#ready to hate myself more than Apollo

[olixxxxx]

summer depression and overthinking has started.

[on-my-vigilante-sht]

Immortal Danger II

Apollo x wife!Reader

Summary: Despite an extravagant wedding, Apollo is still confronted by those who want to end his marriage

Warning: Smut; Ares, Demeter, and Phobos slander; attempted assault; alcohol consumption and mentions of underage drinking; probably some ancient greek wedding inaccuracies

Word Count: 5k

Part 1 | Masterlist

Apparently a wedding in Vegas wasn’t good enough for my mother because I found myself in her green house mansion on Olympus being lectured and listening to her berate Apollo.

“Dem, we’re all adults here,” my husband tried to reason.

“She isn’t even a century old!” Demeter cried in exasperation.

“Twenty-four is considered an adult on earth,” I offered. “Didn’t Persephone run off with Hades when she was seventeen?”

“Oh don’t even get me started on him!” my mother ranted. “What is with you gods and my daughters?” Apollo opened his mouth but she just held a hand up, silencing him. “No! I don’t want to hear all the perverted things you think about her.”

“When did you become such a prude, Dem? My father told me all about your wild days.” If Apollo could die he’d be trapped in Tartarus right now based on the glare she sent him.

“A ‘Vegas’ wedding officiated by a mortal is not a real wedding. I won’t have you two living in sin.”

“Well we’ve been ‘sin-’”

I clamped a hand over Apollo’s mouth, silencing him. “Firstly, with all due respect… Mother, you have the wrong religion there.”

“Well we don’t have set moral codes like Christians do!” she cried. “Urgh you’re both so infuriating. You two are going to have a proper, traditional wedding. You,” she looked pointedly at me, “will be staying here until your wedding because I don’t want you,” she turned her glare to Apollo, “defiling her more than you already have.”

I shared a glance with Apollo who appeared to share my sentiments. “Fine,” I agreed. “As long as the wedding occurs within a month.”

“And after you are married you will stay here. Apollo can visit you but that’s it. No spending nights at his home or going out to sneak around,” Demeter insisted.

“Mother!” I immediately chastised.

“Demeter!” my now fiancé cried simultaneously. “That’s unreasonable. I know you think of her as your baby and you’re afraid you’re going to lose her like Persephone but she’s my wife. She’ll be my wife again. You can’t treat her like an untrustworthy teenager. Besides, you know as well as I do that according to tradition, the marriage isn’t legitimate unless we live together.”

“Well then you may as not get married at all!” Demeter offered sarcastically.

“Mother, it’s not as if I’m disappearing or we’re just fooling around. I love him,” I professed, looking back at Apollo with a smile.

He returned it before standing up to confront my mom. “Y/N’s right, we’re not just fooling around. After all, we’re already married.

She only rolled her eyes before giving a sigh of defeat. “Be ready for the wedding. Hera, Aphrodite, and I will be planning it,” she said with an accusatory finger before disappearing.

~

Two weeks later and my mother had managed to pull together a wedding she deemed acceptable. She had wanted to hold it a century from now but I forced her hand. But in preparations for the wedding, I met all the gods. Except for Ares they were all excited for me. Even Aphrodite who had reprimanded Ares when he got aggressive.

“You know, it’s not too late to join the Hunt,” Artemis offered again as she braided my hair back for the wedding. Ever since we met she has been trying to convince me to dump her brother and swear him and all other men off for forever.

“Artemis!” Aphrodite whined from across the room. “Stop putting ideas in her head. Why do you hate true love?”

“Don’t you have a husband that isn’t Ares?” Artemis quipped.

“That’s different,” she claimed, standing up from the sofa she was lounging on. “That was not true love.”

“And don’t you have dozens of children that are neither Hephaestus’ nor Ares’?”

“Ugh what do you know?” Aphrodite scoffed. She stood on front of me, stooping down to make eye contact. “Y/N, don’t listen to her. You and Apollo are meant to be, I know it. And running around in the woods for eternity won’t bring you joy. Do you really want to camp with a bunch of 12 year old girls for the rest of eternity? It’d be like… well… being stuck at Camp Half-Blood for all eternity.”

I chuckled, appreciating both the goddesses’ efforts. “Thanks for the assurance Aphrodite and thanks for the offer Artemis. If he pisses me off enough in like 500 years then I may take you up on your offer.”

Hera then entered wearing a traditional chiton. “Today’s the gamos!” she said excitedly as she entered. She seemed shockingly excited considering I was marrying her husband’s bastard. “Aphrodite, put a beauty charm on her and then get her in her dress.” She then left after barking orders much like my mother.

Both goddesses complied and soon enough I was dressed in an extravagant chiton, decorated in gold, and with a lace veil over my face. They led me to an enormous dining hall decorated in white and gold, the gorgeous ceiling enchanted to reflect the sky outside, depicting the stars and the moon. As I was looking around in awe, I caught Apollo’s smile. Upon noticing my attention was directed at him, he raised his glass to me which I recognized as his attempt to compliment me.

According to Athenian tradition, the bride wasn’t supposed to have contact with the groom until the unveiling ceremony but there was a feast beforehand.

I was sat where Apollo couldn’t see me so I was fortunately allowed to eat. On my plate was a square of ambrosia and with just a wave of my hand it turned into a proper wedding dish.

As I was chatting with Artemis and some of her hunters—who wanted to sit as far from the male guests as possible—Hera and Demeter came flitting up next to me. “It’s time for the unveiling ceremony!” Hera gushed.

“It’s not too late to back out,” Demeter offered again. “You don’t have to swear things off with Apollo but you can at least postpone,” she pleaded hopefully.

I looked up at her sympathetically. I knew she just wanted to have her daughter to herself but I couldn’t help but be reminded of the half-blood daughters that were never this important to her. “Mother, I want this,” I informed her earnestly again. “I love Apollo and he loves me too. I’m ready to begin my immortal life with him.”

“Demeter, I know there are a lot of feelings here but we have to go,” Hera tried to calm her sister before flipping the veil back over my head and ushering me from my seat. I complied until I reached the grand entrance of the hall. Stood in the doorway was Apollo also in a traditional chiton. Just past him, awaiting us outside was the chariot that would take us to his home.

I stepped up closer to him, smiling up at him as he beamed down at me. He literally was the sun personified and I couldn’t wait to spend eternity with him.

If there were any formal rituals associated with the unveiling ceremony they had either been long since forgotten or Apollo didn’t care because he took a more modern approach. After a whispered, “I love you,” he took the veil and flipped it over my head before gently placing one hand on my jaw, the other on my waist before kissing me deeply. Much like modern Christian ceremonies.

Although, the kiss wasn’t very Christian as it was deep and passionate and Apollo seemed reluctant to end it. Every time he pulled away slightly it was just to connect our lips deeper again. He only pulled away when a shout came from Hermes. “You’re not in your bedchambers yet!”

Apollo pulled away with a laugh while I flushed with embarrassment. Upon noticing me, he pulled me closer with a laugh whilst I buried my face in his shoulder. I could feel his deep, joyful laugh as he turned to address the room. “The sun may be up a lot later tomorrow morning!” he announced to the room.

I groaned against his shoulder, pushing him towards the chariot. As he stepped away from me, he grabbed my hand. He helped me up onto the chariot before stepping up himself. As soon as he was stood firmly behind me, I urged the horses forward.

As we proceeded out, all of our guests appeared along the path all the way to Apollo’s home. Used to all the praise and attention, Apollo waved to other other deities as they cheered us on, with me tucked under his arm trying not to fall out of the chariot.

As we reached the grand entrance of the mansion, we finally had some privacy. The sun god helped me down from the chariot again, before sweeping me off my feet. “And now, we will enter our home, cementing our marriage,” he explained with a smile.

I giggled, wrapping my arms around his neck as he carried me through the magically opened doors. He didn’t even bother to pretend to want to celebrate that we were married now, he immediately carried me up towards the bedroom. “You’re going to hate your mother for not letting me see you for two weeks because tonight I’m making up for not fucking you for that time,” he explained eagerly.

As he went the doors opened automatically until he was placing me on the middle of the bed. He followed, kneeling on the bed with a leg on either side of my hips, looking down at me. I began unfastening the bindings of my chiton but Apollo just snapped his fingers and I was in white lingerie. Before I could comprehend what happened, he tore the bralette off of me as his lips found mine. As he kissed me, I could feel his warm hands on my breasts, fondling them and teasing my nipples.

Soon enough his lips were leaving mine and trailing down my neck and chest until one of my nipples was in his mouth. I let out a soft moan as I felt his tongue swirl around me. He moved to the other breast, simultaneously sliding his other hand to my panties which I now realized were entirely lace as there was virtually nothing in between his fingers and my pussy.

As his thumb found my clit and his mouth continued the assault on my breasts, I could only let out cries of pleasure. My hands found his back as I dug my nails into his skin, trying to ground myself. But one hand overstimulating my clit, the other rubbing circles around my nipple, and the other nipple still being tortured by his mouth was too much and my panties became even more soaked as I climaxed.

Upon feeling my entire body seize, Apollo pulled away from me with a satisfied smile. I stared up at him in slight wonderment. I never orgasmed that fast, I would have thought that I’d be less sensitive as a goddess. Seeing my surprise, Apollo explained with a laugh. “Now that we’re both immortal and married we’re more in tune with each other,” he explained. “It’s like our bodies are made for each other. They just react more to each other than when you were mortal.”

“So you feel it more too?” I asked. He nodded. “Good,” I smiled. I snapped my fingers and all of a sudden his chiton was gone and he was naked. Before he could react, I had pushed him to lay on the bed, my body on top of his. Much like what he had done to me prior, I gave him a brief yet deep kiss before lowering my head to his already erect cock. I met his eager gaze, holding eye contact as I grasped his cock. Stroking it a bit, I brought my mouth down on it while still maintaining eye contact. I felt his entire body shiver as I wrapped my lips around the sensitive head that was already leaking precum.

I licked at the sensitive head ever so slightly, bringing my mouth up and down his shaft the littlest bit, teasing him. But as I reached the very end of his cock, acting as if I was about to pull away, his hand shot out to my head, keeping me in place. Looking up, I found his face contorted in pleasure, the hand not tangled in my hair was gripping the sheets. “Don’t stop,” he said in a strained voice. I complied, continuing my assault on his cock. As a goddess, I no longer had to worry about a gag reflex so I could take his entire cock in my mouth, something he deeply appreciated judging by his deep groans.

I tried to keep going until he came in my mouth but his grip on my hair pulled me away. “No!” he grunted out. “I wanna cum inside you first.” He immediately flipped us so now he was on top of me but my head was nearly hanging off the foot of the bed, ripping off my lace panties in the process. He stared down hungrily at my cunt, licking his lips like a starved man. Rather than fuck me like I thought he was going to, he brought his mouth to my core. Upon feeling his mouth wrap around my core, tongue prodding at my clit, I let out more of a yell than a moan. I was so sensitive from the previous orgasm, I came directly in his mouth this time. But rather than stop there, he kept going. His tongue made its way inside my clenching hole, swirling around, making me see stars.

I was squirming around so much his hands had locked around my hips, immobilizing me. All I could do was beg him to stop as he assaulted my cunt until he finally pulled away after one more release. “I need you inside me,” I begged him as he raised himself to his knees. He smiled, eagerly complying. He pulled my hips up until they were flush with his. I brought my legs up as he did so, resting them on his shoulders as he slowly pushed inside of me.

I screamed so loudly in pleasure you’d think I was being murdered. Gods I was so sensitive from the previous orgasms and our newfound connection.

Once he was fully in me I could feel his cock twitching inside of me and I knew what that meant. He had never cum this fast but then again, never had I either. I rolled my hips into his, wanted him to feel the same pleasure I had and I could immediately feel him spill inside of me. Which made me cum around his cock, milking everything out of him.

But he didn’t pull out or soften inside of me. That was the nice thing about gods, there was no refractory period. As soon as he stopped cumming, his hips were moving again, fucking me.

I quickly became a babbling mess as he continued to fuck me through numerous orgasms each. He had me bent over, riding him, under him, every position imaginable. Sometimes he was rough, other times more gentle and loving. No matter what we did I loved every moment of it.

He only stopped when he had to go get the sun chariot ready. Despite the fact that I didn’t need to sleep anymore, I immediately passed out as soon as he left.

~

Apollo’s lips on my neck were the only things that pulled me out of the inviting grasp of sleep. I let out a groan so he knew that I was awake.

“‘Morning,” he greeted in my ear. “So today is called epaulia, it’s when everyone comes to congratulate us and bring gifts,” he explained through kisses. “I can tell them that you’re not feeling up to it today if you want. I know you’re new to immortality and last night was a lot.” I could feel his smug grin against the skin of my jaw. “But, if you choose not to see anyone then I’m warning you that you’re not leaving this bed.”

I finally peeled my eyes fully open. Fortunately the blinds around the bed had been drawn so I wasn’t blinded. I rolled over, meeting his gaze. “I know I’m immortal and as much as I would love to spend the entire day in bed with you, I think I might actually die of exhaustion if you do that to me.” A grin appeared on his face as his fingers found their way in between my legs. “Apollo,” I moaned, tossing my head back as his fingers assaulted my still puffy and throbbing clit.

“Okay,” he agreed, as if he weren’t fingering me right now. “I’ll tell them they can come over once I’m done.” He continued, his fingers fucking me to the edge of an orgasm. But before I could finish, a gong rang through the home. I jumped and Apollo pulled away. “Oh shit, I guess they came anyways.” He pressed a kiss to my cheek before jumping out of bed. “I’ll talk to them while you get dressed. Technically today is about you since epaulia is supposed to make the bride more comfortable.” I just stared at him, still a little bit flabbergasted before he disappeared.

After a minute of calming myself down, I got up. Going to the vanity I found my messy appearance. Fortunately I could just give myself a beauty charm, something Aphrodite taught me, and I looked like I hadn’t spent the night being fucked within an inch of my life. I summoned a white slip dress that was still modest enough to be worn in front of my family.

With one last look in the mirror I headed downstairs, finding several goods and goddesses standing in the foyer. As soon as they noticed my presence, several of the goddesses came flocking over to me. They were all asking about last night—questions I wouldn’t be answering considering I hardly knew them—and shoving gifts in my hands.

Seeing as I didn’t have enough hands, they all herded me towards the kitchen, lining the counters with their gifts. Eventually Apollo made his way towards me, throwing an arm around my shoulder. He addressed the crowd with ease, telling them thanks but not to crowd me. His confidence was baffling but I guess when you’ve spent centuries being adored it comes easily.

Aphrodite pushed her way through the crowd, Ares standing behind her with a glare. I retreated further into Apollo’s embrace, remembering how he was trying to kill me just two weeks ago. “Open my present,” Aphrodite gushed, oblivious to her lover’s glare.

Shaking off Ares’ intimidation, I took the pink box in my hand. “Aphrodite, do I want to open this in front of everyone?” I asked, my eyes flickering across the room of mostly strangers and meeting my mother’s scowl.

“Yes, it’s fine!” she insisted. “It’s just perfume.” I opened it reluctantly, knowing that her perfumes were love potions. I pulled it out of the box, the label informing me that it would make me irresistible.

A few other visitors presented their gifts. I was delighted by the plants that Athena, Artemis, and a few nymphs gave me. There were a few lingerie sets that I didn’t take out of the boxes and bags. As well as a few other home goods.

By the time I had gotten through the mountain of gifts, someone had pulled out the alcoholic nectar. Aphrodite quickly pushed a champagne flute of it into my hands. “Have you ever drank, Y/N?” she asked. “You were at camp a long time.”

“Um, once when I was 15 before I became a year-round camper,” I explained. “My boyfriend at the time and I-”

“Your boyfriend?” Apollo demanded in surprise, having never left my side.

“You knew about him!” I defended. “We only made out a couple times.”

“Still,” he huffed.

“I know your children. I grew up with some of them,” I pointed out.

He rolled his eyes playfully. “Yeah whatever,” he said with a pout before breaking out in a smile. “Hey, I’m gonna go talk to Hermes,” he informed, pressing a kiss to my temple. He then looked at Aphrodite. “Please don’t let her get too drunk,” he requested. “There’s a difference between mortal alcohol and god alcohol. Even Dionysus has made a fool of himself off of this stuff.”

“Don’t worry,” Aphrodite assured. “I’ll take care of her.”

He gave her an uneasy look but I just pushed him to go. “Go have fun. I’ll be fine.”

“Okay,” he said reluctantly. “I love you,” he told me before disappearing into the crowd.

I looked back at Aphrodite and she was immediately waving her hand, shots appearing on the counter. “Oh we’re getting you wasted tonight,” she laughed. I laughed with her, grabbing a shot off the counter.

“To love,” I toasted with her as she grabbed a glass.

~~

Apollo and several other gods were in the den, talking with an American football game playing when Hermes came in. “Apollo!” he called across the room, obviously a little drunk. “Your wife is fun!” he slurred.

By now all the men were looking at him. Apollo stood up, going to his friend. “What do you mean, bud?” he asked.

“Well I was going to get some food but I ended up doing shots with Y/N,” he explained enthusiastically. A few chuckles erupted from the room. New immortals were rare but when they got inebriated the first time it was always funny. “That girl can drink.”

Apollo chuckled nervously, directing his friend to the couch before going back out to the main room. Stepping into the main living space, he found Artemis with her on the couch, trying to force ambrosia into her mouth.

“Y/N, you have to either eat or I’ll force you to throw up,” he heard Artemis threaten.

“Thanks ‘Mis,” he interrupted, taking a seat on the other side of his wife. “I’ve got it from here.” His twin nodded before standing up and disappearing into the crowd.

His wife looked at him with a smile. “Sorry I got drunk,” she giggled. Apollo couldn’t help but smile. She was cute like this.

“It’s ok, I don’t blame you. Aphrodite was supposed to watch you.”

“She did this to me.”

“Yeah, well, you need to sober up a bit before you rejoin the party,” he said, taking her hand. She followed him up into a standing position but immediately tripped over herself. Catching her, Apollo held her close to help her keep her balance. “Let’s try this,” he said, before transporting them to their bedroom.

He managed to get her to the bed, sitting her down on it. Out of nowhere she gasped. “You’re trying to take advantage of a drunk girl!” she immediately erupted into giggles.

He smiled, joining her laugh. “No, you’re gonna sleep off the shots.” She huffed but agreed anyways. Apollo thanked her for her cooperation. “I’ll be downstairs. Call me if you need anything,” he said, pressing a kiss to her cheek before going back downstairs.

~~

I laid back on the bed, staring up at the windows above me. Despite the fact that there were still no clouds in the sky, it looked like it was moving. My head seemed to swim and it was as if my body was mortal again. I felt so weak now.

Just before I found the strength to roll over and go to sleep, I head the bedroom door open. “Apollo?” I called, assuming it was him. When I got no response I sat up, finding a vaguely familiar figure coming up the stairs. My vision was too hazy to see his face distinctly.

“Hey, Y/N,” the voice came.

As the figure got closer I could finally make out his face. “Phobos?” I guessed.

He smiled. “You remember me and you’re not screaming in terror,” he chuckled. I shrugged awkwardly. He sighed, sitting on the bed next to me. “Listen, uh, I'm sorry about trying to kill you. Father’s orders, y’know?”

“Uh, sure,” I agreed.

“I was hoping you could forgive me,” he requested. He kept moving his head to look into my eyes, as if willing me to agree. Fortunately for me, my vision was going in and out of focus too much for it to have any affect.

“Yeah, we could be friends,” I slurred excitedly.

“Well, I was uh… hoping we could be more than friends,” he said nervously. Before I could ask him what he meant, his lips were on mine. His hands locked onto my jaw and neck, holding me in place as I struggled.

As he tried to lay me down on the bed, I slipped out of his grasp. Literally falling onto the floor. I tried to crawl away but he was straddling my hips, pinning me down in a second. “Apollo!” I yelled, tears streaming down my face in fear.

Before I could yell again, Apollo’s face was in front of me. As if it had replaced Phobos’. “Hey, what’s wrong?” Apollo’s voice came but it sounded hollow. “It’s just me,” he assured. His lips found my neck, hand trailing up my body.

“No!” I cried. “I don’t wanna right now. I feel weird.”

“You’ll feel better,” he assured, continuing to touch me.

“Phobos!” I yelled, pushing him away, or trying to at least. “Apollo wouldn’t do this to me!” I insisted, recalling all the times when I told him I didn’t want to do anything and he backed off. “Apollo!” I screamed again, hoping he’d hear me over the talking and music.

I cried harder as his hands found the neckline of my dress. But before he could work the garment off of me, there was a flash of light and a yell. “What in Tartarus are you doing, Phobos?!” Apollo’s enraged yell came. The god on top of me immediately changed back to his original form as Apollo yanked him away.

The vague forms of other gods appeared as Apollo was still holding Phobos. A girl I recognized as Athena came rushing over to my side, making sure I was ok. “What happened?” she asked.

It was hard to explain through the alcohol and the tears but I told them about how he came up and started trying to assault me.

“It’s not like that!” Phobos insisted. “Ares told me I should try to get with her.”

“Why?” Zeus’ booming voice demanded from his son and grandson. No one answered. “Tell me or Hecate will be administering truth serums.”

An angry voice belonging to Ares answered reluctantly. “I thought that if Y/N cheated on Apollo she'd leave him for Phobos and then he’d be devastated that my son stole his wife.” There were a few murmurs and I could vaguely hear Aphrodite reprimand him. “But I didn’t tell him to force himself on her.”

Apollo started yelling, causing some of the others to start yelling until Zeus silenced them. “Enough! Ares and Phobos, you’re coming with me. Apollo, take care of your wife. Y/N,” I think I vaguely looked in his direction, “I'm sorry your epaulia was ruined and this happened to you. Everyone else out of Apollo’s home!” he yelled to the rest of the house. There were a few groans and disagreements but within a few minutes everyone had disappeared, leaving just me, my husband, and mother.

“C’mon,” he said, picking me up off the floor. I curled into him as he carried me to the bed.

Meanwhile my mother was still there, arms crossed and tapping her foot like a cartoon. “See I knew something like this would happen.”

“Dem, can we not do this now?” Apollo asked as he placed me on the bed.

“You can’t even protect her!” she continued anyways. “You knew she was vulnerable but were too busy with your friends. I knew you weren’t capable of being a husband.”

“Hey-” Apollo began.

“And you!” Demeter continued anyway. She appeared in my still hazy vision. “Getting that drunk at your own epaulia? What were you thinking? He wouldn’t have tried to force himself on you if you hadn’t been so irresponsible.”

“That’s enough, Demeter!” my husband yelled at her. “You’ve been nothing but critical ever since you found out about us. But we’re married, twice now. You can’t change that. And are you seriously blaming her for what just happened? You of all people should be sympathetic and be glad I got there when I did.”

I could hear Demeter’s huff. “Well she wouldn’t have been in danger in the first place if you never got involved.” Then there was a flash of light and she was gone.

Apollo’s sigh came before he settled down on the bed with me. “I’m so sorry that happened,” he stated, pulling me tightly into his chest. “I never should have left you alone.”

“‘S ok,” I consoled, still slurring my words. “Not your fault.”

“I love you so much,” he said, hugging me impossibly tighter. “I swear that nothing like that will ever happen again.”

Part 1 | Masterlist

[nerdthatsiriuslylovesteaxx]

Helpless part 54, if you’re going to hurt me, I’ll hurt you

"Father?" He wasn't sure where he was, it was almost like a dream, was he finally dead?

"Hello Nico."

"Am I-" The ghost king had hope, maybe this was it, maybe everything was over.

"No, you're okay." Shit.

"WHY DO THEY NEVER LET ME DIE? I've tried, over and over again, I'm so close, why can't they just let me kill myself? I hate myself, I hate my life, I can't do this anymore." He broke down in tears, Hades wrapped an arm around him.

"It's because they care, Nico every day people who die, even ones in Elysium, they want to live, they all want to go back."

"Go back to what? To all of camp hating me? For me being so fucking scared to tell the truth because I feel like I'll be hated for it? To every single one if my friends debating whether I was worth saving? To being harassed into doing quests? Why should I want to go back?"

"What about a certain son of Apollo? What about Jason Grace? What about your sister?"

"Will's going to get tired of me in a week, Jason's acting because he feels like he owes me for debating whether to leave me in a jar, Hazel's better without me. Anythin else? Just let me fucking die, I know you wanted Bianca to live instead of me."

"I care, Nico I never wanted you to die instead of your sister, you're my son."

"IF YOU CARE THEN LET ME ESCAPE THIS FUCKING HELL."

"BIANCA IS DEAD, I CAN'T SEE HAZEL OR ELSE SHE'LL DIE, I'M NOT LOSING ANOTHER CHILD. I'm not losing you too. You know I'm always here, always here to talk, I'm not the best at this parenting thing, I know, most of us aren't. But I still care, I still love you and I still want to help in any way I can." Nico didn't trust himself to speak, he and his father were alike however not close. Closer than most gods with their children however as Nico had a room in the palace of Hades, no matter how much Persephone didn't like him."I know you won't be happy with this however... I would like you to spend some time in a mortal hospital."

"What the fu-" No, not a fucking chance, he wasn't going there. Not where he wouldn't be left alone, where they'd make him talk, where they would act like they care but don't.

"-no demigod's life is easy, especially yours, I feel like a break would be beneficial for you. It also just gives you time to think and talk to people, please, Nico. If it's that bad I will send someone to check you out but I feel as though it could help you in a way you can't really be helped at camp." Nico held back tears, he knew that was true but what if it just made everything worse? They didn't know him, most people didn't know him, he's fine, he doesn't need help.

"Fine." That was all he could bring himself to say.

"I could wake you up now but I think you're body needs to rest, you'll wake up when you're ready."

"What if I don't?" He hoped that would happen.

"Then I will stay by my promise, you will become a god."

"What the fuck?" Before he could ask any more the dream like experience ended and the world went black around him once more.

***

[raysletters]

2023 Character Wrapped

Rules: share your top 9 characters of 2023

tagged by the lovely @suseagull04 (like, so long ago, but i had forgotten to do it so here i am)

1. Alex Claremont-Díaz (RWRB)

i wish i could explain to you the deep connection i have to this fictional man. he is me and i am him. he probably has been my favorite character since i first found him on 2021 (which is the longest hyperfixation ive ever had, funnily enough) and has actually shaped me to be more confident in myself and all that mushy stuff, so yeah, im just missing a henry kinnie that wants to put up with this mess.

2. Percy Jackson (Riordanverse)

i binge read pjo and hoo these last months, and the way ive become attached to this kid is something else. i want to protect him from anything.

3. Nico di Angelo (Riordanverse)

like with percy, i became attached to him from the moment he showed up, and i would protect him with my life even from rick riordan. he cant do no wrong ever.

4. Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor (RWRB)

henry has specially gained a piece in my heart lately, but i have to be honest, when i first read about him, i thought nothing of him more than the perfect companion and love interest in alex's story. i have to say that getting a glance to his mind through both the bonus chapter and really fucking good fics gave me the insight i needed to comprehend him: his actions, his motivations, and everything in between that made him who he is and made me realize how many things we have in common and how many things i could learn from him, which is always a beautiful experience

5. June Claremont-Díaz (RWRB)

theres nothing i wouldnt do for her. even though i absolutely HATE how i wrote the fic that has june's pov, im still in the process of learning about her and comprehending her more. still, she reminds me so much of my own sister, even though i should kin her more than alex because of the whole sapphic latina journalist who loves her sibling very much, even when they annoy the shit out of you, but alas, im a younger sister and june has so much vibes of my own sister except with my tastes, so yeah, nothing i wouldnt do for her

6. Iris West-Allen (The Flash TV)

in case you didnt know this about me, i had a not-so-recent hyperfixation on the flash (and it can absolutely be seen in my sky high au), and she was half the reason of it. i wish i could put into words how much i fucking love her in every sense of the word. like, i'm in love with her but i also want her to be happy and protected at all costs and i would do anything for her to actually get those things. she can also step on me and i would thank her, but that is unrelated

7. Annabeth Chase (Riordanverse)

what you dont get is that for her i would become like a rabid feral gremlin or maybe that dog that takes a sword in its mouth and starts swinging carelessly. thats how ready i am to protect her from absolutely everything, even spiders, no matter how fucking scared i am of them

8. Imogen Heaney (Heartstopper TV)

yes, i am absolutely biased because the actress also has t1d and my hc is that now imogen also has t1d, but also because i, too, affirmed with my whole chest how i was an ally and totally straight and then slowly realized i was sapphic bc of one cute girl in my friend group that called me out on my bs 💀

9. Barry Allen (The Flash TV)

yes, we dont acknowledge that other version by that other actor. yes, he's last because i had a love-hate relationship with the way he was written. but season 8!barry became one of my favorite versions of him, and i absolutely thank grant (the actor) for the way he made me love the character once again

i missed so many characters that i love but just not like i love these ones. the only one who could easily take barry's place on the list would be nick nelson my absolute beloved, but since flash tv ended this year, it had me in my feelings and i couldn't not put him there, so yeah

DISCLAIMER: i am at the moment reading trials of apollo (im just like 1/4 of the first book) and if somebody spoils me anything i WILL become a rabid feral gremlin, this is your only warning, thank you very much.

anyway, you can consider this an open tag and do this and tag me in it bc i always love to read about yalls favorite stuff. still, no pressure, but im still tagging beautiful ppl so i can read about your favorite characters @anincompletelist @inexplicablymine @read-and-write- @sherryvalli @14carrotghoul @formorewishes

[storiesbykim1997inerie]

unlikely love: Aila and Ivan

Hello! This story is the first one if my unlikely love stories. It's a fanfic about how Ivan Drago and an NYC ballet dancer (also Rocky's foster daughter,) fall in love. Just a few disclaimers, this is set in present times, mick is still alive, and Ivan doesn't kill Apollo. Since it's a love story, you can expect some sex scenes. There is also discussions about death, and a character commits suicide, so if you think you'll be triggered, please find another fanfic. Enjoy!

It's been a long day. We have three days till our swan lake performance, so rehearsals have been brutal. I'm playing black and white swan, so it's extra exhausting. My calves are still burning from those 32 fouttes. My feet hurt more than normal, and I can't imagine all the new blisters I have. I through my ballet bag on the ground, peel off my sweaty leotard, and jump into the shower. The hot water couldn't have felt better. My muscles begin to relax. There is no better feeling than that after a long day of practice. I know that's all part if being a ballerina, but I wouldn't have it any another way. Every little girl dreams of being a ballerina at some point, but I never stopped dreaming. Even when my mom died and I moved in with Rocky, I'd echappe down alleys, spin through the streets, and even kept up with classes. But it was Tatyana, the shopkeeper, (and former Bolshoi dancer,) that took my dreams to the next level. I had gotten a job at her stand, out of border and to get sway from the strange men that watched me practice every day. We were having a particularly slow day that day, and she gave me a break. My ballet class had posted a flyer that said they were holding auditions for Clara for the Philadelphia ballet theater. I really wanted to be Clara, so I went into the alley by her shop, put on my Pointe shoes, warmed up, and got to work. A few minutes later, she came into the alley, and asked what I was doing. "Practicing for my Clara audition." "Well, I hope you don't have your heart set on getting it." "What am I doing wrong?" "Well, those pirouettes need work, and someone higher extensions would give the whole thing a face-lift. And don't get me started on your face." And that's how it started. Her training me in the alley. Eventually, she got a job at the studio where I danced, and when I made into NYC ballet, she became a ballet mistress there. And she still works one on one with me. I could stand in that shower daydreaming for longer, but I almost fall. The soap has rinsed off my body, and us making its way to the drain. And leaving a very slippery trail behind it. That's enough shower for today. I get out, dry myself, and put on clean sweatpants. I walk to my couch and, well, try to put on an episode of keeping up with the Kardashians. I despise Kim as a parent, but that show is mind numbing, in a good way. I don't want to think today. But before I even get to Hulu, my phone buzzes. It's my best friend, Bella. She has to remind me what happened today. "Are you OK, considering eveything?" It's nice she's checking in, but I don't want to be reminded of him. Well, I am, but reminded of what happened to him today. "Bella, I'd rather not talk about it." That was a little harsh, but I click send before I can think twice. She doesn't say anything back. Good. I just want to watch my show. But before I can get to Hulu, something much more interesting catches my eye. ABC News is on, probably from when I was getting ready this morning. It's too quiet here, ever since he left, so the TV is on all day to fill the silence. I don't even like news, but I just want to hear someone's voice. I need to get out there again. I hate being alone, but all I want is him. Well, supposedly, until now. The screen changes from the regular lady to a high tech room, well a high tech gym. But it's not the gym that catches my attention, but the people in it. A man with a Russian accent is in there, talking about heavyweight psi's, but I'm not paying attention to him. Slightly in front of me, is a tall, muscular man, with short blonde hair and blue eyes. He's staring blankly ahead. But there's something odd about him. A lot of the guys in my ballet classes are muscular, but they don't make me feel this way. I want this guy to come to America. I want to meet him. That blank face is just a guise boxers use to look tough. I want to know him.

[walkingwiththegods1]

A serious talk I had with certain Trickster, about Human relations with Deities/Spirits... (And, Human's Timelines!)

After the leaving of the blogger I admired and followed for years, I spended days where I needed to process what happened; and being able to started to move on of that feeling of sadness and feeling lost: I told to all The Gods and Goddesses closer to my heart, than I needed to be alone; and all of them left so I could have time for myself...

...All of them, except one: Loki.

He tried to atracted my attention, but I didn't feel the desire to talk to anyone; (including him) and he even sended me two animals, than at first; I thoughted than it was weird they appeared from nowhere, until I heared his voice moments later... And I got rid of both animals, the first flew away from me; and the second I sended to fly after I hitted the carpet where the little insect appeared and walk quickly. (I even accept a job for a short time, trying to find some peace to rethink things.)

He didn't seemed to understand, than the most he tried to talk me... The less interested and more angrier with him, I will be.

One night, he appeared to talked to me; but I didn't want to hear him: It was the first time in ten years, than I felt and act cold and distant towards him... And totally angry, too.

Loki: (Saying my name), please... Let me explain you!...

Me: I don't want to listen to you, Loki.

Loki: ...I have to tell you, why I did that...

Me: ...I don't really want to know, Loki! (Starting to walk away, to end the talk)

Loki: (In a sad tone) ...Please, forgive me!

Me: (Turning around to look at him) ...I'm not the one, to who you have to asked for forgiveness...

Me: (Looking straight to his eyes) ...She did things than I couldn't make yet, and my heart tells me; than she really loves you... Maybe even more, than I do!

Loki: I don't know why you are acting like that, (My name)...

Me: ...I'm acting like that, 'cause I hate to loses people I apreciate; and... (Sighing) ...I think you don't get it... (Loki, looking at me)

Me: Most humans, tends to love for a short time and leaved; only a few can love; as The Deities, loves: If one of the parts fell out of love, is better to tell that earlier so you don't hurt to the one you once loved.

Loki: (Looking like expecting the last words I said to him for two months)

Me: (Looking sadly at him) ...All of you, can always love and turns back time; anytime you need it, too: We humans?!... We doesn't have the luxury of time, by our side!... (Turning and walking away from him)

After the two months, I was ready to hear what he had to say; but... He spend weeks in silence, (which confirmed to me, than it wasn't something than I needed to hear; or... Than he had to talk to someone else) In some point, he was back again; and... Very slowly, things are getting back to how they were.

Marpessa, was a Greek Princess than had to choose; between the hero Idas, and Apollo/Apollon... Marpessa, chosed to Idas; telling to the God than if she had chooses him, she will eventually left her; when she grow old...

My relation's with The Trickster and with The One borne from The Sea's Foam, had longer than I was expecting; but... After what happened with one of The Trickster's most fervient followers and once spouse, I'm starting to fear and think: How long this may last?! (I'm look way younger than my real age, but... For how long?! What if, in five or ten years; Him, or Aphrodite [or, both] will leaves me; when I don't look that youthful, or... If I became so ill, than they decided to finished the emotional and/or romantic bond; than joined us, a long time ago?!) ...I think than all than have this kind of relations, has to take a moment to think than is truth than they are people than are so lucky; than even in illness and/or aging, the relation never change, and the same will last forever; but... That's not something than I heared very often: We must think to have at least one close friend, than understand and help us; in case the relation's with a Deity/Deities, ended; so we can find a way out of the pain than will surely follows, after that.

Now, I understand to Marpessa's Decission: Loving to a Deity or a Human, has its pro and cons; and we must choose with a cold head, 'wishing than our decision; will be something than will worth our time, than as Humans... Is not much!

Than our Relations with The Divine, lasts the time we needed for us, as Humans... So Be It!

[trinity-mia]

a story as endless as the ocean

the lightning thief

0.8 smooth like butter

warnings : sword fighting, blood, monster attack, cussing

word count : 4.1k

0.8 My Armor for Capture the Flag is, as BTS Would Say, Smooth like Butter

In just a few days I was able to make a routine for myself. I thanked the gods (which was weird the first few times I said it) for all of the movie training stuff I had to do because it prepared me for all the training the kids at Camp Half-Blood did. 

I was super good at archery, but only because I'd had two years of practice, so when Luke mentioned I might be Apollo's child, I had to tell him I was awful when I first started. Like, my arrow would hit many feet away from the target awful. Since I was pretty good with a regular bow and crossbow, Will Solace took that time to teach me first aid after a few minutes of hitting bullseyes. 

Clarisse taught me hand-to-hand combat, which I loved. While I'd had many good teachers, she was the child of the god of war; she was one of the best. She corrected a few mistakes I made and showed me the best ways to take someone down. I could hold my own for a while, but soon had to face the facts; I might've been 5'10", but I only weighed 115 pounds. Clarisse had to go pretty easy when we fought because otherwise, she would snap me like a twig. I'd win a few, but I was always pretty sure she had let me win them. 

Malcolm taught me Ancient Greek for about two and a half hours a day. Normally Annabeth would be the one teaching new campers, but since she made her hatred for me obvious, Malcolm had volunteered. I was glad about that, though, because even if he did hate me, he kept it to himself. Plus, he was good at helping me understand a few of the phrases that didn't quite make sense. He was quite shocked that I was a quick learner, even if our brains were hardwired for Ancient Greek instead of English. 

However, the moment I really excelled in was sword fighting. I'd even excelled at it when I was first starting a few years ago. I was one of my favorite things to do, even before knowing I was a demigod. Luke, who was the instructor, made a joke about letting me use two swords, like I did in a few of my movies, but it actually became a reality when I'd agreed to it. 

The swords I'd been given weren't very balanced, but I'd learned to deal with it. To be honest, even when I was first learning, those swords hadn't been balanced, either, so fighting with them was pretty much just business as usual. 

Since I already knew the basics, Luke told me to go ahead and show him what I knew. Our fight had ended up lasting almost ten minutes (Travis and Connor timed it) and only ended when I managed to disarm him. He seemed less shocked and more impressed than anything and made me his assistant teacher on the spot. 

Other than that, whenever we all had the same break times, Silena, Katie, Nessa, Clarisse, and I would go out to the beach and gossip. Not that we were a group of the biggest gossip girls to ever grace the Earth, but damn we could talk some shit. 

Katie would braid my hair every morning, while Silena would either pain my nails or help her. Clarisse always had a morning workout, so she wasn't able to attend the early morning gossip sessions we had. Nessa, however, would just do her regular conditioning as we all talked. 

Because Danny was a control freak, he had started waking me up at five in the morning every single day in order to get ready for the day ahead. I learned to deal with it after a few months and now it was something I did without him needing to wake me up. There were very few days I woke up with it not being 5 on the dot. This, however, helped out a lot when it came to spending time with my new friends. Silena and Nessa always had to get up early so they could do their hair and makeup and everything and Katie always had to get up early in order to tend to the strawberries. Our schedules almost always aligned, so we got to know each other super quickly. 

Even though the four of us looked tiny, the people who knew us really well knew we could easily take down most of our opponents. Whenever I thought about it, I couldn't for the life of me understand why anyone ever thought of Aphrodite or Demeter's children as weak.

I'd mentioned this one early morning as Katie finished up the second dutch braid for my hair and Silena was clipping off the acrylics she'd put on last week in order for her to put on new ones. Nessa was nearby, complaining about the push-ups her trainer made her do. They'd all rolled their eyes and scoffed simultaneously. 

"You know, I blame the Athena cabin," Katie finally grumbled. "Normally, a child of Athena's fatal flaw is hubris, so they think they're better than everyone. Not all of them; most are awesome. Like Malcolm and Whitney, for example, they're awesome and not total buzzkills. But then there's Annabeth." 

We all scoffed that time, then laughed at the sync. 

"Chiron and Luke spoil the crap out of her, always have," Silena chimed in. "And she's always whining about how awful her father and stepmother were to her. Apparently, they were so bad she had to run away at seven, and trust, plenty of us come from bad homes, way worse than hers, but the way Annabeth talks, you'd think her parents paying more attention to their newborn twins than to her was the same as beating her with a belt. And honestly, you can hardly blame them for being upset by monsters attacking their home, not that it happened often." 

"Remember when her father asked her to come back like... 2 years ago?" Nessa asked, finishing the last of her workout and coming to sit beside us. 

Silena nodded with another eye roll as she began applying new nails on top of my own. "Okay, so her father's a history professor and doesn't have a lot of time as it is, but he sent her a letter a while ago with his college ring in it asking her to come back."

"She was all dramatic about it," Katie continued, taking the talking stick. "Complained and whined and only gave in when Chiron and Luke pressed her to give him a chance. She stayed for maybe a month. Called twice saying she wanted to be picked up. The first time it was only because she wasn't getting enough attention and when Chiron told her she could only leave if she got attacked she called back a few days later saying she had, by a hellhound. She demanded she be picked up immediately and complained for days after the fact. By the way, I hope you like gold and white, because that's what I brought."

"I don't care. Have at it," I assured her. "She just didn't like me before I'd even said a word. And I'm not very patient, but I was with her and she still didn't like me. Said something about me being too obsessed with myself and then said we'd get along great because of it."

"Oh, yeah," Katie said, finishing my hair and moving to sit in front of me beside Silena. "I heard about that. Apparently, she went to Chiron and said some stuff about you, but he didn't believe it and it's like the only time he ever said no to her. She was all pressed about it and wouldn't leave her cabin for dinner."

"I was wondering why I couldn't feel her negativity while I was eating." I paused for a moment. "Not that I wanted it, but like... it was kind of weird." 

We laughed as Silena finished my right hand and moved to start my left. 

"Anyways, enough about the annoying child. Word around camp is you are a pretty good shot and incredible with a sword. Not to mention you keep Clarisse on her toes. What's your secret, Barbie?" Katie said, still calling me the name she had jokingly called me when we were talking about my awful choice of careers. 

"She's a fuckin' boss bitch, that's her secret," Nessa said, laughing to herself. "Trust me, I'd know."

"Oh, shut up, Ness. Most of the time I do really... I don't know, physical roles. So, I like playing superheroes and characters that generally have a lot of stunts. I don't know if you know, but I've never had a stunt double. Because of that, I have to get a lot of skills your average person doesn't really need. Archery and sword fighting, for example. I only know how to do those things because I had to learn how to for a role." 

Katie and Silena nodded. Nessa gave them a pointed look. "Oh, look. My point still stands."

I rolled my eyes, then finally realized Silena had just finished my nails. "Ooh, I love them. Thanks, Sil."

"No prob," she replied and we carried on with our conversation until we all had to leave to do our scheduled training. 

I actually didn't need to head to the arena for sword fighting for another half hour, so I went and sat by the fire and posted a few tweets so people wouldn't think I was dead. Twitter users are... dramatic, to say the least. And then I didn't have anything to do. My thoughts wandered back to my mother and where she was now. 

"You miss her dearly, don't you?" a voice said, coming from the other side of the fire. Or rather, the dead center of the fire. I tilted my head. I ran through the list of immortals in my head and went with the most likely candidate. 

"Lady Hestia," I gave a respectful and modest curtsy, the proper one I had to learn while on the set of Game of Thrones. "It's an honor to finally meet you."

"It's an honor to finally meet you, Astraea Jackson," she replied, giving me the same curtsy I'd given her. We smiled at each other and she stood and walked out of the flames to sit beside me. "You know, everyone is so busy now, they don't stop at the hearth to have a chat with me anymore. Most of the time they don't even see me." 

My smile turned to a frown. "I'll stop and speak to you. Every day, at this time, as long as you or I aren't busy," I told her. 

She clapped like she was the eight-year-old girl by which she looked. "Your personality is the perfect mix between your mother and your father, you know. Now your looks." She laughed a little as she studied my face. "They come straight from your father. But you act like the both of them." 

I ignored the part where she mentioned my father because I was more focused on my mother, but I'm like at least 50% sure I would've been able to figure out who he was if I just asked. 

"Did you... did you know her?" I asked instead, caring more about getting more memories that had to do with my mom. 

"A little. She came to me quite often for advice. It wasn't easy for her to raise a demigod child, I hope you know. Especially one as special as you." 

I nodded sadly. "I know I wasn't the easiest. I just wish I could—"

"Allie!" Luke interrupted, jogging towards me. "Our class is about to start. Do you mind helping me get everything ready?" 

I nodded and smiled apologetically towards Hestia. "I'll come back tomorrow," I promised. She smiled happily and stepped back into the flames.

***

The rest of the day went by fairly uneventfully. It was the night everyone was excited about. It was Friday, which meant it was Capture the Flag night. It was all anyone could talk about all day. 

After dinner (which by the way hadn't been very nice, considering Annabeth kept her glare on me as I ate. I suspected it was because Luke still insisted I sit on his lap, but it also could've been because she just hated me. Or both) everyone was bustling around, getting their armor on and arming themselves with their preferred weapon. 

I'd chosen to go with two swords only, not wanting the extra weight of a bow and arrow while I was fighting. Luke told me I looked badass when he first saw me, blue plumed helmet and all. 

Although we were on separate teams, Katie, Nessa, and Silena all made sure my hair and nails hadn't suffered throughout the day and made sure I would go to them once the game was over so they could check again. 

Chiron stomped a hoof against the ground and told us to get to our teams. 

"I promise not to make you look bad for your first game here," Silena joked, seeing how outnumbered my team was. While Hermes and Apollo were definitely the biggest cabins and they combined with Athena would be a pretty good team, the Ares cabin had gotten everyone else. I was honestly worried, considering there's no one at camp I'd call a bad fighter. A lazy one, yes. A bad one, no. 

Chiron stomped his hoof on the ground again to gain our attention. Katie gave me a quick wink and hurried off to join her team.

"Heroes!" Chiron began. "You know the rules. The creek is the boundary line. The entire forest is fair game. All magic items are allowed. The banner must be prominently displayed, and have no more than two guards. Prisoners may be disarmed, but may not be bound or gagged. No killing or maiming is allowed. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic. Arm yourselves!"

Luke grabbed my arm and pulled me closer to the team. We were going over last-minute battle strategies and once we were done with that, Luke and I started our own conversation. We'd been talking about something random when Annabeth forced herself in between us, effectively cutting us off. 

"Blue team," she yelled, sticking her knife in the air, almost cutting my left braid off. "Forward!"

My job was to keep watch over the creek until Luke came and got me. Then, we'd tag-team our way to the flag and back. At least, that was Luke's plan. Annabeth's kept me at the creek while Luke went to get the flag, but he told me he'd rather have an extra person watch his back. 

We saluted each other before turning and making our way to our assigned areas. The creek was calm and still and it soothed me, preparing me for the game. As soon as the conch horn went off, my veins pumped with adrenaline. I kept one of my swords sheathed and used the other to lean against, at the ready, should I need it. 

A growling coming from the woods distracted me and I almost didn't catch someone running right towards me. Just as they were about to slice my arm off, I parried the attack. I noticed the blue plume on top of their helmet.

"Dude!" I managed to yell as they went into attack mode again. "We're on the same team!"

"I know," he yelled back, barely managing to keep my attacks contained. "Special orders, you'll understand later."

"What?" In my moment of confusion, he managed to cut my arm. At first, I didn't think it was very deep considering it wasn't very long, but then blood ran down my arm and I knew it was worse than it looked. I noticed he didn't draw first blood, though. I'd sliced his wrist, not as deep, but it made me feel better that he wasn't the first to get the jump on their opponent. 

He pushed me back and I hit the creek. Which was pretty good for me, considering as soon as my foot touched the water, the pain in my arm went away and I felt instantly rejuvenated, like I'd just chugged a few coffees. 

His eyes widened as I knocked his sword out of his hand and immediately after knocked him out with the flat end of my sword. 

Luke ran by seconds later and his eyes widened. "What the hell happened?" he whispered, looking at the dude and then to me. He didn't notice my arm. That was good. 

"I'll explain later," I whispered back. "C'mon, we need to get going." 

He nodded and we took off through the woods. I could've sworn I heard the growling again, but between the clashing of swords, occasional cussing, and footsteps, I couldn't be sure. 

We knocked out anyone who we came across, which, thankfully, was only two people. I couldn't see who they were, but I didn't really worry about it too much. 

Finally, we came into the clearing where the flag was. It was being guarded by two Ares kids. Luke and I nodded to each other and we made our way in separate directions to the side. We locked eyes and nodded again.

The two Ares dudes didn't even know what hit them. Literally. Luke and I worked well as a team, so they were down quickly and effectively. Another person from the red team saw us and ran over to try and stop us. As Luke went for the flag, I took down the dude.

He was a hard opponent, but I managed to gain the upper hand and disarm him, taking him down soon after. 

Luke was just standing there staring at me. "I'm both frightened and aroused," he said with a smirk when I looked over to him. 

"Don't take my movie's line!" I yelled, grabbing his wrist and dragging him back towards our side, rolling my eyes all the way. "It only came out, like, two months ago." 

"I know, some of us were allowed to go out and watch it," he replied nonchalantly. 

As soon as the flag was spotted, which didn't take long, all of the red's were after us, while our side kept them at bay. We ran out of the forest and passed Annabeth, who was looking angrily at the boy who'd attacked me earlier. I didn't look back to see how mad she was now, but I knew she would be even worse once everything calmed down. I left what she thought was my spot. I could feel her glare on my back as Luke and I finally got back to our side. Cheers and groans rang through the night as our side surrounded me and Luke. 

Luke and I cheered with the rest of them while the flag turned from red to silver with a caduceus. That is, until Annabeth broke through the crowd, seething. 

"Where were you, Jackson?!" she all but yelled. 

I shrugged happily and laughed a little. "Doesn't matter! We won!" I yelled back, still beaming as I did so. 

"Doesn't mat—" she sputtered angrily. "Doesn't matter?! What if we didn't win, huh?! It would've been because you weren't there!"

"Annabeth! That's enough," Luke commanded. "She wasn't there because I told her to go with me. Malcolm and I reworked the plan a little because there's no way I would've gotten the flag there and back without help. I know you, Annabeth. You wanted her to get pummeled by anyone who came across her. We knew you'd be around in case someone were to get that far. It's not a big deal! You never used to act like this, what happened?" 

"Not a big deal?!" she exploded. "Never used to—?! It's not exactly 'back then' is it?! T— She's gone and just when I think everything will be fine, she—" Annabeth pointed her dagger at me as she spit her words out venomously— "comes along and you start following her around like a lost puppy!"

"Your past is not my problem," I said, calmly. Danny always said I was more terrifying when I was mad and calm than when I was mad and yelling. "Stop trying to blame all of your problems on me. Just because—" I paused when I heard a growl coming from the woods. No one else seemed to hear it. 

"Because what, huh?!" She raged. I shushed her, but that only made her angrier. "No! Because what? Tell me!" 

"Shut up!" I finally snapped. 

She stepped back and shut her mouth, knowing I meant business. I drew both swords as I slowly walked towards the woods.

Luke stepped closer to me. "Allie? What are you—" 

Then they heard it. The campers were dead silent. The growl cut through the silence like butter.

"Stand ready," Chiron called out in Greek. "My bow!"

Luke seemed to catch sight of something because in the silence he yelled out, "Allie, run!" while making his way towards me.

Before anyone else could react, a giant, and I mean giant, black dog— a hellhound— jumped out of the forest and jumped over campers, its eyes set on me. I had both of my swords drawn, ready for attack, but it was smart. Just as I was about to swing, it lunged right for my upper arms, cutting off all chances I had at killing it. Once it knew I was down, it shifted and began clawing my chest open. It was like my armor was made of butter or something, because after one swipe it did nothing for me. With the last remaining strength I had, I swung my arms up and stuck my swords through its neck. At the same time, a dozen of Chiron's arrows impaled themselves into its back.

It disappeared into a cloud of smoke and Luke ran to my side, along with Silena, Katie, Clarisse, Malcolm, and Will. Danny and Nessa followed shortly after, having been towards the back of the group. Danny almost tackled Malcolm out of the way in order to get beside me. 

"Allie!" Luke got my attention. "Holy shit! Can you hear me?" 

Will had to push him back slightly so he could see the extent of my injuries. I knew they were bad, I didn't need a doctor to tell me that. I could feel the blood spreading to my back, just like my head wound had. 

"Di immortales, Chiron," I heard Nessa exclaim. "How did a hellhound get into Camp?"

"Someone obviously summoned it," Clarisse snapped with a stony voice. "Specifically to go after Allie, by the looks of it. It didn't even glance at the rest of us."

"Is she okay, Will?" Silena's tone was frantic as Chiron made his way over. I barely registered the fact that my head was in the water, but I felt perfectly dry. She along with Katie and Nessa all looked close to tears. 

I met Will's eyes and he looked at me grimly. Somehow, I knew what he was going to say. 

"Luke, get her other side. Help me get her into the water more." 

Luke looked confused at the order, but did it anyway. That was the moment Luke saw the cut on my arm and he understood. 

"Where did all of that blood on your arm come from? It looks fine?" he asked. 

"Got cut a while ago. When I stepped into the river it healed it, mostly, but you found me before it finished. I'm assuming it's not there anymore?" I replied, suddenly feeling my energy return. 

"It's not, you're right, but that doesn't make sense, unless... oh shit." 

Will and I nodded stiffly while everyone else looked on in confusion. 

In moments I was stepping out of the creek, perfectly fine, while everyone watched me. I took a deep breath and prepared myself for what was about to happen. Unless luck was on my side and it wouldn't... nope. 

There were gasps from all around and I kept my expression calm and my eyes closed. When I forced them open, everyone was kneeling, even Annabeth, though she looked very peeved about it. I tilted my head up slightly to see it. I was claimed, that was for sure. The golden trident surrounded by a green-blue light, the same color as my eyes, was enough to tell me, and everyone else, that. 

My life was about to get a million times more complicated.

"It is determined," Chiron announced, while I looked into his eyes defiantly. He stared back at me sympathetically. "Poseidon; Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Father of Horses. Hail, Astraea Jackson, Daughter of the Sea God."

*    *    *

previous | next

SERIES M.LIST | MAIN M.LIST | TIPS

[kyndaris]

Hot Airing over Antiquity

Despite our chances of soaring over the Cappadocia region in hot-air balloons being dashed by the poor weather, we still had one last opportunity in Pamukkale. It might not have caverns and deep gullies, but it was still impressive to hover over the ‘Cotton Castle’ in all its limestone glory. And also take in the ancient city of Hierapolis via air.

Nothing screams adventure more than looking upon an ancient amphitheatre from above. Or, you know, running the risk of dropping your phone and losing all evidence of your overseas trip. But, I hear you, dear reader, say, it’s all about the experience, right?

Wrong! Here in the internet age, if there are no pictures, it’s doubtful it even happened. And even WITH photographic proof, editing software makes it easy to question EVERYTHING. Coupled with the fact that I hate taking pictures of myself? Why, it could be easily claimed that I stole all my photos from Google.

I didn’t, of course (what kind of travel blogger would do that), but it’s something easy that detractors can claim. Not that I have any detractors. My little corner on the internet is rarely frequented and when it is, it’s mostly by people I already know in real life. Which is exactly how I like it!

Regardless, the trip up in the air was quite smooth. We were up in the air and I didn’t even feel a thing. Best of all, we didn’t crash land. Nor did we become a ball of flame that hurtled to the ground in a fiery explosion. I might not have liked being bombarded by fossil fuel natural gas every time the pilot fired up...well, the fire...but I am thankful for getting an opportunity to take to the skies and look down at all the unworthy ants crawling down beneath me.

Delusions of grandeur, thy name is Kyndaris!

Once we landed, we packed hurriedly into the minivan and headed straight back to our hotel. And it was here that I bid a silent farewell to my Malaysian ballooning companions. I might not have gotten any of their names but I did overhear most of their conversations as they called family and friends while riding up in the balloon. And while I was very tempted to make my known in at least half of their calls, I resisted the urge.

So kind of me! So magnanimous!

All right. I think that’s enough self-aggrandising from me. Back to detailing my actual exploits while on holiday.

After returning to hotel, I went back to the room that I shared with Popo and readied to luggage to bring down to the coach. Then it as off to actually explore Hierapolis by foot. Or, more technically, as a chauffeur for Popo and her friend as I drove around on a modified moped.

The name, Hierapolis, is Greek in nature and according to the information board that I took at the site, means ‘Sacred City.’ It was presumably founded by one of the successors of Alexander the Great. In 188BC, it was passed into the hands of the Kings of Pergamon before becoming one of the wealthiest cities during Roman times. At the sight, there was plenty to see including a ruined temple of Apollo and a statue dedicated to Pluto, or Hades. I only recognised him because of the three-headed guardian to the Underworld, Cerberus, that stood at his side.

The city also featured many iconic Roman buildings including baths, gymnasium and theatre. I certainly knew that my 17-18 year old self would have been leaping for joy if I’d visited then, giving my interest in Ancient History and, in particular, the Flavian period of the Emperors.

Young children might be able to tell me in excruciating detail about their favourite dinosaurs. I will respond with my own rant upon my supposed subject of expertise - the Julio-Claudian emperors and the Flavian dynasty, which followed after Nero and the Year of Four Emperors.

History aside, it ought to be known that despite being the Sacred City of antiquity, Hierapolis was abandoned following an earthquake in about 616 AD that left only a few crumbling buildings in its aftermath. Despite this, there are signs of Seljuk presence in the ruins. Which would indicate that people had still frequented the site up until 400 years after the devastating quake.

But because of that, the city was almost pastoral in appearance with swaths of green covering the ruins. What made Hierapolis so special for us, though, was the ‘Cotton Castle’ that the city was built atop on. Layered all in white, the city was favoured with warm thermal waters that bubbled to the surface and which were rich in minerals. Over the years, it had covered the cliff tops in a layer of white limestone. And even in this modern age, those thermal waters continue to gurgle, which Popo got to enjoy by dipping her toes in.

There was also a swimming pool with sunken columns at the city that visitors could pay to enter.

Talk about taking advantage of what mother nature has given you! I however, simply enjoyed admiring the scenes of Europeans floating in the warm waters before inspecting the adjacent museum where displays of old pottery and statues could be seen. There were even carved reliefs depicting the coronation of Septimius Severus, a Roman Emperor, by the Goddess Nike and one that saw Dionysus, the Greek God of Wine and Debaurchery, partying hard with nymphs, centaurs, satyrs, the cherubic Eros and Pan.

After drinking in our fill of the city, we had a quick lunch in what felt like a communal cafeteria that stunk of oil before heading back on the road. This time we were headed westward to the Aegean Sea! Kusadasi, here we come!

[gloxiniaflower]

Some parts were rushed and not detailed enough, but this something I wrote to waste some time on.

My "Love"

Poseidon x male reader

No one never guessed that poseidon would be married to a male God.

Poseidon sat down with his husband and other gods, m/n had a bright smile present on his face. He was excited to finally meet other gods, Poseidon on the other hand was not having a good time.

"Oh~ I didn't know you had a husband~" Loki smiled, poseidon didn't like the way Loki spoke.

"I'm m/n!" He happily exclaimed, he did a little bow. Poseidon did like that gesture his husband did to Loki, the gods were caught off guard by that action.

"A god bowing to another god, what is the meaning of this poseidon." Odin demanded, poseidon turned to Odin but m/n got to answer him before poseidon.

"Its a sign of respect," m/n answered, his smile annoyed someone of the gods. "M/n, sit down." Poseidon demanded, m/n nodded his head and saw down.

The meeting went on and on for hours, they were talking about how they're was gonna be a party. M/n was mostly focused on what he was gonna cook. Finally the meeting ended, Invitations were being handed out in the morning then the party will be in 3 days.

M/n flew beside poseidon, he was telling poseidon about the rare fruit at the sacred tree. Whispers and be heard around them, possibly was getting annoyed more and more.

"I didn't know poseidon had a husband."

"Thats so embarrassing, he can do much better."

"Married to fairy...how disgraceful."

"Such a low-life fairy."

"Thats a god...he is a mere god."

M/n can hear the whispering, their hearts, their minds. He was fully aware of what everyone was saying, poseidon was annoyed by everyone including his husband.

When they got back to the kingdom, poseidon didn't utter a single word.

"I'm sorry..." m/n muttered, poseidon turned to m/n and sighed. "Next time you're staying." He glared at the fairy, today was humiliating for him. It was a big mistake.

M/n stayed quiet and went to their room, he read his heart. It was full on anger, he hated the way it sounded. He's changed his clothes and put on his night clothes, he put his wings away and got into bed. He walked into the washroom and stared at himself.

He looked much more younger, he was 5'4, he was mistaken for a kid multiple times. He continued to stare at himself, his long hair reached above his knees.

"Starring at yourself won't make you feel any better." Poseidon said as he changed, m/n turned to poseidon. "Why did you marry me?" He asked, poseidon sighed.

"That is a very stupid question m/n, I married you cause I love you for who you are." Poseidon hugged m/n, but m/n said otherwise. Poseidon lied, his heart said it.

M/n flew over to the bed and layed there, he was hurt.

•   M O R N I N G   •

m/n woke up and walked to the kitchen and saw the invitation sitting on the table, he walked over and opened it.

Only poseidon's name was written down, not m/n. He smiled and put it back, he flew up to the room to wake up poseidon.

"Poseidon, its time to wake up!" M/n loudly announced and open the blinds, poseidon slowly got up and stared at the fairy. "M/n...it's 7 in morning, come back to bed." He groaned, m/n flew to his side.

"But, you promised that we go to the garden." M/n whined 'I have better things to do.' Poseidon thought. M/n smiled "i'll go by myself, go ahead and get some rest." M/n exclaimed and flew out of the room. M/n smiled as he saw the flowers blooming, he missed the fairy kings forest.

He sat down and enjoyed the peace, it was calming. He knew this was gonna come to an end soon, all of it. All he can do was make the best of it while he can. He knew that other people hated him, maybe it was for the best to ignore it.

In a blink of an eye, poseidon was getting getting ready for the party. M/n helped him with his hair, he made sure poseidon looked his best.

"M/n, can you not read peoples minds and heart." Poseidon monotone voice made m/n froze, m/n smiled. "I can't, no matter how much I try...I just can't." He admitted, poseidon rolled his eyes at his answer.

"I'll see you after poseidon, be safe love you." M/n gave him a quick kiss and flew away, he flew to their room and collapsed on the ground. He quickly stood up and grabbed his weapon.

Today was their anniversary and poseidon completely ignored it, m/n was gonna go to to the spot they met. He was bringing his weapon along just in case something happened.

Hours passed and poseidon was waiting in the room, waiting for m/n. He was starting to get irritated, 2 more hours passed and he decided to go to bed.

The next day, shiva was yelling poseidons name. Poseidon groaned and looked to his side and saw that m/n wasn't there. He got dressed and walked to the front door, he stared at shiva with a glare. "What do you wan-" he was cut off by shiva pulling him.

Poseidon noticed they were heading to the building where Apollo lived, shiva didn't say anything to poseidon. When they got inside they saw Apollo and loki struggling, poseidon ran up the stairs and saw m/n bleeding.

"M/n let us heal you, if you don't then you'll die!" Loki yelled, m/n ignored them and flew out the window. Loki immediately flew after him, Apollo turned to the side and saw poseidon, he ignored him and ran past him and shiva.

"Shiva, tell me what the hell is going on." Poseidon demanded, shiva clenched his jaw. He didnt want to tell poseidon, he just couldn't. "What happened to m/n!" He yelled, shiva punch the wall out of anger. "I don't have time for this." Shiva muttered and ran off.

Loki, thor, beelzebub, shiva, and Apollo were standing infront of a huge tree. Poseidon was quick to notice the tree, it was the sacred tree. The sacred tree is where m/n was born from, it brought back memories of when he first met him. Everyone had found a way up the tree and saw m/n leaning against something.

"M/n..please let me heal you." Apollo begged, m/n stayed quiet. Poseidon had enough of this, no one was gonna give him a proper answer. "Someone tell me what happened and why m/n is injured!" He demanded, Loki clicked his tongue.

"M/n ripped out his wings, he is gonna bleed out and die. And it all your fault" Loki hissed, poseidon was taken back by what loki said. Poseidon turned to m/n and walked towards him "m/n I know you're mad at me and I'm sorry for the things I did." Poseidon softly spoke

"Quit lying to me!!!" M/n yelled, he fell to his knees and cried. Eveything was hurting, he was in the worst state. "He was better than you, he never made me feel like this." He sobbed, poseidon walked forward "who was?" Poseidon asked.

"Gloxinia, gloxinia was the only person who made me feel like I was on top. If only I didn't met you, if only I never married you...maybe then...he would still be alive." M/n sobbed, Apollo took the opportunity and held m/n in his arms as he injected the needle into his back.

"But, he wouldn't have wanted this. He gave everyone here, that is present in this room the droplet of life." Loki took m/n out of Apollo's hold and held him, everyone walked over to where m/n was leaning. Shiva looked at the corpse then at m/n, "you kept his body here the whole time." He softly spoke, m/n slowly stood up with loki aiding him.

"Gloxinia belongs here, this is where we came from. I refuse to take him anywhere else." M/n cried, no matter how many years passed...he couldn't get over it. "I hear what everyone thinks and says about me, imagine being in my position."

M/n slid the knife he had in his sleeve and stabbed himself, the heart. Everyone froze and watched as m/n smiled, loki grabbed the knife and threw it somewhere else.

"M/n!" Poseidon panicked and ran towards his lover, m/n felt everything draining from his body. The pain was finally disappearing, everyone was doing their best to heal him but nothing was working.

"Loki...Thor...can you do me one last thing for me?" M/n asked, thor clenched clenched his fist, loki nodded his head. "I want you to watch over the next fairy king, make sure he is happy...I trust you to do that for me... That's all I ask of you." M/n smiled

Loki felt no energy coming from m/n, he held him close and cried. He was someone important in his life, he loved him but he belonged to the heartless God. Poseidon had enough and stormed out, he silently cried and he walked away from the sacred tree. Everything he did and say to m/n made him feel regret, maybe if he was a bit more nicer...maybe then he'd be still alive.

Everyone was quiet, then they heard a soft cry. Thor stood up and walked to where the crying was coming from, thor picked up the infant and held it close. Loki lifted m/n and placed him beside gloxinia, it what he wanted...to be close by someone who loved and cherished him.

The gods stayed quiet, they're anger was at poseidon. It made them flare up in anger but they just couldn't hurt him, m/n cherish poseidon so they couldn't hurt him.

Now, they will protect the next fairy with everything they had. Anything to protect him from that heartless God.

[carryonthroughtheages]

Hello everyone!

Another year of Carry On Through The Ages is over and done! We have emotions and exhaustion, but we're so happy that this year had the hype and excitement that it did.

Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, to all of the AMAZING creators who spent the last several months working away at their historical content!

Thank you also to the hard-working mods: @bazzybelle, @giishu, @palimpsessed, and @xivz . This fest would not have been as successful as it has been without you!

We encourage everyone to look under the page break for all the fics and art. They're all fantastic!

Here is the link to the AO3 Collection: Carry On Through The Ages 2021!

Thank you all, and until next year! 🧡🧡🧡

MONDAY:

1) sun on the sea (T) - @trenchcoat-moth : AO3 // Tumblr

Tensions run high in England, and Malcolm decides it's for the best he sends Baz to live with Fiona, where he'll be safer.

That is, until Baz's ship is attacked.

2) The Words I Long To Say (M) - @bazzybelle : AO3 // Tumblr

Simon Snow was dead.

Baz Pitch was sure of it. Simon had gone away seven years ago to fight a war in the jungle and he hadn't come home.

So, when Simon shows up in Baz's club, investigating a string of brutal murders, all Baz wants to do is hold him close and never let him go.

But these aren't the same boys from 1960 and Baz has a lot of processing to do before he's ready to believe in Simon again.

3) we are slaves to gods, whatever gods are (M) - @wellbelesbian : AO3 // Tumblr

I don’t fully understand what plagues him, but I know it’s bad, and I know it goes deeper than guilt. He didn’t want to kill his father, not really, but we were instructed to do so by Apollo. Cleanse the house of its sins, dispose of a murderer to set things right. It was only right that I join him; he was avenging my mother as much as his. Clearly, Apollo didn’t seem to consider that such an act would make Simon a murderer in his father’s place. It seems I got off fine, but as far as Simon is concerned, the vengeful spirits that once spun and danced on the roof of the palace now hunt him down, determined not to stop until he rids the world of himself.

4) World War II Era Art - @stardustasincocaine : Tumblr

TUESDAY:

1) the art of loving you (E) - @one-more-offbeat-anthem : AO3 // Tumblr

1955. London. Young love.

Forbidden love.

A year ago, starving artist Simon Snow met Baz Pitch, son of a wealthy art patron, at a party, and their days (and nights) together have been a wonderful secret.

But Simon is tired of being a secret and knows it's time for things to end.

(Baz has other ideas.)

2) Reliquary of an Arsonist (T) - @tea-brigade : AO3 // Tumblr

Simon Snow grew up a ward of Watford Abbey, but when his magic manifested in an explosive accident as a child, he became the Abbey’s anchorite—never to leave Watford’s walls, for his own protection. That is, until Abbot David sends him on an important errand…

Basilton Pitch paints portraits for his patron, Lord Grimm. But he’s never forgotten the magic he learned from his mother—nor the men who condemned her to death as a heretic. When Simon arrives and offers Baz a commission from Watford Abbey, he sees his chance to avenge his mother once and for all...and he’s willing to burn down everything in his path to that end.

But it was no coincidence that pulled these two unlikely souls together. Something more sinister is underway at Watford Abbey, and only Simon and Baz can uncover the truth before everything goes up in flames.

3) Westward Son (E) - @aristocratic-otter : AO3 // Tumblr

Simon and Baz have found each other again, but there's nowhere in Brooklyn or Virginia where they can safely be together. So now, they venture the hazards and struggles of the Oregon trail, to perhaps find a little homestead in Oregon of their own.

4) A Way Out (T) - @lying-on-the-sofa : AO3

I frown at him..“You don’t know me.”

He offers his hand. “Simon.”

Simon. I feel the name around in my mind and assign it to his face. Simon. I don’t shake his hand. They’ve still got my arms pinned. “Basilton.”

Simon nods at me. “Now we know each other. Let him go.” Very casually, he takes his other hand from behind his back. A sword, flashing. He leans on it and smiles invitingly. “Let him go.”

This time, they listen.

--

Simon Snow has been trained for years to become a tribute—one of the fighters Athens sends every ninth year into the Minotaur’s labyrinth. He wants to know the way out, if only for Penny’s sake. Luckily for him, Prince Basilton of Crete also wants a way out—off the island, where no one will know he’s the half-brother of the Minotaur.

Unluckily for both of them, they don’t exactly form the most agreeable pair.

WEDNESDAY

1) long is the road the leads me home (G) - @wellbelesbian : AO3 (Version 1) (Version 2) // Tumblr

Baz has a rather unremarkable life, and he's fine with that. Running his late mother's beloved inn with his temperamental aunt, estranged from his father and step-siblings, he's successfully convinced himself that he's better off without attachments.

Then Simon barrels into his life, guns blazing and rapier drawn, and Baz is swept up in dramatic plot he never bargained for.

Worse still, he finds he quite likes the thrill.

2) New Romantics (T) - @ninemagicks : AO3 // Tumblr

Basilton Pitch, twenty-two years old and a famed poet of the Romantic era, has fled to the countryside. In Mummers House, the fabled haunt of literary greats, he sulks himself into oblivion and awaits a sad, disappointing end to his brief years of brilliance. The cause of his downfall? None other than Simon Snow, the so-called “bad boy of English poetry”, breaker of rules and eternal thorn in his side. Baz hopes that Mummers House might mean an escape from London, from Snow and his increasingly virulent popularity... but the rain that comes has other ideas.

3) thnétos (T) - @snowybank : AO3 // Tumblr

thnétos: subject to death, mortal

a retelling of Apollo and Hyacinthus

4) A Medieval AU art piece - @thewriterxj : Tumblr

THURSDAY

1) From Eden (E) - @orange-peony : AO3 // Tumblr

I wonder if his skin is warm or cold to the touch. I tell myself it’s simple curiosity, that I’m an artist and capturing things on paper or canvas is my way to make sense of the world. That drawing him feels so natural, so I should just follow my instincts. Ebb used to say it all the time. Follow your heart. It knows where you’re supposed to go.

I wish I could. I wish I had enough money and freedom to just draw what I want. To paint him in his unattainable beauty. To draw him the way I want to. Naked and vulnerable, raw. Without frills and expensive suits.

Just Baz on paper, my fingers tracing his delicate and beautiful lines with simple charcoal.

2) Slings and Eros (M) - @palimpsessed : AO3 // Tumblr

Young god of love Simonides is tasked by his father, the god of war, to bring about the ruin of a mortal prince to punish his blasphemy. However, once Simonides sees his intended victim, he begins to have misgivings. Prince Tyrannus might have offended the gods with his very existence, but all Simonides can see is how beautiful and lonely he is.

Or, a very loose interpretation of the Eros and Psyche myth.

3) I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire (M) - @knitbelove : AO3 // Tumblr

September 1940: Going back to Watford feels different this year, and not just because England is at the brink of war with Germany and Italy. Penelope seems unsettled by everything, and Agatha is distant, and Baz is … simply not here.

What if Carry On but during the Blitz?? Yeah.

4) A Fool's Oath (M) - @thewriterxj : AO3 // Tumblr

A simple soldier is invited to join the ranks of the royal guard. He and his appointed mage arrive at the royal city to find themselves at the mercy of an unmerciful court. As he struggles to find his place in this foreign environment, he also finds himself entranced by music that only he seems to hear that floats out about the city. He makes an oath to wed whoever makes such beautiful music.

Too bad that person is the crown prince.

FRIDAY

1) Stranger Tides (T) - @tea-brigade & @xivz : AO3 // Tumblr

“If some god shall wreck me in the wine-dark deep, even so I will endure…” Captain Simon Snow of the Chosen One is many things—cunning, handsome, ruthless. Greedy. It’s no surprise that Snow finds a way to piss off the God of the Sea, he always manages to get himself into some type of trouble. This time, however, he’s not the only one who will suffer the consequences. Poseidon promises to not stop his pursuit until Snow and all of his men are dead.

Enter Basilton Pitch—rich, beautiful, mysterious. Suspicious. He offers the crew of the Chosen One a hefty sum to take him back to Europe from the Caribbean. And who is Captain Snow to refuse so much coin? After all, Greek gods aren’t real.

Right?

2) The wayward heir [comic] (M) - @letraspal : AO3 // Tumblr

Like a folk song, our love will be passed on. Simon Snow wants to be an artist. He used to live in Fiesole where he worked in the wool shop of his good friend Ebeneza Petty. He has now chosen to return to his native Florence in order to participate in an art contest hosted by the Pitch family, the most important bankers in all the three continents and Simon’s last chance for an art patronage. No matter how much he hates them.

But being back in Florence also brings back the memories Simon wanted to leave behind : his days as an orphan, the mystery about his mother, and once more being under the inquisitive eyes of his godfather, the new archbishop Davy. The archbishop is very same man who would never forgive him for dropping out the priesthood and ruining his secret plans against the Pitches.

The last thing Simon needed was an unbearably handsome jerk getting him into trouble on his very first day in Florence. How can focus when this man is the most annoying person he has ever met and yet his major source of inspiration.

3) Prohibition Blues (T) - @heyyyandrea : AO3

Simon Snow is a baker and aspiring playwright in Prohibition Era New York City. When he meets a handsome man at Shepherd's speakeasy who is interested in his work, he can't help but think it feels too good to be true.

4) Earth Below & Sky Above (M) - @phoxphyre : AO3 // Tumblr

In the depth of the palace of King Minos of Crete lurks a creature known as the Minotaur.

Baz, prince of Athens and chosen of the god Poseidon, has heard the stories. And now he’s volunteered to come to Crete as one of the annual tributes—to dance with the king’s bulls and fulfill his destiny. He just wants to survive the bulls, protect his people, and go home.

But what if the Minotaur isn’t a monster—but just a boy? And what if instead of slaying him, Baz fell in love with him?

A Carry On retelling of the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur, set in Bronze Age Crete.

5) A 1980s AU Art piece by @stardustasincocaine : Tumblr // Instagram (Slightly NSFW)

[miraculouswolf99]

Grand Festival Showdown

The Miraculous gang as Pokemon trainers. All of them are the same, but their dreams have all been modified to include pokemon. Kagami, Kim, Alix, and Ivan are all battlers. Marinette, Adrien, Luka, Nino, Chloe, Nathaniel, and Lila all do contests. Juleka, Rose, and Mylene all do showcases. This all takes place in the Sinnoh Region.

Includes my favorite Lila Salt as well as Alya Salt.

My original characters are included in this story as well. Lyon being a champion grand coordinator, Vallia being a pokemon nurse in training, Apollo is a contest contestant, Mason being a gym leader, and Lena is a friend to the twins.

This is a long one, about 6000 words, so buckle up people.

*****

If there was one thing that Adrien loved, it was competing in pokemon contests. Since his father usually forced him to model for his fashion company, he appreciated the beauty that he saw in the pokemon that his father made matching outfits of for the photoshoots. And from watching the Pokemon League on television, he definitely also knew that they had power. So contests were the perfect blend of how he saw pokemon as the beautiful and powerful creatures that they were.

Not that his father even knew that he participated in them. Gabriel Agreste wanted his son to be a proper heir to Gabriel Pokemon Fashion. And that did not include anything involving contests, battles, or even showcases. He forced him to do all kinds of photoshoots, had him model with humans and pokemon alike, not to mention the fact that he would not have gotten his starter pokemon had he not sneaked out of the house. But he did it anyway, and his adorable Turtwig had managed to evolve into a Torterra.

But if there was one mistake that Gabriel made, it was letting him have lots of privacy. There may be cameras outside his bedroom door, but none inside of his room. That certainly helped when he had to sneak out to meet his friends, capture more pokemon, train his pokemon, or compete in a contest that was nearby. Plus, he also was able to sneak away to contests that were in the same town as a photoshoot that he was doing. He just had to lie and say that he was staying in his hotel room for a few hours. His life may have been mostly controlled, but that did not mean he was not sneaky when he was getting what he wanted.

Since contests were televised, he did have to keep his father from finding out. So he donned a disguise. He became Cat Noir, a mysterious pokemon contest prodigy that no one knew the real name of.

Only three people knew about his second life as Cat Noir. His best friend Kagami, who shared the same type of sheltered life as he did but she preferred battles to contests, and his other two friends Lyon and Marinette. Lyon is one half of a set of twins, his sister currently working under a Nurse Joy in order to become a pokemon doctor, and he was already a top coordinator back in his home region of Kalos. Marinette is a coordinator like him and also came from the Kalos region like Lyon, but she is usually shy and also has desires to become a pokemon fashion designer.

He had met Kagami during one of the social events they were both forced to attend by their parents. They got along great and both had the same desire to be free. If they were in the same town, which happened more often than one would think, they would often use each other as an excuse to sneak away for a gym battle, contest, or training with their pokemon. He met Lyon by chance when he had been training and his Turtwig almost hit the Top Coordinator with a razor leaf gone wild. Lucky for him that Lyon was a lot more down-to-earth than one would expect from a person with as much success as him while he was so young. Marinette, being a fellow coordinator, had been at a contest which she had lost to him. She had seen him take off his Cat Noir mask and recognized him from his father's magazines. She had been a great friend to him and understood why he used the mask.

There were few things that could actually make him smile so carefree other than contests. His constant photoshoots, dealing with stuck-up models, and his seemingly careless father did not make him smile that way. He hated modeling and even though he loved being all the pokemon that he modeled with, he wanted to see pokemon just as free as he wanted to be. He wanted to be famous for working hard like legendary trainers Ash Ketchum, Gary Oak, and Steven Stone. Or coordinators like Fantina, Wallace, and Zoey.

But he was now was at the top pokemon contest of the Sinnoh region. The Grand Festival. He had earned his ribbons and now Cat Noir was at his first Grand Festival. What he looked forward to most of all was that he knew that Kagami was going to be in the audience, Lyon was a special guest, and that Marinette was also competing.

He did not like the idea that he might have to battle his friend at some point, but these things do tend to happen. Especially since he was also aware that other friends of his had also made it to the Grand Festival. They had all attended the same pokemon school before it was time for their journeys to begin. He knew his friends Luka, Nathaniel, and his childhood friend Chloe were also all competing.

So, he was just getting ready backstage before all of them would have their qualifying performances before the battle rounds started. He was in his Grand Festival outfit of a black suit with green details, a black and green coat with a cape-like back, shiny green dress shoes, "cat claw" gloves, his signature cat-eye mask, and fake black cat ears on his head.

"My, my, don't you look fancy," Adrien heard near him.

The model almost jumped out of his skin but calmed down when he saw that it was just Lyon. And from looking at him, he definitely saw why people called him the White Wolf.

Lyon was in an icy outfit that almost gave him the illusion of having his own ice powers. He had on a fancy white vest over a blue short-sleeve silk shirt. It matched the white pants that he wore with his shin-high blue boots. He also wore a white hooded cloak with snowflake designs all over it. On his lower arms were silver arm-band bracelets with snowflake and wolf designs on them. His midnight-black hair also had fake wolf ears in it.

"Oh, Lyon," Adrien let himself breathe again. "For a second, I thought my identity had been discovered."

"Well, you may need to get a little better at hiding when you change," Lyon chuckled. "If you win and become Top Coordinator, the press will be even more ruthless with trying to find out your identity."

"I deal with the press on a regular basis already, Lyon," Adrien reminded him.

"Yeah, but I can tell you from experience that when it comes to being a Top Coordinator, people pay more attention to us," Lyon said.

"Well, I can see why that would happen with you," Adrien not-so-subtly flirted with him.

"Careful, kitty," Lyon teased him. "Wouldn't want the wolf to eat the cat before his big performance."

Adrien chuckled, always having liked how they could always joke around with their chosen performer names of cat and wolf. There were so few people that he could act like himself around and he certainly enjoyed Lyon's company.

"So, you here as just a special guest or also as a surprise judge," Adrien asked him.

"My dear Cat Noir, now that would be telling," Lyon smirked as he teased the teen coordinator.

"Oh, thank Arceus that I found you," they both heard a female voice.

They both turned and saw Marinette running toward them. Lyon recognized her from pictures that Adrien had sent him and of course, Adrien would recognize his best friend even if she was decked out in her Grand Festival dress. Probably a dress of her own design as well.

She was in a beautiful dress that was in a ladybug design with a little pink mixed in. It was a knee-length dress that was mostly red with black spots all over it. Under it was a crinoline that was colored pink that helped her dress by more poofy. The sleeves of her dress were elegant bell sleeves that ended at her elbows and lower arms instead of her wrists. Her hair was also extended and placed into a long ponytail coming from the top of the back of her head with roses tied where the ponytail started. On her feet were red wedge-heel boots that went up to her knees.

"How you can run in those heels is beyond me," Lyon said.

"Especially given that one of the first things that you told me about yourself was that you are extremely clumsy," Adrien added.

"Well, I was running with a purpose," Marinette said.

"That purpose being to find one of us if what you had said means anything," Lyon says.

"It's about Adrien, or rather Cat Noir really," Marinette said.

"Oh, great," Adrien sighed, having expected the fame of his mysterious identity to cause some type of drama at the Grand Festival.

"Do you remember when I was telling you about that liar, Adrien," Marinette asked him.

"Yeah," Adrien nodded. "Lila is what you told me her name was. The girl that lies with every breath she takes and has an ego bigger than a Wailord."

"Well, she somehow got her five ribbons and is going around telling people that she knows who you are," Marinette tells her friend.

"What," Adrien's eyes widen.

"Not just that," Marinette continued. "She is also saying that she is dating you and you're apparently head over heels for her."

Adrien could not help but facepalm when he heard that.

"Here comes the headache that I did not know was going to happen," he groaned.

"Here's some aspirin," Marinette gave Adrien the medicine. "I thought that if the liar managed to get here, I would need some myself. I've already had three headaches because of her. And that is just today."

"Am I missing something," Lyon asked.

"Yes," Adrien said before popping the medicine into his mouth.

Marinette rolled her eyes as she took the liberty of explaining.

"Lila Rossi is a pathological liar that I ran into after I won my first two contests," she says. "At first, I had believed her tall tales until she said that she knew the designer for Jagged Stone and Clara Nightingale."

"MDC," Lyon raised an eyebrow. "As such a private designer, I highly doubt that a random girl would know her. Especially if she is bragging about it to anyone that will listen to her."

Marinette nodded. "Exactly. So I then immediately knew that Lila was nothing but a liar. Especially since she said that MDC is a boy when anyone with common sense, and access to the internet, know that MDC's only given clue to who she is that she is a she."

"Yet, people actually believe her," Lyon put a hand on his hip.

"As I said, she is a pathological liar," Marinette says. "One that uses people's knowledge to make her lies sound realistic. Like how my friend Rose is friends with Prince Ali, and my boyfriend Luka is Jagged Stone's son, and even how Adrien is Cat Noir. Lila uses people's own experiences to give her lies credibility. Like a situation of 'if I can know celebrities then so can she."

"Weirdly enough, I can see how that makes sense," Adrien said.

"What can we do about her," Lyon asked. "Can we just have Adrien call her out as Cat Noir?"

"Since Adrien has to keep his identity a secret, she could just pull out another lie about him protecting her or that they got into a fight," Marinette said. "It's how she explained when MDC posted on social media that she had never met Lila before."

"This is gonna be a disaster, isn't it," Adrien guessed. "There is no way someone like how you describe Lila would go down without a fight."

"She may be lying, but won't she lie herself into a corner," Lyon asked. "Especially if 'Cat Noir' actually does enter a relationship."

"The problem is the damage that she can cause along the way," Marinette said.

"Trust me, I was on your train of thought as well until Marinette explained things more to me," Adrien said. "Lila is not just lying about herself, she is also lying about what she can do for others. Saying that she can put a good word in for people to get certain jobs, internships, or futures in careers that they want. When it actually comes time for them to her to fulfill those promises, a lot of people will be met with disappointment. Plus, with her promising these things, they will not apply to other jobs, colleges, or internships on their own. It would take a long time for them to recover from her lies."

"I see," Lyon understood what they meant. "Guess this just gives me more reasons to not come out in public more if I have to deal with people like her."

"She hasn't happened to make any lies about Lyon, has she," Adrien asked Marinette.

"Well, she apparently was trained in the art of contests by Lyon and was supposedly the muse that inspired him to chose his 'White Wolf' look," Marinette said.

"And... now I have a headache," Lyon pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Here you go," Marinette handed the top coordinator some aspirin.

"Thank you," he took it immediately.

Adrien had known Lyon for quite a while now. Lyon had come from a rich family just like he did. But while he had been almost forced to model, Lyon's parents let him choose his own path. He was known for being the youngest ever grand coordinator out there. But since he had met him, Adrien also knew that Lyon generally was very humble and kind, but was basically an ice prince to anyone that tries to use him for their own gain.

So if Lila was not in trouble before, she sure was going to be now that Lyon knew about her lying about him. And that was troubling enough without Lyon's twin sister, Vallia, hearing about this. She might have the nickname of the Flower Princess and might be trying to become a Pokemon doctor, but that did not mean she was not dangerous on the battlefield.

"If she is still telling lies, I am guessing that she still has her regular audience," Adrien looks at Marinette again.

She nodded sadly. "Alya is still her most loyal sheep and there are also a lot of other friends of ours that are under her spell as well."

Lyon looked at the two with a raised eyebrow, silently asking for more details.

"There are times where I can escape photoshoots even if I do not have a contest to sneak off to," Adrien explained. "I would meet up with Marinette as much as I could and she introduced me to a lot of her friends. I have especially gotten along well with Nino, Kim, Juleka, and Marinette's boyfriend Luka."

"And before Lila came along, my friend Alya was my best friend," Marinette said. "I went to our town pokémon school with them before we all started our journeys. But when Lila showed up with all of her tall tales and false promises, they follow her like sheep following their shepherd. Most of my old class is under her spell. Only Adrien, myself, Luka, Kim, Juleka, and our other friends Nathaniel, Marc, and Kagami know that she is nothing but a liar."

"Alya used to be a reporter hopeful," Adrien tells Lyon. "She ran a very popular blog about up-and-coming battlers and coordinators. But then Lila came along with her tales and now most of Alya's blog is about her. She basically takes Lila's words as gospel and attacks anyone that so much as even hints that they think that Lila is anything less than a perfect angel."

"Wow," Lyon gasped. "This girl sounds worse than an angry Darkrai, and you never want to run into one of those."

"Yeah, Lila is a piece of work," Adrien sighed. "She really needs to be silenced before her tales get someone into trouble."

"Yeah," Marinette said. "She has been saying how Jagged Stone wrote a song about her and that Clara Nightingale stole dance moves from her. Those types of lies can ruin their careers."

"Well, I have no secret identity," Lyon says. "She won't be able to lie her way out of me saying that I have no idea who she is."

"Just be careful how you explain how you heard about her lies," Adrien warned him. "Lila has been trying to turn people against Marinette because she knows about her lies. At a few past contests that I had won, I heard a few other coordinators insulting her all because of lies that Lila told about her."

Lyon looked disgusted by the behavior. Coordinators and battlers were both very large families. Yes, there were some bad seeds in each family, but this girl was something way beyond a bad seed. How can one person just be such a selfish liar that she is willing to ruin another person's life just because they did not believe their lies?

But before they could continue their conversation, an announcement was made over the backstage speakers. It was for the coordinators that were competing to get ready since the first round was going to be starting soon.

"Just do your best, you two," Lyon tells them. "And if that liar gives you any trouble, she won't be much of an issue for much longer."

With a "Whoosh" of his cloak, Lyon left to go down the hallway. He had his own business at the Grand Festival that he needed to take care of before he would be able to help his friends.

"He always did like to make dramatic exits," Adrien chuckled.

"I just hope we actually won't have to deal with Lila for much longer," Marinette says.

The two of them went the opposite way down the hall, to the locker room where the contestants have to stay when they are not on stage. Adrien went to the side and leaned against the wall to keep up his appearance of the mysterious and quiet Cat Noir. Looking around the room, he noticed some familiar faces. Like Marinette had gone to stand next to her boyfriend, and fellow coordinator, Luka. There was also her friend Nathaniel and his boyfriend Marc along with her former friend Nino, Alya's boyfriend. Adrien also noticed his childhood friend Chloe as well and, unfortunately, Lila.

Soon, on the screens, appeared Marian, the usual contest announcer for Sinnoh. And from the audience that was seen in the background, Adrien could make out Kagami in the crowd as well as Alya. He was surprised to see Kagami there, but it was a very welcome surprise.

"Welcome, everyone to the beautiful waterside town of Lake Valor for this year's Grand Festival," she announced into her mic, making the crowd cheer. "Sixty talented coordinators from all over the Sinnoh region have joined us here to perform and battle their way into becoming the newest Top Coordinator!"

"And that will be me," was muttered all around the locker room, from confident and cocky contestants.

"Over the next few days, these talents coordinators will perform and battle their way into being named the next Top Coordinator," Marian continued. "The first stage is the Performance Stage, where our contestants will show off the beauty of their pokémon and their moves in double performances. After this stage, we will boil down our contestants to the lucky thirty-two for the Battle Stage where they will fight in double battles to win the chance to be named Top Coordinator."

"We got this, Torterra," Adrien whispered to the Pokeball in his hand.

"And to help us, let me introduce our judges," Marian continued again. "First is the Chief of the Pokémon Activities Committee, our head judge, Mr.Contesta."

"I look forward to watching all these coordinators doing their very best," the judge said as the spotlight shined down on him.

"Next is the President of the Pokémon Fan Club, Mr.Sukiza," Marian introduced.

"Remarkable," the next judge used his catchphrase.

"And, of course, Nurse Joy," Marian announced. "She is a very special guest all the way from the Kanto region."

The spotlight shined down on the pokemon nurse.

"It's an honor to be here and to help judge these amazing contestants, I called my sisters from Pewter City and Cerulean City."

Two more Nurse Joy seemed to materialize from behind her.

"We're very happy to be here," they all said at once.

"And last, but definitely not the least, our guest judge," Marian announces, making the crowd and contestants curious as to who it might be. "He is the youngest ever Top Coordinator of three regions and has graced us with his presence from all the way in Kalos. He's known as the White Wolf, it's Lyon Garden!"

A fourth spotlight shined down and Lyon was presented, making the crowd erupt into cheers.

Adrien was both shocked and not shocked at the same time. He figured that Lyon was here for a reason, but he suspected that it was for a guest performance, not as a judge. But he did smirk as he saw Lila pale a little at the sight of one of the people that she lied about.

"Ladies and gentlemen, coordinators of all ages," Lyon says. "I hope to see plenty of creativity, skill, passion, and most of all, I want to see good sportsmanship. I wish you all the luck in the world, but I will still tell you the cold hard truth about everything you and your pokemon do."

Adrien chuckled under his breath. Lyon would always be Lyon, and that meant that the Ice Prince, which all of their friends called him, would come out every now and again.

"The performance stage will be divided into three separate stages," Marian announced as all three male judges went to a separate stage with one of the Nurse Joy's. "Blue, green, and red. And the performances will be happening simultaneously. Let's get this first round started!"

The crowd cheered. In the locker room, the three first contestants were called out for each of the stages.

Adrien certainly got the meaning of the three stages. It was an extra challenge to be able to do a proper performance when there were two others happening at the same time. It was all about being able to focus on what you were doing and not get overwhelmed.

As the performances started and coordinators showed off their skills, Adrien definitely saw a few that would be his main competition. Such as when Luka took his turn on the blue stage, he did a very enchanting performance with his Sunflora and ghost-type Oricoro. As Marinette has told him, Luka loves music and almost always includes sound in his performances. And as he heard the sound and saw the glowing musical notes of Luka's performance, he knew that boy was going to be a challenging opponent.

There was also Nathaniel and Marc. They worked on a pokemon comic book together, so both of their creative and artistic skills showed in their performances. And it was also an amazing sight to see how Nathaniel had a rare Phione that he paired with his Piplup for his performance was stunning aquatic moves. And Marc was definitely no slouch as he gave an incredible display of nature with his Meganium and Cherubi.

But that was to say that there were not some fails as well.

Sadly, this list of fails included Nino. Adrien might have once called him a friend, but that certainly stopped when the guy started believing Lila's lies about Marinette. And by how badly he failed his performance, Adrien had to guess that Nino had probably taken some of Lila's "advice" about what he should do. It certainly was not a good look to the green stage judges when his Buizel went flying back from a Will-O-Wisp from his Drifblim was too powerful for the combo he was trying to do.

When Marinette got her turn on the red stage, Adrien was proven right when he had guessed that she would do a flawless performance. It was an amazing combination of her icy Amaura with her beautiful Vivillon. Especially when she had beautiful glowing snowflakes falling all over the stage with a combination of icy wind and silver wind followed by a morning sun.

Plus, it was certainly nice to see Lila so angry over Marinette having done nothing wrong in her performance one bit.

But even Adrien had to admit that even though he hated Lila as a person, she did pretty well during her own performance. Sure, her combo moves were a little predictable with the pokemon that she chose, but they still worked out in the end for her. But Adrien had a feeling that like the liar that she was, she was probably just using combo moves that she has seen in the past and using them herself but with different pokemon so that it is not obvious that she is just a copycat.

Then, Cat Noir was called for the blue stage. Adrien took a deep breath as he went out toward the stage. He passed Marinette on his way and she gave him an encouraging hug. He knew that Lyon was the judge for the blue stage along with the main Nurse Joy guest judge from Kanto. But he knew that Lyon would not judge him any easier just because they were friends. If anything, he'd be judged harder since Lyon knows how hard he had trained for this.

"And next on the blue stage is the talk of the Grand Festival," he heard Marian announce. "A masked coordinator that has been taking the contest world by storm. The pokemon contest prodigy himself, Cat Noir."

There was loud cheering as he ran out there and pulled out his pokeballs.

"Torterra, Togekiss, claws out," he threw their pokeballs into the air with his signature catchphrase.

With the star sticker on both the pokeballs, both of the pokemon came out in a swirl of stars. Most would doubt using a pokemon as big and tough-looking as Torterra for the Performance Stage, but Adrien was not most people.

Togekiss lands gracefully on the tree of Torterra's shell. There was a reason why Togekiss were known as some of the most graceful pokemon in the world.

"Togekiss, sky attack. Torterra, leaf storm," Adrien commanded.

Togekiss shined with a white aura as it slowly floated into the air. But at the same time, Torterra's tree let out its storm of leaves and green wind. Since Togekiss was right on the tree, as it flew into the air, the storm swirled around it and followed it. The leaves and window giving off an incredible light that was a result of the combo of the light of the sky attack with the flow of the leaf storm. Togekiss then flew higher into the air.

"Safeguard," Adrien commanded.

Togekiss then unleashed the blue and sea green force field that the protection move grants. It caused the sky attack and the leaf storm to disperse in a gorgeous flash of light.

Lyon and Nurse Joy both looked impressed by how he so effortlessly made a beautiful start to his performance.

"Torterra, sunny day. Togekiss, aerial ace," Adrien commanded.

Torterra's tree glowed with sunlight as it then threw a ball of light into the air. It headed right toward Togekiss as it was surrounded by streams of white energy as it flew around to use its move. The sunny day move was hit by Togekiss, resulting in a bright flash of light.

And the crowd and judges and fellow contestants gasped as Togekiss emerged from the light. The aerial ace and sunny day had merged together and had created a stunning rainbow trail that followed it as it flew around the stage. It was one of the most stunning things ever seen in a contest in ages.

Togekiss then did an aerial twirl before landing right back on Torterra's tree and causing the rainbow trail to burst into rainbow-colored sparkles that fell all over the stage.

Adrien took a bow as his performance ended. The crowd and judges were all on their feet as they gave him a giant round of applause. Lyon caught his eye and gave him a look filled with pride and congratulations.

"I don't think I have ever seen a performance like that," Lyon says, doing his judging. "A true mastery of both the power of a Torterra and the elegance of a Togekiss. Truly the best performance I have seen in a long time."

"It was indeed incredible," Nurse Joy added her judging. "To combine two pokemon so different from each other and making them work in such harmony really is a breathtaking piece of art."

Adrien could not be prouder of himself as he returned Torterra and Togekiss to their pokeballs and then started to walk back to the locker room. He was about halfway there when Marinette basically tackled him with a hug.

"I have never seen anything like that," she practically yelled in excitement. "You're Torterra was so well-trained and Togekiss was beautiful. I will never know where you get your time to train performances like that, but that was so awesome."

Adrien chuckled at the enthusiasm of his friend.

"Thanks, Marinette," he said. "I loved your performance as well. Those snowflakes were such works of art and they were almost like fairies floating around the stage."

Marinette blushed at the compliment.

"Thanks," she smiled. "I knew that ice moves and flying-type moves are usually a good mix, so when you add in the light from the silver wind, it creates the snowflakes."

"I just know that I will see you in the finals," Adrien grinned at her. "I may not want to beat you, but I'm going to."

"In your dreams, kitty," Marinette giggled as she knew that it would be one hell of a showdown.

"Get your hands off of Lila's man, Mari-brat," a female voice was heard.

"And, here we go again," Marinette groaned.

Marinette turned around as Adrien looked at who was yelling. It seems that Alya was as much of Lila's attack Growlith now as she always seems to be since the liar showed up in their lives. And it looked like Lila was fake crying behind her while Nino was trying to comfort her.

"Uh... who are you," Adrien asked.

Now, Adrien had done some voice acting for a few movies that his dad wanted him to do. So, he was a pretty good actor. Adrien might know who Alya is, but Cat Noir has never met her before.

Alya looked at Adrien, smiling at him. But he could still see the rage in her eyes over something that Lila probably lied about. This was probably about the lies about him dating Lila with the liar probably also throwing in some other lies to make Marinette look even worse.

"Oh, I guess Lila never mentioned me," Alya said. "I'm Alya, your girlfriend's best friend."

"Uh... And who is..." Adrien tried to reveal Lila as a liar.

"Oh, don't worry about lying to protect her," Alya interrupted him, proving that they were right about how Lila would lie her way out of Cat Noir saying that he did not know her. "But I should warn you that this girl that you're talking to is nothing but a giant bully."

"Excuse me," Adrien had to stop himself from snapping at Marinette's former best friend.

"She is nothing but a bully, liar, and cheat," Alya glared at Marinette. "She is always bullying Lila and trying to steal her pokemon. She always calls Lila a liar when she is no such thing. Plus, she drugs all her pokemon to make sure her performances are good. Plus, she steals Lila's contest ideas. So, get your hands off of Lila's boyfriend, Mari-brat."

"You know, Luka used to tell me that you're heart song screamed that you were a bad friend," Marinette crossed her arms. "I did not believe him, but I will never doubt him ever again since you have ditched me for a liar."

"SEE," Alya yelled as she looked at Adrien and pointed at Marinette as if she had just been proven right. "She just called Lila a liar. She is a total bully."

"Well, she obviously is..." Adrien was interrupted again but by a different person this time.

"Hello, kitty," Lyon says as he approached the group.

"Wolfie," Adrien was immediately back in a good mood as he saw his friend.

"I have a reward for you for such an incredible performance," Lyon said.

Before Adrien could ask, he was suddenly kissed by Lyon. But the shock soon wore off as he melted into the kiss.

Marinette looked ready to burst in excitement as her ship has finally sailed. But she did now owe Luka a batch of his favorite caramel and chocolate scones since he had bet her that the two would get together at the Grand Festival while she thought it would happen after it. But she did not care.

Alya looked ready to burst in anger. Lila looked like she wanted to either cry more fake tears or just throw a monster tantrum. Nino just stood there with his mouth hanging open.

"WHAT IN THE NAME OF ARCEUS ARE YOU DOING," Alya screamed.

That made them break apart from the kiss. But Lyon just put his arm around Adrien's waist.

"I believe that I was kissing my boyfriend," Lyon said. "We've had to keep it secret because of the media, but we've been together a few months."

Adrien and Marinette both knew that he was lying, but they did not care. Besides, this was to both expose Lila and have an excuse to start dating.

"You've been cheating on your girlfriend for that long," Alya continued to scream.

Lila then chose to speak up, also choosing to fake cry.

"How could you do this to be, Noir," she cried to fake tears.

"Oh, so this is the girl that you were warning me about, Marinette," Adrien decided to join Lyon in his act. "The one that was going around and saying that I was dating her?"

"Yep, that's her," Marinette played along as well.

"Well, then," Adrien started, facing Alya. "As I was about to tell you, I do not have a girlfriend. I never have and I never will. As you can plainly see, I am gay and I have a wonderful boyfriend."

"Lila is not a liar," Alya continued to scream. "You're just a cheater that is trying to make her look bad."

"Wow, this girl is a piece of work," Lyon rolled his eyes.

"You should be ashamed of yourself," Alya yelled at Lyon. "She was the one that gave you the inspiration to be the White Wolf and you trained her to be a coordinator. How could you betray her like this?!?"

"Her? Inspire me? As if," Lyon gave Alya an icy glare. "This is the first day that I have ever met this girl. I became the White Wolf because my sister used to call me a wolf because of how loyal I am to my friends and family. They also all call me the Ice Prince, so White Wolf was born out of my two childhood nicknames."

"You need better friends since Marinette is most definitely is right," Adrien said. "This Lila girl is, most definitely, nothing but a liar."

"Let's go before our IQ gets any lower from being around a liar and her loyal sheep," Lyon held Adrien's hand as the three of them left. "And if someone is accusing you of drugging your pokemon, Marinette, I will lend you my family lawyers to sue that liar for slander."

Marinette wanted to laugh so hard as she saw the look of horror on Lila's face as they passed. She did start laughing once they were out of earshot.

"This is turning into the best day of my life," Marinette looked so happy.

"You're welcome," Lyon smirked.

"Won't you now get accused of favoritism when Lila will probably spread that you two are 'together' as revenge," Marinette asked Lyon.

"Everyone saw Adrien's performance, so I doubt that will happen," Lyon was confident.

"Okay," Marinette accepted that. "Also, it is about time you two got together. Adrien's had a crush on you forever."

"MARINETTE," Adrien yelled as he blushed.

All Marinette did in response was smirk and giggle.

[godsofhumanity]

12 titans headcanons please ❤️

yes ❤️

❤ warning: this is gonna be a very long post ❤

OCEANUS

Oceanus is the oldest of the Titans, and i really like the idea that he grew to adulthood within a day of being born.

i think i've mentioned this in some Gaia hc's previously, but i don't think that Gaia had any of her children in the "conventional" way that we're used to.. as in, none of her children were actually formed in her womb- instead, i imagine that she and Ouranos only had to place their hands on the Earth to cause their children to be born.

for the Titans in particular, i like the idea that Gaia caused a field of flowers to bloom, and within 12 of them were each of the Titans.

Oceanus bloomed first, and was named by Gaia (i think he's the only one who was actually named by her, herself- more on this later).

we know that Ouranos never cared for his children, so i think that the 12 Titans were originally born so that they could help Gaia take care of the Earth,, thus allowing Ouranos and Gaia to spend more time with each other.

so when Oceanus was born, he had to grow quickly so that he could take care of his siblings and raise them (Ouranos wasn't about to let Gaia go "wasting" her time taking care of children).

Oceanus builds the first village, and his primary motivation in everything he does, is to take care of his siblings.

i think he's very paternal,, though he doesn't like to show it.

Oceanus is very stoic as well... he hates brash decisions and always takes his time to think about things before he says something or does something.

also, in Gaia's absence, i think he named all his siblings, and i think that although all the Titans refer to him as their brother, they also have the understanding that Oceanus has been more of a parent than either Gaia or Ouranos, and they all look up to him a lot.

Oceanus isn't cowardly, but i don't think he likes fighting. he would much rather preserve the peace at the sake of his own freedom, than have said freedom but at the price of blood being spilled.

that said, he could definitely pack a punch if he chose to.

related to Oceanus’ unwillingness to fight, i think this is an important factor in why Cronus (who is the youngest) becomes King instead of Oceanus (who is the oldest). 

technically, it’s Oceanus’ birthright to become King after Ouranos, but Oceanus doesn’t possess the qualities required to be a good king, and he knows it, which is why he never challenges Cronus’ authority or tries to take the throne for himself- he is absolutely okay with not being king, in fact, i think he’s grateful for it.

TETHYS

Tethys is, as the lore states, Oceanus' wife, and i think she's always been really close to Oceanus- the only one who truly understands Oceanus' deepest feelings.

since Oceanus doesn't really show much emotion physically, i think it's sometimes difficult for the other Titans to know exactly what he's thinking, but Tethys is very intuitive and understands Oceanus quite perfectly.

i think Tethys is slightly more energetic than Oceanus, but she's still the most quiet of all her sisters.

she too, prefers not to fight if she doesn't have to, but while Oceanus will wait for the very last opportunity to fight, i think Tethys can be persuaded to make a move earlier than she usually would.

i also think she's more adept at fighting than Oceanus.

when Oceanus and Tethys are referenced in poems and plays, they are usually described as the "primeval parents", and are often referred to as the "genesis for all" which i think is really cute, and although Tethys isn't the goddess of motherhood, i definitely think she's very maternal (i mean, she has 3000+ children, so we hope so, right?).

after the Titanomachy, it is said that Oceanus and Tethys became Hera's foster-parents, so i imagine that Tethys and Oceanus opened their home to many gods and goddesses, even if they were simply passing through.

Hera, in particular, i think had a closer bond with Oceanus and Tethys than with Rhea- and that of course is no fault of Rhea's, i just think that's how things happened.

everyone talks of this idea that Zeus would go around pestering Oceanus and Tethys when he was trying to court Hera, and i like that idea as well ^_^

i think Oceanus was particularly reluctant to let Zeus be with Hera because Oceanus has had sooo many daughters who have been effectively abandoned by their husbands (see: Metis, Asia/Clymene, Hesione, Eurynome, etc.) and he doesn't want that to happen to yet another one of his kids.. but Tethys, the sweet voice of reason whom Oceanus has a hard time saying "no" to, intervenes on Zeus' behalf perhaps because she sees something more in Zeus' proposals, which is why Oceanus finally concedes and allows him into his house.

CRONUS

now this guy >:)

i've said it before, but i just really really like the idea that Cronus is the epitome of "you either die the hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain".

before i said that Oceanus grew to adulthood within a day because he had to take care of his younger siblings, and following this logic, i think some of the younger Titans took more time to grew simply because there was no need for them to grow up quickly- they were going to be taken care of.

as the youngest, i think Cronus takes the most time to grow. 

most of his life, his siblings are ordering him around which i think gets to him a little, so of course, Cronus has always been a little bit mischievous and a little sneaky.

i think he gets along really well with Iapetus. they are “terror twins” as Oceanus calls them, and as children, they would always get up to no good.

in terms of morality, i think initially, he’s actually quite sane and level-headed. he understands that war is brutal and should be avoided if it can, but he also understands that sometimes war is necessary. this is what makes him, initially, a good king- because he understands the need for balance.

but,, after sometime, i think he goes insane with Ouranos’ prophecy and he convinces himself that murdering his children is just a part of the job- it’s his duty. 

i like the idea that Cronus sees himself first and foremost as King. being a husband and a father is second to kingship.

i always wondered what makes a man go so mad that he’d eat his own kids, especially after he literally deposed of his father for doing effectively the same thing- why would he willingly follow in the footsteps of the god he hated so much? well, i think it’s because Cronus is driven by this philosophy of being King before being anyone else. 

he believes that it’s his job to protect the world, the way he did that first time when he rallied his siblings together to fight Ouranos. Cronus believes that his children are going to ruin the world and destroy his siblings, and he loves his family and the world too much to let that happen,, and if he has to choose between his children and the world that he has sworn to protect, well, as King, isn’t he obligated to choose the world?

and after that, he just goes downhill, and i think he loses sight of the bigger picture, and becomes the villain. 

also- not relevant to the core of this section but i just wanted to talk a little about Philyra, the mother of Chiron by Cronus ^-^

so in the original myth, i’m pretty sure that Cronus and Rhea are still married when Cronus and Philyra get together,, and that’s why when Rhea catches them and gets pissed, Cronus panics and turns into a horse (which is why Chiron is half god, half horse- lololol Cronus, you absolute loser). 

anyways, i love the myth because it’s funny, but i don’t like the idea that Cronus was actually cheating on Rhea- i mean, first you eat her children, and now you’re cheating on her?? c’mon, have some tact! 

so i have my own little take on it, and that is that Chiron is born after Cronus gets disposed (so when Rhea and Cronus are pretty much divorced). 

i like the Orphic version of events where Cronus gets sent to Nyx’s cave, so following from there, i imagine that Philyra must have somehow helped Cronus escape from Nyx’s cave (probably because she was manipulated by Cronus),, and when they escaped, they came to Mt Pelion, which coincidentally, is where Rhea, now happily retired, lives. 

so that’s how Rhea accidentally discovered her ex-husband’s affairs (which is in line with the original myth where Rhea catches them). 

of course, i don’t think Cronus ever cared about Philyra to begin with, i think he was just using her because i don’t think the “player” archetype suits Cronus- he’s not a romantic, that’d make him too similar to Zeus, and the last thing Cronus would want would be to be like his son. 

anyways so where does Chiron’s equine nature come into my version of events? well, running from Nyx’s cave to Mt Pelion on foot sounds a little tiring, but luckily, Cronus is a god and can therefore turn into a stallion, so he and Philyra probably ran away like that.

i don’t think Cronus ever actually knows about Chiron. Philyra, in the myths, is ashamed about Chiron’s appearance (which is really rude and mean), so she abandons him, but i like the idea that she simply wasn’t ready to be a mother, much less a mother of a child born from a war-criminal, so she instead leaves Chiron on Rhea’s doorstep. and Rhea recognises immediately who Chiron is, but she’s the goddess of motherhood so she adopts him, until Apollo comes in a few days later and decides to take Chiron. anyways, so that was a little bit of a tangent but i just wanted to share that ^-^

another thing- i know we all like to make jokes about Cronus seeing children as good for only one thing- snacks- but in all seriousness, i don’t think that was the case. i’ve said before what i, personally, think his real motivations behind consuming his children were, but i don’t think he was averse to the concept of children and having a family entirely.

ok, i have to divert to the story of Prometheus to explain myself here, but bear with me for a sec- so Prometheus gets punished because he helps the humans- but why does he help them? why does he love them so much and why does he feel sorry for the way they’ve been treated by Zeus? 

well,, we know that Prometheus was alive during Cronus’ reign. and during Cronus’ reign, Cronus made the Golden Age of Man where mortals lived in peace and harmony, free from interference by the gods, where no one did the “wrong” thing, and life was great. so couldn’t it be that Prometheus had seen what life for humanity could have been like? 

my hc is that Prometheus had seen what Cronus had done for humanity and was appalled by what he now saw under Zeus’ rule.

so what does that have to do with Cronus and children? well, i like the idea that Prometheus grew up in the palace, and he had known Cronus all his life. i like the idea that Cronus actually spent time with his nephew, and was the one who first introduced Prometheus to the mortals. i think Prometheus and Cronus actually were rather close as uncle and nephew. so,, i don’t think that Cronus hated all children,, he just didn’t think he could have any of his own.

RHEA

Rhea is one of my favourites <3 i think she’s one of the cooler Titans.

i think her personality is defined by her courage, and her ambition- in fact, i’d call her the most ambitious of all the Titans.

as a young Titan, i think she got along best with Cronus and Iapetus, and i think she actually had a bit of a mischievous nature, similar to them. i think she enjoys pranks and good jokes. 

she’s the kind of goddess who would do anything on a dare (i think she was pretty wild, and maybe a little shameless, in her youth, much to Oceanus’ distress).

in saying that, i think Rhea has also always been very headstrong. she’s not arrogant, or rude, but she if she has opinions, she will make sure you’re aware of them. you don’t have to agree, you just have to understand her point of view.

she’s also a little spitfire (a little like Hera tbh), and she is very good at fighting ^-^

but, Rhea is also incredibly kind and forgiving. considering what she goes through during her marriage, i think she is remarkably strong. while Cronus goes insane, Rhea remains standing tall- she survives Ouranos’ rule, Cronus’ rule, and is alive to witness Zeus’, and she is never on the losing side which is a testament to her character and strength of mind.

in the previous section, i said that Cronus follows the philosophy of “King first, husband/father second”, but i don’t think Rhea agrees with this at all.

there is never any way for her to justify to herself that her children needed to be killed- it’s a horrible and messed up idea and it’s honestly a wonder that she didn’t go insane after it happening to her children five freaking times.

i think that what makes Rhea a good queen is that she doesn’t work in absolutes- see, Cronus believes that either the world is saved, or his children are saved, but not both- but Rhea, who is always driven by courage and hope, believes that it is possible for the world to have peace and for her children to also be alive.

where Cronus is an architect of plans, and an executor, Rhea is the thought-process- the one who thinks things through carefully and evaluates the effects of the action... she’s more level-headed, and she doesn’t get angry easily.

after Cronus is deposed, i like the idea that Rhea remained on the throne a little longer- Zeus was simply too young to be allowed free reign immediately, so she kinda pulled the strings behind the scenes.

i don’t think that Rhea has favourites amongst her children. i think she is very protective of all of them and she loves them all very much, but i think the one she finds most difficult to get along with is Hera, maybe because Hera is the most similar to her (which is why Hera spends more time with Oceanus and Tethys than Rhea). 

there are versions of the courtship of Zeus and Hera where Zeus and Hera keep their relationship a secret from Rhea because Rhea will disapprove of it, and i do like this version of the myth because i think it makes sense. i think Rhea has some fear that Zeus will repeat the mistakes of Cronus and Ouranos, and she doesn’t want Hera or Zeus, for that matter, to be hurt the way Rhea was hurt.

we know that Zeus had already swallowed Metis, so Rhea believing that Zeus could become like Cronus isn’t too hard to believe.

speaking of the Zeus x Metis myth, i don’t think Zeus swallowed Metis intentionally. i think that, at that time, Zeus was still incredibly young- he had only recently defeated his father, and was still finding his way around the world. so when Metis told him about the prophecy concerning her son defeating Zeus, i imagine that he must have panicked and lost control of his powers, and without meaning to, he had reduced Metis to her divine essence, and she disappeared before his sight (he thought she was simply dead, and didn’t realise that Metis and her child were dwelling within him). Rhea is the first one to discover what transpired between Metis and Zeus and she was probably pretty horrified.

but, Rhea knew that Zeus was still young, and of course, he’s her son, so she refuses to just give up on him straight away- instead, they work on things, and Zeus gets better, and they move on. but i’m sure that the incident gnawed on her mind, and she worried for both Zeus and Hera, hence why she was reluctant to allow them to marry. but as the story goes, she conceded, and Hera became queen ^-^

HYPERION

Hyperion is the fourth Titan, and i think that all-in-all, he’s a pretty chill guy.

generally speaking, Hyperion doesn’t really like to fight, mainly because he thinks it’s boring and the risk of his face getting ruined is just too great for him.

i think he is a little vain,, he loves flattery- he likes being complimented and he likes complimenting others.

i also think that he’s a little bit weak-willed, or rather, i think that when the Titans were all young, he would often be the butt of the jokes.

in saying that, i think Hyperion has good spirit, so although he’d be a little annoyed about all the jokes and the pranks, he never takes it to heart because he understands that it’s all just a joke.

in some myths, it’s said that after Ouranos was deposed, Cronus divided the world into four parts- Hyperion ruled in the West, Iapetus in the East, Coeus in the North, and Crius in the South, while Oceanus took the seas, and Cronus of course, ruled over time + the whole word in general- and i really like this idea.

after the Castration of Ouranos, i think it’s the first time that the Titans actually split apart and start living on their own and having families.

Hyperion and Theia live in the West, and have Selene, Eos, and Helios.

after the Titanomachy, it’s said that Cronus and all his brothers were placed in Tartarus, but given the importance of Selene, Eos, and Helios during Zeus’ role, i just can’t imagine that Hyperion was one of the Titans sent to Tartarus.

i don’t think he would’ve actively supported Cronus towards the end (i mean, he was very clearly insane and needed to be deposed), but i think at the same time, he would’ve been reluctant to oppose Cronus, given how powerful Cronus was. and again, there’s that conflict with the fact that it was Cronus who freed the Titans from Ouranos, so i guess things aren’t really that black and white for Hyperion.

if Hyperion did fight for Cronus, i think he would have done so only out of obligation (because Cronus is the king, and he defeated Ouranos).

THEIA

Theia’s the eldest of her sisters, and i think she has always been a bit of a natural-born leader.

i think she gets along best with Rhea ^-^

but while Rhea is a little more level-headed, i think Theia can be louder and more hot-headed, with a quicker temper.

given that she is the goddess “who endowed gold, silver and gems with their brilliance and intrinsic value ”, i think it’s a fair hc to say that she enjoys jewellery and pretty, shiny things, but, in saying that, i don’t think she could be bought over with gifts.

i think Theia is more strong-willed than Hyperion, and i think she is best reflected in Selene who takes after her the most.

i imagine Selene to be very graceful and elegant- willing to fight, but only once she’s carefully understood her opponents and her situation. 

in the Theogony, Hesiod writes that all the Titans were hesitant about killing Ouranos, except Cronus who stood up and rallied them, and while i think Rhea was the first to agree with Cronus, i think Theia supported him next. but!! she wouldn’t have ever supported him during the Titanomachy- i think she would have taken Zeus’ side, if she was involved in the fighting.

also, this isn’t really relevant i guess, but i really like the idea that Theia’s weapon of choice is a whip. like one of those ones made out of a chain with the sharp blades at the end, so that it sparkles as it slices through the air. i just think it’d be neat :D

COEUS

alright, now, strictly speaking, Coeus doesn’t have much of a mythology- he’s pretty much only known as the father of Asteria (mother of Hecate) and Leto, and the guy who ruled in the North when Cronus first became king.

BUT!! very interestingly, in the Argonautica, it’s said that Coeus was thrown into Tartarus after the Titanomachy along with his bros, but he went insane and tried to escape, but Cerberus, being the good guard-dog he is, caught him and sent him back.

anyways, i think this is very interesting because none of the other Titans are really given such a myth.. i mean, none of the other Titans went so insane that they tried to escape from Tartarus (at least, not that I know of).

this myth fits in with my hc that Coeus has the least will/strength-of-mind from all the Titans.

to be honest though, in the same way that i don’t like the idea of Hyperion being sent to Tartarus, i don’t really like that Coeus would have been sent there either. his daughters are Asteria and Leto, and both of them must have been loved by Zeus.

Asteria’s daughter is Hecate, whom Hesiod says was honoured by Zeus above all others. so while Asteria isn’t listed as one of Zeus’ lovers, i think he had a lot of respect for her.

Leto, as we all know, was Zeus’ sixth wife and the mother of his beloved Apollo and Artemis, so there’s no doubt that he loved her.

and so, in light of this, i just can’t imagine that Coeus’ daughters didn’t appeal to Zeus and ask him to have mercy on Coeus, because if they didn’t plead for him, this might imply that they didn’t feel pity for him, which further implies that they might not have loved him as a father at all. and the natural conclusion of such a sentiment is that Coeus really wasn’t much of a father to them- and if that’s the case, then that means that NONE of Gaia’s Titan sons (except Oceanus) were good fathers. and idk, that just doesn’t sit well with me. 

why is it that only the goddesses were spared? are they somehow naturally always gonna be on the hero’s side because they’re female? are the gods always gonna be on the villain’s side because they’re male... “boys stick together”? idk it’s dumb. 

that’s why i like the idea that Asteria and Leto must have pleaded for him- i think he was a good father, and they did love him. did Zeus listen? i guess that’s another story. 

but i do like the idea that Coeus didn’t really want to be on Cronus’ side, it’s just that he was scared of the consequences of opposing him- Coeus is regarded as the titan of “rational intelligence”, and if you ask me, it’d be pretty rational to not want to fight against a psycho when you have a family to think about.

also, i know it’s not a part of the actual myths, but i do like the idea that Coeus was a titan of magic/witchcraft as well, because that might explain where Hecate gets her abilities from.

PHOEBE

Phoebe is Coeus’ wife, and she’s also the titan goddess of prophetic wisdom.

once again, there really isn’t much lore for her beyond the idea that she was the oracle before Apollo.

this isn’t in the myths, but my hc is that Asteria and Leto represent Coeus and Phoebe’s domains- so while Coeus’ magic gets passed down to Asteria and then to Hecate, Phoebe’s prophetic powers are transferred to Leto and then to Apollo. 

so, although, it’s not supported by the myths, i hc that Leto had prophetic powers as well, it just might have not been as strong as Phoebe’s or Apollo’s.

anyways, back to Phoebe- i think that the best word to describe Phoebe would be “sweet”. i think she’s very kind, and generous, and mild-mannered, where most of her sisters are a little more.. wild.

i don’t think she’s much of a fighter, nor is she devious or scheming. she’s really just quite innocent.

CRIUS

Crius is another Titan without much mythology.. his main role is as an ancestor of the gods, and apparently as the first to observe the constellations, thus why he was known as the titan of the constellations. which is pretty cool IMO.

i personally imagine Crius to be very intelligent and smart. i think, given his domain, he really enjoys stargazing <3 

for the most part, he’s a very level-headed, calm, and reasonable guy, but i think he’s also quite aloof, and not very vocal about his emotions.

i think that he’s pretty comfortable with bending his morals to suit the bigger picture, and that’s why i think he does actively support Cronus during the Titanomachy (hence why he gets sent to Tartarus).

i don’t think he really cares for pranks or jokes. in a sense, he is very similar to Oceanus, and from all their siblings, i think growing up, he gave Oceanus the least amount of trouble.

Crius’ children are Pallas, Perses, and Astraeus. 

i’d imagine that Crius has control over the stars and the constellations, and is capable of what i’d call “celestial magic”. and i think this ability is inherited by Perses, who becomes the father of Hecate by Asteria, and that’s how the magic gets passed down to Hecate, and why Hecate is so revered as the ultimate magic goddess.

just as i said earlier that Phoebe and Coeus aren’t really fighters, i don’t think Crius is a fighter either. he’s more of a strategist, and would rely on magic rather than using actual swords and stuff.

anyways, enough about the Titanomachy!! i think my third favourite pairing after Cronus x Rhea, and Oceanus x Tethys, is Crius x Eurybia! 

there is no mythology concerning how they met or how they were married, but i like the idea that for most of her life, Eurybia was raised by Gaia and Pontus away from the rest of the Titans,, but Gaia, who is more risk-taking than Pontus, understood that Eurybia wouldn’t stay with them forever, so eventually Eurybia starts leaving their home more often and she goes out exploring the world.

and on one of these occasions, she stumbles into a forest in the South, which is part of Crius’ domain, and that’s where they meet for the first time.

i think that Eurybia is always more at ease with her feelings than Crius, and she’s very vocal about it,, which would make for a good comedy routine with the more conservative Crius, who’s less willing to let emotions rule his head, but under the guidance of love, eventually opens up more <3

+EURYBIA

Eurybia is not one of the 12 Titans, but she is the daughter of Gaia and Pontus, AND Crius’ wife, and i really like my idea of her so i’m including her here ^-^

in Hesiod’s Theogony, he describes Eurybia as having “a heart of flint within her”, which is a really cool idea!!! she’s also described as the goddess of “mastery over the seas”, which refers to the things that control the sea like the winds, and the Moon, etc.

her name also means “wide-forced”, so i imagine her to be a very headstrong and free-willed goddess.

because her father is Pontus (the sea), and she also has some control over the sea, i imagine her to be a little unpredictable, like the sea. i think she has moments where she can fly into an intense rage, or she could be absolutely calm.

i like this idea because she becomes almost the antithesis of Crius. where Crius is more calm and rational, Eurybia is more passionate and unpredictable. i think they balance each other out very nicely.

strictly speaking, Eurybia probably was not thrown into Tartarus at the end of the Titanomachy, but i hc that she was.

i think during the Titanomachy, she would have sided with Crius, and she would have fought on his side because she loved him and would have supported him in anything that he did (also once again, i don’t like the idea that Cronus only had the support of his bros, and that only the guys got thrown into Tartarus :/).

Astraeus is Eos’ husband, and Pallas is Styx’s husband, and both Eos and Styx, on many occasions in the actual myths, have been evidenced to be on Zeus’ side. so, although in reality, Pallas at the very least probably would’ve been on Cronus’ side (since, in the Theogony, Styx takes her children to Zeus first, and Pallas isn’t really mentioned), i like the idea that Astraeus and Pallas both fought on Zeus’ side instead, and escaped punishment.

which makes things tricky for Eurybia, because some of her sons are on one side, and then her husband and her other son are on the other side- what’s she supposed to do? 

Eurybia is too headstrong to simply be passive and sit back and let her boys fight, so i think first she fights on Crius’ side, but then she also fights to save Astraeus and Pallas when they get into trouble. 

i think she accepts that her children have grown up and made their decisions, but she also understands that she will always be their mother, and she will never bear them any resentment for fighting against their father.

also, one of Pallas’ children is named “Bia”, and i’d like to think that he named her after his mum <3

i think “Bia” is Crius’ nickname for Eurybia <3

IAPETUS

i hc Iapetus to be the supreme troublemaker amongst the Titans.

i think he has served as the largest source of headaches experienced by Oceanus when the Titans were young >:)

Iapetus loves jokes i think. he loves pranks.. all kinds of humour. he’s more street smart than book smart, and actually i think if he was trying to study, he’d lose focus after 2 minutes. but call him to participate in a prank? the guy is coming up with plans like a general preparing a war campaign.

i think as the second youngest of Gaia’s Titan sons, Iapetus has always gotten along the best with Cronus. prepare for trouble, and make it double :)

this is specific, but i’ve got this idea that when they were young, Iapetus and Cronus decided to slip some dye into Themis and Hyperion’s basins, so when they washed their hair, Themis’ hair turned pink, and Hyperion’s turned green,, but Oceanus caught Iapetus and Cronus and forced them to wash out the dye as punishment ^-^

anyways, what i’m saying is that Iapetus and Cronus have always been the closest of brothers.

i also think that Iapetus hates people who boast about themselves, or act as though they’re superior to everyone else, so he’s never really gotten along with Themis (who i imagine to be a little vain- more on that later), and that’s why he likes to play pranks on her (to irritate her).

Iapetus has five children- Prometheus, Atlas, Anchiale, Menoetius, and Epimetheus- by the Oceanid Asia... but i think that from all of them, Prometheus is the most like Iapetus.

i think Prometheus shares Iapetus’ mischievousness and his wit, which is exactly what causes him to end up being chained to a rock with eagles eating his liver :///

back to Iapetus though- i think he values loyalty a lot. so, during the Titanomachy, there is absolutely no question about him siding with Cronus- Cronus is his brother, and his King.. he set them free from Ouranos, and he even sacrificed his own children for the sake of peace, and, messed up as it is, i think Iapetus is pretty moved by that. 

i think Cronus always had more guts than the rest of the Titans, and Iapetus always admired that,, which is why he supports Cronus till the end,, and i imagine he must have been really disappointed in Prometheus when he learnt that Prometheus had sided with Zeus :(

THEMIS

okay so in the above section i said that i hc Themis to be a little vain.

now by “vain”,, i don’t mean that she was a narcissist or that she was arrogant,, but i think sometimes her siblings,, especially Iapetus,, would mistake her advice and counsel as sounding a bit self-righteous.

Themis is the goddess of divine law and order,, so essentially- justice. and i think that from all the Titans, she has the purest sense of right and wrong, and she’s incredibly wise and sensible.

so for the Titans that tend to bend the rules a little- like Cronus and Iapetus, sometimes her advice doesn’t go down too well.

additionally, justice isn’t always what we want it to be- it’s not always nice, and it’s not always pleasant, and sometimes it doesn’t feel fair. and Themis embodies that concept, which is why she doesn’t always get along with her siblings (to clarify though- none of the Titans hate each other!! they’re still siblings, and they love each other, pre-Titanomachy).

as an individual though, i think Themis is very outspoken. she’s very loud, and i think she is just a little judgemental.

it’s said that Themis had oracular powers, and that when Cronus became King, he made her the oracle- and i like that idea, it makes sense.

although Themis can be harsh, she always gives good advice and wise counsel, and only a complete dumbass would hear her words and choose not to heed them.

during the Titanomachy, Themis undoubtedly sides with Zeus. and after that, i think she continues to serve Olympus with her wisdom and judgement.

this isn’t strictly related to anything, but in Egyptian mythology, the goddess of justice is Ma’at, and i love the idea of Themis and Ma’at hanging out together, doing social justice things... awesome ^-^

MNEMOSYNE

finally, Mnemosyne <3

“Mnemosyne” is such a lengthy name, so i have this hc that her siblings call her “Mnemo” instead (like, Nemo) :D

anyways, Mnemosyne is the titan of memory, and her children are the Muses, who pretty much embody every aspect of the Arts, and i think that really hints at Mnemosyne’s character.

i hc Mnemosyne to be extremely gifted at pretty much everything.

but, even though she knows that she’s really gifted, she isn’t the kind of person to show off about it. she’s always gracious and willing to teach others her talents.

i think she has a really superb voice, and when the Titans were young, i think she might’ve sung for her younger siblings.

Mnemosyne is also a little feisty i think. she’s short-tempered, but in saying that, i think it’s difficult to make her angry.

again, a kinda random hc here but i really like the idea that Mnemosyne’s weapon of choice is a battle-axe. i mean, she’s this sweet, kind-looking goddess, but she’s swinging her battle-axe and is about to wreak real havoc. it’s great ^-^

[thebigqueer]

Solangelo - "Let's F*ck with the Patriarchy" - One-Shot

Summary: Nico tries on makeup for the first time.

Word Count: 1388

TW: Internalized Homophobia, Homophobia, Swearing

Read on AO3

“Will, are you sure this washes off easily?”

Will pauses before Nico and raises his eyebrows. “Yes, Nico, it does. Don’t be afraid.”

Nico’s lips turn down in a frown, betraying his anxiety. “I’m just… nervous. I don’t want someone to see me.”

Will sets the eyeliner in his fingers to the side and leans towards Nico. “Nico, if you’re not ready, then we don’t have to try it. I don’t want to push you into doing something you don’t want to.”

Nico shakes his head quickly. “No, I want to, Will. I just… I just don’t want anyone to see me. I just want to experiment for now.”

Will smiles softly. “Okay. But let me know if you want me to stop.”

The shades of the Apollo cabin are drawn, bathing the two in darkness. Nico asked for this specifically so that he could be sure no one was watching as Will applied makeup on him. He asked Will to do it a few days ago, anxiety sparking in his eyes, as if he were afraid someone would judge him for it.

Will steps over to Nico tentatively, brandishing the eyeliner pen again. Nico looks at it hesitantly, as if he’s nervous it might just stab him in the heart and kill him. Will tilts his head. “Do you want me to put it on or do you want to do it yourself?”

Nico shrugs. “I’ve never had experience with eyeliner. You should do it.”

Will knows Nico isn’t speaking out of plausibility, but he also sees the other half of the truth behind his dark eyes: he’s scared of admitting himself into the world of femininity. He’d rather someone else dip him in.

Will nods in agreement. He uncaps the pen and places the side of his hand over Nico’s cheek, basking in the softness of his face. The tip of the pen is mere millimeters from Nico’s eyelid, but Will doesn’t start drawing yet. Nico’s eyes are shivering and his body stands rigid, ready to run if he needs to.

“Nico,” Will says, “I just want to tell you that this is your decision. You don’t have to be afraid of falling into femininity. You aren’t going to be fitting into the ‘gay stereotype’ or anything. Lots of people do this.” A sad sigh escapes his chest. “Society has told us that femininity is to be looked down upon. But it isn’t. Everyone is different. Some people are more feminine than others, and others prefer to express masculinity. Make-up is only a small aspect to someone’s identity; it doesn’t make you gay or girly or anything. It just makes you you.” He smiles again, and Nico opens his dark eyes, peering at Will intensely. “I think you’re brave for trying this. Don’t be afraid, okay? I’m here with you.”

Surprisingly, Nico’s eyes glaze over with tears. None come out, but Will’s heart swells with admiration for his boyfriend. The son of Hades smiles. “Thank you, Will.” He takes a deep breath, then closes his eyes. “Okay, I’m ready.”

Will’s hand shakes a little as he glides over Nico’s skin. He’s nervous, too - he doesn’t want Nico to hate it. It’s his first time truly experimenting with gender and nonconformity, and he doesn’t want to ruin the experience for him.

As Will works, Nico asks softly, “How did you feel when you first started wearing makeup? Were you nervous?”

Will pokes into the corner of Nico’s eye, careful to avoid stabbing him directly. “Yeah,” he murmurs, “I was. I come from the south, and there… Well, people aren’t that open to stuff. My mom was great with nonconformity and stuff but it’s just… the narrow-mindedness was intense, you know? It was hard to be me. When I first started getting into makeup, I was just really scared.” As he speaks, Will glides right above Nico’s eyelashes, creating a thin black trail of ink across his olive skin. “I thought it was weird to wear makeup. That’s what gender roles taught me when I was younger and living in Texas.” He turns the ink up at the outer corner of Nico’s eye, creating a small wing. Sighing, he adds, “I guess I just had a lot of internalized shit in me.”

As Will steps back and admires his work, Nico says, “How did you get over it?”

Will tilts his head as he gazes at the black line on Nico’s eye. It’s not as neat as he’d like to be, but it does seem to fit Nico’s idea of a “thin” black line, so he leaves it be. Pressing his fist to the other side of Nico’s face, Will answers, “It took a lot of time, honestly. A lot of self-reflection and, well, talking to Dionysus. I had a little bit of internalized homophobia, which you already know.” Again, as he speaks, Will draws a flat line over his skin. “Just… yeah, it was hard. So don’t worry, Nico. I know how you may be feeling right now. But… it gets better. And I’m glad you’re experimenting through all this. I’m proud.” After twirling the ink up, Will releases his hold on Nico and steps back admiring his work. His lips quirk into a smile. “Okay, you can look into the mirror now.”

Nico hesitates for a moment, stepping an inch forward but then quickly retracting his foot back. He offers Will a nervous glance, and behind his eyes the son of Apollo notices the fear, the shadows. Though Nico says nothing, Will gets his message loud and clear: What if I hate myself?

Will only offers an encouraging nod. And Nico steps forward.

Nothing spectacular happens. No fireworks go off, no sparkles, no confetti. The earth doesn’t explode, and no earthquake happens. But when Nico sees himself in the mirror, Will knows the world has somehow changed for him. His mind turns in on itself as he glances at his reflection. Will can almost see the merge of two worlds: the feminine and the masculine one. They clash on Nico’s face, creating a crater on his moral beliefs.

Nico’s breath hitches as he gazes at himself. His face isn’t too intense, really, but Will understands how much of a shock it is to see a slightly different version of oneself. He steps back to give Nico his space, to explore this new world.

Nico touches the corner of his eye gently. His skin pales a little, and for a second even Will wonders if this was a bad idea to introduce him to makeup. What if he isn’t ready for the new experience?

Time stills. Neither of them move; neither of them breathe. They simply gaze at Nico’s reflection, gauge the look of his face.

Then a wavering smile leaks over Nico’s lip and he turns to Will. He opens his mouth to say something but his words stop in their tracks.

Will raises an eyebrow, waiting patiently.

Nico tries again. This time, his voice finds itself again: “I think I like it.”

Will smiles at him. “Good. I’m glad you do.”

“Should I… keep this on for a while?” he asks. Will wants to tell him that it’s his choice, that he should do what he wants, but he knows this is a delicate situation. It’s one of those moments where Nico’s really asking for a decision to be made for him. He’s not sure what counts as a good idea anymore.

Will caps the eyeliner and rolls it over the dresser. “How do you feel? Are you ready to share this part of you with the world yet?”

He sees the hesitance in his eyes, the calculations of all the possibilities.

Nico takes a shaky breath. “I don’t know if I want the world to see me yet. But I like it.”

“We can stay in here then. That way not many people will see you, and you can still wear it.”

Nico’s eyes glimmer at the suggestion. “Yeah. That’s what I want to do.”

“We can play a boardgame.”

“We could play Mythomagic.”

“Okay, nerd.”

“Says the one with the NASA posters all over his bed.”

Will laughs gently. He tugs at Nico’s fingers and intertwines them with his own. “I’m glad you tried this. Let’s fuck with the patriarchy, forever and always.”

[aftgficlibrary]

Are there any AUs where renison or lailalverez is the main pairing?

there are quite a few but here you go -maz

renison:

Before All I Heard Was Silence by moonqueerdom (T | 7,430 | 1/1)

Allison's eyes widened and her face burned immediately, spreading to her neck and the tips of her ears. "Oh my gosh, Renee," she lowered her face and covered it with her hands.

Renee chuckled. "She is beautiful when she blushes, ok noted."

"Oh my gosh, Walker, stop that," Allison's voice was too wobbly and high-pitched even for her own ears, and there was a grin threatening to pop on her lips.

~

About to disappear in the afterlife, Allison Reynolds meets Renee Walker, who was ready to change her life even after death.

Last Café by uberimmortal (M | 4,802 | 1/1)

Like every weekend for the past year, Renee finds herself on a Saturday morning in front of the Last Cafe. She takes a deep breath, key still in her hand, shivering from the autumn breeze as she tries to muster up some energy to open the door. The sun is just beginning to poke over the horizon, lighting up the city in a blue haze, not close enough to this side of the earth to provide any real warmth. One by one street lamps flicker until they turn off completely.

The Gracekeepers by wishbonetea (M | 112,116 | 20/20)

The sea has flooded the earth. Allison lives on a circus boat, floating between the scattered islands that remain and trading dazzling and death-defying feats for food from the islanders. Renee lives alone in a lighthouse in the middle of the ocean, with only the birds and fish for company. As penance for her past, she works as a gracekeeper, tending the graves of those who die at sea. A storm brings them together, but under clear skies they must part. When one of the Foxes goes missing, Renee joins to help. It’s meant to be a temporary escape, but Allison might be a reason to stay.

⁂

An AU of Kirsty Logan's The Gracekeepers.

she's got lips like wine not sugar by IzzyAguecheek (Not Rated | 8,561 | 1/1)

The coffee shop was mostly empty the first time Allison came in. It was too early for most people, specially on a Sunday, when most people didn’t have work and therefore didn’t need to stop by to grab a coffee to wake up. Allison, however, didn’t strike Renee as the type of girl to drink coffee before a shift at some boring company. She looked more like someone who had stayed up all night and now was trying to fight off a hangover with caffeine.

Dan was late, per usual, so Renee and Andrew were the only employees working. Andrew took one look at the car parked outside, right in front of the window, and firmly turned his back on the girl sitting at the corner booth.

“You take that one”, he decided.

(or: Renee works at a coffee shop, and, when Allison becomes a regular there, she is absolutely in love. It's just a Renison Coffee Shop AU.)

counting my blessings by quensty (T | 10,354 | 1/1)

The last letter is from Wymack.

Allison, it says. Forest Falls, California, has been having problems with a robber. Dan and Matt are too far, and Neil and Andrew are already working a job in Nevada. Get on it. -DW

“Motherfucker,” Allison says.

Real Gravity by loose_canon (T | 1,723 | 1/1)

RECORDED 04:08, PILGRIMAGE YEAR 1584 DAY 29

[begin message]

Hey, Mom. You’re probably watching this and thinking about how much you want to kick my ass right now. Well, my butt, because you don’t say words like “ass,” much less think them. Anyway, I know you’re mad at me. I’m the ungrateful daughter who hijacked an emergency pod and zipped off into space in the middle of the eclipse service like a dumbass—sorry, dumbbutt—with another girl because I just had to go and open myself to the spirit of lesbianism. I’m not gonna lie, I’m mad just like you are. Part of me wants to just say that the spirit is a good fucking time and be on my way. But I need you need to know that I’m losing something, too.

A sci-fi one shot: Allison leaves a final message for her mother after she and Renee escape the generation ship they grew up on.

On Dragon's Wings (Under the Blue) by tinystreetlamp  (T | 8,417 | 3/3)

For hundreds of years the six kingdoms coexisted in peace due to a magical contract that prevents violence between them. Ever since Allison's brother Jean was kidnapped by Riko she has wanted to lead her armies to war against the Island of Night, but the contract prevents her from doing so. When crown prince Nathaniel arrives and asks for sanctuary, Allison sees her chance to unite four of the kingdoms against Riko and rain down her vengeance upon him.

(How to seduce a pirate: drag her underwater unexpectedly)

/Graphic Depictions of Violence

vengeance and death by cthulu_sun (M | 2,446 | 1/1)

legend says you have wax-dipped wings and golden fingernails and knives made of the blood you have spilled. legend says you are not merciful.

-

in which renee is a tired guardian angel, finds the foxes, and falls in love.

a hundred jewels on throats by ghvsts (T | 3,226 | 1/1)

"have you seen the goddess from the seafoam," they whisper, "she is more beautiful than anything."

(in which seth is ares, renee is persephone, and allison has had enough)

fabrication of a grand scheme by cloudghost (T | 13,787 | 1/1)

Renee was silent for a while. Then, finally, she said, “I want to try going outside.”

“I thought you were scared.”

She hummed her assent. “That doesn’t mean I shouldn’t do it.”

Since that was basically the philosophy Allison lived by, she nodded. Renee turned back around and met Allison’s gaze. In that moment, Renee looked unbreakable and unshakeable, like nothing that ended up in her way could ever stop her for long. Allison shivered.

Love You a Latte by ceilingfan5 (G | 8,465 | 1/1)

Allison's favorite barista is adorable Renee, so when she gets the news that she has to go on a terrible family vacation and bring an "appropriate plus-one", she decides to finally get herself uninvited from the rest of those events for all eternity. She and Renee go together, pretending to be a very much in love couple, stir shit up, and leave a lot closer than they ever expected. (Obviously they fall in love.) Allison may say "I decided love was fake a long time ago and it’d take a miracle to change my mind now,” but if anyone can be a miracle worker, it's Renee.

say you'll never harden to the world by orphan_account (T | 10,300 | 1/1)

Of course it’s when the knife finally doesn’t feel awkward in her hand anymore that Allison shows up.

Instead of the relaxed way she usually holds her wings, they’re pulled taut behind her back. Her arms are crossed in front of her chest and there’s a decidedly not pleased look on her face.

“Hey,” Natalie says, not interrupting the sequence of stabbing moves she’s been practicing. She has no time for the way seeing Allison makes her feel.

Safe – a joke. Not alone – Allison might not even be real. Cared about – impossible.

Those kinds of emotions aren’t meant for someone like her in the first place, and she’s not going to indulge them.

give me shelter or show me heart by hondayota (Not Rated | 4,720 | 3/3)

Renee had always thought of hope as a feeling, something she scraped out of her insides when she had nothing else to hold onto, but over the past months, hope had ceased to be a feeling and had become synonymous with Allison Reynolds.

or

the renison zombie au no one asked for

or

renee and allison are hella gay even when there's zombies

laila/alvarez:

It's Called Fashion Hunty. Look it up. by theKristastrophe (T | 15,440 | 8/8)

Sara works for a company that she doesn't hate but doesn't love either. So she sits at the bar with her two other best friends and tries to get through the work week.

When a fresh lawyer stumbles into thier weekly Rant Club, Sara knows she's in for a wild ride.

Featuring gratious eyerolling, snark, and everyone's favorite Foxes.

Buckle up kiddies. It's time to Sashay, Sashay, Sashay...

Come Close by tinystreetlamp (T | 10,932 | 1/1)

Sometime around 200 BC in Ancient Greece, in a world where the greek gods are real, Laila is a warrior from Sparta. During her first visit to Athens she meets not only Jeremy of Troy but also falls head over heels in love with Sara, a daughter of Apollo and local poet. But Sara is cursed, and soon the three cross the Mediterranean on a quest to break the curse and save Sara.

Sara means Sun by tinystreetlamp (M | 27,739 | 8/8)

Five years ago, ships with black and red sails appeared on the horizon and wiped out all of the royal family - except one. The Raven King conquered Coralia and is doing everything he can to stay in power. Jeremy of Troia, the rightful heir to his kingdom, has been in hiding for the past five years, but he found something worth fighting for.

Laila, an Elven Warrior and Jeremy's best friend, will do anything to protect him. Meeting a cute stranger isn't going to change that.

/Graphic Depictions of Violence, Major Character Death

[amethystpath-writes]

Hi ! Love what you wrote BUT ABSOLUTELY ADORE "Dance with the Devil" with Hades (#teamhotgreekvillainforever) and Persephone !! So ... Perhaps a continuation please *O* ??

Continued from this.

Looking down at her legs as she sat on a throne of thorns, Persephone bit her tongue. Hades stained her once brilliantly glowing legs with the marks of the souls which tried to drag her down into the Underworld’s fiery and endless depths.

‘A reminder,’ the lord told his queen, ‘that I could have let you fall. I did not have to pull you out.’

But he did have to pull her out, didn’t he? Because Perse was the only one Hades would have ever considered being his queen. Her brilliance was nothing to understate. She glowed brighter than even the sun- brighter than Apollo, too. Persephone was beautiful, and she was even more so shrouded in Hades’ world of night sky.

‘I would have preferred you let me fall,’ she returned. The defiance had not lasted. Hades gripped her mind with his own, crushing it beneath a strong grip until she was knelt on the ground, touching the tips of his feet with outstretched arms. Compliant. Yielding.

This was when Hades knelt to her, whispering to her a sweet nothing. ‘I should do this to you someday, my queen. Lay myself down for you. Submit beneath your will.’ He hummed, standing, and telling her to do the same. She did.

They had remained in the ballroom after their dance, after Persephone’s near-plummet to everlasting torment and despair. Demeter was correct in telling her daughter of the lord’s eyes- of how looking into to them meant losing every piece of yourself if it were as Hades wished. The man was wretched, despicable, terrible. And he loved the Goddess of Spring.

Now Persephone sat alone in the room, considering an escape, but knowing she could never achieve one. This world Hades possessed worked against her in any way that might have revealed Perse was trying to get away, trying her hand at rebelliousness. Even simply shifting in the throne she sat on led to branches of thorns stretching out into her vision- a threat to her to stay seated. Hades didn’t even trust her to wander the ballroom, which as she viewed it, had no escape anyhow- no doors or windows. And even if there were an opening, she would only fall into an endless amount of matter made of fire.

Perse touched the arm of the- not her- throne, looking at the thorns. She could make flowers bloom in their place, or perhaps beside them. In an instant, she conjured every visual of flowers belonging to thorn bushes: roses, blackberries, black raspberries, flowering quince, chickasaw plum, elderberry, black chokeberry.

There were many flowering plants with thorns, but the one she considered most was this; pokeweed- or nightshade as many knew it. So what if it were not much of a flower? Every part of the plant was likely to cause death if one consumed enough. What was the likelihood of Hades knowing that? Would he even be naïve enough to pick berries from Persephone’s throne if she decided to grow them? It was worth a shot, wasn’t it?

The throne blossomed with pink-red stems which developed green berries. Over the course of minutes, some of the berries ripened, but not all. It was part of Perse’s strategy to do this. Hades would pick two or three of the ripened fruits, then Persephone could tell him the green ones were just as good to eat- hence why she left so many.

Her plan was well thought out and the throne did not object to her enchantment. The Goddess of Spring took this as a sign that Hades didn’t understand at all how dangerous this was.

As she waited, Persephone took the time to look at the rest of the room, particularly the checkered floor which nearly swallowed her perhaps an hour ago. She hated that floor almost more than the dark lord who pulled her out of it. What would happen if she stepped onto it now? If she managed to escape the throne, she imagined the floor would fall through as soon as her lightweight touched it. What would Hades do then? Would he save his queen for a second time? Probably. He would likely never let her go.

It was as she thought this that Perse jumped at the King of the Underworld’s sudden image in the centre of the room. Swallowing, she tilted her chin up, as if she were superior to the dark lord- and she was. As terrified as Persephone was, she would hold her own weight.

“Very gorgeous, my queen.” Hades admired her throne from afar before stepping further. “Nightshade, yes? I think you have proven your place even further in my court. Does Demeter understand just how dark her daughter, the goddess of Spring, is?”

He knew.

Persephone crunched a fist and let the berries dwindle and fall to the ground in her defeat. Of course Hades would know of nightshade. How could she assume that the lord of the Underworld wouldn’t know about poisoned berries? So many mortals had fallen prey to them or used them as killing agents themselves. Hades was likely experienced in every method of death, which meant Persephone had no hope.

“No need to kill them. Their colour is unique to my realm. Keep them.”

Her chin became even more angled. “No.”

Hades chuckled, coming closer and closer to her. The floor remained intact beneath his feet unlike it would if Perse stepped on it. “Your defiance will fade someday, my dear. And when it does, you will find yourself happy you stayed.”

She gritted her teeth. “You say it as if I had a choice. I chose to die.” Instinctively, now, she glanced at her charcoaled legs. The horror of the moment remained, from being grasped by the ankles by light-eating souls, and Persephone could hear her own screams. It was dreadful, but she still preferred physical torment over- over whatever this was in the ballroom. Being bound to a throne of thorns and talked to like a pet by Hades…it was worse than any fate.

“But you chose me over being turned to stone. That sounds like choosing life- a life with me.”

“You are God of the Underworld. You are Death itself.”

“So, you chose death over stone. What point are you attempting to make anymore, I wonder.”

Persephone fell silent. Her point was that she did not choose Hades, but…well, he was right. In the moment the lord mentioned Medusa, she had been more terrified of her than him. She looked into his eyes, even if by accident in terror.

Hades walked up the dais and held a hand out to Persephone. “I could grow berries in your stomach,” she said. Persephone looked at his offered hand then almost to his eyes. It wouldn’t matter if she looked into his eyes now; Perse was already under his control. Still, Persephone liked to pretend she never looked to begin with. Especially in moments like these where Hades allowed her own free will.

“And you may.”

Now, she did look. It seemed shocking statements were a sure-fire way to gain Perse’s full attention. “What do you- why? Why would you allow me to?”

The lord smiled at her, poison shining on his teeth. “What did you call me just moments ago, my love?”

God of the Underworld. Death itself. The realization tugged at her throat and she whispered, “You cannot die, can you?”

His smile widened. Persephone’s stomach knotted.

“Take my hand, my queen. Our dinner is ready.”

******

Part 3 here

(Tag list: @nuttynutcycle @igotthesmellofbooks @revrevrew-personal) I will probably make this a series if it becomes requested again.

[rory-for-short]

New Crossings New Horizons: Part 3

TELL ME WHY I DECIED TO MAKE PART THREE THE START OF A SLOW BURN PLOT WITH NOOK AND THE READER I HATE MYSELF BUT ALSO IM HAVING FUN. 

So the plan is to make a community out of this island over the span of one summer and a fall semester. Nook had explained that there were more generators arriving in the nest few days. It was up to you all to figure out how housing would work. The list went on and on from pod homes, tiny houses, campers, and prefab homes. Tiny homes won. With a stipulation. We would start with them, then upgrade to prefabs later on. It would be easier to run tiny homes with the starting generators until we could figure out an electricity grid, and work on a plumbing/ well system for now. Nook seemed happy with this decision, and in the meantime, you and Cherry went out to collect wood and supplies while Apollo and Bob offered to find food.

“Hey imma trap some bears maybe there will be a zoo eventually,” announced Timmy jokingly.

“You and what bear trap,” Tommy snickered.

“I have several yards of rope, that's all I need,” Timmy smirked, uncoiling some thick rope from a knot.

“You kids be careful and stay close to camp. Me and Y/N are going south to find some wood,” Cherry informed.

You had already gotten some rope and packs yourself so that you could tie up logs into a bunch for easier carrying.

“Me and Bob are setting up snares to the west. All for small game but still, watch your footing if you are going up our way,” Apollo warned before everyone parted ways. You and Cherry managed to not only find wood, but also collected a tote of wild strawberries. Soon evening was upon you. Cherry mentioned heading back now before it got too dark, so the two of you started heading back. You were walking in front of Cherry leading your way back to camp when you lost your footing and found yourself stepping in a snare. Apollo and Bob must have really covered their ground, because you two were nowhere near the west of camp. Yet here you were, dangling and suspended ten feet off the ground from a tree.

“Y?N! Are you alright?” Cherry exclaimed as she ran for you dropping strawberry filled tote and running towards your dangling form.

“Yeah, I think I’m good...Just hanging around,” you smirked half expecting a rim shot. “It looks like the guys had covered more area than we thought,” you reasoned. Your current position was impressive, and uncomfortable. There was currently a rope around your arms and torso that made moving your arms impossible. At least you weren’t hanging by the neck. You could deal with some rope across your chest and restraining your arms as long as you could breath. You counted that as a blessing.

“Do you see a place to cut me down?” you called to her. Cherry began to scurry around the base of the trunk and nearby trees.

“I don't see any rope down here. It’s like it's on you and the branch and just nothing. There should be some rope down here for easy release right?,” the small girl panicked as she darted to and fro, hurriedly searching for the end of the rope to cut you down. Yet nothing was found. Great. You sighed in frustration. As cool of a trap as it was, you could feel your arms being construed and knew you’d have bruising from the rough rope.

“Go get the guys at camp. They can get me down, they set the trap afterall. But be quick it's getting dark,” you warned. Cherry nodded and sped towards camp. Hopefully she could get to them fast and not leave you dangling all night. Not five minutes after she disappeared, you began hearing rustling in bushes. The hairs on your neck stood up.

“ah-Apollo? That you?” you asked meekly. No reply. To be fair it was a bit windy, and you reasoned that you being alone at night with visibility getting lower, you were starting to be on edge. However, that didn't keep your eyes from darting to every little sound. Ten minutes in and your arms really started to hurt. Not to mention it was getting dark-dark, not just late-evening-dark. Just then, you saw a flashlight coming from the direction of camp moving steadily towards you

“Y/N! Kid! Where are you?” called the voice of none other than Tom Nook. Well thank you for the backup, Cherry, but what luck would Nook have at figuring out an Apollo snare?

“Over here Mr. Nook!” you call meekly from the tree severely doubting Cherry’s judgment at the moment. His flashlight beam landed on you and you squinted at the sudden change of light.

“Oh thank god! I'll have you down in a minute kid, don't you worry,” he said voice dripping with concern. You weren’t really worried about being stuck up here all night, except for the fact you had no idea where the rope release was.

“Cherry couldn’t find the release. I doubt you'll have much luck in the dark Mr. Nook” you reasoned.

“Who do you think taught Timmy to set a trap? Don't worry, the end of the rope should be about shoulder height on one of these trees behind you.” he explained as he disappeared into the shadows behind you.

“Timmy?! I thought this had to be Apollo’s handy work,” you were slightly impressed and it was notable in your tone..

“Don’t tell Timmy that. I’ll go straight to his head. Okay Y/N, get ready and brace yourself,”

“Do wha-” and at that you were crashing down ten feet to the ground. You landed awkwardly on your heel at an angle and yelped a bit in both pain and surprise. Tom Nook was beside you in a blink.

A look of worry stained his features as he knelt near you. You were trying to shrug off the now significantly looser rope. Red marks and bruises were already forming on your upper arms and forearms.Pain surged through your foot. A look of horror washed over your face as you feared it might be sprained, rolled, or worse, broken.

“Sorry that landing sounded rough. Here, let me help you up. Your arms aren't looking too good either,” he noted as he scanned your bruised arms. He extended his hand to help you on your feet when pain shot through your leg, calf and foot. You winced and your step faltered. Tom noticed and held your arm a little tighter.

“You landed bad didn’t you? You think you can make it back to camp on that ankle?”

You hesitated a moment before answering.

“Uh, ye-yes I’ll be fine,” you said through gritted teeth as you tried to adjust your steps to be less painful. However, your attempted step caused another shrug of pain all the way from the heel of your foot up your calf. You suppressed a yelp. Your eyes, now watering from the injured muscles that betrayed you, met Nooks and you could tell he knew you weren’t actually all that fine.. You sheepishly looked down and away.

“You can’t walk back, can you?” he sighed. It was more of a statement than a question. A beat of silence fell between you and he finally resolved.

“Alright, I’m too old for bridal style so you’ll have to get on behind me,” he reasoned.

“What? No,- come on we can try walking-” but the ankle was already starting to swell and Nook gave you that Dadtm look that stopped you dead in the middle of your sentence.  A look he probably mastered by practicing it on Timmy and Tommy. The kind that said ‘I’m not arguing kid, do as I say’. You sighed as he crouched in front of you. You reached your arms around his shoulders and despite claiming to be an old man, he lifted you pretty effortlessly. Which should have taken more effort, you were a full grown woman after all. You, at this point, were red in the face and you knew it. It was a pretty embarrassing predicament, having the decider of your future employment carry you on his back through the woods like some kid that scraped their knee. How were you gonna hide the red face at camp? You didn’t know, but hoped everyone would be in bed already.

“Sorry Mr. Nook, I should have been more careful,” you muttered into his shoulder. You felt his chuckle resonate through his back and into your chest.

“You have nothing to be sorry about. I was the one who dropped you too suddenly after all… and everyone calls me Nook or Tom. You don't have to call me ‘mister nook’ you know,” he answered softly.

You nodded into his shoulder and you both approached the camp. You saw everyone waiting on the two of you sitting around the fire with cooked fish and rabbit.

“Oh great. Looks like he managed to break her further,” Timmy laughed, elbowing Tommy. Nook shot Timmy a glare.

“I got her out of the “bear trap” YOU set. Really Timmy, if you are going to set snares, annonce them to the general populace so no one gets hurt,” Nook scolded with you still on his back, as he walked over to where everyone was sitting and eating. Red face was a go, but you could probably blame it on the injury and fire light. Nook helped you to sit on the log seating as Bob handed a plate your way. AT\t that moment you realize just how hungry you were.

“Catch of the day, besides you of course,” Bob snickered and you gave a light laugh.

“First I gotta splint up this ankle,” you explained.

“Ill get the first aid kit,” Cherry offered and scampered towards the main tent. Out of the corner of your eye you saw Nook a few inches from Timmys face, looking like he was hardcore chewing him ou in a hushed tonet. Now it was Timmy's turn to be embarrassed.