#but don’t worry we get HADES’ reaction to it

[demeterdefence]

i despise and detest how mental health / trauma is treated in lo and more specifically how it only becomes trauma in relation to hp

hades claiming zeus “wasn’t scarred” by kronos and apollo making a quip that zeus was the “least damaged from the war”

demeter not only being abused by every man she’s familiar with but also being gaslit / disrespected to such extent she can’t even approach her sisters for help

thanatos apologizing to his abuser

minthe getting ripped apart for being the victim of a groomer and rightfully pointing out she’s not okay with being cheated on

hera’s trauma with kronos only being brought up as a kind of comparison / segue into persephone’s

artemis’ very clear grief at being lied to by her family and finding out her brother is a rapist

literally NONE of these get addressed as trauma in the narrative and if they do it’s ALWAYS as either blaming them for their own grief or turning it into another hades and persephone love fest

[ivoryand-gold]

Epic The Musical Reaction: Thunder Saga ⛈️⚡️⛈️⚡️⛈️⚡️

SO many thoughts and feelings after the Troy & Cyclops Sagas (Jorge’s Version) and THUNDER SAGA. this is a LONG one, but i’ve put what i can put into words, so here my initial 24 hour-post release reaction! Spoilers galore ahead!

TROY

THE HORSE AND THE INFANT

the ensemble is *chef’s kiss*

i love how gentle Jay’s voice is when he’s singing “penelope” and “telemachus”

the battle clashing is so good!!

overall Luke’s voice is a little softer and feels less thunderous than og so i wonder if that was to contrast thunder bringer? not a complaint just an interesting choice!

don’t love the change to “i don’t think you’re ready” but the rest of zeus’ part is gorgeous

he sounds like a kid pleading, making thunder bringer even sadder when he does it again later 😭😭😭

JUST A MAN

instrumental has a chokehold on me and Jay’s vocals are so smooth

“the view” drop is a lovely choice

😭😭😭 “who’s fighting for his life” 😭😭😭

THE STRINGSSSSSS

od’s first “im just a man” being so soft and now in comparison to eurylochus’ version is devastating

FULL SPEED AHEAD

i like how Jay’s voice starts soft and builds power as he’s shaking the guilt of the infant in order to lead his men again

Armando is just so solid. truly the most consistent and solid vocals, which is perfect for the purpose his character serves in the first act of the story

i love every once in a while Jorge makes a surprising pronunciation choice that just tickles me

there were a few specific lines i was worried would lose their magic but “you and i’ll go ahead” still sounds perfect

again, ensemble is eatinggg

OPEN ARMS

Steven stuck out so much to me for some reason. more so when i listened on my tv, but still a bit on my phone as well. the mixing on him feels a little off compared to everyone else to my ear, which is odd compared to the bell-like perfect clarity the stolen version has. this isn’t a diss to Steven, he has a beautiful voice and is the perfect polites which may be why this production difference sticks out more than any one else’s. idk maybe i’m tripping but it feels like he lost some of the innocence in his voice as a result 🥺

i wonder if the lotus eaters sound a little deeper to distinguish them from the winions

i love the “nom nom nom,” “scary cave,” and “that way” 😂😂😂

WARRIOR OF THE MIND

Teagan is so solid it’s unreal, athena songs can’t help but be bops and aside from the “villain god songs” are my favs

thought it was “you lied to me,” not “enlighten me” until yesterday 😅

CYCLOPS

POLYPHEMUS

ik after the ts master’s heist that re-recorded masters have to be distinguishable for legal reasons, but it’s so interesting what and how choices were made here, such as polyphemus’ voice change

“watch out” and the mixing leading into Survive is perfection

SURVIVE

the fighting is excellent

OKAY GUITAR???

the harmonizing is stunning

the deaths are even more brutal 😭😭

ik he squished polites but polyphemus is so pitiful and they are in his house, you could never make me hate him in this version 🥺 (in hades 2 yeah fuck that guy lolol)

REMEMBER THEM

eurylochus screaming is very good

Jay’s vocals are DELICIOUS!! this song might be the biggest improvement for him.

the crew sounds more reverential and mournful while od grows in anger throughout which i like how that builds into the name reveal

GAH od’s no and athena’s no are both more terrifying now that they exchanged energy

background vocals during the build to his name reveal seem much more pronounced, which is interesting but i love it

“hey cyclops” really feels like the culmination of all the anger in this songs and then we get hit with the new “odysseus”

MY GOODBYE

platonic breakup song of my dreams 😩😩😩

oooh that growl on “waste” is everything

her disappointment is a little sadder in this one

nailed it, kept the magic, i have nothing but love for this song

RE-RECORDINGS OVERALL

Jorge’s vocals are so much clearer throughout and his acting is so much more nuanced! I didn’t have any criticism for the original version before, but having them to compare now makes me really appreciate his growth and depth of understanding of the character arc Ody’s on in the new ones.

the mixing is so smooth and I LOVE the new vocals for the ensemble

STRINGSSS

such a glow up on the cover art!!!

every song was either an improvement or just as good, but i need more time with open arms to decipher my full feelings on that one

i’m really glad Jorge did this.

⭐️ REMINDER: STREAM NEW VERSIONS ONLY FROM NOW ON SO MR JALAPEÑO CAN BE HELLA PAID YO ⭐️

now…

THUNDER

SUFFERING

i didn’t consider Jorge had lied about the sirens not being included until the end, so at first i thought it was a dream or something, but realized the heavy production meant some god/monster fuckery + the repeated trying to get him in the water + use of Penelope’s voice it became apparent to me just in time for the turn.

this song is so cute and ridiculous

the tonal dissonance was jarring but then on additional passes it’s so perfect to express how out of place what’s happening is. it’s confusing because it’s wrong

Anna’s delivery of “of course” and “oh no” are so playful, i love that he found an creative way to include more penelope

shy my ass lolol that was around when it clicked

also since they’re sirens, this is what he wants to hear most which is sad to think about if this is how he desires their marriage to be when he returns 😓. no matter of love or support can fix all the pain and guilt he’ll carry the rest of his life, but that hope is all he has

DIFFERENT BEAST

i love that “my real wife knows” is gonna probably mirror penelope saying something like “my real husband would know” in the ithaca saga

the layering of voices in the chorus

12 years or so is SO funny

i’d be scared so shitless

“nah you wouldn’t have spared me” and “let them drown” delivery

the crew’s turn from “we” to “he” then od singing “kill them all” before the following 3 songs is UNHINGED

SCYLLA

i was most excited for this song going in and was NOT disappointed!

scylla vocals in the backdrop to eurylochus’ confession feels reminiscent of puppeteer after his attempted confession with circe layered over. this time odysseus makes a different choice 😭

not much to say > i’ve got a secret > i opened the windbag > *silence* > light up 6 torches no words just ????????

DROWN - CHOKE - BLEED is so crunchy i want to mix it into my granola

the monstrous scylla belting is EVERYTHING and left me wanting so much more, so i guess i just have to repeat this song forever (but if Jay wants to release a Scylla extended cut i would be the #1 supporter)

“we are the same you and i” after his transformation into the monster is the stuff music is made for

MUTINY

luck runs out reprisal with the strings is gonna be the end of me

“crazy and mad”

he said gaslight me PLSSSS

eurylochus losing his mind with the loss of his faith in od will leave me in shambles for the foreseeable future

“SAY SOMETHING”

“I CANT” 😬😬😬

electric guitar is guitarringggg

there is no price he won’t pay- the moment of clarity for the crew

yeah od why did you think they’d still trust you lol

im still not over the fact that burr and hamilton switching it up at the end is what sealed their fates and i imagine the same will remain true of ody and eury repeating that devastating irony

i wasn’t sure who would win the duel or if they’d keep the cows in, so as soon as i heard that cow i was like it’s over they’re so cooked they can’t conceive of how bad this is gonna be. helios don’t play about those cows (even though i’m inclined to think Jorge is switching it to be apollo for the sake of simplicity for epic which would also explain why apollo’s part of god games is still unknown even though his part is first)

wind god/sun god is so special to me

eurylochus isn’t himself anymore, odysseus was his hope

“please don’t tell me you’re about to do what i think you’ll do”

“ODY-“ brb screaming crying throwing up

“im just a man” 😭

he didn’t even get to enjoy a final meal, they died for nothing and it’s so damn sad

the acting in this may be the best in the entire musical

“captain?” 🥺😭 his hunger is so great and his spirit is so broken

“WHO DO YOU THINK HE’LL SEND???” is so desperate and well delivered

⚡️⚡️⚡️THUNDER BRINGER⚡️⚡️⚡️

the thunder and chanting and electric guitar and percussion and LUKE’S VOICE and-

the lyrical implications are so appropriately horrible but the beat is seductive and his voice is so powerful and it slides and shoots like lightning strikes or thunder rumbling might- culminating into a banger that captures the king of the gods’ essence perfectly. he is divine judgment and i would say that he abuses that but he doesn’t even see it that way. you implicitly can’t refuse his power, you never had the option and it’s terrifying and so damn zeus.

i truly have no notes that aren’t appreciation and awe. i won’t declare so definitively out of awareness that recency bias is in play, but this may best ruthlessness as my favorite.

odysseus will hate rain and the ocean for the rest of his life, they mean one of the big 3 is coming to fuck up his whole life 😅😅😅

“tell me” and “enlighten me” have me so giddy, he’s enjoying himself so much lol

so many GORGEOUS line deliveries in this whole song. this entire song is GORGEOUS line deliveries. one of my favs is how “choose” and “you or your crew” is said like a gentle interlude for the showier singing but is the most devastating part. the climax is in the quiet for this song

“please don’t make me do this” callback is lethal. odysseus never would’ve made another choice but the way they respectively play out and how he feels about them are brutal.

“let me take the suffering from you” he’s drawing from the siren’s version of penelope to convince himself he can live with the guilt. he uses her as an excuse time and time again to do the worst things, so much so that that’s how he sees her now. he’s desperate for her to be that because how else can he face himself? the one time he looked inward he saw a monster, no wonder he always has to look to/for her.

“captain?”

“i have to see her”

“but we’ll die”

“i know”

😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

they sound like scared children and i’m NOT OKAY. eurylochus gave everything for 12 years and odysseus told him he would do ANYTHING to save eury specifically when he risked his life for the pig-ified crew and not only was that not true, he ultimately chose to let him and 35 other men die in a final betrayal after withering his hope, faith, and mind. odysseus is devastated and racked with guilt but it was never a choice. he merely sees himself more honestly now, not the hero he saw in the mirror at the start of the journey, or even back on aeaea.

ik it’s the chorus but also it’s just like zeus to make it about himself again as he decimates these men. his all-powerful divine judgement is his right and stands as his thesis, as ruthlessness for mercy of self does for poseidon.

it sounds like a lullaby at the end like it does in THATI and Just a Man. innocence has died for the final time, there’s nothing good in him left to sacrifice. all he has is the hope that what’s left can still be loved and accepted by penelope because his love of self is gone. yet all that remains is selfishness. he’s calcified into himself, and this makes me hungry to re-read his character study in Circe by Madeline Miller because they do the same thing: Epic reveals this truth through his own perception of himself while Circe does it through the memories of those who loved him and most desperately wanted to the lies he believed about himself to be true.

FINAL THOUGHTS

i will NEVER hate eurylochus. he was top 3 before, but after this saga he is definitively my favorite character. were there devastating consequences to his actions? i mean yeah but also odysseus expected unconditional faith after making the original decision that put them in danger in the first place. his grief and/or pride (depending on how you interpret epic’s depiction of od) and ignoring eury/athena is what put them all in poseidon’s sights. he was clever, yes, but what did that ultimately amount to? it makes all the sense in the world that eurylochus lost faith in his cleverness when he saw the consequences and then just when od earned back his trust, he sacrificed 6 of their men without even trying to be clever. it’s all tragic and if you’re withholding criticism for od but can’t hold nuance for eury then we are having very different experiences, idk what to tell you lol.

danger motifffff

i hope the crew haunts od’s ass so we can hear them again, but either way what an expertly executed ending for those characters and that chapter of odysseus’ life. brava.

this may be the best saga. again- recency bias- but it’s certainly going to be one of the best when all is said and done. THANK YOU JAY. THANK YOU ARMANDO. THANK YOU ANNA. THANK YOU LUKE. THANK YOU KJ.

so far my ranking is reverse track order

i hope we get the wisdom saga sooner than later because i’m greedy for good art lol but i’d wait however long Jay needs for another saga as well executed as this one

10/10 acting, 10/10 singing, 10/10 production. so much heart, skill, and talent has been put into this project and i’m really happy to be on this journey of appreciating and analyzing it with y’all in real time ☺️

i’m most looking forward to calypso and penelope as characters, but god games, get in the water, and hold them down as songs in each of the remaining sagas. (also my boy hephaestus)

if you made it this far, holy shit thank you. if you have money to spare please sponsor a family on Operation Olive Branch, also stream songs with proceeds being raised for liberation (such as Revolutin’ by Amira Unplugged), and Free Palestine, Congo, Sudan, Tigray, West Papúa, Haití, Hawaii, Armenia, Uyghur, and Turtle Island til it’s backwards! None of us are free until we’re all free.

[captainremmington-13]

𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖉𝖆𝖚𝖌𝖍𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝖔𝖋 𝖉𝖊𝖆𝖙𝖍

𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝖔𝖓𝖊

show!Luke Castellan x daughter of thanatos!reader

DISCLAIMER: I don’t own the image above or any of Rick Riordan’s characters/world-building.

⚠️Warnings⚠️: mentions of death, sadness, and lonliness

A/N: the next part is gonna include capture the flag ;))

As soon as you heard the yelling, you were certain that someone had died. 

The sensation that washed over your body confirmed your suspicions. Your powers always told you when a being was truly dead and beyond saving. However, this time, it felt slightly different. The being’s life had been halted, but not ended. They were no longer aging, but their soul remained in their body. 

Putting down the blanket you were folding, you slipped on a pair of worn-down sneakers and left Cabin 11. Walking down the stairs, you internally hoped the scene wasn’t too gory. Even if you were the child of death itself, you weren’t a fan of seeing people mutilated.

Just by listening for a moment, you could tell that the chaos was occurring at the border of the camp. Putting two and two together, you realized a new camper must have arrived. You’d seen several demigods try to get inside the safety of the camp border’s, and lose their lives in the process.  

But as you approached the hill where several other demigods were crowded together, you saw two kids who were very much alive. The more baffling sight, however, was the large pine tree at the highest point of the hill that definitely hadn’t been there before. 

You tapped Will Solace on the arm, making him jump slightly. Ignoring his reaction, you asked, “What in Hades is going on? Where did that tree come from?”

“Uh…” Will said, scratching the back of his neck. “Three demigods and a satyr were being chased by monsters as they approached the camp border. One of the demigods, a daughter of Zeus, sacrificed herself to let the others get to safety. It seems that instead of letting her die or saving her, Zeus turned her into…” He gestured at the tree. “That.”

Typical god behavior. When they try to help their offspring, they only make their lives worse.

“That’s unfortunate,” you said to Will. “I don’t think there’s much we can do.”

“Yeah,” Will replied awkwardly. “Try not to worry about it. We’ll get the two new campers settled into Cabin 11 as soon as we can. You can meet them then.” 

Understanding that he wanted to end the conversation, you simply nodded and walked away. You had learned to recognize the signs that signaled when people no longer wanted to be in your presence, and Will was exhibiting several of them.

But that was alright. You didn’t really feel like sticking around anyways. You were your own best companion. 

________________________________________________

“Hey, uh, is the top bunk taken?“ 

You looked up from painting your nails to see a boy standing in front of you. He had curly brown hair, a lean figure, and brown eyes that had a mischievous glint in them. He was holding a small backpack, which likely contained all of his personal possessions. 

“That’s Kalia’s bunk. You can take that spot over there.” You pointed to a twin-sized mattress squished in between two bunk beds. 

“Oh…okay.” The boy set his backpack down on the mattress and sat down next to it. “So, are you…you know, a Hermes kid too?”

You laughed without humor. “Do I look like one of Hermes’s spawn?” 

The boy flinched. “No.” 

“You have your answer then.”

He sighed. “I suppose it’s for the better that he’s not your father. He’s completely neglected me all my life.”

“All of the gods do that to their demigod offspring,” you said. “Except for a rare few. And even then, the most their children get are occasional visits and favors. Some of the gods choose favorites, which causes chaos here at camp.” 

The boy nodded in acknowledgement. “That seems frustrating.”

“It is.”

“So…if you’re not one of Hermes’s children, are you unclaimed?”

You shook your head. “No. My father just doesn’t have a cabin, so I’m stuck here.”

“And who exactly is your father?”

You bit the inside of your cheek, knowing that your answer will probably scare the boy off. But you decided to be honest. If he can’t handle the truth, that’s his problem. 

“Thanatos, god of death.” 

Instead of going pale and quickly looking away, the boy gave you a small smile. “Cool.” He stood up again, walking over to your bunk once more. He extended his hand.

“I’m Luke. Luke Castellan.”

As you shook his hand firmly and told him your name, a genuine feeling of warmth grew in your chest. 

Maybe, just maybe, you’d found someone who didn’t treat you like a walking time bomb.

________________________________________________

You took it upon yourself to show Luke around camp the next day. This shocked everyone, as you usually didn’t converse with anyone for more than a few minutes at a time. You and him spent the entire day together, and even ate dinner side-by-side at the Hermes table. It was the most time you’d spent with just one person in ages.

You explained to him the unspoken rules of the camp. In order to prevent being messed with, you had to prove that you were worthy. Glory was extremely important, and could be earned by winning Capture the Flag or going on quests. And protecting your cabin’s honor was of top priority. If another cabin somehow slandered yours, you had the right to retaliate (even though Chiron and Mr. D didn’t approve).

The more you interacted with Luke, the more you liked him. 

Luke adapted to his new environment extremely well. He quickly established a reputation as an excellent strategist and seasoned fighter.  Apparently, he had been on the run since he was nine, and picked up a myriad of skills along the way. He was particularly good at picking locks, which wasn’t surprising. 

He also made friends quickly. His charming personality drew in every person he interacted with. He was witty, ambitious, and made good conversation. Plus, his impressive abilities made him a useful ally. 

After he settled in, you expected him to forget about you. He had more popular, less terrifying companions. 

But he didn’t. In fact, he became your closest friend. 

Despite being different in a variety of ways, your personalities blended like a dream. He appreciated your dry, subtle sense of humor, and encouraged you to always keep improving. And you admired his mischievous nature. He’d even gotten you to lighten up a bit, and become less adverse to participating in group activities.

You slowly learned more about him, and he learned about you. You both assumed it would scare the other person off, but that knowledge only brought you closer together. 

But most importantly, you both quickly learned that together, you were essentially unstoppable. 

taglist: @orionspaperwork

Thank you for reading! Pls let me know what you think in the comments!!! I have some rly fun ideas for upcoming chapters, so stay tuned!😊

Let me know in the comments if you want to be added to the taglist!

[winns-stuff]

LO RANT:

This is from the fastpass preview that I stumbled across but genuinely nobody gives a flying fuck about Hades. Out of everything that this comic has disrespected Leuce with the most insulting out of all of them has to be her lowering her standards for an absolute man child like Hades, there’s nothing inherently attractive about him and the only reason Persephone is so infatuated with him is because of the fact that she’s literally 19 FOREVER and her brain is too underdeveloped to get better taste. But to sit up here and say that Leuce is just so incredibly desperate for Hades of all people when she’s so desired and sought after that the king of all gods deemed her worthy of marrying his brother is absolutely incredibly insulting. If this was realistic no one would be scared of Persephone’s pick me ass, I’m so sick and tired of Lore Olympus making every woman make an absolute fool of themselves over someone as low as Hades, literally any guy would be more worthy than fucking Hades like come on man are you serious?

Anyways, I’m just so over the mistreatment of the nymphs and I’m over people calling this a girl boss move. The fans love to sit up here and say that this is women supporting women but brutalizing women of a lower class and making fun of their mistreatment isn’t something we should deem feminist worthy. Like genuinely why the fuck is anyone applauding this shit? The fact that nymphs are at the gods’ mercy and they’re constantly being degraded, insulted, and abused by the upper class just for existing is sick. I can’t even say that it’s because of greek mythology since the nymphs were at least respected, like you knew the difference between them and their power but they weren’t treated like disposable waste like the nymphs in LO are. The nymphs have to be the only characters in the comic who deserve nothing but love and support from everyone since every chapter seems like a dig at them and it’s getting really awful to watch.

Another thing is the title of the episode. Are you fucking delirious? Leuce is a homewrecker?? How?? Homewrecking is blaming someone for a breakup of either a marriage or relationship because they engaged into an AFFAIR or other things in that matter with the member of the relationship. Unless Rachel is saying that because of Leuce they’re finally breaking up I don’t ever wanna hear about homewrecking ever from Lore Olympus trying to describe a character like that. Quite literally the only legitimate homewrecker in this entire series is Persephone’s ass and no one gives a fuck because the way she did it was “cute” and “pure”, she’s your little cinnamon roll while everyone else who does the exact same thing are evil witches. Which brings up my main point, Leuce barely poses a damn threat this woman is as small as a mouse and not up to anything nefarious, instead of focusing on KRONOS possibly coming back and taking over your ENTIRE kingdom that you’ve only ruled over for a few days you’re worried about some poor confused woman who got led on by your cheating ass husband while you were away. The major reaction is cringe and laughable, you don’t feel angry towards people disrespecting you or stomping on your values but as soon as it’s something with Hades you’re suddenly the biggest bad guy ever, give me a damn tissue. It’s truly sad that this is giving me more of a reason to believe that Persephone has no personality outside of being a “soft wife”, like where are your morals? What the hell do you stand for if you allow shit like this to happen.

This is why I get so angry and upset with Lore Olympus as a whole it’s upsetting seeing this insufferable main character do the most hypocritical shit that another character got dragged through the mud over yet we’re all supposed to clap our hands and put them on the highest pedestals. The fans don’t make it any better either because they survive off of stuff like that, that’s quite literally all they do all the damn time. They just eat up every little thing Persephone or any of the main cast does and enables this shitty behavior to continue because I swear if there was a time where Rachel decided to do something in her story that a massive amount of the fans hated she would never implement it into her story again, but since everyone absolutely loves these two women idiotically fighting over a pathetic man she keeps this stereotype around every other season.

Moral of the story is stop taking the dignity of these women and stop using them as some sort of cover up for your main character being incredibly boring and bland because I know the only reason for Lore Olympus’ demonization of Leuce is because they needed to prove how “much better” Persephone is. How about Persephone takes her red eyes and shove it in the faces of those who actually fucking deserve it instead of acting cowardly and only using it against nymphs because “they’re beneath you” since I have yet to see her have an actual backbone towards anyone deserving of this shit.

[blinddreams24]

Healer

A Mermay Prompt

Masterlist

Prev / Next

There was a whistled song when you left the car. It sounded injured and mournful.

Leaving your gear, you snatched the first aid and bolted across the sand and rocks towards the sound. You weren’t sure you were thinking. Just the thought of the song being Cross had you moving before you could even consider a reaction and you weren’t about to question it.

He was beached in your hidden cove. His song cut off when he saw you and your head cleared. He was fine. He was alive. You still desperately wanted to make sure he was okay.

“Y/n? What are you-?”

“Are you okay?” You rushed forward to check him when a hand stopped you.

“Y/n, stop. It’s fine. What are you even doing here this early? The sun has barely come out.” Cross’s voice strained with worry.

You slapped his hand away. “I’m normally up this early! Now let me see where you’re hurt!”

He shifted away from your approach. “It’s nothing. I just got in a friendly fight with one of my pod. It’ll heal itself.”

His retreat didn’t stop you as you stormed forward to check him over. He was hiding it somewhere. “And I can help it heal faster so it doesn’t scar. Cross. Let me see it.” You growled.

Mumbling in frustration, Cross flopped onto his belly and let you see the fresh bite and scratch marks behind his floppy dorsal fin. The bite was deep and looked more like an intent to kill than play fighting. Especially with the claw mark curving toward Cross’s belly.

You set the first aid down and pulled out the few things for cleaning wounds. “This might hurt.”

He scoffed. “Please. I’ve hade worse- hissssss!” Cross’s back arched as you wiped a scratch with an alcohol wipe. His blazing eyelight looked back at you. “Why are you using a jellyfish?!?!”

“It’s not a jellyfish. It’s alcohol. And it’s cleaning your wounds.”

“I don’t need them cleaned! The water cleans them!”

“If they were clean, it wouldn’t hurt.”

He groaned. “You’re the worst healer I’ve ever met.”

“I’m not a healer.”

“No shit.”

For some reason you were unsure of, Cross’s use of a curse word had you sputtering with laughter. Where did he learn that word? Surely not from the water. And he’d used it properly.

“What’s wrong with you now?”

“Nothing! I- heheh -I just didn’t expect you to curse! It shocked me!” You dabbed at your eyes with the back of your hand, careful not to get the wipes in them.

“Oh my stars, you’re laughing because I said shit??” Was his wounded accusation.

“Stop making me laugh or I’m accidentally going to press too hard on your wounds! Jellyfish or not, these things hurt.”

“And yet you still use them on me.” He flinched away with a hiss.

“Yeah, ‘cause it’s helping. Now stop moving.”

The next few minutes were filled with hisses, various curse words, empty threats, and plenty of alcohol wipes. The wounds were cleaned and patched as Cross insisted he wrap them himself later.

When you finished, he sighed deeply. “……Thank you. It does feel better.”

“You’re welcome, Cross. I’m glad I could help.”

The waves splashing against the shore, trying to reach you, was the only sound for several minutes.

“So,” Cross interrupted. “What, uh, what do you do for a living? People still work for things, right?”

“Yeah, I work online. It sucks but it beats having to leave the house. And I get to go diving whenever I want. I can just close my laptop and go.”

“You like diving?” Cross smiled.

You scoffed as a smile split your face. “Obviously. I love the ocean. It’s so much more alive than the city. Like, yeah, the city is busier. Cars and people rushing to get to work or go home. But the water has more color and casual life. Fish swim around, not to get to work, but just because they can. Anemones and sea grass are always swaying and moving with the water. Everything practically screams peace while still being wild and uncontrollable. It’s just so beautiful. And I wish I could be a part of that.”

Cross’s smile changed to understanding. “You want to live in the ocean.”

“Yeah.”

“I mean, we could probably use a healer down there.” He grinned. “Just not you.”

“Hey!”

[krystal817]

Welcome to Camp Half Blood Part 2

Part 1 Part 3

Summary: Y/n is a newly discovered demigod who finds out she is destined to be as great as her older brother… Percy Jackson.

Warnings: Briefly mentions loss of parent

I woke up from a load sound. I quickly remembered what Adam said yesterday about the horn being the sign to wake up and go eat breakfast.

I woke up and saw that Julian was still sleeping. I walked over to his bed and woke him up and said “come on. We have to get dressed and go to breakfast.”

I grabbed clothes and went into the bathroom to change and came out and saw a random guy in the cabin and Julian ready to go. I walked over to my bed quickly and grabbed my phone and looked at the guy to see if he would say anything and he did.

“Ok just you two?” Julian and I nodded and he continued “so my name is Percy. I will be showing you guys around camp.” I looked at Julian in shock and mouthed “Percy omg.”

Percy then gestured for us to follow him outside the cabin. He started giving us a tour of each cabin before we went to breakfast. The cabin I liked the most was the Poseidon cabin because of its architecture and the decore.

After we were done touring the cabins, Percy brough us over to breakfast in the dining hall. I ate, which is surprising for me because usually im not up early enough to eat breakfast but I was starving from all of the dramatic changes to my life that have just happened within the last 12 hours.

We grabbed our breakfast and Julian and I found an empty table to sit at, which must have been the Hades table because every other table had someone sitting at it. I started looked around the dining hall taking everybody in and noticed Percy sitting at a table with someone next to him.

The guy kept on acting like Tyson but I didn’t want to assume that everything I was living in the moment was EXACTLY like the Percy Jackson books I loved reading.

“Do you think that the guy sitting next to Percy is Tyson? And that girl over there at that table is Annabeth and the guy with the satyrs is Grover?”I asked Julian. “Maybe but we won’t know until we know their names” he replied.

Our conversation stopped when we heard someone walk up to us and it noticed it was Adam. “How are you guys holding up?” he questioned and I replied “good.”

Adam continued “just so you know, I go by Chiron here” and I boldly asked “so is this like the Percy Jackson series and Heroes Of Olympus series.”

Adam nodded and explained while pointing to tables “yes, that guy over there with the satyrs is Grover. That girl over there at the Athena table is Annabeth, Percy’s girlfriend. The boy sitting next to Percy is Tyson, a cyclops. The girl over there at the Zeus table is Thalia. And the girl over there at the Ares table is Clarisse.”

I replied “ok” and looked over to Julian to see he was having the same fangirl reaction as I was until we were interrupted by Adam again.

“Everyone can I have your attention please” Adam announced and everyone looked at him. He continued “please welcome our newcomers Julian Gonzalez and Y/n L/n.”

Everyone looked over at us curiously until all of a sudden everyone was looking over at Julian’s head and were shocked and started clapping.

“Y/n, what is happening?” Julian asked nervously. I told him, “you have been claimed.” Adam then announced “Julian Gonzalez has been claimed by his father… Zeus.” Adam then told Julian to go over to the Zeus table to meet his half sister Thalia.

A few minutes later breakfast was over and Percy came up to me and said “don’t worry, not everyone gets claimed on their first day at camp.”

“Ok” I replied sadly and continued to follow Percy around camp as he showed me what things were and how to get from place to place and then we heard another horn.

I followed Percy to the center of camp where Adam was. “Today we will be playing capture the flag, with an exception of 4 people, the newcomers and their tour guides so they can start helping them train” Adam announced.

I noticed that Percy looked upset about not playing capture the flag. I went up to Adam and whispered “Can Percy still play, Thalia can help me and Julian train, it looks like Percy has been waiting to play like all week so please let him play.” Adam looked at me and obliged.

I ran back over to Percy and told him the good news and he hugged me and said “thanks Y/n” and I replied “you’re welcome! I could tell that you have been waiting for this all week so I asked Ad-Chiron if you could still play and for Thalia to train me and Julian.”

Percy replied “ok and what were you just about to call Chiron” and I answered “the name I knew him by.” “Ok” he responded, dropping the conversation.

Just before Chiron was about to continue with the teams, there was loud thunder. Zeus appeared out of nowhere and said “where is Y/n L/n” and I froze. Percy nudged me and I moved closer to Zeus and he said “ah yes, young Y/n, I have a gift for you.”

I hesitantly moved closer to Zeus as he placed a pen in my hand and I froze again while looking up at him. I thought to myself Is this what I think it is and then clicked the pen and it turned into a sword, confirming my suspicion.

“Riptide! I thought there was only one sword like this in the world?” I questioned Zeus. “That’s what I played it off as. I have just been waiting for you to come and take the second one.”

Zeus continued “You will be a great demigod. You are destined to do great things. Destroy powerful monsters just like Percy Jackson” he explained.

I thanked Zeus and asked “is this your way of telling me I am your daughter?” Zeus replied “no, but your godly parent will claim you soon enough.” And just as quickly as Zeus appeared, he disappeared without a trace.

I turned around and looked at Percy and then at Adam. I quickly stuck Riptide in my pocket and walked over to Julian and Thalia. Julian looked at me in shock and said “so… I guess you have a Riptide now” and I responded baffled by what just happened “I guess so.”

Thalia broke my train of thought by saying “so… I guess we should get to training then” Julian and I agreed and followed Thalia to the training area.

From a distance, I heard Chiron tell Percy to go to the training area to help me train with Riptide. Percy reluctantly agreed and followed behind us to the training area.

Once we got there, Percy helped me put on armor and then walked me over to the part of the field with training dummies. Percy saw I was doing really well for my first time using a sword and said “you're a natural Y/n!”

I replied “thanks!” and he continued “let’s train you in defense and offense now” and I agreed nervously. Percy and I continued training and he said I was doing really well.

While I was finishing up the combo move Percy taught me, we heard Chiron announcing something so we took off our armor and rushed over to hear what he was saying.

As soon as we got over, he finished talking about capture the flag and noticed Percy, Julian, Thalia, and I just came back from training.

“How did Julian and Y/n do?” Adam asked. “Julian is doing ok but he needs more work” Thalia replied and Chiron looked at me and Percy. Percy added “Y/n’s a natural! With a little more training she could be a pro.”

“Good! Maybe she could join the next capture the flag tournament” Chrion replied. Chiron was about to say something until he stood in shock looking at me.

Everyone started looking at me confused and looked between Chiron and I until they noticed that he was bowing. Everyone quickly followed suit. I looked around at everyone confused and asked “what’s going on?”

“You are a daughter of Poseidon and Luna…” Chiron replied while starting to stand up. I froze and finally responded “how is that even possible!?”

Chiron was about to answer until something happened and everyone was looking behind me but standing now.

I quickly turned around to see what everyone was looking at and saw Poseidon, my father. “Hi sweetie, we have a lot to talk about” he stated. I rushed over to him excited to finally meet my real father.

Poseidon turned into his human form and said “your mother died when you were born so I had to give you up for adoption secretly so that’s why your adopted parents and the orphanage you were put in don’t know who your parents are.” “Ok and do you have a picture of mom?” I hopingly asked.

Poseidon handed me a photo and I quickly put it in my pocket. Poseidon continued “did you get the second Riptide?”

I nodded and took it out from my pocket and showed him. “Good! Both of my children have the Riptides now as planned” Poseidon said relieved.

Percy rushed over and joined the conversation and said “Hi dad.” Poseidon responded “Hi Percy, it’s nice to see you again.”

He continued “I would love to stay and catch up with you both but Zeus is very strict with time with our children. I have to go now but we will see each other again.” And with that, Poseidon left.

Tyson came over and said “dad gone already” and Percy said “yeah Zeus needed him. Y/n is our new sister.”

Tyson came over and hugged me tightly and said “Yay new sister, I always wanted a sister.” In between breaths I managed to say “Tyson … you’re … squishing … me.” Tyson put me down quickly and apologized.

Chiron joined the conversation and said “Percy and Tyson, help Y/n bring her things to the Poseidon cabin.” Percy nodded and Tyson replied “ok pony man.”

Percy, Tyson and I then walked to the Hades cabin to get my things and bring them to the Poseidon cabin. When we got my things into the Poseidon cabin and I got situated, Chiron came in.

“Y/n, can I talk to you for a moment” he asked and I replied “sure” following him outside earshot of the others” Chiron continued “I already told Julian this and he said yes but I just needed to ask if you will still be going to school.”

I replied “of course I will! I didn’t know if that was even an option” Chiron replied “yes you can still go to Riverdale high while being at camp. We just have to take extra precautions.”

I nodded in agreeance and he continued “also we are allied with the Roman demigods and you and some others have to go on an important quest that will take from now until two days before school starts.”

“Ok, who is going on the quest with me? I also need to call my adopted parents before I go so they can get me school supplies and I can go to the house and pick them up” I asked curiously.

Chiron listed “Percy, Annabeth, Tyson, Julian, Thalia, Jason, Piper, Leo, Hazel, and Frank, and you will meet Nico on the way and of course you can do that.” I replied “ok and that’s a lot of people to be going on one quest.”

Chiron continued “Also if you want to, you can call me Adam when no other campers are around” and I replied “ok thanks” and with that he left.

I took the opportunity of being alone to quickly call my foster mom.

Y/n

Hey mom!

Mom

Hi Y/n what’s up?

Y/n

Could you get school supplies for me because I won’t be able to come with you since I’m going on a quest.

Mom

Of course sweetie. What do you want?

Y/n

Just a couple of notebooks and some new pens.

Mom

Spiral or composition notebooks?

Y/n

Spiral and could the colors be either black, green, or blue?

Mom

Yeah I will get you 3 subject ones and 3 of them, one in each color. What do you want for the pens?

Y/n

Black and blue pens.

Mom

Ok, I can do that.

Y/n

Thanks mom!

Mom

No problem! If you can’t get them before school starts, I will give them to your sister to give to you.

Y/n

Thanks and I have to go to dinner now so bye and love you!

Mom

Love you too and bye sweetie, stay safe!

And with that, I hung up.

Percy came out with Tyson and told me it’s time for dinner and I followed them to the dining area. When we got there, Thalia, Annabeth, and Julian were all sitting waiting for us to come to the table.

Percy sat next to Annabeth, who was sitting next to Thalia, who was sitting next to Julian, who I was sitting next to, and Tyson was sitting between me and Percy.

When we were done with dinner, we saw some random people come in. Percy, Tyson, Annabeth, Thalia, and Julian went straight up to them and said hi. I stayed back and watched their interaction since I’m not the best in big group social interactions.

Julian introduced himself to all the new people. Percy noticed that I was still sitting awkwardly at the table, staring at them talking.

He found and opening to come over to me and saw that I was looking at my birth mom’s picture. “You look a lot like her” he stated and I low-spiritedly replied “yeah, I guess I do.”

“Come meet the others!” Percy replied trying to cheer me up. “Ok but I am socially awkward, just so you know, so if I look at you like help me, you help me ok” I obliged. Percy laughed and said “of course but you will be ok. Now come on.”

I walked over to the others shyly with Percy and Jason said “who is this” while looking at me, checking me out. “This is Y/n, she is also a child of Poseidon” Percy replied, noticing Jason’s actions.

Thalia quickly added on seeing a tension brewing between Jason and Percy “she has the sword Riptide, just like Percy.”

I looked up awkwardly to see everyone’s faces and I noticed that Leo was staring at me. I looked at Percy hoping he noticed that I was anxious and he continued “Y/n’s a little bit shy, but when you get to know her, she’s pretty awesome!”

Julian added on “yeah, me and Y/n have been friends for two years now and she’s really cool.” Everyone was focused on Julian, listening to him.

“But the weird thing was, when Percy and her talked yesterday, she was just her. She didn’t even act awkward at first like she usually does, it was really weird” he continued.

Percy looked at me and responded “maybe it’s a sibling bonding thing we have, maybe she feels protected around me or something.” Everyone nodded in agreeance while Jason looked slightly ticked off by Percy’s response.

To break the awkward silence I said “so about the quest.” Jason looked at me smirking like he was waiting for the opportunity to get to talk to me and said “you have been here two days now and you are already going on a quest, must be taking after Percy.”

Leo jumped in and replied “so I have the ship ready. We’re leaving tomorrow at sunrise so get a good night’s sleep so you will be alive in the morning.” Everyone nodded their heads in agreement.

As the conversation died down, Chiron came up and asked Percy, Annabeth, and Thalia to show Jason, Piper, Leo, Hazel, and Frank where they will be sleeping for the night.

Thalia brought Jason and Piper to the Zeus cabin, Annabeth showed Hazel and Frank to the Hades cabin and Percy showed Leo to the Poseidon cabin. Then everyone got situated for the night and got in bed at 6:30pm to get a good night’s sleep.

For some reason, I couldn’t sleep so I decided to go to the dining area and to bring my laptop to trace things. When I got there and was set up, I decided to trace my friends that I took pictures of and then maybe color it in.

First I drew Piper, then Jason, then Leo, then Hazel, then Frank, then Julian, then Thalia, then Grover, then Annabeth, then Tyson, then my birth mom, and lastly Percy. Each picture took about an hour to do, tracing twice and coloring one.

Author’s Note:

Hey guys! I hope you liked part 2 of Welcome to Camp Half Blood! What do we think will happen in the morning if the quest? What quest does Y/n end up on? Do Percy and Jason fight over Y/n? Let me know what you think!

Dividers by @saradika-graphics

Taglist: @breeloveschris @disturbedwoodelf @luverboychris @worldlxvlys

[tododeku-or-bust]

I don’t expect you to explore this in writing, but if the Olympians are able to enter the underworld (at the moment, like Apollo) could they by any chance reunite with their dead lovers?

The way you write the Olympians is so interesting to me! I always wondered how the kids and adults would react if they were around to witness Apollo and Hyacinth’s reunion! (Hyacinth being one of Apollos all time favorite loves, on parr with Daphne.)

Anyways, just a fun thought! (You have me quaking for the final chapter.)

I mean, they could! I don't see why they wouldn't be able to now that Hades is begrudgingly letting them visit (they still rarely announce themselves, rude ass family members, can't take Olympians nowhere! 🤣). They just can't take them away. The dead stay dead (with one major exception and Orpheus botched that 🤣)

Thank you! Yes, i definitely enjoy writing the Olympians the way i do. I know it's not for everyone; i know people tend to prefer more humanized, empathetic versions of them, and that's fair! I just personally like to explore that idea that while they act human-like, they still remember that they are Not, and will act accordingly. Like if you were to put a billionaire and a working class man in one room; sure they're both human and have human reactions, but that billionaire will do and say things that will remind that working class man real quickly that oh. We are not alike. That's the vibe i go for with the Olympians.

I mean, the people who like Apollo and Hyacinthus probably will be supportive! The ones who don't will likely not care. Philia definitely will not care lol. That is not an Apollo favoring home, at all. Worrying about and getting involved with the business of the gods is always a dicey game, especially given the usual consequences (an example being almost all of Apollo's lovers).

Thank you for being excited!

[sunderedoldfriends]

Something was wrong, terribly so, and yet Hythlodaeus could not quite put his finger on it. People watching him would call him stupid or oblivious, but the sad truth was that the lavender haired man had never been good at seeing his own worth, so the mere idea of Hades actually being jealous would sound ridiculous to him. Mostly because.. did he not see the way Hythlodaeus was looking at him like he was the only person in the room?

“You’re upset..”, he eventually whispers, more to himself than to his friend standing beside him, but as if to confirm his worries Hades pulls away, walking away through the crowd the way he had come, leaving Hythlodaeus alone with his hurt and confusion. As if to emphasize the feelings that now raged inside his chest the orchestra started to play a rather slow and almost sad song.

Hythlodaeus kept the gaze of his bright eyes on the back of Hades’ head until he vanished in the crowd, trying to ignore the painful sting in his chest, biting his tongue to keep himself from calling out to him to prevent him from leaving. What about the problem they were about to solve together? What about the missed opportunity to finally spend time together at one of the Convocation’s fancy banquets? He felt stupid for even thinking Hades would ever take the initiative and ask him for a dance. Who was he fooling? Hades was neither interested in his friend nor in dancing.

With a sigh Hythlodaeus walked away, towards the bar to ask for a drink, the smile on his face was friendly, but empty.

At the same time Alexandros approached the man that had so rudely interrupted his conversation, the same provoking grin on his lips as he stood in Hades’ way, blocking him from leaving the hall.

“Leaving already?”, he asked casually, raising his glass to his lips to take a sip from it. “I don’t think we have been introduced before, I have heard you are making yourself scarce whenever there is some kind of party. My name is Alexandros, it is an absolute pleasure to finally be able to meet the Overseer of Death himself. Hades.”

There was a wicked light in his eyes as he spoke, it was very obvious that he was here to provoke, to get any kind of reaction out of the other man, then he looked past Hades, fixated on the spot where Hythlodaeus was standing, waiting for Hades to follow his gaze.

“Magnificent, isn’t he? It looks like you managed to solve this ‘problem’ of yours quickly. I am glad, it would have been a shame if it had ruined the rest of his night.”

' ... he's interested in more than a couple of damned concepts, ' Hades ALMOST says, but he bites it back. Barely, with an almost PAINFUL amount of restraint, but he manages. 'Tis annoying that he feels this way at all, in truth, and had he the ability to banish all manner of feeling and emotions from his body, he would happily do so as long as he was still capable of successfully completing his work.

" I had thought WORDS would suffice in conveying intellectual interest. Not... " He gestures vaguely, huffing, " Intrusive, borderline childish actions. Do you ACTUALLY plan to meet with him? Surely not. "

And WHEN, if such was the case, so Hades could ensure he was as far away as possible lest he worsen his own nonsensical suffering. The bitterness in his tone, the sharp crease of his brow evident enough to cut diamonds, and the way he continues to avoid Hythlodaeus' uncomfortably stubborn and observant gaze... he may as well scrawl all his feelings on a banner and hang it, at this point, for he is doing a POOR job of pretending as if naught is wrong.

He tries to reel it back in. Tries to, with a flippant raise and flick of his hand, diminish the severity of the situation entirely in hopes Hythlodaeus may DROP it and return to his affairs. " On second thought, I should not have thieved you from your... leisurely socialization. You were clearly enjoying yourself, so I apologize for pulling you away for naught. I will handle it. "

Gently, he pulls the fabric of his garment from Hythlodaeus' grasp and turns to head back in the direction of his office, where he may sort through this in PEACE.

[iovejolie]

whatever you do

masterlist

pairing .⭒ ۪ 𖥔 ˑ ִ ֗ angelina jolie x fem!reader

request .⭒ ۪ 𖥔 ˑ ִ ֗ “so angelina and fem!reader secretly being in a relationship but no body know not even the kids. and one day they get kinda drunk and tell everyone about the relationship and you can write their reactions if you want:)”

warnings .⭒ ۪ 𖥔 ˑ ִ ֗ drinking, kinda mentions it smut and fluff really cussing.

lower case intended

A/N .⭒ ۪ 𖥔 ˑ ִ ֗ i had fun writing this, reader has 2 kids who are like 15. reader and angelina’s have known each other since they were kids and readers moms (two moms) is like angelinas moms and they treats all of angie’s kids as their grandkids. if that makes sense . also reader is also a actress!! and is like 45.

not proofread !!

your relationship with angelina had been something that started because the two of you would need release every night and then. you guys had been friends since you were teenagers, so it was really nothing weird.

as that went on the two of you developed feelings for each other.

and one night after y’all hade finished you may or may not have told her you were in love with her, but she told you told you she was in love with you too.

every since then the two of you have been a couple. but no one knows like no one, not her kids, not your kids. but that was the joys of sneaking around. it made the two of you feel young again.

seeing as all the kids were currently gone to your mother’s house, because angelina’s kids are technically your mothers grand-babies as she said.

since the two of you had the house al to yourselves you thought it would be a good idea to have some wine. which was not a good idea because the two of you are lightweights.

“ooo we should go live on instagram” you said very tipsy.

“what the hell is live on instagram?” angelina asked.

“oh i forget how little you know about social media” you said getting up, grabbing your phone.

you made your way to the kitchen setting the phone up.

going to instagram you swiping over you posted on your story, “going live with angelina in like 5 minutes.”

that five minutes giving you time to explain what instagram live is.

after you explained, angelina still being drunk tried her best to process everything you said.

“also we have to be careful to not slip up about our relationship.” you through in before starting the live.

angelina hadn’t caught the last part of what you said because she was pouring herself more wine.

you started up the live and the fans started pouring in.

“omg there so many people, are they like in your phone?” angelina asked watching the number count go up.

“no silly.” you said giggling.

you started reading some of the comments, telling people hi and telling them you love them back. meanwhile angelina was stuck admiring your facial features.

eventually she looked away and started reading the comments seeing onethat said ‘why is angelina looking at y/n like she wants to fuck her?’

“because i do” angelina said.

your eyes widened as you realized what she was referring to. the comments began to blow up.

“guys isn’t y/n one of the most beautiful people ever? her face is so perfect and her lips… whew her lips are so kissable. i’m so in love with her.” she said looking at the phone.

“don’t listen to her guys she’s just playing.” you said sobering up kinda.

“no i’m not. you know me and y/n have been dating for like 6 months.” she said grabbing your face.

“okay i think it times for us to go, bye love you guys.” you said quickly ending the live

“angelina i literally said whatever you do don’t mention our relationship.” you said

“oops” you said giving you a goofy smile. you couldn’t even be mad at her she so pretty.

you took her alcohol and gave her some water, “you gotta sober up girl.” you said kissing her on her forehead.

your phone started going off, seeing it was twitter notifications, it was definitely just people panicking over waht angelina said. you’d worry about that later.

angelina’s phone started ringing seeing it was the kids.

“you sober enough to talk to them?” you asked angelina.

“yeah”

the two of you stretched, preparing yourself for what’s to come.

answering.

“how are the two of you in a relationship and don’t tell your kids?”

“are y’all playing with peoples feelings or are y’all serious?”

“i want an explanation!”

“how did we not see it?”

you heard all at once.

“okay okay okay, let’s calm down kids.” you said.

“calm down? calm down? the two of you have been dating for 6 months, never telling your kids and you expect us to calm down?” your daughter asked.

“ok look it wasn’t supposed to come out, we got a little tipsy, and it happened, we were obviously gonna tell you guys when the time was really right and we had everyone in one place, since not maddox and pax are at college it was kinda hard.” angelina said.

all the kids started processing what had been said, all coming to the realization that they understood.

“we’ll we’re all happy for the two of you.” zahara said.

“wait does this mean we’ll be spending more time at angelina’s house?” you son asked.

“yeah kid it does.” you told him.

“okay well bye we’re gonna go watch movies, see you guys tomorrow.” shiloh said.

“bye guys love you” you ad angelina said together.

hanging up, you put the phone to the side.

“we’re gonna have to deal with the people on the internet now.” you said.

“how about we don’t. i mean they know so there’s really nothing for us to address.” angelina said completely sober.

“true.”

“i can’t believe i got that dunk?” angelina said.

you laughed, “things happen sometimes. why don’t we go shower and get in bed?” you said standing up hold out your hand to her.

“i’d love that.” she said grabbing your hand.

tag list - @Sincerelyalexxxx @mainly-rebloging-fics-i-like @ineedafinghug @arya0923 @fictionalwh0ree @alyssa1667 @Variant-L0852 @thenaswife

[kayesfictioncharactershusbands]

Sister ( Percy Jackson x Reader)

Summary: Both and Percy have a secret relationship in which your brothers Travis and Connor just found out.

G/P = Hermes

Warning: none

___________________

Everyone at camp knows the infamous Travis and Connor Stoll. They are the mischievous brothers of Camp Half-Blood. But everyone doesn't know that they can also be very protective.

And soon as you got claimed by Hermes the two boys immediately got close to you. They really do act like your older brother.

The three of you tell each other secrets, but there is one thing that you didn't tell them.

You have a boyfriend. And you might be curious about why you didn't tell them.

They are very protective of you. When I say protective - really protective.  Whenever someone tries to bully you, Travis or Connor would prank them. Anyway, you're with Percy on the strawberry field having their date.

Hey, baby?" Percy called for you while his arm is around your waist. You then looked up at him with a smile.

"Yeah?" You answered him with a smile.

"Look baby, I know you don't want to say it to tell your brothers about us, but they need to know. " As soon as Percy said that you bit your lip and sighed. You had been thinking about it for some time and so you smiled at him.

You were just worried about his reaction. Yes, he is the guy who always somewhat needs to save the world. But he is still your boyfriend, the boy who you love.

"Actually Percy, I had been thinking about it for some time too, I was just worried about your reaction. Since you know, Trav and Con sometimes give off some troubles at camp." You told him you and sit straight. You put your hands around his neck.

He put his hands around your waist and smiled at you. "I had been fighting monsters since I was twelve Y/N, I can handle your brothers."He answered you and you giggled at his words.

"Are you really now?" You raise your eyebrow while Percy chuckle at your words.

"Oh, yeah babe." The both of you looked at each other and smiled. Percy has met you when you were with Travis, he was showing the places where he and Connor hanged and Percy was sparring with Frank because Frank was visiting the camp.

He glances at you was captivated by your beauty, he was immediately swooned by you. But was knocked down by Frank because he was starring at you.

The both of you looked at each other with love and Percy then kissed you. The kiss got heated and Percy lay down on the grass.

"JACKSON WHAT THE HADES ARE YOU DOING WITH MY SISTER?!" Because of shock Percy bites your lip accidentally.

"Ow that hurt!" You touch your lip and sat up giving your brother's a glare. Percy then sits properly. While Travis and Connor were glaring at Percy. He then helped you stand up.

"Sorry about that baby I was just startled," Percy told you while your brother's still looked at Percy with a glare.

"You might wanna answer Travis, Jackson. "Connor calmly said because among the two brother's he is the one who is very gentle.

Percy looked at them with seriousness on his face and held your hand and squeeze it, " OK Stolls, I love your sister.  I would do anything for her, I  would protect her. No matter what." Percy explained to them and looked at you with love in his eyes.

"Trav, Con I love Percy. You guys already know him - how he's to others. And I was about to tell you that we're dating." You told them and saw your brother's giving each other a look, in which you know all too well.

They look where they talk by just using their eyes. "Look, Jackson, I don't appreciate how I found out this way, but fine. But once you hurt Y/N  I swear you already know what we Stolls can make your days at camp a living hell." Travis said with a mischief grin on his face.

Connor smirked at his brother's words while Percy gulped. The two boys are the infamous prankster at camp, so he knows what would happen.  You chuckled at your brother's words.

"Travis!" You scolded him but both boys just laugh.

"Fine fine! We'll leave now." They said but before they left, Connor looked at you one last time.

"If you wanna make out, please don't let us catch you again. Because I still can't get the picture out of my head." And then he left after both boys left you to turn around and put your arms around his neck.

He then also put his arms around your waist. "I love Y/N Y/LN," Percy said and kissed your forehead.

"I love you more Percy Jackson." You tell him with a smile on your face and kissed him.

You already told your brothers about your relationship and you're happy about it.

[thefanficmonster]

You Call It A Mess, We Call It Baking

Corpse Husband x Reader (Female)

Warnings: Swearing

Genre: Tons of fluff

Summary: A friendly argument via Discord leads to a baking session. Said baking session leads to a kitchen looking like it was the victim of a tornado. The lesson here is: don’t leave Corpse and Y/N in the kitchen together.

Requested by Anon, thank you so much for your request, hope I captured what you wanted well and I hope you enjoy reading it.

Corpse’s POV

I’ve been sitting in a Discord call with Y/N for about three years now, keeping her company as she’s editing some footage Sean sent her earlier. In the meantime, I’m reviewing the recently submitted stories by my viewers, reading some lines I find funny or downright terrifying to her.

“When I went in the kitchen to check on the cake, it was already out of the oven, a sticky note next to it on the counter that read: ‘smells nice’. My blood ran cold.“ I read the eerie sentence that is suggesting one of my most frightening scenarios - a stalker getting inside your house. I get chills just imagining what was probably going on in the sender’s head when they saw that.

“Jeez, it’s been so long since I’ve cooked something other than omelet.“ I hear Y/N reply absentmindedly, completely neglecting the fear factor of what’s going on in the story.

“Good job missing the point.” I chuckle, my eyes continuing to scan the email until my brain actually comprehends what she said, “Wait, you mean to tell me you have baked anything ever?! No offense, Y/N, but I was honestly doubting your ability to make an omelet as well. In all the years we’ve been friends I can’t remember you ever not saying ‘I hade takeout’ when I asked you what you had for dinner.” 

The scoff that comes through my headphones is the most adorable thing ever. She’s one to easily take a joke and never get offended by anything, but I know how heated she can get with her sarcasm. If I’m being honest, I’m always here for it. 

“There are many things you don’t know about me, Corpsy. A girl’s gotta have some aces up her sleeve.“ I can just imagine the narrowing of here eyes and the tilting of her head as she says that. She has a very specific way of expressing her thoughts. When we first met I accidentally made the comparison to one of those children’s books that have pictures, stories and small buttons for audio. That comparison has stuck with me and I look back at it very often. To fully catch her point, you don’t just listen to her. No, no, no. You focus on every change in her face and body. The way she looks away during certain parts of her speech, the way her voice plays with several different tones at once. Her posture while speaking. Just like those books - you don’t just listen to the audio, you look at the pictures and read the text.

“Well you know how much I like playing poker, why don’t you come over and throw those aces down.“ The last thing you should ever give Y/N is a challenge. She won’t only homerun it, but will never let you forget it either. When we met she was a girl with self esteem in the negatives, so seeing her brag about her achievements to me always brings me joy.

The details I’ve listed are pretty in-depth, aren’t they? That’s because I don’t want to let anything slip when it comes to her. This realization hit me early in our friendship and it was only like two years in that I finally connected the dots - this investment in her of mine was not simple nor platonic. Come to think of it, I reckon it never was.

“No way, I’m not changing out of my pajamas just to come to your house.” She laughs, once again making me picture her full body reaction to her statement.

I smirk, knowing I’m about to bring out my main weapon, “Oh come on, I’ve seen you in pajamas countless times. You can just admit you don’t wanna embarrass yourself. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”

I can sense her fuming even though she’s like two miles away. “I’ll be there in 15.”

She hangs up before getting the chance to hear me lose control of the laughter I’ve been suppressing. 

Man, I love this girl.

Y/N’s POV 

“It’s on.“ I say as soon as the door in front of me swings open to reveal the smug smirking face of my bestfriend. The foundation of my tough, unbothered act is shaken up by the outburst of butterflies in my stomach which occurs every time I see him. I can never look at this man and not turn at least a little red in the cheeks. 

It’s been long since I self-diagnosed with the malicious ‘falling for someone who would never reciprocate my feelings’ illness. I’ve been living with it for a while. What medication do I take? Dating other guys. One bad relationship after another, scolding myself that every one of them has been a desperate attempt to get him to change his gaze on me from ‘best friend’ to something more. Hell, I don’t even know how to define that ‘something more’. I once even tried to admit my feelings, but I was so vague and so incoherent that I didn’t understand myself, so how was he supposed to grasp my downright sad excuse of a confession. 

“No ‘hello’, no nothing?“ He moves aside to let me in. I walk right past him with a sassy flip of my hair to mask the nervousness of being aware that his eyes were on me, “Rude.“ He murmured with an obvious smile in his tone.

He looks as cute as ever, black sweatpants and a black tee, hair messy as though he has just rolled out of bed. I can say with the upmost certainty that he’s the only one who can pull of that hairstyle.

I hide mine as I throw on the apron that’s hanging by his fridge, ready to take over his kitchen and put those aces of mine to use. I can’t help but furrow my brows when I see him enter the kitchen behind me and lean against the counter. That’s when I notice the counter is lined with all the ingredients I’ll need for the cake I had in mind. 

“OK, what do we do first?“ he claps his hands together, straightening his posture as he gives me a expectant look.

It takes all my brain cells to prevent me from freezing up completely. I’m not usually like this, mind you, I’m a lot better at keeping what’s going on inside my head camouflaged. I don’t know what’s happening to me, but I don’t have much time to dwell on that. If I do, he’ll pick up on it right away.

“Um, we are not gonna do anything. I will be here baking, and you will remain outside the kitchen until I’m done. If you need something, ask and I’ll bring it to you. I can’t have you sabotaging my project, impostor.” I narrow my eyes at him like he’s the most dangerous of threats. And he is, for my mental sanity.

He fakes a hurt expression, clearly fighting to the best of his ability to hide how much he’s enjoying messing with me. “We’ve known each other for five years, Y/N. Don’t you trust me?”

I lean over the counter to where we’re about two feet apart and whisper, “Not. Even. A. Little. Bit.”

He smiles, “You’re just trying to get away with making this cake by watching a YouTube tutorial. Admit it, you can’t even crack an egg properly.” His eyes are now as narrowed as mine as we stare each other down at a proximity that’s rapidly raising my body temperature and heartbeat. It’s not fair. I’m a mess around him so he automatically has the upper hand.

As expected, I give in, “You better not mess around though.”

After I force him to give me several different oaths, we start. I’m working on the batter, he’s working on the frosting. We decided to decorate it with crimson and dark purple frosting. We’re both really pick about the color shades so he’s currently struggling to get the crimson perfect. 

“Let’s make it a layer cake.“ He suggests out of the blue, “Two layers, nothing crazy.“

I think it over for a moment or two before shrugging, “OK, but then you better grab a bowl and help me with the second layer. You know how to make the batter, right?”

He confirms that he does and walks out of my line of sight. I hear him open the fridge as I whisk the eggs I have cracked with the sugar. 

“You want something to drink?“ He asks while rummaging through the fridge.

I decline, try to focus on the recipe that I have somehow memorized to the smallest of details. As I’m reciting the it silently to make sure I didn’t skip any steps with the batter, I feel something cold run down my back causing me to scream.

“What the fuck was that?!“ I turn around and glare at him just as the ice cube slips out from under my hoodie and falls to the floor. The fucker’s laughing whole heartedly, not giving a damn that he just gave me a mini heart attack. Mainly cause I thought it was a roach or something, and he know I hate bugs.

“You do realize how boiling red you are, right? You look like a lobster. I thought you needed something to cool you down.“

Instead of being annoyed, I do a full 180 and decide to play his game, “Yeah, I know...” I trail off, reaching my hand back towards the bowl of flour. Grabbing a a handful of the white powder I throw it at him before he can even catch on. Needless, to say, his outfit and hair aren’t so black anymore. “Ah, I knew your hair would look good with snowflakes in it, but you can never be too sure.”

“This means war, Y/N.” His smile is borderline malicious, getting me excited for what’s to come. 

Him and I have always had these so called wars, but never like you’d imagine. We are silent, strategic, subtle. Neither of us knows when the other will attack until it’s too late. That’s why instead of going for a counter-attack right away, he heads to complete his mission of making the batter for the second layer.

All is quiet except the noises of the utensils clinking together every now and then. I keep a close watch on him out of the corner of my eye and I notice no sus behavior. That is until I see him take a spoonful of his batter and eat it. I whirl around at the speed of a gust of wind, eyes wide, “Do you want to fuck up your guts.” He ignores me as he takes another spoonful, bringing it close to his mouth. This time, I grab onto his arm causing the contents of the spoon to spill on my hoodie.

I roll my eyes, unbothered by the brown stain that by some miracle missed the apron and fell on my grey hoodie, “Don’t. Eat. The. Batter. Copy?“

“Paste.“ He nods, smirking with pride as he puts the spoon aside.

I sigh and return to my side of the kitchen, focusing on the next task: poring the batter into the circular baking tray which he, for some reason, has two of. He repeats the task soon after me and we put the two trays in the oven. I help him with the frosting, getting the shades close enough to what we had in mind. 

After about five minutes of the crusts baking, a wonderful smell spreads throughout the kitchen. At this point, all we have to do is wait for the oven to signal that our cinnamon crust is ready to be taken out, wait for it to cool down and then frost the cake.

“It smells really good.“ He comments, turning his head to look at me.

I’m sitting atop the kitchen counter and Corpse is standing next to me. This is the only time him and I are at approximately the same height. The realization brings a thought to my mind, one that makes me feel like an evil mastermind.

“Hey, remember earlier when you said I couldn’t crack an egg properly?“ He hums affirmatively, “Well...“

The carton of eggs is within arm’s reach. I grab an egg, chip it off the side of the counter and crack it apart above his head, its contents coating his hair. “How’s that for a proper egg crack?” I ask victoriously.

He lets out a surprised sound, something between a gasp and a laugh. Shaking his head to get the yoke to fall down, he says amusedly: “I don’t know...you tell me.”

Too late for me to do anything. There’s milk all over me.

The malicious smile on his face is replicated on mine and now it’s really on. However, as we reach for the items meant to be out weapons, the oven dings.

Frosting the cake goes about as well as you expect: there’s more frosting on us than the cake itself.

“Let’s make amends, please. I’m so not looking forward to taking three showers tonight.“ I say, raising a white napkin and waving it around.

“Fair enough.“ He shrugs and we shake hands.

As I’m about to pull my hand back, he holds onto it, making me look up at him. Our eyes lock and I suddenly regain that same shakiness and vulnerability I always have around him. It never leaves me, I just manage to ignore it. The sound of my panic is muffled by the sound of my heart thumping the loudest it has ever. 

Expectedly, he is the bold one who makes the first and final move. The move to end one era of us and start another. His lips touch mine and all fades. It’s just him and I. The friends who were never just friends. The cowards who suck at dealing with emotions. The fearful little kids that are afraid of rejection because we both mean so much to each other, to the point of suffering to prevent the possibility of losing one another.

We embrace who we are, finally admitting that friends is not what we are meant to remain forever.

The kiss might’ve been brief, but the meaning it carries makes it the most valuable moment of my life. One I’ll cherish forever. Something in his eyes tells me he will too. That’s all I need. That’s all we need. No words are necessary.

Suddenly, our bubble bursts as a result of his ringing phone. He lets go of one of my hands and takes his phone from the counter.

“It’s Dave”, he smiles, picking up the call and turning to get me in the camera frame. “Hey Dave, look who’s here with me.“

I wave at the camera and at the baffled face of Dave. “Hi!”

“What, in the name of God, is that mess?“ He raises both his eyebrows as his eyes scan us and the kitchen behind us.

“You call it a mess, we call it baking.“ Corpse and I look at each other and smile, blushing as red as the streak in Dave’s hair.

“Am I missing something here? Did I call at a bad time?“ He asks, still struggling to rationalize what he is seeing.

“Yeah, you actually did. I’ll call you back.“ Corpse dead-ass hangs up on him, putting his phone away before turning to me, “We have more important matters at the moment.“

He kisses me again, this time more confidently. His arms wrap around me and prep me up on the counter, insinuating that this kiss won’t be as short as the last.

[gretagerwigsmuse]

oh my gosh!!!! this chapter was so perfect! there was just the right amount of fluff to counteract hades’ internal angst about her birthday and i had the biggest smile on my face seeing her just take a step back and enjoy everything and see that these people care about her? she’s thousands of years old, but she still gets to act like 20-30 something girl around bradley and i just love that! more below 💕

Part of you longs for a fall afternoon back in Virginia. Oceana is probably your favorite place that you have ever been stationed. - oh the invisible string of it all

Normally, you lived on coffee and water all day until you got home. You were always so busy, you would forget to eat. Bradley noticed this and made a habit of asking you every day, multiple times a day if possible, if you had eaten. - beyond this being terribly sweet of bradley, i never really considered her eating? like i know she’s a god and maybe it comes up in another chapter and i just don’t remember (because she cooks greek food for bradley the first time he comes over), but like does she eat? like does she need to eat?

[Amelia] had been pet sitting and dog walking for you after school to earn some extra money. She had her learners permit and was saving up for a car. - awwwwww i love this little detail! it’s nice that hades has this support network now! and amelia seems like she’d be good at pet sitting idk just a vibe haha

"We could hang out? Maybe go to the boardwalk or get dinner or something if you wanted to." Bradley says hopefully. - okay obviously we know he’s asking to do something for her birthday, but like for all she knows he could be asking her out and she has to say no because she’s so in her head and tripped out over her birthday 🥺

Maybe he's finally tired of you. They always get tired of you - he’s not because he’s not like ‘her’ not in the ways that matter

You find Bradley, who has a vase full of bright red poppies in one hand, and a box from your favorite bakery in the other hand. He has the biggest smile on his face as he shuffles in and sets everything down.//You can't just find poppies anywhere in San Diego, so you know he had to special order them, and your favorite bakery is a forty-five minute drive one way. This is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for you. - oh sweetheart 🥺 you got me all teary eyed over this! he just wanted you to have a nice morning like you deserve! the little details about the bakery and ofc the flowers are really sweet. he’s so kind

He also let's you know that he told them that it was your birthday and that they had plans to surprise you with a party at the Hard Deck, but given your reaction this morning, he didn't want to overwhelm you with that. - good move bubs, def would’ve overwhelmed her and shows he really knows and understands her. i hope she’s still down for the party later (i can picture her doing a really funny fake surprised face)

"Bradley! You shouldn't have!" You tell him as you look at the small piece of silver jewelry. - hades it’s def as much of a gift for him as it is for you 😉

You should have taken it off decades ago, but the smallest part of you held onto the hope that she would change her mind.//When your old anklet broken, it was freeing, a tangible reminder that she didn't have a hold on you anymore. - oh sweet girl! good i’m glad she has a new memory for a new anklet

It's taking every ounce of self control he has to not place a kiss right above it. And to not trail his lips up your leg to your core until you're a moaning mess for him. - you were right this is quite the visual 😮‍💨 can’t wait for the next time he’s on his knees

"Girlfriend?" Bradley clarifies. You can tell he's worried that he's been reading this whole situation wrong. - bubs!!!!

"I mean, I didn't really tell any of you, so how would you know. It's not really at the forefront of my mind to tell people about my sexuality unless it comes up." You say. - so true in regards to the military!

You just hope that you haven't scared Bradley off, because by the end of the day today, you're hoping to have a slice of him for dessert. - MA’AM!?!! CAKE BY THE OCEAN!?!

For a fleeting moment, you trail your fingers down the length of his spine, and you swear you hear his breath hitch. - oh this is so pretty

You're dressed in a black crop top with some blue flames stitched into the hem. - the recurring flame motif on her clothes is so cute! i love her designated style even tho it isn’t mine?

You pulled one from the pack and conjured a small flame on your index finger and lit it. - THIS IS SO COOL

Bradley shook his head and placed one of his large arms on the wall above your head, caging you in further. He leaned down and plucked it from your lips before putting it between his own and taking a long drag of it himself. He slowly tipped his head up and exhaled, blowing a smoke ring in the process before dropping the rest of the cigarette to the ground and stomping it out with his boot. - ohmyfuckinggod it’s better than i imagined wowowowowoowwow oh god my drunk cigs only self is SWOONING like pick me up off the ground i wanna share a cig with him so badly

“Can I take you on a date tomorrow? Just the two of us?"//"I like you a lot too, Bradley. And I would love to go on a date with you." You smile at him. - EEEEEEEEEP ohmygod!!!! i’m so so excited!!! it happened!!!!

false god

Series Warnings: Mythology!AU. Language, alcohol, drinking. Military inaccuracies. Mutual pining, unrequited love. Allusions to and eventual smut. Minors DNI. 18+. Individual chapter warnings will come as needed. Banner Credit @thedroneranger

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Chapter 7: Centuries

It's weird—having a group of friends. You've never stayed long enough with a squadron to call them your friends. But that's what the Daggers are. If you're being honest, they are more like your family.

Sure, you have friends. Minthe, Hecate, Lyla, and the rest of the band, but they don't know you like the Daggers do.

You've been in California for seven months now. You've seen the spring, the summer, and now, the fall. Even though it's October, it's still hot. You love the West Coast and being able to wear sundresses year round, but you do miss how the East Coast gets all four seasons. Part of you longs for a fall afternoon back in Virginia. Oceana is probably your favorite place that you have ever been stationed.

You miss getting cozy in an oversized sweater, seeing the leaves change, and drinking a pumpkin spice latte. If you tried to do that here, you'd have a heat stroke.

But California was nice. For once, it felt like home.

You'd be able to curl up with Cerberus and Hydra and read they ever growing stack of books by your bed.

You sighed as you stretched your muscles and got out of your bed. You grabbed your phone and checked your notifications. You sighed when you saw what day was coming up.

October thirteenth.

Your absolute least favorite day of the year. At least it fell on Friday this, and Maverick just so happened to give everyone the day off. You were grateful that you would be able to spend your day away from everyone.

After checking your phone, you strolled into the bathroom to take a shower. You let the hot water envelope you as you mentally went over your plans for the day.

You try to remind him that you are not a child and can take care of yourself, and he reminds you that you aren't a plant that can use photosynthesis to make her own food, and that that iced coffee doesn't count as a meal.

Once clean, you hopped out to feed your pets and make yourself some coffee. You were flying this morning, so you should probably eat something light for breakfast.

Normally, you lived on coffee and water all day until you got home. You were always so busy, you would forget to eat. Bradley noticed this and made a habit of asking you every day, multiple times a day if possible, if you had eaten.

You shake your head as you toast a bagel and smear it with cream cheese. You finish it and your coffee before drying your hair and styling it into your sleek military bun. Then, you get into your uniform and pack your gym bag before grabbing your water bottle, second coffee, and keys.

As you head out the door, you text Amelia and remind her that you have a long day on base and that she needs to come by after school today to walk Cerberus, and she could hang out with Cerberus Hydra until you got home.

She had been pet sitting and dog walking for you after school to earn some extra money. She had her learners permit and was saving up for a car.

You were content as you rode the elevator down to your parking deck level. And for a fleeting moment, you thought that maybe, just maybe, you wouldn't hate October thirteenth this year.

You had just made it to your car when you heard the unmistakable sound of Bradley Bradshaw cursing. "Mother fucking son of a bitch!"

"Bradley? Are you okay?" You ask him as you round the corner of your car. He is leaning up against the Bronco with an irritated look on his face.

"Angel! Oh, thank god! I was just about to text you. The Bronco has a flat, and there is no way I can change it and make it to base on time. Can I hitch a ride with you?" He pleads.

"Sure. Get in." You chuckle. Bradley breathes a sigh of relief and thanks you before grabbing his things and scurring over to your car. Even in his haste, he doesn't forget to open your door for you before throwing his things in your back seat and getting in.

"Thanks again." He says as the two of you cruise down the highway. "Anytime, Bradley. Anytime." You sigh as you tap the steering wheel.

"Did you eat breakfast?" He asks you. You don't look over at him. Your eyes stay fixed on the road in front of you, but you know he's got a teasing smirk on his face.

"Yes, Dad. I had breakfast." You roll your eyes at him. A smile curls at the corner of his mouth.

A few minutes pass before an alarm on your phone disrupts the song on the radio.

"Can you turn that off for me? I must have forgotten about it." You ask Bradley. He grabs the device but can't unlock it. "The code is one, three, two, seven." You tell him.

He quickly types it in and dismisses your alarm. You ask him to check and make sure all of them are off. He does so quickly for you before trying to pull the music back up on your phone.

Bradley doesn't mean to, but as he is swiping through your apps, he sees your calendar open with an interesting note listed for Friday. He quickly locks your phone back before casually asking, "So, do you have any plans for our day off on Friday?" Bradley doesn't miss the way your jaw quickly tightens at the mention of the day.

"Um—no. I think I'm going to start reading one of the books that I've been putting off." You say to him almost dismissively.

"We could hang out? Maybe go to the boardwalk or get dinner or something if you wanted to." Bradley says hopefully.

"I'll probably be too busy to do that. You should ask someone else from the squad I'm sure Nat or Bob would be down." You say.

"I thought you said you didn't have plans?" Bradley counters. He wonders why you are being so dodgy and why you hadn't told him or anyone what Friday was.

"I don't, but I just want to take the day off. Not do anything. Be lazy." You say aggressively. Bradley takes the hint and drops the subject. Thankfully, you are on base now. You quickly park and grab your things to go about your day. You are testing some software this morning and won't be with the rest of the Daggers. In a way, you're grateful because it gives you a chance to breathe.

Bradley quickly makes his way to a briefing room where Maverick goes over the plans for the day. Once he's finished, he dismisses everyone to get ready for their assignments.

When everyone gets to the locker room, Bradley calls for their attention.

"Did anyone know that Hades' birthday is on Friday?" He asks the group a murmur of "no's" floats across the crowd.

"Well, it is, and seeing how we have all done something cool to celebrate each other, I think we should do something for her. I don't think she's ever had a friend group like us, and it would be nice." Bradley says. Everyone agrees, and the planning begins.

They come up with the idea for a surprise party for you at the Hard Deck after the yearly dogfight football game.

All week, you can tell something is up with Bradley. He's acting weird around you. Almost shady.

You leave base Thursday, still not able to shake the odd feeling he has given you all week. You head home to shower and lock yourself away for the weekend.

You try to brush it off, but you know something is going on with him. You just can't put your finger on it.

Maybe he's finally tired of you

They always get tired of you

However, fate had other plans.

At eight a.m. sharp, there is a loud knocking at your door. You grumble and lay in bed, hoping whoever it is will go away, but they don't. You groan as you drag yourself out of bed and slip into some sweats.

You're ready to give whoever is at your door this early on your day off a piece of your mind. Hell, you might even be able to rationalize sending their soul to the Underworld.

But when you open the door, you don't find just anyone standing there. You find Bradley, who has a vase full of bright red poppies in one hand, and a box from your favorite bakery in the other hand. He has the biggest smile on his face as he shuffles in and sets everything down.

You don't even get to ask him why his is here before he turns to you and says, "Happy Birthday!" His arms as stretched wide to pull you into a hug, but as he steps towards you, you step away.

"How—how did you know it was my birthday?" You ask him. "I—I saw it on your calendar when I was turning the alarm off on your phone on Monday. I wasn't snooping, but when I went to pull your playlist back up, I accidentally tapped on it." Bradley tells you. His enthusiasm dips as he sees that you aren't exactly thrilled that he knows what today is.

"Thank you for this, Bradley, but I don't really celebrate my birthday. It's just another day." You sigh as you turn from him. You swallow thickly as you feel the tears creep up. You can't believe his did this for you.

You can't just find poppies anywhere in San Diego, so you know he had to special order them, and your favorite bakery is a forty-five minute drive one way. This is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for you. You're so used to spending your birthday alone that this small act has you on the verge of balling your eyes out.

You can't help it, and the tears start to fall. You let out a small sob and bury your face in the sleeves of your sweat shirt. You don't want him to see you cry as you stand with your back still to him. But Bradley hears the whimper you let out and is instantly pulling you into his arms.

"Angel, what's wrong? It's your birthday. Why are you crying? Did I do something wrong?" He asks you. His voice is dripping with concern.

"No, it's just—" You sniffle as you wipe your nose with your sleeve. "No one has ever done anything this nice for me in a very long time. I haven't had friends or partners remember my birthday, let alone do something special for me like this." You say as you gesture to the counter.

Bradley takes your face in his hands and swipes the tears from your cheeks away with his thumbs. "It sounds to me like you've not been hanging out with the right people, Angel. Now, why dont we sit down and dig into these pastries? " Bradley says in earnest.

You blink back a few tears and give him a weepy smile. "Did you get some lemon berry muffins?" You ask him hopefully.

"Of course I did. I know they are your favorite." He smiles at you.

After breakfast, Bradley tells you that the squad is getting together for a game of dogfight football. He also let's you know that he told them that it was your birthday and that they had plans to surprise you with a party at the Hard Deck, but given your reaction this morning, he didn't want to overwhelm you with that.

You appreciate that he is looking out for you.

You go get changed for football while he texts everyone to let them know that you are aware of the plan for the day. Jake tries to badger him about ruining the surprise, but when Bradley tells them about how you don't celebrate your birthday and how you were overwhelmed this morning, he immediately drops the issue.

He's sitting on your couch watching TV with Cerberus and Hydra when you come out of your room, ready for the day.

Bradley has to remind himself to breathe because even though he has seen you in a bathing suit and gym clothes, he's still taken aback by how you look in your black sports bra and electric blue running shorts.

He swallows thickly before quickly excusing himself to his car while you lock up your apartment.

You meet him at his Bronco. He's standing by the passenger door waiting for you, holding a small gift bag.

"Bradley." You say as he places it in your had. "It's not much. Just a little something." He says. You shake your head and take the bag from him. When you pull the small box out you almost cry again.

"Bradley! You shouldn't have!" You tell him as you look at the small piece of silver jewelry.

You run your fingers over the silver chain and across the angel wing charm adorning it.

"I remember how upset you were when your flower anklet snapped and how you said you felt weird without it. So I got you a new one." He tells you.

You inhale sharply when he brings up your broken piece of jewelry. Bradley was right, it did have a flower charm on it, but not just any flower charm.

It was a narcissus flower, a daffodil, one Persephone, and grew herself before taking it to Hephaestus to have him forge it into the ankle bracelet you'd worn for centuries. It was supposed to be a physical reminder of her love, but lately you'd found that if weighed you down.

You should have taken it off decades ago, but the smallest part of you held onto the hope that she would change her mind.

But now, you didn't need that hope anymore. You had Bradley. We your old anklet broken, it was freeing, a tangible reminder that she didn't have a hold on you anymore.

"Angel wings?" You ask him. "To remind you that you are one." He says.

Bradley stands there across from you for a moment as you admire your gift. Now would be a great time to tell him how you feel, but it isn't the right moment. This isn't what you pictured in your head when you confess your feelings for him. You want it to be perfect.

Gods, he was so sweet

The more time you spent with Bradley, you realized that he treated you like a person, not a possession.

He didn't want to own you

He just wanted to show you he cared

Instead, you ask him, "Care to help me put this one before we leave?" You're trying to sound flirty when you say it, and you're pretty sure it worked because next thing you know, Bradley is lifting you onto the bench seat of the Bronco and taking the anklet from your hand.

He drops to his knees on the smoothe concrete of the parking garage before carefully taking your left leg and placing it against his chest.

He gently unclasps the hook of the anklet before looping it around you. He slides it along until the wings are in the front. His fingertips ghost along your calf as his admires how the piece looks on you.

It's taking every ounce of self control he has to not place a kiss right above it. And to not trail his lips up your leg to your core until you're a moaning mess for him.

He stays there for a moment and looks up at you, grinning like a devil. "Perfect." He says. You agree with him because the view of him on his knees for you is absolutely perfect. The only way it could be any better is if your fingers were laced through his curls while his face was buried between your thighs.

"It's beautiful, Bradley. Thank you." You say as he stands up. He places a hand on your thigh to steady himself, just high enough for your breath to hitch. And he lets it linger just long enough for it to be considered more than friendly.

The drive to the beach was pleasant. You and Bradley talked, but mostly song along to a playlist he had made special for today.

He rolled to a stop at a red light and turned to you. "I never celebrated my birthday much after my mom died. I dated a few girls who tried to get me to celebrated but I wasn't a fan of it until the squad got together." He tells you, trying to be relatable.

"My last series girlfriend is the reason I don't celebrate my birthday." You confess to him.

She had ruined them for you, really

"Girlfriend?" Bradley clarifies. You can tell he's worried that he's been reading this whole situation wrong.

"Yeah. But I've had boyfriends too. I'm bisexual, Bradley." You tell him. You see his shoulders relax.

"Oh, I didn't know that. That's—cool." He says, not sure how to respond.

"I mean, I didn't really tell any of you, so how would you know. It's not really at the forefront of my mind to tell people about my sexuality unless it comes up." You say.

There is a beat of silence between the two of you. "Are you okay? I promise I'm still the same ol' Hades that I was five minutes ago." You say to him.

"Yeah, I'm good. I'm sorry, I feel like I've made this weird now." Bradley shakes his head as he drives.

"You're fine, Bradley. You aren't the first person to be curious. Some people like to order one thing off the menu, and that's cool. But why would I limit myself when I could have my pick from the buffet?" You tell him. He laughs at that.

"I don't think I've ever heard some explain their sexuality with food. But it makes sense. Hate to break it to you, but I'm an order off the menu kind of guy." He says.

"You know who you are and what you like. I respect that." You tell him. And it's the truth. Just as quickly as the conversation starts, it's over. You just hope that you haven't scared Bradley off, because by the end of the day today, you're hoping to have a slice of him for dessert.

..............

"I know that you don't have the best relationship with water, but I promise that it won't ever be deeper than your ankles, and if you are getting overwhelmed, you can sit out or let me know and we can all take a break. I also told Jake that if he tries to pull any more stunts, he can kiss his perfect teeth goodbye because I'll knock every one of them down his throat." Bradley tells you as you walk towards the spot on the beach that the gang has set up.

"Happy Birthday, Hades!" Every cheers as the two of you walk up to them. Phoenix and Halo wrap you in a tight hug.

You take and drop your things on a blanket that Bob has set up before applying your sunscreen. You don't even ask Bradley to help you, he simply takes the bottle from your hands and covers your back in it.

"You need some too." You remind him. He opens his mouth to argue with you. But a stern look over the rim of your sunglasses makes him stop. He covers his chest, arms, and legs with some. You carefully smooth some over the taught muscles of his back and across his broad shoulders.

For a fleeting moment, you trail your fingers down the length of his spine, and you swear you hear his breath hitch. You hear the rest of the team calling for you, so you clear your throat he turns around.

"Don't forget your face and ears." You remind him. "Sure thing, Mom." He needles you.

"You fuss at me over breakfast, I fuss at you over sun protection. It evens out." You chuckle as you join everyone else.

Jake goes over the rules for everyone before declaring himself a captain and making you the other one. "I'll even let you pick first." He tells you like it's an honor or something.

Naturally, Bradley is your first choice. "Of course." Jake rolls his eyes. You flip him off and turn to Phoenix. You miss Jake wagging his eyebrows and making a mock kissing face at Bradley.

Jake picks Coyote first, and then you pick Phoenix.

"Hangman, I love you, bro, but I'm not tackling my girl if she gets the ball. I know where my bread is buttered." Coyote tells him. Phoenix laughs. "C'mon Javy, don't be nervous. You know I like it a little rough." Jake fakes a gag before picking Omaha to be on his team.

When all is said and done, it's you, Bradley, Phoenix, Bob, Payback, Fanboy, and Fritz on a team. Hangman, Coyote, Omaha, Halo, Harvard, and Yale make up the other.

As soon as the game gets underway, you realize just how competitive your friends can be. You knew they were like that up in the air. You just didn't expect it to be this way on land too.

After two games, the teams are tied at one with a piece. The next score wins the game and bragging rights.

You turn to look for him, but you weren't looking where you were running, and you crashed into Bradley. You grabbed his arm to steady yourself, but instead, both of you toppled over before landing on the damp sand. Your eyes met his as he hovered over you, pressing your bodies together. Before you could do something stupid, you had to remind yourself that you were on a beach surrounded by your friends.

Phoenix tossed you the ball as you run down the sand looking for an opening. You dodge bodies left and right, hoping for a chance to pass it to Bradley, but you can't find him, and the setting sun glares in your eyes.

"That's a touchdown!" Phoenix loudly proclaims, and Bradley hoists himself up before reaching put his hand to pull you to your feet. Once you're vertical again you notice that you landed in the end zone and that your team won.

After packing up, everyone breaks to head home with a promise to meet back up in two hours for a birthday celebration.

Bradley happily takes the two of you home and informs you that he will gladly be your designated driver for the night so you can really cut loose. You tell him he doesn't have to do that, but he insisted. The poor boy didn't know that you could drink every drop that Penny had in her bar and still be sober. You relent though and take him up on his offer.

Ninety minutes later, when he comes to get you, he regrets his decision.

You're dressed in a black crop top with some blue flames stitched into the hem. You had on dark jeans that were tastfully ripped up to your thighs and some black heeled boots. Even with them on Bradley was still so much taller that you.

Of course, you wore your favorite red lipstick. It was Bradley's favorite, too. He wondered what it would look like, all smudged up after he kissed your breathless.

All night, you flitted around, talking and laughing, but your eyes always found their way back to Bradley, and his were always on yours.

The drive to the Hard Deck was a pleasant one, and the place was in full swing when the two of you arrived. There weren't as many people there tonight. The Daggers, Maverick, Amelia, your bandmates, and a few other people from base.

A few hours in, you were corralled to the piano where Bradley led everyone in off-key version of "Happy Birthday."

As the song finished, you were about to peel off when he stopped you. "I have a surprise." He said as he led you back to the piano.

You stood there, waiting as he prepared himself. He played a few keys to warm up before diving in. Soon, the familiar melody of "Miracle" flooded your ears as Bradley began to sing it to you in front of everyone. He was playing your favorite song—the same one his father played for his mother.

You swallowed thickly as you war he'd his fingers dance over the keys while he played.

He really cared about you

It was nice

It felt good

Sooner than you would have liked, the song ended. And as much as you wanted to stay inside, you needed a break to process what had just happened.

You had to get out of there for a minute. You just needed some fresh air, a moment to catch your breath. Everything was becoming too much and not enough at the same time.

You thought you could keep the butterflies at bay, but seeing Bradley sitting at the piano, swathed in the glow of the neon lights from the bar, playing your favorite song, had them erupting from the cocoons you'd placed them in.

The weeks of playful flirting, witty banter, soft touches, and lingering glances had led straight to this knot in your stomach.

What had you gotten yourself into?

You leaned up against the rough exterior of the Hard Deck and fished the well-worn pack of cigarettes from your purse. You don't know why you kept these. They didn't do anything for you, but something about the act calmed you. You pulled one from the pack and conjured a small flame on your index finger and lit it.

"And the multi-million dollar jets we fly for a living won't?" You shot back as you placed the cigarette between your lips.

You wrapped your cherry-colored lips around the end and took a long drag before exhaling. The scent of the burning tobacco mixed with the scotch you'd been sipping earlier and wrapped around you like a warm blanket. You were about halfway through when a voice cut through the silence of the night.

"Those things will kill you, y'know?" Bradley said as he stepped out onto the deck and into your space. He slotted himself in front of you. Trapping you between the wall and his body. His six foot one frame loomed over you, making you feel extremely small.

Bradley shook his head and placed one of his large arms on the wall above your head, caging you in further. He leaned down and plucked it from your lips before putting it between his own and taking a long drag of it himself. He slowly tipped his head up and exhaled, blowing a smoke ring in the process before dropping the rest of the cigarette to the ground and stomping it out with his boot.

You looked up at him through your lashes. "'Those things will kill you, y'know?" You parrot his words back to him. A low chuckle reverberates from his chest before he looks down at you and meets your eyes.

In the dim light, you could just make out the faint traces of where your lipstick had transferred off the cigarette and onto his lips. His hand, now free from your shared cigarette, came to rest on your hip. You could feel the warmth radiating off him. His thumb skimmed the small sliver of flesh that was barely visible between the waist of your jeans and the hem of your top. He hummed appreciatively as goosebumps erupted across your skin.

You quickly look down and away, but he tucks your chin between his thumb and index finger and lifts your head up, forcing you to meet his intense gaze."What are we doing, Angel?" He asks you. "What do you mean, Bradley?" You ask back.

You know what he means

"Don't play dumb on me know. You know exactly what I mean." He tells you as he leans down. His face is inches from yours. Your gaze drifts from his eyes to his lips.

"Tell me to stop. Tell me you don't want this." His hot, smokey breath fans out as his lips are just millimeters from yours.

You're just about to lean up and close the distance when the loud sound of the back doors of the Hard Deck opening startle both of you, causing Bradley to jump back and you to straighten up off the wall.

"Hey, Ha—" Jake trails off as he looks at the scene before him. "Was I interrupting something?" He asks.

"What do you want, Bagman?" Bradley asks with an edge of irritation in his voice.

"It's time for cake." Jake says as he turns to go back inside. You and Bradley both sigh. "We aren't done here." He tells you before opening the door and gesturing for you to go in before him.

After the cake is served, the crowd starts to disperse. You find Bradley and tell him you're ready to leave. The drive home is silent but tense. The events from earlier are still playing in your mind. You'd been so close to kissing him.

You wanted him so badly

Bradley walks you to your door, but stops you before you go in.

"Angel, wait." He tells you. "Yes?" You ask him. You feel your heart racing.

"I like you. A lot. As more than a friend. And I know I screwed up a few months ago, but I feel like you like me too. And I've tried to tell you, but every time I do, something happens. So, before something else stops me, I'd like to ask you something. Can I take you on a date tomorrow? Just the two of us?" Bradley asks you. You blink at him a few times.

He shifts his weight from foot to foot as he awaits you answer.

"I like you a lot too, Bradley. And I would love to go on a date with you." You smile at him.

A wide grin spreads over his face as he pulls you in for a hug.

"I'll pick you up a six. I have the perfect idea in mind. Nothing too fancy." Bradley tells you.

"I'll see you then. Goodnight, Bradley." You say as you kiss his cheek.

"Night, Angel." He says before almost skipping down the hallway.

Taglist: @roosterscock @shanimallina87 @teacupsandtopgun @mayhemmanaged @wkndwlff @roosterforme @daggerspare-standingby @dakotakazansky @startrekfangirl2233 @hecate-steps-on-me @cassiemitchell @na-ta-sh-aa @katieshook02 @desert-fern @je-suis-prest-rachel @soulmates8 @sometimesanalice @diorrfairy @eli2447 @xoxabs88xox @djs8891 @roosters-girl @sebsxphia @rosiahills22 @dempy @callsign-magnolia @alchemxx @gretagerwigsmuse @withahappyrefrain @lt-spork @multifandomlover4life @beccaanne814 @bradshawsbaby @seitmai @kmc1989 @bcarolinablr @roosterisdaddy36 @itsdesiree86 @waywardhunter95 @hisredheadedgoddess28 @whatislovevavy @asshlyyyy @inkandarsenic @lillyrosenight @tomanybandstolove @jiminie-08 @dingochef @laracrofted

[theultimateultimateweapon]

Kirby: Meta Knight and the Knight of Hades (Chapter 3)

Kirby, King Dedede, and Waddle Dee boarded the battleship Halberd.

After hearing the story, they were surprised.

“Eh!? The Galaxia has been stolen!?”

“Troublesome, Meta Knight. I guess you weren’t careful…”

Dedede was going to laugh, but when he saw Meta Knight’s enraged mood, he quickly shut his mouth.

“Then, the Meta Knight I found was a fake but his sword was real. This is terrible!” Kirby said with a furious face.

“I hope no one else was hurt with the Galaxia. If it had a heart, I think it would be sad. I’m sorry for the Galaxia!” Waddle Dee was worried.

“He may be doing bad things on other stars. Maybe he’s going to disguise himself as Meta Knight, rampage, and damage Meta Knight’s reputation…”

Captain Vul nodded. “Well, I’m worried about that too. He may be trying to destroy Meta Knight’s honor. We need to act quickly…”

At that time, the communications desk rang.

When Axe Knight hit the switch, a surprising face was projected on the screen.

Captain Vul.

Everyone was shocked, seeing Captain Vul sitting next to Meta Knight.

Taken aback, the eagle stared at his face on the screen.

The Captain Vul on the screen said with a serious look, “Meta Knight, it’s a disaster! I was kidnapped by a bad guy and locked up. That eagle next to you is a fake and is aiming for your life!”

“What did you say!?”

The Meta Knights, upset, compared the two Captain Vuls.

Sword Knight said, stunned, “The voice is the same… which is the real one!?”

Captain Vul, sitting in his seat, shook his fists and shouted. “No, I am real! Don’t be fooled~!”

Captain Vul on the screen also shouted. “Believe me, Meta Knight! I’m the real Vul…”

“Stop this nonsense.” Meta Knight said in a cold voice to the screen. “I know the real Captain Vul is here. What do you want?”

“...”

The Captain Vul on the screen suddenly gave a fearless laugh.

“Hmm, I can’t help it. As you can guess, I’m not Captain Vul. I am the best disguise master in the universe, I can transform into anyone I’ve seen before. I am Beryl.”

“I don’t care about your name. Tell me what you want.”

“It’s about this,” Beryl showed off the Galaxia. “It’s a great sword, just like the legend says. Just swing it lightly and one thing will cut in two!”

Beryl shook the Galaxia and laughed. “If you want this guy to be returned, prepare 10,000 point stars.”

“What?”

“Isn’t this your favorite sword? Compared, 10,000 point stars should be cheap.”

Captain Vul burst into anger and shouted, “You’re asking for a ransom! Monster!”

“Hmm! Don’t you want me to return it? If not, I guess this is mine.”

“Bastard!”

Captain Vul was about to hit the screen until the Meta Knights stopped him in a hurry.

Meta Knight said, “I want the Galaxia back. Tell me where to meet you.”

“Hehehe, you’re different from your subordinates. You seem to understand. The place is the planet Magnus. Come to the southern plains of the largest volcano. Ten thousand point stars, don’t forget.”

The communication was cut.

Kirby spoke. “I can’t believe it! It looked just like Captain Vul, but I couldn’t tell which one was real!”

Captain Vul looked up and said to Meta Knight, “You saw the real eagle without any hesitation! I am deeply moved by this! Thank you, sir!”

Meta Knight nodded silently. 

The knights all whispered.

(There was a fake, but he could tell them apart!)

(That was the coolest thing!)

“Meta Knight,” King Dedede spoke. “Are you really willing to pay all those point stars to that guy?”

“No way,” he replied. “We will regain the Galaxia by any honorable means.”

“In other words, you’re going to take it back with force?”

“It belongs to me!” Behind the mask, the swordsman’s eyes were shining with a strong light.

Planet Magnus.

It’s a rough star with many volcanoes. There are a few inhabitants, and the vegetation is scattered.

The Meta Knights came to the plains on the south side of the largest volcano.

What was waiting there was a sword fighter who looked just like Meta Knight holding the Galaxia.

“He disguised himself as Meta Knight again…!” Blade Knight screamed in anger.

Beryl spoke in Meta Knight’s voice. “There you are. First of all, let’s get the promised 10,000 point stars.”

“Promised? You’re a real rotten guy, you know that?” King Dedede said with a moody face. “You monster, while pretending to be Meta Knight, you rampaged through Dreamland. You should have left us alone. As Dreamland’s ruler, I’m going to make you pay, be prepared…”

“Before you attack, your majesty,” Meta Knight said.

King Dedede raised his hammer and replied. “Just leave this to me.”

“This is my fight. There is no need for you to get involved.”

“But you don’t even have a weapon.”

“I may not have the Galaxia, but this will be enough.” Meta Knight held a regular sword sold at any weapons store.

“With such a puny weapon…”

King Dedede looked dissatisfied, but Captain Vul spoke.

“For Meta Knight, any weapon is powerful. He could even use his bare hands.”

Meta Knight walked towards Beryl.

Kirby and Waddle Dee cheered aloud.

“Go for it, Meta Knight!”

“Rally, rally, Meta Knight!”

Meta Knight was full of rage. Even Kirby and Waddle Dee stopped cheering and took a breath.

However, Beryl did not seem to flinch and held tight the Galaxia.

King Dedede muttered, “He seems to have confidence in his grip, it’s not a bad grip either.”

Sword Knight, annoyed, replied, “That’s just a pose. It just looks strong because he’s imitating Meta Knight!”

While everyone was watching, Meta Knight started.

“Let’s go!” He shouted and leapt at Beryl. He lifted his sword and tried to slash at that moment.

Meta Knight disappeared.

Kirby and the other screamed involuntarily.

“What!? Meta Knight…!”

“He disappeared!?”

Beryl burst into laughter as if he had won. “Fufufu! Hahaha, it was a trap!”

“Wanna… see?”

Kirby and his friends rushed to the points where Meta Knight disappeared. 

There was a deep hole there. It seems there was a thin plate placed on the hole and covered with soil so that it could not be seen. Meta Knight hadn’t noticed and fell in.

“Oh no! Looks like your precious swordsman fell into a pitfall!”

“Meta Knight! Are you okay!?” Captain Vul called to the bottom of the hole, but there was no reply.

Sword Knight shouted, “Pitfalls don’t work for Meta Knight. You may not know, but Meta Knight can fly in the air!”

Beryl laughed louder and louder. “Fufufu! You don’t know anything!”

“What…!?”

“This hole is called ‘Magnus Hades Hole’. It’s so deep that there is a legend that it continues to Hades. Moreover, the hole is filled with poisonous gas.”

“Poisonous gas…!?”

“If you inhale it, your whole body will quickly become numb and you will not be able to move.”

“What did you say…!?”

Kirby and the others were stunned.

The immobile Meta Knight has no choice but to fall to the bottom of the deep, deep hold. And if he keeps breathing the poisonous gas…

“I’ll help him!”

Kirby was absorbed in trying to jump into the hole, but was stopped by King Dedede.

“Knucklehead! The poisonous gas could kill you!”

“But if he stays in there, Meta Knight…!”

“Fufufufu… hahahaha!” Beryl laughed. “Don’t you see? I didn’t come here for some point stars. I want to replace Meta Knight as the number one sword fighter in the galaxy!”

“Monster!”

King Dedede swung his hammer up and attacked Beryl.

Beryl quickly jumped and ran away.

“Wait-!”

Kirby tried to chase after them, but Beryl escaped quickly. He soon lost sight of them.

Captain Vul said, “Kirby, leave them alone. Now, the first thing to do is rescue Meta Knight.”

“Uh, yeah, but how…?”

“Hmm… if only there was a way to get into the hole without inhaling the gas…!”

Captain Vul pondered with his head in his hand.

Axe Knight shouted, “Captain, there’s a hose used for deck cleaning in the warehouse of the Halberd! If it’s long enough, do you think it’ll be useful!?”

“Oh, that’s a good idea!” Captain Vul clapped his hands. “Get the hose right away! Hurry up!”

Kirby and Dedede can both hover in the air. Unfortunately, King Dedede got hungry so Kirby decided to go down into the hole.

“Be careful, Kirby.”

Waddle Dee seemed uneasy, but Kirby cheerfully replied.

“It’s okay! I’ll bring Meta Knight home.”

Captain Vul shouted. “Hurry up, Kirby! We don’t have much time!”

“Alright!”

Kirby grabbed the hose and jumped into the hole.

The inside of the hole was dark and difficult to see.

Kirby went down into the dark at full speed.

He wanted to call to Meta Knight, but he couldn’t speak with the hose in his mouth. In his heart, he kept screaming.

(I’m coming! Hold on Meta Knight!)

As the name Hades Hole suggests, the hole was horribly deep.

There seemed to be no end in sight.

As he went down the rocky interior, the air felt thinner.

(How long does this last… The hose, I wonder if it’s long enough… I might really fall into Hades…)

At that moment, Kirby’s hand finally touched something hard.

(Ah! Meta Knight!)

He reached the bottom of the hole that seemed to continue forever.

Meta Knight was out cold. Even if Kirby shook him, there was no reaction.

(Firmly now…!)

Kirby held the body of Meta Knight tightly with both hands.

He was hovering as hard as he could! He was approaching the light above where everyone was waiting. Kirby sped up.

Rescued by his friend, Meta Knight was immediately brought to the Battleship Halberd.

“Meta Knight! Meta Knight-!”

Captain Vul and his men continued to speak, but Meta Knight’s consciousness did not return. His body temperature was getting lower and lower. He was hardly breathing.

King Dedede said wildly, “Hey, Meta Knight! Buddy, how long are you gonna sleep? Hey, I’ll wake you up!”

Meta Knight’s subordinates rushed to stop him when he raised his hammer.

Captain Vul said. “Calm down, your majesty. You can’t use your hammer, we need a doctor. Find the best doctor in the universe!”

The Meta Knights ran off and began to look in the database.

Kirby and Waddle Dee were sitting in the corner of the lobby drowning in worry.

“...It’s okay, Kirby. Meta Knight will be fine, right…?”

“He’ll be alright. Meta Knight is… strong.” Kirby replied, but his voice was weak.

Sword Knight and Blade Knight called out to him.

“Kirby. Let’s leave this to Captain Vul, we’re going out.”

“Eh? Where are you going?”

“We’ve decided. We’re going to catch this disguise master!”

Their voices were powerful.

Kirby stood up in a heartbeat. “That’s right. We can’t let them get away!”

“I’m going too!” King Dedede interrupted. “I’m not doing this for Meta Knight, I just don’t like that disguise guy! I’m gonna have to hit him with my hammer. And…”

Dedede was quiet.

“If he’s still disguised as Meta Knight, making him bruised will feel all the much better.”

“...Sheesh, what a guy.” Sword Knight was disappointed, but regardless, the goal was set.

Captain Vul came in. “Meta Knight will be saved. You guys go take care of this business! Go on!”

“Leave it to us!” Kirby nodded loudly.

(Chapter 2 - Table of Contents - Chapter 4)

[1plus1kiyoomi]

Chapter 11: If You

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“I want to thank everyone for coming. I know some of you came from other cities, and it’s great to see you come here in Hyogo. Just now, I heard that all of the dogs have been adopted. I couldn’t explain the happiness I feel knowing that these dogs will finally have a safer place to come home to. But this is only the start. Once again, thank you. Please enjoy the rest of the day,” you say in the middle of the little open area of the shelter. Everyone claps so you bow and then start looking around.

“Hey, (Y/N).” Kuroo calls you and you see him holding Rice. “Can I bring your dog home?”

“No. Put him down and let him play with the other dogs,” you scold him. He puts Rice down and the dog runs to where Kenma is. The long haired man is seated at the corner, probably vlogging as well. “Where’s your wife?”

“I don’t know. The last time I saw her was at the airport yesterday. She’s probably with Alisa or something,” he answers you, shrugging nonchalantly. “Where’s your boyfriend?”

“He said he had somewhere important to go to first, but he’ll be here,” you tell him, then continue to interact with other people.

The Red Falcons are around, just like they promised. Suna brought Komori along, and the libero’s reaction to seeing you was priceless. He nearly fainted when you gave him a hug. Osamu catered so he was at the kitchen most of the time. Atsumu was playing around with his teammates, scaring the shit out of Sakusa by randomly holding up a dog to his face. The curly haired man only came because his daughter, Kia, begged him to go in her place. His sole purpose is to take pictures of the dogs for Kia.

An hour passes, people start going home, so you stay nearby the main door to greet them out. As you stand there, you hear a familiar voice, like literally. It’s a family member’s voice.

“Mom? Why are you here?” You ask in shock, forgetting to greet her properly.

Your feelings rages in fire just from seeing her. You and your mother have never been in good terms. She doesn’t see you as a daughter, but rather a competition. Ever since you were born, your father saw you as the most important girl in the world. And she hated that, she hated you. For that, she makes sure to give you a hard time.

“Is that what you say after not seeing your mother for a long time?” She says sternly, so you hesitantly give her a hug. “I came here to see how you are of course. And I wanted to talk to you about something. Sei’s here, too. He’s just looking for a spot to park.”

Your worries rise even more just from hearing your brother’s name. Sei definitely knows about Kita. He knows everything going on in your life without you knowing how. Whenever you come home for holiday, he just scolds you about all your life decisions. He’ll probably tell you off about dating a farmer, too. But compared to your mother, he is a saint. He’s Team (Y/N) all the way despite nagging at you a lot.

“So where’s your farmer boy?” Your brother says as soon as he nears you and your mother.

“He’s busy. You won’t meet him today,” you snap back, rolling your eyes at him.

“So the rumors are true, then?” Your mom hums. “Since he’s busy, when can we meet if we can’t see him today?”

“On our wedding day,” you deadpan and your mother chuckles. She pats your head so you move your head away in irritation. She smirks at you. “What did you do this time?”

“Nothing.” She smiles at you. You look at your brother and he’s eyeing your mother suspiciously as well. If there’s anything you and your brother can agree on, it’s that your mother is evil. “How about we eat dinner tonight? As family.”

“Okay,” you agree, not wanting to start an argument with her.

An hour or two later, Kita still doesn’t show up. You feel disappointed but you won’t get mad at him until you know where and what he really did. As he said, it’s an important matter. It might has something to do with her grandmother.

You leave Rice in Osamu’s care, without forgetting to warn him about not to overfeed the poor dog. Sei, your mother, and you proceed to the city. Since it’s too early for dinner, your mother decides to go shopping. You and Sei feel that something is up with your mother, but you can’t pinpoint what it is yet.

After shopping, the three of you direct to a shabby ramen place at a random street of Osaka, which heightens your doubts about your mother. She would never eat at such place. What exactly is she doing?

The waitress does her usual greeting as you enter, leading you to a table at the end the of hall. The place is packed with teenagers, couples, and just normal people. But making things even weirder, the table beside yours is empty. The waitresses lead coming in customers to another table or make them wait.

“What would you like to order?” The waitress asks you.

“I’ll get your best seller,” your mother answers. You and your brother say yours, then the waitress leaves to prepare your order. “So how’s university?”

“We’ve been together for more than 3 hours, but you’re asking just now?” You cock an eyebrow up and your brother calls you sternly. You sigh before answering your mother, “It’s fine. I’m getting good grades.”

“That’s good to hear. How about the whole vlogging thing?” Your mother continues to ask and you know where this is going.

“Mom, let her do what she wants,” Sei tells your mother before you can remark back.

“Welcome!” The waitresses greet as someone enters the store. Out of boredom, you check who it is and it’s Ayako? A man follows behind her and your heart shatters into millions of pieces then and there.

“Kita...” you mutter under your breath, clutching onto the chopsticks on the table.

Your head goes empty. Your heart drops. Every moment with Kita flashes your mind in one quick second. You know you can never compete with Ayako, but he should have told you. He promised to show up today. No wonder why he wasn’t replying to any of your messages. Because he was with her the whole day.

Ayako’s the important matter.

Did you even matter to Kita?

What do you do now? Do you slap him? Do you shout at him? Your head is clouded in anger. But somehow you still manage to think about your dog. ‘What about Rice? Kita mostly takes care of him. He might miss him.’

Sei notices your sudden change in mood and looks at where your eyes are stuck in. He sees Kita and Ayako walking over to the table just beside yours. He gives your mother a look of disappointment.

“What’s wrong with the two of you?” Your mother asks, eyes blinking innocently.

Kita sees you too, and his eyes widen in shock. He’s not one to be surprised, but this is something he definitely didn’t expect. In his mind, he’s literally shouting and begging for you not to misunderstand the situation. But he thinks it’s too late since the chopsticks your gripping on is already split in half.

Kita’s about to talk to you, but Ayako takes a hold on his wrist, pulling him to sit back down on the chair. Your mother starts laughing at your expression and you finally connect the dots. She orchestrated this whole thing. You should have known sooner. You should have seen it coming. After all, she’s the one who placed in your head that you marry a rich man. She’s the one who desperately wants you to marry into a rich family so she can have more money in her pocket.

“You are the worst mother ever,” you spat before slamming the chopsticks on the table then storming out of the store. Kita stands up from his seat as well, quickly following you out.

“Ayako, dear... I paid you a lot for this. I even bought you a ticket home. So do your job and make sure they break up,” your mother tells Ayako and she hesitantly nods and runs after the two of you.

Sei stands up then scoffs, “You know mother... the devil works hard, but you work way harder.”

“(Y/N)!” Kita calls you, his pace getting quicker as he sees you walk further than him. He finally catches up to you and he grabs your wrist but you shake his hand off.

“If you still love her, I understand. I don’t care anymore if you get back together.  Did you even like me? Because to be honest, I think I love you. Say that it’s too quick for me to tell, and I think that, too, but I really do. And it hurts so much. I wish you did not date me when you still thought of her. Because it makes me wonder, ‘where was I then?’ Where was I the whole time?” You manage to say without your voice cracking, but you feel your cheeks getting wet from the tears coming out of your eyes. When did you even start crying?

“(Y/N). Please let me exp-” Kita starts to speak but you don’t let him finish.

“I’m taking Rice with me. Don’t expect to see us at home.”

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

Facts:

ADOPT DON’T SHOP

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[antiloreolympus]

12 Anti LO Asks

1. its victim blaming of hades to tell minthe its HER fault she "couldnt get over him". like? you lied to her! youre the one who blurred the lines to date her! you were just as toxic to her if not more so by controlling where she lives and her job, all while never defending her to your cruel family! you had all the power over her while she had nothing! you dumped her for a 19 year old and dont care she crippled minthe! i wont excuse minthe's actions, but hades is ultimately the worse of the two IMO

2. you know why fans claimed "Minthe should've reacted better"? since the first episode Rachel has been drilling into their heads Minthe is an irredeemable monster, and her not bending over backwards to H/P means she deserves the absolute worst. Minthe reacting how anyone logically would doesn't matter when LO is designed to coddle H/P, and anyone against them must suffer for it, even if the victim to H/P's actions. they never wanted her to be "redeemed", they want her head on a silver platter.

3. i know this is not what she intended bc the only characterization rachel has of hxp is "the best over everything" but uh, does she know having hades control all the petroleum and gasses and whatever else is actively destroying the planet, right? like hes helping the very thing persephone draws her power from and what she's connected to be destroyed to appease hes need for wealth and power. its kinda gross hes being romanticized while he commits horrible acts like this for his bank account.

4. its not impossible to go opposite in their original myth personalities and still have it work. like in hades game, sisyphus is one of the most likable characters, achilles is gentle and kind, ares is calm and rational, etc, but it makes sense within the context of the story. LO in comparison goes "all these loving mothers are evil because i said so! this beloved god is now evil because i said so! minthe is evil because i said so!" and that's about it in terms of logic to these wild changes.

5. I can kinda get behind anon's theory about the flower nymphs looking like P to help her be undetected, the problem is there are also unrelated women in comic who are bright pink and look just like her, with hades even confusing them for her! if i had to bet the only reason they look like that is because rachel just wanted daphne to look like her to hammer home apollo is "obsessed" with P and to fake them as her "real family" over demeter. also just laziness in designing characters in general.

6. its weird hades and persephone are well aware what they're doing is bad even openly admitting it and yet the narrative is so hellbent on excusing their bad actions?? like hades being the major toxic factor in his relationship to minthe, persephone killing people, or hades wanting to bone an eternal 19 year old? like rachel you know thats not how character growth works, right? you cant show they have horrible flaws and leave them to never grow and learn from it, that's not good writing at all.

7. what i also dont get is the hierarchy makes no sense? like zeus is framed as the top god, but that would mean hades cant be the most important man ever so rachel also made him equal rank with zeus (and i guess poseidon too) so?? how does zeus have all that power over them then if theyre all equal? is it because zeus swallowed metis?  also how are the fertility goddess so powerful and rare yet so easily taken down? how are they overpowered and super weak at the same time? i just dont get it.

8. Re reading chapter 144 and other anon is right we do see the pomegranate pin on Hades outfit (so Hades gifts it to her)

But also some things to note

During the makeout session persy begins to disappear in butterfly form and hades is like "no don't leave!" And he grabs her, preventing her from leaving. Which is..kinda Ick considering they were on their way to having (public) sex and he doesn't want her to leave which seems like he's not really respecting her boundaries? (because if she does he'll "be lonely")

The pomegranate pin is Hades' to begin with so technically one of Persephones symbols is not hers (yes I know in the original myth she ate it in the underworld / was forced to eat it but still its supposed to be her symbol)

Hades notes that he "doesn't want to overstep his boundaries as host" because Persephone is a guest (too late for that)

Persephones main concern (after what a week or 2?) after being raped is when Hades wants to stop her reaction is "dont you want me anymore?"

Girl you aren't even dating ...??

Persy's literal one and only concern is that she thinks if she doesnt sleep with Hades right then or when/if he wants to that "she wont be able to give him what hes used to" ... Which is reinforcing that she went to therapy to get "over being blocked" in regards to having sex

Although Hades does mention that she shouldn't feel like she needs to please him and that a kiss can just be a kiss which would be nice

(And yet his thinking of marrying her amd he's known her for 2, 3 weeks? ... And he says "the beginning of a new relationship is exciting and scary" so hes basically indicating thay their dating at this point, I think?)

And later the nymphs in the store are like "do you wanna be the dominatrix of the bedroom?? Buy this lingerie!" And persy does. So??

Meanwhile Demeter is very worried for her daughter who is busy sitting in Hades lap in a pool. 

9. Can we talk about how anons are making fucking flow charts for the LO Timeline cause it's so ridiculously jumbled?

10. im not even against rushed relationships, ive known actual couples who met and were married all within the same year and it worked out great, the difference though is these were people who had their own lives and previous relationships. the issue with LO is RS designed it so Persephone can NEVER have relationships or a life outside of Hades, and if they did get married offscreen, it's framing their marriage in a toxic and unbalanced light. That's not a romance, it's a disaster waiting to happen.

11. i feel like there's a difference between drawing an interesting hooked/aquiline nose versus whatever the hell RS puts on Hades' face. It honestly looks like he's in between morphing into a bird half the time since it just looks like a beak over an actual facial feature.

12. are there shareholders or a board of advisors or something at underworld corp? because if there is id say they have more than enough reason to kick hades out and strip him of his titles/shares because of all the shit he's caused by being guided by his broken pp over thinking with his head. liking dating TWO employees? and getting one of them phsyically crippled by the other bc he can't be honest with either of them and she's a walking time bomb? he's a walking HR nightmare.

[smallraindrops-blog]

To Have And To Hold

Hypnos x female!reader

Word count: 2k

Part One

Warning:War, dead people and children, Ares ( let be real, that guy is a warning all on his own) kissing and sexual themes, no beta

The shade that came in the library was polite but clearly overwhelmed from their work. They handed over the letter quickly and gave a bow before hurrying out.

You pushed aside your own paperwork, "Lady Athena?" You asked out loud to no one but yourself. You typically only get letters from your sisters or parents.

You carefully opened it, a sense of dread unfolded in your chest.

'Dear Y/N.

I wish I was writing to you in better times. Unfortunately, I must keep this letter short. I'm in need of your help, desperately.

I can explain more when I see you. When you reach the surface, call for me.

Athena'

You ran out the library, uncaring about leaving scrolls on the tables.

You made it to the East wing and you glanced to Achilles, only to see empty space. You paused for a second then you heard it, crying and countless voices together begging and yelling.

What in the world...

"Silent!" Hades boomed and a harsh bark followed. The house quieted down, only soft sobs remained.

You walked in slowly and couldn't stop the gasp. You had never seen so many shades all in one place and you even saw some standing in the Styx.

You saw Achilles in front of Hades' desk, facing the crowd. His normally kind face was cold and his grip on the spear was tight.

Hades stood up, "Silent." He repeated. Queen Persephone and Zagreus stood next to Hades, both their faces unable to hide the worries they felt.

"Thanatos, please continue."

"Lord Ares has gone mad with war lust. Hermes nor I can keep up with the amount of dead. And as I speak, Ares and Eris are tearing through another city." Thanatos' tone was hard and flat.

You swallowed, unable to believe what you were hearing.

"What has Zeus done to step in?" Hades asked warily.

"He has yet to do so, lord Hades." Thanatos replied.

Hades opened his mouth but a shade broke past the group. "Please, you have to help us! They will follow us even in death, it won't ever stop!"

"Didn't I tell you to be silent!? And Ares can't come here, no matter how hard he tries."

The shade shook their head, "No, not him-" the other shades joined, all begging and more crying started.

"Be quiet, all of you!"

Zagreus spoke up, "Wait, we should hear them out, Father."

"No. We have bigger problems." Hades rubbed his forehead."Thanatos, give this letter to Hermes. The sooner we can put Ares and his friend down the better."

There was a moment of silence after Thanatos vanished.

You took a shaky breath, and looked around to find Hypnos. You heard him speak in his cheerful voice before you saw him, "Well, alrighty. That sure was something, huh? Line up! Come on everyone, and mind the little ones."

He wasn't in his usual spot but a little past Hades' desk along with Dusa and several workers shades. You walked over, "Hypnos."

He looked up at your voice, his eyes widened in alarm. He dropped the quill and paper he was holding. "How much of that did you see?" He whispered.

"Enough." You whispered back. "I got a letter from Athena, they need my help."

"What?" He asked in a strangled whisper. You showed him the letter. He read the letter once, his face blank.

You waited for a response, frowning at his unreadable face.

Then he folded up the letter calmly as he met your gaze, "No. Absolutely not. I will not allow you to go." He said softly.

"Hypnos!" You replied, no longer staying quiet. "You have no right to tell me what to do." You reached for the letter but he held it out of reach.

"Blood and Darkness." Hades cursed. "We do not need your marital disputes in the great hall especially now. Leave."

You flushed, realizing you could feel eyes on you. Hypnos grabbed your arm gently, "Oh of course, Lord Hades. Don't worry, I will be back shortly after I handle this." Hypnos said pleasantly, " What was the saying? Happy wife, happy life? But hey why am I telling you? You know all about that."

Hades glared down at the both of you and you desperately wished for a hole to swallow you whole.

Before you could apologize for Hypnos' lack of tact, he vanished you along with him.

You looked around, trying to push away the nausea. Thankfully he had chosen to reappear just outside of your bedchambers.

You turned on him, "For blood's sake what was that about Hypnos?"

"Can we talk in your chambers? Or the library, whichever one you want." He asked, sounding guilty.

Good, you thought viciously.

"Oh so I do get a say in something then? Or will you be 'handling' that too?" You snapped at him. You pushed out your door, not bothering to invite Hypnos in. You stood in the middle of the room, arms crossed.

Hypnos closed the door behind him quietly. "I'm sorry but Lady Athena will have to do without your help if it means you have to go to the surface. I cannot let you go up there."

"That is my decision, not yours." You shook your head. "I have to go."

"Didn't you hear how Ares has gone mad? That guy is crazy on a good day, let alone whatever is happening now." Even with the guilty look on his face, Hypnos shook his head. "You have never even seen a war, have you? It's not a pretty sight."

"We don't even know what she needs help with, I doubt I will be anywhere near a battlefield. She knows I'm not a warrior."

"The fact you have to even be on the surface is too much." Hypnos floated over to you but didn't touch you, his hands spread out. "War isn't predictable. One person's decision can cost other people's their lives, well beyond the battlefields. And it never ever ends up the way leaders plan for it to."

You stayed quiet, looking down at the ground. You couldn't get your mind off the letter even with Hypnos’ reasoning. Athena wouldn't ask for anything unless she truly needed it.

"Y/N, please look at me." Hypnos lifted your chin up, your eyes flicked toward his before you made yourself look away.

"I would give you anything if it made you happy, you know that." Hypnos spoke carefully. "You can help Lady Athena, I'm not saying you can't but you need to do it from here. There is no point in risking your safety."

Hypnos waited for you to respond only to sigh when you shook your head, too upset to speak.

"Send a letter to Athena, and I will help out too, love. Okay?" Hypnos' eyes studied your face.

"Can't you just come with me?" You asked, hating how your voice cracked at the end. "If you're so worried."

"No, I am needed here and I'm doubtful I would be a welcomed face." Hypnos gave a slight grin, "Besides, I already won the last war when I got you as my wife."

he looked at you so softly, it made you blush. You pulled away, you will not let Hypnos sweet talk you. “Oh, yes. Just remind me of another time I was mad at you. That will work out for you.”

“I-i just-“ Hypnos chuckled but he was clearly unamused. “Obviously I have a case of foot in mouth. Y/N, I just want you to be safe. Am I wrong to want my wife to be safe?”

You glared at him, “Well obviously not, Hypnos. Don’t play that game with me.”

Hypnos glared back, both of you silently glaring at each other. Hypnos broke first and rubbed his eyes with a frustrated sigh. You resisted the urge to walk over and smooth away the weight you could see on him.

When Hypnos looked back at you, you didn’t expect the serious look in his face, “Just promise me something.”

“What?” You watched him warily, not used to this reaction from him.

“You won’t try to leave without me. If- and that is a very big if by the way, we have to go up to help whoever, you won’t go where I can’t keep an eye on you.” Hypnos said, his golden eyes stayed on your face.

“I’m not a child, Hypnos.” You muttered.

“I know that. But you have never been in a war and I have and I know how ugly it gets. I hope I am overreacting, really I am.” Hypnos came closer again, “Just promise me. Please.”

“I-i but.. Fine. Okay, I promise.” You said. You glanced at Hypnos and upon seeing the relief on his face, you turned away, guilt

“Just… give me some alone time, okay?” You said, unable to hide how upset you were.

He was quiet for a few minutes. “Alright. I will have tonight’s dinner sent for you. I will check in on you later, okay?”

“Okay.” You agreed, staring at the wall. "Thank you."

Hypnos looked at you a moment, a hand reached up for a second before falling back down, before he left.

You pushed down the guilt you felt, Hypnos was the one in the wrong for not helping you.

You paced around the room, biting your lip nervously as you tried to think.

You couldn't take the path Zagreus does, and you weren't sure if he would or could help you. You didn't have a boat and from the looks of it Charon wouldn't have space anyway.

And Cerberus was…

You groaned and covered your face.

You were efficiently trapped, the realization caused the fading anger at Hypnos to come roaring back.

You sat down on the bed when a knock came. "Y/N? C-can I come in?" Dusa's voice was normally a welcomed thing but right now you don't think you can stomach being around others.

But it wasn't Dusa' fault you told yourself.

You opened the door and she floated in. "Are you okay? I kinda saw what happened in the hall."

You shook your head and explained everything. You reached for the letter only to remember that Hypnos still had it. "Blood and darkness Hypnos." you muttered. You couldn't believe he was treating you like a child.

Dusa was quiet for a few moments. "Well actually, I might know a way. It is the same way Queen Persephone took to return here. She doesn't have to travel the same way everyone else does."

Hope lifted in your chest. "Do you know if Cerberus would be there?"

"Far as I know, he wouldn't be near there since Queen Persephone is here." Dusa frowned with worry, "But you know how dangerous it is, right? Meg told me stories about the last war and the kind of people she had to punish for their acts during it."

"I have to go. My family could be at risk. Can you cover for me? Just a little bit."

Dusa stared at you. "Just promise me you will be careful okay? And if anyone asks, even Hypnos, I won't lie okay?"

You hugged her. "Thank you!"

"Just please be careful." Dusa muttered.

~~

The snow was still there, unmarked and soft. You took a breath, the sharp, freezing air hurt your lungs but it felt amazing.

You weren’t sure if the hallway Queen Persephone took would work for you but thankfully it had just been an unusually long and winding hallway.

When you got back, you were planning on telling Zegreus about it. Let's see Hades do anything about that.

You watched the snowfall, gentle and pure, with a sigh. You tugged your travel cloak tighter, the last time you wore this was during your wedding.

It wasn't the same place you and Hypnos had gotten married. But seeing the snow brought memories. Of the fear, of how you almost stumbled over your vows, how Hypnos' hand holding yours was the only warm thing you could feel. Of the nervous yet serious look on his face when you both said the final vow…

You shook your head, finding your resolve. You glanced back at the opening, guilt rising in you.

And hurt.

You thought Hypnos would understand, it was your family. He was normally so big on family, bending over backward for his own family. You thought he would support you. You swallow and with one last look back, you step out into the snow.

It took you a moment but with the deepest breath you could take, you called for Athena.

Almost immediately, a warm golden light filled the field.

Athena was just tall and golden as you remembered. She didn't smile but she took your hands in her own, "Thank you. I must admit I was worried you wouldn't come."

You decided not to mention your disagreement with Hypnos as you tried to give a comforting smile.

"Of course, I am more than happy to help. But I am a bit lost on what I could offer for you." You watched her sighed and moved away.

"What I am about to ask of you is no small favor. If you wish to have no part of this, I will understand." Athena said gravely.

You nodded. "Let me decide."

After she studied your face for a moment, Athena spoke.