#i want apollo to have that same kind of excitement

[woolydemon]

moving past my hesitance to hc Apollo cooking ability and assigning him baking hobby bc that's my hobby

[fangirl-writes]

You’re the voice I hear inside my head

Damien Haas x GN!Voice Actor!Reader

Warning(s): none

Notes: I know nothing about the process of voice acting so this is gonna be so incorrect, but we’re rolling with it.

Summary: You’re a voice actor on a new project and Damien can’t get your voice out of his head. If only he had a face to go along with it.

“The voice actor for Phoenix already recorded their lines so you’ll have their recording to play off of,” the director said, walking Damien through the studio.

“Okay, sweet,” Damien replied, almost bouncing with excitement to get in the booth.

He got cast to voice Icarus in a new video game in development called Fire and Brimstone. It was a Hades-like game about Icarus with many liberties taken and characters added.

One being the character of Phoenix, a fire deity and disciple of Apollo that Icarus meets on his journey and is the character's love interest.

Damien put on the headphones and set his script up.

“We’re starting on page 45,” the director said through the mic.

Damien gave a thumbs up and turned to the right page.

One of Phoenix’s lines was first so he awaited the recording to come through.

“Mortals don’t often enter this domain. What are you doing here?”

Damien’s eyes widened, and he near genuinely said, “Who’re you?”

The voice was warm, but had that hint of ice, creating the perfect voice for a deity. It gave him chills.

The recording went on, “I am Phoenix, the guardian of this temple. Who are you?”

“Icarus of Athens.”

“Son of Daedalus?”

“You know my father? I’m looking for him. Have you seen him?”

“Yes. He passed through this temple not long before you. He asked for the gift of my fire.”

“Did he say what for?”

“No. Only that he would treat it with care. I guided him through the temple after. Where he went from here I cannot say.”

“Would you grant me the same kindness? Of leading me through the temple. I must find him.”

“I can see into your heart, Icarus, and I can tell it is true. I will lead you through the temple. But you must leave a tribute to Apollo, as your father did.”

The recording stopped, signaling the end of the scene and Damien looked up.

“That was great,” the director said. “We’re going to run through it once more, just for multiple options and then we’ll move on.”

They did so and Damien felt himself being captured by Phoenix’s voice.

Every day he went in to record his lines, he became more and more curious about them.

Which came to a head the day that they would meet.

"We're having Phoenix's voice actor, Y/N L/N, come in and record this last bit opposite you," the director said as Damien pulled the headphones off. "We want to try the dynamic to let you two play off of each other."

The last scene would be Icarus meeting Phoenix again after the deity sacrificed themselves to Apollo in exchange for Icarus' safe passage from Crete.

Icarus would travel to the underworld and ask Hades and Persephone to return Phoenix to Earth, in which they would give him the same task as Orpheus.

The player then has the option to complete the task and not look at Phoenix as they make the long trek out of Hades, without knowing whether the gods had kept their word, or to turn around and look at Phoenix, which would send them back.

This last recording would be at the end of the game, if the player succeeds in not turning around, that has Phoenix and Icarus seeing each other again after a portion of the game apart.

Damien was practically bouncing with excitement.

"You're in a good mood today," Shayne observed, smiling at his friend as they left the set of a Games video.

Damien nodded. "I'm meeting Phoenix tomorrow."

He wasn't shy about telling his friends at Smosh about the project and telling Shayne and Court about his small crush on the character (or their voice more specifically).

"Really?" Shayne said, eyebrows raising. "That's awesome."

“Who’s Y/N?” Angela asked, catching up with them.

“A voice actor I’m working with,” Damien replied.

“And who he’s got a big ol’ crush on,” Shayne teased.

He blushed as Angela said, “Aww.”

“I’m just excited to finally meet them. I kinda haven’t been able to get their voice out of my head.”

“Your the voice I hear inside my head,” Angela and Shayne sang in silly voices. “I gotta find you, I need to find you.”

Damien rolled his eyes good naturedly and smiled.

“I need to know what this mystery person sounds like now,” Angela said. “What was their name again?”

Damien had unashamedly googled Y/N after the director had told him their name.

They had voiced characters in some other video games, anime, even a few cartoons, which was cool. But this seemed to be their first larger role, which was also cool.

He definitely overthought everything the day they were to meet, nervous for some reason (it was the crush).

He dressed a little nicer than he usually wood, very business casual, put on his best smelling cologne, his hottest earrings, grabbed a cup of coffee on his way to the studio.

Were they already there? He wondered as he opened the door. Or did he get there first?

"Hey, everyone," Damien greeted, walking into the recording room. "Am I late?"

"Right on time," the sound operator replied. "Y/N's over getting coffee in the kitchen if you want to say hello."

Damien takes that as a cue and heads towards the kitchen...and almost chokes on air.

Y/N was the prettiest person he'd ever seen, the crush intensifying tenfold.

Damien blinked a few times and cleared his throat, making Y/N look up from stirring their coffee and smile.

"Hi, Damien, right?"

Their voice sounded the same but also different, but perfect. It made Damien’s heart flutter.

"Yeah," he replied. "Y/N, right?"

"That's me," they said, walking over to shake his hand.

It felt right when their hands slotted together, but Damien shook it off.

"Ready for this?" he asked, hoping his face hadn’t gone too red.

"Yeah! I've been excited to do this and to meet you," they said.

"Really?" Damien asked, a little too surprised. "I mean, uh, cool. Me too.”

They don't seem to notice and the two of them head back to the recording room.

“Okay, we’ll have Damien turn around and face Y/N when we give you the cue, that’s when you say your lines. Good?”

The two of them gave the director a thumbs up, which made them laugh as they did it at the same time.

Damien slid on his headphones and turned his back to Y/N.

He was nervous, wiping his hands on his pants and trying to shift into character.

Okay. You’re Icarus, who has just made the trek up from the underworld saving the deity you love and haven’t been able to confirm that they were following you, and you’re worried that when you turn around they’ll be gone. Got it. Okay.

“And action,” the director says, hitting record.

Damien waits a beat or two, heart pounding, before he takes a deep breath and turns around.

Y/N is standing before their microphone, headphones on and smiling at him. “Hello,” they say, voice shifting perfectly into character.

Damien lets out a relieved laugh. “Hi!”

It’s at this point that Icarus is to pull Phoenix into a hug, so Damien just pretends to pick someone up in a hug, grunts accompanying.

The two of them laugh, imagining how the scene would look in the game.

The recording stops and the director’s voice comes through, “That was good, but can we try where you actually hug Y/N, Damien? I think it’ll sound more natural that way.”

“Only if you’re okay with it,” Damien replied, looking to Y/N.

They shrug. “Sure, why not. It will probably be more natural.”

So, the big mics are swapped out for smaller ones and the two of them step around the stands where their scripts are laying to stand in front of each other.

“Okay, action.”

Damien repeats his actions from before, turning around to see Y/N standing there.

But this time they’re closer than before, and he lets out an almost surprised gasp as Y/N grins and says, “Hello.”

Damien laughs. “Hi!”

Then he just scoops them up into a hug that makes them both laugh.

It should’ve been awkward, but it oddly wasn’t.

Maybe it was the two of them being in character, or maybe it was something else entirely.

Whatever the case, Damien didn’t fully let go when he set Y/N down, hands lingering on their shoulders, until the director spoke again.

“Great, that was great you guys. We just want to try a few more scenes with you together to see which versions we like the best.”

That’s how most of the morning went, the two of them bouncing off of each other as they read lines, doing their best not to ad lib since it was, after all, a video game.

They flowed together well.

When all was said and done, the director clapped their hands and smiled.

“I think that’s a wrap, you two! Great job today.”

Y/N beamed at Damien, who could’ve melted into a puddle at that moment.

“Hey, before we go, do you think we can get a selfie? I loved working with you and I usually get one with my cast mates after a project," Damien said, smiling.

“Sure!” Y/N replied, setting down their now empty coffee cup to slide up next to Damien for the photo.

He hoped he wasn’t too red as he lifted his phone and snapped a shot of them together, both grinning ear to ear and Y/N holding up a silly little peace sign that made him laugh.

“Cool,” he said. “You don’t mind if I post it when the game’s announced do you?”

“Only if you send it to me, so I can do the same,” they replied.

“Of course, what’s your number?”

Y/N told him and Damien quickly entered it in as a new contact, sending the picture as well in succession.

Y/N’s phone buzzed in their pocket. “You work fast,” they joked.

Damien chuckled. “If, uh, if you’re not doing anything after this, I’d love to take you to lunch. As a sort of congratulations on the project being wrapped. And I’d love to get to know you better.”

They smiled. “I’d love that.”

As it turned out, Damien and Y/N had a lot in common, besides their voice talents and their affinity for the thumbs up.

It was amazing how well they got on for only knowing each other for the one day.

After that, they texted frequently, and started hanging out more.

It effected Damien's mood and everyone noticed that he was happier as of late.

"How's Y/N?" Shayne asked, slyly, at Smosh lunch one day.

Damien looked up from his phone where he was, indeed, texting Y/N. "...fine."

Shayne laughed.

"You should totally just ask them out, already," Courtney encouraged. "Make it official."

"What? No, it's too soon."

"You guys are practically in the dating stage already," Courtney continued. "You even go on dates."

"They're not dates! We just hang out," Damien protested.

Courtney raised a brow at him. "Hanging out, just the two of you, having dinner and watching movies?"

Damien must've been red. "We're just friends!"

"But you want to be more, don't you?"

It was obvious. Obviously.

He'd had a crush on Y/N since before they'd even met and now that they were "hanging out" it was worse than ever.

But Damien wasn't great at gaging romantic feelings, let alone the feelings of someone that he liked in a romantic way. It was natural for him to feel like they don't feel the same way, right?

"I think you should go for it," Shayne said. "If it ends up bad, then you guys are early enough in the friend stage that if it ends the friendship, so be it, and if it doesn't, great."

He had a point there.

Damien hadn't know Y/N long enough for the end of this friendship to ruin him completely. Sure, he'd be sad, but he could bounce back from it.

Still, there was that fear.

"Maybe," he finally said, taking a bite of his lunch to avoid saying anything else.

Shourtney seemed to accept that as an answer and let the subject drop, but it remained in the back of Damien's mind for the rest of the day.

Every time Y/N texted him, he thought about it.

Heck, he even drafted a text asking them out but deleted it, deciding if he was gonna do it, he should do it in person.

He let it go all the way to the games release announcement and he finally posted that picture he’d spent more time staring at than he’d care to admit.

“Icarus is flying too close to the sun,” He wrote in the caption. “It was an honor to be chosen as the main character for this game and I can’t wait for you guys to get to play it.”

Y/N posted not long after him, a similar post with a screenshot of the release on Variety, a picture of themselves with a photo of Phoenix, a picture of them in the booth, and, of course, the one with Damien.

“Phoenix I’ll always love you but not as much as Icarus,” they wrote in the caption.

Damien liked it immediately and commented. “Fire (literally) 🔥

The likes and comments began flooding in so he closed the app and made his way to set for a games video.

"On the day that we're filming this Damien just announced he's the voice of the main character in the new game Fire and Brimstone!" Shayne said and everyone at the table clapped for him.

Damien smiled, not expecting the comment. "Yeah, it was a really cool experience to work on and I think everyone's gonna love it."

"You worked with Y/N L/N, right?" Angela asked and Damien immediately wondered if it was on purpose.

But he rolled with it. "Yeah, they're really cool as well, we worked together in the booth a bit and had some fun."

"Sweet."

"So, let's get into it," Shayne said before explaining the rules of Werewolf quickly, as it was a common game for the channel.

As fun as it was, Damien was definitely distracted the whole time, he just hoped that it didn't show on camera.

He couldn't stop thinking about them.

We still on for the coffee shop? Y/N texted later that day.

Damien's fingers hovered over his phone's keyboard, debating on what to text back.

I mean, of course he wanted to still go to the coffee shop with them, but he was planning on asking then. And he was nervous, debating on backing out, making some excuse as to why he couldn't make it anymore.

He took a deep breath.

You know it

Okay. There it was. No backing out now. Not unless he wanted to seem like a huge dick.

He could do this.

Right?

"I'm gonna do it." Damien said, seriously.

Shayne looked over at him from his desk. "Oh, shit, really?"

Damien nodded.

"Do what?" Spencer asked, leaning back in his chair and sipping his Mountain Dew Kickstart.

"He's gonna ask Y/N out."

"Really? Good for you, man."

"Thanks," Damien replied, but his nervousness was clear.

"Don't sweat it, dude, they're gonna say yes," Shayne said.

"And if they don't?"

Shayne shrugged. "Then it's not meant to be."

Damien was realizing he hated when people gave him the same advice he'd give them.

"Hey!"

Y/N brightened upon seeing him, breaking out in a smile as a greeting.

"Hey, I ordered you coffee, you wanted the usual, right?"

Damien nodded, sitting across from them.

He'd been nervous on the way there, but Y/N's demeanor had a way of putting him at ease.

“You okay?” They asked.

Damien’s heart soared. God they were perfect.

“Would you wanna go out with me?” He blurted, all the plans he’d made on the way over thrown out the window.

Y/N seemed taken aback for a moment, eyes widened at the outburst, and he feared the worst, but the expression soon cracked into a smile.

Their beautiful smile.

“Officially?”

Damien smiled. “Yeah. Yeah, officially. I want you to be my partner. Exclusively.”

They laughed. “Yes. Absolutely, positively yes.”

And that was a relief.

“Thank god,” Damien said, making Y/N laugh again.

They reached across the table and held his hand and Damien could’ve died happily right then.

“Hey, let’s take a photo,” they suggested, taking out their phone.

Damien eagerly leaned in for the photo, smiling broadly.

Y/N typed on their phone rapidly before handing it to him.

It was the photo as a draft for an Instagram story with the words “Phoenix + Icarus = ❤️‍🔥”

“That okay?” They asked.

Damien nodded. “It’s perfect.”

[apricot-blossomss]

Hey. I LOVE what you've been writing for Apollo. Could I request something preferably gn but up to you?

Something about a devotee of Athena and Ares' lover? Like they were a wonderful fighter, got spotted and gained Athena's favour (I was kinka thinking like Odysseus). I just thought the idea of one of Athena's heroes loving her rival

☛ athena's devotee! gn! reader having a secret love affair with ares

☛ sfw, fluff & angst, first oneshot for ares!

Peace had never really been an option for you. From a young age, your life had been marked by chaos, violence and war- all things you were good at. Maybe that was the reason meditation or calmly going into yourself just didn't work for you. Thus, you were making the training puppets the victims of your pent up frustration.

Being a hero of Athena had its blessings and curses, and you walked on the fine balance between the two. Hacking at the props blindly, your mind wandered to one of the more ambiguous side effects of your position- though it was all but inherent. But if you hadn't been a chosen devotee of Athena, you would have certainly never caught the eye of another god who had all but holy intentions.

Suddenly, one of the figures you were attacking parried and you ripped your eyes open, just in time to dodge a hit by your opponent and get a closer look at him. The initial shock turned into excitement as you deflected a blow and evaded the sword of the mighty god of war himself. With a new rush of adrenaline in tow, you ducked and attacked his flank. Effortlessly, his sword arm shot down, and he took advantage of your short moment of hesitation and his physical superiority to disarm you and make you unable to retrieve your weapon- or steal his, your speciality- by pulling you into his chest and locking you in.

With a mirth in your eyes that made him crazy every time, you smiled up at him. "We have to stop meeting like this, or I'll win again."

"Ts," he made and his dark baritone vibrated against your body, since he still held you snugly against his broad chest. "Only because I let you win." He released you, and in complete contrast to the brutal swing of his sword, his touch was now very gentle as he set you down. You appreciated it, because it was rare that anyone had a little gentleness for you.

"Whatever you want to tell yourself," you grin and saw him mirror your expression. The god bent down to get your sword off the ground and wordlessly handed it back to you. You took it and wrapped your smaller hand around his as you walked over to the shed where you kept your weapons. He let you take him there without any resistance.

Even after all these months, holding your hand was still a strange feeling to the god. Not only that it was so much smaller, it was so soft, and yet had the same small cuts and bruises as his. Not that Ares had ever been good at reflecting on, much less expressing his feelings, but he did know that holding your hand felt good.

"Rough day?," you asked, and he wondered how your eyes could still be so kind, even when looking at him, even after what your life had become.

"Rough life," he said and you laughed at his poor attempt of a joke. He resorted to what he could do best, aside from fighting: he frowned in response. Because he didn't want to let you see how your little laugh had his chest swell with- something. Something warm, something good.

"So, what do we do about that?" you asked and your peppy optimism made him chuckle. He did know one thing: life was hell for the both of you. Only he frowned, and you enthusiastically pulled him away from the fighting grounds to savor the little time you two had with each other at a more peaceful place- and yes, you were aware of the irony of that.

At a secluded spot on the beach, you rested in the shadow of a tree and put a head on his shoulder. With him, you were always the one to make the first move. In touching and kissing because Ares was very unsure of himself when it came to affection, in fighting because he was too sure of himself. You snuggled closer to him and he got the message and wrapped his arm around your shoulders. "Ares?"

A low hum was all you got in response. "Did you... did you tell Lady Athena about us?"

"No," he said curtly and looked down at you. His fiery eyes were somehow more calming than the quiet sea, or the soft wind. There had to be something wrong with you, that you could lie in the hands of destruction and feel more content than you would any other place. "Why?"

Chewing on your bottom lip, you looked back out onto the ocean, with its gentle, rippling waves, and wished you could parve a way through them to make them feel like you felt. Divided. "She asked me whether there was someone- someone more important to me than her."

"Am I?"

Shocked, you turned around and slapped him across the neck which only made him smile in amusement. "Gods, you're just as bad as her! Why does it always have to be a 'more' or a 'most' with you both?"

Ares gave you an apologetical smile and caught your hand, just to guide it into his locks, a rare show of initiating contact. "It always is with us. I'm sorry you're caught in between that."

"I love you both," you said stubbornly and caressed his scalp, making him groan in delight and rest his head on your shoulder. "Why can't I just love you both?" He didn't answer that question, and you were glad he didn't. Because the topic had turned awfully negative, you smiled down at him cheerily. "Well, at least it's exciting, all that sneaking around and hiding. Like a stealth mission with an unusually lovable partner."

"I'm not," he said, eyes closed and savoring your warm touch. "I'm not lovable. You are." It wasn't flirting, but maybe as close to it as he could.

"If you aren't lovable, what am I doing here?" you asked, making him look at you and hovering just over his lips in a silent challenge for him to close the gap between you.

"No idea," he whispered, something he rarely did, and leaned up to kiss you. Weirdly enough, Ares kisses were shy in the beginning, and as soon as you made them more, he exploded into a fervor of spit and passion and clashing teeth as if he had been constraining himself for too long. You knew why, he didn't have to tell you. Or rather: he did tell you, in the way he held your hands, your body, the back of your neck as he responded to you deepening the kiss with a series of passionate kisses, capturing your lips as if in a haze of fury.

It was you who broke away- never him, always you. Looking up into his restless eyes, in your own little world with him, breathing each other's breaths, you let your smile be, and he his frown. Just looking, just feeling, just thinking about each other and not sharing your thoughts because you trusted und knew each other enough.

"Being divided isn't so bad, you know?" you said and brushed his raven black hair out of his eyes, one of which being adorned by a vertical scar. "I'd be less whole, if I was- whole, you know?"

"I'm not good with your philosophical monologues," he said gently and pulled you closer, but you knew he understood, even if he didn't know he did.

🗡️

"Brother."

The last thing Ares wanted to talk to as he was drowning in the oh so sweet memories of last night was his tight-lipped sister and rival Athena. Still, he took notice of her by looking up from the attack he was overseeing on earth. He was surprised to find her not decked in her usual armor but dressed in a simple, functional tunic.

"May I sit?"

Grumbling under his breath and nodding, the god redirected his eyes to the battle down on earth. He had a good idea what she wanted from him, but he wasn't going to give it up. That she was the goddess of strategy didn't change the fact that Ares, too, understood the subtext here. The tunic meant a deal, a draw, that, if Athena had her wish, would result in her making him leave you.

He knew how she would do it, because he knew her. She wouldn't outright say it, she would break him down bit by bit, telling him he was not fit, he was going to cause you harm, that you deserved better. But it wouldn't work. Not because he knew it was wrong- it wasn't. But because, at heart, he was a selfish man. He loved you unconditionally, but as long as you didn't strike against him with the attempt to do harm, he would not leave you. And even then, he would never stop loving you, not ever. That he knew.

"They are not going to win, you know?" Athena said quietly as she seated herself beside him, nodding down to the battlefield.

"I know." Silence. "They will wreck unrepairable damage to their enemy, though." He felt Athena's grey eyes on him, but he didn't return their frown. His gaze had wandered- it had never been wholly focused on the fight in the first place. There you were. He spotted you, cooking dinner in your cabin for yourself. Always a bit more than necessary, in case he would come. He had been planning to.

"Is that what you're trying to do to me?" his sister asked him sharply and Ares' head shot around at the remark.

"This isn't about you"

"Of course it's about me." Athena let out a short, dry laugh. "It's about me and your pride. But they don't have anything to do with this. Leave them out of this fight, do not use them against me."

Ares had been wrong, and it felt like a gut punch. His sister didn't even allow him the grace to assume he could love you. Of course. He was just a bloodthirsty monster after all, unable to love, only lust and kill. Because he didn't know how else to say it, and because the heat bubbling in his chest threatened to explode into violent rage, he told her. "I love them."

"No, you don't," Athena hissed. "If you would, you would leave them alone. You are selfish and lustful, and you want to corner me, but it won't work."

"Are you trying to lecture me about love?" Ares scoffed, having a hard time containing his anger. "About selfishness? You are so self-centered, you can't even see- you can't-" He was raging now, which was always a bad move against Athena.

"They deserve better than you," she said coldly. "They deserve a gentle, loving spouse who will grow old with them and be there for them."

"Yes," the god confirmed. "But they chose me. Respect that, sister," he growled as his troops retreated and rose to his feet, uninterested in continuing the conversation. Athena was uncharacteristically quiet when he stormed off.

🗡️

The door slammed so hard against the wall that you jumped, even though you instinctively knew who it was. Not even a second later, strong arms closed around you from behind as you felt his chest heave against your back. His raspy voice next to your ear. "Kiss me or I'm gonna break something."

"What's wrong?" you breathed as you turned around in his arms and found yourself face to face with pure, unfiltered rage. His grip on you only tightened as if he was barely holding himself together. For a moment you were unable to breathe at all as you looked into his eyes.

With a long groan, his lips clashed with yours. In the heated kiss, you could feel all his pent up frustration, all his anger and fury. It was amazing. You kissed him back, standing on your toes for better access, and he hoisted you up onto the counter effortlessly. "Don't- fuck- don't look at me," he mumbled in between kisses.

Instead of an answer, you brought your hands into his hair, pulling him impossibly closer to you. His wandered to your waist as his lips travelled down your neck, biting and marking like a man possessed. Moaning out a curse, you reluctantly pulled away from him. "Ares- if she sees the marks-"

"She knows," he muttered darkly, continuing his ministrations as you felt your lungs constrict. Unable to think about the consequences of this as he was covering your neck and collarbone in marks and bruises, you let his rough hands slip under your shirt, kneading your waist. Ares cursed when you pulled at the roots of his hair and you could feel his hot breath caressing your ear. "You're mine, right? You love me?"

"Y-yeah," you chocked out as he nibbled at the base of your throat. "I'm yours, I love you." The only answer you got was a guttural groan. Suddenly, you felt the tension leave his body as he slumped into you, hiding his face in the marked up crook of your neck. His arms encircled you as he caught his breath slowly. How fast had he sprinted to get to you?

You released your grip on his dark locks and opted to brushing through them gently. With a low hum, you let him catch his breath and cool his anger, curling into your body, as you caressed his hair and shoulders. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Yes"

The answer surprised you. As he looked up from your neck, you could see that the fiery storm in his eyes had calmed slightly. For a second, he looked really tired, before his signature frown adorned his face once more. "But not here. Not now."

You nodded and pecked the tip of his nose. "I'll draw you a bath, alright?" Only reluctantly, he let you go and when you slipped through the door, he propped up his head on his hands, rubbing his temples. They deserve better than you. Yes, you did. But he knew he couldn't give this up: your kisses, your hands caressing his hair, your understanding eyes and soothing voice that called out for him from the bath.

The tub was still a little too hot, but that was exactly what he needed. Laying down in the warm water, he looked up at you with your shining eyes and breathtaking smile. How could he be the god? You were divine.

Running a sponge over his shoulders softly, your hands traced his many scars and he felt himself grow self-conscious under your observant eyes. "I'm not... beautiful," he said into the silence, in lack of a better term. Surprised, you looked up at him and frowned. "Yes you are. Have you seen yourself?"

He didn't answer, so you leaned down, put your arms around his soaked, naked shoulders and ran your lips up and down his scars. Your hair grew moist as you rested your head on his shoulder, intertwining your hands with his. "You are the most beautiful man I know. Inside and out."

Ares couldn't believe you, but the words still felt nice, as did your touch, so he only leaned into it, sighing into the relief you offered his restless soul.

They deserve better than you.

He tried to drown out the words and only concentrate on you. If he could, he would write you elaborate declarations, but that wasn't his thing, so he only kissed your temple softly and closed his eyes, knowing he was safe with you now, for however long that may be.

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[lila-went-missing]

I saw you wanted req's for Clarisse !! and I had a cute (well I thought it was cute) Hear me out !! You're Percy's older sister but you've been at camp for a few years so you and Clarisse have had more time to talk and get closer, sooo coincidentally once Percy came and after he and Clarisse had their fall out she finalized the relationship (not to be petty but just to get under his skin a little bit.. but also she didn't wanna do something to Percy and have you upset with her and ruin the progress y'all made.) But !! Percy only found out when you guys were eating at your table and Clarisse came by and didn't say anything to him, she kissed you but as she was walking away she muttered a half-assed apology to Percy. Bro's dumbfounded but you break the news to him, and as the loving brother he is and the fact you and Clarisse have known each other it's only fair he happy for you !! (You keep him safe from her.) SORRYYY this is so long but Clarisse makes me giggle, I hope you're having an amazing day !

I've been so excited to write this but I'm also such a procrastinator so sorry if this took a long time to come out. You're literally so sweet I hope you have an amazing day.

Warnings: Mentions of blood and wounds, it gets slightly suggestive once but nothing happens, cursing i think, I'm not going to lie to you this sucks especially the ending.

This took forever because I'm the medically expensive one in the family and I've been in and out of doctors offices for over a month now. This isn't proofread, I trust grammarly and move on. I love you all so much, enjoy my lovelies.

When the Waves Come In

Being a forbidden kid was anything but easy. Monsters could smell you more than others. The gods hated you. Trouble and tragedy seemed to track you down wherever you went, and there was nothing you could do to stop it. The only perks? Having a cabin to yourself and being slightly more powerful than other demigods. If you were being honest, that wasn't really a fair trade.

Not to mention, the other demigods at Camp Half-Blood either hated or praised you. There was no in between. You were claimed only seven months after arriving at camp, this made a lot of unclaimed kids unhappy with you. Like it was your fault that Poseidon was kind of proud of you once? It's not like he's bothered to reach out since then.

Over the last three years of living at camp, you've made some decent friends. You got along pretty well with most of the Hephaestus kids, Beckendorf immediately taking a liking to you for your stubbornness. The Apollo kids liked you, they even let you help lead archery classes. But there was one person that you were closer with than anyone else. Clarisse. Your Clarisse.

You weren't friends. You were so much more than that. But at the same time, you weren't quite together either. It was very complicated. However, there was one thing you were both certain of, you like being near each other, and hated being separated. Oftentimes, she would sit at your table during meals, Chiron choosing to turn a blind eye. You would sneak her dessert every time she lost her privileges. You were her girl, that much, everyone knew.

When a new kid by the name Percy Jackson showed up at camp, you didn't think much of it. New kids arrived all the time, 90% of them never being claimed and getting left to rot by their godly parents in the Hermes cabin. It was sad, but it was the truth. You learned to live with it.

You assumed the same would happen to him, until you saw it. The horn that once belonged to the Minotaur. Grover claimed he had killed it with its own horn. Everyone believed it except Clarisse. You wanted to not believe it, but how else would he have the horn?

Of course, Clarisse being Clarisse, she had to prove that he was a fraud. The first time she did this, she was blasted by water into a wall, effectively shattering a mirror with the impact. She came to you, of course, a bruise forming over her stomach and chest. You were honestly surprised that she didn’t some internal bleeding deal going on.

“I just want him to own up to being a liar!” She ranted. “Is that too much to ask? I mean, he’s 12, he’s like 4’11, he has no muscle what so ever! How am I expected to believe that he, of all people, killed the Minotaur?” She paced back and forth over the floor of your cabin for what felt like an eternity.

“I mean, this kid shows up out of literally no where, and is getting all the glory in the world. Is everyone here really that blind? There’s no way he managed to actually kill it, yet he’s getting all the praise? How does that add up?”

You stood from your place on your bed, walking towards her and placing your hands on her shoulders. Your hands squeeze gently, trying to ground her.

“Breathe,” you whisper, “I know it sounds highly unlikely. I know you’re pissed, you have every right to be.” Honestly, if the only way you could ever get your father’s attention was through glory and winning fights, even then, seldom getting any acknowledgement whatsoever. You have to admit, you’d be pretty pissed in this situation too. I mean the only thing you could do to get anything, even an admittance that you exist, is immediately taken over by this random kid no one’s heard of? Yeah, she’s rightfully pissed.

“But I need you to breathe before you have a nervous breakdown, honey.” Your hands rub up and down her arms, feeling her muscles slowly relax.

“I wouldn’t have had a nervous breakdown.” She mutters.

“I know, but I might’ve.” Knowing her, the way she is behind closed doors, she most definitely would have. But you let her believe that she would be okay.

“It’s just not fair you know? He hasn’t done anything. Even if he did kill the Minotaur, there’s no way he wasn’t running purely on adrenaline and rage. He wouldn’t be able to do that again if he tried. He’s getting all of this praise, and for what? Existing? Being, not even a man, a boy?” Her voice is much much quieter this time, barely making it to a whisper. If it wasn’t for your proximity you probably wouldn’t have heard it.

“I know, I know, love.” You can’t stop yourself from wrapping your arms around her. “Just think, in a week or two, people will probably forget all about it. He’ll go back to being a regular 12 year old, nothing special.” Realistically, you know that sounds kind of bad, but what else are you supposed to say to her.

There was a part of you, no matter how small that part may be, that knew that wasn’t going to happen. Most demigods aren’t able to do something like that and live through it. But you knew he wasn’t like most demigods.

You knew he would get claimed, soon, most likely. From the moment you laid eyes on him it’s like you could feel it. What happened in the bathrooms only confirmed your suspicions. While you didn’t say anything to the girl in front of you, you knew who he was.

He was another forbidden kid. Not just a forbidden kid though, your brother. A son of Poseidon.

***

Capture the flag was the next day. From the moment you woke up you could feel the energy surging through the air. This was one of the most anticipated events of the summer. The only thing you really won was a party and bragging rights. I guess to camp full of the competitive people you’d ever meet, that was all you needed.

It was definitely all Clarisse needed. She loved to win and hated to lose, a trait she inherited from her father. And she’d be dammed if she was going lose another game of Capture the Flag.

That’s why you’re so confused when she tells you that she’s changing the plan. She never changes the plan, finding solace in a good strategy.

You understood more when she explained what she was doing. Revenge on the new kid for blasting her with toilet water. When you put it like that, it sounds logical. But knowing Clarisse, and knowing what you know, you can’t just go along with it.

“Clar, I really don’t think this is a good idea.” You both paced around each other in your cabin, similar to last night.

“Are you seriously telling me that what he did was okay?” Her voice raises with every word.

“No! I just- I have a bad feeling! I don’t want you to get hurt!”

“I won’t! I can handle myself, you know this!”

“I know! But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to worry about you!” Your heart beats out of your chest with every step you take towards each other.

“I can’t believe this! You really don’t think I can do this!” Before you can even formulate a response, she’s grabbing her stuff and walking out the door.

You follow her of course, yelling her name, but it’s no use. She doesn’t turn around. She doesn’t even pause in her steps. You watch her disappear behind the door of cabin five.

The door to cabin three shuts as you slide down it. Your head hits the wood as you lean back, sure to give you a headache later. You can’t find it in yourself to care though. A tear slips down your cheek. Then another. Then another.

You know it’s a bad idea. She will go after revenge. And she will get hurt. But you also know that there’s literally nothing you can say to her. You want to, but it’ll only make things worse. That's the thing about Clarisse, when she gets her mind set on something, there's no changing her mind. All you can do is patch her up afterwards.

The red team has kept the flag near the water ever since you were claimed. They made sure that you were never far from it, blasting anyone in the face if they got too close for comfort. You weren't going to lie, it was potentially one of your favorite things to do.

So, as per usual, you were patrolling the edge of the water. No one had really gotten close enough, which was very disappointing. Until the new kid ran out of the woods and immediately tripped and fell on his face. Your whole body straightens immediately, muscles tensing. You pull out your sword and move towards him. He probably doesn't want a fight but it's better safe than sorry.

He had a few cuts littering his arms and cheeks. His clothes were dirty and he was now covered in wet pebbles. You could tell that he was disoriented and panicked. You were about to approach him when one of your sort of girlfriend's brothers ran out of the woods after him. Miles. One of her sisters followed suit, Trinity, you think her name was. Dear Hades they're actually going through with it.

Clarisse comes barreling out of the woods after them. Before you can even think about jumping in the sound of metal on metal fills your ears. Swords and shields clash. A spear jabbed at his chest. Her spear. You wanted to get between them, help him, protect him. Even if he didn't know it yet, he was.

But you couldn't. Everything moved so fast you didn't have time to react before they were all rolling over the ground. The water fed off of your emotions, grabbing her siblings and ripping them away from the fight. But it was too late. You saw the spark come from in between them. You heard the wood snap. Half of the spear was in her hands, the other half in his as his body rolled with the momentum.

It felt like time froze for those few seconds. The water was still. The wind stopped blowing, birds stopped chirping. The air around you seemed to disappear. You couldn't breathe. All noises cut out as her guttural scream ripped through the air, lasting for what felt like an eternity.

She ran forward, grabbing the front of his armor and jerking him forward. The conch blew, the blue team ran across the river carrying the flag. She ran off into the woods, it didn't take long for you to follow behind her, grabbing the pieces of the spear as you went.

Before you fully made it away, you saw the trident above his head. That's the moment you realized that you should've placed bets. You would've made bank, but that's not really your concern right now.

You find her in her cabin, facing away from the door, sitting on the edge of her bed. If you look close enough you can see the way her shoulders shake. You place the pieces of her spear on a table near her bed before kneeling behind her. Your arms wrap around her front, pulling her in.

Her back rests against your front, her head tucking back into your neck. You feel the way her shoulders tremble and shake in your gentle hold. For a long time, she doesn't say anything. A few tears slip down your cheeks that you don't mention. You don't push her. It's very rare she lets anything like this happen. She feels like showing these kinds of emotions would make her weak. It didn't matter how many times you assured her otherwise. Sometimes you can't change a person's thoughts when they're the only thing that person has ever known.

After what feels like forever, she speaks. Her voice comes out shaky. It's the kind of soft you only hear late in the night after sneaking into her cabin.

"That spear- it was the only-." A sob escapes her throat and you can feel the way it moves through her whole body, consuming her completely.

"I know honey.." You whisper in her ear. Your arms subconsciously tighten around her muscular frame.

"It was the only proof that he could ever love me." You swear you can feel your heart shatter. You've never liked her dad, but even so, you knew how much that spear meant to her. Her fathers traits were very prominent in her from the moment she was born. Her anger issues kept her in trouble, never getting help. Never being accepted. Her father was the only hope she would ever have until she met you. But even then she was so terrified of losing you...

"It'll be okay.. I promise." Your words a hidden promise of protection.

You're not sure what happens that night but you know something changes. Her arms wrapped around you a little tighter. Her breaths came a little deeper, more relaxed. Your finger over more of her scars, tracing them with the delicacy that was only ever seen in the hands of the greatest artists. When you thought about it though, she was the only work of her art that would ever be worthy of such care.

When you wake the light hits the two of you in a new way. As if Apollo made Helios shine it on the two of you alone so he could write the greatest love hymns that would ever be seen by mankind.

Her siblings don't question your presence. They never do. Why would they when it's so rare the children of Ares are able to find such peace. So rare they can find such a level of acceptance within another person.

For a while you sit there and watch the golden light dance across her bronze skin. The way it shines around her face, the face you've kissed so many times. The face you long to kiss right now. You don't sneak out this morning, instead staying curled into her side. The beating of her heart threatening to lull you back into a peaceful slumber.

Then the conch blows for breakfast, causing her to stir. Her eyes flutter open, turning into pools of golden honey as the light swims in the sweet waters. A small smile creeps onto her lips as her eyes meet yours.

"Hi." You whisper. Your hand strokes over her cheek.

"Hi, baby." Her voice is as soft as the way she looks at you. Before you know it she's leaning forward and placing her lips on yours. It's the first time but it doesn't feel like that. It just feels... right. Something about it is so perfect. The way your lips fit together like long lost pieces of a puzzle.

"What was that for?" Your lips remain parted when you pull away. "I just, wanted to kiss you." She mutters in reply. A blush covers the expanse of her cheeks. You never thought you'd see her so flustered. "Can you do it again? Kiss me again?" She smiles and nods at your words before leaning in and pressing her lips back against yours.

They're soft and warm as they slide against yours. It feels like coming home after a long day of training. Your favorite person right in front of you with open arms.

When she pulls away, she's smiling wider than you've ever seen her. "I really should have done that a lot sooner." You can't help but laugh at her words. "I've only been waiting for four years!"

"Why don't we make up for that?" She leans forward, resting her hand on her waist and pulling your body against hers. A chuckle leaves your throat.

"Maybe later, right now, I really want breakfast." You peck her lips once more before rolling out of bed. "Come on!"

It's not long before you're both dressed and making your way to the dining pavilion. As much as you would like to sit with her, she's already on thin ice with Chiron. You take your time getting your food and burning it, not wanting to be separated until absolutely necessary. Eventually though, you have to part ways and join your newly-claimed brother at the Poseidon table.

"I'm surprised you're not more banged up if I'm being honest." You say as you take your seat. There's not a single scratch on him.

"Annabeth kind of shoved me into the water, next thing I know everything is healed." He answers, you can tell he's nervous knowing your connection with Clarisse.

"Perks of being Poseidon's kid, that and our cabin is a lot less crowded." He laughs lightly at your words.

"You're telling me! It's nice not sleeping on the floor." The both of you go quiet for a while, eating in comfortable silence. The breeze is cool against your skin, a nice reminder of the weather barrier. When you look up, Percy is looking behind you with pure fear in his eyes. You expect to be greeted by a monster when you turn, instead you're greeted by your girlfriend.

You can't help but chuckle at the look on Percy's face. You really can't help but laugh at his face when she leans down and presses a kiss against your cheek. "I'll see in training later, right babe?"

"Wouldn't miss it." You kiss her jaw before she turns and jogs off towards the arena.

"She- you-" He looks utterly dumbfounded as what he just witnessed. "What just happened?"

"She's my girlfriend, Percy."

His mouth drops open with the most surprised look you've ever seen. "Oh."

"Is that an issue?" You don't really care if it is, but you ask anyway. "No, no I just, didn't take her as the type to really date anyone." He answers.

"Most people don't, I'll do my best to keep her from pulverizing you." A laugh escapes you before you take your leave.

Life didn't seem too bad.You had a new brother, you were dating the girl you'd been in love with for years. You might even be able to convince her to leave him alone. You'll get her spear fixed as a surprise birthday gift.

You can feel everyone's surprised eyes on you as you walk out. There's no doubt the entire camp knows by now, and there's no doubt that a billion rumors will be floating around by dinner time. But there's a part of that just, can't find it in you to care. How can you when you have everything you've wanted right there in front of you.

[letsmyy]

i have a request!!! you should write a daughter of apollo x leo valdez fic but based on espresso by sabrina carpenter (idk i feel like that song gives children of apollo vibes!) it'd be leo obsessed with the apollo girl (like him being absolutely obsessed with her, having the biggest crush on her possible, he constantly thinks about her, him being an absolute loser bf) and finally getting the courage to ask her out on a date or something like that.

“she’s like a shot of espresso…”

leo valdez x duaghter of apollo!reader

warnings: use of yn! english isn’t my first language so it might be some errors!!

thank you so much for your request, it made me so happy!! idk if what i wrote it’s exactly what you want but i hope you like it 🤕 this is my first timing writing a real fic and I think it really shows lol, but i promise I’ll try to improve in the next one, I’m so sorry if it’s that bad, and this is really short too? omg im really bad at this lol, but anyways, ly anon tell me your opinions (honestly) abt this later, kisses to uuu!! 🫶💗 (btw anon, please request other things I feel like I didn’t did you justice with this one)

words: 850

“is it that sweet? I guess so…..”

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ - ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

Leo was sure he was going crazy.

He always had a pretty big amount of silly crushes on girls, but with you? It was getting way too serious. Of course, you're beautiful, incredibly kind, and too generous for your own good, and you treated him well, but that isn't enough reason to make him lose sleep; at least that's what he thought.

And he was extremely wrong. Being in your presence was the equivalent of being bathed in the sunlight, and gods, he felt like a prisoner who hadn't seen the sun in years.

He's completely obsessed with you; he just needs the courage to verbalize that, but being honest, Leo felt like a coward at the moment.

While being lost in his thoughts (the thoughts being the pretty daughter of Apollo that never leaves his mind), the boy finally falls asleep.

Leo doesn't mind waking up if that means spending the day with the people he loves, so after getting ready for the day, he searches for you.

And he found you, talking with a much younger camper, helping him. You're smiling like it's the best day of your life, and Leo could swear that you're almost glowing.

The boy makes its way to you the same moment you finish talking to the kid, now having your full attention on Hephaestus' son.

"Leo! Good morning!" Your voice to him had the same effect as listening to his favorite music, it made him happy in ways he couldn't explain, even if his life depended on it. 

"Yn! Good morning!" He mimics you, not in a bad way, just a teasing one. You roll your eyes in fake annoyance.

"Sooo, did you sleep well, Valdez?" You ask, seeming really interested in the answer, but he knows that you're like that for everything, being extremely kind.

"Not really, would be better if I dreamed about you," you laugh amusingly.

"You say that every day, y'know?"

"I know, I say because it's true. " You can't help but blush a little. You're used to Leo flirting with you, but it never gets past that, so you just learned to joke back.

"Hilarious, Valdez... fortunately, I slept very well today, and I'm more excited than normal! I think it's because it's so sunny today, that's awesome, was thinking about going to the lake later. I can't waste such a pretty day like this one painting inside my cabin..."

"Unfortunately, I'll be in the bunker today, I have lots of things to do."

"What? No! You're coming with me, you can't waste this wonderful day either!" You grab his hands, walking toward the lake.

Leo could swear he would pass out at that moment. He couldn't even think about denying your offer, he would prefer dying to doing that.

After a few seconds, you guys get to the lake.

"Look how pretty it is! You have to go swimming with me, it’s a need.”

"Look, sunshine, water and fire don't get along so well, so I might skip that one" he says, apologetic. You frown, thinking.

"We don't need to go swimming, we can just talk, i really don't care." You smile lovingly at him.

"I don't want to ruin your day! There are many people that can go with you, you'll find someone better to do that." He's so oblivious that it's getting concerning.

"I want to spend time with you, Valdez. I don't mind if it's swimming or just talking, I want to, you know..be with you."

"Oh." He's acting like a loser, he can't think straight anymore and is blushing like crazy, but who cares?

"Oh?" You tease him, smiling.

"Yeah, we can. Just talk, I'm happy with that. " His smile was so genuine that made your heart melt.

That's when you realize you're still holding his hand, and you don't want to change that. You can feel he notices too.

Something just snapped in his head, now it’s the time, now or never, right?

"Yn? Can I tell you something?" He says it in a quiet tone, and you just nod.

"When I'm around you, it's like constantly drinking a shot of espresso, it's like being bathed in sunlight, you're incredibly energetic and enthusiastic, and i just can't get enough of you, you're my sunrise and daylight....all I'm saying is, gods, I very much love you more than just friends" You're surprised, really surprised, so surprised that you can't even speak for a moment, which just makes Leo even more nervous.

"Please say something...like, anything, a no it's better than silence because it’s less-“ Before he yaps again, you interrupt him:

"I like you too." The boy almost squeals of pure excitement.

"Seriously? Oh gods, oh gods. What?" He's so happy, it's so sincere, so soft, it's amazing, you can feel your heart beating so fast, and you don't even care; seeing him like this because of you is the best feeling you ever felt.

Then you see that one look, meant just for you, it's like time has frozen, and you're both thinking the same thing. Then, like all the stars aligned, you kissed him

[xjulixred45x]

Hi! I’d like to request if Poseidon, Thor, and Apollo (separately) had a human lover who died and was revived to participate in Ragnarok on the human side. Maybe for some added angst they (directly or indirectly) caused the death of their partner

OOOHHHH THIS IS SOME JUICY DRAMA! specially with Apollo and his bad luck with Love in the myths, you have awaked something inside me....

Poseidón/Thor/Apollo x revived! Reader who fights againts them in Ragnarok

Genre: Headcanons

Reader: neutral

Warnings: some heavy Angst Right here, and most likely no comfort. It's one of the first times i write this kind of stuff so it may suck. Mentions of death and violence.

Poseidon

• Poseidon was many things, among them a very proud god, for that reason, he never let anyone get too close to him, let them know too much about him, a god should not depend on anyone, after all.

• However, that same philosophy exploded in his face when he began to frequent a certain place. Or, rather, a certain person.

• Even though it sounded ridiculous, the tyrant of the seas once became fond of a mortal, as shameful as it was. For that reason he never allowed his existence to be known to the other gods or humans, he did not want to carry that stain on his name, not even for all the love he had for his lover.

• Maybe they could find a way to turn them into gods, but until then, it was better, for him, to keep it all a secret. After all, the idea of spending eternity with them did not sound bad at all, it was a future he hoped for.

• Sadly, that future was shattered with the fall of the old regimes in the Greek cities. The gods could no longer intervene in those times unless they had certain… priorities.

• Poseidon believed that reader was going to be fine, they was a mortal, but a resilient, stubborn mortal couldn't be easy to kill… or could they?

• It was a pretty vivid image in Poseidon's head, when he found the lifeless body of his lover. A few meters away from a temple that humans had made in his honor.

• They had come to seek his protection… and they died…

• (The least Poseidon could do was ensure that reader had a proper burial next to his temple. A strange way to always keep them close…)

• Everyone could notice a certain bitterness in Poseidon after this dark era. But no one was brave enough to find out why the already closed god's attitude changed. Not even his brothers.

• Even after his death, his pride was greater than his love.

• Almost two millennia passed since those events, and what many gods did not expect happened. Ragnarok. Even with Poseidon's disinterest in the event, he was one of the chosen ones to fight, so he went.

• He only hoped that all of this would end quickly, however, when Heimdal was introducing his opponent, he could feel something... familiar.

• And then, Heimdal said their name, as they landed on the battlefield. reader...

• Poseidon reacts externally, for the first time, having his eyes fixed on his opponent, with an expression between perplexed and... with something unknown, as if he wanted to reach out his hand to reader and know that they were really there.

• However, the fight began. Although reader did not have as much strength as the god of the sea, they did not hesitate to attack him for the good of humanity. Although he did not miss the pain on their face every time he looked at him. How painful…

• When the god of the seas falls dead, he gives the reader a sympathetic look for the first time, as if he saw this as the right thing to do, maybe it was, but it was good to see them well again…

Thor

• Thor is also a proud god, but to a lesser extent. He doesn't really think much (if at all) about humans, but that doesn't mean he was incapable of falling for the charms of a mortal from his pantheon.

• That was the case with Reader, a mortal who liked to hang around the same places Thor used to fight, looking for materials to be able to do magic of some kind (things Thor didn't understand, but Reader got so excited talking about it that he would just let them rant and talk for hours).

• What started as unwanted company when he wanted to clear his mind, quickly became a routine for the god of thunder. Always hoping to be greeted by Reader's constant talk, their new discoveries regarding some magical plant, etc.

• Curiosity turned to appreciation, appreciation turned to affection, and affection turned to love. Thor didn't hide the fact that he loved Reader, he used that fact as a threat, after all, no one would want to anger the God of Thunder by messing with the mortal who had earned his affection.

• Thor thought that in this way he was protecting his partner, however, this would have serious consequences when the attack of the giants in Asgard occurred.

• He saw this event as another attack, another waste of time, so he left his lover behind to take care of the problem (even though he knew it would be boring), saying goodbye while Reader happily greeted him.

• Not knowing that it would be the last time he would see them alive.

• Thor remembers how the events of that afternoon were, the day his reputation was formed, it was also one of the worst days of his life.

• The first thing the God of Thunder noticed when he arrived at Reader's territory, were the giant footprints in the territory, realizing what had happened, he quickly went to see his partner's house, but it was too late.

• One of the giants had strayed, and gone to attack Reader's house in his absence. Everything was in pieces, destroyed, including the body of the god's lover.

• He spent several hours clinging to the cold and shattered body of his partner, unable to accept the reality of what had happened until his father arrived to take him to Asgard.

• And now... here, in Ragnarok. Thor remained still for a second, while the face he tried to forget stared at him. The face he couldn't remember without seeing it disfigured and shattered, was before him, as His opponent.

• No matter how weak reader was in comparison, they were able to give Thor a fight thanks to their Volundr and, more importantly, the god of thunder seemed unable (or willing) to throw deadly blows. Not at them.

• Thor wanted them to tire themselves out and eventually give up, not to do this to him, they couldn't do this to him, please…

• It doesn't matter if Thor dies at the hands of his former partner, or if his partner dies again at (what he feels was) his hand, there will always be that thought in Thor's head, deep in his subconscious. That will haunt him until the end.

• “It's my fault”

Apollo

• Ah~Apollo has had many lovers in his life, some have been more like admirers who were able to climb the hierarchy of his temple, others who were friends with certain “favors” in between. But none of them were like reader.

• Like everything the sun god liked, reader was a mortal of great beauty, which was already enough to gain the god's interest. However, what kept him was their personality, their quick mind, and to a lesser extent, their dry humor.

• they was someone Apollo enjoyed having around more than a god should with a mortal, but Apollo was willing to turn a blind eye, after all, wasn't this funny and beautiful human absolutely adorable? What kind of god would he be if he didn't keep them for himself, forever?

• That was the plan, at least. However, Apollo's ego, as well as attracting the attention of fanatics, also brought problems.

• Apollo was well aware that other divine entities were interested in his favorite mortal lover, and it wasn't something he liked in the slightest. It was something he let everyone know.

• Whether it was with mocking comments about how Reader preferred him over other lesser deities, displays of his ego, among other things that made a certain wind god angry...

• Apollo didn't remember anything about the day Reader died in his arms, but he did remember how everything felt the next day. The blood in the playground, where Reader's head was opened by a disk, their large room, normally full of noise, was now completely silent, and their bed, which in the mornings was always warm, was now cold.

• Everything felt... empty, without Reader to give it meaning.

• Obviously Apollo wasn't going to show how this affected him with so many eyes on him all the time. If anything, he just let himself go and abused his normal vices even more, even during a time as difficult as Ragnarok.

• He probably would have stayed stuck in that cycle of misery, if he hadn't been told who his opponent was going to be. Oh~ sweet, cruel irony.

• A part of Apollo just wanted to run over and hug Reader and squeeze Reader's face the moment he set foot in the arena, look at them, thinking themself tough enough to face him, wasn't that just cute?

• Even when Reader looked at him with a hurt and serious expression, Apollo just enjoyed being able to see them again, FEEL him again, as if it were a friendly fight between two estranged lovers (which he was going to win, of course) so that Apollo could get them back.

• How? Simple, by eliminating them from Ragnarok without killing them, he would simply have to make them give up, right?

• … right?

• No matter how much Apollo launched attack after attack, arrow after arrow, blow after blow, Reader still didn't give up. At first he tried to laugh, but now… he was getting worried.

• They didn't understand? He does this to save them! Just give up!

• Give up!

• GIVE UP!

• However, Reader got back up, the fight continued, and Reader looked more and more tired, more and more fragile… that look of exhaustion and pain… was very similar to when he died… but it was full of determination to kill him.

• Gods…

• What has he done?

Shares, reblogs and comments are very welcome!

Funfact: Hyacyntus was an SPARTAN Prince, do You guys knew that? :D

[pigcowboys]

steady and slow !

pairing; ꒰percy jackson x gn! apollo! reader꒱⋆·˚

summary: you attempt to teach percy how to use a bow and arrow.

warning(s): incorrect bow handling knowledge, kissing(?)

request(s): hi honey!! could i request something with percy jackson x apollo reader? (either fem or gn, whichever is more convenient for you) just anything lighthearted, my brain is kind of empty rn LMAO. would love to see what you come up with

tysm for requesting!!!! im so sorry if it's a bit repetitive, i'm currently going thru writer's block.

"what?" you replied, face contorted in confusion as you stared at the lanky boy in front of you. percy simply stared back at you with a smile on his face before he spoke once more.

"i want you to teach me how to use a bow and arrow." you blinked at him.

honestly, you didn't have anything against teaching him how to shoot. the only problem was that he approached you with this proposition while you were mid aim.

he was such a weird guy.

he always greeted you when he saw you around, a bright smile curling onto his lips as he'd call out to you from at least a feet away, walking over to you as he struck up a conversation about whatever seemed to pop into his head in that same moment. you weren't much of a talker, never was -- though that didn't seem the stop him at all from spewing whatever rolled off his tongue first.

at first, it was nice to see him from time to time. you didn't have much friends so, just the reminder that human beings cared enough to talk to you was reassuring. then, it became annoying. whenever it was time to wind down and chat at the campfire, he was there. the early breakfast where everyone would drag themselves out of their bed to attend, he was there too, saving you a seat and asking if you slept okay with dopey grin.

so weird..

being as you were in the apollo cabin, you were destined to have great archery skills, just like your other half-siblings. you guessed he seemed to pick up on the fact you were a pro with the bow. it was probably the reason he was idled in front of you once more, the same smile he always wore around you on his face as he awaited your answer.

you scanned over pecy's face curiously, lowering your bow as you sighed. "why can't you ask someone else?" you pointed to your cabin. "i'm pretty sure one of my siblings are still inside." percy's smile faltered slightly as a laugh escaped his lips.

"actually," he replied. "i..wanted to ask you personally."

"why me?"

he paused, blinking slowly as he stared at you silently. see, totally weird.

you'd figured he must've been too shy to ask someone he didn't know well, trying to find the willpower inside of yourself to say yes to his request before ultimately giving in. you handed him the bow in your hand which he took almost immediately.

"well..if you want to learn, we should start soon." you said, an unreadable expression on your face. percy's fingers lingered a moment too long on your own, a slightly surprised look on his face as he pulled them away from your own, holding the bow close to his chest.

"thanks!" he replied, a bit too excited. you gave him a puzzled expression and he cleared his throat. "thank you, so much." he responded, now with a much more neutral voice. you couldn't help but contemplate giving up on the request.

"okay, first of all, you have to line up with your target." you said, watching percy intently as he spread his legs slightly, holding the bow at his side as he looked forward at the target board. "like this?" he asked, turning his head to look at you only for you to push it back into position. you circled around him, eyeing him silently as you observed his stance. perfect. almost, at least.

you grumbled something to yourself, leaning forward to adjust percy's legs and posture absentmindedly. you pulled back, tilting your head as you examined the boy in front of you, finally satisfied with his stance. "perfect," you turned to look where he was looking as well, ignoring the redness of his ears as you moved behind him.

"you've used a bow before, right?" you asked, breath fanning against the back of his neck. percy shivered slightly, shaking his head as he attempted to stand as upright as possible so to avoid you calling him out. "my weapon of choice isn't usually long ranged things." he replied nervously, eye flickering between behind him; where you were situated and the target in front of him.

"what made you change your mind on it?"

he fell silent once more. was he just going to keep dancing around that question? you observed his jittery posture analytically, reaching out to moved his hands upwards in tandem with the bow he gripped. his skin felt warm, probably a product of the hot summer sun that mercilessly cooked the two of you alive.

for someone who was constantly on quests, his skin wasn't as rough as you'd imagined it to be. it was..soft..and kind of smooth. not sure why you were taking note of what skin to skin contact with him felt like, though.

"is this good?" percy's voice cut through your thoughts, making you jump a bit. you removed your hand from his arm, breaking the skin to skin contact as you ignored the funny fluttering in the pit of your stomach. you moved back a bit, observing percy's stance with a nod. "yeah. yeah, that's good." you two fell silent again.

"take the shot when you're ready," you said, filling the silence. "make sure you have an eye on the target, okay?" percy hummed in response, aiming the bow towards the target in front of him. he idled for a minute, making sure he was precise as possible before taking a shot. the arrow flew threw the air, landing precisely on the dot of the target with just a swift pull of percy's bow.

you were pleasantly surprised. who knew percy was such a natural at archery? percy's eyes widened as he turned to look at you a boyish grin plastered on his face. you couldn't deny how hard it was to fight a smile when you saw his face, especially since he looked undeniably good with a smile on his face, the corner of his eyes crinkled slightly as his pretty lips curled upwards.

not that you cared, though.

"nice shot." you said, a small smile tugging at your lips. "you're a pro." percy placed the bow down, strolling over to you sheepishly. "you think so?" his smile never faltered as he stared at you with twinkling eyes. you wonder if his cheeks ever started to hurt whenever he smiled. "i mean, you did hit the target on your first try so.. yeah."

percy nodded along slowly, idling in front of you. "i guess since you're so skilled already, i won't have much else to teach you." you replied, walking over to the bow and arrow percy had placed as you placed it into it's casing. “i can ask one of my siblings to help, after all you are pretty stiff.”

"you’re not going to stick around ?" he responded, slightly alarmed. "can't you just — teach me a few more tricks?" he followed after you as you began to walk towards your cabin. tricks..? was he serious? you'd already known percy was fibbing a bit when he'd claimed he had no knowledge on how to use a bow but, you let it slide. never used a bow? a definite lie, you’d heard horror stories about how he’d almost taken an apollo kid’s eye out his first week here.

maybe he wasn’t good with the bow, but he had experience. there was no reason you had to walk him through everything.

though, the lesson's ended and still, here he was trying to come up with another excuse to keep it running on. you stopped dead in your tracks as you turned to face percy with furrowed eyebrows.

"tell me the real reason you wanted my help, percy." your voice was stern but calm. you weren't mad at him, despite him wasting your time. though, the mystery of his request had dragged on for longer than you would've liked it to. percy once again went radio silent as the redness of his ears from before returned. was he blushing?

"if i tell you, promise you won't avoid me?"

"why? what's the reason?"

"promise."

"percy.."

"please.”

your lips folded into a thin line as you exhaled, nodding in agreement. "yeah, fine, i promise." you replied, slightly on edge.

percy's smile peeked through his nervous expression for a moment before he inhaled deeply. "so," he started, rubbing the back on his neck. "..you're always over here practicing with your bow — and since you never talk to me much when i'm just rambling to you about different things, i just figured taking an interest in something you liked would make things less awkward between us,” he trailed off.

“maybe we'd even become friends. or, at least you'd feel comfortable enough to talk to me sometimes." word vomit spewed from percy's mouth as he muttered out something about archery and friendships.

at least, that's what you think you heard..

"percy." you replied, sternly. he stopped talking, turning his full attention to you. "please, just sum it up." you pinched the bridge of your nose. he lowered his head a bit dejectedly before speaking once more. you eyed him curiously, heart racing as you awaited him to finally explain himself, because believe it or not, you had hoped that he was going to confess that the little archery lesson was some form of a date.

a really, really, really awkward date — but still one, nonetheless.

you watched quietly as percy worked up the courage to speak, scaring you in the process. "i think you're super cool — and amazing." he mumbled, straightening his posture. your stomach turned as you bit back the smile that was threatening to appear on your face, awaiting percy to finish his sentence. "so.. i wanted to try to get to know you better by taking lessons." he paused. " even though..i may not have the most interest in it."

your struggle ceased as a smile appeared on your face. "what're you saying?" you said, feigning ignorance. you knew what he was saying all too well, it was exactly how you felt every time he'd greet you whenever he saw you around.

you’d hide your excitement with a neutral composure and 2 or 3 quips before dashing away to calm your still beating heart. it was the same way you felt whenever you'd pull yourself out of bed, rubbing the sleep out of your eyes as you made your way over to attend breakfast, your grogginess fading as you took notice of percy sitting at a table with his friends, the seat next to him occupied by his blue hoodie which sat beside him, obviously a sign that the seat was meant for someone else.

you knew he felt how you felt, all you wanted was to hear it with your own ears, once and for all.

percy bit the inside of his cheek, eyebrows furrowed and cheeks hot and slightly red as he stared at you intensely. "i like you," he smiled. "a lot more than you'd think." you felt your heart swell.

"i..didn't know."

"like hell you didn't." percy rebutted. "i'm always bothering you, there's no way you wouldn't catch on." he sighed. "what i wanna know is, do you feel the same way..?" he asked, looking at you with his sea green eyes that swirled with a flurry of emotions that you couldn't put your finger on.

you wanted to say "yes! yes! of course!" and throw yourself into his arms as the two of you ran into the sunset, never looking back but, you had an reputation to uphold. so, you simply settled for leaning forward and pressing a chaste kiss to his lips. percy's blood ran cold as you pulled back, avoiding eye contact with him as you let your action sink into your brains.

then, with the same breath, you turned around, meeting his eyes once more as the corners of your lips curled into a smile. "i'll teach you those tricks same time tomorrow," you paused. "don't be late, okay?"

percy nodded, dazed from the sensation of your lips against his skin as he watched you walk towards your cabin, your head not once turning to look behind you as you faded out of his view. and percy? he was left standing there as he replayed the events of today in his head, a lovesick smile spreading on his face before it faded. he brought a hand up to his face, cupping his cheek.

he needed to stop smiling so much, it was starting to hurt his face.

a/n:i didn't know if you wanted headcanons or a full blown story!! so i just went with whatever i wanted! i hope you liked it :)

[artemis-potnia-theron]

Hi 💙

I would like to worship Artemis, i've looking and investigate about hellenic polytheism and i have a special bond with the Delian triad (Artemis, Apollon and Leto), i love them, but i'm new in this and i want to start first with Artemis...

How i could start? How do you begin with her? I don't know how to start and what i have to do... Could you help me? I see how is your relationship with her and i love it ✨

Khaire! 🫂

So excited to hear about your interest in the trio!! They all hold very special places in my heart, so I love to hear when other people find them as well!

However, although I consider Apollo(n) to be my spiritual father and Leto to be my spiritual grandmother, the relationship I have with Artemis is an intersection of mother, sister, best friend, love of my life, spiritual mistress, queen, ect...so I will be approaching this from a more Artemis focused perspective lol. Hope that's okay!!

First, I would strongly recommend reading She Who Hunts: Artemis: The Goddess Who Changed the World by Carla Ionescu for a really solid, comprehensive overview of her worship. Understanding her history and domains can be very helpful in understanding Artemis as a goddess. Apollo(n) and Leto are featured in it, but mostly in relation to her.

Theoi.com is a good overall resource, but I would recommend sticking to 'scholarly' or peer-reviewed sources as much as possible when trying to get historical information about her cults, worship, and associated religious practices. The same goes for Apollo(n) and Leto.

In terms of personal practice stuff, it took me years to really forge the connection and relationship I have with her how. She can be prickly in certain ways. Her energy is as intense and wild as anything I've ever experienced. Early on, it felt like getting close to a roaming wolf or a hunting lioness. But once you bridge that gap, she's as protective and loves with as much ferocity as a mother bear. Apollo(n) and Leto were a bit less distant, even in the early days - at least for me. So take your time. Don't rush things with any of them, but most specifically not with Artemis lol.

In terms of activities/stuff she likes, I can list some random, everyday ways I connect with her!

- Being out in the moonlight, walking with the nightroaming critters 🌙🦇

- Going on nature walks, hikes, or just sitting outside! Touching grass really works haha

- Work on healing your 'inner child' through shadow work, but mostly importantly through therapy if it's accessible

- Taking care of and/or spending time with animals

- Reading her myths

- 'Ecstatic' dance. She shares a connection with The Mousai (The Muses) and to singing and music in general - a domain she shares with her brother

- Anything involved in childcare and/or childbirth

- Practicing archery

- Standing up for yourself

- Appericating solitude/independence

- Listening to folk music, lol. She loves The Amazing Devil

- Of course, connecting with others close to her helps! Apollo(n) and Leto are the most obvious ones, but she also has close ties to Hekate, Kybele, Dionysus, Persephone, Demeter, Zeus, Athene, Pan, and many more both inside and outside of her 'main' pantheon.

- In terms of symbols and stuff I've found she likes for her altars, she loves deer, bear, dog, fish, boar, and wolf imagery in particular. I associate green, brown, grey, blue, and purple with her. She's loves amethyst. And of course she loves any nature-related offerings!

- I also love connecting everyday stuff with her - albeit in a UPG kind of way lol. I associate the movies Beasts of the Southern Wild and Princess Mononoke with her as well as A Children's Bible by Lydia Millet and We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shriely Jackson and that's all super UPG! Personalize your practice to you, your life, and your beliefs.

What matters most is fostering a relationship with a good foundation. As cliche as it sounds, it really can be about the journey rather than the destination when it comes to deity work. Enjoy yourself, be respectful, decide what you believe, and listen to the lessons she has to teach you. The rest will come naturally :)

Don't hesitate to let me know if you have any other questions! May Artemis' arrow guide you always.

- Taylor 🌙🏹🦌

[twoidiotwriters1]

Almighty (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: Can't believe we're already here I'm so excited -Danny Words: 2,041 Series' Masterlist Previous Chapter // Next Chapter Listen to: 'Choreomania' -by Florence and The Machine

XXXVIII: I Get Diagnosed With Omnipotence

Lester gets pulled over. 

"I shouldn't have let you drive," Ara mutters.

"Hey, if we're going in a Mercedes the least you can do is let me have the glory," he argues, glancing nervously at the approaching cop.

"You look too young to be driving a Mercedes."

"Oh, and you look every bit the wise wench?" He shoots back.

"Just be quiet and let me talk," Ara whispers when the officer stands next to them and asks for Lester's license.

"This is a junior driver's license from New York, kid," he examines the papers. "What are you doing driving a car like this? Where are your parents, and where're you taking these girls?"

"She is my—"

"Little sister," Meg offers. "He's taking us to piano lessons."

"Uh, yes."

"And we're late! Because my brother is stooo-pid."

"Hey, officer," Ara drips charmspeak on every syllable she utters. "Give the license back and get out of my way, please. Forget you pulled us over, thank you."

The cop's hand shoots forward hitting Apollo's face as he hands back the license. "Sure. Have a nice day."

When he leaves, Ara nudges Lester. "Get going!"

"Right, yeah," he blinks. "I... I still can't get used to that."

"You shouldn't pay attention to it," Ara warns him. "I don't give harmless orders on most occasions."

Lester frowns, eyes on the road. "I know, but I can't help it—Not even Leo, he stumbles over himself during fights when you use it near him."

"Yeah well, he's my boyfriend, he can't help it."

"What makes you think I can?"

Ara senses a strange undertone to his words. "Why can't you?"

Lester squeezes the wheel. "Forget it."

"I want piano lessons," Meg breaks their argument.

"Piano lessons? Now?" The boy glances at her through the rearview mirror.

"Not now, dummy. But sometime. Can you teach me?"

Ara looks at him and raises her brows expectantly. Lester sighs, then nods. "Very well. Assuming we survive this morning's adventures."

"Deal."

Ara smiles and stares ahead. "What a good older brother."

"We should talk strategy," Lester changes the subject. "When we get to the caverns, we'll need to find the secret entrance. I doubt it will be as obvious as the regular mortal entrance."

"Mm-kay," Meg replies while munching on baby carrots.

"Once you've dispatched whatever guards we find—"

"Once we have dispatched them," the girl corrects him. 

"Same difference. We'll need to look for two nearby streams. We'll have to drink from both of them before—"

"Don't tell me. No spoilers."

"Spoilers? This information might save our lives!"

"I don't like spoilers, I want to be surprised."

Ara snorts. "Meg, knowing beforehand is good, so you know what tools to take with you."

"Nature is my tool," Meg replies. "I'm okay."

"Talk to her," Lester demands, briefly scowling at Ara. "Out of all the demigods we've met you're the only one she esteems, teach her to be a proper demigod."

Ara shrugs. "She's kind of right."

"What?"

"Meg's powers give her an ampler reign out in the open, she's a powerful daughter of Demeter. If that doesn't help, I've got Almighty and my blessings ready to go. And you, er... you can blurt out fun facts or songs to keep our minds active."

Lester scoffs, displeased and offended. "Yay."

"I'm lost," Lester mutters after half an hour of driving.

"Knew it," Meg huffs.

"It's not my fault! I followed those signs for God's Place!"

"The Christian Bible store we passed?" Meg scowls. "Why'd you do that?"

"Well, honestly! The locals need to be more specific about which gods they're advertising!"

"Gods Almighty—pull over!" Ara snaps. "I'm driving."

"Ask the arrow," Meg orders.

Lester mutters insults before getting out of the car and grabbing his arrow. "O, Wise Arrow, we're lost... What I mean, is that we need to find the entrance to the Cave of Trophonius. Quickly. Can you direct us there?" He listens while arranging his seatbelt on the passenger's side. "That... was actually helpful... Ah," the boy frowns. "Less helpful."

"What's he saying?" Meg presses.

Lester lifts a hand to silence her. "Great Arrow, I don't suppose you know how we should get into the cave?" Five quiet seconds. "Yes?"

"Apollo? What's he saying?"

"Something about fresh eggs," he pushes away Meg's poking fingers. "What road sign of the emperor?—And then?—Fantastic. I don't supposeth—I don't suppose your Wikipedia article has more information about these unkillable guardians? Yes?" Lester rolls his eyes and pushes the arrow under his seat instead of his quiver. At Ara's inquisitive stare, he shrugs. "Arrow told me to do that."

"Unkillable guardians? What does that mean?" Meg asks cautiously.

"It means we got a special welcome waiting for us," Ara turns on the engine and sighs. 

"Is this it?"

"Yeah, looks like it," Lester grabs his things except for Dodona's arrow. They climb over the fence and the boy rips his pants in the process.

"I've no good memories of cattle," Ara tells them as they examine the odd animals before them. "Mythical herds are such a pain in the—"

Lester yanks them back and whispers urgently. "Stay very still. Those are yales."

"Yales?" Meg mutters. "Isn't that a university?"

"Yes. And one of Yale University's symbols is the yale, but that's not important. These monsters... The Romans knew them as centicores. They are absolutely deadly. They're also attracted to sudden movements and loud noises. So shh."

Ara scowls. "As I was saying, herds suck."

"What do we do?" Meg asks. "Kill them? They're kind of pretty."

"The Spartan warriors were kind of pretty, too, until they skewered you. No, we can't kill yales."

"Okay, good." Meg pauses, and then caves to her own impatience. "Why not? Is their fur invulnerable to my swords? I hate that."

"No, Meg, I don't think so. The reason we can't kill these creatures is that yales are on the endangered-monster list."

"The what now?" Ara tilts her head.

"When monsters start to fade from mortals' collective memory, they regenerate less and less often from Tartarus. We have to let them breed and repopulate!"

"Are you kidding me?" The girl demands. "So now I gotta carry a guide when I go on quests to ensure I don't kill endangered monsters? Even if they're trying to kill me?"

"If you were to die and feed them, you'd be doing an honourable thing. You're into that sort of thing, aren't you?"

Ara scoffs. "If we don't kill them, then how the heck we move past them?"

Suddenly, one of the animals decides that looking at them is also annoying and charges at a disorienting speed. Lester's leg gets scratched by the animal's horn. 

"Trees!" Meg shouts. Ara pushes Lester to his feet and helps him climb as fast as possible. "They're not so pretty now," the young girl struggles to breathe. "You sure we can't kill them?"

"No!"

"Scare them, then!" Ara urges him, clinging to the trunk.

Lester points ahead. "The cave entrance must be there, over those boulders!"

Meg follows his gaze. "So do we run for it and jump in?"

"No! There should be two streams. We have to stop and drink from them. Then the cave itself... I doubt it will be an easy descent. We'll need time to find a safe way down. If we just jump in, we might die."

"These harvards aren't going to give us time."

"Yales."

"Same difference. How much do you think those things weigh?"

"A lot."

"Okay. Get ready."

"For what?"

"No spoilers."

"I hate you."

Meg makes the grass grow around the creatures, keeping them from charging forward. "Go!"

Ara and Lester reach the waters and tumble to a stop, watching the two streams. "Are we going to drink it straight from there?"

"We get in," Lester nudges her. "Mnemosyne, the Spring of Memory, is black. Lethe, the Spring of Forgetfulness, is white. If we drink both at the same time, they should counteract each other and prepare our minds—"

"Lester, my soul has been in contact with Lethe too many times, is this going to mess me up? Because if I start to tweak—"

"Drink!" Meg screams.

Lester is unable to ignore her orders so he takes a whole gulp. Ara dives in too, ignoring the panic it gives her. Lester winces and stumbles, starting to giggle like the day in the camp's borders when he was having a breakdown.

"Your turn—Drinkie, drinkie!" He says to Meg.

"And lose my wits? Nuh-uh."

"Silly willy! If you don't prepare yourself for the Oracle—"

The yales run through the barrier of weeds and Ara grabs her sword, but just then her mind splits and flashes memories, not from past lives, just the one she's living, and it's enough to incapacitate her. Meg tackles Lester and Ara by the waist and jumps down the cave's entrance.

It's a push and pull of forgetting and remembering, something she's deeply familiar with. Every waking day since fourteen, all she's done is try to forget while also memorizing every little detail of her shortcomings. That buzzing she's been hearing now splits into noises and images, orderly coming forth starting from the moment she first took a breath as Arae.

The girls drop into the water and Ara feels Meg pull her out. "General!"

Experiencing full consciousness is strange, every memory bubbles into view all at once and yet you feel like you have all the time in the world to revisit them. I see my father's face—I know everything, and I remember the orphanage, the way other kids would lock me up in closets, how I'd get frustrated about not being able to read and rip out pages of books, then be told I was stupid... I remember and forget, and it hurts, but it frees me. I understand why I love how I love.

In a flash, I see Percy in our New York bedroom, staring at the bulletin board I keep above my bed with all the pictures of our friends. He's calling my name in thoughts, and I can hear him. Another flash and Nico is staring at my empty seat next to Chiron. Another flash—Lily is brushing Pollo's fur, her eyes stormy as she hums Mike's song. Another flash, Piper curled up in what looks like her bedroom but it's too empty to live in. She's got a torn picture of us in her hand, Jason used to be in the missing part.

Leo is the last to show up, snoring quietly on a Waystation couch. He frowns as if sensing me. "You shouldn't be here..." He's right, but I can't stop this—It's not a dream.

Ara slips back underwater and suffocates for a second. She pushes herself out and coughs. "What the—where?"

"Help me with Apollo," Meg's voice shakes in such a way that Ara's mind presses back into regular size and gets to work instantly. Together, they bring Lester out and lay him on the shore.

"I feel like I know you," he mumbles. "I want to say Peg. Or Megan?"

The girls share a look before Meg speaks. "You're not kidding, are you?"

"Nope!" He giggles weakly, then looks at Ara. "I remember your face. It's too pretty. I can't stand you."

"I'm Ara, this is Meg," she says. "Do you remember your name?"

"Yes, of course. Thanks. I'm—"

"An idiot." Meg interrupts him.

"Hmm. No... Oh! That's a joke."

"Not really. But your name is Apollo."

"Lester," Ara says with surprising tenderness. He's a demigod, one of the lamest she's ever met, but gods, look at him, he needs her. "Sit up..."

"We're here for the Oracle of Trophonius," he looks around, gathering his wits.

"You can't remember our names, but you remember that?" Meg scoffs.

"Strange, isn't it?"

"I think I forgot things, too," Ara tells Meg, feeling something's off within her. "I... I don't know what, though."

Meg eyes her with concern. "But you know our names and why we're here?"

"Yeah," Ara nods. "I'd never forget my duty."

"I remember the steps for petitioning the Oracle!" Lester says. "First, we drink from the Springs of Lethe and Mnemosyne. I did that already, didn't I? That's why I feel so odd."

"We need to keep moving or we'll freeze to death," Meg tells Ara while wringing her skirt.

"Freeze...?" She can't pinpoint how bad or good that is, only remembers that it happens to some people. "That isn't good, is it?"

Meg gives her a weird look but says nothing, pulling Apollo to his feet while he keeps talking. "After drinking from the springs, we descend into a cave. Oh! We're here! Then we go farther into the depths. Hmm. That way!"

"There's only one way," Ara says, distracted. "He's waiting..." She frowns at the path ahead. "He used to be a demigod, but I can't help him now."

"Yes, he was my son and died. He's angry," Lester smiles. "Time to see him!"

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[leynaeithnea]

Just finished your beautiful beautiful very yummy and very angsty analysis of love in paradise ( maybe I shed a little tear here and there, maybe I didn't, you can't know that ) so I thought this would be right moment to leave you an ask for a gods game analysis maybe?? *stares at you with big brown eyes*

Last one of this saga!!!! Yayyy

Praying ill remember all the musical parts ive heard about but im sure theres so much hidden i forgot/didnt hear about yet

30. God Games

We open with a choir of course, because...gods! Athena decides to do something (finially)

“Father, God King” (athena asks daddy for help SIJGSEIG)

“Rarely do I ask for favors” being the good favorite daughter

“Now, I’m knocking on your door, with hopes to save a friendship with one who’s a prisoner far from home....Odysseus” I LOVE the melody of this part somehow??? especially how the drop before “odysseus”, ALSO SHE CALLS IT A FRIENDSHIP INFRONT OF ZEUS TOO

“Divine intervention, is that what you seek?” ........yes, bruh. Zeus dont fuck this up, u are decent enough in Homers Odyssey

“To untie apprehensions that were placed on that Greek?” okay i had to google “apprehentions, and apperently it both means “arrest” and “concern/fear”...........to untie the arrest on Ody, and at the same time the concerns of Odysseus THATS GENIUS, Ive heard Homer does a lot of these double meanings of words in his Epics and IM SO HERE FOR IT, also “that Greek”, come on, dont use it as a slur >:)

“You are playing with thunder for a man full of shame”..................NOW WHO PUT THIS SHAME ON HIM YOU MF, YOU WHAT KIND OF SICK GAME IS THIS-

“But if he’s worth the risk of going under, why not make it a game?” Lukes vocal performance in this part is something else, like dude??? hello? youre a tenor SIEJGSEIGJ, its good, also WDYM GOING UNDER??? HUH??? ....yeah of course you make it a game, because everything is a game to you, because really, theres nothing and noone who poses a thread to you

“Convince each of them that he ought to be released, and I’ll release him” the slight echo effect in that voice.......fascinatinggg, wish i knew if the melody in this part had any meaning, gotta look it up

“Who’s them?” Athena god of wisdom asking about details before agreeing to deals *cough* Odysseus, learn from your friend

“Apollo” APPOLO MY GUY ehehehehee

“Hephaestus” okay, fair

“Aphrodite” the wWAY HE PROUNCES HER NAME?? OMG

“Ares”, yea yea imposing yada yada

“Hera” cant exclude his wife

“Or me” OR me, so its ALL of them, or him? bruh

“What do you say?” WHAT IS SHE SUPPOSED TO SAY

“Great” ehehehehe apollo <3

“Very well” just doing it because

“Eh” shes so excited

“Alright” he IS excited

“Groovy”....ok? um...imma move on

“Bring it” of course she would choose all of them over Zeus, its Zeus, he just WANTS you to loose, bc hes the god king

“Apollo!” parrot

“You all know I’m a fan of catchy songs” god of music yada yada HIS VOICE

“so with so many sirens gone, I think Ody’s in the wrong”.........there are so many reasons to dislike Odysseus and you pick the SIRENS? .......did you just join for the fun and had no real reasons or did u get dragged there or-....but its ok, your voice is amazing, also IIRC it should be the melody of suffering??? of different beast??? i forgorrrr norrrr also Lyreeee in the background! ehehehe

“They were trying to do him worse, All he did was reimburse them Now they’ll tread with caution first To live another day and sing another verse” maybe the melody was in this part. also, yeah tell him athena, what kind of argument is that, they tried to kill him he just did what he had to--------admittely he was VERY cruel about it, but athena doesnt have to mention that, and well Ody probably protected even more sailors in the future through his actions

ALSO DONT COME AT ME WITH “but all the sirens are dead” THERE ARE MORE, theyre obviously not talking about the sirens Ody killed, its about all other Sirens out at see that woudlve seen the others dying after being brutally cut down by a human, they WILL be more cautious in the future

“If that’s true, release him”, yeah u really had nothing to argue against, he just shrugs it off LMAO

“Hephaestus!” Hefefuf ehehehe ALSO JORGES DAD YAY adorable, tho when first listened i rly thought it was Jorge with voice changer again THEY SOUND SO SIMILIAR

“Trust is not given, it’s forged”...true, valid argument, Also Scylla melody??? I THink?

“Why should I give him my support? He sacrificed his own cohort”......well....um.....he didnt rly have much of a CHOICE ....but its a more valid concern, the sounds that sound like a hammers in a forge sound cool btw

“Did you forget they failed to listen?”.........yeah literally

“He was betrayed and then imprisoned” IMPRISONED AH ODY, but yeah EXACTLY, the WIND BAG, THE MUTINY AH

“But if you make the right decision He can still build a future with those who miss him” AND BUILD TRUST WITH THEM AGAIN AHHHHHHH yes. Hefefuf choose right.

“Fine, release him” good.

the music making it sound like steps in a game as you level up....fine, it sounds nice

“Aphrodite” seductive, i like it

“Your little high and mighty Odysseus” SHeS pissed, and does not like Ody you can hear the “high and mighty” in her voice :”) ouch

“Claims to love his mother But let her die of a broken heart” LIKE HE HAD A CHOICE IN THE MATTER HE TRIED TO GET HOME SHE DIDNT HAVE TO JUMP

“He was busy fighting”, yeaaah

“More like busy spiting the cyclops”.........yeah okay we can get behin that this was stupid decision but it wasnt a rational decision either he just lost his best friend, THATS LOVE TOO; GIVE HIM SOME SLACK

“Let him feel the pain that his mother felt and rot” WHY U BE SO COLD HEARTED , i love the melody/music in this tho

“Wait, please reconsider this”, athena using quick thought on a goddess, intriguing! also shes begging her :tear: aw man

“Really Athena? These old tricks?” annoyed older brother breaking into quick thought to the rescuse of his lover, makes him likeable somehow, i love the delivery of this line

“Ares!” yeah shes pissed

“What kind of sick coward Holds back his power While his friends get devoured? He didn’t even fight Scylla Didn’t even try to kill her Hides inside a wooden horse to get the job done Never handles things upfront” sorry that he didnt want to DIE dude??? i get your concern with straight forward, open combat but???? is dying on the battle field rly that much worse than wanting to come home COME ON, he wins, he is EFFECTIVE, are you jealous of his stragedies? HE GOT MENTORED BY ATHENA; OFC HE WILL CHOOSE THE SMART WAY OUT NOT THE QUICKEST-WAY-TO-DIE WAY OUT smh

“Pathetic and weak like his son” thats a low blow what is your issue with telemachus bro, the drums for ares makes sense

“Hold your tongue now His son’s my friend” awwww shes calling him a frienddddddd

“And tell your lover that a broken heart can mend” AHAHAH “tell your lover”, true true

“You want more bloodshed? Then set him free To get back to his homestead, he’ll make everybody bleed” SEUHGSOUEGESH “if you let him back he’ll kill everyone” Ares: :D thats what i like to hear, Athenas piano playing again, as she fights Ares is fun too

“Ugh, release him”, what made them change their mind? Esp Aphrodite? was it Athenas concern for Telemachus? and for Ares athenas promise of bloodshed? maybe who knows

“Hey baby”.....okay, flirty? from Hera? alright, lets interpret it as motherly flirting

“Hera” how to hit those high notes

“So many heroes So many tales Give me one good reason why yours should prevail” NOW THAT is intersting, everyone else so far gave a reason NOT to release him, but now Hera asks her to give her one reason WHY he deserves to be released “dont tell me of all the sins he didnt commit, tell me of the virtue he holds” typa thing

“He’s got the mind of a genius”, fair, but there would be others

“Try harder”, encouraging, she doesnt rly want her to loose does she? she support it, she just wants to see if Athena is worth it, i do like this characterization (as long as i ignore the disco animatic, i know its Jorges creative freedom but my brain tries to refuse ANYTHING that would be a reference to modernity, let me live in the bliss of ignorance to pretend its a movie set in ancient greece x)

“He’s pretty skilled with words”, hes a lair, i love him for it

“You can do better than that”, ...yeah

“He’s kind of funny?” running out of reasons athena, also YOU THINK HES FUNNY? LMAO ur right, the odyssey is quite the commedy for anyone but odysseus (and a few others but yk)

“Eh” doesnt sound convinced heh

“Never once has he cheated on his wife” HA HA HAHAHAHAHA HA right thing to say to Hera

[also the whole debate about “did odysseus cheat or not” no. idc what anyone says. if anyone argues he INITALLY consented to Calypso: fine, its blurry in the narrative, anyone can choose how to interpret that as they wish, but Circe was bestowed upon him by Hermes (in the myth at least, in Epic there ofc very clearly refuses her, and she accepts him (hear that calypso? HEAR THAT CALYPSO)) and Calypso, at the very least later on turned VERY unconsensual. FOR SEVEN YEARS., but the “he liked her no more” could also mean she didnt like her as a person anymore after she saved him. its not 100% clear how the relationship started out, we just know how it ends rly, but given the historic context too, it might very well be that it wouldntve been considered as cheating, even if it was consensual, would hera consider it cheating bc she does so with Zeus? maybe, idk, i think the idea of Ody being (one of) the only greek hero(es) that doesnt cheat is one i like, he gets praised enough by homer for all his skills he might as well have the skill of being true to his wife, in EPIC we know that Ody refuses her from the beginning so whatever did or did not remain unnamed in Epic, would NOT be cheating,.........and anyone who mentions Odys proof for cheating being the telegony or any other later versions where suddenly children show up, and he offs penelope for cheating and telemachus marries circe, can kindly, do some more reading into the history of the text and how later authors added their own twists, we dont know if the odyssey from homer was the most well known version, i think, but its the one we consider canon now, and i rly refuse to believe that Ody coming home only to get a new wife]

“Release him” the side glace Zeus mustve gotten LMAO

...ok angry zeus choir again, rly?

“I’ve played your game and won”, she did, fair and square

“Release him” you better

“You dare to defy me?”, what happend to your voice zeus? also....are you pissed that she called you out on cheating? bro, ur just pissed that she choose everyone else over you, grow up zeus

“To make me feel shame?” shame about loosing the game or shame for the humiliation about cheating, mhh

“No one beats me, no one wins my game!”, sounds like my 3rd brother, but hes at least cute when hes throwing a fit about a game having rules

“Thunder, bring her through the wringer Show her I’m the judgement call The one who makes her kingdom fall! ”.your voice is getting worse btw, but...are we talking about pride still? Athenas pride? or is “her” just Athena now? mhhhh, Odysseus DID call her “selfish, prideful and vain”, so maybe it does refer to her pride, she DID Have a character arc tho >:) unlike zeus, hes just an ass, also he gets a choir background for this? intersting,

NOW HE THROWS LIGHTING AT HER??? thats intense, i was gasping when i saw, night sound design

“Is she dead?”, he does sound concerned, is it bc big brother energy or bc athena was zeus favorite child? or do they know how Zeus fucked up just now? hah..ha

the flashes you can hear in the music....aaaah

NOW THIS INSTRUMETAL PART

IS SO BEAUTIFUL ITS SO GOOD THE WAY “WARRIOR OF THE MIND” AND TELEMACHUS LULLABY AND LEGENDARY BLEND TOGETHER AND BECOME “ATHENAS FINIAL STAND” (as its supposedly called) ITS SO GOOD i ah i like this part the most of the song, together with apollos voice aseghsegij Aphrodite is fine too :) and "rly athena; these old tricks"

AlSO her having a flashback to Ody giving her Telemachus to hold after his birth, PLS??? Thats so vulnerableeeeee aaaaaaaaah yeah, yea that was good

“Let him go, please, Let him go”, she reaches out to Zeus, as her light dims and she begs him to let Ody go, nothing left of the selfish and prideful goddess, she was selfless- sacrifcing herself and ler go of her pride to beg to Zeus to let him go, who stops as he grabs to throw another lighting, in shocked realization of what he has done.

The song fades out. And we are left to wonder if Athena is ded or not

now initially i rly thought Jorge killed a goddess

by now im more hopeful that she isnt dead (im hoping for that, mostly for the fun of sticking to the source material of Athenas help in the last chapter(s) of the story)

but

im still doubting a bit. the chance is there that she is, infact, dead, but i dont know how that would impact the narrative-,...i suppose we’ll see, either in the vengence saga, or at the lastest in the ithica saga x)

[sweetheartmotives]

Spending Christmas with the yans!

Desc and possible Cw: Clumsy yan. None, wholesome wholesome wholesome! :3

Let me know if I missed any!

Micah, The yan Bartender: Micah was absolutely ecstatic about Christmas! They always over decorate (clutter their entire house with Christmas-related items) and it's a hassle to clean and put away when the holiday is over.

Beside that, Micah decided you two should make gingerbread men to go along with the little gingerbread house you made. It was messy yet fun, Micah made a little Kirby gingerbread man. Other than that, they bought you a bunch of expensive presents!

Jaakobah, Evil Yan Cupid: Jaakobah didn't know or really care for holidays besides Valentine's Day, but when you started decorating for Christmas, they got intrigued. You decided to have hot cocoa and watch a Christmas movie, not really expecting Jaakobah to care. But they did and they sat on the couch with you! It was a normal night, besides the annoying talking in your ear (Jaakobah).

Harper, The yan Eagle Hybrid: Another yan that didn't know what Christmas was! When they came up to their nest (the cave that's high in the sky), you were sad! After some pestering, you finally told them what was wrong. It was something along the lines of missing your family and wanting to be with them for Christmas. Harper was heartbroken but at the same time pitiful. Their mate is lonely and in need of comfort!

Harper decided to snuggle with you for the holiday. They can't do much else beside decorate the cave with leafs and red berries since you explained Christmas and what it's supposed to look like.

Damian, The yan deep diver: Damian was the one who came up with the idea of celebrating Christmas together. He bought and brought you new toys and treats as presents, he also tried to kiss you but obviously, you didn't let that happen. The bite mark on his cheek still hurts..

Taiyō, the Yandere Cafe Host: Taiyō bought you lots of expensive gifts as well! They decided to go look at Christmas lights on houses as a fun activity between you two.

Yumako, The yan magical girl: She was so excited for Christmas!! The Both of you went to multiple Christmas events on the 24th and after that, she brought you to her house to sleep over. When the both of you woke up Christmas morning, she made hot cocoa as you got comfortable. She handed you presents and watched you open them with a sweet and kind smile on her face. She also took lots of pictures! It's totally going in her album of you <3

Isla, the Platonic!Yandere witch: Isla doesn't celebrate Christmas but she'll drink hot chocolate with you and watch the Polar Express.

Kaan, the yan vampire: OH. MY. GOODNESS!! You jackpotted with them! They got you so many presents.. it took you 2 hours to open them all! Whatever you like and ever wanted, they got for you. They made a special dinner for you as well! It was so good... at the end of the night, they brought you (forced you) on their lap and cuddled you the rest of the day while listening to a creepy vintage song.

Tomen, the Clumsy Yandere: His stupid ass messed everything up. Burned the cookies, crushed the presents, etc.

Lelantos, the yan Stalker: They edged to your excited squeals of receiving presents. (presents from family, friends, etc!)

Apollo, the Yandere Otter Hybrid: They screamed with excited and pure glee at the mear sight of presents. Gifts?! From you?! What a wonderful day! They will remember and cherish this moment forever.

Yandere Arctic Fox Hybrid: Didn't do anything special for Christmas. But they bred you the entire day as a gift. 💀

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Pheeewwww! It's done! Yay! :D I hope everyone has a good rest of their day!

I hope you enjoyed reading as I enjoyed writing! (^.^)

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[peachywontyell]

ive had this bouncing around in my head for a while, so here we are.

i am a sucker for pretty boys with kind brown eyes and jaime fits that description perfectly...so i decided to give him a lot of pining (that is definitely reciprocated), he has to be a big brave boy and confess 🫶🏾 also, this is placed before the events in the movie !

inspired by

hanging out with jaime has always been very warm, cozy, comfortable. ever since you were children when you'd spend weekends riding your bikes around the neighborhood, only to crash at one of your houses after having way too much food. it happened so frequently that it got to the point where it just was the new normal for both of your families (impromptu get togethers were very common).

the friendship you guys had only grown stronger with each year that passed and well- there were definitely feelings there that weren't strictly platonic now. you were trying your hardest to push them away though, and jaime was having the same issues...however neither of you dared to even threathen the sanctity of the bond shared by confessing. that is until one summer came along, you guys had gone to different universities, and even though you called and texted daily, summer was when you guys could actually hang out like the old days. and here you were, having gone to pick up jaime from the airport with the rest of the reyes. as he walked through the gate you let his family say their hellos first- it's safe to say he almost drowned in hugs and kisses, and when you finally got to say hello you didn't hold back with the bear hug either.

you missed him dearly, and the weird feeling of anxiety, excitement and happiness settled in your stomach as he squeezed you back and actually just fully picking you up. it made the feeling in your stomach even stronger.

"JAIME DIOS MÍO BÁJAME"

"Que no, don't wanna"

"okay so if that's how this is gonna go, cárgame bien, señor"

suddenly you guys were in your own world, talking and laughing and everyone could clearly see what was happening here. milagro was gonna have a field day with the teasing as soon as she had a chance. he ended up putting you down- but only after he carried you all the way to the car. it was embarrassing yes, but now as embarrassing as the older couple that chuckled as you walked past and talked to themselves in hushed voices about 'how sweet young love is' and how they wished they could go back in time and experience it all over again.

that got you both blushing...and made the drive back home for lunch a bit...strange. nothing really changed, you still sat together and chatted, but jaime couldn't stop thinking about what they had said. did you guys actually look like a couple? should he had said something to them? the fact that he didn't mind if they thought so made him feel warm and fuzzy.

two weeks pass, and while you've somehow managed to push away those fuzzy feelings, things have definitely flipped for jaime- and milagro did not help one bit. she woke up much earlier than he did, you did too, and it usually meant that as soon as he walked out into the kitchen he'd see you just having breakfast.

"buenas morning" you say, trying not to laugh cause his hair looked bonkers, but even if you found it hilarious, it was still endearing, and the fuzzy feelings you had to fight every single day before meeting him were back and they were looking for vengeance. and when he almost put his full body weight on top of you for a hug not caring that you were in the middle of eating? well, you felt like you were going to die. "mornin...." he didn't move off. "jaime." "Hmmm?" "get off of me and go shower, tenemos que encontrarnos con el grupo in like an hour". with one last, extremely dramatic sigh, he moves off and does as told. it's not like he didn't want to spend the day with you and some of your other friends, they were his friends too, but he would much rather stay in and chill.

not even two hours later and you guys are at the little picnic area everyone agreed to meet up at, playing silly games, chatting and just catching up! and jaime just wasn't feeling it, he couldn't really pinpoint the reason why until he sees how talkative and close you are with one of the guys there. okay. that's fine. it's just a hangout, nothing is happening, you definitely aren't flirting with him. thank god someone called the guy over cause he didn't know how much he could take.

"so how'd the flirting go?" he thought he sounded casual, calm, normal. he did not sound casual, calm or normal. he sounded upset and looked like a sad dog. "what flirting- what the hell happened to you? why do you look so sad? ¿qué pasó?" "hm? nothing." he shook his head, making you squint. okay, if he didn't want to tell you, then you'd just come up with absurd reasons as to why he would be upset. "¿tas celoso?" funny how you got it right first try. you don't know that, though. "what? no- ¿qué?" he prays to god the blush creeping up his neck isn't noticeable, prays it doesn't betray him. "Ayyyyy si es eso you don't have to be, tu sabes que you're irreplaceable" you laugh and god is definitely on his side cause you're called over a few second later by someone of the order people and he can feel his heart beating so fast he fears its gonna burst through his chest.

the hangout went by smoothly, he genuinely couldn't be happier, even if at first he didn't want to be there. he has to admit, he did miss his friends, so he's glad he could spend some time with them. now you guys are laying on his bed, chismeando and just debriefing when the topic of him being "jelous" came up again. maybe he could just do it. he knew it was risky, but....he was willing to take the chance. "....you know what? maybe i was. maybe i was very jelous, maybe i still kind-of am." he felt you sitting up and all he could do was pull a pillow over his face and keep this shit rolling "you've always made me feel so comfortable and...warm, and ive always loved you, but at some point i think it turned into love...? does that make sense- no- it's fine- okay- look i just- de verdad que me gustas mucho y pues no sé- i don't wanna fuck this up aunque creo que ya lo jodí-" he huffs and sits up to face you, looking embarrassed and flustered "you're so special to me and i really don't want to mess up the friendship we have, okay? but i'd just...i'd really like to be yours."

you aren't sure if you should just kiss him or shake him by the shoulders. so you settle for taking his hand in yours, feeling your face grow warmer- if that's even possible after that confession. "jaime, look at me." that boy is holding onto the pillow for dear life, using it to still obscure his face while he shakes his head. he's trembling. you use your other hand to grab his face and look at you "please, just kiss me" "really?" "si-" and he does, like he's been starving. he almost doesn't let you pull back even though you both need to breathe. "jaime mi amor, you will always be my favorite pretty boy and im so happy i can finally tell you."

[freakinthefridge]

a long and unnecessary investigation of apollo the mouse lord

this is so different from what i usually post, and, i'm gonna be honest, zero note post right here, but. here is a glimpse of irl me i go to school for classics and art history so

i was so enraptured by this moniker that i had to research it, and have nowhere to put this other than tumblr, so i hope at least one person other than me finds it interesting. I actually love doing this kind of stuff so if anyone wants to hear about peacock symbolism in early christianity or the development of the written english alphabet OR if you happen to know a shitload about mouse lord apollo please add on or correct me if i have anything wrong! all resources i used will be linked in blue

prepare yourself as i convert to correct punctuation and capitalization for ease of understanding

As a proper art/classics student (and just between us, Apollo is one of my favorite gods), I was SO excited when I started reading the Iliad for my class on the Trojan War (Emily Wilson translation) and got to these lines, spoken by Chryses, Apollo's priest, when he's praying to Apollo to bring a plague to the Greeks stationed outside of Troy (Agamemnon got Chryseis, Chryses's daughter, as a war trophy, and refused to return her):

"Lord of the silver bow, now hear my prayer! Great Guardian of Tenedos and Chryse and Sandy Cilla! Mouse Lord! If I ever built temples to your liking, ever burned fat thighs of oxen or of goats for you, fulfill this prayer for me, and let the Greeks suffer your arrows to avenge my tears!" (Book 1, lines 36-42)

Now this stopped me in my tracks. WHAT was that!? I have NEVER heard of Apollo being called "Mouse Lord" before. What an interesting image, a splendiferous vision of a strapping young Apollo with a mouse army in his wake (Willard Stiles, anyone?). Why is Apollo the Mouse Lord, you may ask? Well, I had the same question, burning such a deep ardor in my heart and soul, that I just HAD to investigate.

This is not quite where I started, but I will begin my explanation with some etymology (another love of mine!!!) "Mouse" is a word inherited into the English language from Germanic (according to the Oxford English Dictionary––SUCH a good resource; crazy story behind it but, alas, one for another time), deriving from sources such as Old Frisian mūs (pronounced "moos"), Middle Dutch muus/mues/muys, Old High German mūs/muos (there's a few others, but let us continue forward)––while Germanic and Romance languages are two different things, they both stem from Indo-European, so sometimes there is overlap between the two (illustrated nicely in this image). All these Germanic words ultimately have the same base as the Classical Latin mūs and the ancient Greek μῦς (mūs).

Side note: mūs is also the root for muscle. This is because the Greeks decided that when you flex it looks like there are mice under your skin.

For those of you familiar with Greek and Roman mythology, the gods will often be given a specific title to denote which role of the aforementioned god is being portrayed (e.g. Jupiter Optimus Maximus ("best and greatest") may have different iconography than, say, Jupiter Tonans ("thundering"). Interestingly, this trend can also be seen with images of Christ, such as Christ the Good Shepherd versus Christ Pantocrator ("ruler of the universe"). Apollo as Mouse Lord is known by the epithet "Apollo Smintheus," but where does this name come from? It seems the Greeks had another word for mouse: σμίνθος (smĭ́nthos) (the distinction between smĭ́nthos and mūs I will not claim to know; I study Latin, not Greek). Adding an -eus suffix (added to noun or adjective stems to form a masculine noun of a person concerned with a thing (i.e. Apollo associated with mice)), we get Smintheus Apollo.

OK. That's about it for the etymology. Take my hand, onward we march.

Let's do a little loop back to Chryses for a second. Because he prays to the "Mouse Lord," it's clear he's the priest at a temple of Apollo Smintheus. This temple was likely located in Sminthe/Smintheion/Smintheum, Chryse (the town from which Chryses and Chryseis would have been from), or Hamaxitus (all of these are in modern Turkey btw). It seems there is rumor of mice living inside this temple, although we will return to that in a bit. There are ruins of a similar temple, the Smintheum, in Gülpinar, Turkey, although these are much newer than the dates associated with the Trojan War or Homer, going back to the mid-second century BCE.

(It is to be noted that Homer is a very contested individual. The epics of the Iliad and the Odyssey are dated much later than the supposed dates of the Trojan War, and they started as oral poems. The Greeks borrowed the alphabet from the Phoenicians, and did not have a system of writing during the periods of the Trojan War or when the epics would likely have been composed. They were written down much later, and it's possible that Homer didn't even exist, or that he was multiple people. Along with this, the Trojan War is also contested. Obviously, it did not occur as it appears in the Iliad and the Odyssey, but there is archaeological evidence of some kind of war happening at some indeterminate point somewhere in Turkey.)

Not to mention, this temple has Latin inscriptions, which means this would have been built during the time of the Romans (images of the temple here). Here's an article about the inscriptions if the passion strikes you, I skimmed through it, but it's mostly just honorary stuff and your average temple engravings of built when and by whom. Interesting nonetheless. The cult statue, although no longer standing, was seemingly Apollo stepping on a mouse, as determined by the coins of Alexandria depicting the same image (Apparently sculpted by Scopas, which I have just learned, is also the name of a fish). I think there's also supposed to be a common image of Apollo holding the mouse in his hand––I've searched for these coins, although I'm not quite sure what I'm looking for, so here is a picture of what seems, to me, to be closest.

Now all this is fascinating, but we still haven't discussed why Apollo might be the Mouse Lord, so let's not beat around the bush any longer.

There are two leading theories I've found that might explain this:

Apollo is a mouse-killer

The mice are sacred

Let's start with the former, since I personally like this version less. Let us remember, though, this is mythology, so neither of these theories are more correct than the other, and I've found evidence for both.

Apollo is the god of many things. I usually refer to him as the god of music, but he's also a god of archery, the sun, prophesy (remember this one), poetry, etc. He's quite the multi-talented guy. BUT, among these, he is a god of healing and diseases. This is clear, given that he's the one who sends the plague to the Greeks after they disrespect Chryses.

The Greeks would have known mice to be vermin, and might have associated them with disease. I've been looking at this website, which gives a pretty good summary of what we've been talking about (if not a little bit concise), but it's also literally a forum of ancient coins that says mice can't carry plague (they can, here's the CDC page for it), so take it with a grain of salt. A couple of the sites linked above translate "Smintheus" as "Mouse-Killer," although, as I explained, it really just means "person associated with mice." Apollo being a god of health, it's not a far stretch to assume that he would protect against plague, and I'm of the mind that the Greeks would know mice could bring sickness, and might pray to Apollo to keep them away. This would also explain why the image on Alexandrian coins and the cult statue depict Apollo with a mouse under his foot; literally quelling the plague. (I'm gonna be so honest I just wanted to include the next poem, I could not, for the life of me, think of a good segue into it):

Be it for bread, ye mice, you come, elsewhere Then go (my hut houses but scanty fare) Where you shall gnaw fat cheese and dried figs find, Full satisfied when on these scraps you've dined. If on my books again your teeth you whet, Poor feast you'll have, and one you will regret. (Ariston)

If mice were simply just pests to the Greeks and not plague-bringers, I find it difficult to believe Apollo would have an entire role dedicated to being a mouse-killer. Then again, this brings up an interesting question: why are the mice singled out? Lots of other vermin carry diseases––why is Apollo a mouse-killer and not, like, a general exterminator? What if these mice are important to him instead? So important that he gets the title of Mouse Lord? What if these mice... are sacred? (I hope that transition made up for the last one lol)

Remember that point about the mice living in the temple I said I would come back to? Here we are. It's mentioned in this article from University of Chicago Press that Claudius Aelianus, a Roman author, claimed there were mice living in the temple of Apollo Smintheus; these mice would have likely been fed well, given that they were eating food meant for Apollo. Honestly, I think this fact in and of itself makes a strong argument for why the mice might be sacred. Along with this, mice were a prophetic symbol, because they were "inspired by the vapours arising from the earth." As I mentioned before, prophesy is also in important aspect of Apollo. The most well known oracle of Apollo is the Oracle of Delphi, through whom he was known to speak to mortals. That being said, it's likely the oracle was inhaling ethylene, a central-nervous stimulant, from faults in the ground. While the temple at Delphi and the Smintheum are in two different places, these tales seem eerily similar. I'm not saying that the temple mice where inhaling stimulants and experiencing prophetic visions, but I can see why mice in a temple of Apollo might be associated with prophecies.

I also want to mention that the foundational myth of Hamaxitus has to do with mice AND prophecies. This myth can be found on the wiki page for Hamaxitus, or here (pg. 17). This excerpt is taken from the wiki:

Hamaxitus was founded by a band of Teucrian (i.e. Trojan) Cretans who were told by an oracle to found a city wherever the 'earth-born' (γηγενεῖς) attacked them. When they reached the area of Hamaxitus, a great horde of field mice ate all the leather on their equipment, and so they settled on the spot, interpreting the 'earth-born' of the oracle to have been the mice.

This myth was apparently written by Callinus of Ephesus, a greek elegiac poet, but, unfortunately, after, I kid you not, HOURS, of searching, I cannot confirm this. I have looked everywhere for some scrap of his poetry that has to do with mice––I have scoured the internet and I have scoured my library. I have touched books that likely have not been touched in 30 years. I found a book talking about Greek poetry that was written in Latin. I strongly considered translating a book from German to try to figure this out. No, I tell myself, you have hit a dead end. You do not need to translate a book from either Latin OR German to find out this one little scrap of information for a project no one asked you to complete and one which you are not getting a grade for. Alas, I digress. If you would like to read excerpts from the only two Callinus poems in apparently my entire library or the internet, here you go. They are not about mice.

I'm sorry to say, but that's about it. Apollo Smintheus is the Mouse Lord because he either protects against plague by killing mice, or mice are sacred to him because they're prophetic, and were a part of the foundational myth for one of his temples. I don't even like rodents that much, but I LOVE the idea of Apollo having a bunch of little mice that he carries around with him. I was mostly hitting research dead ends by the end of that, but honestly, I'm satisfied with what I've found. I don't really know what the point of all this was, but I was a woman possessed, and know more than I did two days ago so... I'd call that a success, I suppose.

[dark-elf-writes]

I know practically speaking Sally probably taught Percy to drive, but what if it was Paul.

Sally had been wanting them to bond, after all, and Percy couldn’t deny the fact that he liked the guy but at the same time…

It was ridiculous really, being as scared as he was. Percy had faced off against gods and monsters. He frequently angered titans and had looked into the pit of Tartarus itself. Paul was a high school English teacher that cried when he watched movies and got excited about Shakespeare. Percy shouldn’t be scared.

(His hands were shaking as he wrapped them around the wheel of the car. Paul’s car. Percy’s body was as tense as Apollo’s bow string. Waiting. Waiting.)

“You’re going to be fine, Percy.” Percy didn’t flinch. He instead when still like he was nothing more than one of Medusa’s shadows. If he noticed, Paul was kind enough not to point it out. “We’re just going to start with a couple laps around the school parking lot. Nice and slow, okay?”

Right. Percy had to learn how to do this. He was signed up for drivers Ed soon and then he would be in a different car with a different man and—

“What if I fuck it up?” Normally Percy watched his language better. He and his mom had a “Don’t ask don’t tell” policy when it came to ‘words that came out of Percy’s mouth in a high stress situation’ but he was, in fact, stressed so it seemed fitting.

Paul didn’t even blink. Then again, he dealt with stressed teenagers on a daily basis so Percy doubted “fuck” was going to scandalize him. “We’ll be in a parking lot, Percy. Nothing to hit and we’ll be going slow enough that I can help you if it looks like you’re not going to turn in time. The worst that could happen is we bump into one of the light poles at five miles an hour.”

Hearing it out loud made sense and Percy knew it was stupid to keep pushing his luck, but, well, wisdom was Annabeth’s thing.

“Won’t you be mad?”

For a moment Paul looked lost, like he was was trying to read something only to find out it was written in some indecipherable code (a common issue for Percy, but he guessed it was a bit weirder without the dyslexia) then understanding dawned in his eyes.

(He and mom didn’t talk about Smelly Gabe anymore. There was never a reason to. He was gone, hopefully rotting in the Fields of Punishment while his statue gathered dust in some gallery in SoHo. It didn’t matter anymore.

Sure, Sally flinched when men yelled. Yeah, Percy had flipped Travis Stoll into the dirt when he had grabbed his shoulder from behind. And fine Percy kind of wanted to blow chunks at the thought of driving Paul’s car after years of hearing threats about a stupid fucking Camaro. But it didn’t matter. They had made it. They were fine.)

“Percy, bud, can you look at me?”

Percy could think of a whole list of things he wanted to do more than look at Paul in that moment, up to and including flossing a hydra’s teeth and arm wrestling a fully grown cyclops, but… Paul’s voice was soft. Kind. The kind of voice Percy had always imagined a father would have when he was little.

He looked. Paul smiled at him even as his eyes remained serious.

“I won’t be mad if something happens to the car. You’re learning and accidents happen. Hell, even if you get your license and something happens years from now I won’t be worried about the car. My concern is and will always be your safety.”

Percy blinked. “But… but I’m stupid! I’ll get distracted or read a sign wrong or something will—“ Percy was glad Paul cut him off before that thought could continue. They were still adjusting after the whole Demigod Conversation, and it probably wouldn’t put to many points in favor of he and his mom not being crazy if he talked about monsters attacking him while he’s driving.

“You’re not stupid.” Paul didn’t raise his voice. He never really raised his voice even in class apparently. Something about him just made people want to listen. Made Percy want to listen. “You are a wonderful, intelligent kid, Percy Jackson and anyone who tells you otherwise is a fucking idiot.”

A hysterical giggle caught in Percy’s throat. Between the idea of Paul’s face when he realized he had called several gods ‘fucking idiots’ and hearing Paul curse at all (it was like hearing Chiron say he wants to quit teaching and become a full time Party Pony. It just didn’t happen.) Percy wanted to laugh. He also wanted to cry, and he wasn’t entirely sure why.

He settled for laughing, a bit choked and a little too wet as he ducked his head to hide his eyes, but a laugh all the same. “That’s a lot of fucking idiots.”

Paul laughed too and for a fleeting second Percy felt a hand on his head. Steady. Warm. Grounding. “The world’s full of them, kiddo. You, me, and your mom? We’re some of the few good ones.”

It took them a while to actually start driving, but by the time they did Percy felt like the weight of the world had fallen off his shoulders (he should know.)

[nickeverdeen]

Oh no, I meant Percy Jackson THE SERIES, not the character.

I just want Nico with sibling HCs

Ah, okay thank you. I’m sorry for the misunderstanding

Original request: Hi, I hope you're doing okay! I have a request for ya for Percy Jackson (the book series), also I'd like headcanons

Nico di Angelo with an INFP!fem!reader who's Hades' daughter and his half-sister

Reader likes horror, but is also super into cooking, singing, gardening and is generally pretty cheerful for someone with dark powers

Thanks in advance!

————————————————————

Nico di Angelo with an INFP!fem!reader who's Hades' daughter and his half-sister

(Not my fanart)

You and Nico share an… interesting bond as siblings, often finishing each other’s sentences and understanding each other without words

Dispite being daughter of Hades your personality is like a ray of sunshine, always finding the silver lining in any situation

Which kidna led to others having some doubts if you truly are Hades’ daughter and not Apollo’s

You both have love for horror movies which Nico likes to watch with you

While you’re getting excited about the jump scares, Nico appreciates the storytelling

You’re a fantastic cook, and Nico enjoys helping out in the kitchen

Even if he’s more of a taste tester than a chef

Your singing is a comfort for both of you and it helps Nico calm down after having nightmares or when he’s just not in the best place in his mind

Even though Nico isn’t much of a gardener, he’ll still sometimes help out when he’s bored

Whenever you finish writing some story Nico reads it when it’s left unguarded, but when asked about it most of the time he’ll deny

You trust each other implicitly, sharing your fears and dreams without hesitation, knowing that your bond and trust is unbreakable

You playfully compete in various activities, from card games to who can bake the best cookies

Always keeping the atmosphere light and fun

From annual camping trips to weekly game nights, you have your own set of rituals that strengthen your bond and create lasting memories

You guys have tons of inside jokes that only you two understand

You two swap books and discuss them later on

You guys discover hidden talents in each other

From Nico’s knack for playing the piano to prehaps your impressive storytelling abilities or something else

You make each other’s days brighter with random acts of kindness

On clear nights, you both lie on the grass and gaze up at the stars, sharing stories and making wishes on shooting stars

You have a collection of board games and spend many evenings playing them together

You’re the only one who he lets call him Nicy or anything silly and stupid like that

Despite Nico being young, he’s very protective of you

Especially after what happened with Bianca…

Whenever he’s having nightmares again he goes to you looking for comfort and when you have them he’s there for you

Midnight snacks are on the table

Many times you both meet each other when having a midnight snack - just something you both think about at the same time

[tsartistry]

I think something we overlook a lot is the fact that Greek male gods can get pregnant and it is canon in Percy Jackson. It is literally canon that Apollo Mpregged Kayla (knowing pjo Apollo I always feel like it’s him that did it)

That means that before the battle of manhattan there is a good chance at least 1/3 of the kids there COULD have been from MPREG. Meaning brother could have been pregnant the majority of the books and we just didn’t know bro….

So imagine Apollo/lester learning about themselves after being brainwashed and that’s one of the things they find out they can do…

(Yes I am running on lack of sleep when I type this and in the morning I will regret talking about MPREG once again)

Listen buddy when you're in both the Venom and TOA fandoms, mpreg just comes with the territory 🤷‍♀️ Actual discord experience I have had:

It is VERY funny to imagine and I hope every fanfic that involves Lester & Amnesia will always bring up Kayla's parentage for that exact reason.

In the actual Niobe fic I think it will just be a quick throw-away joke, buuut as long as it's on my mind I might as well think aloud about it somewhere.

Under the cut I will be turning your silly jokey ask into a sincere character analysis & discussion about generational trauma, please stand by

Putting aside the humor for a moment, it's worth noting that early on in the story, Niobe keeps Lester isolated and that affects him deeply. Not only that, he's literally missing pieces of his soul. There is a profound emptiness inside him. I think if Lester could get past the body horror of pregnancy, that there might be a part of him that finds it appealing? There is a void in his life and he's so desperate to fill it that he'd be willing to place that responsibility on the shoulders of a hypothetical baby who doesn't get a choice in the matter -- the same way Niobe is using him to fill HER emotional needs. It's generational trauma, babey.

Luckily, Sadie does a Flynn Rider and roundhouse kicks her way into his life and puts him on the path to healing, so he is not at risk of becoming that kind of parent. And when Meg eventually reunites with him you KNOW she's putting her own experience with parental abuse to work untangling the mess Niobe created in his psyche.

As long as we're on the subject, I think the reason the Apollo cabin had the most kids pre-TLO is that Apollo sees each child as a unique and beautiful collaboration with someone he adores. The mortals he falls for all bring something new and exciting into his life, and he wants to create something together with them, to bring a whole new person into the world and see what they become and how they invent themselves.

See this is what happens when you bring silly jokes into my inbox, there is a risk that I might talk about it seriously.