#one does not simply refuse a forest witch's flower crown | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

thatbangtanbloom · 5 years ago

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Dionysus | jhs

dionysus | jhs

characters: hoseok x reader

au(s): greek god!au, historical!au

categories: angst, fluff, lots of tension

word count: 2,013

For as long as he could remember, Jung Hoseok was taught the grand distinction between the gods and the mortals. It was a once in an epoch phenomenon, to cross paths with someone as rare as Dionysus (the immortal name that his father had bestowed upon him); someone simultaneously both within and without; to exist as both a god and a human. This duality of nature prompted Hoseok to a childhood of hardships. Before the time that he could hold a kylix* in his hand, his father had told him of his mother, Semele, who had burned to a crisp the second she saw Zeus (Hoseok’s father) in his truest form. This was the first time Hoseok realized that he was to be untalked of, unseen, and unloved.

Hoseok still recalls being looked down upon by his many brothers and sisters for being the very breed that his father governed and ridiculed for being ‘too’ human. Athena laughed when he bled from falling from Mount Olympus. Apollo scolded him for his humanly movements when he stroke his harp. Artemis scoffed when his actions were too in-deliberate and Heracles expressed disconcert for his lack of strength.

Hoseok did not expect to be admired by anyone as he grew older. His younger, much more vulnerable years were marred by the criticism of his siblings and the hateful vengeance of his step-mother (or step-witch, at times, Hoseok didn’t know what the difference was). He found himself growing more drawn to the rhythmic lilts of music, often paired with the toxic effects of inebriation that allowed for him to feel more at home. Those two things accompanied him to the edge and granted him his title as god of wine and patron of the arts. But a lesser known fact would have been that he was a patron of you, as well.

You were small, insignificant, a mere mortal that a god would not pay attention to. You did not have much to your name; nothing but an arranged marriage with a local village boy named Jungkook, and more movement that a woman of your class, stature, hell, era should have had. Your father called you everything short but of a perfect daughter and you knew that you likely scared your husband-to-be with each time he saw the movement of your hips in broad daylight.

Everyone would have beseech you to stop.

Everyone, that is, but Jung Hoseok.

Hoseok admired the courage you took, the confidence and poise that you held while balancing your own free will. While he was never one to take women to the woods to join his cult (despite it being what he was infamous for), he found himself wishing that one day you would fall into the palm of his hand.

It was almost as though he could not pinpoint it - was it admiration? Adoration? Infatuation? Obsession? As he resided over Mount Olympus, watching over you like a preoccupied guardian, he found his attachment growing more and his insatiable desires (or lust? Hoseok never knew these things) that always drew himself back to you.

“Have you heard of the Cult of Dionysus?” Agafya asks you from beside the riverbed as you stare out into the thin confines of water. You have always hated the way that you were pigeonholed into society; expected to marry, expected to produce children, expected to have no dreams outside of making sure your husband satisfied his.

You nod, not paying attention to her as you dip your toes into the cold water. It’s freezing, almost suffocating your ankles with the iciness, but you feel that it somehow feels better compared to how you feel above water.

Agafya rubs her arm nervously as she notices your disinterest. “I have heard from the other villagers that his presence has been felt in the woods.. I fear that he grows near.. Y/N, what shall we do?”

“What can we do if he is as irresistible as they say he is?” You reply with a raised brow. “Who are we to defy the fate of the gods when they have so generously given us a haven to exist on?” You ask with a scoff.

Agafya’s frown deepens at your apathetic attitude. “Do you not remember the oracle and your story? YN! You should be the most afraid of all… you are susceptible when you are not under the influence of the god’s divine drink! Have you no shame that he may… covet you without so much as lifting a finger?”

The mention of the oracle makes your skin crawl. It had been the final nail in the coffin to how your parents intended you be wed off to a sensible, strong man. As the story goes, you would follow the fate as other foolish women entangled with the gods did - to be a divine gift, another crown jewel for Zeus, Hera would see for your immediate end.

But unlike them, you refused to believe in such things. Why would you not choose your own autonomy when you choose to wash your face, brush your hair, read, and cook for yourself every morning? What was the difference in autonomy with choosing life over death? You knew the values of the gods - the misconstrued reasoning that often plagued them and their tendency of fooling mortals. But not you, you would not be blinded by the materialistic riches or the lustrous desires. You knew yourself better than that.

“His father converted a mortal.Do you think he would make a mistake to grant a child who is no immortal at all?”You click your tongue before shaking your head. ��No man, whether god or not has the reason, charisma, or persuasion to me to do things that go against my value. If anything, he ought to be afraid of me who walks this Earth.”

And little did you know, Hoseok was laughing to himself. He was, in fact, very afraid of you. Or rather, afraid to the degree of which he would find himself tripping over you (in a total god manner, of couse). He pondered on how to approach you, of what means he should do it. Would you fall for his immortal charm? Be blinded by his smile to the point where your eyes could no longer see the sun? Or should he have taken a card from his father’s deck and came in disguise?

“Dionysus… he is here…” Is the first thing you hear in the market as you finish paying for the last of your grapes. You almost find yourself smiling, watching the men who tried to dictate your life scatter in collecting their wives, sisters, and daughters, as though it would protect them from the inevitable.

You do not know the feeling that you find yourself experiencing. Is it pride? Happiness? Euphoria? There is an unnatural swell in your chest, a twinging feeling around your heart. Something in you is yelling, screaming, to enter the forest. For a split second,you question if it is a figure of your imagination. Then the next second, you realize you hear a noise.

The noise is barely above a pin drop, the slightest melody from a flute.

Dionysus’s flute.

Hoseok’s flute.

And for the second time, you find yourself smiling more.

The first person to try to drag you to the house is Agafya, eager to keep you safe through the bustle of the crowd. Her curly brown locks are a mess on her head as she pulls you behind her, running towards her house. It’s a monstrous scene, how women stand upright and walk through the front door, their peplos* dresses barely hugging their figures as they make a slow but strong descent to the forest.

“YN….Why do you walk so slow? Don’t you know that his influence is pervasive? These words may be my last to you!” Agafya screams as she pulls on your arm, nearly falling to the ground to pull you. “Can you not see that you are under his mass influe-”

You do not hear anymore of her. She almost dissipates into dust when your eyes fall on his figure.

He is taller and more beautiful than you could ever imagine. His eyes look as though they hold the secrets to a thousand worlds and his gaze pierces through you. You can barely make the sublime smirk that crosses on his face.

“My.. my… my.. It is the one that I have waited for,” Dionsyus - Hoseok - purrs to you in a tone that could reduce you to nothing more but a pool of adoration for him. “Do you think that this is our first meeting or our last?”

“If I am the one that you have waited for, I wish that you would have chosen to make an appearance earlier.” You retort and Hoseok nearly chokes at your response. You were everything that he could ever imagine; intelligent, brilliant, witty, and beautiful. He wonders if the gods have looked favorably upon him for once.

Hoseok finds himself smirking at your words, “I think that our crossing paths is a providence of the universe. It is not often that a mortal has the will, let alone strength to speak to me in such a manner.”

“I could say the same of you… It is not often that an immortal has the intelligence, let alone the brashness to speak to me in such a manner.” You reply with a soft smile before tilting your hands to the side. “Is this a cause of religious celebration? Of sacrifice, my god?”

He stares at you for a moment, almost in awe of your presence and he wonders if you are the divine and he is a worshiper. He thinks that the roles should be reversed when you manage to command a room, to command him without spite, without malicious intent.

“I think that our meeting is a divine interaction,” He lilts in a soft tone as he takes a seat on his chair. It is the first time you notice the pure whiteness of the room that is intersected by the gold trim of the edge of the desk, of the chair, of the table. “You have heard the story of the oracle, surely?”

“I have.” You say simply as you take in his appearance. The white is the same shade of pure dianthus caryophyullus flowers, or in simpler terms, carnations. It complements the honey brown that protrudes from the collar of his shirt.

“And you are not afraid?” He asks as he leans forward to pour you a glass of wine. The smell is intoxicating and you find yourself growing faint just at the sight of it.

You smile sweetly and it is from then on that Hoseok knows that he is a goner. “I think it is reasonable for you to fear our end as much as I do.”

“Does fate not scare you? I am sure you know as well as I that our story is ill-fated by the stars. While I have found myself in awe of you, I do not find myself afraid of losing it all as long as I find myself able to be with you in the presence, YN.” He whispers your name like a prayer and you wonder if this is real.

“Scare? Yes. Deter? No.” is your humble reply when his eyes finally meet yours. When his eyes meet yours, it is almost as though you can see a thousand other lifetimes with him. An intangible culmination of love, life, deception, and regret all rolled into one and all Hoseok does is smile.

He smiles because he knows that the ends may not justify the means. He smiles because he knows that perhaps you are willing to risk it all like he does, to risk it all like the Muses have destined and you wonder to what extent that this is the end. Until you realize, perhaps this is not the end, but the beginning.

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* Terms:

-kylix: traditional Greek drinking cup

- peplos: delegated wear for Greek women in ancient Greece

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I really like this idea.... Perhaps I could turn this into a series! Tell me what you think! Feel free to ask questions or leave your thoughts. Don’t be a silent reader!

xx,

thatbangtanbloom

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