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dxppercxdxver · 3 years ago

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alright @teethworm and @szollibisz have enabled me in regards to This Post so buckle up for my very loose and very disorganized (and very long) spies are forever hadestown au pitch

- a couple brief points of clarification: characters like the baron or richard big or the prince have just been kinda. shuffled aside. since the main cast of hadestown is pretty small and also fuck a couple of those guys they suck. also this is basically just The Plot Of Hadestown palette swapped to fit spies are forever. there are some important differences but most of it is just switching one character out for another

- so this whole thing got started bc i realized the line “help yourself / to hell with the rest / even the one / who loves you best” from “when the chips are down” is just a Very owen carvour sentiment

- thus “owen as eurydice” became my jumping off point

- in general, i’m thinking about this as if it were still a staged production, so i have some Thoughts on the aesthetics

- both productions have pretty barebones sets? metal staircases, exposed bulbs, high railings, that sort of thing, and i think they should be allowed to keep those because objectively they are so cool. so basically, the same saf set but slightly more Ornate (filigree on the stairs, some more diegetic lights, that sort of thing)

- in terms of costumes i would want to hang onto the 1950s cold war aesthetics from saf to keep it visually distinct from the more industrial revolution/great depression hodgepodge of hadestown. like don’t get me wrong it’s Cool but also it’s been done and we deserve the ridiculous dresses of the 50s

- music style is still very analog, which both hadestown and saf do really well. lots of chorus work, piano, strings, strong drum beats, stuff like that (also the classic spy movie soundtrack stings like you gotta have those)

- anyway in terms of the Plot, let’s get started with the characters

- owen is eurydice: jaded, hurt, afraid of making connections

- and curt is orpheus: stubbornly optimistic, an idealist, incredibly headstrong

- tatiana is hermes: curt’s old friend who thinks he’s got his head in the clouds a bit, but also cares about him deeply and wants to help him succeed. also, tell me you can’t hear her say “oh, and curt? don’t come on too strong.” i would want her to have a bit more direct involvement in the play just so she doesn’t get relegated to prop role but idk in what context that would work yet

- the fates! barb, cynthia, and susan make up the fates, and they Also have a much more active role in the story, often accompanying curt on his journeys and directly interacting with him (also, they often sing To owen but it becomes increasingly obvious throughout the play that he can’t see or hear them, so it’s almost like they’re eulogizing him while he’s still up and walking)

- hades and persephone we will get to

- so the story progresses as hadestown usually does: curt meets owen, falls in love with him, they make preparations to get married, persephone returns to the surface, summer is great, hades comes to take her too soon

- winter is coming, and they’re not prepared

- curt’s still desperately trying to solve things with his grand plan (idk if i want to keep him a musician or if he’s doing something else but it’s still a more Fanciful solution than owen’s more practical preparation for the cold) while owen watches the winter creep closer

- as per usual, owen realizes they’re stuck between a rock and a hard place and sells himself over to hades in the hopes of taking the burden off of curt

- owen gets himself stuck with a bad deal and is forced to help build this giant surveillance system that contains all of hell and is also used to spy on the surface (chimera instead of The Wall basically. that computing power needs a lot of servers and wires and cameras to run it, so there are installation crews crawling around and laying the cables. there are so many worker fatalities hades becomes better known as the deadliest man alive)

- curt, obviously, freaks the fuck out and comes running to tatiana, and she gives him the back entrance to hell (also, please imagine curt mega singing “wait for me” it hurts). she seems... strangely melancholic. wistful, almost

- upon arriving in hell, curt finds owen and tries to take him away but owen is begging him to keep his voice down

- too late. hades can smell a traitor in his midst

- curt obviously begs hades to let owen go, but hades reveals the deal owen got himself signed to (angst! suffering! all that good stuff)

- so curt has his whole “if it’s true” montage where he rallies the chimera build team to his cause, and this strikes a chord in persephone, who’s been quietly studying the whole scene from the sidelines

- now. “how long?”

- when persephone comes to confront hades, it’s clear their conflict is more Personal than just a debate of morals. persephone alludes to hades snatching her from the surface, to their love gone sour, to how they shouldn’t have to continue their cycle with these two, but she’s also strangely reserved and resigned, like she knows her begging won’t do anything

- and here’s when we see a different side of hades. away from the eyes of the public he’s remorseful, but bitter. he’s more sympathetic, and it’s clear there’s an unspoken Something between him and persephone. there’s a history they’re dancing over, and their arguing is almost hollow, more of a performance than an actual battle

- at last, hades agrees to hear curt’s case, and curt sings to him the story of hades and persephone’s love, but something seems to nag at curt while he sings, like his heart’s not quite in it (not because he doesn’t want to leave, but because something deep in his chest is trying to put the puzzle pieces together)

- hades agrees to let curt and owen go on the same condition; don’t look back

- while they’re walking, owen has finally summoned up True Conviction in curt, believing in something wholeheartedly for the first time in his life, while curt’s mind is whirling

- and this is what he figures out

- hades and persephone look oddly familiar. no one knows exactly where they came from. every conversation they’ve had—both with each other, and with curt and owen—has been Laden with subtext, hinting at a personal history they shouldn’t really have. and curt finally remembers what it was hades said to him when he asked why he trusted them enough to let them leave, what made them so special

- hades had said “personal history does have its benefits, mega”

- curt realizes that hades and persephone are owen and himself, many years down the line, aged and bitter. he doesn’t know how, doesn’t know why, but suddenly he understands what he has to do

- as they’re climbing the steps out of hell, curt stops in his tracks

- “curt?” he doesn’t say anything

- “is everything alright, love?”

- curt shuts his eyes

- “forgive me”

- and he turns around, looking down at owen

- and god it hurts to do it and curt wants nothing else than to break that cycle but he knows he Can’t and it’s the only right thing to do

- be the hero

- in the rafters, the fates and tatiana look down at him as owen starts to reach for curt, before a quake sends him plummeting off the stairs

- curt returns to the surface pretending none of this has ever happened and moves to a new town to rebuild as persephone, as he knows he must

- in hell, owen, enraged and bitter, crawls up the chimera ladder until he himself is the boss man of hell, overseeing the whole thing and exacting his vengeance on those foolish enough to make deals with him

- owen as hades, wanting nothing more than to torture curt for what he’s done, steals curt away from the surface. when the hellhounds come, curt shakes owen’s hand and follows him with his chin up

- “it’s good to see you again”

- they arrange their seasonal deal, following in their own footsteps

- at this point, owen too realizes curt must have known but is furious that curt didn’t do anything to stop it and instead doomed them to this

- it goes surprisingly okay at first. curt is happy to see owen again and owen plies curt with fineries and vices of every sort but soon it becomes entirely unsustainable

- owen delights in the power he wields over curt now and curt takes to drinking to forget his time in the underworld, often missing the springtime train

- every autumn, owen comes earlier, because who’s going to stop him?

- by the time owen and curt come around again, their older selves have everything planned to the minute. there is no breaking the cycle, there is only doing what is right even if it kills you

- and on and on into infinity

tl;dr owen and curt as eurydice and orpheus come into contact with hades and persephone, who are also owen and curt, and it’s a vicious cycle of violence

i hope y’all enjoyed! if it were like. scripted the foreshadowing would have worked. much better than in this text form. but i really liked the idea of having a before and after version of these characters that reflects their journeys in saf because curt and owen before the accident are Very Different than the curt and owen afterwards and i wanted to explore that in a more literal form

if y’all have any questions i’d be happy to answer :]

(and also check the rb’s there may be stuff i’ve forgotten and will add later. maybe not? maybe i got it all down in one go? but who knows)

#spies are forever #hadestown #musical tag #radio free junebug #orpheus #eurydice #hades #persephone #curt mega #owen carvour #barb larvernor #tatiana slozhno #the informant #cynthia houston #spytown #50 #captain's logbook

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chasingpj · 4 years ago

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𝐂𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝

"You only want to stay because of your little boyfriend. Is he more important to you than us?“

pairing: percy jackson x child of hecate!reader

words: 5,297

warnings: angsty, mentions of breaking down

timeline: post sea of monsters

if you want to be tagged every time I update this story click here

a/n: i'm so fried after editing this, if i missed any typos, i'm sorry. as always, let me know what you think! i love getting feedback from you guys!

Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four Part Five

Your siblings sit in a half-circle at the back of the Hermes Cabin, ready for their lesson. James lays out the materials you’ll need for the potion he was demonstrating today: the mortar and pestle, herbs, spell books. He has almost everything except for the sand, which was the most crucial ingredient. So, he had sent you to retrieve some from the dunes since you were the only one who didn’t need the lesson Ernest was teaching.

Ernest stands in front of Sage, Alice, Lou Ellen, and Atticus, lecturing on the properties of sand. Your siblings listen attentively, taking notes in their notebooks, all of them but one. Ernest looks up from reading a part of his book of shadows, noticing Atticus is distracted by his familiar.

"Atticus, are you listening?" Ernest asks, raising his eyebrow as he closes his book. Atticus cradles Harvey in his arms as if he is a newborn baby, his finger scratching his tummy as the animal curls up towards his chest. He doesn’t notice the other staring at him for a few seconds, looking up after realizing he had stopped talking.

"Me? Yeah, dude. I'm listening," Atticus bluffs, and Ernest squints, leaning back on the desk behind him.

"So what did I just say?"

"Atticus, are you listening?" Atticus repeats, smiling as his sisters giggle beside him. The corner of Ernest’s mouth tugs into a slight smirk as he rolls his eyes.

"What did I say before that?" He clarifies. Atticus sways in his place, continuing to soothe his tired familiar, and he hums, trying to recall what they were discussing. He’s quiet for a while before grunting. He really wasn't listening, too distracted by his surroundings to focus. Ernest pretty much lost him at “alright guys, today…” However, he remembers you volunteering to get sand after James realized he forgot to get some himself.

"Ehm… I don't know. Something about sand?"

Ernest sighs, "Yes, I was talking about sand. Can anyone catch Atticus up on the properties for sand?"

"Different sands have various spiritual properties, but the lake sand that you're using today can be used in spells for self-reflection and grounding," Travis chimes in all of a sudden. He's laid down in his bed, holding a comic book over his head as he looks at the group.

James turns away from the materials, amused that the other has probably been listening this entire time. It was the middle of the day, so the Hermes cabin was pretty empty since everyone was out doing their own thing. The only other people in the cabin were the Stoll brothers and a handful of their siblings. James chuckles,

"Travis, you want to be a witch too?" He jokes, and Travis shrugs,

"I practically am already. I'm always listening to your lessons," he admits amused, returning his attention to the comic book he was reading.

"Everyone has a little witch in them. See Atticus; even Travis was listening," Alabaster teases.

Atticus grunts, "Yeah, yeah. I was trying to put Harvey to sleep!"

“You act like he’s a baby that needs to be coddled!” Sage raises her eyebrow. Atticus had always been super affectionate with Harvey. She swears she’s never seen Atticus and Harvey separated for long like the way you and Ambrose have periods where you’ll be apart. When Ambrose knew you were safe, he’d usually wander off to find your siblings or mess around with monsters in the forest, so he wasn’t with you 24/7. But Atticus managed to have Harvey with him all the time.

“Do not judge my parenting! He likes being held,” Atticus defends Harvey, and Lou Ellen rolls her eyes.

“Parenting? You sound like a single dad.”

Alabaster snorts, “anyways," he cuts in, grabbing both of their attention. "we can start the potion whenever Y/n decides to come back with it," he says as he sits down in a nearby desk chair.

Lou Ellen hums, "she's been gone for almost 40 minutes now. The dunes are on the other side of camp, but it shouldn't take her this long?"

"Maybe she got sidetracked?" James shrugs. "We can go look for her if she doesn't come back in another 10 minutes, but I'm sure she's fine.”

"I'm here!" You announce as you burst through the cabin door, Ambrose running next to you. He runs through the wall, rushing to join your siblings. You sigh, your arm coming up to wipe your forehead that was a little damp from sweat, and your cheeks are a little flushed from being in the summer heat.

"Look who decided to come back," James announces, shaking his head in playful disapproval. You smile sheepishly, too caught up in your breathing to say anything as you pass the jar to him. You return to your spot between Lou Ellen and Atticus, hoping they wouldn't ask too many questions.

"What took you so long?" Lou Ellen asks, her voice concerned. You clear your throat, attempting not to sound hesitant as you come up with a lie on a whim.

"Oh uh, I just got distracted… some of the girls from the Aphrodite cabin were hanging out at the dunes, and I got caught up in conversation," you stutter a little, suddenly feeling nervous as Atticus squints at you. You accidentally meet his stare before looking away fast, turning so that your back is facing him.

"You're lying," he declares. You scoff,

"No, I'm not!"

"I'm your twin, y/n. I know when you are lying!" He reminds you, and you groan.

You and Atticus have always had this weird twin sense. You both can tell when the other is lying because you could pick up on each other's emotions really well. You thought maybe if he didn’t see your body language, he wouldn’t be able to pick up on your lie, but of course, he didn’t need a visual to know that you were nervous. You could also feel each other's pain to a certain extent which has always been annoying. Atticus was pretty accident-prone when he was younger and, well, still is. This meant any bumps and bruises he managed to obtain, you would always get dull aches in the same area. The most annoying part of it all was that the more severe the pain, the more you felt. Once you had period cramps so bad, you both had to call out from school because he was also curled up in his bed, declaring that he’ll never make period jokes again in his life.

You weren’t sure why you had this connection with your brother. Since you’ve had it your entire life, you had thought this was a regular thing, but you’ve recently found out that it wasn't normal at all. You just assumed that it came with the quirks of being children of a sorceress goddess. You had to admit that it was cool, but at times like this, you wished you didn’t have it because Atticus called you out a lot.

You didn't want to admit you got distracted by Percy in the combat area. On your way back, you saw him practicing with the test dummies. You watched him practice for a few seconds, and you had no intention of stopping to talk to him initially, but when he caught you walking by, he called you over.

"Admit it, you were nervous," Percy laughs, continuing to tease you about how you ran away from him during Capture the Flag. You scoff, nudging his shoulder,

"Of you? Please,” you deny even though you were nervous about going head-to-head with him, but he didn’t need to know that. “It doesn't matter if I ran away because I still won!” You stick your tongue out at him, and he smiles,

“You should still practice your sword fighting, Y/n. You can’t always run away from a sword fight,” he points out, and you frown,

“I’m not a close-range fighter. It’s just how it is.” After declaring that you “failed” in sword fighting, you were a bit insecure about your abilities. It was a good and bad thing because after your “failure,” you delved into your magic studies, and you were proud of how much better your abilities have gotten. You could confidently say that you are now a more powerful and seasoned witch than you were at the beginning of the summer. The bad part was that you never stepped foot in the combat area again. The dagger you carried around barely saw the light of day, strapped in its holster most of the time.

"Well, one day, you might not have a choice… c'mon Sabrina Spellman, show me what you got," he jokes as he gets into his stance. You smile, putting the jar of sand down before taking your dagger out of its casing.

"I don't got much to show," you say playfully.

You thought that you'd just go one round with him, but the next thing you knew, he was giving you an entire lesson. He sparred with you a few times, analyzing how you fought and he gave you tips here and there. He was helpful and patient, and you did walk away knowing a few new things.

You swallow as you feel the stares of your siblings, now interested as to why you lied. You try not to become more flustered as you recall the feeling of Percy standing close behind you. His touch was gentle, hands slightly calloused as he adjusted the way you held your dagger, and with light fingertips, he moved your limbs, putting you in a stronger stance.

You shake your head, fiddling with your fingers, “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” you trailed off, hoping Atticus would drop it. You turn to your brothers, James preparing everything, but Alabaster and Ernest were just as interested as the others regarding where you could have been.

"She was probably with Percy,” Connor mocks, a sly smirk on his face as the whole cabin filled with Ooo's and amused chattering. Your shoulders slouch, head hung low, and you felt like you wanted to crawl in a hole.

"Were you actually?" You hear Atticus asks with amusement in his voice. You don't move from your place, keeping quiet. You knew there was no use in denying it because Atticus would easily sense the lie.

"She definitely was!" Alice squeals when you don’t say anything, and you glare at your sisters, making them giggle.

Lou Ellen nudges your shoulder, "what were you guys doing? You looked flustered when you walked in here,” she teases and winks.

"Probably making out!" Connor butts in before you could answer, and you gasp, snapping your gaze to him.

“We were just sparring!" You blurt out, and Connor laughs at how defense you suddenly became. The last thing you wanted was rumors leaving the cabin, and you groan as your sisters start pestering you with questions, along with the assumptions of your other cabinmates.

"Okay! Okay," Alabaster shouts a little over the chattering. "We need to focus. You guys can talk about that later," he says, and silence falls amongst your siblings. You nod, relieved that you get to avoid the topic for now. You watch as they exchange looks, silently communicating something to each other. You had an idea that it had something to do with you as Ernest’s eyes flicker in your direction and Alabaster’s face hardens. James gave them a dismissive wave with his hand as if he was telling them not to worry before continuing to sort out the materials in front of him.

"Let's start this potion. Some of us have chores to do," James cuts through the silence as he grabs the mortar and pestle and sits down in front of you and your siblings.

As James puts the potion together, carefully showing you how to cut and crush certain herbs, Ernest sits beside him, explaining the steps carefully. You lean a little forward, focusing on the lesson, and you diligently write notes in your notebook, trying not to miss any crucial details.

“Take good notes; I’m copying those,” Atticus whispers in your ear, and you squint at him playfully. His arms were too occupied with Harvey, so he was just watching the demonstration, confident that you’ll take thorough notes for him to copy. You shake your head, turning your attention back to Ernest as he speaks. After demonstrating it, they pass on the materials to you guys, and it was your turn to try it out.

The potion was a little too easy for you, and you find yourself growing a little bored as you put everything together. It annoyed you because you felt like your brothers were going easy on you and you were itching to get into the more advanced stuff such as healing potions or something like a disguising potion.

Out of your three older brothers, Ernest was the most knowledgeable about potions. He was always helping out in the infirmary, making healing potions for the Apollo kids to use. Sometimes the Hermes kids would ask him to make potions for pranks, and you’ve even seen some of the girls from the Aphrodite cabin begging him to make love potions for them. Usually, Ernest would decline their requests, giving lectures, especially to the Aphrodite girls, why a love potion is a terrible idea. But in the times that he has agreed to do them, the results were always hilarious. Once, he made a Hilarity Potion for the Stoll brothers that turned the Ares cabin into a bunch of giggling messes for 24 hours. Until that day, you’ve never seen someone giggle aggressively before.

You were the first to finish the potion, bottling it up in a miniature glass jar before pushing the cork into the top. You carefully wired wrapped the jar, attaching it to a necklace and fastening it around your neck. After being praised by your brothers, you were off to do the chores that were given to you by Connor as repayment for not ratting you out to the Aphrodite Cabin about your spontaneous meeting with Percy at the docks.

You were done right in time for dinner, the time passing as usual as you and your siblings talk and laugh at the table. Soon, you were singing along to the songs at the campfire, and by the time it came to an end, your eyelids were heavy with fatigue. You knew then that you were not going to study into the night as the soreness from sparring with Percy started to settle in your muscles. When you arrived at the Hermes cabin after washing up for bed, you could barely keep your eyes open. The last thing you remembered was mumbling a good night to Atticus and turning over in your bed.

Your dreams were always weird, so when you’re taken to a meadow in the middle of nowhere, you weren’t surprised. Actually, you were pretty content, preferring this scene instead of the bizarre settings you often came across.

You swore you could feel the soft summer breeze blowing on your face, and you take a deep breath, basking in the fresh air. You look out at the grassy land ahead of you, noticing you were standing at a crossroad. Two gravel roads stretched in either direction, one path seemingly identical to the other. You turn around to study your surroundings further. You squint, hand hovering above your eyes to protect them from the shining sun that's beginning to set behind the hills. The valley was still; the only sound you could hear was the wind whooshing past your ears, and you felt safe.

“Come with us, y/n.” A familiar voice cuts through the stillness, and you gasp, looking in the direction it came from. You find Alabaster standing on the left road, James and Ernest standing beside him. You felt your stomach turn as their eyes darken. Your arms wrap around your frame as the once warm wind turns cold. Dark clouds roll in, splitting the sky in half as the right side remains the same sunny meadow. Groans of thunder echoed throughout the land, and you can sense an eerie presence lingering in the air.

“What?” You whisper to yourself, noticing Atticus standing on the right road.

“No! Don’t,” he shouts, his expression glazed over in fear, and you step back.

“Don’t listen to him. We know what’s best for you,” James says, his arm extended out for you to hold, and you shake your head. “Come with us.”

“No! Come with me!”

“Come with us!”

You feel your heart racing in your chest, the screams of your brothers sending goosebumps to your skin. Their voices become more desperate, and you can hear the grief and panic in their voices.

“No, no, no. It’s a dream… you can change it,” you whisper, becoming overwhelmed as the thunder grows louder and so the desperation in your brother’s wailing. You stare down at the ground, and your hands are pressed firmly over your ears. You try to concentrate on shifting into another dream, but before you could, you felt as if your body was sucked into a vortex. A distant voice calls your name, and you groan, your vision blurry as your eyes flutter open.

Alabaster stands over you as he nudges your shoulder softly, whispering your name until you finally wake up. “C’mon, get up.”

You lazily sit up in your bed, your surroundings fuzzy as Alabaster guides you to stand up. You assume that it must be morning as you slip your feet into your slippers and you rub your eyes. It didn’t take you long to notice that it was still night time and you whine softly, confused and annoyed that you were woken up from your slumber.

“Al? What’s going on?” Alabaster doesn’t answer, grabbing onto your wrist, and you were too groggy to protest, following him to the back window of the Hermes cabin. You stumble a little when you land on the grass, Atticus coming to your side and grabbing on to your other hand. You don’t even notice the nervous look on his face or the way his hand was shaking, too busy attempting to stay awake.

Your vision was still fuzzy, and you lay your head against your brother's arm, feeling Ambrose’s mouth tugging on your shirt frantically as Alabaster leads you into the forest. You don’t know what it was, but you had this feeling that something was wrong and a soft sigh leaves your lips as you gather your strength to get out of your grogginess.

“Wait… wait!” You snatch your arm from Alabaster's hold. “What’s going on?” You ask as your brothers turn around.

“We’re leaving,” Ernest says, and you furrow your eyebrows. “We’re going to join Kronos’s army.”

“We? Are you insane?” You felt your heart drop to your chest, and you tried to look for any sign that they were joking.

“Come with us, Y/n,” Alabaster pleads, and you feel goosebumps forming on your skin as you get an overwhelming feeling of deja vu. The tone of his voice, the way their eyes darkened, was the same as the dream you just had. Your brothers glowered down at you, waiting for your decision.

"No… no, this isn't right,” you whisper. You let go of Atticus’s hand, just now noticing how tight his grip was. You wipe your shaky palms on your pants, and for a moment, you thought you were still dreaming. At least, you were hoping that you were still dreaming. You scan your surroundings, trying to find a sign that would tell you that this wasn't real, but you don't find one.

“There is no reason to stay here, to fight on this side. Kronos will win the war. The camp doesn’t stand a chance,” Alabaster declares confidently. Your mind wanders, recalling the dark stormy clouds that loomed over your brothers in your dream and the eeriness that took over. You could practically feel your pulse in your ears, grasping the fact that your dream was a warning.

“And how are you so sure?” Your voice quivers, and you sigh in disbelief.

“Because mother told me,” Alabaster says, and your head jerks back, your eyebrows furrowed.

“Mother? She spoke to you?”

“Yes. She’s fighting for Kronos, and she believes it is in our best interest to join her.”

A wave of emotion washes over you all at once. You were shocked, furious, even a little jealous. Your mother never came to speak to you. You knew that she tended to favor your more powerful siblings. Your older brothers have talked to her a few times, and the reminder made your chest feel heavy. You knew she looked after you, obviously. She had saved your life by sending Ambrose to you and your brother's aid. You prayed to her daily, and she occasionally sent you signs that made you feel she was there with you — but coming to see you? That was a privilege that you weren’t worthy of; at least, that’s what it felt like.

Your fury came from the fact that your mother was the motivator of all this. Why would she persuade your brothers in her own interests? Weren’t there rules that your godly parent couldn’t interfere with certain things? You weren’t sure what the rules specifically were, but this didn’t feel right. You shake your head,

“Mother isn’t omniscient. She doesn’t know who will win.” Your fist is clenched hard on your side, and you watch as Alabaster’s expression hardens,

"You're only fighting on this side because of your little boyfriend. Is he more important to you than us?"

"Boyfriend?! What are you talking about-”

"I'm talking about Percy! Don’t think we haven’t noticed you hanging out with him. Sparring together? In the strawberry fields together? You guys were practically flirting at the campfire, and Connor told us that you’ve been meeting him at night. Is that true?"

You feel your face get hot, but it wasn’t at the accusation of Percy being your boyfriend but the rage that was swirling in your chest. You hated that he thought you would compromise your loyalty to your siblings for a boy. That wasn’t true. In the right circumstances, you would always put your siblings first because you knew they would do the same. But this wasn’t about Percy; you haven’t thought of him until Alabaster brought him up. This was about loyalty to the camp.

"He's not my boyfriend. It doesn’t even matter what side he’s fighting on. I couldn’t care less. Al… this- this is about family!"

"Family?! What?”

“The camp,” you say shakily, and you shift on your feet as a sarcastic laugh leaves Alabaster’s lips.

“The camp? You mean the camp that doesn’t deem our mother worthy of her own cabin? We’ve been trapped in that Hermes cabin since the beginning. Half of us didn’t even have a bed to sleep in the first summer we arrived. You and Lou Ellen had to cram in a twin-size bed the first couple of weeks until you got lucky and something opened up. Y/n, they don’t care about us. They toss us to the side, barely give us a space to learn our magic. This camp isn’t family. We're your family, Y/n. We understand you the most. We share the same powers, the same mother. We care for you."

You look down at the ground, hating that you were unable to deny that the words he spoke held truth. The children of minor gods were treated differently. You didn’t have a cabin dedicated to your godly parent, and that was enough to make you feel lesser than. You remember Ethan Nakamura saying in passing that being forced to sleep in the Hermes cabin was pretty much an odd punishment for not being a child of one of the 12. You remember laughing and brushing it off, not thinking much of it at the moment, but now, it suddenly occurred to you that he wasn’t joking at all. He was dead serious.

You have to admit that the living situation wasn’t ideal. It affected how you were able to study your magic and came with annoying inconveniences. You slept in a sleeping bag for your first summer, tucked away in the corner of the room with Atticus. The system in place for who gets a bed was set up by seniority. The longer you've been at camp, the more secure your sleeping arrangements were. You only got a bed because, at the beginning of the summer, a good chunk of kids had left to join Kronos’ army, which bumped you up on the waiting list.

You almost gave in, only so that you'd be with your siblings. If you stay, most of them will be long gone, and you'll be forced to fight them on the battlefield, but you couldn't leave. It didn’t feel right to compromise your loyalty to the camp. Though there were days where you did feel like an outcast, you couldn’t ignore the times you didn’t. Your friends here were important to you too, and you’ve always seen the camp as your haven. It was the only place where you didn’t have to worry about monsters or entities. Sure, some people at camp saw you as some freak, but you never felt as much as a freak here as you did in the mortal world. In the end, it boiled down to one question. Did you want to fight alongside your friends for a camp that brought you a sense of comfort? Or will you fight for a bitter, greedy titian who’s only using you so he can have the throne?

"No, I’m staying,” you say with a tight jaw, looking up to meet Alabaster’s eyes. You kept thinking of the dark clouds, the thunder roaring in the background, the way the valley darkened. That was a warning. That was a clear sign to run the other way, to not walk into the storm.

"Atticus?" Alabaster shifts his gaze to your brother, who stands beside you. Your entire body tenses up, your teeth chewing at the inside of your cheek.

He couldn't go. You couldn’t bear the thought of being without him. Though you were sure that he would be on your side, it was then you decided that if Atticus left, you were going to leave too. You hated that you were second-guessing him, but you weren't sure what to believe after this whole thing being pulled by Alabaster.

"... I'm staying.” His voice is more confident than you expected it to be, and you sigh out shakily, feeling the weight of dread lift from on your shoulders. You’ll still have your twin, and right now, when you felt like your whole world was falling apart, that’s all that mattered.

"You both are fools," Alabaster hissed, and your fist clenches, gaze snapping up.

"You’re the damn fool. How are you so sure that if Kronos wins, everything will suddenly be better? Alabaster, he’s feeding off your anger for his own agenda. You really think if we fight in his little army, he’ll care about us?” Your voice cracks, you scan the crowd of your siblings looking at you. You peer over at your sisters, who were huddled behind your brothers.

“Sage, Alice, Lou Ellen? This isn’t right. We- I- don’t go, just stay here at camp,” you plead, hoping that if you could persuade them to stay, maybe your brothers will forfeit their plan. “I have a bad feeling. I had a dre-”

“Stop,” James barked. You couldn’t help but cringe; the way his eyes narrowed at you was something you’ve never seen before.

“The odds are in Kronos’ favor. He has a bigger army. His allies are strong. This camp doesn’t stand a chance. You asking them to stay is the same as asking them to die,” he declares. “Mother says if- when he wins, she will take care of us. We can live and study with her, she promised.”

Your eyes sting with tears, and you close them, fingers anxiously peeling the skin around your nails. It was way too good to be true. That’s probably something you’ve always wanted, to live as a coven with your siblings. You only wished for a conversation with your mother, but the opportunity to learn from her directly was tempting. Still, you thought about the chaos that would reign across the country, across the world. You didn’t understand how a world under the rule of Kronos could be any better than the world you had now. And you deduced that it would probably be even worse.

“It’s all bull,” you spat, and you scoff. “I’m asking them to die? Take a look at where you’re taking them! This is mad. Guys, please,” you plead again. You frown as Alice and Sage refuse to look at you, huddling close beside each other.

“I- I’m staying,” Lou Ellen suddenly breaks the silence, and you feel a rush of hopefulness. Her head is lowered in a bow, avoiding the stares of your brothers as she walks to you. You reach out your arms, grasping her hand the moment she was close enough. You hear Ernest scoff, turning around to look at Sage and Alice.

“Anyone else would like to stay?” His tone is harsh, cutting through the night and Alice and Sage stare at the floor. You could tell from their trembling hands that they were scared. If they felt any conviction, any second thoughts, they didn’t dare to speak up.

“Let’s go before we get caught out here,” Alabaster announces, and you meet his eyes one last time.

“We’ll see you on the battlefield, sister.”

The walk back to the Hermes Cabin was silent. You hold on to Lou Ellen’s equally clammy hands, the three of you shaken up from what just happened. A part of you still couldn’t even believe that this is how your night played out. You glance at Atticus, his face expressionless, but you knew his mind was scattered with a million thoughts. If your own grief wasn’t enough, you were met with the burden of the grief radiating off of him.

Atticus coped with things differently than you did. You were quick to cry when you’re sad, scream when you were angry, but he bottled it up. He would bottle it up until all his emotions boiled over the limit. Even then, he was private, never letting it out where people could see him, but no matter what, you felt it, and no matter what, you were there comforting him.

He meets your gaze, and you take in the sadness on his face. The sight of his sorrow made it hard to hold back your tears. You knew that when Al called his name, he felt your panic. He felt your dilemma. You didn’t exactly know his stance on the impending war, but you knew at that moment, Atticus made his decision because he didn’t want to be separated from you. He manages a sad smile as there is a mutual understanding of this between the two of you. He slings his arm around both you and Lou Ellen’s shoulders in a failed attempt to lighten up the situation. He swallows hard,

“We’ll be okay,” he musters out, and as confident he wished to sound, the weakness in his voice was unavoidable. You suppress the sob that threatened to leave your lips, a tear falling down your cheek, and you nod,

“Yeah, we- we’ll be okay.” Your voice falters.

and hopefully, they’ll be okay too.

masterlist taglist: @nct127bee @xxyrr

#my writing #percy jackson #percy jackson x reader #percy x reader #percy jackon and the olympians #percy jackson and the olympian fanfic #percy jackson fanfiction #percy jackson imagine #percy fanfic #percy jackson au #percy jackson oneshot #percy jackson and the olympian fic

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godsofhumanity · 4 years ago

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LORE OLYMPUS S1 (WEB COMIC) | REVIEW

okay folks so your gal just finished LO season 1, thought i might just give my two cents about the whole shebang. spoilers below cut.

OVERVIEW: LO S1 pretty much just revolves around Persephone in a modern-day AU (kind of?? idk i’m still unclear about this) where she manages to convince Demeter to let her move to Olympus, where she lives with Artemis. Shit happens and she meets Hades, CEO of the Underworld (literally tbh) and they fall in love, but they both have lots of issues and obstacles that they must first get past before they can like, get together.

RATING: idk.. 5/10 ?? it’s not a favourite, and i wouldn’t read it twice.. but yeah. i really think reading it for yourself is a lot better than just going by other people’s opinions (which is what i did previously). it’s honestly, quite a quick read.

AVAILABLE ON: webtoon

THINGS I LIKED:

> the author’s artistic choice to keep all the characters related to a single colour scheme. visually speaking, this is very appealing and helps the reader differentiate between characters considering they all the freaking same.

> exploration of other myths on the sidelines of the main story. i particularly liked the twist on the eros-psyche myth where aphrodite actually calms down and decides to test how much eros really loves psyche, because she doesn’t want her son’s heart broken again.

> aphrodite’s whole family in general. ares, eros, aphrodite and the little kids are so fucking cute... i’m not a fan of aphrodite in most interpretations but i actually like her in LO. she’s questionable at the start but she gets better i think.

> zeus, poseidon and hades having “compulsory” family brunch where it’s just “bonding time” with the bros. i thought that was pretty funny.

> HERA!!! during *that scene* (y’all know the one) when Hera could sense that someone was in pain, that they were in distress but she wasn’t sure who... aghhhhhh like a mother concerned for her child...

> also hera teaching Hebe that it’s wrong to snoop around... Hebe.. so cute

> helios having a chain around his neck. don’t get me wrong, i HATE that he’s being used for labour, like a punishment, he deserves so much better!! BUT, i like that the consequences of war are actually shown,, and that the olympians aren’t as hot as they think themselves to be, like everyone pretty much hates them.

> pomegranate soda or whatever it was.. clever

> i like Minthe as a character. it seems to be that she genuinely wants to be better, and that she does in fact like Hades, but she is really struggling with her emotional state, and i hope she gets help. soon. i said before that i thought hades x minthe would be better than hades x persephone, but now i realise that actually no, that’d be very toxic.. but i am wondering about minthe x thanatos because it seems to me they are actually pretty good to each other (EXHIBIT A: thanatos bringing minthe food when she was an emotional wreck and wouldn’t leave her apartment after hades broke up with her).

> fave characters so far: hera, poseidon, ares, eros, aphrodite, hermes, thanatos, hades, helios, and controverisal but... zeus (idk.. i’m still deciding)

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE

> alright let’s talk about hades-persephone’s relationship. first of all, i think that even in a “modern au”, if Persephone had been like 2000, and Hades had been like 4000, that at least would have made sense because like, they’re gods, so comparatively that would’ve been alright. BUT, Persephone is NINETEEN (19). not converting from goddess-to-human years.. i mean she has actually been alive for 19 fucking years. she is not just a child compared to Hades, she is a fucking BABY!!!!!! she’s a newborn!!!! and Persephone’s “youthfulness” is clearly demonstrated in her immaturity (which is natural because she’s a fucking teenager) AND her lack of awareness about the real world.. she has no experience (don’t get me wrong, this isn’t exactly her fault)

[EG] persephone trying to give the poor souls on the beach money so that they can get a ride with charon, and then a riot starting because that was a stupid decision and she doesn’t know any better...

> Hades, on the other hand, is like a grown-ass man who is running a company and managing the souls of the underworld, etc, etc. Hades thought it was OKAY to pull out the eye of a news reporter because he slandered Persephone (an eye for an eye is a pretty archaic principle, which makes since because, oh yeah, Hades IS archaic!).Hades has soooo many years of experience more than Persephone. he literally fought in the olympian-titan war!! Hades treats Persephone well, for sure... but honestly?? she is just too young... and the weirdest thing about it?? most of the characters in the story ALSO AGREE THAT SHE IS A CHILD!!!!!!

> related to the above^^, Hecate literally, when she first hears about hades-persephone from the newspaper, SCOLDS hades, and tells him that she is wayyy too young for him.. but then literally the next chapter comes, and she’s suddenly okay with it?? she’s like shipping it too???????? HELLO???? make up your mind hecate.

> Persephone The Naked Butterfly scene where she fucking falls on top of Hades, naked....... how necessary was that?

> let’s not even talk about ap*llo in this comic.. that was fucking disgusting, and that’s all i’m gonna say about that.

> zeus setting demeter’s crops on fire because she was sick of having to cover for zeus’ affairs and finally put her foot down. you go, girl! but zeus.. that definitely did make me dislike him a little..

> thetis... HATE HATE HATE HATE her!!!!!!! ughhhhhhhhhh

> why does daphne have like.. a crush on ap*llo??? shouldn’t she hate him?

> Persephone The Mass Murderer scene.......... i do NOT understand at all how some mortals digging up flowers = the death of a nymph. if this was the case, then there shouldn’t really be ANY nymphs left.. i mean so many people dig up flowers... also, idk about y’all but i’m certain that in a chapter Persephone was seen to be making flower crowns for Cerberus.. does that not require the flower to be yanked from the ground??? hello??? i feel like the author knew that she wanted Persephone to do something tragic and dangerous in order to win the name Persephone, but wasn’t sure exactly what so she just quickly put this together, because the logic is fairly lax in my opinion.

#i will read S2 (maybe) when the full thing comes out.#lore olympus #lore olympus discourse #review

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paladinwife · 3 years ago

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I'm sure you're already gonna get some but just to be sure, all of the mythology asks for Raiden :> (both of them or either, your choice <3)

Me blasting Rules of Nature as I answer this

Also because this is a lot this will just be Metal Gear Raiden! Baal will have to be separate

Zeus: How did you first meet your f/o(s)? How did you feel about each other at first?

So I’m still working through this, but: my theory is that the people that hurt and nearly killed Elise were involved with the Patriots (not that she knew), and so her pursuing revenge resulted in her basically accidentally walking in on the plot of MGS2. She and Raiden run into each other this way some time shortly after the whole incident with Rose (where, in this timeline, he won’t forgive her and refuses to take her back). After their chance meeting they actually start bonding and see each other more and more.

Hera: How did you first start your romantic relationship with your f/o(s)? How did the way you feel about each other evolve to get to that point?

And this jumps off perfectly from the last question! Like I said, after their meeting, they start getting closer and spending some actual time together. At some point, Raiden realizes he’s following Elise like a puppy, but he’s nervous considering how badly his last romantic relationship went. Eventually, though, his feelings win out and he does approach her about dating, and Elise is happy to accept.

Poseidon: Do you and your f/o(s) like to travel? If so, where do you like to go? Is there anywhere you’d like to go that you haven’t yet?

Raiden and Elise travel a lot for their careers, but I think they really want to travel together. First priority is to go somewhere with a nice beach and just have a relaxing time, I think. But there are so many countries they want to see together when they have the chance.

Demeter: What’s your favorite season, and how do you like to spend that season together?

Elise loves autumn - not only is it her birth month, but the weather is lovely, and she loves to have some tea and enjoy the leaves changing color. Raiden doesn’t have particularly strong feelings on any season, but he appreciates how happy autumn makes his wife, and also that’s it’s Wife Birthday Time. Besides, he has some unfortunate memories associated with spring.

Athena: Are your f/o(s) interested in any particular hobby or interest of yours? Have you taught them about it, or let them watch you, or anything similar?

Elise, particularly after getting some cyborg augmentation in her arms and hands, starts getting really interested in visual art, especially painting. Raiden doesn’t know shit about art, but he knows that what his wife creates is super cool and he’s so proud. Also, Elise is a bit of a fitness buff to try to keep the human parts of her body strong and healthy, and Raiden is more than happy to watch if not join her just for the fun and moral support.

Apollo: What do you like best about your f/o(s)? What does your f/o(s) like best about you?

Ask this question to either of them and their first response will be “everything”. They adore each other. If Elise had to pick one, it would be his strength - not physical (though she is impressed with what he can achieve there), but the fact that he just keeps going despite everything. She had a lot of admiration for him in that regard and does her best to stay strong too. If Raiden had to just choose one, he would choose her heart. Not only is she the first person to treat him kindly and let him just exist as himself, but he sees the kind and gentle way she handles other people. She has a lot of love in her heart for others, and he doesn’t see a lot of that, so he thinks it’s beautiful. Also, he’s quick to add, she’s smart as hell and he admires that so much.

Artemis: Do you have any LGBT+ headcanons for you f/o(s)? Do you share these identities? Feel free to share anything else special about your LGBT+ identities.

They’re both bi as hell. I’m aware that most of Metal Gear is very bi, but Elise and Raiden are both extremely bisexual and love each other in an extremely bisexual way.

Ares: Are you ever protective of your f/o(s)? Are they ever protective of you?

Oh, both. Mutual protectiveness. Raiden being protective of her is obvious, but at any given time Elise is ready to fuck up anyone that would dare hurt him any more. Also they’re both more than ready to fight each other’s shitty exes.

Hephaestus: Do you and your f/o(s) ever like to get gifts for one another? What kind of gifts?

Yes! I’ve previously addressed Raiden’s tendency to get Elise cheesy souvenirs when he travels - he likes getting her little things like that. He also likes picking up things that remind him of her. Elise is also aware of Raiden’s tendency to not get things for himself, but one time she bought him something nice that she thought he’d like and he has treasured it ever since. It’s not about the actual thing, but more about the fact she loves him, right? She also apparently gets him t shirts that say silly things because he loves them.

Aphrodite: How do you and your f/o(s) like to show love to each other? Feel free to include your love languages, if you find that helpful.

Raiden kind of struggles to figure out his own love language and shows love in multiple different ways. I think, though, his primary one is quality time, and he very much appreciates just being around Elise. Second is physical touch, as he ends up really loving giving physical affection to her and the warm feeling of her skin. Elise likewise dabbles in all of them to a degree, but she tends towards acts of service - she will constantly go out of her way for him in a way that isn’t lost on him. She also does have quite the way with words that makes him feel all warm and fuzzy.

Hermes: Was it love at first sight? Slow burn with lots of pining? How fast did your relationship progress?

Raiden fell very very fast. He was like a puppy following her around. In spite of his trauma, or maybe because of it, he melted at her kindness and care right away and couldn’t get enough. Elise was a little slower, but I feel like she was surprised at how fast she fell. They were both careful in progressing the relationship, given their trauma, but it’s hardly a slow burn.

Hestia: What makes you and your f/o(s) feel at home?

Raiden’s answer is Elise herself. Before he met her he didn’t have anything that strongly felt like a home - recall that Rose got mad at him for having a mostly empty bedroom because he didn’t come back to it often. It was Elise being there that made him want to come home more often. It’s less about the location and more about coming back to her, you know? Elise’s answer is actually similar - she’s not from where they live now and has moved around a lot in her life. Her attachment is more with him than to the place.

Dionysus: What do you like to do with your f/o(s) for fun? Is there anything fun you’d like to try with them?

Actually? Watching movies together at home. Raiden has a strong interest in that kind of thing, and watching them at home means he doesn’t have to try to pretend to be “normal” around others, whatever that means. It’s kind of been their thing since their first date. They certainly try lots of fun things together, but that one is special.

Hades: Would you ever consider a pet with your f/o(s)? What kind of pet? If you already have one, what is the pet like?

Honestly he deserves a dog. Again I’m leaning towards a bigger dog, but I think he’d love any dog. Just give this man a dog and he’ll dote on it. I’m particularly fond of a GSD for him because he kind of reminds me of one.

Persephone: How different are you and your f/o(s)? How do you deal with each other’s differences?

Honestly, more similar than you’d think. Aside from some shared trauma, they’re both very strong and persistent, and they’re full of compassion for others. I just think their strengths lie in different places. Really the similarities helped them bond quicker.

Nyx: Do you have any children with your f/o(s)? Would you ever consider children (biological or adopted)?

Well, I’d consider John (normally mothered by Rose, but now mothered by Elise herself) their son. I also made the mistake of referencing “children” to Justice, implying more than one, so uh. Watch this space.

(Thanatos answered here!)

Hypnos: Do you like to sleep together or share a bed with your f/o(s)? If so, what position do you sleep in? Does anyone hog the blankets, or have a stuffed animal, or have nightmares and need the other for comfort? Anything else along those lines?

Anyone who has played MGS2 knows Raiden is not naturally comfortable sleeping with other people. It takes him a while, but he does get to that point with Elise. Even better is that he finds that Elise soothes his insomnia and troubles with nightmares a lot. They tend to sleep hugging each other, by Elise’s request but with his enthusiastic consent.

The Erinyes: How does your f/o (or f/os) respond to someone mistreating you? Do they confront the person? Do they comfort you?

Raiden. Gets. Furious. He can’t stand the thought of someone mistreating his wife. He would fight them if necessary. But at the same time, Elise isn’t that different: hell hath no fury like Elise pissed off that you’re mistreating her husband, who has been through enough.

The Moirai: What is your “happy ending” for your ship? How do you end up? What kind of life do you want together?

It’s for them both to finally be at peace. They’ve been through so much, and now that they have someone that they can truly trust, they can finally let their guards down and just exist peacefully. I think that’s the happy ending for them, regardless of everything else about how they end up.

(Calliope answered here!)

Thalia: Discuss any fluff ideas you have for your ship. What kind of affectionate or sweet scenarios do you like best for this ship?

Raiden really likes holding hands with Elise. Not only is he tickled by how tiny her hands are, but he finds it very soothing. Sometimes it’s hard for him to pretend for the public to be a completely normal un-traumatized person, but her touch and her hand put him at ease. He asks to hold hands with her a lot.

Melpomene: Here’s your dedicated angst question: discuss any angsty or hurt/comfort ideas you have for your ship.

This is hard, since I see this as such a happy ship. But the one thing is: when it comes to their first child, instead of faking a relationship and devastating Raiden, Elise probably tells him what’s going on and goes into hiding to protect her and their child. She probably had to have his first child alone and desperately hope that he would come back to her alive, and that’s a pretty painful thought.

Euterpe: What song(s) suit your ship best? Any particular lyrics that fit well?

From Take My Breath Away, the titular song for the ship:

That’s pretty painful but also very fitting.

Erato: Does any canon ship remind you of your ship (if you like those)? What tropes or ship dynamics apply to your ship?

Remember the girlboss/malewife pair from FMA and how iconic that was? That’s them for sure.

Terpsichore: Have you and your f/o(s) ever danced together? What kind of dancing? Formal dress or completely informal jamming out in your home?

Oh definitely they would. Elise is the only one with formal dance training, but Raiden is a romantic at heart and wants a dance with her, formal or not. I can see them just slow dancing in their house, so happy they’re in love.

#thank you Adrian!#oh goodness this was a lot #ask to tag #take my breath away (with raiden)

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atlas-of-a-human-soul · 5 years ago

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Αιώνια αγάπη (DT AU), pt. 13

13: Love is the death of duty

Summary: Three testimonies, two mistakes, one sentence. Find out the punishment Hermes faces as three most important women of his life take the stand.

Warnings: angst

Word count: 3.4k

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Special thanks to @godlydolans for being in the story as Yashi Singh!

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Αιώνια αγάπη (DT Modern Greek god/frat! AU) MASTERLIST

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Overwhelmed, lost and very much prepared to do whatever it takes to protect her children, Y/N steps forth, pushing both her babies behind her as she breaks eye contact with the gods she knew and loved and looks wildly at the ones she didn't but could easily guess who they were.

"Oh, this is going to be so much fun!" Hecate chuckled, her laugh echoing as she fell back into a chair, not even bothering with courtesies. After all, why should she? She wasn't avenged for her death and pulling her soul out of the Underworld for the purposes of burying her ex husband was the only thing she cared about.

Hera didn't hesitate, walking toward Y/N as her eyes tried to take a better look at her grandchildren. It's been too long since she had a chance to see a youngling, let alone ones who are her own blood.

Y/N stepped back, each of her hands pressed against her kid's backs as she pushed them closer to her.

Like a lioness backed into a corner, Hera thought.

"I can tell why my sons fell in love with you now. You're absolutely ethereal. For a human, of course." The backhanded compliment forced Y/N to bare her teeth, faking a smile without the need to cover up the fake part, making it clear she doesn't appreciate the goddess coming any closer.

"I'd very much like if you'd stop walking, Your...heavenliness?" Y/N paused, unsure how to properly address the goddess without insulting her and putting her children in more danger than they already are. She couldn't afford to slip up now.

"Hera is fine, dear. However, I'm afraid you can't take the kids with you when you're on the stand. Someone's going to have to take care of them and as their grandmother I am willing to give you a blood oath that no harm shall befall either of your little ones." Hera spoke plainly, stating not only she cares but she would go as far as to make the unbreakable vow to protect them. The vow no god made in history thus far, one that conditions her death should she fail to uphold her promise.

"Like you protected Apollo and Hermes?" Y/N remarks, watching a flicker of hurt and surprise pass on Hera's face as Y/N's words aimed to hurt the goddess and it seemed as if she succeeded.

Glancing back at a helpless Hermes, Y/N gulped loudly as her heart ached for him.

What could have possessed him to do the crime he did? What crime did he commit at all? He spoke of vengeance, but never did she believe he'd go through with it. He's always been unpredictable and she can't deny she loved that about him, but right now, in this particular moment, she held it against him for his unpredictability put her children at risk.

Did he even know about the kids? Did either of them?

"I swear to you on my life, you can trust mother with them." Apollo speaks up, attracting Y/N's attention, feeling his own heart stop once her troubled eyes meet his with ease, the trust she has in him still shining through when she nods reluctantly, letting up on the four year olds holding onto her legs.

Hesitant still, Y/N watches as her mischievous babies waddled slowly over to their grandmother, looking up at her as if she's the most peculiar person they've ever seen.

And in a way she is. Her hair is molten gold, a leaf crown woven into the locks that broke sun-rays to rainbows. She did look like something out of a fairytale, inhuman even to the ones who don't know any better. And her kids didn't know any better.

"Shall we begin? While most of us are immortal, some don't have the commodity of waiting forever." Zeus huffed, glancing at Y/N and her offspring with underlying disgust he could hardly cover up.

"Wait! Don't I get a single moment with Apollo and Hermes first?" Y/N questions, the panic cracking her voice so blatantly no one could miss the desperation behind it.

"So they can temper with your true feelings? I think not. My sons have done enough damage to you as it is." Zeus states, showing Y/N that it's time to take her seat.

Eyes brimming with tears chained themselves to where the only two men she ever loved stood, each of them facing a horror of impending doom. Apollo wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around Y/N and the kids, just for one moment. Hermes wished for Y/N and the kids to return to Earth and forget about all of this more than anything because if him being with her meant she'd die for his sins, he'd rather not even see her let alone touch her.

But all Y/N could see is how different they seem. They didn't have that light aura around them, rather a gloomy one. Each of them dressed in warrior clothes didn't lessen the weight on her heart either, adding onto the worry she couldn't shed.

What if she says something that ends up being their doom? What if she causes them to die? After everything that's happened, the years of loneliness she's suffered in as a single mother while the future she hoped for disintegrated, she still wanted them to be happy. The only comfort she found in the hell she's felt inside her soul is that both of her guys were alive and together. She didn't break their brotherly bond and they were back home with their loved ones.

She never thought they'd fuck up everything. At least not in her lifetime.

Reluctant and on edge, Y/N sits down right between Yashi and Hecate, each of them representing the past evils Hermes did and each of them more than willing to bury him should they wish so. Hecate most of all.

Hecate played with her long black locks, the purple ends flashing every once in a while as she leaned closer to Y/N and talked in hushed tones.

"You really had me fooled."

Y/N turned to her, giving her a sideways glance before her eyes returned to her children and Hera who crouched beside them, charming them with a little light show at the palm of her hand.

"I'm actually kind of proud of you. It's my blood that allowed you to do so."

"You left me no choice." Y/N responds harshly, sending a quick glare in her direction before turning her attention to Apollo and Hermes, each of them quiet and lost in thought as it seemed.

"You had a choice, you just made the wrong one. You think with your heart and not your head and I tried to show you that listening to your heart will only help you wind up dead. It killed me in the end - not Hermes, but you."

"I would like to call Yashi Singh to testify first." Zeus interrupts the small exchange between Hecate and Y/N, showing Yashi where to stand as she glided across the marble floor, her hair flowing freely at the back. It's a sort of visual joy of the heavens. It's confidence and strength, natural and pretty just as her stance.

"Now, my dear. Would you mind telling me Hermes' greatest crime against your heart?" Zeus tried to keep his voice light, purring at her as if manipulating the woman to speak the most rotten, horrific deeds she could think of.

Yashi lifts her chin up ever so slightly, her lips set in a firm line as her hands clasp together at her midsection.

"Hermes had no trouble lying to get close to me. He hadn't even bat an eye when he took my maidenhood under false pretenses. After all he had done, I was lucky enough to find someone else to cradle my broken heart. My story did have a happy ending, but Hermes showed no mercy toward my future. If he had his way, I'd have ended up alone and disgraced, disowned by my family. Thanks to Athena, I was lucky enough to have time to form a plan and get rid of him and his brother." Sparing Hermes a single glance, Yashi raised both eyebrows at the once so loved god before she smirked. Apollo looked toward Athena who shied away from his eyes, clearly ashamed she worked against him before. He wanted to know why she did it in the first place, but he already assumed why. Zeus forced her, told her it's her duty to do what she can to protect her loyal servants. She didn't have a bloodline like many others for she remained a virgin, but those who served her, worshiped her? Those were her loyal subjects and she protected them vigorously whenever she could.

"I think he committed the same crime hundreds if not thousands of times and that's just his crimes of breaking hearts and draining once hopeful souls. I'm certain he's done much worse in his time. I do believe he deserves the harshest punishment of all."

"Thank you, child. You make take your seat and Y/N can take your place now." Zeus states with a feigned smile, making Y/N's skin crawl as she realized it was her turn to stand and tell the truth. She had no choice. Not if she wanted her kids to remain alive because she was sure Zeus would harm them otherwise.

Passing by Hera, she finds the goddess wrap her fingers around her arm, stopping her for a single moment to utter a few wise words.

"You're pure of heart and your word means more than anything they say. Keep that in mind."

Gulping loudly, Y/N found herself tempted to run toward Hermes and Apollo, ask them to rise up and fight Zeus and end this torture, but Hera is right. She is pure of heart. She can use that against them.

"What is the greatest crime my son has committed?" Zeus smirks, knowing Hermes was completely off the rails the entire time he knew Y/N and he expected her to be the most significant nail in his son's coffin.

"He loved me." Plain and simple, Y/N turns sideways, her eyes finding his as if they've been dying for a single glance, for the love he could offer just by looking at her.

"Hermes is anything but perfect, but he's also done what is necessary. He's always done the right thing, even when the rest of us couldn't understand it just yet and even if it's the hardest possible thing he could have done in the world. Hermes' biggest crime against me is that he loved me just as much if not more than I love him." Emphasizing the present tense, proclaiming her love for the infamous god, she turned back to Zeus defiantly.

"He burned down the Kappa house and most of your belongings. He lied to you. He impregnated you -" Zeus began, each fact spoken louder and louder as he counted until Y/N interjected, stopping him from bashing Hermes any longer.

"With all due respect, both of your sons did that and I don't see Apollo tried for that. It's the most ridiculous medical miracle, but they both did and I don't hold them leaving against them. It is my heart that caused that and I alone am to blame for loving them both too much. The very heart that is pure, which means if I do not hold any hate for him, no reason exists for either of you to. Hermes is a good soul and you should release him." Out of breath, Y/N found herself on fire with her nerves sparking up as every moment passed she felt herself grow stronger, more sure of herself. Without waiting for Zeus to speak and send her on her way, Y/N crossed the short distance between the stand and where Hermes was held on his knees with his brother a step behind him.

She threw herself at the god, wrapping her arms around him so tightly if he were human his ribs would crack under the pressure. She longed for a touch of his skin, but all she found was a long black cape under her fingertips, and gold plates right under her arms instead of his shoulders.

"Return to your seat, Y/N Y/L/N." Zeus ordered sternly, but she rebelled long enough to stand and grip Apollo who came closer, hugging over Hermes who felt his soul tear itself up only to be made new again with the pounding of his heart being so deafening.

"Are they mine?" Apollo whispered in her ear, frantic at the possibility of having an answer.

"Valerie is." She managed to respond before one of the guards rudely grabbed her by the arm and ripped her away from Apollo with a ruthless tug, causing her to stifle a pained groan.

"DON'T FUCKING PUT YOUR HANDS ON HER!" Hermes jolted, his voice echoing the hall as he watched the guard drag her back to the stand and release her from his hold.

Apollo gritted his teeth, not only because he was so fucking confused about what she meant, but also because he wanted nothing more than to rip into the guard and take his life with his own two hands. He'd choke the life out of him, snap him like a twig before throwing him into the Underworld, allowing Hermes to decide on the best form of torture for him.

"I believe I asked you to return to your seat. If not, I'm more than happy to show you what happens when someone disobeys a god." Zeus quipped, his lips curling to the left as he formed a half smile and his forehead no longer creased as his wicked implications came to life and Y/N quickly nodded, doing as she's told. She knew the threat was against her children, you didn't have to be a mind reader to see that.

Crashing in her seat, she could hardly breathe as she heaved with a fury of untold confessions to her favorite gods and hateful words at Zeus and all those who liked to play with human lives.

"Maybe you should. There are two of those snot monsters." Poseidon speaks up, rubbing his chin devilishly as a wicked grin spread across his lips.

Y/N's eyes widen, her hands gripping the chair she's in as she lunged forward to jump and protest, but Hecate outstretched her arm instinctively in front of her, stopping Y/N from doing something rash that she couldn't take back.

"Or perhaps I could tell my story and you can stop being such an ass? Have your forgotten Hera made an unbreakable vow?" Hecate raised her left eyebrow, standing up with ease as she challenged one of the supreme gods no one dared to second guess before. She waltzed toward the stand, keeping her gaze set on Poseidon who looked to be seething already.

"Or you can just return to the Underworld where you're supposed to be rotting! Perhaps you could be taught a lesson or two as Sisyphus is?" Poseidon snickered, placing his hands on his hips.

"Perhaps spend a few nights pleasuring me and I'll forget about all of this?" He offered, finding Hecate more than irritated.

"Maybe I'll bring back Medusa and have her do it for me? I'm sure she'd like to look you in the eye at least once." Hecate remarks and Y/N finally realizes this is all just a distraction for them to let go of the idea of even looking at her kids.

Hecate is...protecting her?

"Either way, I have a few to say to Hermes." She glances over her shoulder at her once consort, narrowing her eyes at him.

"He cheated on me, lied to me, abandoned me and then some. After all, he tried to kill me too. He just couldn't do the job right. Makes me think he didn't really want me dead, rather a way to exercise his demons on someone. Whatever. I don't really care what happens to him anymore, but if it's up to me, let him live the rest of his mortal life on Earth. Take away Underworld and watch him suffer for it while he's living a mundane life with Y/N and the brats she bore."

Without realizing it, in her first attempt of kindness in centuries, Hecate made a mistake.

"He tried to kill you?" Poseidon interrupts, watching her closely.

"Zeus, my brother, where did you bring Hecate here from?" The question alone unsettles both Hermes and Apollo, who is already well prepared for disaster.

"What are you trying to say?" Zeus frowns, realizing he had more trouble bringing the goddess to Mount Olympus than Y/N from Earth.

"I think Hecate here is dead. Just a shadow of her former self." Poseidon looks back to the goddess who lifts her head up high, strolling toward him with all the confidence in the world.

"You had to reassemble her soul from Tartarus to have her shadow here, didn't you? Poseidon keeps prodding, now making Y/N nervous. She still didn't know for sure, but she was pretty certain Ethan...Hermes is on trial for Hades' death. He was the only one missing in the hall and that's the only despicable thing Hermes wanted to do once he returned home. If Poseidon gets a whiff of what happened to Hecate, then what would happen to her?

"Who killed you, Hecate?" Zeus grabbed her by the shoulders roughly, shaking her violently as a rag doll while his rage filled voice chilled everyone around him to the bone.

Thunder rolled in, electricity sparking around the hall in unpredictable spots and once Y/N saw Hera cover her kids with her body, she knew they were safe and it helped her lessen the burden of her soul.

"Y/N did." Poseidon concludes, chuckling so loudly, so maniacally that his beauty truly didn't matter anymore. His rotten soul shocked more than his good looks, forcing Y/N to remind herself to breathe because the way this is going, she's in deep shit and she knows it.

Hecate turns to Y/N helplessly shouting: "RUN", but where? How? She's a human with everyone she loves trapped there as well. There's no where to run, especially not when two guards form by her side out of thin air, dragging her forth and pushing her down on her knees besides Hermes.

"Mommy!" Two tiny, terrified voices rippled through a sudden onset of hushed voices and small fights that erupted between the other gods.

But Y/N could barely hear anything after her kids screamed. She watched them trash against Hera as they fought to get to her side. She sensed Hermes lean toward her and his breath tickle her neck.

She didn't hear him whisper a promise that he wouldn't let this happen.

She didn't see nor hear Apollo being restrained just behind her as five guards struggled to hold him down. Apollo felt like a caged beast, breaking through anyone who tried to stop him from protecting Y/N and Hermes. He couldn't bear what would happen if he didn't. His duty as a god of Mount Olympus is to protect the gods and do what he must in order to serve his father for an eternity.

What is eternity without Y/N's gentle touch? What is eternity compared to his brother's love? Nothing at all. The love he bears for Y/N, for Hermes...for that little girl Y/N told him is his and possibly the boy as well? That love is the death of duty he swore to ever since he became aware of his existence.

He tried to reach Y/N, but she seemed frozen in her spot, her eyes laid upon her children in the far right as Zeus came closer, all the way until he stopped in front of her and the son he could barely call his anymore.

The next thing Y/N heard was what sealed her fate.

"Taking a life is an unspeakable crime. To take a gods eternity? It. Is. Unforgivable. You are both sentenced to die."

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Tags: @mutuallynotmutual @lanadeldolans @xalayx @accalialionheart @gia-kerks @historyheart @heyits-claire @daddygraysonsbitch @fallinginlove-16 @lanadeldolans @beautifulfound @thearachna-kid @dinnerwiththedolans @graydolan12 @justanotherfangurl272 @dxlansfxck @godlydolans @flowery-dolan @dominatedolans @buckysjuicyplums @ethanhes @dolandolll @dolanstwintuesday

#ethan dolan #grayson dolan #dolan twins #dolan twins greek god au #ethan dolan x reader #grayson dolan x reader #apollo #hermes #ethan dolan fanfiction #grayson dolan fanfiction #ethan dolan angst #ethan dolan au #ethan dolan fic #ethan dolan fanfic #grayson dolan fanfic #grayson dolan fic #grayson dolan au #grayson dolan angst

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millennialdemon · 6 years ago

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Summer 2019 First Impressions, Round 2!

Premieres the past few days have mercifully been better -- but that’s not saying much considering how awful the earlier releases were...

-- Dr. STONE

To be honest, I had already developed a bad taste in my mouth for this just based on the trailers I had watched weeks before the premiere. I thought the protagonist was wildly unappealing and unrelatable, not just because the art/design style is not my favourite, but because of his personality... I was crossing my fingers he wouldn’t be as insufferable as he was in the trailer clips, but alas...

The “novelty” of a shounen where “Science Trumps Magic And Fantasy!” is completely lost on me, because the first episode honestly didn’t feature much science, at least not in a meaningful or interesting way? Sure, the protagonist rattles off some chemistry terms and has fucking E=MC2 on his shirt collar in the post apocalypse (I wish I was kidding...), but him having survival skills enough to build a primitive hut isn’t a display of Genius Intellect, and even at the end when he finally “figures out” how to crack open the shell of stone covering the birds he collected, we didn’t really see him... figure it out. He just did the same thing a bunch of times over a long span of time. Because science is doing the same thing over and over again until it works and not experimenting...?

I assume though that that will be explained in episode 2. I assume. I hope. Or maybe I could rewatch it and see if I missed some pivotal detail of genius realization, but I’d probably still be distracted by Taiju yelling constantly and Senkuu looking at the camera and smirking about #Logic. And some story things that seem glaringly wrong to me even with the hyped up shounen tone, like teenage boys being trapped in stone with their minds aware of it for thousands of years and still having the same personalities as they did before when they finally escape it...

...I guess what I’m saying here is that the comedy/adventure mashup tone is not terribly appealing to me, and that I think it comes off as a bit pretentious when it tries to lay off the Shounen Shenanigans. The characters range from nothing to sneeze at to actively irritating, and for a story trying to make a statement within a genre, it felt super run of the mill. But I will stick around and see how it goes, I suppose...

Tepid 5/10.

-- Fire Force

Probably the best premiere so far, but it still didn’t blow me away, and had quite a few problems just in episode 1... fanservice is the number one turn off of course (and on this note, not just the exploitative visuals of it, but also how it changes the perception of the characters reacting to it... protag boy was alright in my books until the script begged him to look at a co-workers chest, sigh), but I also found the writing very clunky, which is a shame because if it took its foot off the gas re: Flashbacks And Repeated Declarations Of Intent, it could have been more compelling than not at all. You almost had me, protagonist boy, but alas... Anime Bullshit Got In The Way, As It Tends To...

The animation was beautiful (the fire animation! Wow! Cool "firefighting” scenes too) and I actually ended up really warming up to the character designs and weird firefighter-but-a-bit-fantasy aesthetic. I tend to like the shape of over-sized clothing and the modifications to some of the fire fighting uniforms were charming (even though they were pretty silly and unnecessary) like the mage’s witch hat and the nun’s outfit. Other than the outfits, I thought the actual character designs were pretty good too. (Shout out to the protagonist’s mother, who looks like a completely generic, normal anime mom, but she just has pointy teeth! Obsessed with that for some reason)

That’s pretty much all I have to say about it so far. It has potential, I think, but it could easily be squandered with perverse slap stick at the wrong defining moment.

... Like most anime...

7/10 for now.

-- GRANBELM

Hmm... I’m not sure what to say about this one. It actually wasn’t as bad as I was expecting based on the super moe art. But it was certainly messy and wore its inspirations on its sleeve with a bit too much pride...

Let me put it this way: Have you ever wanted to watch a slightly dark and serious magical girl anime, except they also have mechas, and once a month they all fight each other in epic mecha battles on an alternate plane of existence for some reason, while wearing frilly dresses or absurdly ugly bikini/frog hoodie combos, because they are mages who can access magic that was sealed away by seven legendary sages hundreds of years ago because humanity was using magic for evil?

I hope the answer is “No, that sounds ridiculous.” Because it was.

But beyond a few very questionable magical girl outfits, there actually wasn’t any pantyshots or leering cameras, and this is the first show this season to feature an all girl cast that wasn’t completely reprehensible and severely misogynistic.

And I think that counts for something. So 5/10 for being bizarre and average but not making me gag. Yet.

-- Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon? Season 2

Alright, I know the “premiere” that dropped a few days ago wasn’t actually episode 1 of the new season, it was a recap episode for the previous season (it has been a few years, I suppose, but I’ve never seen an anime hype itself up so much by releasing a recap before a season premiere)... but I’m glad I watched it anyway. So that I could remember all of the memories of terrible ecchi I repressed when I was 19 (SERIOUSLY forgot about Lili and Hermes existing!!! I wish I could forget again!!!), and could better brace myself for another Godforsaken season. I already watched one season for Bete Loga, I can do it again...

Preemptive, like, I don’t know, 3/10? for being inherently bad, but nevertheless being something I am going to watch and complain about and wish was better the entire time.

and! Thankfully my beloved partner warned me about If It’s For My Daughter I Would Even Defeat a Demon Lord -- which I might have checked out because of positive reviews -- because they had heard that the manga apparently has an Usagi Drop trajectory which is tragic and vile. So anyone sighing in relief and happily reviewing that it’s Unexpectedly Not Horrible!, I recommend holding your breath...

It’s literally the worst, to see an anime about a little girl being adopted, or just existing in general (Dragon Maid...) and having to think “Oh no, this is going to be horrid”, and then being relieved that it isn’t p*dophilia. Only to find out: Actually, it might be!

The bar is under the ground. It’s in hell.

See y'all in a few days with the next batch of probably not great anime premieres, maybe!

#dr. stone #fire force #granbelm #danmachi #is it wrong to try to pick up girls in a dungeon?#if it's for my daughter I would even defeat a demon lord #preston.txt

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recentanimenews · 5 years ago

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Staff Picks: Our Favorite Manga of 2019

Welcome to the first post in our annual “Staff Picks” series, in which the Ani-Gamers team selects some of our favorite anime, manga, and video games of the past year. As is the custom, we begin with manga.

2019 was a year of transition for the manga industry. The breadth of manga available in North America is larger than ever thanks to an array of seemingly thriving publishers. Japan-backed veterans Viz Media and Kodansha Comics continue to pump out great books, Seven Seas is more active than ever, and Square Enix has now thrown their hat into the ring with a new US-based subsidiary. But the biggest news of the year is the rise of digital manga services. In late 2018 Viz launched their revamped digital Shonen Jump experience (simulpubs and the full back catalog for some of the most popular manga in the world for the absurdly low price of $1.99 a month), followed shortly thereafter by Shueisha’s Manga Plus, a competing free manga service offering major titles from Viz’s Japanese parent company (go figure). Meanwhile, third-party services like MangaMo are starting to explore the digital subscription space. 2020 may just be the year that manga has its Crunchyroll moment.

That’s all the business side, though! Now it’s time to talk about the comics themselves. This year we’ve got three staff members participating, showcasing stellar manga stories across the genre spectrum, from whimsical fantasy to gothic horror to understated romance. Enjoy, and feel free to chime in with your own 2019 picks in the comments.

David Estrella

#3: At the Mountains of Madness

Quick disclaimer: H.P. Lovecraft was a big-time racist and I’m very aware of the contemporary re-evaluation of his works in the context of the man’s politics. That said, Gou Tanabe’s adaptation of Lovecraft’s novella is still an incredible work that should be taken with the illustrator’s own merits in mind. It’s Tanabe’s own talents that really elevate an old story that has been mined for parts and made relatively obsolete by other creators. As an artist, Tanabe’s visuals paint a perfect picture of alien desolation and dread, and his approach to pacing has few parallels among his peers. It’s a manga that doesn’t read like a typical manga and as far as graphic novels go, Tanabe is comfortable pulling from as many Western influences as needed without losing sight of his own identity and ideas. It’s simply a good comic from an artist that’s probably better than Lovecraft deserves.

#2: Bakemonogatari

Having rewatched the TV series innumerable times before reading the novel, I was convinced there wasn’t much new ground to break with Bakemonogatari. Oh!Great proved me wrong. The manga artist’s career-defining works had their moment before I was aware of them so I came into this unprepared for what I would find. Not content to simply rely on Nisioisin’s prose to carry the familiar story of a boy, a girl, and the crab spirit that stole her physical weight, Oh!Great pushes the imagery to extremes that not many artists would dare attempt. It’s almost overwhelming to see the ambition in every page that features some wild shifts in angles and perspective and yet remains totally comprehensible. The kinetic energy of the manga does override some of the finer, subtler points of the source but I can respect it as its own creation separate from the original.

#1: Nicola Traveling Around the Demon’s World

Nicola Traveling Around The Demon’s World is the best manga that I’ve read in 2019, rising above even my Monogatari bias on the virtue of being a completely new and fresh title, drawn with an infectious sense of joy and wonder that you can’t find in much of anything these days. I tend to fly through manga as quickly as I can read it, to the dismay of any hard-working comic artists reading this, but Nicola is worth the time to slow down and properly take in all the details inked onto the pages. It’s not Asaya Miyanaga’s desire to show off their skills when the panels are brimming with character, but instead it’s their love for their creation. Nicola might have run in a magazine explicitly marketed at adult readers but it would be unfair to place it in a box that would discourage young manga fans from reading this.

Ink

#3: Kino’s Journey – The Beautiful World

As someone who remains 100% in love with the 2003 anime adaptation of some of Keiichi Sigsawa’s Kino’s Journey novels and someone who found the 2017 anime adaption reboot largely soulless and hugely disappointing, I am fully prepared to defend my claim that this manga not only carries the very essence of the 2003 adaption but successfully builds on it in a few ways. First off, the stories, which include new and established chapters, are by Keiichi Sigsawa, so everything’s right from the source (via translator) there. Secondly, illustration by way of Iruka Shiomiya offers everything one could ask for in a title with such disparate situations as Kino’s Journey. Gone is the bishi Kino of 2017, and the more androgynous design returns. Heavy detail is placed into Kino’s motorad, Hermes, as well as weaponry and other machinery, but more detail is also placed on gore … which is a lot more prevalent and, as one might expect, not illustrated in detail to evoke a feeling of pleasure. Each volume also begins with a lovingly drawn, two-page spread overlain with a translation from Sigsawa’s original novels. This manga is only #3 on my list, because it’s another, albeit fantastic, iteration of something I already love, and that puts it at an unfair advantage over the other two in my list.

#2: Girls’ Last Tour

When the anime adaptation of Tsukumizu’s Girls’ Last Tour manga aired, the series of successive vignettes seemed the spiritual successor to the 2003 adaptation of Kino’s Journey. The episodes, like the source material, focus on moe blobs Chito and Yuuri exploring a stratified, post apocalyptic landscape via kettenkrad in search of, well, anything. While the episodes sometimes feel like a platformer video game with regard to how characters get from point A to point B, the human elements of observation and imagination are ultimately what make the series so enthralling in portraying the means necessary for maintaining sanity in the face of desolation. The anime, however, does not adapt all of the manga; the last two volumes are (as of yet) not adapted, and they are worth reading to the very end. The manga sports a style that melds the industrial with the abstract/absurd to simultaneously isolate humanity and show the ways in which it thrives. The chapters are often pensive think pieces which exploit innocence as a lens to both denounce the destruction of an inherited world and praise that which is found therein. The art, despite being hyper-mechanically and -pasturally focused, is admirably minimalist; a few lines often define landscapes, and the resulting emptiness is of the utmost importance for atmosphere and tone. Panel progression and related mastery of visual metaphor are so very important to the interpretation that I question whether dialog is necessary at all. That said, the charming, often (but not constantly) comical relationship between the odd couple MCs does help move moments along in the more stagnant bits while providing enough chuckles to press on.

#1: Happiness

Despite being a huge fan of Shuzo “Your Mental Discomfort is My Middle Name” Oshimi, this manga is about vampires, and I am very much burnt out on vampires and werewolves and zombies and the like. To be fair, however, Happiness is just as much about vampires as most vampire movies are about vampires. That is to say they are about (a) hunger. More to the point, and more to Oshimi’s forte, this 10-volume deep-dive into a youth mentally dealing with his newly awakened, biological need to feed is a visual feast from which Oshimi wants readers to catch the warm coppery waft of life. I fell in love with this title with Volume 2. The initial concept in the visual depiction of hunger - a swirling and distortion of character POV that increases in magnitude with the length of abstinence - feeds right into Oshimi’s Francophilia; post-impressionist landscapes and portraits are definite influences, and other European styles are invoked as well for jaw-dropping art used mainly in chapter breaks. Oshimi’s visual style has improved by leaps and bounds since Flowers of Evil, and that’s saying something given how much I love the visuals in the latter volumes of that title.

Evan Minto

#3: Bloom Into You

It’s been a pretty quiet year for Bloom Into You, with only a single book (volume 6) released in the US. However, 2019 was the year I discovered this wonderful manga, so here it is on my list. Bloom Into You is a yuri manga with an unlikely premise: its main character, Yuu, has never had feelings for anyone, boy or girl. Even when Touko, the seemingly perfect student council president, confesses to her, Yuu feels nothing, but as she spends more time with her she finds a hint of something growing in her heart. Bloom Into You is all about the slow burn, the uncertainty and furtive glances of young love. But what especially sticks out to me is the way it captures — intentionally or not — the experience of asexuality. Where most manga romances follow characters seeking love from others or obliviously stumbling into it while the audience cheers them on, Bloom Into You is about the process of introspection and overthinking, as Yuu tries to figure out if she is even capable of love. Nio Nakatani’s character designs and realistically stylish costumes are a delight, and come to life beautifully in her flowing, evocative art style. I can’t wait to see how this series wraps up next year.

#2: Witch Hat Atelier

It’s rare that I find a manga that I want to read for the artwork alone. Kamome Shirahama’s Witch Hat Atelier is exactly that, and as if the stunning art weren’t enough, the story is also fascinating in its own right. Coco is a village girl who dreams of magic, but rarely gets the chance to interact with the mysterious witches of her country. When a grave mistake causes Coco to unleash a dangerous spell on her village, she gets taken in as a witch’s apprentice and discovers her country’s long-held secret: magical power isn’t innate, but is called forth by drawing magical signs with special ink. Anyone can draw, and thus, anyone can make magic. That direct metaphor for art would be pretty inspiring if Shirahama’s illustration style weren’t so intimidatingly beautiful. Everything from characters to backgrounds is painstakingly rendered in a style that’s halfway between a woodblock print and the textured drawings of Kaoru Mori (A Bride’s Story). The world of Witch Hat Atelier feels tangible, weighty, lived-in, yet simultaneously light and whimsical. I’ve only just started on Coco’s journey, but with art like this I will read just about anything Shirahama puts out.

#1: Chainsaw Man

Viz launched their Shonen Jump app in late 2018, offering easy access to dozens of currently running and retro manga series from Shueisha’s flagship boys magazine. As for me, I jumped into the app and skipped right past One Piece and its ilk to find the most dangerous Shonen Jump manga of all: Chainsaw Man. Denji is a horny 16-year-old boy who makes money by selling off his organs and hunting monsters called “devils.” When he dies (spoilers), his pet chainsaw-dog devil merges with his body, turning him into “Chainsaw Man,” which is basically just “Denji but with chainsaws growing out of his arms and head.” Tatsuki Fujimoto’s manga is an unhinged, action-packed spectacle of blood, guts, and bone-headed idiocy, fueled by the antics of Denji (number one goal: “touch some boobs”) and his unstable devil-hunting partner Power (a devil possessing the body of a dead girl). The series is heavy on the comedy, bouncing a cast of morons and psychopaths off of each other in increasingly destructive ways, but it also takes turns into heavy drama and even romance, all of which Fujimoto handles with a surprising amount of sensitivity. The art is scratchy and high-contrast, but full of unforgettable action set pieces including a giant fox demon taking a bite out of a building and a high-speed car chase with a devil who can turn anything she touches into a bomb. Chainsaw Man is the closest thing we’ve got to reading a Hiroyuki Imaishi (Promare) doujin manga in English, so naturally it’s my manga of the year.

Staff Picks: Our Favorite Manga of 2019 originally appeared on Ani-Gamers on January 6, 2020 at 6:53 PM.

By: David Estrella

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