Honestly, I think he might be on the autism spectrum. It would certainly fit with his social awkwardness and need to stim. Anyways, I guess he might not necessarily not acknowledge mortals’ value, he just doesn’t know how to interact with them in general.

Hades… I think he recognizes mortals’ worth. He certainly cares for his kids. But he’s not above threatening them with annihilation if he’s ESPECIALLY pissed. And he’s a pretty big jerk to Percy, though that might be more him just wanting to vent his frustration with his siblings at someone.

Then there’s Zeus, who seems to be the main one keeping the gods from helping more often. Heck, he didn’t want Apollo helping Percy and co. to rescue Artemis, even though that WAS godly business. He attempts to annihilate the Di Angelo family, and everyone in that hotel with them. He COULD’VE just made Bianca and Nico immortal to stop them from reaching sixteen, but noooooo. He chose the MURDER option. He keeps on threatening to knock Percy out of the sky for flying, even though Poseidon doesn’t threaten anything similar with Thalia. Zeus is also the one who closed Olympus, reasoning that:

“Gods were to be respected. Our children were to be seen and not visited.” (TLH 331).

Plus, he acknowledged Jason as his son, and told him how proud he was of him, but was then ready to blast him to pieces minutes later for DARING to question him, as politely as possible. No other godly parents have been shown to be so touchy, so quick to turn on the dime from respecting and acknowledging their children, to being ready to kill them. 

So basically, some of the Olympians truly seemed to understand demigod’s plight and try to help, not avert their eyes. But a lot of them were way worse than Apollo. At least Apollo loves and cares for his children, tries to protect them, and doesn’t make them jump through hoops in order to earn a smidgen of love an approval. As for Apollo realizing that… I think he’ll realize why Artemis acts like she does, why she was SO insistent on rewarding Thalia and Percy, not blasting them, why she takes in strays so often. Apollo’s doing the same thing now.

Honestly, I think that TOA isn’t JUST a redemption story for Apollo - I think he’s being used as a proxy for the gods in general, to test whether THEY can change, and are worthy of surviving. He’s the best candidate I think, since he’s neither the best nor the worst of them, in acknowledging mortals’ worth. Plus, Hermes states in The Last Olympian that 

“maybe for awhile things will get better. But we gods have never been good at keeping oaths. You were born because of a broken promise, eh? Eventually we’ll become forgetful. We always do.” (358).

Except that Apollo doesn’t. He never forgets the people he cares about. He might not be the best at keeping oaths, but when it’s a promise he actually cares about on a deep personal level, and not simply one borne of frustration, he certainly tries his utmost to keep them. He will NEVER forget the promise he made to Jason. I honestly don’t think that even getting amnesia would erase it, kinda like amnesia wasn’t enough to erase Percy’s memories of Annabeth completely. He’s the best candidate for ensuring that the gods don’t slip back into their old ways. I’m kinda hoping that final prophecy, the one that contains the line “the fall of the sun; the final verse” is going to have some choice in it that relies on Apollo’s character growth being the determining factor in whether the gods have a happy ending.