#erebus flying real!!!

[actuallysaiyan]

The Beast Inside Of Me(Incubus!Nanami Kento x Fem!Reader)

warnings: smut, unprotected sex, AU, Incubus, demons, slight dub-con, oral(fem receiving), slight yandere vibes, creampie finish, mentions of passing out/fainting, vaginal fingering word count: 3.2k pairings: Incubus!Nanami Kento x Fem!Reader summary: Kento has been searching for his mate for a long time, and he finds out it's you. Incubi don't usually mate with humans, so he's desperate to make it work. a/n: not sure if it's the demon who possessed me or the Earthbound OST that made me write this, but here it is and I realllyyy hope you all enjoy!! Some dividers by @/benkeibear

taglist: @beneathstarryskies @an-ever-angry-bi @namikyento

@seireiteihellbutterfly @adharadotcom @heyitsd1yaa

@darkstarlight82 @melisuh123. @galactict3a

@erebus-et-eigengrau @aomi04 @isabelzoldyck

@cinnamon-girl-writes @felixmr @typicalemo. @entirelysein-e

Want to be a part of the taglist? Join here!(Please have age indicator in bio!)

You’ve seen that handsome face before. In your dreams, where you thought you were just imagining things. But now that you’re awake and looking at the man(or so you think)sitting on the edge of the bed, you aren’t sure if this is just another dream or figment of your imagination. When he looks over at you, he looks so incredibly sad. The sorrow in his features is so apparent, you feel the sadness deep inside you.

“Are you…” your own voice scares you. “Are you real?”

He looks at you once more. His hazel eyes almost seem to glow in the darkness of your room. Then you see his wings expanding, creating an interesting shadowlike surrounding. Your eyes widen a little as he climbs out the window and you watch him fly away. You’re stunned by the sight.

Lying back on your bed, you try to calm your breathing. That was a dream, right? It had to have been. There aren’t handsome creatures with wings that just casually hang out in your room. That doesn’t happen. It really just doesn’t happen at all.

You pull the covers up to your chin, curling it in your fist. You think you’ll never be able to go to sleep again, but soon your eyes flutter shut and your mind is filled with the most pleasant dreams. 

When you wake up, you chalk it all up to some silly dream and being extremely tired. You go about your day like nothing happened. Meanwhile, the creature you saw in your bedroom is suffering in silence. He has finally found his human mate, which is you.

He’s suffering because he knows he could never court you properly. He’s suffering because he knows you would reject him if he were to approach you and explain the situation. He invades your dreams as much as possible because it’s the only way he’s able to see you and feel you and touch you and taste you…

Being alive for so long has its perks, but it also becomes so lonely. All the other incubi and succubi from his pack have already found their respective mates. And it’s a little rare for his kind to mate with a human. Kento wonders if he’s just destined to be alone forever. He feels that deep sorrow inside of himself. The same one that he felt when he realized it would take him a long time to find his mate.

Night after night, he’s been chasing after you like some lovesick puppy. He finds it so pathetic too. You could easily find someone better for yourself, and you don’t even know that someone like him is so deeply in love with you. Kento contents himself with just sitting on your bed and watching you sleep. Seeing him that night was a mistake and you shouldn’t have woken up.

The next night that he shows up, it’s only in your dreams.

The room feels hot and stuffy, but it’s pleasant. There’s a slight smell of a candle that’s been burning, and something like a cinnamon and nutmeg scent. It’s enticing and intoxicating. Your skin feels drenched with sweat. You try to open your eyes, but you’re feeling so sleepy and so tired.

“P-please,” you pant out.

Calloused hands caress you, removing the sheet that covers your naked body. You whine as you feel those same hands spreading your thighs. Soft touches from fingertips follow, creeping up your thighs. Then you let out a pathetic whimper when you feel something parting your soaked folds with expertise.

“Fuck,” you whine when you feel a wet, hot tongue pressing against your clit.

The feelings are intense. Your orgasm grows so fast, it hits you hard. You’re panting and moaning loudly, trying to grind against this tongue. But as soon as it appeared, faster did it disappear. 

You wake up the following morning wondering if that was truly real and with sheets that are still damp from your dreams. This time, you have a harder time chalking it up to a wet dream.

For Kento, he wishes he could keep the taste of you on his tongue forever. He’s never gone that far with you, but he’s very happy he did. He eagerly jerks himself off to the flavor on his tongue and the memory of your scent until it fades away. It makes him angry that he can’t have you committed to his memory forever.

So he gets a little more daring the next time he visits you. This time, it isn’t just a dream for you. It’s a real encounter with the demon himself.

He casts a deep slumber spell on you, but you are still reacting to everything he does. He takes his time to memorize you; tasting you heavily on his tongue as you gush. Orgasm after orgasm is pulled from you as Kento works your body with expertise. He knows what you like. He could probably bring you to orgasm with the smallest little nudge against your clit by now.

His eyes are glowing as he feasts on you. His cock is rock hard as he begins to rut against the bed. Nothing could be better than this. The room feels so hot and warm, but it only seems to add to your arousal and his. The smell of burning candle, cinnamon and nutmeg fill your senses, even while you sleep deeply.

Kento’s eyes roll back as he gets to taste your essence once more. If he could, he’d gladly drown in the flavor of you for all eternity. It’s not enough to keep visiting you in the dark of your bedroom at night. He needs you always. Now and forever.

So the night finally comes where he decides to see how you’ll react if he introduces himself to you. He sits on your bed, waiting for you to rouse from your sleep. When you do, you gasp softly at the creature at the foot of your bed. He leans closer, and you get a better look at him.

Sharp, angular features for such a beautiful man. Or…is he even really a man? He can’t be a man if he looks this good and has a tail and wings. He smiles softly, his cheeks lightly pink. 

“Have I frightened you?” He inquires, leaning in just a little closer.

Your senses are filled with the scent of burning candle, cinnamon and nutmeg. Your thoughts are filled with sensual memories. Something about this makes a throbbing sensation begin between your thighs.

“N-no.” You finally manage to answer. “Who are you?”

He smiles sweetly before reaching out to cup your chin. You get to look into his beautiful eyes. They shine so brilliantly for you. You don’t feel frightened at all, only confused and curious.

“My name is Kento,” his voice is so reassuring and soothing. “I am not here to hurt you.”

Something about that name makes your heart beat faster. You lean in closer to hear more of what he has to say. But instead of talking, he decides to kiss you. It’s so deep and passionate. He holds you close, his wings wrapping around you to keep you securely in his grasp.

“You are my beloved,” he finally whispers against your lips. “I have searched for you for a long time.”

Your eyes widen at the creature holding you. How could someone so beautiful have searched for you for so long? You feel so plain in comparison.

Almost as if he has read your thoughts, “You aren’t plain. You are the most beautiful thing on this earth and within every plane of existence.”

Your heart skips a beat at his words. Your cheeks are redder than a tomato. You aren’t sure how anyone could think this about you. Kento cradles your face in his hands, his thumbs caressing your cheeks. He looks at you like you are the stars in the sky, the colors of a rainbow, a beautiful masterpiece hung on the walls of an art museum.

“How precious you are to me,” he says softly. “I could not say it in words.”

You allow him to lay you down on the bed. His lips are attached to your neck; sucking, nipping, licking and biting. To get that sweet taste of you, he is quite desperate. Everything about you is both beautiful and extremely enticing. He could never get enough of you, even if he made love to you a million and one times.

His hands are calloused as he caresses your body. He slips your pajamas off of you slowly, tantalizingly so. His eyes keep gazing up at you, making sure you know just how much you are loved. He couldn’t be able to continue if he didn’t know for sure that you are indeed enjoying yourself.

The moment his fingers slip against your folds again, you feel that same arousal from the other night. It begins to truly dawn on you exactly what is going on. He’s been the one to pleasure you all these nights, even the ones where you were dreaming.

You pull him in for another kiss; this time it’s sloppy because of how hungry you are for him. He grunts against your lips, his fingers still working at your greedy pussy. But he loves that you’re getting into it. You’re desperate and needy for him, which makes him so happy and very aroused.

“It’s been you this entire time,” you whisper.

He nods. “Yes, does this please you?”

You can’t even begin to think of the right words to answer that question. So instead you reach down and feel his cock through the skin-tight underwear he’s wearing. He moans just for you and you love the sound. You love it so much, you wish to hear it forevermore.

Kento kisses you with a ravenous hunger now. The hunger that resides so deep inside of him as an Incubus is beginning to come to the surface. He needs to try and rein it in if he doesn’t want to accidentally hurt you.

Tenderness returns to him as he takes a few deep breaths. He cannot show you the ugly side of him. It’s an animal, a beast that resides inside of him. It’s ugly and carnal and full of sin. And though he’s sure you’d still be able to find it in your angelic heart to forgive him if you were to see that side of him, he would hate himself forever if he were to harm you in any way.

���Please,” he moans softly. “Allow me to taste you once more.”

He spreads your thighs again, grunting when he sees just how soaked you are. You smell divine. Musky and yet so sweet. It makes his cock throb and painfully twitch. For an Incubus, he swears he’s falling into your trap instead of the other way around.

Your little heart pounds in your chest like the fluttering of the wings of a hummingbird. You reach down to push his hair out of his face, and this earns you another grunt from the man between your legs. You aren’t sure if he’s fully a man or he’s a beast, but either way you have come to accept him as your lover.

His tongue feels like warm silk against your folds. He licks a stripe from your hole to your clit, rendering you incapable of speech for a moment. You shudder from head to toe, and a small little gasp falls from your lips. You’re panting already and all he’s done is lick once.

“Oh, you’re so needy for me.” Kento purrs before he dives back into lapping at you.

Your toes curl as his mouth works you up to an exquisite orgasm. Your breath hitches in your throat as his mouth and tongue and lips stimulate you in all the ways only someone from your wildest dreams would be able to. As your body shudders and shakes, Kento grunts against your wet cunt. He’s hungry and growing hungrier by the moment. If he doesn’t pull away soon, you’ll see the beast inside of him.

Thankfully you tug on his hair to pull him away to avoid too much overstimulation. He looks up at you; his once hazel eyes have grown very dark. There’s a look on his gorgeous face that you can’t quite decipher. But soon, it begins to dissipate and you swear his pupils are in the shape of hearts just for you.

“My pretty lover,” he coos softly. “Please…” he swallows hard. “Please allow me the chance to make love to you. The privilege.”

Your eyes widen. How could he even be begging you? He was so beautiful, so handsome, so breathtaking. It should be the other way around. You should be the one begging for a chance to even look at him.

“I understand if you don’t want to tonight, or really if you didn’t want to engage at all, I just want to—”

He’s interrupted by you pulling him in for another kiss. It’s mostly to shut up his insecurities right now. But part of you wants to taste yourself on his tongue and his lips. He grunts as he adjusts himself in his underwear. Your hands reach down to begin tugging them off of his perfectly sculpted body.

“It would be my privilege to make love with you.”

Those words make his head swirl with arousal and lust. His eyes are dark once more. He nips at your bottom lip, making you squeak in pleasure. Kento parts your thighs even more so that he can place himself between them. His underwear is all but ripped off his body.

“Eager for me?” he teases you before kissing you. “I’m just as eager, if not more.”

You sigh as you feel his hands guiding your thighs to wrap around him. The heft of his cock rests on your mound. Kento uses his fingers to open you up, making you drip all over the sheets even more. Slowly pumping them in and out and in and out…

“Just like that,” he coaxes. “Just for me. Open up, my beautiful flower.”

His words go straight to your head, but also straight to your throbbing clit. You’re more than aroused and ready for him, but the fact that he wants to take such care of you, it turns you on even more. It takes no time for him to slip his fingers out and replace them with the tip of his cock.

“I’ll be gentle,” he whispers in your ear as he pushes more of himself into you. “And I’ll go slow.”

Slow is his pace. Gentle is his touch. You shudder as you feel him leisurely pushing into you. His eyes snap up and down from your face to your little hole trying to suck him in. His tail begins whipping in excitement. He knew it would feel good to finally be inside of you, but he’s having to take deep breaths once again to not lose control.

“My beloved,” he moans against your ear. “You feel heavenly.”

Your cunt spasms around him as he eventually bottoms out. His balls are plush against you and you finally get a sense of how pent up he is by how heavy his testicles feel. Your hands come around to rub his back as Kento starts up at a very loving and tender pace.

“Pretty, beautiful, exquisite…” he spouts off as he begins rocking his hips. “So warm, so wet.”

When you look into his eyes again, you see tears. He’s relieved but also so overwhelmed. He’s trying his best to hang on to the shred of sanity he has left. It’s so difficult when you keep squeezing and clenching around him. It’s all too much for him to keep going without losing a little control.

“Forgive me, beloved.”

You barely have time to comprehend what he means when he pushes your knees up to your chest. His hips begin to snap as he fucks into you harder, faster and deeper. Oh he is just so deep inside of you, you swear you can feel him in your throat. It’s all too much for you to even begin to understand. You cling to him as his cock rams into you over and over.

“Kento!” You gasp, trying to hold on.

He grunts and growls like a ferocious beast. Inside, he’s cursing himself for allowing himself to show you even just a fragment of who he truly is. His tail comes up to curl around one of your breasts. His head dips down to take the nipple into his mouth. He sucks on it harshly as he fucks deeper and harder into you.

“Need to fuck you,” he grunts. “Need to breed,”

His words are a bit of a shock, but you’ve been piecing parts of this together in your head this entire time. He, of course, is not a regular man. And the way he’s pumping into you now, you know it’s because something else is possessing him to do so.

Your legs begin to shake as his cock keeps pushing against that sweet spot deep inside of you. Stars speckle in your vision as your peak becomes imminent. It’s such a deep feeling inside of you. You can barely contain your moans, whimpers and sweet breathy whines. Kento tries to stop himself, but the more you squeeze around him, the less control he has.

“Going to breed you,” he growls. “You are mine.”

Every word is punctuated with a deep and harsh thrust. His balls rest plush against your ass every time he’s completely deep inside you. His eyes are growing darker. And the tail wrapped around your breast has now begun to tug a little bit on your nipple.

“May I…Can I…” He growls loudly. “Need to breed!”

It’s no longer a question. It’s a demand. A command for you. You are so willing to allow him this privilege. He never even told you the outcome of this coupling. You just wanted to soothe him and his needs, all while falling in love with this man; no, he’s no man. He’s a beast. A beast that you wish to tame.

“Cum,” you struggle to tell him. “Inside.”

He barely hears you, but something inside his brain clicks. It’s all that he needs to be sure that he is more than allowed to do this. Before either of you can register what’s happening, his tail wrapped around your breast squeezed harder. His wings come around the both of you, shielding you from the rest of the world.

With a loud roar, he begins emptying himself into your tight little hole. Shots of thick, potent cum spill deep inside of you. Kento reaches down to begin rubbing your clit in slow, tantalizing circles. A soft gasp escapes you as your orgasm hits you hard. Your legs are shaking and your heart is pounding harder than it ever has before.

You feel your vision beginning to tunnel…

You awaken several hours later. Your hole is sore and abused, dripping thick cum. You’re disoriented as you try to understand what is happening. Kento isn’t here, but his scent lingers on everything. You look at the nightstand and notice a bottle of water and a piece of paper folded in half. You take a drink of the water and then you unfold the paper. It’s a note from your otherworldly lover.

See you this evening. Same time as last night. Be prepared, my love. I have lots more to show you.

Xoxo,

Kento.

[justmenoworries]

Lore Olmypus Episode 271 Spoilers

We're in the endgame now. I guess.

And I feel absolutely nothing. Any tension that could have hyped me up for this moment was squashed by my frustration with every character's lack of thinking skills.

Why exactly are Hera and Persie passed out on the ground? Kronos didn't even do anything yet, all that happened was that he closed the door after Hera and Persie managed to squeeze through at the last moment.

Speaking of, this episode shows us that Kronos is huddled up in (what is presumably) his cell deep down in Tartarus so how exactly did he control the door?

It will never be not funny to me that Kronos, ancient tyrant and titan of time (*rolls eyes*) sounds like a modern-day incel whenever he talks. And then other times RS remembers she's writing the supposed Big Bad and has him switch to more appropriate language on the fly. The whiplash is unreal.

Persephone: "Kronos is powerful but erratic. This makes his behavior hard to anticipate."

Oh, is that RS's in-universe excuse for Kronos switching motivations every time we see him? First he wants to return to the world of the living, then he wants to take revenge on Hades, then he suddenly wants Persephone but actually he wants Hera. And now he wants... Hera again, I guess. Holy constantly shifting goals, Batman!

Kronos: "I will take pleasure in your gradual and painful destruction!"

also Kronos: *proceeds to sit in his cell and do nothing for the entirety of the episode*

If you want to make Kronos actually menacing instead of just annoying, maybe have him do more than an occasional supervillain-laugh RS.

I will admit, the visual of Hera and Persephone slowly descending into Tartarus and past all these human souls reaching out for them from their cells is cool. It makes the whole situation actually feel tense and scary, knowing there's something terrible waiting for the protags down this endless pit but also knowing that they have no choice but slowly climb towards it.

Or it would be if RS didn't ruin it with Persie doing very obvious cover-ups for story flaws a lot of critics pointed out while she's descending.

Like "Oh, I don't talk or think about how the fuck Apollo managed to channel my powers or where Hades actually is because I'm disassociating from it as a defense mechanism."

Persie that would be way more convincing if you'd done literally anything besides sitting on your ass and whining this season.

This constant narrative that everything is just too much for poor girlboss Persie and that's why she's doing fuck all doesn't really work when all that happened is that people rightfully called Persie out for making a mess while Persie hid away in the Underworld. Rather than work on solutions to the problems she caused or at least try to help with the fall-out.

She hasn't tried to learn more about her powers or about her deal. She didn't try to get in contact with Erebus. She hasn't done anything to try and free Melinoe from Kronos. She didn't help with the preparations for the sleep dive, neither did she even offer to take part in it even though it concerns both her and Hades' kingdom. She refused to participate in the meeting between the gods on what to do about the "plague" but still felt the need to make commentary over the phone. She hasn't come forward about Apollo's numerous crimes to keep him from taking over Olympus, even though she has several powerful deities to back up her claims.

Every time Persie could have chosen to become more than a passive bystander, she had some other character step up and do or say something instead.

Hera: "So are the fertility goddess stories real and you are one?"

Is... is that not common knowledge at this point?

The Fertility Goddess Mystery Box is becoming bloated with how much shit RS keeps putting in.

So apparently whatever Apollo did with the help of Ouranos at the broadcast was only "manufactured" and any greenery he managed to create with Persie has presumably died again by now. Okay. Persie knows this how?

The irony of RS making Hades look exactly like Kronos in the flashback to him and Persie accidentally doing the going giant-thing.

Persephone: "I did make [Apollo] bleed from his eyes and ears though, so that's a win."

Huh?

Persephone: "It's something I can do with my new powers; I was sort of able to rot his physical form from the inside."

Huh?

Persephone: "I think I can do some damage to Kronos that way."

HUH???

Hold on, so does Persie know how her powers work or does she not??? What is it with this cloud somersault in logic???? When the fuck did she figure this out????

Hera: "I'm not really one for combat."

Girl you fought in the fucking Titanomachy, what do you mean???

(The way RS repeatedly portrays women as physically helpless and incapable of defending themselves without outside help, I want to throw up all of my organs)

Alright, as much as I hate everything leading up to it I actually like the conversation between Hera and Kronos. Hera using Kronos' victim complex and egocentrism against him is actually really clever. And I like the small glimpse we get into Kronos' past and how Ouranos' abuse helped shape him into the monster we know today.

Kronos justifying his own cruelty by comparing it to Ouranos' allegedly much more evil deeds while completely missing that his actions have made him no better than Ouranos is neat. That's abusers for you. "I know I hurt you but I could've been worse! Also I had it way worse than you! Pity me!"

I did not expect Hera drawing this paralell between her and Kronos, of being deities who did horrible things for the greater good and ended up despised despite the sacrifices they made, but it's cool.

It's bullshit, but it's bullshit Hera knows Kronos will buy because of just how blind he is to his own faults.

Okay, final thoughts.

Someone else pointed this out, but this is literally just the season 3 finale again.

Kronos takes over a large part of the Underworld and controls the bodies of a bunch of powerful deities, Hades among them.

Persephone has to descend to the Underworld.

Another powerful god tags along with Persie and does 80% of the work to set up Persie's #Girlboss victory.

Not RS building up a different villain all season and then just going "Sike! It's Kronos again!"

At this point, I fully expect Ouranos and Apollo to be defeated off-screen.

[brutal-nemesis]

E&T: Looking Towards the Horizon

It’s a-me Crisp Rat-Anyway hi yes this is real it is here sorry it took *checks watch* over a year 🤪 what can ya do. But it’s a chunky one so hooray 2nd longest chapter to date i hope it makes up for the wait a little bit (°ー°〃) have fun kids

←Previous - Masterlist - Next→

Ingredients: bones breaking, including a compound fracture, a little bit of gore but it’s rather vague, the usual noncon body mod being a thing that exists and those dubcon touching vibes, implied perceived threat of noncon kiss that is in fact not that, mention of butchering

Erebus didn’t think he’d ever been so hot in his life.

He’d suffered through the humid heat of the rainy seasons at home, preferring the hot dry season that came before. But now, with the late-afternoon sun’s rays beating down on him from above and the heat radiating off of the black sand below, he found himself missing the muggy humidity and torrential rains. He couldn’t believe Neteri expected him to fly out here in the desert, but it was the next logical step now that he’d built up more than enough strength to walk properly again.

He shot a glance at Neteri, who was wiping her presumably sweaty hands on the sides of her coat. She returned his look with an apologetic smile. “Sorry, I know it’s hot out here. Pretty, though.” They both gazed out over the black dunes of the Greikala Naman Desert, the towering cliffs behind them stretching out to either side, remnants of an old mine cutting into the rock face to their left.

“Still, not why we’re here. I just thought it’d be a great place for you to learn how to fly since the sand should help soften the impact in case you fall, and no one’s around to see so we won’t have to deal with people asking questions or you getting too self-conscious-”

“I’m not that self-conscious-”

“Hold these.” Neteri had taken off her glasses and was now holding them out to Erebus. He took them, confused as he watched her bury her face in her hands and take a deep breath. “You’re so self-conscious, Erebus,” she mumbled into her hands before lifting her face and replacing her glasses. “You’re like the most self-conscious guy I’ve ever met, okay?” She shook her head. “Seriously. You can be so dense sometimes.” Erebus opened his mouth to argue, but…no, she was probably right, wasn’t she? He couldn’t help it; he’d lived in an environment where people’s opinions and perceptions of him mattered a lot for the vast majority of his life. 

He cleared his throat. “Anyway, um…am I just going to start trying to fly now?”

“Yup.” 

“Okay…so, do I just, um,” Erebus flapped his wings hesitantly, “do that?”

Neteri shrugged. “Probably? It’s not like I’ve ever flown before. Really, I don’t think any other human has, especially not like this, so…you’re kind of on your own here.”

Erebus felt his face flush slightly. “Right.” He turned away, looking out over the vast expanse of dark sand. He-he shouldn’t be nervous about messing this up in front of Neteri, since she’d said it herself that no one had ever really done this before, but he still found himself proving her point about him being self-conscious to be spot on.  Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath. Don’t think about Neteri. Just focus. 

Slowly, Erebus started to flap his wings, shifting them as he did in order to find the best angle, the one that fought against gravity the most. He couldn’t really explain it, but he just knew when he found it, something in the way the air pushed against the wing membranes feeling right. Neteri was probably taking-no, no, don’t think about Neteri, just focus. Focus on his wings, on adjusting them bit by bit, getting them in just the right-

“Woah!” Erebus’s feet left the ground for just a moment, but due to the shock of it he forgot to keep flapping his wings and fell back to the ground, stumbling and falling down onto his back. Still, he couldn’t stop himself from smiling. “Did you see that, Neteri? I-I was-I was in the air!”

Neteri smiled back, extending a hand to help him up. “I saw! I’m sure you’ll do even better next time.” He took her hand and stood, some part of him…excited to try again, to possibly succeed, to actually fly. Once she’d backed up enough, he tried again, able to find the correct angle faster than last time. Soon enough he was in the air again, actually staying in the air, rising higher bit by bit, but…how was he supposed to go forward? Maybe by moving his wings like-nope, down into the sand he went. It did help cushion his fall, just like Neteri said it would, so he was ready to try again right away.

Over and over, higher and higher, faster and farther, his take-offs getting smoother and his landings resulting in less scrapes and falls, and he was doing it, actually flying. He was rather clumsy still, but he ignored the burning in his muscles and lungs and kept trying. The feeling of freedom, of actual control over something was far too intoxicating for him to do anything but reach for it again and again.

But when he ended up falling gracelessly into the sand, his head spinning and breathing short, he realized he may have been pushing himself a bit too hard. Attempts at sitting up were met with waves of dizziness too strong for him to overcome.

“Hey, are you alright, Erebus?” Neteri knelt by his side, turning him onto his back as she felt his forehead. “You’ve been using a lot of magic to help you fly, huh? I was trying to keep an eye on your condition, but you were taking off again so quickly that I figured you were alright. Sorry about that. Here, let me give you some of my magic power.” She removed her glasses and took his hand, pulling him slightly. “Sit up, Erebus.” Shakily, he did so, his ears ringing as the world spun around him. But Neteri, she, she was moving towards him, moving her face towards his, like she was going to-

Erebus collapsed backwards onto the sand, resisting the urge to scramble away as she looked down at him in concern. “I’m sure you’re dizzy, Erebus, but I promise you’ll feel better if you let me do this, and, well…it’ll be less awkward if you’re sitting up for it, yeah?” 

He desperately shook his head. “I-if that’s-that’s what’s going to-to-I don’t want it so-so please just-” 

Neteri cocked her head. “What do you-” A look of understanding, and slight horror, dawned on her face. “Oh, no, no, no, Erebus, I wasn’t going to-that’s not how we-” She sighed. “I suppose I shouldn’t have expected you to be familiar with how magic power is shared between wizards, seeing as you aren’t one yourself. Here, sit up, I promise it’s nothing like that.” Feeling he didn’t have much choice but to trust her, Erebus sat up once more, resisting the urge to flinch back as she leaned towards him, eventually just squeezing his eyes shut.

He felt her forehead and nose press against his, but that was where the contact ended.  “It’s alright, Erebus, this is it. Just breathe deep, in and out. When we share magic, we do it by sharing breath like this.” Erebus felt a puff of air on his cheek as she laughed a little. “It’s always a little awkward the first few times you do it, but after a while it’s just as normal as shaking hands.” 

“Huh.” It was a little awkward, but he was sort of used to Neteri touching him however and wherever she wanted that he was mostly numb to it all by now. Well, not numb but…he was okay with it. “Why…why is it done like this?”

“Because sharing breath is sharing life, and magic is life. Well, I mean, magic isn’t what makes us alive, but, like…magic power comes from your life force. The bond between your body and soul. That’s why you get weak and start bleeding if you use too much magic power, because the bond grows weaker, and…you’re closer to death. The bond grows stronger again over time, obviously, or else all wizards would die pretty young.” She laughed a little. “But…if you use too much all at once, it can kill you. Like, there are some spells that one person can’t do alone because they require so much energy that it would kill the caster. Not to mention that some require different elements of magic working together, but that doesn’t have anything to do with the amount of energy needed.” There was silence for a few moments. “Sorry for just dumping all of that on you-”

“No, it’s okay, I asked.” It felt weird having a conversation with their faces together like this, but Erebus wasn’t about to lean away since it did seem to be working. And…maybe talking was better than just sitting like this in silence. “It’s weird how little I really know about magic. I mean, I know a lot of what it’s capable of, but…I never really knew just how it worked or anything.”

“Well, it’s not like you’d need to know it to run a kingdom, right? You can’t use it yourself, so it’s not really something you’d have needed to know. But, for me, things you don’t need to know are the most fun to learn about, ‘cause then it’s all about learning for the sake of it.” She shifted slightly, her breath coming out differently for a moment, like maybe she was smiling now. “Curiosity is a wonderful thing, really. We’ve made so many advancements because of it, and, really, it’s why I’m doing what I’m doing now.”

Erebus sat back against his better judgment, gulping as he opened his eyes to look at Neteri. “I-is that why you did all of this to me? Because you were curious?”

“No, I-” Neteri sighed, closing her eyes and shaking her head as if to clear it before putting her glasses back on. “That came out wrong. I was curious about demon anatomy in the beginning, and after so much study it led to-” She looked up at the sky, blue starting to fade into orange. “Look, why don’t you practice flying some more before it gets dark. You’ve got your strength back now, right? Just don’t go too far. And after that we can eat and…I can tell you why I’m doing this.”

Erebus stood, steady on his feet once more, and brushed the sand off of himself. “Fine.” He wanted to stay put, to protest, to not let the chance of finally learning the reason for all of this disappear, but Neteri sounded sincere enough, and he doubted standing his ground would result in him actually getting what he wanted. He’d waited all this time, so he could wait for a few more hours.

Besides, he wanted to try and fly again.

After a couple more attempts, he felt like he was really starting to get it, figuring out how to best move his wings and body in each different scenario. He was nowhere near feeling like he’d mastered it, but as far as the basics went, he was feeling pretty confident. For this next flight, he wanted to try and go high enough that Neteri’d look like a little white dot on the black sands below. 

As he rose up, he felt himself starting to get tired again, but upon looking down and seeing how much further up he’d have to go, he kept pushing. Going straight up was difficult, and he’d been finding it much easier to rise at an angle, sort of gliding, but he’d never tried going this high before. Neteri was getting pretty small below him, much smaller than normal, so maybe he’d stop here for now. He waved down at her, not sure how well she could even see him, before looking out over the vast desert stretching out before him, the sky above now stained with shades of orange and pink, making the dark sands below seem to sparkle. A feeling of joy welled up inside him, and he couldn’t help but laugh, the world around him so open, calling him to come explore, because he really could go anywhere now, and he couldn’t resist swooping towards the horizon, to fly as far as his wings could take him, to-

There was a harsh tug at the collar around his neck, and everything spun out of control.

Erebus began to plummet towards the ground as he choked, trying to get air flowing through his throbbing throat, flapping his wings desperately, trying to right himself befo-

Reality hit him, and it hit him hard.

Sand sprayed through the air as he hit the ground, grains taking his place in the sky before falling back down on him like rain. His arms were scraped and bleeding, little pockets of sand collected under the skin, but that stinging was hardly anything compared to the sharp pain in his legs. His lower left leg was roaring in agony, and his right ankle felt like it’d been stabbed through with a nail. Through the ringing in his ears, he could hear Neteri running over to him, shouting his name. He pushed himself upright slightly before looking down at his legs, hoping it felt worse than it looked.

All it took was the sight of white bone poking out of his torn pant leg for the world to go dark.

                                                            ~~~

Consciousness pulled Erebus to the surface all of a sudden, mercilessly dragging him back into his body. He jerked awake, crying out slightly as the pain in his legs returned full force. Neteri stood over him, and he was lying on his back in...the old barracks of the mine, on one of the bedrolls they’d laid out on the cots in here before going back outside so he could practice. She gave him a reassuring smile.

“Hey, Erebus, just breathe, it’s alright. You had quite the fall, and…not the best landing. Thankfully I know a spell that makes things lighter temporarily, so I was able to carry you here without much issue.” Erebus started to sit up, wanting to check the state of his leg, but Neteri pushed him back down. “No, no, I just finished cleaning the wound, Erebus, but I haven’t had the chance to heal you yet, and based on how you reacted to seeing it earlier…” 

Erebus sighed in defeat and laid back down. “H…how serious is it?”

“It’s going to take a lot out of me, but…I should be able to fix it. Most of it, anyway. You’re lucky that your t-no, you don’t know what bones are called, do you-your smaller leg bone? That’s the only one that completely fractured in half and broke through skin. Your…thicker leg bone is cracked, but not completely broken, which is good. The ankle on your other leg is also kind of messed up, but that I should be able to fix pretty easily.”

Erebus’s stomach sank as she kept talking, adding to the list of things she’s going to need to fix, the number of painful procedures that he’s going to have to sit through. “O-okay.” He gulped. Neteri didn’t seem mad at him, but…“I’m sorry I flew so far, I…I just got caught up in the feeling and I wanted to-”

“No, it’s alright, Erebus, I’m not upset with you. I told you not to go far, but I probably should have told you what would happen if you did. I have this ring, see, and when I wear it, it’ll pull your collar back towards me if you get too far away, and…I just didn’t think you’d be able to go that far so quickly so I figured it wouldn’t be an issue, but…I’m sorry.” She looked away as she apologized, but soon turned back to face him. “But everything will work out. I’ll get you fixed up and hopefully you’ll be able to try flying again tomorrow.”

The apology was a bit of a surprise, but Erebus wasn’t complaining. “So flying too far away from you so fast is what ended up making me…” Neteri nodded, and Erebus couldn’t help but sigh. He’d felt so free in that moment, but, really, he’d just been like a bird in a cage. One that flew straight into the bars. He couldn’t believe he’d deluded himself into thinking that he could actually fly away from all of this, even for a little bit. Just look where it got him.

Neteri gave him something to bite on and asked him to be still, and all he could do was comply and endure as she fixed the damage his naivety had caused. She started with the most serious injury, the bone sticking out of his torn leg, and he was already fighting back screams as she carefully worked the bone back into its proper place, but he knew it was only going to get worse. Memories of the surgery on his arm came flooding back, of the awful, fiery needles that stabbed through his bone as she worked her magic, and soon enough that same sensation returned full force, a dazzling array of stabbing pains surging up the entire length of his leg, paired with the sickening feeling of Neteri’s gloved hands probing around inside the wound, holding things in place as she lit them on fire, rearranging twisted muscle fibers and reconnecting ripped blood vessels.

At least, some of them.

Her hand left the wound behind, the pain telling him it was not fully healed yet. He shot her a watery-eyed look, and she smiled at him weakly. “I’m just going to fix your ankle up first. I had to use a lot more magic power than I thought I would just to get your leg bones fixed, so sit tight.” He swallowed and nodded, as if there was any other choice. The type and intensity of the pain in his ankle was much the same as it healed, and at one point Neteri had to hold his foot still so it stopped twitching in pain so much, despite his best efforts to keep it from doing so. At least he wasn’t tied down, able to grip the sides of the bedroll or wipe the tears from his eyes as he pleased. It wasn’t much to be grateful for, but he’d come to appreciate the smaller things.

Once she was done, Neteri practically collapsed to the ground, resting her arms on the side of the cot. Blood was steadily dripping from her nose, which she didn’t seem to register for a couple of seconds. After hastily shoving her handkerchief up her nostril, she sighed. “I fixed all of your broken bones, and I stopped the bleeding in your leg. I still have to…have to finish healing some of your muscles and close the skin back up but I…I just need a break.” 

Erebus couldn’t help but stare, now realizing what it meant when Neteri was wiped out from using her magic. “So you…you’re closer to dying right now? Because you used all of that magic power, your life force, to…to heal me. You…you put your life on the line to do this to me, Neteri, so why…?”

“Because I wanted to help people, can you believe that?” She laughed at the notion, her lack of lucidity almost making her seem more aware than ever. “I always thought anatomy was interesting, from the first time I saw my father butcher an animal as a girl.” She steadily crawled her way over to her bag, pulling off her bloodied gloves before rummaging through it. “I studied human anatomy, and then demon anatomy. I wanted to study dragons, too, but it’s basically impossible to get your hands on a cadaver, especially legally. So I studied humans and demons, demons and humans, and I got to thinking, what if demons didn’t come from dragons like we always supposed? What if they were humans to start? What if we’re similar enough to-” dropping the small package she’d pulled out of her bag, she laced her fingers together, “to become one?”

The silence that followed was impossibly loud, and Erebus ended up breaking it before he’d even fully processed what she said. “One like-like me?”

Neteri smiled dreamily, some of the jerky they’d brought along now clutched in her hand, the other wrapped around a familiar crystal. “Yes and no. What I really wanted to do was organs.” Her face fell, took on a coldness he’d rarely ever seen. “So many people need new organs. New limbs, even. We can only take so much from willing, healthy people. But demons,” she smiled, “demons can be butchered all we like. So I wanted to test my theory. Replace human organs with demon ones, see if they take. My proposal was accepted, but only if I made certain revisions.” 

Erebus could see in her face that she was coming back to herself, realizing everything she’d just said, realizing she couldn’t stop now that she’d started. And she’d promised to tell him, hadn’t she? “It had to be all on one person. Someone disposable. Seven surgeries, one part from each kind of demon. Things more tied to their innate magic. And that all was just to be phase one.” Her tone indicated that she didn’t plan on speaking any further. 

Someone…disposable. The phrase had made Erebus’s throat tighten. At the end of the day, that was him, wasn’t it? A prisoner of the Empire, branded as property and sentenced to live out the rest of his days in chains. His life could be thrown away without a second thought. But even worse than that…“Phase…phase one? What…what’s phase two, then?” Try as he might, he couldn’t imagine something worse than what he’d been through, so…maybe it wouldn’t be as bad.

“It’s…it’s the fate I want to save you from.”

“What?” Neteri was looking at him, determination in her eyes, and for a moment he wasn’t sure if her “saving” him was a good thing or not.

“At the beginning I thought this part would be easy. That my subject would deserve to…” she looked away, swallowing, “but you don’t. You didn’t deserve any of this to begin with, and I was too focused on my goals to see it.” She laughed hollowly before turning back to him. “I don’t want to freak you out, so…I’m not going to tell you what phase two is just yet. I promise I will eventually, once you’re out of danger. I just…don’t want anything to go wrong, and if you know what might happen if we fail…I just don’t want it to keep you up at night.”

“I can-okay.” What use was it arguing? Neteri was standing up now, putting her gloves back on, ready to get back to fixing him up, and this conversation was over. He laid back and tried to relax, but this was all a lot to process.

“Actually, Erebus…healing all this combined with the magic power I lent you earlier…I don’t know if I have enough energy to fix your leg and...do the other thing I need to do.”

“Which is…?”

She gave him a tired smile, leaning in close, her voice almost a whisper. “I’m going to remove the tracking magic from your brand.”

Erebus’s eyes went wide. “You…you’re serious?!” When she said she wanted to save him…he didn’t know what exactly he’d been expecting, but was she actually going to let him go? Was-was he really going to be free?

“Dead serious.” She straightened up. “I’m not going to get rid of it entirely, just transfer it to a crystal that you’ll keep with you until the time is right. It’s actually the main reason why I brought you all the way out here. Because I really am going to get you out of here.” A genuine smile spread across Erebus’s face at her words, as much as he was afraid that this was some sort of trick. But Neteri had always been honest with him. She’d hidden things from him, sure, but never outright lied, at least that he was aware of. “Thank…thank you, Neteri. Really, I-”

She shook her head. “It’s the least I can do. And I’ll do more to help you, I promise. But for now…is it okay if I save my energy for the brand and take care of this wound the non-magic way?”

“Yeah, that’s alright,” Erebus agreed, even though he suspected this meant he was getting stitches.

He was completely correct, but the gash in his leg wasn’t too long, so soon enough she’d tied the thread and bandaged his leg up neatly. She healed the scrapes on his arms, at least, since they were so minor that the amount of magic she used doing it was negligible, but the process of her cleaning the sand out of them first was far more painful than it had any right to be. Once that was done, they ate the portion of dried food they’d reserved for dinner, Erebus mostly making small talk while he thought through everything Neteri had said, hoping she was truly going to make good on her promises. 

He’d never been happier to hear her ask him to take off his shirt and lie down.

After he undid the knots of the special shirt she’d made to accommodate his wings, he nervously laid back, excited for what lay on the other side of the pain for once. Neteri told him that it would hurt, that it might be like being branded all over again, but he could handle it if it meant he was really going to be free.

He could handle it, right?

The burning was exactly like it was the first time, and before he knew it he was crying, biting back screams as Neteri slowly slid the crystal over his brand, igniting white-hot pain as it went, and suddenly he was right back up on that stage, rough wood pressing into the wounds on his back, all of his people watching, the collar tight around his neck, heavy chains on his wrists, the taste of blood thick in his mouth despite his missing tongue, the smell of burning flesh suffocating him, the Emperor’s almost bored expression as he pressed the hot metal to his chest, the sky above unfairly blue, unbearable heat overtaking him in waves don’t ever forget that you’re property now you’ll never be free you’ll never amount to anything more than a twisted science project everything you’ve studied and worked for means nothing and all you can do is watch as your very humanity is ripped away and torn to shreds and nothing will save-

“Erebus.”

Erebus tensed up, suddenly finding himself back in the present, Neteri looking down at him with concern. A rag was shoved up her bleeding nose again, but she gave him a weak smile as she wiped away some of his tears. “It’s over. I’m sorry it hurt so much, but it’s over.” She squeezed his hand, holding out the black crystal she’d bound the tracking spell to with her other one. He nodded and took it, numbly worming it into his pocket as he tried to crawl out of his daze. “Let’s go to sleep, then,” Neteri said as she started to pull her hand away.

“Wait-” Erebus sniffed, holding tightly onto her hand. “Please, could you…?” He still didn’t want to say it outright, but he hoped she’d get the message, and he couldn’t help but smile when she gave his hand a squeeze. 

“Alright. But let me get ready for bed first, okay?”

“Okay.”

She got ready quickly enough, even giving him something to help with the pain in his leg since she wasn’t going to be using magic on it anytime soon. Once that was done, she sat on the edge of the bed, holding out her arms and letting him bury himself in her stomach, causing her to laugh a little. “Would it be easier if I laid down? I mean, I have my own bed, but…I think I’m about ready to fall over.”

“T-that’s fine!” Erebus sat up quickly, scooting over to make room. He hadn’t been expecting this, but after what happened with his brand, he wasn’t complaining. Once Neteri had laid down, he cuddled up next to her, her arms around him so comforting. Before he knew it the tears he’d been holding back started to flow again, the horrible memories of that day still at the forefront of his mind. He’d mostly buried it under all the awful things he’d experienced since, but now it was all he could think about. Neteri mostly stayed silent, her hand stroking his hair and rubbing the base of one of his horns. After he’d started to calm down, she spoke up.

“You know, I’d never thought I’d lay like this with a guy.”

“Oh, I, uh-sorry, do you not want to-”

“No, no, it’s okay! I didn’t mean it like I don’t want to or anything, it’s just…weird? No…unexpected? Yeah. I never would’ve thought I’d do this, you know? Like if you told me ten years ago I’d be cuddling with a boy someday I would’ve laughed at you, you know?”

“Well, if you told me at the start of all this that I’d want to do this with you I would’ve…I would have been…” He sat bolt upright, trapped between her and the wall. “This isn’t…maybe I shouldn’t do this or even want this I-”

“Erebus.” Neteri took his hand, holding it firmly as she sat up slightly. “It’s okay to want comfort from me. After everything you’ve…no, after everything I’ve put you through, it’s only natural to want to be comforted, to need it, really, and, well… it’s not like you have anyone else to turn to. And I want to make it up to you, so, please, if you want to…it’s okay.” She smiled. “It’s not like anyone will know, anyway, if that makes you feel better.”

“But what if they did know, what if they all found out that I’m-they’d think I’m pathe-”

“You’re not a prince anymore, Erebus.” He stiffened like he’d just been slapped, jaw falling open slightly before he finally turned to look down at Neteri, his eyes wide. “You don’t have to worry so much about what everyone thinks of you. You’re not setting an example for anyone, you’re not expected to be a leader, you’re allowed to be vulnerable now, to want things without worrying about how you’ll be judged for it, to just be…you.”  She sat up fully, still holding his hand. “So if you want this, Erebus, it’s okay. Really.”

“I…am I ever going to see any of them again, Neteri?” he asked as his shoulders sagged in defeat.

She gave him a tired smile. “I don’t see why not. After we get away I can get you all fixed up, and…maybe you’ll be able to go home. Just as long as you keep it on the down low, it should be okay.”

Erebus smiled wide. “Okay. Thank you, Neteri. We can go to sleep now.”

“Alright.” She nodded sleepily, her eyes unfocused without her glasses on. She glanced over at her cot and bedroll before lying down and closing her eyes. Erebus hummed happily as he laid on her chest once more, his horn resting on top of her shoulder. As exhausting as today had been, he was almost too excited to sleep. The prospect of actually being free was…exhilarating.

Honestly, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt hope like this. For so long he’d been resigned to this life, the fate he’d been dealt, because he’d come to accept that escaping on his own was impossible and no one who’d cared about him would be able to save him.

For the first time in a long time, he let himself think about his friends back home, all the people he’d known and loved, of Lythia, and he remembered how they’d tried to save him. That…that was the last time he’d felt hope, the day he was whipped and branded and had his tongue cut off. Lythia had told him he was going to be rescued, and he’d believed wholeheartedly that he would be. And here he was again, being told he was going to be saved, and believing that everything was going to work out in the end. 

Last time he’d had hope like this, it had been destroyed right before his eyes.

Would this time be any different?

Next→

Tags: @dramaticcollapse @thehopelessopus @just-a-whumping-racoon-with-wifi @galaxywhump @as-a-matter-of-whump @mnmlover2002 @tears-and-lilies @yet-another-heathen @rippedjeansandfadeddreams @starnight-whump @unicornscotty @thebewilderer @kixngiggles @itallstartedwithharry @inky-whump @redstainedsocks @lonesome--hunter @his-unspoken-words @susiequaz12 @its-mysweetlittlesecret-blog @whumpasaurus101 @patheticlittleguy @jadeocean46910 @whumpinggrounds @pumpkin-spice-whump @suspicious-whumping-egg @befuddled-calico-whump @whump-in-the-closet

[ask-paradox-and-friends]

*Because I'm bored.*

RANDOM FUN FACTS ABOUT THE OCS GODS OF MY VERSE

Nyxlite once poked her head into the mortal realm once. She accidentally became the inspiration behind the Greek gods Nyx and Erebus because reasons.

LOR has fought both Thor and his kids because they thought he was the world serpent. He clearly wasn't.

HP Lovecraft accidentally saw LORs face and this drove him crazy enough to make his monsters. But....Nxyie did accidentally tell Sunblood that Azaoth is real and came to Lovecraft in a dream. Cause in her words 'he's a dick.'

Hera tried to stab Cherub the day they met because she thought he was zues's kid. He wasn't.

Sunblood and Takie are hated the most by the ror gods cause Sunblood 'betrayed them for the humans' and Takie used to be a hellhound.

Merchant and Archivist hate going near a battlefield.

Makmak is scared of Hera and Amaterasu.

Geaia and Solveria haven't ever seen an Egyptian god before.

Galeria has been around since the dawn of multi celled organisms.

Alexand being the son of Comet and Nxyie is often considered the biggest threat to heaven and hell.

Comet has no face and his body changes color depending on his mood. His default color is purple.

There's almost no information on The Rainbow Opal due to it being very very shy and many people not even thinking it's real. But it's the origin of magic on many worlds. In fact their tears have made fountains of youth which are almost always portals into the land of dreams due to the fountain being 'a physical manifestation of mortal dreams.'

Rainbow Opal or RO is the only primordial who can have it's real body fly around the universe without breaking something or becoming a massive target.

The gods used to be 2 pantheons. The primordials who are abstract concepts made somewhat physical to enjoy the planes of reality around them. Killing any of them will break reality. And the Ascenders who are various mortals who Ascended to God hood.

The ways the Ascenders ascended.

Sunblood - married a god.

Gealia - people confused her for Gaia and she gained power through worship.

Solveria - people thought she was an angel. So people worshiped her as a 'mighty servant of heaven' she nevered liked getting worshiped but she loves her worshipers.

Galeria - being a massive sea serpant makes people believe she's the daughter of a sea monster they need to keep happy.

Makmak - fell into a fountain of youth and landed in the land of dreams durning the dark ages he refused to leave and stayed there so long became the physical avatar of the dream world.

Takie - she was a hellhound who was jealous every other living being could have children while hell hounds can't so mad she started kidnapping children she was sure deserved her love which accidently started a cult of people who revered her as a pagan goddess of motherhood.

Comet - he was the result of a big bang imploding in on itself thus it became an anomaly of major proportion they then started leaving signs to those that live inside their body it is alive and he's aware of what's going on inside them.

Cherub - killed his godly father in self defense and accidentally stole his powers.

With the exception of Makmak the gods have been in a relationship before.

[spacenutspod]

1 min readPreparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) The Galactic/Extragalactic ULDB Spectroscopic Terahertz Observatory (GUSTO) awaits its flight on a scientific balloon with a picturesque view of Antarctica’s Mount Erebus in the distance. GUSTO successfully launched Dec. 31, 7:30 p.m. local time (Dec. 31, 1:30 a.m. EST) and remains in flight.NASA/Scott Battaion High above the icy landscape of Earth’s southernmost continent, the Galactic/Extragalactic ULDB Spectroscopic Terahertz Observatory (GUSTO) scientific balloon mission has been afloat for more than 15 days since its launch from McMurdo, Antarctica, on Dec. 31, 7:30 p.m. local time (Dec. 31, 1:30 a.m. EST). GUSTO is mapping a large portion of the Milky Way galaxy and Large Magellanic Cloud to help scientists study the interstellar medium. The observatory is transmitting the data it collects back to watchful teams on the ground as it steadily circumnavigates the South Pole around 120,000+ feet. GUSTO is flying on a 39 million cubic-foot zero-pressure scientific balloon, which is so large it could easily fit 195 blimps inside of it. The balloon is used to fly missions for long periods of time during the Austral Summer over Antarctica. GUSTO is aiming for a NASA record of 55+ days in flight to achieve its science goals. For more information on NASA’s Scientific Balloon Program, managed at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, click here. To track the GUSTO mission in real-time, visit NASA’s Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility website. Check out more photos from GUSTO's launch here Share Details Last Updated Jan 16, 2024 EditorOlivia F. LittletonContactOlivia F. Littletonolivia.f.littleton@nasa.gov Related TermsAstrophysics Explorers ProgramGUSTO (Galactic/Extragalactic ULDB Spectroscopic Terahertz Observatory)Scientific BalloonsWallops Flight Facility Explore More 2 min read NASA Wallops Signs Space Act Agreement to Support STEM Outreach Article 3 weeks ago 8 min read NASA’s GUSTO Prepares to Map Space Between the Stars Editor’s Note: The GUSTO mission successfully launched on a scientific balloon from Antarctica Dec. 31,… Article 1 month ago 5 min read NASA Scientific Balloons Ready for Flights Over Antarctica Article 2 months ago

[classpectanon]

I was wondering if I may get a land analysis for Knight of Time, please? Interests include books, writing, art, isolating myself in a cold pitch black basement away from human contact, creepy shit (Like oujia boards and that stuff even though it's not real) , bones and sleeping. I guess my personality is kind of shy at first yet my emotions can change very quickly from happy to angry. Yet I'm pretty quiet watching the time fly by. My apologises if that was too much.

land of dusk and grotesques (lodag): this land appears as a vast, dark expanse of dense forests and gothic architecture, with tall, shadowy trees and grand libraries filled with countless books and scrolls. the perpetual twilight and a mysterious fog give the land an eerie, isolated atmosphere. consorts are somber and intelligent crows, well-versed in the secrets of their land. the denizen, erebus, god of darkness and shadows, resides deep within the largest library. the main quest involves deciphering ancient texts, uncovering the knowledge required to restore light to the land. caution must be exercised while exploring, as the darkness can manifest unsettling and deceptive illusions.

[graywyvern]

( via / via )

CyberPyongyang.

"Kafka: 'Kierkegaard faces the problem, whether to enjoy life aesthetically or to experience it ethically. But this seems to me a false statement of the problem. The Either-Or exists only in the head of Sören Kierkegaard. In reality one can only achieve an aesthetic enjoyment of life as a result of humble ethical experience.'

Quoted by Janouch (and, in turn, quoted by Barthes in his lecture course on the novel: 'This is a Kierkegaardian problem. Let’s articulate it [and correct it] with Kafka…')" --@nicoscosc

Real-looking gadget.

"TRISTIA

I have learned the art of departure In loose-haired lamentations of the night. The oxen chew, the waiting continues – It is the last hour of the city watch. And I honor the ritual of that darkness When, bearing up the sorrow of the road, Tearful eyes looked into the distance And a woman's tears mixed with the muses' song.

Who can say, when hearing the word 'departure,' What kind of separation we have in store? What does the rooster’s cry foretoken When a fire burns in the acropolis? And at the dawn of some new life, While an ox lazily chews its cud in the stall, Why does the rooster, herald of a new life, Beat his wings on the city wall?

And I admire the habitude of spinning – The shuttle whirrs, the spindle hums – Look, here comes barefoot Delia already, Flying at us as swansdown flies! Oh, our life’s meager foundation, How scanty is the language of joy! All has already been, and all shall be repeated, And only the moment of recognition is sweet.

Let it be so: a small transparent figure Lies on a spotless platter of clay – Even so a squirrel pelt looks spread-eagled. A maiden leans over it and studies the wax. It is not for us to tell fortunes about Erebus. What wax is to women, bronze is to men. Our lot is cast for us only in battle, While they in fortune-telling meet their end."

--Bernstein's Mandelshtam

Kiel plaĉas al vi: komedio en kvin aktoj.

[sistersofsilver]

alright its been a few hours. ripping some opinions from the tags ty @volcanicalexg & @cthoniccompanion respectively

NO BUT LIKE FOR REAL THE FACT THEY'RE MIRRORS OF THE SAME HUBRIS KEEPS ME UP AT NIGHT. what do you MEAN they were both warned not to do this dangerous thing and they both did it anyway. i seriously think what melinoë was trying to do is actually possible. like how it is actually possible for icarus to fly if only in death and with wings he made himself. melinoë is the daughter of hades. she's goddess of ghosts. if anyone can make this work she 100% can. she is literally so clever. i really think she was on the cusp of figuring it out but it wasn't quite enough. so yeah flesh for flesh - lost her arm could have lost more if she didn't stop. but imagine if she had the right combination of shit.

THIS IS SO... OOO I HADN'T CONSIDERED THALAMUS BUT THAT MIGHT BE PART OF THE CORRECT EQUATION. a lil extra ✨spice✨ from the creator themself. but you are remembering correctly maybe not beat for beat but i do remember a conversation like this popping with hecate i think it shows up either after you start collecting reagents or after you start growing reagents but either way. there's emphasis on your practice being your own and this shows like, the way the altar works, the cards yknow. and like. leaning in okay whispering. i think there needs to not only be more melinoë elements but more icarus elements bc this currently feels a little one sided. do you remember when melinoë was summoning moros: we needed three pieces of fate fabric to tie back to his relationship to the three fates. and the nightshade to bring him back to her, back to erebus where it grows, bringing him out of obscurity. so i feel like we're missing that. it can't be silver that's too melinoë focused, but what we do have is bronze. that's both on the surface, and directly tied to icarus and his work. i think icarus needed to come back into himself some more too, sort of remember who he is. remember what i said about the nightshade and obscurity.

in short: together we can be this image @ supergiant

okay. heres my rough (rough) idea on how to make a shade a little more tangible.

ashes: to remember him. there's a spark of something there.

bones: to strengthen him. he"s clearly more tangible than other shades given he's at least semi corporeal

fate fabric: to twist possibility in favor. basically mandatory, there's little chance of this working otherwise. (it very clearly didn't entirely work, but that's not the point)

nightshade: tied to death, used for medea upgrades thus tied to her in some way and given her everything...

myrtle: tied to love. take that as you will, but i dont think you can try this without love.

blood: not a proper reagent, but clearly, this took a pound of flesh either way. blood = life as seen with zagreus last game. (<- oversimplification ik)

complications: some of these are later game drops, and so melinoë was NOT grabbing these. where did melinoë learn this. how did literally no one stop them.

tentative solutions: icarus is already dead, and we know of scouting shades by odysseus. hecate had a surplus of reagents lying around - she mentioned she had some early on in game but hasnt had the chance to refill them as of late. therefore, melinoë and icarus could have done some pilfering. eris could have been involved if only because hecate would not approve of this. we know eris made bombs, and her, mel, and icarus have some sort of connection. as for learning, there's something about taking bits and pieces of medea and circes teachings and trial and getting a rough idea. melinoë isn't stupid after all. circe for changing ones nature, medea for dealing with the dead. both are important imo. as for how & why no one stopped them... great question.

idk!!! idk i'm still cooking, but i feel like i'm onto something.

[callistochan87]

I’m working on design sheets. I don’t really need to do them because Lord knows I’ve done enough of them, but they’re fun, and a bit soothing to work on. I was going to wait until I had a bit more, but. impatience gets the better of me once again. I might take a break to work on other pictures.

(I didn't really need to do the first section of either - I just wanted to show that the previous designs were still valid.)

Anyway, I've decided to change some things up. Christine was always started as a teeeeeeeensy bit of a self-insert to go on adventures with. Keeping her perpetually 17/18 was getting difficult for me, especially given the plot of the book is her/her friends being abducted - the idea that their parents would just stay on Earth didn't seem right. Anyway. There were a lot of ideas and a lot of drafts, which I will likely summarize in another post, but for now, they've all been aged up. I like this idea. This is me going 'screw it I'll do what makes me happy' If that means 1910s dress and whatever i feel like, then so be it.

Christine's backstory is the same: she saw an alien at least once during her childhood, an event that has impacted her entire life since then, filling her with an interest in the stars but also a sort of longing, a restlessness, that's dogged her throughout her life. She loved her husband, her work is good, but at the same time she can't help but feeling like she's just going through the motions of life. Sure, it's comforting enough--if not stressful, tasking care of her ailing mother and a husband who works 3-week rotations at the mines--but...there's something missing.

Then she sees the alien again. Her mother has passed away only weeks before, her husband is gone away back on another 3-week shift, she's emotionally out of sorts and numb, but this fills her with a weird hope, more so than she's ever thought in her life.

When she sees him walking somewhere, she decided to put on her coat and follow him.

(I was going to have her have the necklace, but there was no real reason for it. I like the idea that she doesn't have a souvenir to remember the trip by, just her own memories and her and her mother's shared insistence that it was real. A secret between them. Even Eric, who she trusted enough to tell, doesn't really believe it was anything more than a fantasy, or a vivid dream, or her incorrectly remembering a normal event. He finally tells her this when he feels she's latching onto the story too hard after her mother's death. She does not appreciate it.)

I will dig up the link later, but the Erebus dress was based off of one from the 1910s? I really liked it. I decided to make it purple. That was always 'her' colour ever since she was Sailor Selene, so I decided to lean hard into it.)

Eric is also much the same, although some of the details may have shifted between drafts, but as it stands, his family is his father Alexander, a pilot (what airline? No idea, uhh, Air Tindi?? i have no ideaaaaa); his mother Anne, a nurse; his twin sister Shelby, who was really close with Christine in high school and into university; and his younger brother Garrett. (Garrett is a slightly newer addition, story-wise.)

Eric has always had some interest in nature, at least in more recent drafts, so he's a professional geologist, working out at the mines. (I don't know anyone who personally works for the northern mines so I'm not entirely sure of the stability of the job - I know some mines shut down production occasionally, so he might have worked at several different ones.)

Mine work is anywhere between 2 weeks on (they fly you out to the mine and you stay there), 2 weeks off (back home). During Covid some of the mines were straight month-on, month-off deals. I think it varies by mine, but a common number I hear is about 3 weeks on, 3 weeks off, so that's what I'm going with. I have not specified which nothern Canadian mine he works at, and that's quite deliberate. He stays in the north, maybe Alberta. At any rate he's often not home, which...well, he doesn't like it, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

He's helpful. I almost want to say helpful to a fault, helpful to the point where it's actually a problem-not for him, but, maybe for his wife. I read a story about a guy who had a near-death experience, and afterward he just wanted to help everyone. It sounds great when you put it like that, but his wife was less than thrilled when it felt like he didn't prioritize her over random strangers, or was so unconcerned with material things that he wouldn't do things liker 'get rid of the broken down couch' because what did it matter? or something, it was worded better than that, it's been ages since I read that book/

anyway that's the level of help I was thinking of, where his wife would like some prioritizing over random coworkers. I'm not sure how to show that or if I want to go that far. I was also debating whether or not he should have a NDE as a child, both as a parallel to Christine's alien experience and as an explanation for why most things seem pretty chill (everything does in the face of dying).

If he did, it would probably be when he was about 11-12, and would've been something like nearly drowning when out camping with his family during the summer - scary, but also pretty mundane.

He's very concerned after his mother-in-law dies. Chris isn't taking it well, he can't seem to get her to cheer up, and he also feels a bit useless for not being there (for a legitimate reason - bills goota get paid) when he knows damn well she needed the help (and both she and her father really hated the idea of sending her mother down south to a nursing home, away from her family, so. That didn't happen).

He tries to approach his own mother but...Anne. Anne's a nurse. She's a little caregiver burnt out herself. Eric's a grown adult. She can;t be doing everything. He'll have to man up and deal with his feelings. This is zero percent helpful for everyone involved.

His father is a little more balanced, as he usually is, but even in this situation there isn't much Eric can do but just try to help when he is home. This doesn't help Eric feeling useless, and concerned. Chris latches onto thr story really hard after her mother dies, including hoarding her mother's notebooks, talking about it almost incessantly. On some level he understands it;'s soothing; on another level he just wants to hug her and make thing sbetter, and he can't, and he's frustrated.

He maybe phrases his words more harshly than he intends to. And choosing to tell them to Christine when she's literally driving him to the airport so he can leave for another three weeks is probably not good timing. But you can't take things back when they're said.

He's angry and upset, mostly at himself, because she doesn't reaxct well and he's literally just thrown that bomb in her face and left. He texts when she lands just to let her know he arrived safely. Usually she says something more than just "ok". He usually calls every night when he's away, but she makes clear that he really hurt her feelings. Their calls become less frequent. He tries to give her distance.

Halfway through week three, she just stops picking up the phone. Straight to voicemail. He texts Konnie, the only other one of their friends still in town. Chris is still mad. She's pretty mad, too - he knew damn well what that story meant to her, regardless of what Eric thought, and he still chose to say it. Eric and Konnie have never been super close, so this isn't surprising, but it doesn't help.

Still, despite everything, mad or not, she's never failed to meet him at the airport. Even if she's delayed, she texts to say why. When he arrives at the airport and she's not there, not picking up the phone, he thinks it weird. Loath to pay for a taxi, he asks Konnie to pick him up instead, mostly because she lives close to the airport and there's no guarantee his parents or Garrett would be free.

That's weird, she says, doesn't Chris usually pick you up?

She does, but she's not answering her phone for Eric. She's not answering for Konnie either, and that's weird.

Her car's not in the driveway when they get home. The place looks like it hasn't been touched for a couple days. Her coffee cup is still sitting in the sink.

Okay, nobody panic. They drive by her father's place. She'ds been staying with him for a bit. Her car's not there, either. They elect not to tell her father, who would probably not handle it well if they were asking where Christine was, not so soon after losing his wife.

They find her car parked along the side of the road before a hiking trail. Chris doesn't like hiking. Konnie has tried taking her on a few of the easier trails and it often involved half-crawling up the rock, unsteady balance, not liking it. This wouldn't be a place she would go, especially not in the dead of winter when the ice would be bad. There are no obvious tracks, but it's the likeliest lead they have. It leads them out [I'm not sure where - initially thinking a lake but could be a variety of places]. Something happened there, judging by the debris, but there's no sign of Christine...except for [some item that's clearly hers - could be her car keys, something of her mother's, or if I wanted to go for the real gut punch her wedding, ring, but I don't think that'd be likely if she's wearing gloves, as she would be].

So. Christine was there, but now she's not, and something happened there. They pick up some of the strange debris. Eric is panicking in a way thatv he has never done so before, and goes to the one place that he would go to when he's stressed: his parents.

Thank God his father answers the door; if Anne had answered it'd be a different story entirely. He manages to get the details out. He's obviously concerned. He knows people, he can get a helicopter over the area to see if they can see anything - possibly she fell (we don't want to think about that).

It's going - not fine, but somewhat sensibly, until they show him the debris. It's about the only clue they have. ...It means something to him. They're not sure what, since it just looks like funny black rocks, but his expression says it all. He asks them to confirm what they saw.

...Alexander thinks he might know where Chris is, might. It's a gamble, since there are a lot of places within there she could be, but any lead is better than no lead. Eric wants to go right the fuck NOW. hang on. It's not that easy. You have to be very, very sure you want to do this, because once you leave Earth, you can't come back.

...

Anyway, Chris handles Erebus very well! Eric...does not.

(considering I'm trying to move away from things that have obvious Earth analogues - ie the use of mythological names, I feel like I should move away from 'Erebus' as a planet name - no matter if it fits VERY WELL - but it's been that for so long that ehhh, I don't know what I'd replace it with.)

[delicatelyherdreams]

Pragma(tic) 12: He Gets the Visit of His Life

Pairing: Persephone!Bucky Barnes x Hades!Reader

Summary: In a world where the old gods never truly died, you must learn to navigate your way through the ups and downs of immortality. And if living forever wasn’t hard enough, an ancient evil is now threatening to break free after centuries of silence. And as if that still wasn’t hard enough for you, now a pesky and infuriatingly handsome god is trying to wedge his way into your life. Gods, work, love, and conflict—what more could a goddess need? [Hades & Persephone AU]

Word Count: 4350

Warnings: Language

Pragma(tic) Masterlist

Previous 11: She Takes a Stand

Bucky had said that he’d give (y/n) a day at least to get back on her feet in terms of work, but he wasn’t sure exactly how much time she wanted. Was just one enough, or did she need more?

Eight days had passed since he’d left (y/n) at the border and, sappy and cliche as it might be, he missed her. He missed her smile and her laugh and even her sour glares she gave him when he said something stupid (which was often if he was being honest, but he only did it to get those damn glares from her).

He wondered how she was doing without him. Not that she needed him or anything—she was perfectly capable of living on her own—but she had told him she had a lot of work to do and he was curious to see how she was doing. He could only imagine how boring the paperwork was. He’d sat there and watched her do it one day and he nearly fell asleep. He felt so bad for her if that’s what she was stuck doing. Maybe he could rescue her and bring her to the island. Get her some sun. If there was one thing that was good about being in the Mediterranean, it was that it was sunny year-round.

Lying there in the grass under the shade of a tree to shield him from the sweltering sun, Bucky sighed and shut his eyes. He didn’t think it really mattered what (y/n) was doing at that moment and daydreaming about taking her out in the sun wasn’t doing any good.. The fact of the matter was that he missed her and he really wanted to see her. But he had to wait. Delayed gratification always paid out in the end and—

“Hey, Buck!” Sam’s voice called, pulling him from his thoughts. “You’ve got a visitor.”

Bucky groaned, keeping his eyes shut. “Tell my mother I’m sleeping.”

Sam laughed and Bucky felt him sit down beside him. “It’s not your mother. I think you’re going to want to go get them before Steve loses his mind.”

Bucky peeled an eye open and looked over at Sam. “What are you talking about?”

He nodded his head forward. “See for yourself.”

Bucky opened his eyes fully and sat up to look at the clearing. He couldn’t believe his eyes.

Standing in the clearing, talking to Steve, were two women and a large dog. He only just recognized the woman on the left as Peggy, the goddess of magic, but he would’ve known the woman on the right anywhere. 

(y/n) was dressed for a sunny day with a pair of loose black shorts hanging from her hips, a dark grey tank top hugging her torso, and a floppy black hat casting shade on her face. Cerberus stood by her side, nearly attached to her hip, as he sniffed Steve’s hand eagerly. (y/n) had her fingers tangled in his fur as she pet him absently, listening to whatever Steve was saying. A kind smile adorned her lips. When Bucky moved, he drew her attention and those striking eyes of hers landed on him. Her smile only widened when she saw him, and she raised her other hand in greeting.

He could only stare at her, his lips parted in awe. 

He’d never seen her venture out of the Underworld in the daytime and actually have time to appreciate her in the sun. The only time he’d seen her in the Mortal World like this was when she threw him out the first time. She was beautiful then, but it was a scary beautiful—the kind that came from radiating power and “I’ll kick your ass” energy. But now? She was stunning with the gentle glow that came with familiarity and sincerity. The sun kissed her skin, giving her a lively glow that seemed to send color to her flesh. She looked alive, and Bucky’s breath got caught in his throat.

He was on his feet and making long strides over to the quartet before he knew it.

(y/n)’s eyes never left him and her smile only grew brighter as he approached. “I thought you were going to come back later,” she said, her tone taking on a teasing tone. 

A smile to match hers covered Bucky’s face. “Oh, I was, Doll, but I wasn’t sure how much time you’d need to get caught up.” 

“Only a day or two. Eight was far too many.” She chuckled. “But time is irrelevant when you live forever.” She turned her gaze from him and looked back up at Steve. “Your friend here was kind enough to fill us in on all your moping over the past few days. Did you really miss me that much?”

“He did,” Steve confirmed, nudging Bucky with his elbow. 

Bucky hissed a “Hey” at Steve before rolling his eyes. “He’s exaggerating the whole thing. I was not moping.”

“Mhmm.”

He cleared his throat. “Anyways! Why are you guys up here? I’ve never seen you topside and dressed for,” he gestured vaguely, “leisure.”

(y/n) looked down at Cerberus. “Well, we needed a bit of fresh air, and Cerberus wanted to go on a walk, so we figured we’d pop up for a bit and see you. You’ve been going under for so long that I figured it was my turn to come up and see you.”

Bucky’s heart hammered in his chest. She wanted to come and see him. She left her kingdom to come to him. If that wasn’t dedication, he didn’t know what was. He smiled at her and offered her his hand. “Then shall we give your beloved pup a walk?”

She took it without hesitation and nodded. “Yes.” She turned her head back towards her companion. “Pegs?”

“You go on!” the other woman encouraged. “I’ll be here talking with Steve.” She shot a grin at the blond man, eliciting a blush to rise to his cheeks.

(y/n)’s eyebrows rose in acknowledgment, a smirk playing on her lips. “Alright then. Come on, Buck.” She squeezed his hand and pulled him towards the trees that led out of the clearing.

He followed her, tugging her too. “This way,” he coaxed as he led her through the trees. “I know a good path for walking. Mortals rarely travel it.”

“Perfect.” She let him take the lead.

Cerberus trotted just a bit ahead of them, sniffing down at every little leaf he came across. His tail was wagging rapidly at the excitement of new surroundings. Bucky supposed he hadn’t really seen anything living in, well, ever. 

As if thinking the same thing, (y/n) giggled at her dog. “He doesn’t get out much,” she admitted sheepishly. “He’s a busy dog.”

“Oh, I bet.” Bucky hummed and pulled her closer as they emerged from the trees onto the vacant path. “I still can’t believe you came up here.”

“Honestly? Me neither.” She looked down. “But I needed a small break. Things in the Underworld… Well, they’re not looking too hot right now.”

He frowned and ducked his head to see her. “How do you mean?”

Her lips had formed a thin line as she looked ahead. “Kronos’ cage is… It was weakened. Like, so weak he could’ve broken out at any moment.”

Bucky’s brow furrowed. “I thought that you went down every week to—”

“I did. We think that someone might’ve tampered with it. Our leading hypothesis is titans, but everyone’s been accounted for.” She growled under her breath and her hand squeezed his with frustration. “But we’ve quadrupled up on security and have spent countless hours strengthening the cage. Everyone is doing their best. Even my sisters have come down to help. At this rate, it looks like we’ll be back to normal within days and we can put this whole thing behind us as a fluke. But it’s just been so hectic down there and I needed a break.”

“So you came to me?”

“Exactly.” She rubbed small circles on the back of his hand with her thumb. “I feel calm with you, Buck. So when I needed a break to just chill out, the only place that came to my mind was by your side.” She shrugged as if it was no big deal, but the words made Bucky’s heart pound.

He cleared his throat and his eyes darted down to her. He was glad that he could put her at ease, and he thought to himself that he could help her by breaking the tension with a bit of comedic relief. So, with a teasing grin on his face, he asked, “Do you wear anything other than black?”

Her head snapped up to him, and she stared at him. “Pardon?”

He gestured at her outfit. “Screw me, I’m trying to make conversation and lighten the mood. You’re stressed.” He cleared his throat. “Anyways! I only see you in black. Do you wear anything else?” 

A skeptical smile crossed her lips, but she answered him, “Yes. Sometimes I wear greys or reds.”

“So only gloomy colors?”

“I suppose.” Her smile gave way to an amused chuckle.

“What about a nice yellow? I think you could pull off yellow.”

Her chuckle turned into a full roar of laughter. “Yellow! Bucky, the day I wear yellow will be the day I die.”

“So never. After all, gods can’t die.”

She turned to him, a coy smile on her lips. “Now that is where you’re wrong. It’s very rare, but gods can die or be killed.” She paused. “I’ve seen it happen; in fact, I’ve had to kill some myself.” 

“What?” He turned to look at her, his eyes concerned. He’d never heard of this, and it made him anxious and worried for her to know that she had killed a god.

She continued to walk, acting as nonchalant as if she were talking about swatting a fly. “Erebus, the god of deep darkness and shadows was rebelling against us, trying to set my father free. He was a minor god, so he wasn’t a real threat, but he was still guilty of high treason against Olympus. Carol hated to do it, but she had to sentence him to death. Who better to be the official executioner than the goddess of the dead?”

Bucky continued to stare at her, his heart aching for her. He’d never really witnessed death before, but he could only imagine how horrible it was for her. Despite being surrounded by death down in the Underworld, he never could imagine what it was like dealing it out. “Wh-What did you do?”

She glanced at him sideways. “I don’t want to get into the details with you, Buck. You don’t really need to concern yourself with it. Death is… Well, it’s not always pretty. I don’t want to make you worried or ruin your innocence. Death is a nasty business.”

He nodded, but there was still something that bothered him. Every god presided over some dominion or another. Every god controlled some important aspect of life. What happens to their role when they die?

“(y/n)?”

“Hmm?”

“If Erebus is dead, then what happened to his…”

“His charges? The deep darkness and shadows?”

It was like she read his mind. He nodded. 

“I took them. When a god dies, another has to take their role. Sometimes it goes to the god that already presides over something similar, sometimes it goes to the one most willing to take it.” She lifted her hand and instantly wisps of darkness curled around her fingers. “I was already Queen of the Underworld, a place that practically bathed in the deep darkness and shadows, so I took on the role.” She closed her fist and the shadows vanished. 

Bucky couldn’t decide if he was fascinated or terrified by the whole thing. He was impressed that she had more power because of the death, but he was frightened by the prospect that any god could become more powerful by killing another. 

“Don’t worry though. It’s extremely difficult to kill a god. Only one of the Big Three’s weapons or our father’s weapon can do it in one fell swoop, and my sisters and I keep our weapons under lockdown when we aren’t using them. The only other thing I can think of that could kill a god would be a sickness, and even then it would have to be a powerful sickness.” She shrugged. “Don’t fret about it, no one is dying anytime soon.”

“If you say I shouldn’t, I won’t.”

“Then don’t.” She fell silent for a bit before laughing. “Well, that was a failed attempt at keeping the conversation light. We go from talking about clothes to talking about death.”

“Well, when your girlfriend is the goddess of the dead, death and all its tangents are probably going to be normal conversation topics.”

At that, (y/n) froze and pulled Bucky to a sudden stop.

He grunted as he stumbled, pulled by his hand which was still holding hers. “You alright?” He hadn’t been expecting that, and he didn’t think she would stop unless she had good reason to. His eyes searched her body for any sign of sudden injury or disturbance, but all he could find was the startled expression on her face. 

She stared at him, still as death, her eyes darting all over his body. Her lips were parted in a silent gasp.

“(y/n)?” he called again, his voice cautious and timid.

She was silent for a few moments more before she asked, in a voice as timid as his own, “Wh-What did you just call me?”

“(y/n)?”

“No, before that.”

He paused, wracking his brain for the word. When he finally realized what she meant, heat rose to his face. “I called you m-my girlfriend.”

Hearing it again, she turned her head down, eyeing him through her lashes. “Bucky… You’ve only known me for seven months or so. That’s… that’s not that long at all.” She hung her head, her expression unreadable.

For the first time in a while, Bucky was scared he’d overstepped the unsaid boundaries they’d established. His heart sank in his chest. What had he been thinking? Where had he gotten the idea that they were a couple? Was it from the countless hours they’d spent together? Was it the both of them kinda admitting their feelings back at Pop’s Pastries with no one but the fluorescent lights to bear witness? Why had he thought that meant she wanted to be with him even when he hadn’t asked? Was he really so stupid as to rush into this too fast and just assume? 

He lowered his head in shame. “I… I know and I’m sorry, Doll. I shouldn’t have assumed anything and I—”

“No!” she said suddenly. “I mean, I don’t mind. I just… I’ve never been an official girlfriend before and it’s just… It’s different, y’know?”

“Like a good different?”

She paused for a moment, deliberating silently, before nodding. “I think so. But, if I’m your girlfriend, does that make you my boyfriend?”

“If you want me to be.”

She was quiet for a bit before she nodded her head. The motion was slow at first, so slow that Bucky hardly noticed it, but then she began to nod her head more eagerly and a smile that lit up her whole face took over. “I’d like that very much, but I’m changing the name. ‘Boyfriend’ and ‘girlfriend’ sounds like something teenagers use. I think I’d prefer you to be my partner.”

He chuckled. “Then your partner I shall be. I don’t care what you call me so long as I can be with you.”

“But also,” she said staring at him pointedly, “you have to actually ask me out before we can be anything. Just because I like you doesn’t mean you can cut corners.”

“Fine. (y/n), will you go out on a date with me?”

Her eyes sparkled with joy and mischief as she said, “Sure. Aren’t we on one now?”

He opened his mouth to respond, but he was cut off by Cerberus yipping and the sound of footsteps approaching. 

(y/n) whistled sharply, drawing Cerberus to her side, and placed her hand on his head to hide his red eyes. She straightened up, her cheery manner being replaced with something more serious, and stared down the path where two figures were making their way up.

Bucky’s mouth fell open. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen mortals up here. Most of the time he only came across animals or nymphs, but these were full-fledged humans. He tugged (y/n) closer to him, encircling her waist with his arm as he pulled her towards the side of the path to let the people pass.

They were a pair of men, right around Bucky and (y/n)’s physical age, who were huddled together and murmuring in hushed whispers. They were American based on their accents, probably tourists, but that didn’t explain why they were this deep in the island. All the tourist attractions were closer to the bay or the city.

(y/n) had stiffened as she watched them grow nearer; she was not used to living creatures. Bucky saw her eyes flash a light shade of red.

He leaned into her so his lips were just inches away from her ear. “Easy,” he whispered. “They’ll be gone soon.”

She didn’t relax; her glare was fixed on them. “Why are they here?” she hissed. “I thought you said mortals don’t come up this far.”

“Sane ones don’t,” he confirmed before leaning back and calling out to the boys, “Hey! You kids lost or something?”

The one on the left, a brunet, perked up, his eyes startled. “Oh! Uh, sorry, mister. No, we aren’t lost.”

“Then why are you here?” (y/n) took her hand off of her companion’s head and crossed her arms impatiently.

The second boy, a blond, withered slightly under her gaze, his head bowing low. “We heard from locals that the gods roamed here in ancient times. The stories say that they still do. We’re theology majors in college and doing a project on Greek Mythology. We didn’t mean to trespass.”

(y/n) snorted, probably from the comment about the gods. “You boys came up here based on some stories? Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but that’s all they are: stories. And pretty inaccurate ones if we’re being honest. I mean really? Where did they come up with some of that stuff.”

Bucky found her exasperation amusing, especially since most of the inaccurate myths were about her and her sisters. She looked about ready to rant about the truth of the gods but, although Bucky could listen to her talk for hours about anything, he really didn’t think that she should blow their cover to a couple of kids. He tightened his grip on her waist and whispered her name.

She slackened just a bit in his grip, but her eyes never left the men. “You shouldn’t be up here. It’s dangerous.”

The blond was the first to respond by saying, “Please. We just want to explore and maybe take some pictures for the project. Will you at least let us do that?”

Bucky was quick to answer. “Sure, but you guys are seriously going to want to get out of here soon. Not so nice characters venture out here sometimes, and they don’t like intruders.”

They gulped.

Bucky took (y/n)’s hand. “Come on, Doll. Let’s go.”

She whistled once more to Cerberus, giving him the okay to walk, and the three of them began to continue down the path. “Have a nice trip,” (y/n) said, her smile growing mischievous as her eyes flashed red at the boys.

The color seemed to drain from their skin as they stared at her incredulously.

When they were out of earshot, Bucky leaned down to her. “Really?”

She turned to him, her eyebrow cocked. “‘Really’ what?”

“Are you trying to blow our cover? Flashing your eyes at them?”

She waved her hand dismissively. “Nah, just trying to scare them a bit. I never get to have fun with the mortals.” Her lips turned down in a pout. “Let me mess with them!”

“You probably scared them shitless, Doll. I know I’d be freaked if I saw a pretty girl with red eyes.”

“Oh really?” She closed her eyes for a second before opening them to reveal the red that had taken over her irises.

Bucky’s breath hitched in the back of his throat as the rouge stared at him, ensnaring him with their striking gaze. Her eyes shone like rubies, piercing his soul and seeing the very depths of his heart. They were gorgeous, enchanting even. He’d never get tired of that color. “Really really,” he murmured, leaning in closer and pressing his lips to her cheek.

The giggle that passed through her lips was music to his ears. “Gods, you’re such an idiot.”

“I know.” He slowed to a stop by a small bush on the side of the path and reached for it. Simultaneously, it reached back, a small red poppy to match (y/n)’s eyes blossoming as it grew. By the time Bucky’s fingers had reached the plant and gripped the stem, it was in full bloom. Bucky plucked the flower and turned back to (y/n), tucking it behind her ear. “But I’m your idiot.” He let his hand linger on her cheek.

Color rose to her face as she leaned into his hand. “Yes you are,” she mumbled. “Come on, idiot. We probably should be getting back now. Who knows what mischief Peggy and your friend have gotten up to.”

“What? Peggy and Steve? Nah, Steve might be a dumbass, but he’s the second most responsible out of the three of us.” Bucky had no doubt that they were fine, if not hitting it off swell. Ever since his growth spurt, Steve had grown more confident around people. Though, he didn’t know if “people” necessarily included goddesses. Well, guess it was time to find out. 

(y/n) hummed as she turned him and Cerberus around to head back the way they came. “So then does that make you the least responsible?”

“Heh, yeah. But hey, my lack of responsibility led me to you.” And it did; if he had been responsible, he never would’ve taken Steve seriously and ventured down to the Underworld to get that ruby.

“True.” 

They walked in silence the rest of the way back to the clearing. 

Sam had vanished, probably to head down to the city and get food, but Peggy and Steve were sitting in the center of the field. Peggy was laughing at something Steve had said and Steve had the distinct red tint of a blush on his cheeks. Bucky smiled softly as he briefly observed them. Steve and the goddess seemed to be hitting it off. He’d have to make an inquiry about it later.

(y/n) stopped him at the edge of the clearing, right before they exited the trees, and turned to him. “Thank you for letting me come up, Bucky. Even if it was just for a bit. It was just the break I needed.”

He hummed. “Don’t mention it, Doll. You’re always welcome up here. Any time I get to see you makes my day, so feel free to visit whenever.”

“And the same goes for you, Buck.” She looked down at their hands which were still intertwined. “The Underworld is always open for you. You have every right to be down there. And I…” She frowned and bit her lip as if she was confused by what she wanted to or was about to say.

“And you…” Bucky prompted her, hoping to help her get the words out.

She held her silence for a bit longer before pressing her lips together and nodding. “And I want you to come down and see me. My responsibilities keep me pretty tied down there, I won’t always be able to come up and see you like this, but I want to see you. I want you to come down and see me. So please don’t be a stranger.”

Bucky held one of her hands in his as he used the other to cup her cheek. He gently leaned down and kissed her forehead. “I won’t, my queen.”

Satisfied with his answer, she straightened up, a soft grin on her face. “Good. Then I think Peggy, Cerberus and I will be taking our leave.”

“Good luck prying her from Steve’s hands,” Bucky said, looking out at his best friend and the goddess.

(y/n) said nothing but walked out to the pair, Cerberus keeping pace with her wide strides. She crouched down beside Peggy and said something inaudible to her, probably detailing that they had to go.

Peggy nodded and stood. She turned down to Steve and smiled, murmuring something that made him smile back. Peggy stood next to (y/n).

(y/n) dug into her pocket and pulled out what Bucky could only assume to be an Asphodel seed. But, before dropping it, she looked up at him one more time and gave him a smile. He could practically hear her saying, “Until next time,” with the grin. She tossed the seed onto the ground beneath them and the three of them were swallowed by the earth. 

A single Asphodel was left behind.

Left alone with Steve, Bucky walked into the clearing, stopping just beside the Asphodel sprout. He stared down at the flower, a soft smile playing at his lips.

Steve watched it too, but a frown was tugging the corners of his lips down. “We have to pick it, Buck. You know your mom will flip if she sees it.”

“I know. Just…” He sat down next to the flower and looked it over, the feeling of (y/n)’s hand in his lingering. “Just let it live a bit longer.”

Next 13: She Makes a Confession

[flowerflamestars]

1/4? Okay! So I just finished the latest chapter of Daylight and I have some thoughts I NEED to unload... First! I always read back at least one or two chapters to recap details and so on and lord those chapters are Monoliths! Behemoths! Tomes! I understand how they take such time and I'm thoroughly impressed every time I read and/or reread and realise how much time it takes! Second! The way you write this story?? Impeccable! I adore all of your fanfics but

2/4? this one destroys me every time! Not just the story in itself (it's amazing dont get me wrong) but the way you write it? The words? The poetry, because let's be honest that's what it is?! Soul wrenching (and obviously inspiring because I feel myself throwing around adjectives like tomorrow might never come)! How Nesta opens up her chest like a ripe pomegranate ready to let Cassian in? The tree that the library grows for her with flowers for every lie and request? Cassian just casually

3/4? flying off every morning to watch the sunset turn the shade of nestas eyes a few minutes? Devastating! Third! Just all of the relationships? Lucien and Az being happy and with a baby heals my heart! Helion being so ride or die that he regularly offers to start a war and every time Nesta declines he offers the consolation of blowing things up! Erebus just casually confessing to murdering bloodlines while being an annoying older brother who loves his sisters, pure joy!

4/4! I must admit tho that I am curious about Elain and Ysandr.. do you think you'll want to write their story sometime? I would love to read your take on Elains seer powers and how she sees the world every day. If not maybe you could share some snippets or headcannons on how they meet/what their relationship is like and who he is? Looking forward to the next chapter and I hope you have a lovely holiday season despite everything else going on ❤

This message? Incredible, wonderful, so kind, my heart is imploding.

Poetry??! Too generous! But honestly, the real key to Daylight is that I decided to write whatever I wanted, however I wanted- I abandoned convention entirely...and I don’t think I’ll ever go back. 

YES LIKE A RIPE POMEGRANATE- Nesta drank down death and Cassian wants to swallow her whole, yes!! Cas being a romantic babe yes!

The tree is- totally, completely- me stealing/fucking with traditional western religious iconography? A tree of knowledge whose evils and truths come from men who think they have absolute power, but whose words are for the devouring of this one woman who will know what they truly mean. She’s Lillith, the garden is hers, the tree is hers, the knowledge is hers, no serpent needed.

Helion!! The Nessian stuff eats up the page...but the first, and most important love story is Nesta and Helion. They keep each other safe in a whole, different way. It was together, and only together, that they managed to get to where they wanted to be. 

I’m always a little surprised the Erebus is loved by readers as much as I love him? It’s my favorite little way to remind the story that Nesta and Elain are Different- they look at him with this total kinship, but even Cassian is like...what the fuck is wrong with this dude? he’s great, but he’s so, so off kilter all the time and still full of love. 

SHADOWBATFIREBABY! She is...the cutest? One of the first things she learns to do is make lil shadow creatures that go visit people she loves. Helion is like: why thank you perfect granddaughter for this horrific creature I love you too. (her fake creatures have flaming eyes because Lucien makes lil fire animals for her at story time...the combination is..something.)

Ysandr and Elain have their own stuff coming! I had to cut it to divide the chapter in two, but it is coming. They might get a small extra too? He’s just...stalwart and true and massive. And SO devoted to his tiny little, insanely terrifying wife. Think if Tolkien dwarves were 1)what fanfic wants them to be 2)Super Mega Illyrian Levels of Hot 3) hardcore believers in fate/prophecy. He’s a king and a craftsman! He’s go a battle axe! There are courtship rules!

Thank you so much for reading and this lovely message! Happy holidays and a safe, wonderful new year to you :)

[a-tiny-thing]

NCT AS GREEK GODS (PT.2)

Here’s a part two!

LUCAS AS KRATOS ; GOD OF STRENGTH

• Who wouldn’t agree to this?

• Lucas is a VERY VERY STRONG MAN.

• Kratos in some mythologies, is a violent man like Ares but this Kratos is a cutiepie.

• In some photoshoots, Lucas looks intimidating but not in real life lol.

• Zelus’s brother.

MARK AS HEPHAESTUS ; GOD OF FIRE

• You know why I chose Mark for Hephaestus?

• because he spits fIRE BROOOOOO

• that’s the reason lol

• Also, I hate Aphrodite, I can’t believe Hephaestus chose her, she’s a th*t.

HENDERY AS AEOLUS ; GOD OF WIND

• I don’t really know why I chose Hendery for Aeolus.

• Because of his hair???

• I don’t know

• But yeah, I wanna blow wind on his hair and watch it fly uwu.

XIAOJUN AS HYMENAEUS ; GOD OF MARRIAGE

• Hymenaeus is like a god of love and music.

• I can see Xiaojun like that.

• I can’t think of any other gods that I can compare with him tho.

• So it’s Hymenaeus.

• I really wanted to know more about that god but he really wasn’t mention a lot in some stories.

• *sad face*

RENJUN AS EREBUS ; GOD OF DARKNESS

• HAHAHAHAHA Winwin the second.

• I know Renjun is young and Erebus is a primordial god, he already exists since the very first beginning of a day.

• At first, I was about to make him Thanatos but I just kinda chose Erebus.

• Wonder what will happen if Renjun and Winwin unite...

• DESTRUCTION

• Just like some other gods, he really wasn’t mention a lot in some stories so I don’t know if he’s good or bad.

HAECHAN AS HELIOS ; GOD OF SUN

• HAHAHAHA Y’ALL KNOW WHY-

• (to people who don’t get it, haechan’s name means “fullsun” and he’s a sun uwu)

• Helios is the original god of sun, not Apollo, he’s just light and music.

JENO AS ZELUS ; GOD OF RIVALRY

• He’s not mean, he’s nice and a cutiepie, but hE’S RUDE-

• Have you watched him perform “Boom”??? he’s super rUDE-

• He looks tough and looks like he’s gonna kill me, that’s why I chose him for Zelus.

• Zelus is a god who wasn’t really mention a lot in some stori-

• He’s the brother of Kratos.

JAEMIN AS ARISTAEUS ; GOD OF BEE-KEEPING

• One of the cutest people I’ve ever seen-

• Aristaeus doesn’t really have much role in some greek myths, he’s just like a farmer.

• I read a story once where Aristaeus lusted over Eurydice and was killed as a punishment???

• ANYWAYS I love him uwu.

• I don’t have reasons why I chose him as Aristaeus.

YANGYANG AS HERMES ; GOD OF TRADE

• ITS MY FAVORITE GOD!

• I don’t wanna say this, but I have a crush on Hermes (not because of Yangyang, like the Greek god)

• I chose Yangyang as Hermes because Hermes is a trickster!

• Hermes pranks people for fun and is best friends or brothers with Apollo.

• Hermes also slept with Aphrodite I can’t

• Yangyang said he loves racing so I chose Hermes because he flies with inhuman speed.

CHENLE AS PLUTUS ; GOD OF WEALTH

• HAHAHA I THINK YOU ALREADY KNOW WHY I CHOSE CHENLE FOR PLUTUS-

• rich chenle

• Some people said that Plutus carries a cornucopia which symbolizes “peace and prosperity”?????? idk

• BUT ITS CHENLE-

[brutal-nemesis]

Seasoned Explorers

Uhh yeah I finally had to turn in my writing portfolio AKA I finished my phat fiction story with a whumpy ending! 

This is a VERY non-canon space pirate AU featuring Castys, Syll, and Erebus, all of whom are mortal and completely human here.

Castys Masterlist

Ingredients: character death, body horror, implied amputation, self harm to escape from danger

“Hey, Castys, I just picked up another old distress signal. And it’s close by, so we should be able to at least pop by and grab some valuables before we need to head back to base,” Syll said, glancing up from her command console.

“This better not be another planet with one of those giant evil apocalypse monsters still roaming around. The scars that fish thing gave me have not gone away yet.” Castys rolled down his sleeve as he said this, revealing a row of puncture marks that stood out on his bronze skin. He lazily examined them while still driving their spaceship. 

“The cool thing about scars is that they don’t go away.”

“Oh hey shut up look at that it’s the planet-wow it’s super white.” Castys peered out the window at the huge white sphere that had come into view once the ship had slowed down. Syll got out of her chair and joined him in front of the main window.

“Is it winter in both hemispheres? I didn’t think this one was far enough from its sun to warrant this much ice. And I can’t see any structures or oceans or anything, everything must have been completely frozen over. It could be how they all died,” Syll mused.

“Well, if we get too cold we can always just stab ourselves with our thousand degree knives.” Castys pulled out his plasma knife and held it close to his chest, which probably would have killed him if the blade had been turned on. “Big toasty~.” He put it back in his pocket. “Anyway, could you go get Erebus up while I land this thing? I’ll do it in the southern hemisphere since it’s supposed to be summer there and less cold is good.” Syll nodded and went to wake Erebus, who was sleeping on the lower deck of the ship.

Castys landed the ship in a field next to a frozen city. The three of them met near the exit hatch, and Erebus checked the outside conditions display to see if the atmosphere would be breathable. It was, thankfully, but there was something else that stood out on this supposed frozen planet. “Guys… I don’t think that’s ice out there. The temp gauge says it’s warm out there. Like above-the-melting-point-of-water warm.”

“For real?” Castys replied, shoving Erebus aside to look. “Wack. Guess I won’t need all this warmy stuff then. Especially since this planet isn’t one where the atmosphere isn’t made of toxic gas that’s going to burn my skin.” He shed his warmer layers, and the other two followed suit.

When they stepped outside, they had to shield their eyes for a moment. Everything was a blinding white as far as the eye could see. Every tree and building was covered in a layer of glittering crystals. Flowers sprouted here and there, unnaturally still in the breeze. The ground crunched as they walked on it, the only sound disturbing the unnatural silence that pressed on their ears. The dead planets they pillaged typically still had some sort of life on them, something crawling or running or flying about, but everything here was completely still. Frozen, quiet, and crystalline.

Upon entering the city, they began to find the people. Their forms had been hard to make out from far away in the stark-white environment, but there were hundreds of them throughout the streets. Each and every one was frozen in time. Running, crawling, fallen to the ground, screaming in agony, in disbelief, reaching out to one another, staring up to the sky. Perfectly still statues with every flavor of pain and fear written across their faces.

“What...happened here?” Erebus had stopped in front of the form of a woman collapsed on her knees, a look of horror on her face as she stared at her own hands.

“Yeah this is pretty messed up.” Castys nudged the arm of a person lying on the ground, but they didn’t budge. “I don’t know if it’s as bad as that one planet with all the mushrooms...well, I’m sure y’all remember, but these guys are just like, perfectly frozen in their, uh, magic crystal death.”

“What does it matter? We’re not here to play detective for a dead planet.” Syll paid the frozen people no mind, weaving past them as she continued to walk down the street, looking buildings up and down. “Besides, there’s no use getting all sad about dead people we don’t even know. We see them all the time, pillaging dead planets as much as we do, and this time’s no different.”

“I don’t think we’ve seen anything exactly like this before.” Syll shot an annoyed glare at Castys and he held his hands up in surrender, continuing, “I get what you’re saying, though, so I’m down to stop staring at dead people and try to find some valuables.” He began walking with Syll, and Erebus reluctantly followed, giving the dead woman one last glance.

The three of them usually tried to find a museum or building of the sort when pillaging planets, since works of art of precious artifacts were worth a lot more galaxywide than the planet’s local currency ever could be. Normally, street signs and maps could typically assist in their search, but their crystalline coating made them impossible to read. Erebus tried to scrape the crystals off, but his efforts yielded nothing but more crystals. Wandering around looking for a museum was all they could do.

However, once they saw the building in the distance, they knew they had found it. It was much shorter than the surrounding buildings and was flanked by impressive columns and statues. The three walked through the open doors hoping there was something of value inside. The lights no longer worked, but huge windows along the walls allowed enough light in to see, even though the glass had been turned into the strange crystals. The situation inside the museum wasn’t any different from the outside. Every single thing had been converted to crystals, from the skeletons to the works of art, a blank white scene of greatness long-gone.

“I don’t think there’s gonna be anything worthwhile in here since it’s all crystal-y. Let’s just call this one a dud and head out.” Castys began to turn back and head outside.

“Wait.” Erebus held his arm out, stopping him. “A lot of museums have, like, a room with different minerals and stuff right? Maybe if this place had one we could go and see if this planet has some weird mineral that, I don’t know, spread all over for some reason? There’s gotta be a sign with information or something.” 

“That would be a great idea except for, oh yeah,” Castys gestured to a large blank sign next to him, “words aren’t real.” There was an awkward pause. “Like reading words. Here. Because of the crystals. If there was a sign we couldn’t read it. Because everything turned into-” Erebus clamped a hand over Castys’s mouth before he could continue.

“Thank you, Castys. Shut up, Castys.” Castys responded in an even more mature manner by shoving his friend back, causing him to trip and fall on his back. “Ouch. Geez, dude. You made me bite my tongue.”

“OH NO! I’ve killed you, my dear friend.” Castys fell to his knees, his hands clasped in front of him as if in prayer. “Forgive me for this grave sin.”

“Would you two stop fooling around?!” Syll yelled from the top of the large staircase on the other side of the room. “There might still be something worthwhile in this place, even if it is made of these weird crystals. So start looking.” Castys gave her a thumbs up and helped Erebus off the ground before beginning to explore.

After about an hour, the three of them met up in one of the rooms on the upper floor. There wasn’t much of a haul since most of the things they would normally steal, like gold and gems, lost their value upon becoming crystal. They did find a few small figurines that would still be valuable since their delicate craftsmanship was preserved and a few fossils that were probably detailed enough to be worth something. As they moved to leave, Erebus motioned for the other two to wait.

“I might know what these crystals are. I stopped by what used to be the gemstone room, and being in there helped me remember some stuff from that geology class I took when I was younger.” He held up a chunk of crystal he’d picked up from somewhere. “There’s one mineral that you can lick it and you know exactly what it is. Give it a try, Castys.” He tossed him the crystal.

“Well, you know I like licking things.” Castys immediately tried it out, much to Syll’s disgust and Erebus’s amusement. He made a face. “Eugh. It’s just super salty.”

“Wait, it’s actually halite? It’s the mineral that’s just straight-up NaCl, one hundred percent salt. I was hoping it was just going to be quartz or something, here, let me try.” Erebus motioned for Castys to give him the crystal back. 

“So you just wanted me to lick a random rock for no reason? Why didn’t you just try it yourself?” Castys replied, tossing it back.

“Every scientist needs a guinea pig.” Erebus smiled. He licked the crystal and immediately winced. “Ouch, yeah that’s halite all right. Which I normally wouldn’t mind licking, but somebody made me bite my tongue.” He stuck it out for them to see the small wound, but where it should have been red, there was a patch of white. And it was growing bigger. 

“Erebus, what is that?” Syll asked, moving forward to get a closer look.

“I-” was all he could say before his tongue became completely encased in the white crystals and Erebus found he couldn’t move it anymore. The spread of the crystals didn’t stop there. The patch of flesh-turned-salt grew bigger and bigger, radiating out from his mouth. He collapsed to the ground, frantically scratching at his skin, trying to get the rapidly forming layer of salt off. Castys and Syll looked oh in horror as every gouge he made in his flesh quickly changed from red to white, drops of blood only coloring their bleached surroundings for a moment before turning completely into salt. 

“Erebus, Erebus!” Castys grabbed his hand, trying to do something, anything, to help his friend. “What the hell is happening?!” He yelled desperately.

“I-I don’t…” Syll felt rooted to the spot, like she was the one turning into a statue. All she could do was watch as Erebus’s movements became jerkier in his last act of grabbing Castys’s hand tightly with both of his own. And then he was still, completely encased in the same crystal as the entire planet, immortalizing his final moments of agony.

There was silence. Castys and Syll stayed perfectly still, as if they were waiting to see if the same fate would befall them. 

“I-” Castys looked up at Syll, tears brimming in his eyes, “Syll, this is all my fault, I-I made him bite his tongue is that what killed him oh god I-”

“We don’t know what for sure, Castys.” 

“Well then why aren’t I made of salt now too?! I licked it and nothing happened, but Erebus…”

“Hey, hey Castys, it’s okay, you didn’t know, there’s no way you could have known.” She knelt down and wrapped her arms around him, feeling him shake with sobs. She was too much in shock to cry now, it still didn’t feel real. But there was no way Castys could deny Erebus’s fate. His left hand was still tightly clasped between both of Erebus’s. He couldn’t stop staring at his face, one that was laughing and smiling a minute ago, now frozen in an expression of terror. 

They weren’t sure how much time had passed, but when the light coming in from the windows began to dim, Syll stood and offered a hand to her friend. “Come on, Castys. Let’s...let’s go home.” Castys nodded wordlessly and started to stand, but when he tried to pull his hand out from Erebus’s, it wouldn’t budge. He tugged and tugged, but he couldn’t free himself from the dead man’s grip.

“Syll, Syll, my hand is stuck. He won’t let go.” He looked up at her pleadingly, the grief in his eyes beginning to mix with fear. 

“Uh-I-I don’t…” She had an idea immediately, but she hated herself for thinking of it. She looked around checking her pockets and her bag for some other solution, but there was nothing else she could think of. Nothing else she could do besides use her plasma knife. “Hold still.” She turned the knife on, the superheated blade flickering into existence, and positioned it near one of Erebus’s wrists. “I’m sorry, Erebus.” The knife cut through the salt easily, melting it before it even came in contact with the blade. When she was done, Castys lifted his arm, hand still clasped between the disembodied salt ones. He began to try to pry them off, and Syll joined in once she had turned her knife off. One of the hands snapped with an audible crack, fingers breaking off and leaving behind jagged stumps. One of which sliced into Castys’s palm.

Red blood oozed out of the gash, but that red quickly faded to white as crystals began to replace flesh and blood. “No, no, STOP!” Castys screamed, holding his hand as far away from himself as he could, as if that would stop him from meeting the same fate as his friend. “Stop it please I don’t want to die I’m sorry Erebus I’m so so sorry!”

Syll felt like she was on autopilot as she grabbed his wrist in one hand and the knife in the other. There was no time to think, no time to hesitate. She couldn’t lose them both.

 She turned the knife on and swung. 

There were three severed hands made of salt lying on the ground. But there were two flesh and blood people. They were hurting, to be sure, but they were alive. They could escape. And escape they did, leaving the silent planet of salt behind.

[the-noodle-king]

Meet Hades, a floating Evangelion homage and exploration of how blurred the line between tank and support can get. At least, how blurred I think it can get.

Fun fact: Like how I had the ideas for 8-BIT but no design for a long time, I had (most) of a (Not Great) design and a name for Hades for an even longer time, but didn’t have a kit. Specifically, I had one mechanic I knew I wanted them to have, and that was it; reducing ally respawn timers, like a way weaker resurrect.

Well since I finally puzzled out a kit for them and then touched up their design, stats and bio are now under the cut~

Real Name:  Thanos Kyveli Argyris

Alias:  Hades

Role:  Tank  /  Job:  High Versatility Tank-Support Hybrid, with Healing, Barriers, Buffs, Debuffs and Healthpool Increases.

-

Hit Points:  400  /  Health:  400 

Primary Weapon:  Tainarian Shards

Ammo:  5  /  Reload Speed:  1.85 Seconds  /  Rate of Fire:  2 Shots per Second

Damage:  35 + 50  /  DPS:  70 + 100  /  Attack Type:  Targeted Homing Projectiles

Primary Fire, Tainarian Shards:  Direct the Tainarian Shards to fly at a targeted enemy, either maintaining focus on a single target and firing all 5 at them, or directing them at individual targets. Enemies hit by a Shard take 35 damage on contact, then 50 damage over the next 1s, during which they are -50% Anti-Healed. Consecutive hits on the same target add to the duration of the Anti-Heal and the total damage dealt, but not the DPS. Tainarian Shards cannot headshot.  /  Base Projectile Speed:  20Mps + 10% of Targets Movement Speed  /  Homing (Directional Angling) Speed:  5.5Mps + 20% of Targets Movement Speed  /  Projectile Size:  0.85M

Special:  Most of Hades’ abilities require a Resource called Death Essence, which is managed via a bar next to Hades’ Health. Death Essence is gained from multiple sources; +2 per 1 point of healing received while at maximum health, +1 per point of damage dealt by Tainarian Shards DoT, +150 upon respawn (Held Essence is lost upon death), and +100 upon activation of the Necrotic Blessings Ultimate ability, as well as through the use of the Sup Death ability. up to 250 Death Essence can be stored at once, and Death Essence gained via Sup Death over maximum capacity is converting into self healing for Hades at a halved rate.

Ability 1, Sup Death:  Either target the black soul orb of a fallen enemy or the white soul orb of a fallen ally. Targeting an enemy soul orb will begin draining Death Essence from it, and targeting an ally soul orb will begin expending Death Essence to rapidly reduce their remaining respawn timer. Targeting an enemy soul orb will create a locked on beam for the duration of maintaining the drain, so long as LoS is maintained to the soul orb, and while keeping the button held Hades can look around freely and use primary fire to target an ally soul orb, allowing for both aspects of Sup Death to be used at once. Sup Death both drains and expends Death Essence at a rate of 50 per second.  /  Ally Respawn Timer Reduction: 5s per 1s of use  /  Cooldown: N/A

Ability 2, Command Souls:  Either create a barrier of wailing souls which charges forwards, gaining in speed as it travels, blocking damage and damaging enemies it passes through, or send out a wave of healing in a ring around you, healing allies it passes through. The barrier is a tall rectangle which travels along the floor, ~7x14M in size, and the healing ring is a ~0.3M thick ring which expands from Hades’ chest at the moment of use, both start travelling at 4Mps and build in speed at a rate of +1.5Mps, and their effects are stopped by walls but not enemy barriers. Up to 2 Charges can be held at once, with a 0.75s minimum delay between uses.  /  Barrier Health: 1200  /  Barrier Contact Damage: 75  /  Ring Contact Healing: 75 burst + 15 per second for 6s  /  Death Essence Cost: 75 for Barrier, 100 for Healing Ring  /  Cooldown: 6s per charge

Ability 3, Hell’s Hounds:  Direct spectral hounds to either embolden an ally or weaken an enemy. Enemies are Slowed and Anti-Healed, while allies are Speed Boosted and receive Damage Resistance. Up to 2 charges can be held at once, with a 1s minimum delay between uses, and a charge cannot be used on the same target while a previous uses effects are still active.  /  Enemy Slow Effect: -30%  /  Enemy Anti-Heal: -50%  /  Ally Damage Resistance: -25%  /  Ally Speed Boost: +50%  /  Duration 2.5s  /  Hounds’ Travel Speed: 15Mps  /  Death Essence Cost: 100  /  Cooldown: 6s per charge

Ultimate, Necrotic Blessings:  Envelope self in Death Essence for a moment, then release it, granting Hades and any nearby allies special Necrotic Health, which hurts enemies to deplete. Necrotic Health sits on top of all other health bar temporary personal barriers, and when an enemy deals damage to it, they take 50% of that damage themself. Any allies within a 30M AoE + LoS after the initial cast time receives Necrotic Health, and the amount of health given, as well as it’s maximum duration, is dependant on the number of people affected. If Necrotic Blessings only effects Hades, he receives +300 Necrotic Health lasting 10s, if more than just Hades are effected, then the amount given becomes 100, +25 and -1s for each person effected (including Hades), starting at +150 for 8s at 2 and adjusting appropriately from there, to a max/minimum of +250 for 4s.  /  Cast Time: 1.25s  /  Required Charge: 2400

Passive, Necrophage:  Hades walks the line between life and death, and receives benefits from such proximity. Hades continuously passively regenerates health, as well as receiving bursts of healing when enemies or allies die in close range, and his Respawn timer is halved by default. While at full health his passive regeneration translates directly into passive Death Essence generation.  /  Passive Healing: 2.5 per Second  /  Burst Healing on Enemy/Ally Death: 25/10 Respectively  /  Burst Heal Activation Range (Enemy/Ally): 25M/10M + LoS

-

Ultimate Voiceline (Self & Allies):  Let Death Be Your Strength!

Ultimate Voiceline (Enemies):  Ο θάνατος είναι η δύναμή μου! (O thánatos eínai i dýnamí mou!)

Hero Select Voiceline:  Death Is Not An End, But A Beginning...

-

Home / Base of Operations:  Μιανές, Cape Matapan, Greece (Formerly), Unknown (Currently)

Nationality:  Greek

Sexuality:  Pan/Ace  /  Gender:  Trans Man  /  Pronouns:  He/They/We

Age:  Unknown  /  Date of Birth:  18th of January

Height:  5ft 10in

Affiliation / Allegiance:  None

Backstory:  Starting shortly before, and continuing all throughout the Omnic Crisis, a small team of scientists in southern Greece were working on revolutionary technology which would have changed the world’s very perception of Death itself, or, so they boasted to their government sponsors.

Little is known about just what they were working on specifically, every stage of the multiple inter-connected projects having been beyond top secret from the start, but what a special few know, is that there was a breakthrough shortly after the Crisis ended, which was reported to the branch of the Greek government which had a degree of oversight to it all. the report was written as they all were, in code, and it was short, as they all were.

It said, once decoded “We have made unprecedented progress. Tests must be done. We are optimistic.” No further reports were sent. 

When the scheduled check in was missed two days later, a small, discreet military force was sent to secure the facility where they had been working. Just as the scientists had, they went dark. Radio silence. Missing.

A larger force was assembled, and a week later the facility was secured. All of the research was gone, every piece of paper burnt, every piece of equipment irreparably destroyed. And every scientist, as well as their families who had lived on-site, were gone, no bodies to be found.

Some time later, a man calling himself “Hades”, and proclaiming himself a reincarnation of the very God himself, appeared on the international scene, his face caught on a CCTV camera flagging up a red alert in a small, discreet branch of the Greek government, with the name of the son of one of their missing scientists written next to it.

[incorrect-primarchs-quotes]

Erebus: Guys, it’s true, the earth is flat.

Lorgar: E x c u s e m e.

Erebus: Well obviously, if it was a circle then boats would go right off the edge.

Kor Phaeron: And planes would fly off as well.

Lorgar: *Hyperventilating* No guys please, the earth is a sphere, gravity keeps us on earth you can’t walk off the edge it’s fine please why are you saying this.

Erebus: Gravity isn’t real.

Lorgar: *Frantically pacing back and forth on the verge of tears* Holy fuck.

[thedungeonsbat]

Muggle Love (Chapter 14)

Chapter 14

You woke up tired to find Erebus snuggled beside you on your bed, you must have left the window open. He looked so adorable and you had to fight the urge to cuddle him right there. A good way to wake up, you thought. And then you realised what his arrival meant.

There it was, tied to his leg was a piece of parchment and a box. Erebus looked very tired so you decided not to wake him up. Without disturbing him, you untied the package from its leg carefully. You wondered how hard it must have been to carry it all the way from wherever Severus was to here. But when you lifted the packet it felt light like a thin sheet of paper.

'Wow..' You said while weighing it in your hands. This sort of magic would have been so useful to all wizards, you thought. You were impressed once again, you would never be done with admiring his skills. How you longed to be like him and to be a part of his world.

You unrolled the parchment tied with a deep green ribbon, the box was wrapped with the same.

The words on the letter were blurry because you had just woken up. You rubbed your eyes, stretched and yawned. You tried to read again and this time with better vision.

Your face melted into a smile as you began reading it. You side-glanced the pack lying next to you now. You continued reading the letter and instantly took the box in your hands, eyeing it with eyes filled with interest. You quickly unwrapped it and opened it to find all the wizard sweets Severus had sent.

At first, you were slightly confused because they all looked normal but when you read the labels, you realised they were not ordinary at all. They were wizard sweets!

Of course, they were. You smiled broadly as you re-read Severus' letter. But what did he mean by being 'careful' with these? They are just chocolates and candies and cakes. What could they do?

You got your answer when you tasted a soap flavoured bean. You somehow managed to not spit it out. Hopefully, the others would taste fine. You also checked a box full of chocolate frogs, you were not very interested in tasting these, they were even hopping around like real the ones.

More interesting were the cards with these, they had pictures of many people which when you read the cards realised, were witches and wizards. The one you opened had a moving elderly wizard named Armando Dippet. 'Fascinating' you said to yourself starting at them with gleaming, wide eyes.

It felt like Christmas. Waking up to find a present by your bedside. It was almost like reliving your childhood.

____________________

You began accepting the fact that you might like Severus and want something more than just a friendship with him. But you were still very afraid of what might be the result of this.

You wanted to talk about it, it was hard to keep all of this to yourself but you couldn't possibly risk revealing who Severus is in front of anybody. Not even your Dad or Carl or Holly, who still, by the way, tried to squeeze something about the 'mystery guy' out of you. She was very good at it though. Carl just usually commented and teased you during your daydreaming sessions.

You wondered if Severus was thinking about you or if it was just you, he did mention he cared in his letter. It meant a lot to you. Everything he had ever said and did mattered.

After a long while, you came across your old sketchbook. You hadn't had much time for hobbies lately, it was mostly just your studies dominating your time-table. You dusted it off and went through it, eventually you came across Severus' sketch which you drew long ago. You noticed you did not do his nose so right.

You drew another one that day, much more detailed, with the exactness of each and every one of his features, especially the hands and eyes. His eyes seemed empty yet were so deep when he was nearer. You missed those moments you shared.

________________________

Many of your feelings were shared by him and one more was the need to share, to talk and to express. It was rare, very rare in fact when he got into a talkative mood. Surprisingly (or maybe not), he wanted to talk about the same things as you, how he felt towards you...

Severus counted each passing day as it meant that the end of the term was one day nearer. Even though be had more important issues to focus on, his thoughts drifted to you. The sweet smile you were always ready to give, your gentle voice and something he'd love to experience more, your caressing touch.

To his satisfaction, you wrote to him more frequently and he replied in just a few words which did not satisfy you. In your most recent letter you had mentioned your plans on Christmas, you were going to visit your father and brother but would return to London before New Year. Only then he remembered there was another holiday coming up and this time he would not forget bringing you something.

During the small breaks he had between classes, he wondered what would be suitable as a gift for you. In this situation not even Malfoy would be able to help him, what would he know about your taste. Also, it would be extremely weird for him to ask his student something like that and he certainly did not want any rumours flying around.

He couldn't think of anything at all. He failed miserably at coming up with even one idea. He indeed was bad at it. He shouldn't be blamed though, he had never met anyone worthy of this kind of affection from him. That was before he bumped into you at the railway platform. When he thought about it, a smile automatically appeared onto his face. It all felt like yesterday but the rare smile disappeared as soon as the seventh years Gryffindors and Ravenclaws began filling the classroom. Some girls whispered and giggled and Severus really wished they did not notice.

Back to his cold and dangerous self, he began the lesson. Lucky for the Gryffindor who messed up his potion, their professor was in a good mood and surprisingly indeed, he simply corrected him without taking any house points. A few Ravenclaws began whispering and the Gryffindors exchanged surprised looks.

____________

"Did you decide what you're gonna buy him?" Holly casually asked after turning the 'Open' sign hung on the shop's door to 'Closed' when finally all the customers had left and the cleaning was done. You occasionally helped her out with Carl.

"Uh-what?" You said with a hint of absent-mindedness. Carl smirked from beside you,

"Thinking of Severus, are you?"

"Oh shut up!" You snapped. He could really be very annoying for you sometimes, especially when he mentioned Severus, not that you did not like him but you did not necessarily enjoy them teasing you.

"So, have you?" Holly asked again. She saw the look on your face which made clear you hadn't heard her the first time, so she kindly repeated with a smile, "Have you thought of a gift to buy for Severus?"

You blushed a light shade of pink and replied softly, "Oh.. That's actually been hard to decide..."

Carl looked as though he was going to say something, another teasing comment perhaps, but Holly silenced him with a glare.

"Why don't I help you? We can go shopping and get to spend some time together." She suggested.

"Yeah, I guess you're right but I don't really know what he likes. He doesn't really show a particular interest in anything exce-" You cut yourself mid-sentence. You were close to letting something spill. "I told you he isn't very chatty." You quickly added before they could question you.

"You'll figure it out," Carl said.

"Hmm, I hope so." You muttered and you continued walking.

Carl began talking about a new movie that was out and soon the conversation led to one thing and another and you ended up having a good walk home. You were left alone with Carl as Holly bid you goodbye.

He didn't say much and for the first time in months, you were the one to break the silence.

"When are you gonna ask her out?" You said. Carl turned to you with his eyebrows raised but you could clearly see him blushing a bit.

"I-I'm sorry, w-what?" He said and his bewildered expression caused you to burst out laughing.

"Don't think I haven't noticed. It's obvious." You said. He took his time to make sure you were talking about what he thought you were talking about.

He looked down again and his cheeks went even redder, "I don't know." He sighed and went on, "I don't want to spoil our friendship, you know? It's so great this way, what if it doesn't work out?"

Even if you were sometimes not paying complete attention to your surroundings, you had noticed the way Carl behaved around Holly. From the way he looked at her, it was pretty clear he liked her.

You rubbed his arm and gave him a sympathising look, "I understand." You said and smiled amiably at him.

True, you did understand. It was what you were afraid of too, ruining what you had with Severus. You would hate that and you understood Carl was not only scared of endangering his friendship with Holly but also it would get a whole lot awkward with you and her if things didn't work out (fingers crossed, hope things do work out for them).

You hugged Carl goodbye after one last reassuring smile.

____________

Several students lurked around Severus in the corridors trying to figure out why he was behaving more unusually than ever before. Why he was sometimes too cruel and then suddenly too kind was a topic of interest for many students.

Severus tried to ignore them but their curiosity only grew when his owl would swoop in among all other owls during breakfast, sometimes the black owl was spotted giving him letters in the corridors. One such time was in the presence of McGonagall whose eyebrows shot up and then furrowed in confusion. All she got in reply was an angry look from Severus.

"Who d'you reckon has been sending Snape so many letters?" Ron asked Harry before stuffing his mouth with a toast.

"No idea," Harry replied looking at the staff table, his eyes fixed at Severus as he pocketed another piece of paper and stroking Erebus' feathers. "I don't think even his family would write to him." He added through gritted teeth.

"That's mean, Harry. He's our professor." Hermione said.

"Who deducts house-points because you know the answer!" Ron complained.

"He hasn't taken any, even from Gryffindor, in weeks." Hermione protested.

"That is what's weird. Is he alright though?" Harry said, finally turning to his food.

"Who cares?" Replied Ron.

"I hope Professor Lupin's alright," Harry said in a concerned tone.

Hermione rolled her eyes, even though she wasn't very fond of their Potions Master either, she at least admired him as a skilled teacher.

The golden trio wasn't the only one discussing him. Most of the Slytherins had been discussing it too and there were all sorts of theories they made. Altogether, his snakes were happy to see their Head in a better mood.

McGonagall wouldn't miss any chance to interrogate him but got nothing out of him, after time she just settled with the fact that maybe he was just happy and there is nothing wrong. Ponoma took it all very well and always smiled delightfully at him whenever he passed her. And then, of course, Dumbledore got a bit oddly puckish, even more than before.

Severus was receiving more attention than ever and he wasn't enjoying it, he never liked to be the one whom everyone gossiped about. Though he was enjoying the reason, which was you.

__________________

Thanks for reading!

__________________

@smokindoinksinthejungle

@princetale

@radspencerreid