#if the worst comes to the worst he could always give poseidon a splinter. that ought to teach him

[kindred-spirit-93]

600 strike storyboard concept idea thingy

research suggest listening to epic while trying to study is a very bad idea. but that wont stop me because i cant read muehehe.

creative liberties taken so keep that in mind. forgive the awful art lol

--

aight so starting off with get in the water, poseidons trident to me can control the movement of the water. now poseidon being the personification of the sea itself uses it to streamline his movement but also bc it looks badass. anyway

the trident summons a whirlpool thingy (imagine cool visuals pls)

the currents are unforgiving and the tides are furious, ody is being slapped around, salt in his eyes (ouch). "maybe you could learn to forgive"... a moment of calm (silence before the storm ayy). "nah son"

"die" poseidon spears ody into the water, parting the ocean with the sheer force of the throw, ody is unharmed by the trident lol dont ask me how or why. anyway the pressure difference is quite literally making his head implode he passes out for a lil while

--

boom trauma trio. more cool visual imagining pls

polites and eury each have a hand on his shoulder, anticlea meanwhile cradles her sons head gently, singing softly into his ear. his men join in calling out to their captain. entire lifetimes of camraderie and love arent ended by death.

--

heres the kicker; poli and eury look at each other and back to their men, preparing one final attack to aid their captain. thie idea here is sort of reminicent to survive back when they faced polyphemus.

the trio open the wind bag together and the crew takes it from here. anticlea guides ody to the surface while his men form a tsunami that rises and rises, towering over poseidon

all throughout their chorus its just tidal wave after tidal wave. now ofc the water itself isnt dealing damage, theyre just buying their beloved captain time so he can catch his breath and regain his wits. (anticlea pats him on the back while he coughs out the saltwater in his lungs. yk for futher emotional damage) their waves bring them all closer to the shore while keeping good distance between the raft and the god

--

ody sees the trident and something sinister washes over him, this could either go horribly wrong or horribly wrong. but danger is his friend after all and it was nerf or nothing. ithacas famous coast is in sight and he has an idea. time to make use of those jagged rocks

aight now the ghosts... ghost (sorry i had to) and poseidon whos a little out of breath calls ody out on his stupidity which is funny bc he didnt open the bag AGAIN but this time around its in his favour anyway.

he points his own trident at him (again theres a lot of distance between them and ody here has the upper hand). poseidon realises this and yells wait (pathetic. i love him) a n y w a y

with each strike the waves rise and crash into poseidon and hes like metaphonically impaled on the spiky rocks and idk how godly pain receptors work but im giving him all the agony and hes going to feel it all. this is where he cries out very melodically lmao

--

"next to my wife". the man the myth the mango master

ur spinach puffs nasty af. it was funny in the moment okay

[nitewrighter]

Could we have a Marsey drabble por favor?

Marti watched the muscles in Seye’s back shift as he bent over the worktable, goggles over his eyes and several small screws pressed between his lips as he worked. A large bandage was splayed across his ribs, stretching around his side, and his right arm was also smattered with a mosaic of bandages over the points where the burns from his own gauntlets had gotten him the worst.

“You need to sleep,” she said, stepping up alongside him.

“I will,” he said, looking up at her, his voice muffled between a tight jaw and screw-holding lips, “When this is done.”

“You’ll heal faster if you sleep.”

“I’ll sleep easier when this is done,” said Seye, pushing his goggles up and rubbing at his eyes and taking a screw from his mouth, squinting at the gauntlets as he screwed it in.

Marti huffed and rolled her eyes. “I don’t know why I thought you’d get less stubborn when you left Talon,” she muttered.

“Stubbornness is one of the reasons I’m leaving Talon,” said Seye.

“Yeah and the massive bioethics violations and brainwashed super-soldiers were just icing on the cake.”

“We all give more credit to the people who raised us than is due,” said Seye with a shrug.

“Offer still stands,” said Marti.

“The offer has been standing for the past 16 hours,” said Seye, smirking a little, “No… Overwatch isn’t my scene.”

“We don’t need another splinter group in this mess,” said Marti.

“Splinter group?” Seye repeated, “Martina, I have standards. Give a man some credit.” He grabbed a soldering iron and continued working, “Not exactly as if I can start working with Helix either…’Hey remember me? My dad tore through one of your prisons like tissue paper. Oh and you’re probably crawling with Talon moles, too. I’m sure I won’t get assassinated in an elevator while I’m here.’”

Marti sighed and rounded the table. “So you’re starting a mercenary organization.”

“A security consulting and enforcing organization, yes,” said Seye, continuing to work.

Marti snorted. Seye pressed a thumb to the gauntlet on his worktable and watched as a small graviton surge alighted on the palm of the gauntlet.

“Do you know what wins wars?” said Seye, pressing his thumb at the gauntlet again and powering the graviton down.

“Superior firepower?” said Marti.

“Before that.”

“Believing the right things.”

“Come on, Marts, you’re smarter than that.”

“Money.”

“Branding.”

Marti furrowed her brow at him. “Branding,” she repeated.

“Which… technically is a combination of money and what you believe–”

“You’re talking about propaganda,” said Marti.

“Calling it propaganda isn’t good propaganda,” said Seye, “People want heroes. They’re always going to want heroes. And when they can’t find heroes, they make their own. Overwatch worked as well as it did for as long as it did because people believed in it. The key here is not overstaying your welcome. Being there only as long as they need you.” 

“But people did need Overwatch, even when it—” Marti huffed.

“Overwatch’s big mistake was not letting itself fade into obscurity as a function of the UN. Of course, thanks to the Omnic Crisis, there was no way it could really do that.” 

“So you’re going to be that hero,” said Marti, picking up a mask from Seye’s worktable, “And then when your job is done… whoosh, you’re gone.”

“Something like that,” said Seye, reaching for the mask.

Marti pulled it away. “How are you going to know your job is done though?”

“When the Talon and Overwatch mess is over, then I’ll call it,” said Seye, grabbing for the mask again. 

Marti frowned down at the mask, then looked back up at Seye. “Branding,” she said.

“Branding,” Seye said in agreement.

“And what brand is that, exactly?” said Marti, waving the mask with a smirk.

“…Still working on that,” said Seye.

“That’s encouraging,” said Marti.

Seye resumed looking over his gauntlet. “It’s going to be greek,” he murmured, testing the finger joints of the gauntlet, “Everyone knows greek and everyone thinks they’re clever for knowing greek. Easy recognition.” 

“This is the rich boy corporate marketing strategist talking, isn’t it?” said Marti, leaning against the worktable.

“Can’t be Ares–Too negative, too scary. Arriktos–More noble, but too esoteric.”

“Remember the part where I said you should sleep?” said Marti, noticing his mutterings were getting a bit more throaty, “I can keep watch. You can figure this out later.”

“I can’t sleep when there are this many things to figure out,” muttered Seye.

“It’s a wonder you slept at all with Talon.”

“Insomnia was another reason I left, honestly.”

“Moral anguish keeping you up at night?“ 

"Mostly logistics. The moral anguish was responsible for ten, maybe maybe fifteen percent of the insomnia.”

“Ay…” Marti rubbed at her temples.

“You know, you can sleep,” said Seye.

Marti just shot a glare at him.

“Just a suggestion,” said Seye.

“You think just because you defected I’ll trust you any more?” said Marti, “You got another thing coming.”

“Ah, I’ve been speaking to ‘Mission Marti’ this whole time, I take it?” said Seye, smiling at her. 

“Damn straight,” said Marti, pulling up a swivel chair next to Seye’s worktalbe and sitting , “And I’ll be keeping a close eye on you all night, Seye Ogundimu.”

“Of course,” said Seye, “I’d expect nothing less.”

—

“Earthshaker,” said Seye.

Marti jolted awake, jerking up from where her head was resting on the worktable. “HNGWHAT?!” she blurted out, looking around. 

Seye smirked at her.

“It was only a couple of minutes,” said Marti.

“Of course it was,” said Seye, flexing his fingers slightly.

Marti shot a glare at him.

“You’re a cute sleeper, you know that, right?” said Seye.

“You wouldn’t know that because I was obviously just resting my eyes,” said Marti.

“Resting your eyes with those cute little snores,” said Seye.

“Say ‘cute’ again, I dare you,” said Marti, before pausing, “What was that you said about Earthquake?”

“Earthshaker,” said Seye, “The brand, you know. It works, right? Epithet of Poseidon… kind of primal, but heroic… a little sexy….” 

“Sexy?” Marti repeated.

“A little sexy,” said Seye, “Non-Profit. Just enough to cover costs–”

“But still a mercenary organization,” said Marti.

“Well how’s Overwatch keeping itself supported?” asked Seye.

Marti opened her mouth, then paused.

“Non-profit?” said Seye.

“Non-profit,” muttered Marti.

Seye smirked again. God, she hated that smirk. God, she loved that smirk. 

“I’m like… 80% sure I’m going to pass out in the next 5 minutes,” said Seye.

“I can keep watch,” said Marti.

“Great,” said Seye, moving to get up and then almost immediately collapsing as Marti caught him.

“Y’know, positions are open…” Seye’s voice was hazy as Marti half-walked, half-dragged him over to the cot.

“I’ve kind of got a thing already,” said Marti, helping him down to the cot.

“I’ll… put you down… as a ‘maybe’…” said Seye as Marti kissed his temple and let him fall into unconsciousness.

[shanastoryteller]

Your Athena made me cry, I'd like you to know. And we got Medusa! Who, her ending, wow, just. Wow. And the whole thing with Aphrodite and Athena was really interesting, and like Hephestus is shaping up to be the most wanted of the gods, which yes.(Her gift is to turn all who would harm Medusa in that way to stone. It acts as a curse, but she meant it as a gift, and gahhh) Also, Amphitrite is super interesting and is there any way I could tempt you into expanding on her? Or, well. Any more, truly

Zeus claims the sky ashis domain, free and open and pure, and his it becomes.

Hades goes to theunderworld, and it’s messy and horrible and heartbreaking, but he claims ituncontested, and his it becomes.

Poseidon goes to the sea,but it already has a sovereign.

~

His first though is thatshe’s beautiful. Skin the color of pearls and hair the dark, rich green ofseaweed. She’s tall with the type of aristocratic bone structure that wouldmake him think her delicate if not every other aspect of her was as fearsome asHera at her most irritable.

“You come to my landseeking to make it your own,” she says, and she’s not quite walking and notquite swimming as she circles him. “Who are you to rule the sea?”

He clears his throat, andhe’s a powerful god, he and his brothers are the most powerful gods that stillexist on this earth, but his knees shake before her. It’s not a good feeling. It’snot infatuation – it’s fear. “I am Poseidon.”

She tilts her head, andher pretty blue eyes are as cold as sea floor they stand in. “Goodbye, Poseidon.Perhaps your brother will be able to find what’s left of your corpse in hisunderworld.”

The water whips aroundhim, doing its best to rip him apart, forcing itself into his lungs andsuffocating him. He didn’t think he could drown, but he might be about to beproven wrong.

Then a net closes aroundhim, pulling him up so he breaks through the surface and takes a large,grateful gulp of air. He’s hauled over the side of a boat and dumped on itsfloor, the person who saved him wildly fighting the angry waves. “You must havereally pissed the Lady off,” a light, teasing voice says. Poseidon is stillcoughing, his eyes watering and lungs screaming. This boat is going to capsizeand they’ll both die, so he doesn’t get how this person can sound so lighthearted.

Except they’re not. Theirlittle boat is being expertly handled against the thrashing waves. Poseidonblinks, and he’s inclined to say the person sailing is a woman, considering thebudding breasts and hips. But the hair is cut short, and the chiton is designedfor a man.

“What’s your name?” heasks.

“Caeneus,” his unexpectedrescuer answers.

That’s a man name, andPoseidon opens his mouth to questions it – then closes it again. “Thank you,”he settles on, “You saved my life.”

Caeneus finally steersthem to land, and Poseidon dismounts to help him pull and anchor his boat toshore. “Anytime,” he says cheerfully, “What did you do to make the Lady so mad,anyway?”

“You know her?” he asks,staring. This man appears to be a mere mortal, yet how could a human know thatwoman?

He grins at Poseidon andpoints out to the glittering sea. “We all do. She is the ocean itself, and justas powerful and unknowable. You better be careful not to anger her again – I don’tknow anyone who’s survived her wrath twice.”

“Right,” he says blankly,even though that’s unavoidable. He’s to be the god of the sea, and if he has towrest the mantle of monarch from her corpse then so be it.

Caeneus claps him on theshoulder, his work-roughed palm more comforting than anything else Poseidon hasknown since escaping his father’s stomach. “Come to mine, you look half dead. I’llmake you something warm.”

He takes a long look athis savior. Skin a dark shade of brown, and his eyes are amber in the settingsun. His black hair is cut short, and the muscles of his arms and legs shiftwith each moment. “Very well,” he answers, and is inordinately grateful that he’stoo cold to blush.

~

Caeneus takes him to hishome, a hastily constructed shack on the beach’s edge. The wind whips throughthe cracks in the wood so that no matter where you stand you’re always chilled.“This is the worst woodwork I’ve ever seen,” he says. He slides his hand acrossthe wall and is completely unsurprised when it comes away with splinters.

“I’m a sailor, not a carpenter,”Caeneus answers, intent on mixing together a bunch of ingredients Poseidon onlyhalf recognizes. “It stay upright.”

“Barely,” he returns,cupping his hands around the cup that’s shoved at him.

Caeneus doesn’t ask himto leave. Instead they squeeze onto Caeneus’s too small bed. Poseidon curls aroundthe smaller man, tangling their legs and tucking Caeneus’s head under his chin.“You’re so warm,” Caeneus murmurs, half asleep already, and Poseidon’s heartclenches.

He makes sure he’s asleepwhen he carefully, so carefully, lowers his head and brushes his lips against Caeneus’scheek.

~

When Poseidon wakes up,the sun is bright and Caeneus is gone.

He should go marchingback to the ocean, but first he has something important to do. He’s just notsure how to go about it.

He can’t ask Zeus, hisyounger brother knows plenty of war and not much else. Which leaves –

It’s easy enough to slipinto the underworld, although he regrets doing so the second he arrives. It’salmost completely dark, and lonely. Lost souls are immediately reaching forhim, cold hands brushing against his skin.

“What are you doing?” afamiliar voice demands, and Poseidon nearly wilts in relief when Hades appearsat his side and guides him away from the wailing souls. “It’s not safe here.”

“What’s wrong with them?”he asks, glancing back, his chest clenching at sympathy at their cries eventhough he knows there’s nothing he can do for them.

They slip through therealm, and they land in front of a partially built stone castle. The goddess Hecateguides them construction with her magic, her visage that of a young child sinceit’s still morning in the mortal realm.

Hades sits on the ground,and the skin beneath his eyes is dark and bruised. He looks like a strong windwould blow him over. “Nothing, everything, I don’t know. I’m working on it. Whyare you here?”

“I don’t suppose you knowhow to build a house?” he asks, though he doesn’t expect much. It seems he’snot the only one having trouble claiming authority over his domain.

His brother laughs, eyescrinkling at the corners. “You’ve come to the wrong sibling, little brother.”

Oh. That’s true. “Do youthink she’ll help me?”

“Yes,” Hades answers,lips still twitching. “Now leave me to my anarchy, I have more than enoughtrouble to deal with without you causing more.”

That’s fair enough.

Poseidon heads to Olympusnext, careful to peer around corners to avoid Zeus and Hera. Their marblepalace is already constructed, and he tamps down on the bitterness that theyrule unchallenged. In the center of the throne room, next to a roaring fire,sits Hestia.

“Sister,” he greets,tentative. “I need help building a home.”

She looks from her fireto him, and when she smiles he feels all his tension drain from his shoulders. “Ofcourse, little brother. If it is help you require, then it is help you shallhave.”

Hestia tears apart theshack with a flick of her hands, says, “I’ll ask Demeter for some better wood,”and is gone and back in the blink of an eye. They build it by hand after that,and Hestia’s soft voice guides him whenever he hesitates or stumbles. They aregods, so it doesn’t take too long, and when they finish they have a small,beautiful house right on the edge of beach, one with a large bed and lots oflight, one with a fire pit in the center that has Hestia’s name inscribed inthe bottom so that she may look over this home she helped build.

“Thank you,” Poseidonsays, the sun beginning to set.

Hestia winks at him, “Anytime,little brother,” and is gone in the next moment.

He hopes Caeneus likesit. Unfortunately, he won’t be able to stick around to find out.

He has a queen tochallenge.

~

He finds her again, inher palace of polished rock at the bottom of the sea.

“There’ll be no helpfulsailor to save you this time,” she says, head tilted to the side. Already thewater is colder around him, the current stronger.

He swallows, “I amPoseidon. I am to be the god of the sea.”

She glances him over,unimpressed. “Why do you want it so badly? There is nothing about you that is ofthe sea.”

“I am a god,” he answersblankly, and doesn’t say that it was this or the underworld, and that wasn’t amess he was willing to take on.

She snorts, a flicker ofamusement appearing in her emotionless gaze. “You are too soft, and too kind,to ever be a master of the sea.” He opens his mouth, but she raises a hand, andhe closes it. She takes slow, deliberate steps towards him, and he swallows anddoesn’t look away. “I will make you a bargain, Poseidon, god of nothing.”

“I’m listening,” heanswers, and tries not flinch when she places a cold hand against his chest.

“I am Amphitrite,” shesays, “sister of Gaia, and I have lived long before your conception, just as Iwill live long after your death.” Poseidon pales, and oh, he had no idea the class being he was dealing with here. Thisis very, very bad. “If you wish to rule the sea, then you must rule me.”

He swallows, “Lady, I – athousand apologies, I did not know–”

“Silence.” His mouthclicks shut. “I was born as I am, and I will die that way. But – I need notlive this way.” He doesn’t understand, and she must see that, because shetouches her own chest and says, “I have a heart as cold and dark as the oceansI bore. I will give it to you, and I and the sea will be yours to command. ButI require your heart in return, so that I may know kindness and softness.”

He doesn’t know what tosay. Hearts aren’t things to be given away lightly. But he must become lord of the sea.

“Take time, if you must,”she says, that same cold amusement in her eyes. “I am as immovable as the ocean,and I will be here when you make up your mind.”

He’s propelled up andonto the shore, far more gently this time around.

“POSEIDON!” he barelyturns when a body slams into him, and lips press against his. Caeneus pins hiswrists to the sand and kisses him, long and slow and more than distractingenough to make him forgot about the offer from the personification of the seaitself. “You built me a house,” he murmurs, “You built me a house.”

“Do you like it?” heasks, dazed.

Caeneus grins above him,wicked and beautiful, and rolls his hips into Poseidon’s. “Come with me, and I’llshow you how much I like it.”

~

Poseidon means to go backto the sea, to Amphitrite, but every morning Caeneus kisses him good morning.He learns of the sea, though. He goes out with Caeneus each day and learns itmotions and its temper, the taste and smell of it. Learns how to understand it,and learns how completely and totally uncaring it is, how the coldness of itsdepth is the totality of it.

The sea is not kind. Ithas no sympathy, no love, no capacity for such small things as forgiveness ormercy.

He means to return toher, but it becomes harder and harder every day.

Days turn to weeks turnto months. He and Caeneus grow closer, and closer, and Poseidon has no idea howhe’s supposed to turn his heart over to Amphitrite when it’s now held by amortal with amber eyes who leaves mouth shaped bruises all along Poseidon’scollar bones.

“Poseidon,” Caeneus says,quiet in the oppressive stillness of the night, head on his chest and curledinto his side. The moon is large and high, and pools silver on their bedroomfloor. “You’re a god, right?”

“I am,” Poseidon says,amused. Caeneus knows what he is, but this is the first time he’s mentioned it.

Caeneus pushes himself upso he can look down at him, and Poseidon reaches up to cup his face. Caeneusleans into it, covering his hand with his own. “Could you make me into a man?”

“You are a man,” he saysautomatically.

He rolls his eyes andpulls himself up so he can swing his leg over Poseidon, straddling his hips. “Youknow what I mean.”

Poseidon shifts enoughthat both their breaths hitch, and he says, low, “No. I’m sorry. I’m not – I haveno domain, and my powers are limited.” He could maybe do it, but transformation is not among his natural talents,and Caeneus is too precious to risk unless he is certain.

He’s disappointed, butsmiles through it, and leans down to kiss him. “It’s all right.”

It’s not. If Poseidonwere the god of the sea in more than name, if he had taken Amphitrite’s offer,he would be able to transform his lover like he desires.

He’s a god, brother ofZeus, and he can’t give Caeneus the one thing he’s ever asked of him. What goodis he, what good is any of his power, if he can’t make the people he loveshappy?

He’s flips Caeneus overand kisses his neck so his lover won’t see the self-hatred that’s plain on hisface.

~

Poseidon sneaks away inthe middle of the night, presses a soft kiss to his sleeping lover’s slack mouth,and enters the ocean.

“You’ve decided then?”she asks, head tilted to the side.

“I will not be a loyalhusband,” he declares, back straight. “I love Caeneus.”

She laughs, and for thefirst time he’s not afraid of her. “Do with your mortals what you wish. It’s noconcern of mine.”

“Okay,” he says, andsteels himself. “Okay. I accept your offer Amphitrite, sister of Gaia.”

She holds out her hand,nails more like claws, and tears open her own chest without flinching. Herblood slick and dark as it pours from her, swirling in the water around themShe pulls a dark, round thing from her chest and holds it out to him.

“I,” he looks down at hischest, and he doesn’t – he’s not sure if he can do what she’s done, and hewould feel foolish asking for a knife.  Shesteps forward and places her hand with its claws against his chest, slippery andwarm with blood, and cuts open his chest for him.

It’s excruciating, andhis knees buckle against the pain of it. Amphitrite holds him up, and waits.

She can’t to this part.It has to be him. He reaches inside his chest and pulls out his heart, beating andwarm. He clumsily places it in her chest. It’s startlingly, violently redagainst the dark green color of the rest of the inside of her. She does thesame, slipping her own heart into his chest.

Their skin heals overinstantly. Amphitrite’s mouth drops open, and her cheeks flush pink. Shesmiles, small and soft, and for the first time she looks – happy.

Her heart in his chestcold as ice, and its chill suffuses his body, edging out to fill him entirely.

He can feel the oceannow, all of it spread across the globe, the tides and the creatures the residein it, it’s plants and animals and nymphs. “It’s so much,” he says, and is surprisedat the sound of his own voice, at its curtness.

“You feel only part ofit,” she says, stepping forward, “It is a force too powerful for a god tocontrol. I am a force to powerful fora god to control. However, you hold my heart. As I will now obey you, so willthe sea.”

“You could overpower me,”he says clinically, knows the power she wields by what he can’t feel ratherthan what he can.

She presses a hand to hischest, and they both startle. She’s warm now. She wasn’t warm before. Orperhaps he has simply grown colder. “I could,” she says, “but I will not.”

He has no reason to trusther, but he’s painfully aware that he doesn’t have a choice in the matter. “I’mgoing to Caeneus,” he says, and a sense of unease grows within him. Even theshape of his lover’s name in his mouth doesn’t feel the same anymore.

“Do as you wish, husband,”she turns from him, going deeper into her – their – palace.

This time, he uses hisown powers of the sea to push him to the surface.

It’s not as satisfying ashe thought it’d be.

gods and monsters series part x