#hestia grammar

[studentinpursuitofclouds]

"I wish I was that rose..."

Eyyy 👀 More stories! With Farmer Myra (@seharuuchan) and Hestia (@g0atmama). Isaac here too! This was dedicated to the old Vine. Hehe...

The Stardew Valley Floral exhibitionl was perhaps one of Lewis's best ideas for the new holiday, as not only local farmers, but all Valley residents who know how to care for flowers and plants can show off the fruits of their labors in floristry. Not to mention the large flow of tourists, which will definitely raise the image of Pelican Town and the major itself in the eyes of the whole Republic. So the idea appealed to everyone without exception (even Sam, with his allergy to pollen).

The time for the event was chosen immediately - early autumn days, when the flowers of the cold season were just beginning to bloom, but everything was still decorated with summer colors.

And so - the day came. People from big cities and distant lands hurried to get off the bus to be the first to see the exhibition stands, the sweetest aromas of exotic plants (and delicious food, special thanks to Gus) wafted in the air, and the variety and splendor of flowers in pots and vases amazed even the most experienced florists. The valley was rich in the gifts of nature, and many would not miss the opportunity to see it all.

Even though for Isaac attending the flower festival was something akin to a vacation or a day off, the adventurer still couldn't understand why Camilla had sent him here as support and a gesture of goodwill from the Castle Village. He could understand the meaning of his presence at Spirit's Eve, after all Isaac was one of the main monster catchers for the event, but why flowers?

Alas, the thoughts of one of the most talented witches in the entire republic were unfathomable to anyone, so Isaac had no choice but to accept his fate and think about what he might do at the festival today. Not that he didn't like the flowers, but the crowd, the incessant noise, and the intoxicating scent of pollen were weighing heavily on his mind. So Isaac thought of nothing better than to walk slowly toward the smoke from the grills where Gus was preparing his famous barbecue, eager to savor the local roast meats and ales.

There were a lot of stands with floral displays and other various goods for sale, each of the exhibitors had done their best, but the most beautiful and unusual, in Isaac's opinion, were the three stands lined up in a row, with three of the most famous and chaotic farmers in Stardew Valley behind them. Farmers who were also his colleagues in his work as an adventurer, two of whom he was more or less on friendly terms with, but the third farmer.... It was a little more complicated than that.

Julian, if the scarred adventurer's memory served him correctly, was more interested in mountain flowers, so it was not surprising that his booth was overflowing with various displays of lavender, chamomile, heather, geraniums, and others flowers. There were also many vials of essential oils and handmade soaps, which the young man with heterochromia made himself. Isaac remembered this at least because he had delivered those same oils to their local healer in Castle Village when Julian had generously given oils to them out of the goodness of his heart.

Hestia's exhibition stand was probably the most unusual among the others. Her whole exposition could be described in one word - lilacs. Many, many lilacs. There were branches of this fragrant plant sticking out almost everywhere. But all over the violet-haired girl's table were small crystals of various shapes and cuts, and inside them were elegant little flowers of the same lilacs. There were also crystals with camellia, forget-me-nots, violets and gypsophila. Near the stand - a real full house: children are tugging at the sleeve of their parents, asking to buy them beautiful crystal key chains with flowers, and young couples choose a romantic gift for each other, with a rather tender and a little clichéd phrase: "my love for you will end only when this flower fades". Hestia was just glad that with her crystal magic she was able to make a lot of people happy while earning herself money to buy expensive seeds.

Some might call Myra's stand old-fashioned, but the classic floral displays that the girl had created with love and care would make even the most picky person gasp with delight. After all, it was a flower festival, and she had plenty of flowers. As if taken directly from a Renaissance painting, beautiful bouquets of chrysanthemums and gladiolus adorned glass vases, and potted orchids stood nearby. But Myra's favorite was the rose, the queen of all flowers. The girl herself was almost invisible behind the huge bouquets and pots, which contained many kinds of roses, shades of soft pink, yellow, scarlet to burgundy, purple....

Isaac himself didn't notice as he slowed his step as he passed Myra's booth. The girl had her back turned to the man, completely engrossed in picking another bouquet of ruby-red roses. A second - and the adventurer's footsteps stopped altogether...

"Didn't think I'd see you here," Julian's welcoming voice brought Isaac back from his reverie to reality, and made Myra and Hestia turn their attention away from their business and toward their guest. "How are you?"

In his usual fashion, Isaac only snorted quietly and bowed his head slightly in greeting. Julian nodded to the taciturn adventurer in return.

"Hey, Isaac," Hestia finally finished with the last buyer of her crystals and waved a hand to Isaac.

Myra, noticing the familiar adventurer, smiled widely, causing the cloaked man to look away slightly. The long-haired girl stepped out of her booth as lush bouquets of roses blocked her view.

"We're glad you were able to come to our festival. Everyone did such a great job with the floral arrangements," still holding the bouquet of red roses, Myra couldn't help but inhale the fragrant scent of the flowerbud.

"I wish I was that rose..." The realization that Isaac had said those words out loud made him abruptly sober up from all those spicy floral scents and panic beyond belief.

"What?..." Myra asked.

"I said you're all gross!" If there's an 'idiot of the year' nomination in the world, Isaac would definitely be the winner. The astonished looks of three farmers were fixed on Isaac, which made the man blush even more furiously. With a flick of his hand, he pulled the hood of his brown cloak over his head and quickly walked away toward the grill. He didn't care about the meat anymore, Isaac was going to drink ale first, and the stronger the better.

[silkhy-john]

Rooting For You by London Grammar but it’s a Nico-Ethan duet about their quiet, undying, support for those they love

[incorrect-riordanverse]

Hi. Sorry, if this is anyoing. I find Rick Riordan's portray of some of the gods, and goddess interesting, and like le, not all but some. For exemple I really like Hestia, Horus, Seth, Artemis, Nephthys, Thoth, Bess, Tawaret, Anubis, Apollo, and Hermes (I can't really have an openion about how he portrays the Norse gods, because the Magnus series haven't been translated to my language yet, and buying and ordering books in English here costs a lot of money, so I have to wait (there is a gossip that they will publish it, but they say this sainc at least 3, or 4 years)) . And I have to thank Rick Riordan's books that I got into mythology, and started learning it, and that I new want to write stories based on it, and started watching Overly Sarcastic Productions. But there is a need to criticis how he portray some gods, and goddess, and then there is also a something that both him, other writers, and people who talk about mythologys forget.

One problem is Demeter. She didn't tried to kill everyone, so they give her daughter back, the reason why everything almost died was her sadness. The sadness of the mother when they child gets married is a thing (for both sons, and daughters at least I heard it), which is a somewhat common thing, even if the realetionship of the child, and they partner is healthy. I was at my cusins wedding, and my mother said that she will cry aty wedding. This is because they child, is no longer a child, but an adult. Yes I know that in the story can mean something else, because of it's age. But I still think that "Demeter sadness", would be a lot more better then "Demeter tried to kill everyone, so she can get her daughter back because she is an opsesed mother".

Next problem is Hera. I don't want to excuse her actions, by any means. She married Zeus, because he raped her, and out of shame because of it. And this marriage her only source of pride, and probably a way to try to get rid of the shame she feels. Zeus's affers brings her the feeling of shame back. It gives more deapht, portays Hera more humeanly, and is more acuret to mythology (there is just this one version of this myth). And with good write this could be writen in a way that no justify what she does to Zues's other victoms.

Next problem is Zeus's portray. I think the only thing I have to say, is that Zeus is the only gods who doesn't have any version where he don't rape someone. (the only god who don't raped, or kidnaped anyone in any versions is Ares.)

Next problem there is no cannon, and many myths have many defrent version. This is true for Medusa's origin story. In some versions she was a monster from birth, alongside her sisters, in other version she was once a human. We all know this version but it has two version. One where Poseidon rapes Medusa in Athena's temple, then Athena cursed her to punish her. And in the other older version Medusa consented to the act. And there are many more versions of almost every myth, in all mythologys, and I think this can be interesting thing when it cames to writing stories based on mythologys.

Sorry if I sound stupid, or anyoing, and sorry that this is long. I just wanted to write this for so long. And sorry for the grammar, and spelling mistakes English is not my first language.

TW: mentions of SA, rape.

I completely forgot I had an inbox for a while so idk how long this has been here but I’ve finally got around to it! I find this sort of discourse very interesting, and I agree for the most part with what you’re saying!

I heavily dislike interpretations that villainise Demeter in Persephone and Hades’ story too. Lots of modern retellings do this to romanticise Persephone and Hades, and its quite sad (and frustrating). Demeter freezing the crops is such a powerful story about a mother’s love, and its tragic that its been so twisted in modern retellings of the myth. Web comics like ‘Lore Olympus’ and ‘Punderworld’ come to mind for this, but (and maybe this is because of my ass memory of the series… it’s been a while since I read it) I don’t remember Persephone and Demeter’s story being touched on much in the Riordan’s books. I feel like it may have, but I can’t remember explicitly. I remember Hades and Persephone’s relationship being quite rocky though!

I hear what you’re saying about Hera too! She’s been under a lot of fire recently and I know the PJO series plays a large part in that! I can think of ‘Blood of Zeus’ being another factor in this villainising narrative of her, and even though there were some efforts to make the audience view her as sympathetic in that show, it seemed a little backhanded (overemotional woman blinded with rage and taking it out on the wrong people). I agree that it seemed a bit much to portray her as a villain in the series, but I’ll raise two things:

PJO was a series created with children or young teens as the target audience. so the series can’t be that loyal to the original myth, considering how dark it is.

Hera was a good antagonist, and her values and motives in the series were the most accurate to how the Greek gods actually were at the time. They simply did not view mortals as anywhere close to equals, but tools to bring glory to their names. They looked after them as long as they served their interests. A lot of her ‘hate’ stems from the fandom’s misogyny, I believe. It also doesn’t help that the other Greek gods in the series were reduced to caricatures of what they actually were, such as Ares (mean and violent), Aphrodite (shallow and vain), Hades (cold and distant) and Poseidon (cool swag fish dad ig). In all honesty, I understood Hera’s motives the most and I think she was written pretty well. I don’t understand why the fandom hates her so badly unless it’s misogyny or the fact that she was too good of a villain, and felt like a real threat to the characters (the Greek gods were badass, but super scary!).

However, there was that book that Riordan did write about the Greek gods that no doubt contributed to Hera’s ridiculing (that being ‘Percy Jackson and the Greek Gods’ told in the perspective of Percy). He mentioned Zeus ‘tricking’ Hera into marrying him, but disregarded the seriousness of it and continued to make fun of her. I understand its still a kids book so he couldn’t do much, as well as its in character for Percy to ridicule her, but still… I see why some people get upset at that portrayal of her as well. Especially because Hera has had a long-winded past of being villainised and made fun of for her actions, which all stem from deep-rooted misogyny.

Zeus’ portrayal fits hand-in-hand with Hera’s, to be honest. Riordan couldn’t explicitly show how he actually was, so he omitted some stuff, which was fine. It’s funny you make that point about Ares being the only god who never encroached the boundaries of his lovers, because he’s depicted as a misogynist in the series towards his daughter. Which irks me a lot.

Medua’s depictions are also very contested. I believe, and I don’t know if I’m 100% correct, but I’m pretty sure that in the original Greek myth, Medusa had always been a gorgon, and was never human. The myth of Medusa being raped by Poseidon in Athena’s temple is a Roman adaptation, and I think that story is the more popular interpretation currently. I also think that’s the story Riordan was kind of going with, considering he wrote Medusa in the first book to be in love with Poseidon (and in the original myth they had no sexual relationship). Which is… yeah. Disgusting. Again, not saying that Riordan should’ve strictly stuck to that very graphic interpretation, but he didn’t have to portray her like that. And this could’ve been avoided if he did enough research on more interpretations of the myth.

All in all, I don’t think Riordan was genuinely malicious, just ignorant to the implications his portrayals of the gods would have. There’s also the fact that he probably didn’t know how big of a hit Percy Jackson would be, and how much influence it would have over general media surrounding Greek mythology (mostly Greek mythology, but Norse and Egyptian too!). I wasn’t even aware of how problematic it was until this account started gaining a larger following, and so I also had to do research on the topic myself! There’s an assumption that Greek gods don’t have influence over people today, but there are some out there who worship them, and we shouldn’t dismiss that because its a smaller religion.

Thank you for this ask! You weren’t being annoying at all, I love long asks 🫶🫶

[bababaka]

Muses x reader Headcannons

Warnings: not very greek culture accurate. Sexual sugestion if you squint. My grammar.

Word count: 1.440

A/n -> I did it. Because i needed it. This is me feeding my own brainrot.

- What made you stand out, however, was how you took the arts as a hobby and excelled at them. As good with a lyre as you were with a sword. 

- You are a prophecy child. Said to defeat the big evil and save the people. Just like any other hero out there.

- And people began saying you were blessed by the gods. By Zeus himself.

- But the gods you liked the most were Arthemis, Apollo and the Muses.

- You worshiped them. The Muses fascinated you.

- You thought of art as an escape from your crushing reality. As you got more and more famous, acclaimed by the people, the more you wanted to flee.

- You loved the arts. And soon, you became a singer, a poet. Also known and loved by the people.

- You got many quests. Some given by the gods themselves because they are bored and wanted to test you. 

- Sometimes, you get dragged into their feuds, like the whole Ares, Hermes and Aphrodite situation. Or even Hera damming or killing people Zeus slept with. You tried your best to help.

- Your death, however, came when you sacrificed yourself to save your home village, and your sister, the only remaining family you had.

- Hestia alongside the muses cried for you. And they vouched in your favor for being taken as a deity. 

- Apollo being fond of his muses and you, was one the first gods to accept and name you as worthy. 

- And just like that, as you closed your eyes to welcome Thanatos, you woke up on Mount Olympus.

- The muses were very excited to welcome you and explain everything to you.

- I like to think they would do it in a song. 

- If you find this cringe, why do you even like them? 

- They show you around and you talk to the other gods. Some hate you, others love you. Mainly because of you meddling in their affairs as a hero before. 

- The ones who take more to you are Apollo and Hestia. 

- As soon as you arrive in Mount Olympus and the Muses greet you, you are in awe of them. They are just stunning. 

- And the more you get to know them, the more entranced you find yourself by them.

- You realize you fell in love. And gather the courage to tell them.

- As you fell for the 5 women, you think it is only fair to say it to them together.

- They do not hesitate to tell you they are also infatuated with you.

- "So im in love with all of you... And y'all love me... So how do we solve the situation?"

"...Darling... We are greek goddesses... Monogamy is not a thing here." 

Your relationship with each muse

Thalia - Muse of comedy

- With Thalia, you cry from laughter. She makes you laugh like no other. And though you try to make jokes of your own, most of them fall flat. She thinks is cute, how you wait for a reaction that does not come, and get embarrassed and chuckle alone. With time you get confident and just laugh at your own jokes even if no one is laughing.

- And sometimes, Thalia will be the only one who gets it. And the two of you will be the only laughing as the other gods look at each other confused. 

- She flirts so much. She is always touching you in some way or form. At the beginning she used to talk a lot about your figure, how it is just the right way to get her going. At first you got very shy, with time though you get used to her antics and starts boasting a lil bit.

Terpsichore - Muse of dance

- With Terpsichore, she is light, free. Just like the wind.

- She teaches you how to dance. It is only fair since you know how to play the lyre and sing.

- You are an excellent student. You are already used to the foot work required due to your fighting technique

- As she dances and twirls, giggling, her hair moving with the wind, you are mesmerized. And as she extends you a hand to join her, she smiles, and you let yourself go, enjoying the moment. With her chuckles and laughter in your ears. You didn't want to be anywhere else.

Calliope - Muse of poetry

- Calliope loves to hear you sing. She heard all of your songs during your time as a human. Now she eagerly wants, demands for you to write poems and songs to her, for her, about her.

- Calliope is a bit more somber, but not the most. No, that title belongs to Melpomene. 

- You write for all the muses, and sing for them as well. But Calliope wants something for her alone. Wants you to serenate and worship her alone. In private. And that is what you do.

Clio - Muse of history

- Clio likes to tell stories. She had an amazing memory. She took those stories to heart. She loved a good tale. And you were great at telling stories. Woeving words in such a way to fascinate those around you.

- You two make stories together. Write great adventures and epics. 

-Sometimes, randomly, she will tell you a history fact about Greece.

- You either nod along, saying how interesting it was or add to it, getting her stoked about it.

- You study just so you can offer other historic curiosities to her. Which makes her very pumped and you'll be trading history trivias, until you eventually run out of things to say, and she smile triumphantly as if she had won a competition. Which it might as well have been

- She kisses your cheek, an murmur, "maybe next time, darling"

- You know you will never beat her. You try just because it is cute seeing her getting excited.

Melpomene - Muse of tragedies.

- With Melpomene, it is a bit tricky. She isn't as light hearted as the other muses. She always carries a bit of sadness. This streak of blue in her eyes. You thought she was sad. And she was. But you misunderstood her.

- She loves sadness. Tragedies. Heroes that died too young. Who sacrifices themselves for their loved ones. She loves that. Lovers who can never be together. She will weep and cry, but will be enjoying all the drama. 

- You are one of those tragic heroes whose died for other people. And left loved ones behind. A little sister. 

- She is onto fucking you. She is milking your sadness lol

- But nevertheless, despite that initially, she will grow attached to you beyond your tragic story. 

- She loves how you speak about your sister. How fond of her you are. And how she will find you looking out for her from Olympus. 

- With time, she'll come to you and talk about your sister and tell you some sad story and cry in your shoulder while getting excited and emotional about it at the same time. 

- You are very confused. But learn to accept it, and grows amused at how she cries smiling about the punishment of some poor hero.

Extra :)

- The Muses sometimes will have flings with other gods and heroes. But in the end, will always come back to you. They have entitled you their "favorite hero". Sometimes, when you do something cute they fake swoon and jokingly say "my hero".

- if you are a loner, they will be fine giving you space. But be careful, they can get clingy afterwards. And it is so cute.

- They don't straight up fight to have alone time with you, but there will be small conflicts that will be quickly resolved by you, trying to find a middle ground. It is not difficult. Promise to sing for them and they are game. 

- They don't have problems spending time with you along with the others, after all they get along fine, but there are some moments they just need you alone. 

- I would love the dinamic after the relationship is stablished. Reader is just observing as the muses sing and tell the story of other heroes, with a smile on their face.

"This new kid, hero, Hercules. What do you girls think of him?"

"He's charming."

"Got potential and a long road ahead of him"

"Hercules? You mean HUNKcules!" 

You'd laugh and just shrug

"As long as i am still your favorite hero."

"You'll always be our number one."

- The muses are big gossips. I just KNOW they would gather and gossip about everything. And these ladies? Brother, they know EVERYTHING that is happening. In the human world AND mount Olympus. You are one well informed fucker.

- You know of the upcoming heroes. The downfalls of gods. The affairs and schemes. The cheatings and the feuds amongst gods. Yep. You know it all and all thanks to these ladies. 

[nectaric]

SAO = Greek Myth

My husband made me watch this show called Sword Art Online. In fact, he's the one typing this right now because its too cringey for me to admit myself. Hence the proper grammar, font, and punctuation. Anyways... I have come to realize that I love the show because Kirito is just Hades and Eugeo is just Zeus. He tells me that Alice is going to be Hestia but I don't really know her yet. Sooo y'all should go watch it. 2 week free trial on Crunchyroll!

[jim-fetter-illustrations]

The creation of religion from grammer, WTF!

We might as well say the Greeks were the first to invent Grammar structures so they could use it in studying their literature about their Gods and how to honor their created out-of-thin-air gods so the masses would know how to please the Gods.

You know them, the deities of the Greek pantheon, commonly considered to be Zeus, Poseidon, Hera, Demeter, Aphrodite, Athena, Artemis, Apollo, Ares, Hephaestus, Hermes, and either Hestia or Dionysus.

All created out of thin air, no one ever saw them only heard stories about them. Just like every religion today.

Ya see, what the Greeks started was a shit storm of other religious organizations makeing up their own Gods out-of-thin-air so they too could guide the masses towards their agenda, just like the Greeks did.

And we are living that clusterfuck today. The masses are all praying to and supporting gods created out-of-thin-air, no one sees them only hears stories about them from their religious leaders.

So when someone talks about how people today don't use grammar any more like we use to,....... I think "It's about fucking time we put that shit out to pasture, we have been punished enough for it throughout the ages......

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[ageofpiracyrp]

Hestia-Jo “HJ” Violet

Pronouns: she/her

Role: Mechanic

Age: 33

Romantic and/or Sexual Preference: Lesbian

Species: Human

Home Planet: Earth

Faceclaim/Humanoid Appearance: Meghan Ory

True Appearance: N/A

[TW: Death, suicide]

Backstory: Leslie Graham was 18 years old when she met Hayden Mullins. Leslie was living in LA working as a waitress and going to Berkley to get a degree in teaching. It was while working that she met Hayden who was also 18 and doing boot camp nearby. The two hit it off and eventually fell in love. Unfortunately due to Hayden being in the army, they had to keep things quiet and find workarounds to remain together. Less than a year after meeting they had a “wedding” with only a few close friends. They both changed their last names to Violet to match.

Eventually they decided to go through insemination with the help of a friend of theirs. Hestia-Jo Virginia Violet was born a healthy baby girl who was absolutely adored. 

HJ traveled with Leslie everywhere, the two doing their best to stay close to Hayden and finagle around the military and its rules. Leslie was able to find a job as an English teacher just about anywhere they went and Hayden was good at her job. When Hayden was deployed, Leslie and HJ settled somewhere for a while and hoped for the best.

From an early age, it was obvious HJ was not the brightest child. Hayden liked to say HJ’s head was filled with good intentions and positive feelings but not much else. She was the type of child to walk into a glass door or push a pull door that had a sign. She didn’t excel in school but she made a lot of friends. Her teachers liked to say she had her head in the clouds. Surprisingly she picked up languages rather well. Speaking them at least, her spelling and grammar weren’t great in any language. It didn’t seem like she had any learning disabilities, she just wasn’t bright.

HJ did excel in two things though, being social and sports. Any sport she could get her hands on she would play and she made friends everywhere. Unfortunately, that meant her moms had to be careful HJ didn’t go wandering off with strangers.

There was also bullying anywhere. HJ had plenty of it growing up. She never lashed out or fought back but her moms could always see how much it hurt her. Kids could be so unkind. HJ liked getting dirty in a bright pink tutu and climbing trees while wearing a princess costume. She didn’t fit in the boxes she was supposed to fit in and people didn’t like that. She even had teachers who hated HJ for just being herself.

It did little to deter HJ though as she persevered through life. The one thing that scared Leslie and Hayden more than anything though was HJ seeing the best in everyone. There would be someone who would take advantage of the fact she wasn’t very bright but very social and sweet.

That came true when HJ started middle school. There was a group of kids who pretended to be her friends and used what she didn’t know against her. When she came home she was covered in bruises and crying but wouldn’t tell her moms what happened. HJ went through a period of time where her moms were really worried about her because she wasn’t acting herself. They took her out of school for a while, Leslie deciding to homeschool until they could find a safer school for HJ. They put HJ in therapy to try to help bring her back to herself. She started public school again as a sophomore. She had managed to come back to herself but her parents could see that their daughter had been permanently hurt by the betrayal. HJ was still the same social, wonderful girl she’d always been but there was a new fear in her that manifested in HJ forming stronger attachments to people. So strong that when she lost them it hurt all the more.

When she started high school, she met a girl named Clara and fell head over heels. Thankfully Clara felt the same. The two started dating and were the cutest couple. Clara was everything Leslie and Hayden could have hoped for in a partner for HJ. Clara cared as much about HJ as HJ did about her, so they weren’t scared HJ’s intense attachment would get her hurt. Clara was kind and caring, but never hesitated in standing up for those who needed it. She was smart but she never made HJ feel dumb. They were in love and when they finished school they decided the two would start traveling together.

HJ and Clara made their life traveling the world to help find themselves. They found odd jobs here and there to supplement their income and HJ’s moms were happy to support her as well. Nothing is perfect but if you asked HJ, they were pretty damn close.

At one point the two decided they should finally settle down and try to start a family. They chose England since that’s where Clara’s family was from. Recently HJ had noticed Clara had been acting off but it wasn’t enough to really worry her. They found an apartment to live in and got jobs. It was about three years of them living there when HJ came home from work and found Clara hanging from their ceiling. There was a note on the floor by the turned-over chair.

It took her at least a few months before she could read it. She was faced with the fact that someone who had been a part of her life for over ten years was gone. Her entire life had been based around Clara and she was lost.

HJ started traveling again.

It took some time for HJ to find herself again, but slowly but surely she managed it. She found herself in a remote village in Scotland, helping a farmer who had broken his leg. She found herself at the Eiffel Tower after getting on the wrong train. She found herself with the family she stayed with in Thailand who treated her like their own child. She found herself helping stray dogs in Sri Lanka and Peru.

HJ also found herself getting into shenanigans that only HJ could get herself into.

Non-Comprehensive List of HJ Shenanigans:

Accidentally boarded a boat and got stuck in Guam for several months

Almost pick pocketed in Italy but caught the thief and talked them into changing their ways through sheer charisma

Got a flesh eating parasite in the Amazon and now happily shows people the scar on her leg

Got lost on the Appalachian trail and ended up on the Buckeye Trail

Ended up in Australia because she helped a staff member on a cruise ship fix some stuff and they asked her on for the duration of the cruise to Australia in case other things broke.

HJ ended up on the ship through a similar circumstance of shenanigans. She met Greg at the MCR concert and they started talking, chatting happily about this and that. He offered to show her his Rock collection and she happily followed to do that. And then they started watching Vine compilations together. Next thing HJ knew she was in space, very far from Earth. 

Skills:

HJ is very athletic, excelling at sports and physical activity. This means she is also very strong. It is her goal to be strong enough to give anyone who asks her a piggy back ride. Right now that's easy because the only people that ask are literal children.

Because of all her traveling she is good at picking up languages and knows a decent amount of several. Do not ask her to read or write in any language including English though, she is not good at those parts. 

She's pretty good at DIY which makes her handy to have around. She's completely self taught though so some of her solutions are a bit unorthodox. 

Very good at survivability because she often gets herself in situations, like getting lost on the Appalachian trail. 

Very social and good at making friends. High charisma person with some good insights into life (Disclaimer: This means insights about how to be happier and deal with problems and emotions. Do not take HJ's advice on anything that requires common sense or smarts in any way)

Played by JJ; 23 ; she/they; eastern time

[maxs-grimoire]

15 Questions, 15 Friends Challenge

How long have you been practicing? About 4 years!

Are you a devotee to anyone? Yes! Apollo, Artemis, Aphrodite, Athena, Hestia, Hermes, Hekate, Hades, Persephone, and Loki.

Favorite devotional act? Creating art for my deities, whether that's music, collages, drawings, sculptures, or anything else creative.

Are you named after anyone? Nope!

When's the last time you cried? Watching a police dog be put to rest on Critter Fixers. That had me in tears, it was so sad.

Do you have kids? No way.

What's the first thing you notice about people? Their clothing! I feel like clothing is an outward expression of ourselves, and I notice what people are wearing first.

Scary movie or happy endings? Happy endings!!

Any talents? Hmm...Writing, I guess! I've always been quite good with grammar and words.

Where were you born? Anchorage, Alaska.

What are your hobbies? Anything creative, taking care of my animals, devoting to my Gods

Do you have any pets? Yes! I have three fish, two frogs, two dogs, and two snails.

How tall are you? 5'8" 6'4". Definitely 6'4", and not any shorter than that at all.

Favorite subject? English or art! I also took a world mythos class once, and that was a bunch of fun.

Dream job? Veterinarian for exotic pets, and making out of office trips for farm and zoo animals.

Thank you so much for the tag! I don't have any mutuals right now, so I'm not going to tag anyone. This was fun though! Thanks a bunch :D

15 Questions, 15 Friends Challenge

(Tag 15 of your friends and mutuals so they can answer and you can get to know them better! No pressure of course. Only play along if you want to)

How long have you been practicing? I’ve been on and off researching about paganism and an assortment of deities for about 4 years but I’m only getting serious about it now

Are you a devotee to anyone? NOT YET!

Favorite devotional act? Not sure. I think I’m too new

Are you named after anyone? Alexander the Great

When's the last time you cried? Reading "Red Rising" by Pierce Brown

Do you have kids? No, but also yes because I work in childcare

What's the first thing you notice about people? Shoes and eyes

Scary movie or happy endings? Scary movie I guess. Happy endings are predictable

Any talents? Putting babies to sleep and running in heels

Where were you born? New Brunswick, New Jersey

What are your hobbies? Reading and writing. I'm also a huge book collector. / own over 400 books. Most of them are limited editions

Do you have any pets? A cat named Cosima (aka Baby Cat) and a dog named PeeWeeSweetPeaPeePee (aka Peepee)

How tall are you? 5 feet 2 inches

Favorite subject? This is niche so bear with me. Irish theatre as it relates to the formation of the Irish nationality and the lead up to the troubles in Northern Ireland

Dream job? Nanny, Author, Librarian. I am already one of these things still working on the other two

(I’m tagging people that I would like to be mutuals with since I’m new)

@secondwinterstill @royal-wren @takingtocandles @stormiemychelle @a-sip-of-ambrosia @pandoras-spell-box @layneistrashpanda @motionlessinone @chiefhellenist @ihavetoomanyfandomstobesane @tiramisuwithmascarpone @Heartofdelphi @maxs-grimoire @Threats-alter @khaire-traveler

[dailyapollojustice]

okokok so

so uhhh

since thalassa is a Greek goddes of the sea

anti-thalassa’s name can be hestia

since hestia is the Greek goddess of the hearth (the place around a fireplace) and hearths are associated with family I thought it would be a bit fitting

so

hestia grammar

hestia inequity

hestia transparent

HESTIA I LOVE THAT..... hearths being associated with family thats so sweet aaaa

[dearborncaradoc]

Playing Bait

DATE: December 1st, 1981

The plan had been made and everyone had a role in it, it was time to enact it.

Caradoc had made sure to put all his thoughts and all his worries aside before entering the warehouse where they had set their trap, he couldn’t afford the distraction. There was too much riding on this mission---there always was, according to him---and they needed to both survive it and make it last long enough to give the others the time they needed to retrieve the artifact at the Nott Manor.

The others with him were quiet. He had hushed them a moment ago when their idle chatters covered up a noise from outside. It seemed a fluke. Probably just a stray animal or the wind. Just as he concluded this, something behind him fell on the floor in a loud crash. He turned, glancing over quickly to try and see what was happening. Could the Death Eaters had advanced so far without them noticing? It seemed unlikely, unless they had used something else. Maybe some other kind of artifact throw in. 

The moment stretched, nothing followed but a “Damn it, Hestia!” coming from the same direction.

False alarm. They couldn’t really afford those.

“Stay focus,” he said, in a calm whisper. Caradoc didn’t like the tension that he felt coming from the others, but he couldn’t afford for them to slack off either. Better they were a little too ready to jump into action than a little too slow to react. “And make sure to have your tags activated.” 

As if somehow the Death Eaters knew, or by sheer luck, their group chose that moment to apparate outside. In the dim light, he couldn’t make out exactly how many there were---four at least in their first wave---but their number made for a big splotch of black on the horizon. One had to only hope they were not too many. 

The first spell was cast. Somewhere above a window shattered. It started.

In the middle of the battle, everything seemed to happen at once. Doors breaking down, windows shattering, spells hurled at one another, their enemy’s charge through the doors and up the stairs. The Death Eaters were terribly efficient in their brutality, a group of them had made it through the ground floor too easily for Caradoc’ liking. But there were too many left to deal with to be able to stop them, he could only trust that Alice and James could hold their own.

“Behind you!” “Kill them all!” “Oi, watch where you’re casting!” “Hey, little mouse, come here!” “Don’t let them corner you.” “Get out of here!” “Where are the others?” “Let’s go.”

Caradoc was the last one of his group to apparate back to their rendezvous point, and once he made sure that everyone had made it back he started to look for James and Alice.

It would only be a success if all of them came back, and he needed it to be a success.

[xaharadesert]

LI’s Familiar Preferring MC - Headcanon

Arcana Characters (Main 6) x MC

A/N: this one is for @hestia-marie! Please let me know if there are any spelling or grammar mistakes :) requests are open!

❤️Julian❤️

You know how when some people have messy hair, people will call their hair a rat’s nest?

Well, your hair has quite literally become a crow’s nest

Your head is Malak’s new favourite perch

He looks like a weird hat, but when people lean closer to take a look, he shrieks at them

Julian finds this completely hilarious

You probably find it slightly less hilarious, because both Malak and whoever he’s pranking are screaming very close to your ears

🧡Portia🧡

She constantly jokes about how Pepi betrayed her

But really, she’s happy that the two of you get along so well

Whenever Portia and Pepi are cuddling, and you enter the room, Pepi will leave Portia to come cuddle with you

This leads to Portia dramatically throwing herself onto the ground and crying about being abandoned

But then she joins the two of you, and you have a great big cuddle pile

💛Lucio💛

He tries every trick in the book to win back Mercedes and Melchior’s favour

From sneaking them extra treats, to playing with them constantly, to letting them sleep on the bed— but nothing works

He’s also partially in competition for your attention as well

He is losing

Mercedes and Melchior seem to become infinitely cuter whenever Lucio enters a room, almost as if they know 👀

💚Muriel💚

She may be big, but you can never convince her that she’s not a lap dog

Since Muriel can handle her size, she’s used to sitting on his lap, so she doesn’t really understand that it’s a bit different with you

I hope you don’t mind having your legs absolutely crushed, because she really loves sitting on you

And if you fall over, or try to get away, or really just show any signs of being anything less than absolutely appreciative of her added weight, then she’ll stick her big wet nose in your face to see what’s wrong

Not to mention all of the slobbery kisses

💙Asra💙

He’s super happy that you and Faust are so close

He thinks it’s absolutely adorable

Faust likes to hand around your shoulders and give you lots of nose boops and little snake kisses throughout the day

She also likes to tickle your ears because she thinks your reaction is hilarious

If she’s not actively hanging around you, you might have to be careful, because she might be sleeping in one of your favourite shirts of blankets

💜Nadia💜

She takes it as a good sign that Chandra is so fond of you

Chandra loves to sit on your shoulder and intimidate everyone who comes near

Nadia jokes about Chandra scaring off everyone who isn’t her (which isn’t far from the truth)

Chandra also tries to preen your hair pretty often

She’s decided that you are Hers, and therefore, she has to take care of you

[cherrybombfangirlwrites]

Tears of Fire

[image description: a photo of a rose lit on fire, set against a dim backdrop] [photo from Unsplash]

Filling out the prompt "we'll see each other again kisses" from this prompt list with Elliot and Princess Hestia, from my WIP Fractured Stars Falling. May or may not be canon later (at least the scene will be if the actual words written won't), this is just me filling out a writing prompt with my characters for a writing exercise. Does take place during Handsome and the Beast.

Warnings: a fuck ton of angst, first draft with minimal editing (aka just basic grammar stuff)

Word Count: 1084

Song: my tears ricochet, by Taylor Swift ; exile, by Taylor Swift (listen while reading for extra angst)

Fractured Stars Falling Taglist: @rose-bookblood @chalcid @evethenovicewriter

~~~~🌹~~~~

They drifted out of the ballroom, and as the music faded they danced slowly for a minute before starting to walk. The garden was beautiful, a light blanket of snow starting to cover the overgrown flowers and rose hedges, the snowflakes highlighted by the full moon.

They walked for a good hour before Elliot’s coat couldn’t keep him warm anymore. Instead of going to the ballroom, when they went back inside the castle Hestia led him up a staircase.

“Where are we going?” Elliot asked.

“I want to show you something,” Hestia said, her eyes flicking back to him and his golden yellow suit again and again as she tried to hide her reddening face.

Elliot could hardly blame her, he was doing the same with his blushing cheeks every time he admired how stunning she was in that dark blue dress.

At the top of the staircase, Hestia pushed open the old door. On the other side was a small room. There wasn’t much, only a tall window that let in moonlight, a mirror covered by a cloth, an old trunk in the corner, and musty rafters overhead filled with cobwebs.

“What’s this?” Elliot asked, grabbing the edge of the cloth.

“It shows you whatever you want,” Hestia said, “Answers, memories, anything really.” She grabbed the other edge of the cloth and pulled it off the mirror, revealing a tainted silver frame around a crystal clear reflection. Hestia looked into the mirror, and the mirror’s surface rippled, revealing a different scene on the other side.

It was the same castle, but new and thriving on a sunny day. In the courtyard, a young girl that looked like Hestia was playing with a bunch of kids her age that had the same dark hair and olive skin. All of the girls blasted different elements into the air as they played, the one in the center having the most fun making balls of fire. Faint laughter and shouting could be heard coming from the reflection.

Hestia stared at the reflection in a sad trance, slipping her hand inside Elliot’s. Not knowing what to say, Elliot just squeezed her hand and rubbed his thumb over her knuckles comfortingly.

After a minute, Hestia said, “Is there anything you want to see?”

Elliot nodded without a word, and Hestia stepped aside. When he looked directly into the mirror, the surface rippled, and changed again. 

It was his house, warm and cozy in the winter night. His father, wearing the same clothes that Elliot had last seen him wearing, lay on the sofa, weak, pale and sweating. Grandmother was sitting in her chair, unable to do much more than direct Daisy, who was desperately trying to take care of his father.

Elliot’s heart sank. “Papa… Grandmother and Daisy can’t take care of him on their own. And where’s the doctor?” He stepped away, shaking his head. “He was fine, he should be fine- He was fine when I sent him home…. This can’t be happening-” His hand was shaking as he ran it through his blonde locks, trying to think.

Hestia, who was holding his other hand, squeezed it. “You need to go to them.”

Elliot blinked. “What? No- I can’t just leave you-”

Hestia shook her head. “They need you.” She walked over to a nearby dusty trunk, and opened it. Inside, there was only a ring. It was a pretty silver thing, with a light green jewel in the middle that twinkled in the dim light. She brought it over to him. “This will take you and whatever you’re touching there instantly if you just think about where you want to go and twist it around your finger.” She added, “And those roses out in the gardens, they’re healing roses. You can take a whole bud if you want, but just one petal will be enough to heal almost any sickness.”

“I’m not leaving you-”

“I’ll be ok, I’ve been alone for so long I’m used to it now,” Hestia told him, “One of those roses can heal your father, and he and your family need you.”

Grabbing both of her hands and turning her to face him, Elliot looked into her warm amber brown eyes that glowed like a comforting fireplace during a blizzard. “I will come back for you.”

Hestia looked away, slowly shaking her head. “No one’s ever stayed this long. And I know you’ll forget about me.”

“Hestia.”

She hesitantly looked back at him, tears starting to burn behind her eyes.

Elliot dropped both her hands to gently cup her face. “It’s not goodbye forever. Once my father is well again, I’ll come back for you. We’ll see each other again, I promise.” He leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, having to raise up on his tiptoes a little bit.

Both of their faces were wet with tears now as he pressed his forehead against hers for a minute. Hestia softly guided his hands away from her face and kissed his cheek, barely there for fear that it may never be returned.

Hestia took a deep breath, shaky from the tears. “You should go. And you don’t have to come back.”

Elliot gave her a small smile, “I know I don’t have to, but I want to. I want to see you again and make sure you’re not pushing everyone away.”

A small, breathy laugh escaped Hestia. “Go. They need you.”

Nodding, Elliot gave her one last kiss, one that lingered on her hand as he ran his thumb across her knuckles. As he left for the door, he kept holding it, not letting go until the last possible second.

She watched through the window as Elliot stood outside the castle with his horse, the saddle bags packed. The servants were standing in the doorway of the castle, waving goodbye. He carefully cut a rose from the nearby bush, and tucked it in his coat that he hadn’t the time to change out of. Then he climbed on his horse, waved goodbye to the servants, cast one look up at the window where she stood- then twisted the ring on his finger.

And then he was gone.

And Hestia screamed so loud she was sure the whole world heard it, as she collapsed to her knees and fire erupted in her hands, burning brighter than ever and burning everything as her heart felt like it was ripped out of her chest- she knew that the sweet bookworm who had been so kind to her would never return.

[hufferysnuffery]

I’m in a very Oc mood so here’s some random Hermes stuff:

(Sorry for any spelling/grammar mistakes ;w;)

•I always imagined Hermes being pretty good with the kittens of the tribe. He’s tall and lanky and the kittens would just use him like a playground, hanging off his arms and sitting on his shoulders whenever he comes around to make deliveries. He doesn’t mind it too much, they’re having fun.

•Because of the minor power that he’s exhibiting, Hermes is absolutely terrified of the abilities he may develop. He knows that Macavity has the ability to manipulate the minds of others and Hermes has displayed similar abilities in the past. It’s because of this that he refuses to order anyone around just in case anything happens. I don’t think he’ll ever truly try to be proud of his powers.

•Hermes wasn’t really sure how to react when he realised he was a big brother. Hell, he’d always been a bit of a troublemaker; was he supposed to change that to be more ‘responsible’? I can only imagine Hestia laughing at his attempts to be ‘the responsible one’, it just isn’t him.

•He did always feel a little guilty for not finding out about his siblings and mother sooner, not truly meeting them until he was in his teens. He’d always seen something in the corner of his eye when alone, not knowing that it was his family watching over him.

•Because he can’t see them, Hestia usually acts as a way for him and the ghost siblings & Serafina to communicate; which only makes the rare nights when they can actually be seen to other cats extremely special to him. Lots of hugs, cuddles and mischief are had

•Random one but I can always see him being good friends with Plato :-3

•Due to him being extremely tall (about 6’5” if he were human) and his rather cheeky, witty personality, I can imagine cats meeting him for the first time to be kind of intimidated by him. Everyone who really knows him finds this funny every time because they know how much of a gentle dork this guy is.

Aaand that’s about it for now! Feel free to send any asks because I’m honestly in such an Oc/general Hc mood.

Hestia, Serafina & the ghost siblings belong to the lovely @uppastthejelliclemoon

[percabeth4life]

Great Prophecy Breakdown

A Half-Blood of the eldest Gods

Shall reach sixteen against the odds

And see the world in endless sleep

A hero’s soul, cursed blade shall reap

A single choice shall end his days

Olympus to preserve or raze

The Great Prophecy! The big deal of the first five books and what led to the intense focus on the Big Three. The prophecy that foretold the war and it’s end. It has a lot of holes in it.

Starting from the top!

A Half-Blood of the eldest Gods

Half-Blood was defined for us fairly easily, it’s always used to refer to half-human half-immortal. Great, that clears up one possible loop-hole. Thank you Rick for considering that.

A 

A Half-Blood, not the first, A. This means that it did not matter who turned sixteen first, any of them that fit the rest of the terms could’ve been it.

Thalia could’ve reached sixteen and if the prophecy wasn’t for her it simply wasn’t for her. Percy could’ve reached sixteen but as long as he didn’t fulfill the prophecy, it wasn’t about him (which only Hades seemed to consider. He didn’t kill Percy, but still expected Nico to fulfill the terms of the prophecy).

What about Eldest?

What does eldest refer to? Does it mean the actual oldest ones? Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, Poseidon, and then Zeus is the order. So Zeus is actually the youngest of the Big Six. But is it referring to the group of the six as a whole as the oldest? Well then you need to include Demeter in the whole “oldest Gods” oath. Ah, but on that note, what about Aphrodite? She was born before even Hestia (sorta, sorta not but that's a different situation)!

“Oh,” you say. “But it says Gods, clearly that means it can’t be a girl immortal.” Well, I say. That’s a great point. Except... when you refer to the deities as a whole you say the Gods. Not the Gods and Goddess’. So... define Gods for me. Is it just the just the guy immortals? So cut out Demeter and Aphrodite?

“But they had kids that didn’t fulfill the prophecy!” you say. Another excellent point, except... let me direct you to my opening statement. A Half-Blood. Not the first.

Now then! Define God further. Do you mean third generation Gods? So just Zeus and His siblings and the like? Do you mean the first generation Gods, the Primordials that were the beginning? Do you mean the second generation? Because the Titans were also Gods you know. They were Titan Gods. So like, what do you count as the eldest? Because if we go back actual eldest Gods, that would be the primordials.

Therefore, the first line alone, has a dozen different interpretations! It all depends on your definitions.

It could be the first, or the thirtieth child, it could be a Half-God of the modern view, Half-Titan, Half-Primordial, it could be the Big Three or out of all of the Big Six.

Now, the second line.

Shall reach sixteen against the odds

This is where it gets fun!

“Oh but that’s a really straightforward line, why is that fun?” You ask. I’m so glad you did!

Percy was not sixteen on his sixteenth birthday.

That’s right! Percy was not sixteen.

By the end of The Lightning Thief he was five (5) days younger than sixteen. Why? Because of the Lotus Hotel and Casino.

They entered the Hotel and spent an hour or two there, five days passed in that time. They are at minimum five days younger. That means the prophecy did not come true on his sixteenth birthday.

And then, book two, about two weeks passed while they were in the sea of monsters, though they only lived through a few days. And again in the Labyrinth, time passed differently and a week went by in one day.

That means that Percy is not sixteen when the prophecy comes to pass, he’s still about a month away by my estimate.

So, reaching sixteen, didn’t happen! How fun is that?

Someone define odds for me as well because that’s a vague term to use.

I’ll move on now.

And see the world in endless sleep

This one is just a plain lie.

For one, it wasn’t the world.

Now, you can argue his city was his world, that was his home and his world and the immediate view for him of what the world is. So I can give you that much.

But endless? That sleep was clearly not endless. It was magic, but it wasn’t endless at all.

And on a continuing note, the wording implies that he turns sixteen, then sees the world in endless sleep.

That’s not what happens at all.

He sees the city asleep before he turns sixteen, and depending on what time he was born (I’ll pretend for this point that he does turn sixteen on that day) the spell might’ve been lifted before the actual time that he would turn sixteen.

So like, this whole area just isn’t even accurate. The only thing it got right was there was sleep.

A hero’s soul, cursed blade shall reap 

‘hero’, okay, you do you. I won’t argue over Luke’s status as a hero because that’s a whole nother analysis he isn’t one to me so I side-eye that line but you get the picture.

Cursed blade... well... I mean... we could call her knife cursed. It’s not... really? Breaking a promise over a blade doesn’t equal a curse, it’s just sad.

Like, I’m really sorry that your blade holds the weight of a broken promise, but you don’t see Percy being called The Cursed Child thank goodness because he’s the evidence of a broken promise.

Regardless, the lines here are... nebulous. But it’s certainly not the worst line, except... it confirms the soul will be reaped, which could guarantee they win against Luke.

Now, it could mean there are two choices but one of them is getting their soul reaped by a cursed blade.

Luke- reaped by Annabeth’s apparent cursed knife.

Percy- reaped by Kronos’ scythe if Luke hadn’t had his soul reaped.

If you consider it from that view then yeah the line works, they win, Luke’s soul reaped, they lose, Percy’s.

Moving on though.

A single choice shall end his days

I could get nitpicky and point out it was technically a set of choices, a choice to hand over the knife, a choice to stab himself, a choice to trust Annabeth, to trust Luke, but I’ll be nice and not get into it and just say that this line is pretty solid overall.

Olympus to preserve or raze

This one the main issue is just grammar.

Preserve: maintain (something) in its original or existing state.

Raze: completely destroy 

Olympus would be doing the destroying based on the way it’s phrased. Neither of these are being applied to Olympus in this description.

Olympus to (maintain something) or (completely destroy).

Doesn’t quite fit the idea of Olympus being preserved or razed. Grammar, ruins all the good prophecies.

Anyways, That’s my analysis! Thanks for sticking around long enough to read the whole thing.

[ao3feed-jily]

The Serendipity in Stargazers

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/JjHuplB

by october_31st_1981

Told from girls perspective (Lily, Marlene, Mary, Dorcas and Alice) Year 1 - 1981

 Hello, so this is really bad and I apologise in advance- but at least I tried! Updates are going to be slow because motivation is lacking.

Words: 1666, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Major Character Death

Categories: F/F, F/M, M/M

Characters: Marlene McKinnon, Lily Evans Potter, Dorcas Meadowes, Alice Longbottom, Mary Macdonald, Emmeline Vance, Hestia Jones, Sirius Black, James Potter, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Frank Longbottom, Minor Characters

Relationships: Marlene McKinnon/Dorcas Meadowes, James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin, Alice Longbottom/Frank Longbottom, Mary Macdonald/Emmeline Vance, Peter Pettigrew/Hestia Jones, Minor or Background Relationship(s)

Additional Tags: Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Mostly Canon Compliant, Canon Compliant, First Wizarding War with Voldemort (Harry Potter), Hogwarts, might be sad, depending on how well i can manipulate your emotions, which probably won’t be very well, grammar mistakes, sorry babes but i’m a child and am bad at spag, I can’t tag

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/JjHuplB

[spaghetwardhoezier]

‘Erase this please’ - Percico secret santa fanfic

@duchessmb (MidnightBunnyy) , I am your Percico Secret Santa, bringing you fluffy & angsty flustered boys after Christmas has long passed but i still got my Christmas tree up so you can’t kill my spirit!

I want to start by saying: Happy late Christmas and Happy New Year! I dearly hope this year brings you and the rest of us some better memories. That being said, i want to apologize for posting my gift on the very last day of the event but, hey! At least it’s in time! (unlike all of my school projects :’) ) I hope it doesn’t seem too rushed. I wrote something, read it, hated it and decided to rewrite everything in the last three days. Also, i hope it doesn’t contain many grammar mistakes. I’ll proof read it the morning but if you see it until then, just know that i’m not actually illiterate, just tired. Now that you know how much of a dumbass i am, let’s go on with the story! Hope you enjoy!

This...

Nico stared down at his arm, eyes almost piercing trough the new-found initial that marked the skin from right near his elbow.

Is so confusing...

... a sturdy ‘P’ stood proudly, as if laughing at the son’s of Hades suffering.

P could come from many things! It can come from... Patrick... Paul... Phineas...

What kind of name is Phineas even, Nico?

The boy sighed deeply, his mind stubbornly struggling to remain attached to the same name it has been focused on since he’s seen his soulmark...

The most beautiful name on his list, the one he’s been dreading to say so badly...

Percy Jackson

But that name isn’t supposed to come out of his mouth, to glide between his two lips... That name isn’t supposed to even stroll so casually around his mind every single goddamn day.

Why? Because the thought of Percy Jackson was stuffed so deeply inside of Nico that it now felt like part of him; it was almost painful. Oh, the thought of him was very close and reachable alright..., but Percy Jackson himself was excruciatingly far away.

Nico would stare helplessly... His heart will scream and his mind would struggle to find a coherent thought, one that didn’t scream ‘you’re alone’ or ‘you’re pathetic’. And in spite of all that, he could imagine... was Percy in the arms of his future lover whose face didn’t reasamble Nico’s in any shape or form. He’d imagine them sneaking out in the middle of the night to go and count the stars from the black abyss of the dark sky, the only light accompanying them being each other’s love and company.

... Why couldn’t Nico have that?

...Why did Percy’s future... seemed like one he could never be part of?

Love was for lucky people. He guessed that he just wasn’t the guy.

The dim sounds of flowing water from the well known Styx river the demigod was currently standing close to grew quieter as Nico's eardrums were filled with the obnoxious sounds of his own consuming thoughts. No. He must not pay attention to that mark. To him, the soulmark had to be no longer. It didn't exist to him.

And yet, for the next following weeks, the only place his eyes seemed to want and glance towards as he roamed around his father's kingdom was that idiotic mark. Not even the hopeless whispers of the dead could distract him from it. Truth be told, he felt just as hopeless then.

-

''Boy.'' Hades's cold voice dared to soften just a dime as he tried to catch his son's attention. Nico remained still by the Styx river in the not so far away distance, eyes lost and heart seemingly sinking alongside the dozens of sticks and rocks from the acid water. ''Boy!'' he bellowed once again, steps becoming bigger as he kept advancing towards the shore.

Nico's head turned suddenly, black eyes harmoniously meeting black eyes. The bond wasn't kept for long, the teenage boy immediately starting to glare back at the water. ''What do you want, father?'' his voice was distant and lost, as if it tried to show itself off as threatening and furious but gave up amid the way.

Hades cleared his throat. ''I want to see your mark.''

Nico's eyes widened. The demigod tried to control his panic before opening his mouth again. ''What mark?''

''Your soulmark.''

''I don't have it.''

''Well, i think you do!''

Hades rushed forward, grabbing his son's arms and bringing back the sleeves. Nico stood up and struggled as tried to escape his father's firm grip with no succes.

''A 'P'... Ah, i see...'' the god spat as if utterly unsatisfied with his own statement. His fingers unclenched from around the demigod's wrists and the poor boy grunted as he stumbled back.

''...I told you, i don't have any soulmark.'' his eyes looked up to meet his father's for a second time. He was speaking through gritted teeth, voice stubborn and decisive. ''It's meaningless to me.''

''Too bad it's not meaningless to me then. As much as i hate that it starts with... that boy's name and i dearly hope it's not him... you are still going to go find said person.''

''That boy?''

''Poseidon's brat!''

Hades sighed and closed his eyes, trying to regain his patience. It didn't work much as his voice trembled with annoyance as the god began speaking once again. "Don't play with me. Don't disagree with me. If going to that... cursed camp is what it takes for you to be happy, then so be it.'' He said the world 'camp' with a tone that revealed worse despise than when he'd talk about one of his brothers.

Nico's eyes widened in confusion. ''Happiness...? Going to camp...? What in Hades are you saying?''

''Soulmarks are made by Aphrodite and Hestia, you idiotic child. Yeah, sure, Aphrodite often goes on and on about the drama and chaos that must take place in a romantic relationship for it to be entertaining enough for her, but Hestia, on the other hand... she doesn't let explosions go off and burst when soulmarks are involved. She doesn't let the chaos lay a finger on that. As much as i hate my family sometimes... soulmarks are a good thing. You are not going to remain alone and pouting. Go to camp. Now.''

Nico followed his father's words, but they simply wouldnt clench around his brain. Now is when his father showed care out of all times? Now? When Nico's heart kept yelling 'no' with an unshaken vigor?

''No.''

''Now!'' Hades spoke again and his words were conclusive. With a simple hand gesture, Nico was sent to the one place he currently dreaded most.

-

A girl's hand wrapped around Percy's wrist and, to him, it felt almost like a betrayal. The mark was right there, staring back at him. It looked like it was gaping up and shaking its head, perhaps mumbling a 'you idiot, wrong soulmate, wrong hand to hold.'. He tried imagining the exact voice a hundred of times. It sounded more pissed off than his french teacher from fifth grade when he'd raise his hand during class to ask if he could go to the bathroom. 'But can't you say it in french, s'il te plait?'

...

Why couldn't Percy listen?

''Let's catch lunch before it's over!'' Naomi from Aphrodite's cabin said sweetly as if trying to lure him in. It felt wrong. Why did he keep following her?

''About the mark...''

''Percy...'' the daughter of the love goddess spoke clearly even as Percy tried to replay the memory in his head. Her voice was sweet and lucid, her vocabulary was rich and her intelligence was definitely blossomed and visible, especially when compared to the other children of Aphrodite's. And yet... he's never been attracted. ''It's an 'N', right?'

Percy stared down at his arm as if he expected the mark to grow legs and run away any following second. "..yes."

"So why not give it a try? When mine will appear, we'll know for sure if we are meant to be or not. Do you have any other guesses...? Please, Percy...?'' her smile was bright, hopeful.

'But it doesn't feel right.' his heart said. Percy didn't say that.

Instead, he smiled back, drowning all of his other thoughts with a simple 'we'll see. we'll see...'

'It's been two months.' his mind kept repeating now.

'I know. But now we'll see soon.'

'You even kissed.'

'...We are basically in a relationship.'

'Did you even agree to that?'

'In a way.'

'Why did you even agree to that?'

What could you expect from a dude that's arguing with himself...

"Percy?"

...

"Percy...!'' a hand tapped his shoulder and he finally woke up, in spite of the fact that his eyes have never been closed. "You've been weirdly staring at your shoe laces. If you were Grover, i'd be sure you were about to eat them up.''

"...Sorry. I'm fine."

Naomi smiled again.

"Then all it's fine. Let's go eat.''

-

"Your name is Pollicem? Doesn't that mean, like, big toe in latin?"

"You asked for my name, kid!" the angry satyr bellowed. "I ain't asked for no judgement!"

"Right, right, sorry..." Nico cleared his throat, straightening his back before speaking again. "What's your soulmark's initial? Is it an 'N'?"

"It's a 'D' and i definitely haven't found the chosen one by going around and asking other people about their love life. It doesn't work like that...," he sniffled the dark haired boy and crunched his nose up in disgust. "..., offspring of Hades. Bleh, you always smell like dead grass and corpses."

He was right. Nico was just stupid. Why would he even search for his chosen one, after all? Not even the Gods of Love could make him desirable. Love has brought anything but happiness to him up until now. Why would things change?

"Say kid, do you fancy anybody?"

"Huh?!" Nico's breath got caught up into his throat, the boy getting mildly startled.

''I see... So, in that case, that person is your soulmate.''

''Impossible.''

''You've got your soulmark today, offspring of Hades?''

''I did.''

''The initial matched your loved one's name?''

''...it did.''

''You still love that person?''

Nico bit down on his lip, self-hatred and anger spilling from his gaze. ''What's this about?'' he mumbled.

''If you still love them, then the gods of love approve. You've found your other half. If that wasn't your case, the affection you held for them would start fading by now.''

''I don't believe that.''

''Stop believing so much in the fact that any child of Hades's destiny is lonliness and isolation. Why do you think soulmarks even exist, kid? To form arguments, envy? No. They are supposed to bring peace. Each person with their designed lover. That way, love is clear and true, unbreakable.''

''I've been assigned... a lover?''

I've been assigned... Percy Jackson... as a lover?

Nico's heartbeat started to freak. ''How am i supposed to believe that?''

''Just like that, demigod. You're currently talking to somebody with two hooves instead of feet and yet you can't believe in love?''

Nico looked back at the other half-bloods from camp, their silhouettes blurry and gray under the dim light of the afternoon. They were all laughing, raising their sleeves and proclaiming that 'look, there's somebody out there for me too' and yet Nico couldn't see himself fitting into the scenery.

''That mark holds a lot of power within you.'' the satyr spoke again. ''I can feel it. Don't be afraid of closure, kid, don't be afraid of vulnerability.'' and off he went into the dark forest, leaving Nico alone.

-

The way Percy stood alone at his table, peacefully eating his usual all blue food plate. The way his lips would slowly, leisurely turn upwards at unexpected times, perhaps thinking about something so weird and stupid that he felt like laughing at himself. So unnoticable... so pretty.

Nico watched in silence. Like always, truth be told... But this time, the moment itself seemed more intense, adrenaline and dread rushing up his veins as a familiar warmth settled in his stomach.

A girl makes her way to the Poseidon tabel.

...What?

That's an intruder. An intruder into this portrait that's been meant to only focus on one single person, on Nico's favourite person.

Her fingers laced around his arm. He looked up. Eyes met. The girl smiled. Her eyes sparkled. She leaned in. She pecked his cheek.

No...

That was not his cheek.

Those were his lips.

Those from between which Percy has said so many stupid, dumb words that somehow Nico didn't find dumb at all. Those that would open and scream in triumph after he'd win yet another battle. Those that were always curving up, forming that beautiful smile.

Nico has always found looking at Percy painful. But now's the moment when the pain did no longer feel good at all.

His eyes filled with hatred. It’s almost funny how the soulmark could turn as meaningless as before oh so easily. He turned around, but that's when he's finally spotted.

"Nico!" Grover yelled with excitement from near a tree, letting a chewed piece of plastic drop out of his mouth.

...stupid satyr

"Nico?" another voice called him from behind. He turned around. He shouldn't have turned around.

Sea blue eyes were staring back at him. How did Percy even get here so fast?

"You've come to visit!" his eyes expressed joy. That felt like a punch in the stomach.

"Like you care." he spat, voice annoyed and hateful.

The glint of joy was dipped in hurt. That felt like another punch in the stomach.

Percy looked him up and down, a sudden act that flustered and startled Nico, who covered it up with even more anger.

"What the hell do you want?"

"You've got musclar.''

...

W-what?

Percy's eyes were glued to Nico's biceps. "Stop staring, weirdo! What the heck...?! What do you want?!''

The taller demigod finally brought his gaze up, looking into the child of Hades's black orbs. They seemed more intense to him this time, mysterious, endering... Percy felt weird.

"What's your soulmark?"




"What?!"

Nico seemed surprised. Percy was surprised, too. He didn't know why he asked. He felt pushed too, interested.

"...It's none of your business." the boy replied.

It felt like his business.

Nico perhaps felt suffocated by Percy's fixed stare because he soon spoke again. "I didn't even get it yet.''

Black and green eyes were locked together still. There was a lot of tension. Dozens of words seemed to be hanging in the air. A sudden realization washed over Percy, but he remained silent. When he tried to open his mouth again, he realized that Nico has already left.

-

''You what?" Percy almost staggered as he listened to Annabeth's words. They were on their morning walk. From what the demigod has heard, Nico came back and stayed at camp over night but Percy didn't get the chance to see his face a second time.

"You gain feelings for your soulmate immediately after you get your mark, as well as loose feelings for anybody else you have previously fallen for." Annabeth explained again. "An organized system through which the gods make sure there are no third parties involved in soulmark work."

"Then Naomi's..."


"...not the one." she finished his thoughts. He's been saying that same goddamn sentence in his mind over and over again, but saying it out loud... it finally felt real, believable.

"You didn't tell me this before?!"

"I'm surprised you didn't know. But i did always think you dated Naomi out of kindness. ...I still think that."

"Maybe you were too scared that i'd finally come to the conclusion that Nemo's my soulmate."


Annabeth rolled her eyes, but her smile was playful. "A fish can't be your soulmate, seaweed brain."

They sank in a comfortable silence for about a minute or two. Then the girl started speaking again.

"But... suddenly finding somebody attractive that you didn't before, feeling the need to see somebody else's soulmark, the sudden feeling that you're deeply connected to someone, emotionally and mentally, are all signs that said person is your soulmate."

The odd interaction with Nico from yesterday was the first thing he thought off.

He stopped in his tracks, sweat covering his forehead and eyes opened wide.

Wait a damn minute-

-

"I'm sorry, Percy."

Huh...?

The girl that stood in front of him - his ex, i suppose you could say - had tears straining her cheeks. Whether the cause of them was guilt of sadness, he didn't know. But they left soft, unnoticable traces down her skin, which were glowing vividly in the summer sun as if they tried showing off hope and relief rather than regret.

"My mark appeared today... It's not a 'P'."

"I know." Percy said softly and the girl looked up in confusion. The male demigod was the one who smiled sweetly this time. "And you've probably talked with somebody else today. And you've probably felt reborned in a way, like you've suddenly found a long lost part of you, a piece of puzzle that didn't fit you before but for some reason it now embraces you so perfectly."

"Percy, how-"

"I know the feeling. And it's alright. I've found him too."

-

Waking up in the morning...

'What a bother' Nico'd say if you were to ask him.

Rolling right and left underneath the covers, the demigod realized that the blanket couldn't even provide him warmth. He's never felt colder.

Knock Knock

"Leave."

Knock Knock

"Leave, god dammit!"

The door creaked open. Nico got up with a snarl.

"Why the f-"

The words got caught up into his throat. A whimper softly slided from between his lips as Percy stepped closer.

"Stay back!" Nico took the stygian sword from near his bed and brought it in front of him to keep the distance. The other demigod raised his arms in surrender and then Nico cursed himself for paying so close attention to his lips as the boy started talking.

"What's your soulmark?"

"I told you i don't have it."

"...liar" Percy mumbled.

"What the fuck is your problem?! I told you i-" he yelped as Poseidon's stupid son kneeled down and rushed forward, avoiding the sword as arms came around Nico's legs and brought him up on his shoulders. The sword fell down on the floor with a quiet thud and the smaller male started cursing and yelling in protest.

"Dumbass! Wait, wait-"

Percy brough him down on the bed, caging the boy and struggling to bring one of his sleeve's down. Nico shoved a fist into his left shoulder, throwing the boy off the bed. The son of Poseidon still had his hand clenched around one of the black-eyed male's wrist, therefore they ended up rolling toghether onto the dusty floor, fighting to be the one on top. They stopped spinning when they hit the wall and Nico still remained the one trapped under Percy's dominating figure. The green haired male reached down and finally managed to work with the other's sleeve and see his bare, naked wrist.

A proud 'P' stood glinting under the pale bedroom lights.

"...why didn't you tell me?"

Nico didn't speak. He looked scared, he looked ashamed.

Percy released the boy's wrist and showed off his own. The 'N' no longer felt wrong. It felt like it's finally found its part, its continuation, its home.

There was some strange tension in the room, hidden from the human eye yet touchable and itchy. It felt as if the air was trying to suffocate them. The boys' limbs felt numb and cold, searching for alleviation. The whole atmosphere around the boys was pushing them together, uniting their souls, their bodies... And not even a demigod could do anything but kneel down in front of such a mighty power.

The next few seconds were so intense and brimmed with emotions and sensations that it almost felt like a lucid dream: blurry and vague but real. Percy leaned down while Nico brought his chin up. The son of Poseidon allowed his arms to find their place around the other's hips, pressing their foreheads together while rubbing the tip of their noses in an ardent manner. Nico's breath was hot against his lips. Without being certain of who started the following act (perhaps it was both of them at the same time), their mouths clashed together, speaking the words and feelings which the two demigods haven't got the courage to say yet. Percy's soft, moisturized lips were gently scratched by Nico's dry ones, moving in perfect sync. It felt as if they've completed that one abberant puzzle that they've been working at for decades, twisting the pieces and always wondering why things didn't fit, why things didn't feel right.

Well, finally... things felt right.

They eventually parted and Percy's lips suddenly felt so empty and full of sorrow that he attempted to dive right back into the affectionate act. Nico's index finger stopped him on the way.

"Your shitty girlfriend..."

"It's no longer."

"You got more explaining to do than that."

"I know- i know... I will... But for now, can't we just enjoy this?"

Who was Nico to complain?

While their lips reconnected, tingling with a newfound passion and desire, while their limbs began tangling toghether, focusing on nothing else except the other's warmth and soft skin, Nico could be heard mumbling one single thing against Percy's parted lips:

"My dad's going to kill me."