#my pup name is Styx now

[atlas-prime]

Something fun came! I’m very happy about my new leather!

[cafetomedragongrimborn]

*sorry in advance if there is any mistakes in it*

While the young adolescent boy was walking his way home he saw a strange figure in alley. Upon coming closer it was a puppy, except it had three heads and a warm red glowing saliva burning once it touched the ground, who started wagging his tail when seeing the person who had come and jumped on him licking his face. Right where the boy was about to get the dog off him, thinking the saliva would hurt him, he stopped realizing it was only giving warmth instead of burning him. Surprised he looked at the young and very happy dog for a moment who tilted his head on the right still looking at him.

The two adults were worried wondering why their child was so late. ‘‘What if something happened to him ?’’ They thought. They continued worrying about their son until they heard the door ringing. The father came running and opened the door followed by his wife, the both had their eyes opened at the widest of the possible when they saw their adolescent child holding a three headed black Dalmatian puppy drooling with lava instead of regular saliva.

This is when they remembered that their son was no ordinary human. At the age of 5 he was able to summon three men who, apparently, helped him ‘‘guiding the souls of the dead into Hell’’ with a notebook, and giving orders to ‘‘ the two sons of Nyx’’ at the age of 10. And now they were looking at their son holding the weirdest puppy they could’ve seen, learning that he was in fact : Hades the god of the dead.

Later they somehow contacted who appeared to be Charon the boatman of the River Styx who said : ‘‘Nah, if my lord is happy with his dog being with him I ain’t gonna take that damn pup back to Hell. Besides he was only causing trouble these days’’. And so they now had adopted a dog named Cerberus.

Bonus : I had a lot of fun writing this lol

A child has brought home a “puppy” and is insisting on keeping it. The “puppy” is most certainly NOT a puppy, but seems pretty content with the situation anyway.

[outcast-thingz]

Chapter 5:

That Went... Well?

It'd only been maybe an hour's worth of searching but it felt like ten as far as Galieo was concerned.

"What if she lived in the woods. I doubt we'll find her"

"Atticus don't even joke like that."

"I wasn't, but whatever helps you sleep at night" the blonde shrugs. Both boys' attention are caught by the excited barks from Sweetpea and the shriek that followed. Running over the find the young woman half way up a rope that led to a tree house.

"Go. The FuCk. Away!"

"Can you hear us out for a second?"

"If it gets you to go back to that wretched house then yes." Her voice was a bit rugged both from anger and sickness.

"Let me put it this way dear: you still looked sweaty as hell when we got back, looked wondered after throwing a can, not to mention you look like yer two seconds from dropping off that rope ther-." He brings his hands up like a closed book, "to sum up, and excuse my language.." he opens his hands "you look like shit"

"Did you come all the way out here to tell me? I'm not afraid to punch you pretty boy, guard -dogs- or not"

"N-no, no. Of course not I-"

"Fuck this. I'm going up" the young women starts climbing up th erope.

"Wait just! -ugh.." Galieo sighs, "please let us help you. I don't know what yer house situation is like-"

"You're looking at it dumbass"

"Oh good heavens... *clears his throat* BuT none of us really feel comfortable about leaving a sick person to fend for themself in the middle of the woods." After Galieo finishes Atticus shrugs, Galieo elbows him for this. Styx sighs,

"Whatever. You guys owe me anyways." She states as she resumes her climb up the rope."

"Right- wait es-scu-zy?"

"You're not suppose to have pets, it's like the second thing in the listing. So when you leave i gotta make it look like that horse-sized pup was never there."

"Does that mean you'll come back?"

"Did you rub your last to braincells to come with that answer? ..yes. Just let me grab some stuff." She pauses at the top and peaks her head over the railing. "You all know how fucking creepy this all sounds right?" She leave before either boy can Asner to let them simmer in the thought.

Galieo sighs, his shoulders slumping down, "Y-yeah... I know." Ten minutes of twiddling thumbs later *plop* the sudden drop of a duffle bag made the poor man yelp and Styx snicker. As if karma was listening she started coughing and nearly fell off the rope. "Please be careful." The worried man sighs.

"It's going to take more than a fall to kill me, sunshine." Styx states sharing an eye roll with Atticus when Galieo does a bashful look-away.

'He gets that way with any nickname' Atticus signs with another eye roll.

'One of those people.. Bet he mixes up insults with compliments. H-i-m-b-o?' She signs and snickers when the blonde nods in agreement.

"Secrets don't make friend, you two!" The 'Himbo' pouts only to recieve more eye rolls.

"Seems like it's making friends just fine right now." This comments manages to crack a chuckle from Atticus.

"Yeah well..." Galieo huffs, "you keep rolling your eyes they're gonna get stuck in yer head."

The rest of the walk ended up being pretty quiet. This didn't bother Styx or Atticus but was practically killing Galieo.

"There you guys are. I was worried you'd gotten yourselves lost." Kyran greets the group only to recieve sighs and silence. The red head clears his throat, "well, lunch is ready!" He retracts back into the kitchen. He pours everyone a bowl of the soup. The group makes their way to the table and the boys each take a seat. The three of them give Styx a weird look.

"You know you can take a seat, right, hun?" Galieo spoke in a soft voice trying not to offend her.

"Don't call me hun."

"Habit, sorry. I don't rightly think we caught your name?"

"Cause I didn't throw it." She says then clicks her tounge. After expectant silences from the boys she huffs, "you may call me Styx."

"-Kay, well you can take a seat Styx, I promise we don't bite." Galieo pauses, "well- I can't guarantee Kyran won't, living embodiment of gremlins."

"Hey-... actually, you right." Kyran grins and sits at the head of the table.

"Damn right I'm right!" His brother huffs. It was once all three boys were seated that Styx took her seat. All three of them notices this and the fact that she didn't start eating till all three of them has taken a bite. Despite the confused and concerned glances they shared with one other, not one of them asked about it.

Unfortunately lunch and later dinner ended up being pretty awkward. Any attempt to make conversation with Styx was either shut down or met with silence. Even so, when everyone was finished with their food Styx took up their dishes and washed them all. Galieo attempted to offer to take over but quickly shot down and shooed out of the kitchen.

"You still sure about asking her to come on the trip with us? You realize how weird and insane that is right?" Galieo asks in a hushed voice. An amused grin stretches across Kyran's face as light seems to dance in his eyes.

"Yeah dude. If she says no then 'oh well her loss' but I'm telling you she's not gonna say no. I can feel it in my bones, this is so meant to happen"

"You're scary sometimes Kyri, you know that? And bat-shit crazy too"

"Awe thank you. Life isn't fun if I'm not."

Tagglist: @bisexual-confusion @gayfanficanonymous @yeet-man @astro-pioneer

[einsteinsugly]

Michael Christopher Kelso (born August 30, 1959), as an '80s Man (an '80s Man Child)...

"My God, are we going to be like our parents?" -Andrew Clark, The Breakfast Club

*****

His New Family:

Brooke Kelso (nee Rockwell) (wife, October 1981-present)

Elizabeth "Betsy" Kelso (daughter, with Brooke; born January 15, 1979)

Hannah Kelso (daughter, with Brooke; born November 23, 1984)

Matthew "Matt" Kelso (nephew, through Casey)

William Rockwell and Carolyn Brooks (formerly Rockwell) (the in-laws)

Bruce Rockwell (his stupid brother-in-law)

Lauren Rockwell (niece, through marriage)

Adrian Forman, James Hyde, and Eric and Donna's new kid (godsons [*cough* two godsons and one goddaughter *cough*])

Rebecca "Becca" Hyde, Katherine "Kate" Forman, and Ashley Tate (basically his nieces)

Location(s):

Chicago, Illinois (September 1979-present)

Occupation(s):

Security guard at the Playboy mansion (for like, five seconds), police officer for the Chicago P.D. (January 1980-present)

Interests:

Hobbies: Sex and rock and roll, but way less drugs. There's a war on those! Lots of gaming, going to the arcade, playing with dogs, and listening to hair metal, and lots of watching cartoons and movies. Betsy and Hannah give him an excuse to watch all the cartoons and play on all the playgrounds he wants (especially those cool wooden castle ones). And he can even go to Six Flags with them, with a map and everything, now that the girls are old enough.

Yeah, he's a pretty good dad. Not some deadbeat, like Brooke and Carolyn expected him to be. And he wears that as a badge of honor, along with his police badge.

Movies: Caddyshack, Caddyshack, Caddyshack! And Ghostbusters, Back to the Future, Star Wars, Top Gun, Big, Three Men and a Baby, Land Before Time, the National Lampoon series, Indiana Jones, Friday the 13th, Die Hard, and anything with Arnold Schwarzenegger…

TV: Miami Vice and COPS (everyone else hates it, for some reason). A bunch of Saturday morning cartoons, and cartoons in general; plus, he watches Reading Rainbow and Punky Brewster with Betsy, all the time. A Pup Named Scooby-Doo will always be his favorite, though.

Games: Super Mario Bros (all of them), Donkey Kong, Space Invaders, Mike Tyson's Punch-Out, Pacman, Duck Hunt, Pole Position. And anything with the power glove, or with R.O.B.! He tries to get Eric into gaming, and he likes it too (Jackie and Hyde think it's for babies), but Eric likes those stupid text adventure games and strategy games. He wants something with a story or a real mission, whatever. Just have fun shooting bad guys and eating mushrooms, man!

Music: The stuff Hyde hates, for some reason. Like B 52's "Love Shack." Twisted Sister, Motley Crue, Def Leppard, Poison, Billy Idol. The stuff Hyde doesn't hate as much, like Van Halen, ZZ Top, AC/DC, KISS, David Bowie, and Guns 'N Roses. And fine, maybe he likes listening to New Kids on the Block with Betsy, okay? And Styx's "Mr. Roboto" is actually a badass song (don't tell Eric).

[scatterpatter]

So allow me to EXPLAIN what went wrong in dnd last night

So this quest we're on is centered around our Gremlin, Mecha

Long story short, Mecha had a sister, Pax, whose soul was lost long before she joined our party. Our party had a chance to go to the caves where Pax was last seen, and so we went. We're in these caves for... a long time, before we reach the ancient ruins of a city, where Pax was seen last, and Mecha hears Pax's voice, revealing she was in the plane of Acheron(a lawful evil plane, not unlike a form of hell or the underworld) and held against her will by a goddess known as Neya Jana

So our party, being relayed this information, decide we gotta help our friend get her sister back. We have an argument for a bit- mainly about how we have a "DON'T BRING PEOPLE BACK FROM THE DEAD WHEN THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD" ideology, mainly from Torvid, who isn't with our party right now. So this doesn't cover resurrections(since when you're at the point where you can be resurrected, yoy haven't met the Raven Queen yet so you're not fully dead yet), but this covers things like wish spells(we brought Alistair back via Wish and, well, we're still facing unforeseen consequences because of it) and... Going to another plane to bring a soul back to life. However, we justify what we're doing by going "Well we don't know that Pax is dead, her soul was just taken so she could still be alive and needs our help!"

So we go through the layers of Acheron, facing a lot of horrors. We do some encounters that... were not v good(we kinda had a murder boner in an encounter that couldve been mostly avoided), my skele-pup Nina died, we had many traumas happen to us, we nearly died, willingly gave up an important memory to the river Styx, we got experimented on... Y'know. We sacrificed so much for Mecha and Pax. We just hoped it was worth it.

We get to the end, to a place called the Cabal Macabre. Where Neya Jana remains. So... We find Pax. We also meet this man named Yaketsu and like... holy shit I'm love him so much. We speak to Neya Jana and she explains that yeah, Pax is dead and this is her final resting place. So we're like... shit.

But... things aren't adding up. While the Cabal Macabre seemed like a nice place, we start getting visions that it's actually horrifying and cruel, and we're not sure if the good parts or the terrifying parts are the illusion. Something's the illusion, but we don't know what. Pax also doesn't remember meeting the Raven Queen, which is very unusual and offputting and leads us to think she might not actually be dead. There's a few other things, but mainly we just- things are very much not adding up.

Now, with this "things aren't adding up", we're trying to figure out what to do about Pax. We sus out that maybe the bad visions are what's the illusion, and something may be trying to get us to panic and rush into a decision before thinking things through. Alistair and Corren raise the most "Hey maybe we should wait and learn more before rushing into an escape plan" of the group, which is v fitting since they both have "bringing someone back without knowing the consequences leads to Bad Things" trauma. But despite the concerns, the party decides that next morning they were gonna sneak out and run for it with Pax in tow. Once we were back on the Prime Material Plane, we could learn more on what happened to Pax, and decided that if she was dead, we may be able to bring her back and return her to Neya Jana's realm

We sneak out and the alarm raises, and now we're on the run. Luckily we start teleporting out before the people chasing us can really get to us. THANK FUCK, BECAUSE YAKETSU MY BELOVED WAS ONE OF THEM AND DM WAS EXPECTING US TO FIGHT AND YAKETSU WOULD'VE LIKELY DIED AAAAAA

Now with teleport spells, we quickly put enough space between us and them to make our escape. Other than fighting the will to look back at Pax(because it's an Orpheus/Eurydice situation), we're... in the clear. We teleport through the layers of Acheron with little issue. We... We think we did it. We think we got Pax back.

... We get back to the Prime Material plane. And that's when it happens. Our party is a bit split up in this massive abandoned city, and that's when Pax pulls the rug.

Long story short... That wasn't Pax. It was a being known as the "Ghost in the Machine". Basically an ultra powerful being who can alter reality(I think) and tethered themself to both Pax and, by extension, Mecha. They used Pax's likeness, and the part of her soul that was lost, to get us to break them out of Neya Jana's realm. They used us, and they plan to keep using us. And we hurt so many and sacrificed so much... but instead of losing it for someone we cared for, we lost it all for someone who played us like the cheap kazoo we were.

We. Are high key fucked.

Tl;Dr:

[michaelreaderreblog]

My Truemate pt18

AN; I know its been a very long time since I’ve posted anything. Well here it is, finally. I hope you all enjoy. All I did was edit and Im pretty happy how this part turned out. So hopefully tomorrow my wifi will be hooked up and posts will come regularly. Enjoy my loves

*******************************************************************************

To catch up you can go here >> My Truemate Series <<

Word Count: 2,491

When the both of you get to the diner and seated in a booth by the window is when the waitress comes to your table with a wide smile on her face.

“Hi, Im Dorothy and I will be your waitress for the afternoon” she says looking at you and extends her hand out to you.

You take her hand in a friendly gesture while nodding.

“Y/n this is Dorothy Baum, she has been a friend of Castiel since they were pups and still are” Michael introduces the both of you.

As she takes both of your order is when she still couldnt wipe the smile from her face.

She walks to the kitchen to put in the food order along to bring out your drinks.

“Um why is she so happy?” you ask looking away from her as she disappears into the kitchen.

“Beats me, usually she is so not like this. Actually I dont know how to describe her sometimes” he answers you and chuckles at the end of his comment.

“Ok then. Why have you brought me out for lunch? Isnt Anna going to be angry or something?” you ask not really wanting to know the answer.

“Well it seems as though she has met her true mate a couple of months ago and we mutually ended our relationship a few weeks ago” he answers never taking his eyes away from you.

You sit there stunned at the news and couldnt believe she actually let go of him but understood it all because true mates are involved.

“But if you didnt meet yours, than she met hers would she still be with you?” you ask from the distractions of your utter happiness but curious to know what he has to say.

“Well she mentioned if mine never came along then she would hold off her being truly happy with her true mate and still be with me. She didnt want me to be lonely if she still met hers because of the love she has for me” he answers in disbelief still.

You couldnt believe how much she would sacrifice for her true happiness if you never came along.

You were thankful you are around though and just thankful for Anna being incredibly selfless.

“Wow” is all that you could say.

When Dorothy comes back with drinks, she still has the smile on her face and winks over to Michael to give him a thumbs up.

The both of you talk about many things from books, music, tv shows, movies and basic interests.

“I know this is all sudden but um would you like to have dinner with me and my family at their house sometime this week?” he asks randomly.

“Uh yeah, I wouldnt call that sudden. It would be more like good timing” you simply answer back and having the relief of his family approving of the both of you.

“Good my parents would like to meet me and Castiel's mates so I guess he is going to ask Dean about that as well. Of course you can bring along Sam and Sarah considering they are mated already” Michael says with a smile on his face.

When Dorothy makes her back to your table with food in hands is when her attention is brought to the front door.

A Beta woman walks in and passes by your table.

“Oh good more Omega whores” the blonde woman says.

“Suzy that was uncalled for” Dorothy says

Michael was about to retort something back but you take your hand out for him to stay seated and he does.

“No, its ok. Since she is the only whore here. I can smell what? Two or three different Alpha's on you” you say while she turns around in her seat to look at you and tries to attack you but Dorothy has blocked her off.

“That is enough. OUT!!” Dorothy yells back to her while Suzy glares at her and walks to front door to exit the building.

“This wont be the last time you will see me. Next time you will be gone” she mutters walking out the door and as soon as she said that is when you got the feeling at the pit of your stomach was unsettling.

“Who the hell was that?” you ask looking between Michael and Dorothy.

“Suzy Roman, the sister of Dick Roman” Dorothy answers and as soon as she says Roman is when you went numb.

“Im sorry that had to happen, I know you handled yourself there but still shouldnt have to endure that” she says looking to you

“Does she have a thing for you why she had to be that way?” you ask bitterly to Michael and he raises his head to you.

“Yes but she is a Beta. I never wanted to date her or be near her all together. It was always her to force herself on me. Even while I was with Anna, she still did the same thing but never worked because she is a Roman. Those people are not respectful, they treat Omegas like toys and their belief system is traditional. Which they are traditionalists but that never went well with me” he answers you in the most sincere way without feeling angry talking about the Romans.

“I remember the one Christmas party Benny threw one year and Suzy came by as soon as she heard Michael was going to be there. Thats when she flirted with him in front of Anna. She tried taking him into one of the empty rooms but Anna had enough. Anna punched Suzy square in the face for her to leave him alone. I dont know how long she has tried to get with you. All she wanted was to get her hands on your business because of the shipments you get daily” Dorothy says and immediately the both of you look at her to what she said about him getting shipments every day.

“So what your saying is, if he had broken up with Anna in the first place. In the slightest way he was actually interested in her, she would get her hands on his business because of the shipments he gets everyday? Like why would she be interested in that?” you ask her to fully understand why she would be interested in his hardware business.

“Well its because the trucks that deliver the supplies he needs for his store. Especially since she joined her brothers business out of state, they only come back to make things not so obvious on what they are up to” she answers you quietly to make sure no other customer in the diner heard what she is elaborating on the Romans business deals.

“What are you incinuating?” Michael asks looking away from his food.

“After he made a business deal with a guy named Gordon Walker a few days ago. After my shift I went home to do research about this Walker guy because the way they were talking made me feel uneasy” she says as she cringes at the names and thoughts.

“Ok what turned up while researching?” Michael asks in curiosity.

“As it turns out this Walker guy is bad news, I mean he owns brotherls in Georgia and he owns one in Illinois” Dorothy answers Michael and you begin to feel really uneasy.

“Michael can you drive me home, Im beginning to feel sick” you ask him while feeling sick to your stomach

Michael’s anger is building the more he learns about Roman and the business he got himself into. He needed to do something to protect you and his brother. Thankfully he will have help. From his new brothers.

“Yes I can take you home. Dorothy print out those papers you found and give them to me. I want to show my father and if he is conspiring with the Romans than we have something” Michael says while trying to pay for the meal but Dorothy waves him off and nods in agreement for the information she has found while doing some research.

When Michael drives away from the diner is when he noticed how your scent has changed from mutual to fear, worry and anger. He reaches across the seat to place his hand on your knee to give a gentle squeeze.

“Hey I am not going to let them take you away from me or our family. We are going to protect you in any way that we can alright?” he asks looking away from the road for a brief moment to you and again back on the road again.

You sit there silent as you nod in agreement, you just wanted to go home to your brother you just hope that he was still home.

“Even if the whole thing involves Castiel I am going to protect him with everything I have” he adds while driving in the direction of your house.

He turned on the radio and Renegade by Styx comes on and soon your emotions are beginning to fade because of the music.

Michael has parked in the drive way and turned off the truck, he looks over to you and he can still sense you fear everything is soon about to change.

“Hey, look at me. I mean it when I say I am not going to let anyone take you away from me. We are going to fight tooth and nail to protect you in any way that we can” Michael says as he reaches over to place his hand under your chin to get a better look at him.

He gets out of the truck to walk around and open the door for you to head inside the house.

He looks around the yard to make sure nothing is out of the ordinary. He wanted to make sure no one is around to try and do anything to you if your brother wasnt home.

You unlock the door to open it

“Do you wanna come in?” you turn around to look at him as you ask before walking into the house.

“Yes I would like to come in” he simply answers with a smile upon his face and very surprised you asked him to stay.

“Dean, Im home” you yell for your older brother as the both of you walk into the house but there is no reply.

“I guess he went out with your brother for the afternoon. Do you mind if you stayed until he got back?” you ask without even thinking about asking the question but its out there in the open now and you werent going to take that back.

“Of course I can stay” he replies with a soft expression spread across his face and enters further into the house.

You lead him to the kitchen to make him more comfortable and thinking to make something to distract yourself from the information you and Michael found out.

He scents the air is changing and knew that you were feeling uncomfortable and he wished that none of this was happening but all he could do is try to settle your nerves.

He gets up from the chair to walk towards the radio thats on the counter. He turns it on to select the station that always works for him when he needs a distraction from everything else.

A song comes through the radio called Dont Give Up On Me by Solomon Burke.

He pulls you away from the cupboards and pulls you closer to him and he sways the both of you to the music as the lyrics come on.

“When I cant control something thats out of my element then I turn to music. To this station because some of the music just soothes everything away and I let the music carry me away” Michael says as he looks deep into your eyes, sways the both of you to the music playing in the back ground.

“Well thats one way to settle things. I would normally play the guitar. Until I stopped playing and finally picked it up again today. Well before you called anyways” You tell him with a slight smile an your face. He looks to you with complete adoration.

“I play the guitar as well and same thing. I just picked it up a few days ago and even wrote a song” he tells you while never looking away from you.

“I would love to hear the song, in fact would you play it for me now? I have the guitar in the living room” you ask in hopes he would play for you.

Neither of you notice that the song has ended as the both of you still dance to what ever song has come on the radio.

“Yeah I think I can play the song for you” he says with a smile on his face.

You pull away from him and lead him into the living room. You get the guitar from the corner of the living room hand it to him as he seats himself on the arm chair.

You sit close by on the couch, he tunes the guitar and when he knows its the way it should sound is when he started strumming.

You notice someone pulling into the garage and see its Dean and Castiel.

“Its called All My Only Dreams” Michael says before singing into the song

You fall in love with his singing as he moves into the chorus of the song.

Dean and Castiel walk further into the house and see its Michael who is singing.

Castiel has a bright smile on his face as he seats himself beside you, Dean sits on the other couch across from the both of you.

Michael is about to stop but notices his brother and his mate are loving the music from him and continues to play.

“My brother has never touched the guitar in so long. How did you manage to get him to play?” Cas asks as he leans in to whisper into your ear.

“I asked and he agreed” you simply answer with a fond smile.

When Michael finished is when Dean couldnt believe how talented Michael is for playing the guitar and having such an amazing singing voice.

“That was amazing” Dean says as he comes back into the living room and hands Michael a beer.

“Thanks, I was in the middle of playing when Anna came to my office and thats when we had the talk and mutually decided to end our relationship” he answers very honestly.

“I wrote the song for you y/n” he adds while he places the guitar away in the corner behind him.

Castiel has a bright smile on his face while Dean has the same.

You can feel that Dean is feeling rather content at what is in front of him and you can honestly tell that he is ready to let go of you.

[crimsxnflxwerz]

Like The Dawn [ch.3]

Rating: Teen+ Summary: Sometimes it takes opening your eyes to find what you’re looking for.[ or Persephone gets reborn as a baby boy named Ryan, and Hades takes the human form Shane in a desperate attempt to find his love once again. ] Pairing: Ryan/Shane Tags: greek mythology, Hades and Persephone, reincarnation, oblivious Hades is oblivious, memory loss Author Note: This is both my own take on the classic Greek myth of Hades and Persephone and how reincarnation in Gods work and such. Original ideas stemming heavily from mythological texts.

ps. anticlimactic. dont kill me :)

It wasn’t the fist time he’d been in a mortal forest. Most forests were in the overworld, the forests in the underworld all dead, nothing but stark black stalks standing like metal rails, preventing passage between the segments of the realm. In the underworld, beasts lived in these places, so they weren’t readily traversed by any soul who wished to stay uncorrupted. Cerberus was born in the dark forests, his three-headed pup who was infamous as a ferocious beast that guards his palace and the river Styx.

Although, many of the beasts weren’t like their legends proclaim. Cerberus was a lovable and loyal friend. He wouldn’t consider the beast his pet, that would imply ownership. Not even Gods really owned anything besides their realm, and even then, it wasn’t the kind of ownership that meant they could dictate or change anything about it. All they did was observe and protect. He protected Cerberus from the other gods, sometimes protected him from the other beasts as well. In return, Cerberus made sure no soul left his domain, and no tricksters entered.

When Persephone had been in the underworld, he expected the animal to hate her, as he often held a distaste for the overworld that shunned him. However, the mighty beast, upon sniffing her, immediately rolled over and exposed his soft stomach for petting. He adored Persephone for the entirety of her stay. Persephone also held a love for the animal, often going to him if she wanted to be alone, or just wanted to cheer herself up. He often wondered what she would have thought of Cerberus when he was only a newborn. A mass of wriggling shadows, unsure of what form to take, desperate for guidance. Shane was the one to dictate his form and ultimately guide him through his first decade of life. Cerberus was a fickle creature, the species a rare one that changed shape until it found a suitable form that it could hold. It was entirely possible that Cerberus could change his shape once again anytime it pleased, but the transformations are painful and ultimately not worth it. Shane wasn’t sure where the creature came from, but has taken care of it ever since it appeared to him.

The overworld’s forests weren’t like that. In fact, there weren’t a single beast like Cerberus in the overworld, even the rare, fantastic ones.

The trees here were thick and fat, their bark peeling in patterns, things living on them- within them. Every part of the forest was alive. Even the bones of the trees, with all their leaves and cover shed, appeared livelier than those ashen, black stalks.

Shane wasn’t sure where he was walking, if he was being honest. Leaves and things crunched underfoot as he walked, off the trail, stepping over fallen trunks and underbrush. There were some dense patches of trees and random piles of rocks and boulders. He was following his gut at this point, and his gut was telling him to go further, that she was just around the corner.

Coming around a cluster of trees, he noticed that down a hill a little way was the remains of a stone house. He felt drawn to it, so he went down to check it out. The house was mostly intact. The roof looked like it had caved in at some time, random boards and wooden beams sticking up out of the mess of slate tiles. The walls looked to be a collection of river stones and boulders cemented together. It gave the house a feeling like it had just popped up out of the ground one day. Its windows were wooden port holes, all the glass either shattered or gone completely, leaving only the rotted cross of damp wood. Out of curiosity, Shane peaked into one of the port holes. It was too dark inside to see anything, aside from thin trails of sunlight catching the edges of the room. When he stepped away from the window, he snapped a twig under his shoe. The noise was quite loud and abrupt. He heard the frantic fluttering of bird wings, scared away by his mere presence.

He went to go around the corner, when he suddenly heard footsteps running in his direction. His curiosity got the better of him and he stood very still in order to see who it was. From around the edge of the house rounded a boy. But that was all he could make out before the other body had toppled into him, bringing them both hard to the ground.

Shane found himself looking up at the sky through the trees, his back aching slightly, and a heavy weight settled on his chest. He felt a head resting under his collar, an ear pressed over his heart, soft breathing moving slowly against him. Their legs were tangled together, and the boy’s hands were braced between Shane’s chest and his own.

It lasted for about three seconds, before the boy was urgently tugging himself away. After the boy had detangled himself from Shane, he felt suspiciously cold. The weight hadn’t been bad, the close proximity of another body rather pleasant.

He quickly snapped himself out of it, standing up as well.

“You okay?” he asked the spooked boy. Well, now that he looked closer, he could tell the other person was an adult. It was hard to differentiate at first, with the person’s clean shave and soft face and short stature. The man looked back at him like a deer caught in headlights, eyes wide and frightened. Shane noticed that his eyes were a warm, dark brown. Lots of his brethren always fell in love with green-eyed does and blue-eyed birds- but he felt himself attracted to the subtle heat of brown. It was earthy, dark, but vibrant. Green was the grass, but brown was the dirt that held all the ingredients to keep it alive.

“I—I, yeah,” he stuttered. His voice was pretty nice as well, a little shaky, but nice. “Uh—sorry about that. I heard something. I realize now that the something was probably you.”

Shane grinned, although he tried to keep his creepiness to a minimum. He didn’t want to scare away this young faun. “Sorry to startle you, I was just looking around.”

“O—oh, well, so you like abandoned buildings?” he said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. Shane gave a scoff of a laugh.

“Well, I like the woods, and this just happen to be in the woods.” He said. The man seemed to absorb this information for a moment, and then nodded slowly. “My name is Shane, by the way.”

He extended his hand for a handshake. The man eyed it skeptically, but then grasped his hand firmly. “I’m Ryan.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Ryan.”

When Ryan had run headfirst into the man in the woods, it was as if his entire world had slowed to a stop. The birds stopped chirping, the leaves stopped rustling, the wind died down, and all the insects were silent. The only thing he could hear was the slow beating heart of the body pressed against his.

It was like coming home. The smell, the feel, a deep, warm musk that surrounded him pleasantly, invading his senses and forcing a rush of mixed emotions through his body. When he had lost that contact, it was almost painful. One moment, feeling every inch of his skin tingle in anticipation, the next second all the noise in the world came back to him at once, overwhelming him.

But stepping back, he got a good look at the man. He was tall, with shaggy brown hair and a soft, subtle stubble. He looked well-kept, but something underneath his skin was wild in a way that he couldn’t exactly explain.

Shane, what a normal name. Not that normal names were bad, but he had been somehow expecting something more exciting. Shane sounded like it came right off of babynames.com or something, although he had to admit the man did look like a Shane.

Ryan stared down at the man’s hand, wondering if he really wanted to touch him again. After that run in, he was not only embarrassed, but also confused. Why had he felt like that? Usually, when he messed up in public, his entire body went cold, and then he frantically looked for the nearest exit. But when he and Shane had tumbled down into the leaves and dirt, Ryan had felt perfectly content to lay there, soaking up his body heat until the day came to a rest and the owls sang their lullabies.

Cautiously, he reached out and grabbed Shane’s hand. Immediately, like a wave hitting him in the chest, he was assaulted by contradicting feelings. Feelings of shame and guilt, like a hot iron rod pocking him in the side. Anger and frustration, a cooler, frosty isolation sending shivers up his spine. A tight, sharp lust in the pit of his stomach, latching like a seed. All these things, wrapped in a thin netting of comfort and familiarity that held it all together.

This man he’d never met before had dragged these feelings, kicking and screaming, from some deep and ancient part of his soul. When their eyes met, he could see himself reflected back at him.

So, he hadn’t felt any of that.

The emotional recoil almost made him shake. He felt the urge to vomit as his stomach rolled uncomfortably. It reminded him of a character unveiling memories from their past life, although no memories came to him, only the strong, potent emotions that had been attached to them. He tasted bile in the back of his throat. He wished Shane had felt those things. Now, he just felt crazy.

Shoving down all the tingly things for later, he pulled away from the handshake and smiled. Well, it was more like a grimace. Shane didn’t seem to notice, though.

“Where you headed somewhere?” Ryan asked nervously. Shane looked off past him into the woods, looking kind of distant, before glancing down at himself and seeing that he was covered in dirt and debris. He brushed his clothes off.

“No, just walking,” he said stiffly. It was pretty obvious that he was lying, but it wasn’t Ryan’s place to press him for info. “What about you?”

“Oh, I was just recording some stuff for a new video,” he said, accidentally relaying too much excitement into his words. He grimaced again, he should know better than to wear his heart on his sleeve, but Shane simply laughed. It sounded nice—familiar almost.

“A video? What do you like to make videos of?” the tension in Ryan seemed to melt away at the curiosity coming from the taller man. Ryan wasn’t the most social person, and he was often made fun of for making videos in the woods like a weirdo. There was something about this man. Maybe it was the feelings he seemed to unhinge, maybe it was the gentle way he spoke and held himself. Whatever it was, Ryan felt more relaxed around him than he would any other complete stranger.

“Want to walk with me? I’ll tell you about it,” he offered. Shane nodded and followed Ryan along a path. They talked, pausing periodically to take pictures of wildlife and film the nature moving and living around them. Ryan was kind of disappointed when they were nearing the end of their walk and he hadn’t been approached by a single animal this time around. It always made for a more interesting video. Although, he couldn’t say he was surprised. He wasn’t alone this time.

After a few more minutes, they found themselves back near the bus stop that went back to Ryan’s apartment. He put his camera back into it’s bag, safely clicking the locks shut. He turned to Shane.

“Well, this is my stop.” He said, his voice betraying him a bit, sounding a bit strained. Shane gave him a look. “I’ve got to go home and change for work. This was really nice, though, thanks for walking with me.”

“No problem. You’re a pretty cool guy.” Shane said with a soft smile that easily reached his eyes. He paused, looking over Ryan in a brushing sweep. “Well, I’ll see you around, yeah?”

Ryan blinked a few times, letting what he had said really sink in. He’d see him around? He swallowed, his hand itching to break out his phone and get the man’s number. He was still curious, but what if it looked like he was coming on too strong? What if Shane thought Ryan was trying to hit him up or something? He looked towards the bus stop and saw the bus coming down the street. When he looked back, Shane had both of his hands in his pockets, looking a bit awkward.

“Y—yeah,” he said. “You live around here?”

The bus stopped at the red light before the bus stop. Shane shrugged one shoulder. “I do.”

“Well, that’s my bus,” Ryan said, and he smiled at Shane. “Have a good one.”

Shane nodded in response. Ryan turned and went to stand at the bus stop, and when he looked back, Shane was already gone. He felt a hollowness in the pit of his stomach as the weird feelings returned. From deep inside him, the feelings came forth, like vines wrapping around his insides, digging their thorns into his heart. Who was that man? Why had he been in the woods when Ryan was there? Why did he feel so familiar? He was sure he’d never seen him before in his life.

Ryan boarded the bus, payed his fee, and sat down. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but even the man’s name seemed wrong. Like there was another name hidden beneath the surface. Like the person he saw was only a shell, a skin that hid what laid dormant and asleep inside of him.

During the ride down, Ryan daydreamed. He daydreamed of long, black hair and skin as pale as bone. Of deep, dark forests with huge, black trees like iron gates. Of animals that eclipsed buildings, of wailing souls, of rooms holding more gold and precious stones that anyone could imagine. He daydreamed of cold, bright eyes watching him, of soft, chapped lips tracing the line of his jaw, of the pads of fingertips trailing down his spine. He daydreamed of these things as the feelings grew stronger, like flowers blooming in his head, making it hard to think about the present, making it hard to think at all.

The bus jolted to a stop at his block. He got off in a daze and wandered up to his apartment to change. In his wardrobe there was a blouse that his mother had bought him years ago. It was black with sheer, silver trim. He had loved it from a distance when he first laid eyes on it, but now it was collecting dust in his closet. He wasn’t fit to wear it, though he kept it anyways. He reached out delicately and rubbed the material between his fingers. It was made to be a loose-fitting shirt, meant to be paired with a pencil skirt or tight pants. He imagined what he’d look like in it now—right back to the feminine body he’d inhabited for a decade before he came to realize he didn’t have to be this way. He didn’t have to be miserable, not if he didn’t want to be.

The daydreaming and swamp of feelings had put him in a poor headspace. He changed and sat down at his kitchen table with a bowl of cereal. Rubbing the heels of his hands into his eyes and up against his temples, he sighed. When he fell into these moods, it wasn’t as simple as stepping outside or watching cute cat videos on the internet or some shit. He got this way when he was feeling a little distant. Dysphoric, his therapist had told him, when he used to go to one. Like he was drifting outside of his body, like his body didn’t belong to him, like nothing belonged to him. Like the world around him didn’t want him there; taking up space, breathing oxygen.

He took two bites of his cereal, then dumped it in the sink to clean up later. He brewed himself a cup of coffee into a to-go mug, grabbed his work things, and headed out.

Maybe work would pull him out of this mess.

After he’d left Ryan behind, he felt himself become lost again. He’d wondered into those woods to find Persephone. Something in his body had told him to go in there, that maybe she was there, that maybe he would find her. His instincts were wrong, apparently, because she wasn’t there.

He would feel disappointed, but he found himself smiling despite it, because he had met that man named Ryan.

Of course, the probability of meeting again was slim, but if they did, he would be happy to talk to him again. Maybe he should have reached out—got his number, asked him to coffee, something—but he had no business making friends in the overworld. The only reason Sara stuck around was because he didn’t have the heart to leave her behind. There was something comforting about her; love, but not romantic. A familial feeling that he never actually got from his family. Like she was his sister, but better, because his actual sisters were all pretty terrible.

If Sara was a goddess, she would be Hestia. Small, warm, and loyal. Fierce in her resolve, but soft with her words. She was one of his only sisters that he actually felt he could hold any familial love with. Though, it wasn’t like the two of them had a bond. She kept to her spaces, and he kept to his. He was sure if Sara was a goddess, she would also keep away from him. If she knew who he truly was, she would sneer at his presence, turn her head away at his attempts at friendship.

In this body, this disguise, he was allowed to make contact with others in a way that he’d never been able to do before. As Hades, at worst people hated him, at best they feared him. Now, as Shane, he was just another lanky, funny guy with a slanted smile and lazy disposition.

It made it easier to look at people, see them for who they really are.

Sara: find what you’re looking for, amigo?

Shane pulled his phone out of his pocket and stared at the text notification that popped up on his screen. Oh yeah, Sara. He just left her at that café. He felt sort of bad about that, but he wasn’t sure if the feeling was going to fade before he had the chance to search.

Shane: no, how did you know I was looking for something?

He crossed the street a few blocks down, he didn’t really want to walk on the forest side right now. He checked his watch. 3:45 pm. He wondered if she still wanted to hang out, or if she was mad about earlier.

Shane: still wanna watch a movie later? Your place? I’ll bring drinks.

Each day Shane spent up here in the overworld, he fell in love with it a little more. It was different than what he was used to, but that wasn’t a bad thing. Maybe if he stayed here, learned about this world, lived with these people, he would have a better grasp on why Persephone did what she did. Was she free here, in the overworld? That was so long ago, and she was still watched pretty heavily by her mother. Maybe she wanted him to take her away, only to realize that she had just landed herself in the same cage she had been in before. Same cage, different look. As much as he hated Demeter, she had kept Persephone safe from the other gods who would have liked to take advantage of her beauty. She had tried to protect her from everything, but she hadn’t expected him.

That was the point, though. He wasn’t much for thievery, tricks, and traitors like his brothers. He wasn’t much for leaving his domain, pretending to own everything his presence touched. Things he touched tended to die anyways. He was better known to watch from afar, taking all the whispers and loneliness with a grain of salt. They never expected him to come forth, to take something so selfishly. He dealt in death, in the traverse of souls, he didn’t dare break the surface, did he?

It wasn’t like he couldn’t come up. No, that wasn’t why he stayed underneath. They didn’t even need him down there, all he did was bargain with demigods and watch his siblings make a mess of the world from the sanctuary of his palace. The judges sorted the souls, the beasts kept visitors from leaving. He was the face, the front; taking the weight of the external judgment, shouldering the burden alone, but he was only that. A mascot, an emblem, a symbol.

In the overworld, he was just Shane. A person with a body, with a soul. A person doing something. He could see the appeal now.

He bet wherever Persephone was, whoever she was, she felt free. She may not have immortality, she may not know where she came from, who she had been, who had loved her, but she had what mattered most. That was choice.

He felt his heart clench a little at that. It wasn’t the first time he figured that she was happier without him. It sometimes forced him back, took chunks out of his search. When he started feeling like this, he usually retreated back to the underworld, sought the familiar cold of his throne, the vast emptiness of his chambers he’d come to appreciate.

Sara: sorry, I need to get some stuff done for work. maybe some other time?

Shane laughed humorlessly. He rounded the corner onto his street. He saw his apartment a few blocks away. He flicked through some dating apps on his phone. Maybe he could look for her again tonight. The feeling that she was here—somewhere in this state—it hadn’t gone away. It was a burning sensation just under his skin. He looked through a few profiles, but none caught his eye.

Maybe he should’ve given Ryan his phone number. He could’ve bothered Ryan at his job with random texts. He could do that with Sara, but he had a feeling that she was annoyed at him from earlier.

Mortal emotions were so complicated.

Once in his apartment, he threw himself on his bed. He looked over to his wall-length mirror, a gate that lead right to his palace chambers when he touched it. He resisted the urge to go back. No, he was going to stay here. Once fruitless day wasn’t going to turn him away. He was going to find her, he knew it. Where ever she was—whoever she was—he would find her again.

He would keep searching forever if he had to.

Forever.