#tartarus au lol

[bunkernine]

even after all these years i still stand with jason+leo in tartarus, with piper trying to figure out how to not rely on them (a concern she had in tlh) for so many reasons ... It stands so strong idk guysssses lost trio on top frrrrr

storm or fire, their world fall etc

a roman and greek together

frank/hazel vs piper/annabeth vs percy... theres very little reason for greeks and romans to talk to each other more however this is a bit of a more agreeable group. besides percy/annie are experienced while the others are not

cupid can be piper and nico since... you know. piper is ALSO struggling with her ideals for romance

this is the first time jason/piper/leo have been apart since we've MET them

leo cant really fight so he HAS to figure it out because he cant rely on jason

jason is the son of jupiter. unlike percy who had liquids... jason got nothing

piper annabeth nico percy ALL make for EXCELLENT choices to go to calypso's

leo actually DOES lighten up the energy on the ship... who can do it now

^^^ he also is the only one to understand the argo so it would be fun to see how they would handle that

the prophecy kids are LITERALLY the lost trio. them spearheading it makes so much sense sorry idgaf

and more and more and more GRRRRR

[kuiinncedes]

c:

[wukyma]

A little bit of info for this au!!

So, yeah, Poseidon disguises himself as a common soldier, but all his plans of being a mysterious shadow behind the scenes of the main action come crumbling down when Polites decides "hey you're my friend now!" Consequently Poseidon proceeds to find himself in all sort of strange situations (some of which include Odysseus. that man has no chill)

And Poli! He's definitely gotten a bit too comfortable lol (no glasses for practical reasons ahem ahem)

We might need a name for Poseidon to use btw,, yes i came up with a whole story but not a name; im open for suggestions XD

Warning!! Sad things: the war ends, they part ways (insert drama here because Poseidon basically flees from his feelings and Polites feels betrayed because he didn't tell him a thing before just vanishing)

Then the cyclops thing happens. Polites dies. Poseidon comes to his son's call and discovers an all too familiar body in the cave. Of course he doesn't want to believe this but a trip to the underworld destroys any doubt and hope—yes you may mentally throw OP in tartarus that's my rightful place

and he doesn't recognize Poseidon either because a) dude isn't in mortal disguise anymore, b) his injury made him forget some people's faces, or both

A bit of blood and an important question ⬇️

I was thinking like... did Polites know about Odysseus yeeting the infant? (sorry for phrasing it that way but ehhh,,) Depending on the answer, Open Arms could have a different meaning and message, ykyk?

[im-an-apollogist]

Love your pest!AU, just wondering tho…does Apollo have a form he takes when he was in Tartarus? Like a scary form? Or is he like the weird one where everyone else looks terrifying and scary and then there’s Apollo looking all beautiful LOL

Mortals are not fortunate enough to see his true form

So basically, in this AU, mortals believe that the entity you see in sleep paralysis is Apollo himself coming to warn you about a new plague or disease that will devastate both you and your loved ones.

Apollo does not tend to show himself in front of mortals, but when he does it is not usually in a friendly manner.

[we-ezer]

PJO x DC AU

Percy's powers are growing at an exponential rate. This means that when he grows even slightly upset the ground trembles and it's scaring the people around him. Alright, he can take a hint. Besides, he doesn't want to hurt anyone he cares about. Even if his loved ones-Annabeth- don't care about hurting him. He thought they were fine after Tartarus, but he can see that his power scares her more and more everyday. So, he's leaving. Problem solved.

Percy moves to Bludhaven with a single duffel bag and a rickety wood boat that wouldn't be missed from the camp's boathouse. He sets up shop in the Swamplands by the airport. No sane person would live there, but Percy certainly would. Plus, he's banking on his ability to figure out woodworking enough to ramshackle together his own living quarters. . . . okay, a lean-to would probably be more accurate. It's not like he had any money right now, and he wasn't going to take any from his mom. She was finally doing okay. It was Percy's turn to find his own way.

So fuck paying rent. Shoddy lean-to it is.

Except when he got there it was disgusting. Beer bottles littered the marshes, shoes of all shapes and sizes floated between the grasses, and was that a flamethrower?!

Percy had expected to work his way up to a proper living situation, but this was worse than he thought. Sighing, he bent down to throw another bottle into his boat. This was going to take a while.

TLDR; Percy moves to Bludhaven to deal with his growing powers because he doesn't want to be anywhere too populated or far from NYC, so the compromise is the Swamplands outside the city. Eventually, Nightwing discovers this guy bumming it in the marshes and starts using him as an informant for any criminal activities he's witness to in the area. Percy becomes the Bogeyman hermit of the marsh that people "pay" for info and is known just as 'Jackson'. He's also grown out his hair and the start of a beard and started dressing like his dad to really sell the hermit look. Not like he cares much for personal upkeep out there.

Payments include help fixing up his property, cleaning up the marshes, and food. Meanwhile, Percy sits on his shitty lawn chair sipping fruit punch and watches a bunch of goons pick up trash. It's a good trade in his opinion.

When Nightwing is surrounded one night when he's going to visit Percy for info, an alligator comes charging out of the brush and takes a goon down. The rest scatter after its siblings appear too. Turns out Percy had adopted a clutch of abandoned gator babies when their mom was killed for sport. The hunter never left the bayou after that.

Nightwing and Percy get closer after that. *eyebrow wiggle* This has gotten long for a TLDR lol I just wanted a Dick/Percy AU so let's say that eventually Dick takes Percy home with him to the Manor after getting him a haircut and Steph is like "this is not the swamp man we were promised" but Percy absolutely refuses to get rid of the Hawaiian shirts he's stolen his dad's brand and made it his own (Poseidon keeps sending him more via Hermes Express it makes him feel connected to his son).

[lilislegacy]

Weird thing to be hung up on but when it comes to fanfics and shipping, if the story takes place in the “Canon” timeline, I can’t really imagine Percy and Annabeth not together or with anyone else. Like both character wise and narratively they’re too interwoven and for each other. Only stories I can really read that have Percy and Annabeth not together are AU or alternate timelines where the characters and events are supposed to be fundamentally different. But because of how much they’ve gone through their relationship with each other is a core part of their characterization, so any story that take place in the canon timeline but doesn’t have them together is already seeming OOC to me.

What are your thoughts?

Yeah, I’m with you. A lot of people say they’d still work as just friends. And while their friendship is my favorite part of their relationship—I love when they refer to each other as their best friend—I don’t see them working long-term as purely platonic, or being able to permanently be with someone else. Sure, they could date other people! They could fall for other people. But marry someone else? Have a different lifelong partner? I just don’t think it would work. People say to marry your best friend for a reason. Chemistry and attraction can fade, but true friendship and partnership? That’s not as fragile. And if someone is truly your life partner, they have to be your #1. Your biggest fan. Your greatest ally. And honestly? I’m not sure anyone else could fill those roles for them better than they do for each other. I can see them staying just friends, but I can't see them choosing other people over each other.

That's the thing about Percy and Annabeth; while their chemistry is very natural and strong, it has never once been “easy” for them to actually be together. They consistently choose each other. The world has tried to tear them apart in so many different ways, so many different times. A child of Poseidon and a child of Athena aren’t even supposed to like each other in the first place. Athena tried keeping them apart. The gods have tried keeping them apart. They’ve both been kidnapped and taken to the other side of the country. They are complete opposites in many ways and were raised extremely differently. And not only are they both very flawed and just overall very difficult people, but they also low-key annoy the crap out of each other lol. So it’s not like being together has ever been a simple or effortless thing for them.

And yet, Percy chose Annabeth to go on every one of his quests with him. Annabeth chose Percy to go on her quest through the Labyrinth with her. When each of them was kidnapped, they chose to follow each other, no matter the distance. Percy chose to fall with her into Tartarus. Annabeth chose to live in New York to be with him. They met each other when they were 12 and since that day, they've never chosen anyone or anything else but one another.

So yeah, no one else could ever understand them the way they understand each other. But their lives and traumas aren’t so deeply interwoven just by chance. They actively chose to go through those horrors side-by-side. And that, combined with their natural chemistry and attraction, makes it hard to imagine them truly working with anyone else. Even when Luke and Rachel played important and slightly romantic roles in their lives, Percy and Annabeth still consistently prioritized each other. And that was before they were even dating.

So it’s not that they couldn’t survive apart or love someone new. It's not that they couldn't be attracted to other people. It's not because they are "perfect." It’s because long-term marriage and relationships can't rely on lust or convenience to last. Things can get complicated and messy and dark real fast. So for a relationship to be strong and to last, even under the harshest of conditions, two people have to choose each other, every single day, no matter what. Over everyone else. And despite the blemishes of their relationship, that is exactly what Percy and Annabeth's entire relationship has been since the first book. Alternate versions where they don’t put each other first feel wrong because it goes against their nature.

I know many people—even Percabeth shippers—disagree, and that's fine! I'm not against shipping them with others or having them remain purely platonic. But for me personally, it just feels wrong and OOC. But to each their own!

[bvidzsoo]

Marionette

The second star of Cosmically divine...

☆ Author: bvidzsoo

☆ Pairing: Kang Yeosang x female reader

☆ Warning: nudity, cursing, consensual smut, corruption kink, blood, violence, cutting off a hand, allusion to pedophilia (but he pays for it lol karma is a bitch)

☆ Word count: 8.6k

☆ Rating: nsfw

☆ Genre: Greek mythology, Yeosang is Aphrodite's son, forbidden relation

☆ Summary: Doomed from the beginning, your mother, Hera, only saw a weapon in you. If you had once thought she loved you, she proved you wrong the second she cast you away once you failed to kill her enemy's son. Yeosang, Aphrodite's dearest and most prized offspring.

☆ A/N: Hii, lovelies! Second instalment of this series is here, and I swear to God this is the last time I write it in one setting bcz my wrist is falling off currently lol. I really really like this part, I am so curious to hear what you all think of it ! I genuinely appreciate your feedback, and the ones you've left on the previous part legit had me giggling and in tears, I love you all! <3 The taglist is still open, so lmk if you want to be added to it. This is a small side note, but I've read not too long ago a Yungi story that is absolutely amazing and is a Greek mythology au, and whenever I'm writing a part for this series I get reminded of it, so, let me share it with you if you are curious to read it, it's so good!! I'll point out a few things before I let you read the story:

★ This is inspired by Greek mythology, but I took creative liberty and adapted it to my likes, so keep that in mind while reading, thank you! ★ Aphrodite is the Goddess of love, beauty, desire, and all aspects of sexuality ★ Hera is the Goddess of marriage, women, and family, and the protector of women during childbirth ★ Athena is the Goddess of war, handicraft, and wisdom and the patroness of Athens ★ Hades is the God of the underworld ★ Dionysus is the God of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre ★ Tartarus lies far beneath the disk of the world, under Hades' underworld, it's used as the ultimate of prisons, unpleasant and inaccessible ★ Elysian Fields is part of the underworld and is where the good go ★ Athenai are a group of women who followed and worshiped Athena ★ Dion is a village and municipal unit in the municipality of Dion-Olympos in the Pieria regional unit, Greece; it's known for its sanctuary of Zeus and its ancient city (definitely give it a visit if you're in the area!) ★ (Athens is the capital city of Greece) ocean divider; greek divider

☆ Taglist: @patchofblue @sthwaaberry @constipatedcorgi @holytidalwavechees3cake @cheolliehugs

@slowitdownmakeitb0uncy @hoeforsungie @madebysvt

༄ ҉ Series m.list ༄ ҉ 　★ previous star ★ 

            Right by the foothill of Mount Olympus and just a few hours away from the lively village of Dion, hidden in a little meadow of the evergreen forest, almost a day long walk from Lake Naia, lay the fun house of Dionysus. Men and women, Gods and Goddesses were welcomed here, scrutinizing and judgmental eyes turning into indifferent and lustful ones, whatever your heart desired a possibility to become reality if whispered to the right person or deity. Selfless and desperate men found solace in the caresses of nymphs that ventured down from Mount Olympus to the fun house, desperate to get away from the clutches of merciless deities that took advantage of them at the smallest chance given. Gods and Goddesses who were tired of the mistreatment enabled by their superiors and were in desperate need of a night where they could let go, often stumbled through the threshold of the fun house. Dionysus loved calling it a fun house because that’s what it truly was, a house that offered you whatever you had in mind when you thought of the word fun. It came in the form of alcohol, music, entertainment and dancing, but it also came in the form of wanton moans, desperate touches, and whispered climaxes. Whatever you had in mind, you’d probably find it at the fun house. The wine was unlimited here as long as you left something of yours behind and promised to return for another fun time, making you rather addicted to the feeling of adrenaline coursing through your veins as you anticipated your reward. Whether this was in the form of a beautiful nymph or innocent maiden, a hunky man that liked it rough or a young lad whose touch was soft, or perhaps the unlimited alcohol that intoxicated your mind and sometimes killed you before your time…it was all the visitors choice. Dionysus took great pleasure in watching the mere mortals crumble at his feet, and he loved it even more when he managed to break a deity beyond the point of madness.

Everyone here knew who I was. The empty jug lay next to my hand almost mockingly as my eyes bore into the table, head slightly buzzing and ears ringing from the loud music the few drunken musicians attempted to play. The harp had a beautiful sound if in the hands of someone that could yield it, but the one mortal that attempted to play it here made it sound borderline scratchy, fingers caressing the strings rather unprofessionally. Despite how crowded the fun house was, not a soul took it upon themselves to share a table with me, and I understood why. I wasn’t necessarily here for company, especially not that of a man, but it would’ve felt nice to lay my worries upon an ear willing to listen. I knew the sharp daggers secured onto the belt around my waist intimidated men, but I expected women to be more than willing to share stories with me. After all, it wasn’t a secret to anyone that I was part of the Athenai, Athena’s loyal followers, the leader of a cult that brought forth possibilities for women eager to become more than what their society instilled on them.

A rather young girl passed by the table, head hanging low as she clutched the large jug of wine to refill the thirsty men’s glasses, and I watched closely as she walked between the tables, pouring more wine for the one’s asking. She was young, too young for a place like this, but I figured her family was living scarcely and they needed every little penny they could get. Knowing the nature of the men that were so eager to frequent places as such, it came as no surprise when the young girl’s shoulder was clutched by a calloused hand, yanking her back violently. The girl’s eyes widened in panic as she looked up, clutching the jug to her chest as if afraid to spill anything. It was pure instinct by now to draw my weapons at the sight of a female getting harmed, and it came as no surprise when I felt my blood boil underneath my skin. The man that dared touch the little girl was laughing, gripping her chin and trying to force her to sit down at his table filled with six more men, all watching her with a predatory glint in their eyes. Athena has taught me her virtues, has passed her beliefs onto me, raised me as a strong and independent woman, one that would not sit idly by and watch an innocent soul get harassed, especially if so young. The cult of Athenai have sworn celibacy to Athena, and have sworn to protect maidens and women in dire danger until their last breath.

I moved stealthily, barely leaving a breeze in my wake as I stood from the table, eyes burning anyone that dared look my way, right hand gripping the handle of my most loved dagger. Hephaestus was a marvelous craftsman, every piece of armor was designed by Athena and myself, and then later on perfected and strengthened by him. I had great trust in my weapons and my abilities, having led a war by Athena’s side more than once. As I made my way towards the table full of vile men, the little girl’s body had started shaking as she struggled to fill their glasses with wine, the man that was holding her had his hand sliding down her fragile body. I tensed my muscles and willed my mind to remain focused, knowing that if I saw red right now, not even one man would leave this house in one piece. As a quiet and scared whimper left the young girl’s lips, my jaw clenched and I unsheathed my dagger, the other men sitting at the table finally noticing me as I came into their vicinity.

A wide smirk stretched onto my lips as I saw the terror in their eyes, and before they could alert their companion harassing the young girl, my dagger had long come down against the nimble skin of the man, the steel cutting through his flesh and bones, severing the hand he had on the table. The cry that left his mouth was gut-wrenching and it made everyone stop in their tracks, eyes wide as the lively music had cut off at once, the young girl jumping away with watering eyes as the man tried to stand and whirl around. But I just chuckled and grabbed his greasy hair, yanking his head back as I pressed my sharp dagger against his neck, making him suddenly become still. His chest was heaving and he had broken out into a cold sweat, whole body shaking as blood gushed out of his severed limb. I leered, leaning down close to his ear.

“You are in great luck tonight, my friend,” I hissed against his ear, his body reeking of alcohol and grime, “I cannot kill you unless you do something unforgivable, but that doesn’t mean I cannot teach you a lesson, you stupid mortal.”

The man had started sobbing, snot running down his nose and into his mouth as he tried to splutter out apologies, his companions frozen as they didn’t know whether to help him or not. I pressed my dagger just a little more against his skin, making sure to draw blood as the man cried out in agony again, making me grin widely as I released him, but not before banging his head against the table hard enough to knock him out. His companions jumped to their feet and rushed over to the passed-out man as I turned my head to search for the young girl, finding her cowering behind a woman that was silently crying. I wiped down the blood from my dagger onto the white cloth I had hidden in my pocket as I walked towards the two, motioning for the woman to step aside. She did so quickly, revealing the young girl to me. I sighed as I leaned down to be eye level with her, gently wiping her tears off her face.

“Do not cry child, you’re safe now.” I muttered to her gently, unlatching a satchel from my belt, “Take this and head to Athens tomorrow, take your family with you if needed. Pray to Athena tonight and tell her that her most trusted apprentice saved you from a vile man, ask for her blessings and protection.”

“Won’t she want something in return?” The girl’s voice was shaky as she reluctantly accepted the coins, probably the sum more than she’s ever made here at the fun house. I smiled and gave a pat to her head as I stood up straight again.

“You are a smart girl; Athena will like that.” I hummed, fixing her hair behind her head, tilting her chin up to look in her eyes, “If you wish to be strong and able to protect yourself, all you have to offer to Athena is a promise to remain a maiden, child, and she will have you. You’ll thrive under her cult and you’ll have a good life in Athens.”

Gratitude graced the young girl’s face and she bowed her head deeply, bending at her middle to go even lower, making me smile at her display of gratitude, “Thank you, my heavenly protector.”

I chuckled as I gave a last pat to the girl’s head, looking around the still deadly silent fun house. I grinned and took my leave, knowing that the mood would be ruined as I wasn’t welcomed anymore for the night. When I reached the door, I turned around and bowed mockingly before I was out of the crowded and warm house, welcoming the cool breeze of the summer night. As the door closed behind myself, the music picked back up and the chatter and shouts resumed like nothing had happened, and I took a moment to clear my mind. I headed to the corner of the house and leaned against its structure, sighing as I looked up at the stary night, wondering whether I should return to Olympus now, or head back to Athens myself. But something snapped next to me and the unmistakable aura of an Olympian God invaded my sense, forcing my body to remain alert as I gently clutched the handle of my dagger.

“No need for that, dear,” I slightly relaxed at the familiar deep voice, but failed to spot the figure in the pitch-black night, “I am not here to harm you—or any of the women you protect.”

“Then why are you here?” I snapped back, growing a little irritated that the God wasn’t showing himself to me.

“I’m here to collect a very dear soul.” The deep voice answered back, sounding amused at my irritation as the nauseating scent of tobacco filled my nose. Sometimes, I wondered whether Death was timeless, whether he could travel between times unseen and unknown to us. Even as deities, we couldn’t predict the future nor if we truly were everlasting, but there was a glint in Death’s eyes that held secrets nobody but him knew about.

“I didn’t kill the man, you don’t have to snitch on me—” His deep giggle cut me off, and there he was, finally, showing himself to me as he stepped out of the shadows. His body was clad in a midnight black suit, tailored to fit his body perfectly as if it was his second skin. He had cut his hair shorter sometime not long ago, and it stood up in a way that made him look like he didn’t belong amongst us. Hades’ sharp eyes were crinkled as he smiled widely, his front teeth crooked as the cigar hung loosely between his teeth.

“I’m not here for that man,” Hades chuckled as the cigar bobbed with every word he said, “he’s going straight to Tartarus. I’m here for someone else.”

I followed his line of sight as he gazed inside the fun house through the window, eyes settling on an old man who was smiling and chatting by the bar with a beautiful young woman, “He’s lively, but his heart has weakened. I hope he hasn’t forgotten about our little trade back when he was still youthful and handsome.”

“You love making trades.” I sighed under my breath as I watched Hades grin, then take a long drag of his strongly smelling cigar. I never dared ask where he got those from, I never saw anyone else smoking them. It felt like it was somehow beyond me and our times, like it was better if I stayed naïve. Hades was an enigma nobody could fully decipher; it was best if you didn’t ask many questions. He had a way with his words, he could easily trick you into trades and deals that were only beneficial to him. The tale of signing your soul away to him unassumingly was more common than not, and I appreciated my life, cherished it dearly even.

“That I do, indeed.” He hummed, sharp and dark eyes falling on me again. He also loved flirting with people that he wasn’t supposed to flirt with, “Still worshiping the lovely Athena?”

I snorted under my breath, crossing my arms in front of my chest as I leaned against the building again, “It’s what I was created for.”

“Ah, yes,” Hades hummed, taking a long drag of his cigar, smoke wafting up in the air around us, “my bitch of a sister sure loves sending out other people to do the dirty work for her. If only Zeus wasn’t such a man-whore—”

“You speak rather freely, Mingi.” I narrowed my eyes at the God of death, interrupting what was supposed to be his inner monologue.

“Of course, I do.” He chuckled upon hearing his real name leave my lips, throwing the cigar onto the ground as he stepped on it. I’ve seen him do that many times, yet I still haven’t figured out why he did that, “What? What are they going to do to me? Banish me? Chase me away? Kill me? Death is everlasting, my dear, just as birth is. Even when you will stop existing, I’ll be still here. I’m one with Gaea. Unlike many of our kin, I do not need to be worshipped to exist.”

That made me think, made my mind dwell on thoughts that they weren’t supposed to dwell on, “Are you saying we won’t always be here?”

“I’d love to chat more with you, my dear.” Mingi smiled mischievously, his eyes narrowing into playful slits as he stepped closer, caressing my cheek gently. He was perhaps the only man that’s ever touched me—the one I willingly allowed to touch me—his touch lacking the lust no other man could even as much so as hide, “But my old man really needs to go now, and Hera’s called for you.”

“Are you stealing Hermes’ job now?” I chuckled, patting his hand before I removed it, dusting my hands off.

“No,” Mingi chuckled, shaking his head, “I’d rather die then be the messenger of these bored deities that love beefing with each other for no reason.”

“Do you reckon why my mother is asking for me?” I raised an eyebrow as I chuckled at Mingi’s humor.

“No idea, but she looked beyond devious.” He sighed, slowly stalking towards the entrance of the fun house, Dionysus would certainly hate that there would be two deities tormenting his fun house tonight, “Perhaps has something to do with lovely Aphrodite.”

I hummed, nodding my head in goodbye as Mingi disappeared inside, leaving me alone in the darkness of the night. Well, off to Mount Olympus I was.

            And Mingi was right, my mother did summon me due to something concerning Aphrodite. The palace was brightly lit despite it being after midnight by the time I made it home, and my steps were silent against the marble stones despite how lightly I walked. Athena made sure teach me that. As I had knocked on the door of my mother’s bedroom, it opened up instantly and allowed me inside. She sat on her sofa, snacking on some grapes as her two servants fanned her with big leaves, looking stoic and avoiding eye contact at all costs. My mother’s mouth pulled into a wide smile upon seeing me, her eyes a bright color and glimmering under the divine light. I fixed my posture and bowed my head in respect as I walked closer to her, the armor I wore completely the opposite of her satin indigo dress.

“Daughter,” She cooed, her voice warm and loud in the confines of her bedroom, “it’s been a while since I’ve seen you.”

That was true, indeed, she only met me when she needed something from me. I wasn’t to any use for her unless she was sending me out to kill the people she didn’t like, or have tried to bewitch her bellowed husband. I have long come to terms with the fact that Athena was more of a motherly figure than my own mother would ever be.

“Indeed, mother, how may I help you this time?” I asked emotionlessly, resting my hand on the handle of my dagger as it brought me comfort.

My mother chuckled as she raised her hand, the servants stopping their actions, “Out.”

They wasted no time in scurrying out, and I watched as they bowed deeply to my mother then to me, and fled the room at last. My mother sat up, pushing her dark brown hair behind her shoulders, her satin dress falling down on one shoulder. She was a Goddess almost as beautiful as Aphrodite, Hera could have anyone she wanted. Many worshipped her and tried to whisk her away from Zeus, but she only had eyes for that tyrant.

“Well, now that it’s just the two of us,” Hera chuckled, her expression twisting into something sly, “I’m sure you’ve heard of Aphrodite’s children, my daughter.”

“I have.” I confirmed as I raised an eyebrow at my mother. I have even met a few, but they weren’t very likeable, much like their mother.

“What about Yeosang?” My mother’s voice dripped with venom, palms curling into fists.

“Mere tales whispered by naiads is all I know of him.” I answered, gulping when my mother raised to her feet, a deity easily taller than most men. She stepped off her pedestal and slowly approached me, hand extending as she cupped my cheek. Unlike Mingi’s tender caress, hers was cold and borderline painful.

“I have a very important mission for you, my daughter.” My mother’s eyes sparkled with a vicious glint, teeth showing as she leered, “Someone had spoken ill of poor Aphrodite and she wants the man dead. But we know she never directly dirties her hands, and instead sends one of her children. Yeosang is her most prized child, my daughter, I need you to go find him, and kill him.”

I withheld the snort that threatened to bubble past my lips, impressed by my mother’s ignorance and the irony of her words. Wasn’t she sending me out to take care of her dirty business? The hatred between the two Goddesses runs deep, the two never settling their differences and finding ways to torment not just each other, but those around themselves as well. I was raised to hate Aphrodite, by my mother at least, because Athena’s teachings taught me different things. I wasn’t supposed to hate no woman, nor Goddess, but my mother couldn’t know that. I was more loyal to Athena than to her anyway.

“Is he going down to the mortals?” I questioned and pulled my head back slowly to get rid of my mother’s uncomfortable caress against my cheek. She hummed, giving me a scrutinizing look as her eyes took me in, a small grin spreading onto her lips.

“You’ve become a fine warrior, my daughter, I knew handing you over to Athena was a smart choice.” My mother sighed happily, eyes hardening at once, “You cannot fail me, my daughter, Aphrodite never lets Yeosang out of her sight, this is your one and only chance to kill him for me, do you understand?”

“Yes, I understand.” I bowed my head and my mother hummed, turning her back to me as she walked back towards her sofa.

“He’s in Dion, you’ll find him at the brothel in the East side of the village.” She sat back on her sofa, snapping her fingers as the doors opened instantly, the two servants rushing back inside, “And do not worry about recognizing him, you’ll know once you see him. He resembles Aphrodite a lot.”

And perhaps my mother hated that even more than the fact that Aphrodite was more beautiful than her. I didn’t worry about recognizing Yeosang, amongst mortals, an Olympian could be easily picked out in a crowd.

            Life in the village compared to the life of the Olympians was rather lamentable. Few people were well-off to live in spacious mansions that resembled the homes of the Olympians, as most of these mortals lived in humble and small cottages. But no matter how poor or rich, the nightlife in Dion never lacked as inns and brothels were overfilled with rowdy and insatiable people. I had disguised myself as a maiden of the village, a simple white dress that’s seen better days replacing the armor that felt like a second skin and brought me comfort. I felt exposed as my dark hair flowed freely against my shoulders and back, making me more vulnerable as anyone could easily grab onto it. The only time I wore it like this was when I bathed, in a battle you couldn’t allow anything to distract you. The sleeves of my dress were long, covering my arms as my two daggers were strapped tightly against the inner parts of them, I would never willingly bear myself vulnerable around anyone I didn’t trust.

Since I was disguised, nobody could tell that I was Hera’s daughter and Athena’s apprentice, making men boldly approach me and try to flirt their ways into bedding me for the night. I hated every single second of it, narrowly avoiding their touches and turning down their offers in a charming manner, not wanting to anger anyone and draw attention onto myself before I was done with what I was here for. The brothel was overspilling with people at the ungodly hour of the witches, and it turned out to be a hard task to find Aphrodite’s son, Yeosang. I didn’t know who I was looking for, but I would know upon seeing him. After walking around and watching the crowd carefully, I let the people push me towards the bar as I ordered a pint of beer for myself, leaning against the surface as I surveyed the crowd once again. The music was loud and the dancing people grew in number as others disappeared upstairs, occupying the empty rooms for mere seconds of pleasure. I had just taken a sip of the rather bitter beer, when an overwhelming feeling of warmth made me look up alarmed. I narrowed my eyes as I tried to pinpoint the direction it was coming from, my blood boiling underneath my skin as a weird sense of calmness tried to push through my alert disposition. My heart was racing and my ears had started ringing at once, and I knew the few sips of beer weren’t the cause of it. I was in the presence of another divinity. And upon realizing this, through the dancing people emerged an ethereal looking man.

The seemingly white glow that no mortal seemed to notice was almost alarming, coating his skin fair and making it glow as the softest and gentlest smile settled on his blood-red lips upon noticing me. Even from a distance, his eyes were gentle and warm in color, golden swirling around his irises as he graciously walked closer, hands clasped in front of him. Somebody crashed into him, but instead of screaming and pushing them away, he continued smiling as his lips moved slowly, probably reassuring the person that it was no problem. His hair fell around his face in a light brown curtain, framing his forehead and cheekbones as his nose was petite, his jawline sharp. My grip tightened around the pint of beer, suddenly my heart racing in my chest as the warmth I have felt previously only worsened the closer the deity walked. I found myself struggling to intake air, as if the man had his grip around my throat, refusing me the air I desperately needed. His smile only widened as I felt my legs weaken, the man now standing in front of me. His scent was sweet like honey and roses, overpowering the unpleasant odor coming from the humans.

“Another deity,” His voice was deep, unlike his soft features and what you’d expect to hear from him, “it’s rare any comes down to this brothel.”

“You’re here too.” I found my voice, completely surprised by how breathy it sounded. I gulped and took a quick sip of my beer, hoping it would help fix the dryness of my throat. The deity, Yeosang, watched my action closely, chuckling lowly as his lips pursed. The longer I looked at his face, the more I understood why he was Aphrodite’s favourite child. He was beyond perfect and gracious, well-mannered, and soft spoken. Perhaps if Aphrodite didn’t exist, he’d be Aphrodite instead. But nobody, no mortal or deity, could be prettier than the Goddess of beauty herself, and I noticed with mild surprise that Yeosang had a blood-red discoloration around his left temple in the shape of an almost heart.

“Are you here to satiate your vices?” His warm eyes shifted onto the beer again, and I chuckled, looking down at it too. I had to play my part if I wanted to kill him tonight, therefore, I lied.

“Some vices you can never fully satiate.” My expression was serious as my eyes bore into Yeosang’s, “I am tired of the fakeness of the Olympians, I want to feel something real.”

Something alluring flashed inside Yeosang’s eyes as he, too, leaned against the bar, reaching out for my pint of beer, “Mortals are fun little toys—until they start playing Gods and want to replace you.”

“Good thing we are irreplaceable, then.” I grinned as Yeosang chuckled, bringing up the pint to his lips. They parted slowly, his gaze burning into mine, a heated feeling suddenly encompassing my whole being. I have never felt that before, and suddenly I was nervous. Could it be that Yeosang was manipulating me somehow? All deities had powers to a certain extent, but his and mine were limited, we weren’t any major God the mortals ardently worshipped. I tried to reassure myself that it couldn’t have been him as he slowly lowered the pint from his lips, placing it back onto the bar.

“A deity like yourself certainly cannot enjoy that vile thing?!” Yeosang sounded almost appalled as he pressed his bony fingers against his lips, making me chuckle as I pulled the pint back towards myself.

“Someone as sophisticated as yourself would enjoy wine, I suppose.” Yeosang blushed as he hid his mouth with his hand, averting his eyes down to the floor. I smirked, feeling victorious as I raised my hand for the waitress to come over. She was quick on her feet, thankfully, and I swiftly ordered a glass of wine for my prey. My plan was perfectly working out, I didn’t think it’d be so easy to lure him into my trap. Perhaps Aphrodite shouldn’t have kept her precious son so sheltered, he was too naïve for his own good, and it would bring his downfall tonight. As Yeosang shyly looked up, I fixed my expression, trying to look as inoffensive as I could.

“I have always believed there is no point in hiding who we are,” I tensed as Yeosang suddenly leaned forward, invading my personal space as the waitress delivered his glass of wine, “after all, at some point people see through your façade. It usually falls when you think others aren’t watching you, even if it’s the slightest crack, somebody will notice.”

Feeling speechless, I could only watch as Yeosang smiled shyly and took his glass of wine, murmuring a quiet thank you before he took a tentative sip of it. My heart hadn’t stopped hammering against my ribcage ever since he walked over, and I could only pray to Athena that I wouldn’t start sweating now. There was something about Yeosang’s aura that exuded calmness but alure at the same time, and I found it hard to make sense of these new emotions surfacing in my body. Everything tingled and burned, suddenly finding his proximity not close enough, needing him to push me up against a wall and devour me. If Athena were to hear these vile thoughts, she’d be just as disgusted by them as I was. I tried to gulp down the nausea rising up through my stomach, and as I opened my mouth to speak up, a man tumbled into Yeosang. His wine was almost spilled, but he saved it last minute as he helped the man stand up straight.

“Oh,” Yeosang whispered, face lighting up in recognition, “old friend! I thought I have forever lost you to the crowd!”

The man reeked of every odor one could think of, yet Yeosang went and placed his arm around his shoulder, pulling him into his side. I watched with furrowed eyebrows as the mortal hiccupped, eyes half lidded as he struggled to stand up straight. The glass of wine was abandoned as Yeosang’s full attention was on the man, and I took a deep breath as I felt my pulse quicken even more. I took a quick glance around myself to make sure nobody was watching us, and then reached inside my dress, finding the hidden vial between my breasts easily.

“You abandoned me, boy!” The man’s words were slurred as he clumsily exclaimed, and I acted in a swift moment, pouring the poison into Yeosang’s glass unnoticed. My fist curled around the vial until I crushed it into small shards, the pain never reaching my skin as it instantly turned into dust. I watched the poison quickly dissolve in Yeosang’s drink just as the deity chuckled and looked back at me. My eyebrows shot up as I quickly smiled, hoping I didn’t look suspicious.

“This old friend of mine loves dancing,” Yeosang chuckled as he maneuvered the man around so that they stood side by side facing me, “I had to abandon him for a while.”

“Yes, you did.” The man’s head fell a little forward before Yeosang steadied him, making me wonder just how strong the deity was. His muscles were lean and not bulging as most Gods liked to look like, yet it was unquestionable that he was rather strong as he held up the man twice his size.

“Old friend, tell me something.”

The old man perked up as he tried to open his eyes more, “What, boy?”

“The young lady you introduced to me earlier,” Yeosang’s smooth voice turned slightly darker, subtly sneering. My eyebrows furrowed as the soft expression swiftly slipped off his face, “what have you said to her?”

“Oh!” The drunk man exclaimed, lips pulling into a drunken smirk as he looked at me, eyes raking over my body. I wished to wipe out my daggers and gauge his eyes out, but tonight I had to behave, “That lady cannot be compared in beauty to anyone else, she’s more beautiful than Aphrodite herself.”

The air seemed to freeze around us as my breath halted. Yeosang’s smile turned cold, eyes narrowing as he hummed, his grip on the man’s shoulder visibly tightening, “Hmm, I see.”

I didn’t know what to do as Yeosang turned his head, one eyebrow raised as if in question. I cleared my throat and averted my eyes as I instead grabbed my pint and threw back the remained of my beer. Yeosang’s eyes slowly shifted onto his glass of wine and he paused, then reached out and took the glass. I watched with a hammering heart as he raised it up to his lips, then slowly tilted the glass, the wine almost touching his blood-red lips.

“Drinking in front of your elderly without offering it to them first?!” The old man coughed a little, giving Yeosang a glare as if his respect had been broken. Yeosang froze, then I watched in mild alarm as he lowered his glass, shooting the man an apologetic smile.

“Where have my manners gone?” He shook his head at himself and the man hummed. I opened my mouth to interject into their exchange, but instead felt my jaw fall open in shock as Yeosang forcefully grabbed the man’s chin and yanked it open, pushing his head back by it, pouring the wine down his throat aggressively. I gasped as I watched the man gargle and try not to choke on the poisoned wine, my palms turning into fists as my muscles tensed.

“There, you can have all the wine.” Yeosang snickered, throwing the empty glass onto the floor, it shattering loudly as he slowly turned his head, tilting it to the side. My eyes hardened in an instant as I noticed the change in his demeanor, the serene and innocent look gone from Yeosang’s face as he smirked, leaning towards me, “Those who speak my mother’s name in vain shall be punished, right, Y/N?”

There hasn’t been a time before where a man won over me. I was trained for war, I have fought battles that took the lives of hundreds of men, I have slain men who have mistreated women and yet…a pathetic son of a Goddess had me fumbling in panic as he released the old man who had started heaving for air, clutching his throat. Yeosang stepped back and watched as I caught the old man, eyes wide as the poison rather quickly brought him to his demise. I didn’t know what to do as his body started growing heavier, and when I made eye contact with Yeosang, he was already backing into the crowd with a poisonous glint in his eyes and a vicious smirk on his lips.

He had won this game.

I felt anger surge through my body, but I couldn’t act on my desires to chase after the deity and have his head. And so, I played the part of my disguise as I released the man. Then, I opened my mouth and shrieked.

            The slap stung no more than a battle scar yet had to, and still, my ego was bruised beyond my body has ever been. I gritted my teeth as I refused to cower under my mother’s seething eyes. Something broke next to us and I jumped, not used to my mother’s hysterical displays. Now I understood why Zeus never tried to anger her, and yet still failed miserably each time.

“You wench,” Hera hissed, grabbing my chin and yanking my head forward, “You’re good for nothing.”

I tried not to snort as I looked down, avoiding eye contact. I have never failed before. I was more than good, but she was too blinded by her childish hatred for Aphrodite to actually notice that.

“You are a disgrace and an abomination!” My mother continued to hiss, her grip turning painful on my chin, “Look me in the eyes, you stupid wench!”

Fury licked under my skin, igniting my veins and making me tense my muscles and calm my mind as I yearned to reach for my dagger and push it through her nonexistent heart. I gulped and looked up into her eyes, remaining emotionless like Athena had trained me.

“You are not my daughter.” Hera hissed, leaning in my face, “I banish you from my home, you are never to step foot inside my temple and sanctuary. Perish from in front of my eyes before I turn you into nothing.”

She pushed me away like I have burned her, and I gulped, biting down on my tongue to keep myself calm and level-headed. I didn’t want to turn into nothing, that I knew. So, instead, I bowed my head and took off towards the door, grabbing the handle of my dagger for comfort, “And to think I nourished you and cherished you for nothing.”

My grip faltered around the handle of the door and something coiled in my chest as I took a deep breath, trying to talk myself down from what was about to come out of my mouth. I ripped the door open and chuckled, turning my head to look smugly at Hera, “Thank fuck I won’t have to see your stupid face ever again, you hysterical bitch.”

The scream Hera let out only made me laugh as I slammed the door shut behind me, fury making my body feel like it was on fire. That feeling was only ever present when I was in battle, and protecting women. I felt my whole being vibrate as I left the stupid home of Hera, steps hurried as I knew who to seek out for guidance. I will find Yeosang and I will kill him, Athena may you be my guide and protect me in my quest.

            Hunting came as second nature; I could do it even with my eyes closed. The ground of the forest was solid underneath my feet and the trees tall and offering shade from the blazing sun as I swiftly advanced towards the meadow. There was nothing in this world I couldn’t track and hunt down. Man, woman, animal, deity. Athena had let me know in a whisper where Aphrodite’s pond resided, a place that only her, her nymphs, and Yeosang knew about. The deity often came here to spend the hot days of summer cooling off in the ever-clear Pond of Beauty. Aphrodite had created it herself for her offspring and those that she considered worthy of her treasure. The pond resided close by the foothill of Mount Olympus, on the territory of the Gods and Goddesses. No human could come here, unless they wished for a painful death.

My bow and arrow lay snuggly in my hands as I held onto them tightly, eyes narrowed as I listened closely to the sounds of the forest. The meadow was just one step ahead, I was hiding behind the bushes and the tall trees, eyes surveying the area before I looked out onto the meadow, the pond vast and its water glimmering under the sunlight that fell directly on it. Sweat had gathered on my brows as I took deep breaths, remaining calm as I noticed ripples on the surface of the pond, a head covered in light brown hair slowly surfacing. My heart started hammering against my ribcage as I watched the deity swim around in the pond, a serene look on his face as he seemed to be glowing in the sunlight, his light brown hair turning almost as golden as the swirls in his warm brown eyes. He floated around graciously, his milky skin translucent as it made contact with the water and the sunlight.

I tensed my muscles and drew my right arm back, aiming my arrow towards Aphrodite’s beautiful creation. I closed my eyes for a second and took a deep breath, tuning in to the sounds of nature as I relaxed my body, preparing to release the arrow the second my eyes opened. I felt my body move slightly, align in the direction Yeosang was, and I sighed quietly, feeling the warm breeze caress my skin tenderly all of a sudden. The birds seemed to sing louder here, the grass seemed to brush up against my ankles gently, and the breeze carried a soft smell of pomegranates, honey, and roses. I gulped, feeling my lips part in another quiet sigh as suddenly my ears started buzzing, my skin jittery out of nowhere. My eyebrows slightly furrowed, feeling a little unnerved as my body grew warmer and warmer, flesh burning underneath the heavy silver armor. I gulped and willed my mind to focus, to let go of everything that served as a distraction, and opened my eyes as my fingers holding the string had started slipping, about to release the arrow aimed towards the mesmerizing deity.

But when my eyes opened, my body froze as if someone else was controlling it. Yeosang’s brown eyes shone golden as they bore into mine even at the great distance, and I felt my fingers tremble as I reluctantly lowered my weapon. I struggled to breathe as I felt my legs moved forward, guiding me towards the pond, away from the safety of the trees and the high grass. There was something very wrong as my skin burned and my heart raced, and I couldn’t stop myself from approaching Yeosang. His blood-red lips pulled into a faint smile as my hand raised to undo my bun, my dark hair falling down and fawning my back as I sighed in content. Another step towards him had me unclasping the silver armor from around my torso, my hands trembling as I couldn’t look away from Yeosang. I felt drawn in, mesmerized, and charmed. A madman would say it was witchcraft, but I couldn’t tell what was happening to me.

Yeosang’s lips parted as he whispered something I couldn’t hear just yet, and I felt my hands undo the bindings of my corset as it soon fell from around my body, leaving it bare for Yeosang’s eyes to drink in my exposed skin. I shivered and my arms got covered in goosebumps as Yeosang’s grin turned wider, beckoning me into the pond as he extended one hand. My mind was screaming at me to stop, to unsheathe my dagger from my belt and throw it at Yeosang, but instead, my body moved on its own as I undid my belt and then the bindings of my pants, stopping for a second to push down the garment after I stepped out of my boots.

Yeosang’s tongue darted out to lick at his blood-red lips, and I gasped as my feet came in contact with the cold water of the pond. I was bare in front of a man, walking towards him, offering myself up to him. What I was doing was forbidden, I would be banished and probably killed, but I couldn’t stop. No matter how much I wanted to, my body didn’t stop moving towards Yeosang. The cold water clung to my overheated skin and my heart pounded in my chest as I couldn’t feel the soil underneath my feet anymore. I was forced to swim further inside the pond. I wanted to stop, but my body wouldn’t until it reached Yeosang. My lips trembled from both fright and the cold, and the closer I got to Yeosang, the wider his grin got. He was preening at me, eyes flashing golden like his hair in the sunlight, and suddenly, I was face to face with him. I shuddered out a breath, chest contracting as I tried to yank myself far away from him, but suddenly the water felt like it had hands and had immobilized me to my spot.

“Y/N,” Yeosang’s voice carried amusement, eyes twinkling in the same manner, “it’s rude to impose on someone that’s bathing.”

I couldn’t find my voice, my throat had gone dry, my whole body was trembling. I couldn’t be seen bare by any man or deity, I had to kill Yeosang. I would be never forgiven if I didn’t, if he touched me…I would be punished for an eternity.

“Why are you here?” He raised an eyebrow, lowering himself under the water until his eyes and hair were visible only. I tried to calm my frantic heartbeat, to regulate my breathing once again.

“I’m here to kill you.” I hissed out, eyes hardening as Yeosang pushed his head above water, giggling.

“Without your armor, you’re nothing but a woman, Y/N.” My blood boiled under my skin, and I wasn’t trembling from the cold anymore, it was from anger. My jaw clenched as I glared at Yeosang, still trying to break free of this invisible spell he’s put on me.

“Is this where your mask slips and you show just how rotten you are at your core?” Yeosang’s head lulled back as he laughed, water dripping from his hair once he faced me again.

“You think I’m doing something to you,” His voice dropped to a dangerous whisper as his eyes darkened, just like at the brothel. He didn’t look innocent anymore, he looked menacing and dangerous, “but I am not. The pond brings out your deepest, darkest desires.”

Something coiled in my chest and I felt my cheeks heat up, mortified at what Yeosang was implying, “How dare you?! I am an Athenai, I have sworn to serve Athena. I have no such desires like the one you’re implying I have—”

I stiffened as Yeosang reached out, his warm fingertips softly touching my skin, “Then why is your skin ablaze? Why does your flesh sing to me to come closer? To feel you? To touch you? To devour you?”

I gasped as Yeosang swum uncomfortably close, palm caressing my cheek bigger than it, eyes boring into mine as I felt unraveled by the simplest touch, “Why do you want me to fill you up here until you’re a begging mess, until you have forgotten who you are?”

It felt like the sunlight was cut off and my neck was snapped into half, when, underwater, I felt nimble fingers trace the outline of lips untouched before, slipping between them and drawing out a sound that’s never left my mouth before, “Why does it throb for me?”

Yeosang’s lips brushed against my ear as I moaned loudly, head falling back when his fingers touched a spot that had the name of Gaea on my lips, praying to be forgiven for the sins I was committing, “Kill me with your bare hands, Y/N, and I shall grant you one wish.”

I whimpered as I finally felt released by the clutches of the water, hands flying out as I clung onto Yeosang’s shoulders, eyes screwing shut when the heel of his palm pressed harder against my core, massaging it in a circular motion, toes curling at the blinding feeling that had my whole body on fire like no battle could ignite it. Yeosang’s blood-red lips pressed against the vein pulsating in my neck, and I bit my bottom lip, trying to muffle the sounds I was making as he dipped his fingers lower, prodding at a hole I didn’t know existed before, “Yeosang.”

“Say my name, my goddess.” Yeosang growled against my neck, his teeth grazing my skin as I felt him grip onto my hip with his free hand, “Tell me how badly you want me dead.”

I moaned as one finger slowly slipped inside that hole, my mouth falling open in a loud gasp as I felt my muscles contracting, clenching down on his digit, “I shall skin you alive and deliver you to your mother myself.”

Yeosang moaned as his lips left my neck, eyes boring into mine as he faced me again. His hand from my hip slowly slipped down onto my thigh and he guided it around his own hip, flushing our bodies together as he moved his finger in and out, making my eyebrows furrow at the unusual pleasure that erupted in my whole body.

“If you do,” Yeosang whispered against my lips, gently biting my bottom lip, “I shall persuade Athena to forgive you for your sins.”

I gasped as the pace of his finger quickened, his thumb pressing on the bundle of nerves again, and his name echoed in the meadow as I cried it out loudly, body shaking from the overwhelming new feelings I haven’t felt before, “Oh, Yeosang.”

“I know,” He whispered, suddenly his finger gone from my throbbing core, and I whined as my eyes flew open, searching his face for an explanation. His golden eyes had glazed over and were a dark brown, his skin and hair not that bright anymore as clouds shielded the sun for us, almost as if they were shielding us from the eyes of the Gods and Goddesses themselves, “it’s overwhelming for the first time, but you’re doing so well for me, my goddess.”

He guided my other leg too around his hip, and I anchored myself against his lean body as I crossed my ankles behind his bottom. I could feel something hard and heavy press against my thigh and Yeosang smirked, pushing the hair out of my face as his lips pressed against mine featherlike, experimentally. My heart was beating fast, skin on fire as I felt the hard member line up at the entrance Yeosang’s finger had been inside previously, and I gulped, feeling fear for the first time in my life. No man, no battle, no war was scarier than the sin I was about to commit. But I wanted it. I knew now, I’ve always wanted it, I’ve just been repressing it desperately in honour of my oath.

“Yeosang, my god, take me.” It was a bare plea against his lips, and then they were devouring mine, coaxing them open as his tongue slid against mine at the same time as my hole was stretched open as the hard and heavy member seemed to split me apart at once, drawing out whimpers of pain as Yeosang’s lips tried to muffle them. I felt full, yet it wasn’t enough. It would never be enough as his hands gripped my hips bruisingly, guiding me up and down on his member as Yeosang whimpered, tongue tangled with mine as the painful sting in my core resided, but wasn’t as bad as it had been a second ago.

“Promise yourself to me and you shall live.” Yeosang’s low voice demanded as he mercilessly slammed my hips down, turning my mind into a jumbled mess as I was impaled again and again, wondering if the slice of my dagger would ever come close to this feeling.

“I am protector of maidens and women,” I groaned as a hand groped at my exposed chest, fiddling with the nipple, my nails digging into Yeosang’s back until they drew blood, “I will never promise myself to a man.”

“Then savor this feeling,” Yeosang hissed, and a yelp mixed with a loud moan left my throat as the next thrust was sharp, hitting a spot that had my hips moving more desperately on its own, trying to set a faster rhythm than the one Yeosang tried to set, “because Athena is on her way here, and when you leave this pond, you’ll be dead.”

My fingers slipped into his hair and I yanked on the wet strands, moaning as the new pace kept hitting that spot again and again, my mind wishing for nothing but to bring pain to Yeosang, “And you’ll be dying with me, my god.”

Yeosang moaned as I slammed my lips against his, painful and bruising as our teeth clanked together, noses pressing harshly against each other as I found it harder and harder to make sense of my thoughts as I had started succumbing to the pleasure completely.

Whether the promise of giving myself to Yeosang slipped past my lips or not, the clouds were witness to it, and Athena’s arrow would be the judge of it when Judgment Hour comes. Perhaps Hades would be sweet enough to let me reside in the Elysian Fields in the afterlife, “Does it feel real now?”

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[juniorig0327]

Demigods and Domains

I'm pretty sure this is like pure fanfic stuff but I like the idea of it a lot. The idea that the reason Percy can control things like blood and poison is because while he was in Tartarus his domains evolved and expanded out of the ones his father gave him.

And basically its one of the reasons demigods are so powerful, because they can cross and seep into another God's domain (not easily of course) but they aren't restricted by being a god because they have mortal blood within them.

So that had me thinking a little bit. If Percy (and by extension other characters but it would be a little bit tricker to apply it to) falling into Tartarus where he is pushed to such extremes that the capabilities of his domains shift, then what the hell could he be capable of?

Not to mention possible blessings from the gods and Primordials. (Yeah this is lowkey apart of my Tartarus AU because I think I want to write that one first. Maybe I'll just switch and swap until I finish one lol).

Because I'm not gonna lie I could lowkey see Percy being offered blessings from multiple and I have a few ideas.

But just as a normal demigod what could he domains expand to? Would it be a stretch for fire to become apart of his domain due to the exposure and use of the phlegethon?

I've already thought about the basic things people usually do, pulling magma from the earth, ice manipulation, poison, blood, pulling water from thin air, etc etc.

But I want to do something different because I do want to incorporate "dark!percy" into it somehow.

But not like super op, edgy. dark Percy because realistically he wouldn't be like that. I just see him as more of "falling for you" type if you've ever read that.

So like if you have any ideas PLEASE comment I have none. I really just want to explore his powers out of the basics. (Maybe to can tap into different epithets from Poseidon and from other pantheons because syncretism??

[11queensupreme11]

i really want to read now Cú Chulainn in PJ

from Lightning Thief to Gaia and the college

Poor Luke he will die and not be called a hero by brainless demigods who forgot who started the war and how he and his group killed demigods.

im just thinking about this au and fuck will percy even actually be able to DO anything with cu around killing everyone who tries to hurt her???? 😭

actually wait lmao i can just imagine the fates constantly trying to find ways to separate them because cu's not supposed to be there and he's getting in the way of percy's "hero journey" or whatever 😂

poor dude's gonna be stressed af and jealous too

lightning thief: she picks anthonius and grover to go with her in the quest and he gets pissed af (and probs jelly cuz of anthonius) like "you are TWELVE with ZERO EXPERIENCE and you wanna stop world war 3 from happening with another dumb 12 year old and a useless goat when you could've picked ME?????????" (he's fed up lol)

sea of monsters: gets pissed when she wants to rescue grover like "wtf forget that stupid goat 🙄" and then is flabbergasted when he wakes up the next morning and realizes that stupid bitch actually snuck out of camp with a CYCLOPS and FUCKING ANTHONIUS

titan's curse: EXTREMELY PISSED if she tries to sneak out again to save anthonius and then there's the whole carrying the skies thing 💀 at this point, he's probably gonna move into the poseidon cabin to watch over her after this cuz she keeps fucking SNEAKING OUT

battle of the labyrinth: jelly and pissed during the beginning when she and anthonius fall into the labyrinth for a few minutes but for everyone else they've been gone for hours. he probably thinks they went to fuck or something 😭 and imagine his reaction when anthonius chooses percy to join ANOTHER stupidly deadly quest 💀 imagine he actually sneaks in to join them and it's another situation where he's stuck in a group with the ppl who're crushing on her (rachel, anthonius, ethan, and him lol)

last olympian: at this point, he's probably actively trying to find a way to send them to the ror verse because he does NOT want her to turn sixteen in this universe since that means the war starts. the fates are working overtime to stop him

and don't even get me started on when she turns up MISSING after the war and the whole mess with gaea and tartarus with ANTHONIUS 💀💀💀💀💀

honestly the pjo verse is probs gonna stress him the fuck out 😂 yes he can easily beat up everyone in that universe and is op af, but imagine having to babysit (and falling in love with) the MAIN FUCKING CHARACTER WHO IS CONSTANTLY IN DANGER 24/7 😭

he's probably gonna cry in relief once he finally drags her to ror verse with him 💀

[historygirlie]

Yeah what happened to Hermes 🥲 Should we be worried???

Yes actually you should be really worried. Soooo ima go on a yapping session for everyone who is interested

Basically in my version of Hermes he is the funny guy, the silly one with a heartbreaker reputation just like everyone else’s. The thing is that let’s be honest no one can be that carefree all the time. In my way of perception I have this AU where young gods must prove themselves at a certain area to become fully a god. Hermes was left all alone since after his birth and the cattle incident, he was lucky Apollo didn’t send him to Tartarus. So while he is half deity and have not ascended yet, many monsters could track on his smell and attack him. Apollo and Artemis had similar experiences too but the fact that they were in Delos rather than in the wild was a giant benefit. Hermes on the other side wasn’t that lucky. He suffered a lot and the only trait that made him win his status was that he helped deliver a little wounded baby bird from one nest to another while his own wing was broken already. Apollo who had been watching him for awhile to see if he would be worth a god or not was hit hard by that action and chose to forgive Hermes. He took upon himself to raise him after he did ascend that day. Hermes still has a sore spot about the suffering he went through due to Apollo, but he loves his half brother a lot even if he doesn’t show it. In the picture above he is having that pain from his blinded eye.

Due to passing all that he did Hermes became a really protective god really. And here we come at the story of Dionysus:

Dionysus as a baby was refused and not liked by the other main gods (Hera and Zeus mostly). Literally Zeus was onto dumping the kid already. Hermes was totally against that idea and after Apollo suggested the idea to the god of speed, he volunteered to raise the kid. The other gods had nothing against it except Hera who was furious. After a few years of Hermes raising Dionysus up she cursed the young half deity with madness which blinded his judgement and sent him to earth with mortals. Hermes was beyond raged when he found out about the whole thing. He refused to send messages anymore and Iris to sympathise with her friend did so too. Olympians and the mortal world could no longer communicate at all. And Dionysus was still insane. That grunge continued for months in the end and finally Hera decided to take off the curse from Dionysus and focused on the other affairs Zeus was having. After all the child had no fault for being born even the way he was born. Hermes went then on a quest to find his little brother. Unfortunately due to the altering of place of living from god to mortal and back Dionysus had grown up way to fast losing a lot of his childhood and teenage years. Yet this whole ordeal had given him the approval of becoming a god. His memory was hazy but he did luckily remember Hermes and had him as a model. I should someday draw their reunion low-key cuz Hermes was bawling happy tears.

In the end the god of trickery, messages and speed has a lot more under his sleeve then we think. Whose story do you want to know next? (Low-key all these ideas randomly pop on my mind during maths class lol)

[bunkernine]

and if i rewrote the tartarus au with my own version of tartarus... who can stop me?

[mrs-lockley]

Once Upon a December

Pairing: Hades & Persephone AU, Miguel O’Hara x WOC!Reader (no use of Y/N) Word Count: 4.5k  Warnings: Arranged marriage, implied age gap (reader is a couple centuries old and of age), mention of death and a child death/funeral (no actual death graphically described or specified), dark imagery of the Underworld, use and mentions of Greek mythology, conflicted feelings, magical realism, no time period specified Summary: In the early decades of your marriage to the god of the Underworld, you resented him for abruptly ending your maidenhood. As the decades go by, you learn that there is more to the man who rules the dead than you realize. One day, your husband takes you to Tartarus, the depths of the Underworld, to suggest a proposition.

Author's Note: Hi my little doves, I'm semi-back with a new fic! To be honest, this fic has been in my draft for 3 years (date of origin: 12/30/2020) with First Order!Poe originally, but I thought Miguel suited Hades much better. I have a few fics in my wips and it's honestly like Russian Roulette because i did not expect to complete a Miguel fic before a Jake fic, lol. Special thanks to @soft-girl-musings and @v4mpires0ap for supporting me in completing this and giving me feedback! This fic was also deeply inspired by this comic illustrated by @katadesmoi, another take on the Hades & Persephone myth. If you like to listen to music while reading, I highly suggest listening to this Once Upon a December playlist on Youtube. Happy reading! Likes are appreciated, but reblogs make my heart go warm 🤍

Tagging: @soft-girl-musings @v4mpires0ap @venting402 @musing-magpie @writefightandflightclub but only if you would like to read it!

You have seen this place before. The place where the stars fall to the earth, where the roots meet the soil, where the ocean meets the shore. 

Where the dead meet the living, where the living meet the dead. 

Your reflection mirrors you in the sky as you look up to the clouds with the whispering images of Earth shining down on you. On Earth, the clouds weep at the loss of the sun, but other clouds have gone soft with crystals catching the last kiss of sunlight before nightfall. Other places show the yellow sun shining over glistening forests and beaches, and some a starlight projection over snowfall. 

A snowflake flutters from the sky, and you stretch your palm to watch it melt on your skin. 

“It’s beautiful,” you whisper.

Underneath the moonlight, the trace of a smile tugs at your husband’s lips. He moves to stand beside you and the two of you gaze at the glassy sky above. 

Miguel keeps his distance, a shadow’s length between the two of you. 

For a brief moment, a sparkling ember is reflected in those brown eyes, only to quickly disappear within a blink and a slight shake of his head. 

Your husband was not malevolent, nor was he benevolent. Miguel was a man whose moral conviction strongly aligned with the laws of nature, life, and death. He takes no sides, but only stands in the middle, seeing nothing but carnage to his right and hearing the wailing of tears to his left. 

You met him once before your arranged marriage. You and your mother were at a banquet one evening, your first banquet after the war when he caught your eye. Standing at the side of the hall with a glass of red wine in his hands, everyone fell into a hushed whisper. It was rare to see the god of the dead at a gathering like this, especially since the collapse of a universe. 

As your mother mingled with one of her sisters, your curious eyes drifted into his orbit. It was as if the darkness of the Underworld followed him into the light, but you were entranced by the shadows that caressed the contours of his face. Centuries of carnage and war clouded his eyes a deep brown, but in the dim candlelight, you could see that in spite of witnessing the heaviness of humanity, there were traces of his youth in smile.

A pair of older women passed you, whispering quietly about him. 

The wine looks too much like blood in his hands, one of them remarked with disdain. 

But not to you.

It was difficult to not notice him with his imposing height and stature. Even as he stood to the side and in the shadows of the banquet hall, the wine in his hands reminded you of the deep crimson of a pomegranate, waiting for you to cut it open so you could taste its juices. 

Smoothing your hair, you quickly averted your gaze and distracted yourself by listening to your mother discuss the upcoming spring harvest. You smiled at your aunt as she pitched in, acknowledging how the winter rain would help water the crops and contribute to a bountiful spring for the mortal universe. 

But as the conversation continued, your skin prickled. It was as if something was burning you, a small flame lit on your skin and was rapidly growing into a thunderous wildfire that consumed everything in its wake.

You tried to ignore the sensation as you listened to your mother and your aunt's plan for the harvest, but the longer you ignored it, the hotter the fire burned your skin. It was as if you were thrown into a wildfire with the smoke filling your lungs, traveling to your throat, and threatening to spill from your mouth. Their voices began to fade into the distance as the roar of your heartbeat thundered in your ears. 

Unable to ignore the feeling any longer, you began to look around to find the cause of your discomfort. 

Your innocent eyes met his, and you could barely breathe. 

His brown eyes darkened into what you would believe to be the darkness of the Underworld. It was as if he was pulling you into its depths– not seducing you into temptation– but revealing all of your secrets into the light. 

All you could feel was the blood rushing to your face as he looked at you. You could not read the expression on his face as his eyes drank you in, but you could not tear yourself away. You were caught in his snare. 

But as your eyes met, you saw something else. As he was reading you, you were reading him, trying to translate the pages of a book that was presented to you in an ancient language you discovered for the first time. The introduction was breathtaking, but the first chapter was consuming and inviting. 

His eyes only left yours when you saw your father call and approach him. As he looked away, you too turned your eyes back to your mother and her sister. You could not hear what your father and Miguel were discussing behind you and your mother’s back, but you would soon learn that the god of the dead was blessed by your father for your hand in marriage. 

There was no warning. One day, you were laying under the sun in the springfields with flowers in your hair, singing a love song from days of old. The next day, you were escorted to the world below you, climbing your way through its webs to become queen of the dark kingdom to your betrothed. 

“I know you have assumptions about me.” Miguel’s voice is quiet as he speaks, barely above a whisper in the snowfall. “I cannot change them or how you feel, nor do I intend on changing your mind, but …” 

His words trail off, his voice fading into the distant sound of the winter winds howling in the cavern. 

Looking back up at the dome above you, you catch his reflection. A shadow crosses his stern face, its fingers stretching across his tan skin. In the dim moonlight, you could almost catch streaks of silver in his dark waves. The centuries have taken a toll on him, and while you were a couple hundred years younger than him, you, too, felt the heaviness in your chest. 

“I’ve heard stories,” you tell him quietly.

His eyes remain on the sky above with an unreadable expression. The only sound between you is the silent snowfall and the white clouds that puff around your lips with each breath you take. 

“Do you believe them?”

His question catches you by surprise. Your eyes widen, your breath stuttering in your throat as you think about how to answer him. 

Your husband turns to you then, a stormy look on his face as he looks at you. 

You remembered the stories and cautionary tales your mother told you about him. While you were tending the rose garden one day, your mother shared with you the stories she heard from the other gods after attending a banquet. 

He was the reason one of the universes collapsed. He meddled into the mortal realm when he should have stayed where he belonged- in the depths and shadows of the dead. 

He chased a young boy to the edges of the Underworld, all because the poor boy wanted to save his father from dying. Imagine how cruel a man could be to stop a boy from saving his father.

That man shows no mercy or remorse for the dearly departed. He only sits on his throne as he listens to their tears of sadness and cries of anguish. He would not even show mercy to a mortal man who ventured into the Underworld to bring his lover back to life– instead, granting an impossible task that doomed the poor man from the start.

Decades ago, you might have believed the whispers of the gods, goddesses, and other celestial beings as they spoke about him behind his back. For the first few decades of your marriage, you resented him for taking you away from your mother and the mortal realm. He stole you away from the sun with just a simple blessing from your father, and he had not even spoken a single word to you before making you his bride and queen. 

What he did not know was that once, you ran away. 

As Miguel was in the heart of the Underworld, you briefly escaped its darkness. It was winter in the land of the living, and somehow, you managed to sneak past the hounds, the souls, and the suspecting ferryman who stood at the crossroads between realms. 

(Whether he knew your plan of escape or not, he did not say. The ferryman merely watched with unknowing eyes as you slipped past him.)

Your lungs ached as you climbed your way out from underground. Soil crusted beneath your fingernails, your skin covered in earth when the light of the winter sun nearly burned your eyes upon your ascent. 

You did not know how long you wandered, but you walked until the soles of your feet burned crimson. The skies darkened into icy shades of gray and white before weeping for the loss of the sun and your fingertips mirrored the color of your feet. 

Day turned to night, and before long, you stumbled upon an evening wake. 

Outside the church, the deceased’s family mingled in the winter night. Their eyes burned with tears as their voices trembled with each word spoken. Loved ones gathered around them to offer their condolences while the children sat outside on the steps, playing with makeshift paper dolls and animals to pass the time. 

You wondered if anyone saw you, but the thought of someone recognizing you never crossed your mind. While your mother advised you to stay out of mortal affairs, there was something pulling you towards the coffin, urging you to stay. 

It did not take long for your heart to break. 

Tears pricked your eyes as you gazed at the little girl laying inside the wooden box. You remembered her youthful spirit and jovial smile as she would sit under your favorite tree, weaving flower crowns and sharing fruit with some of the wildlife that dwelled in the forest. The nymphs and dryads spoke fondly of her whenever she visited the lake, and a few times, you remembered picking up the blooming flowers that she left behind as an offering.

Overcome with grief, you placed your hand over hers, whispering words of assurance and comfort to her. Her skin was cold to touch, but you did not shy away as you left behind a small white lily in her embrace.

At the sound of approaching footsteps, you immediately stepped aside. You assumed the man who approached the coffin to be her father as you watched him place the coins over her eyes, whispering to his daughter in their native tongue with tears streaming down his cheeks. 

Your heart ached for the girl and her family as you watched them gather around her coffin. No one noticed you while you walked away, following the fallen petals of dried flowers to guide you back to the world below. 

It was as if nothing changed since your brief departure. The ferryman merely watched you with apathetic eyes when you returned, his boat filled with souls as he carried them over the Styx. 

You did not meet with Miguel that day, but as you wandered the Isles of the Blessed, you heard a familiar voice ring in the air. 

Not wanting to be seen or scolded for wandering off, you quickly hid behind a tree. Peeking from behind the trunk, your heart warmed to see that same little girl playing in the field with a man holding her hand. 

Miguel. 

You watched as he knelt down to her height, a gentle look on his face as he held her hands. You could not hear what they were saying, but from the smile on her face, you knew that he was nothing but kind and gentle with her as she adjusted to her new life in Elysium. 

“What is your name, little one?”

“Gabriella.”

“Gabriella,” your husband repeated as he brushed her hair out of her eyes. His fingers paused over the lily tucked behind her ear. “This is a beautiful flower you have in your hair.”

She smiled as she removed it from her ear and offered it to him. 

“I had it with me when the ferryman took me here. I don’t remember how I got it, but he told me to keep it.”

You held your breath as Miguel held the lily in his hand. It was not unusual for flowers to spring wherever you went, and you wondered if he knew that you snuck into the mortal realm under his watch. 

To your surprise, he smiled at her as he tucked the lily back in her hair. 

“He was right. You should keep it.”

You have not seen Gabriella since that day, but you never forgot her. Whenever you walked near the Isles of the Blessed, you could hear her laugh in the wind with the river twinkling in the shape of her smile. 

His question hangs frozen mid-air as the snow crystallizes around you. 

Did you believe the horrid tales, after what you have seen?

His eyes search yours as the two of you stand under the shadow of the earth, its roots tangling around you. 

Of all the myths and legends you heard about Miguel, it would be easy to sway you into believing he was an apathetic man who ruled the land of the dead. He stole you away from spring, but in the decades that followed since your marriage, you realized that not once did he ever try to hold you back. There were countless times you snuck away into the mortal realm, and every time he could have held you back or ordered the hounds to follow you. Yet, he never did.

Perhaps you have judged him too harshly before learning about the man beneath the mask. While a part of you still resented him for the marriage, you could not bring yourself to truly hate him. 

“I would have,” you answer him quietly, “once upon a December.” 

The corners of his eyes crinkle slightly, amusement briefly flickering across his eyes as the ghost of a smile tickles his lips. 

In the mirror above, snow continues to fall like kisses from the earth. Its kisses leave droplets on your skin, but as you turn to your husband, you could count the snowflakes like stars in the night sky as they melt into his dark hair and brown skin. 

It was one of those rare moments where there was nothing and no one else in the world but the two of you. While Miguel was known to mortals under a different name and had a duty to follow in his realm, he gave you freedom to roam his world as you pleased without fear. You were his queen, and he treated you as such in his own quiet way. 

While he kept you at arm’s length, you were no fool.

“Why did you bring me here?”

The cavern almost seemed to engulf him as the moonlight shined upon him. Whispers of snow glistened in his hair, and the perpetual scowl on his lips appeared to soften the longer he gazed at the sky. 

He pauses, calculating his words. 

“Long before the mortals named me, I stumbled upon this place by chance. It is safe to presume that the deepest depths of the Underworld to be a frightening place of terror and grief, but it is more than what the legends say.”

Miguel takes a step forward until he is directly underneath the center of the mirror. Behind him, the outlines of a tree stretched its branches around him with its root tangling your shadow with his. 

The wind continues to howl like a wounded wolf in the dead of night. While the mortals would call this place Tartarus, it was not what you imagined. 

A deep ache settles in your chest, its roots ensnaring the heart in your ribs as the winter breeze fills your lungs with sharp knives of ice. 

“Only once in a blue moon could I walk into the world above, but here … it is the only way I could see the mortal realm without leaving mine behind.”

His eyes seem to mist in the moonlight, and your heart softens. The fortress of the castle he built around him begins to crumble, and for the first time, you see the lone king that resides within the darkness of its walls. 

The longing of the sun, the yearning for something warm, for someone to hold. 

As you look up at the mirror, you remember a time when you wandered the meadow in your youth and stumbled upon a stream where the carrion birds often flocked to. The nymphs, dryads, and your overbearing mother advised you to never venture near the river, but your youthful curiosity overcame you against their best wishes. 

The birds followed your movements as you stepped towards the river. Dark clouds gathered in the sky above with thunder rumbling in the distance, but you remained steadfast. White peace lilies and roses bloomed underneath your feet as you fell to your knees to peer into the murky waters beneath. 

Darkness swirled around your reflection as you gazed at the water below. The longer you looked, the more confused you were as you tried to decipher what lurked underneath the surface. What could cause the dryads and nymphs to urge you to stay away from this place? What worried your mother that you found a secret beneath?

You never told them about the river, nor did you ever return since that day, but as you look up at the familiar mirror above you, you wonder if the forbidden river drifted into the Styx. Perhaps the carrion birds were the ones who guarded the river in the mortal realm.

Perhaps as you wondered and peered into the dark waters, another face watched you from below.

His voice pulls you out of your thoughts, urging you to look at him.

“I know a part of you must resent me for taking you away from your mother — and I do not blame you for it — but this…” He gestures to the mirror above, a soft expression relaxing the curves  of his face, “is the only way we could see into the mortal universe. If I could bring a piece of the mortal world to you, it is the least I can do.”

Snow continues to fall with the winter winds howling around the two of you, causing a small flurry of snow to surround your two bodies. Frost begins to crystallize at your feet, indicating the official arrival of winter in the world above.

Your husband illuminates in the moonlight, a serene glow casted across his frame as he keeps his gaze on the sky. The corners of his lips curve into a lazy smile, and you could not help but think back to all the legends and myths you were taught about him, and the river that your mother warned you to stay away from. 

If this was the face that watched you from below, how could you despise him for bringing a piece of your world back to you, especially when he was not welcome in the light? 

“It is the winter solstice in the mortal world,” you tell him softly. The sky darkens above you, but you do not feel the cold as much anymore, not with the snowdrops beginning to surface from the frost. “The shortest day and the longest night of the year.”

You wonder what flowers would bloom in the spheres of the universe, what sky and stars the mortals see as they bask in the moonlight. While your marriage to the god of the Underworld dictated the seasons above, you lived long enough to know that the worlds above adjusted to your absence or presence in their own ways. 

The first winter you spent in the Underworld, you were inconsolable. While Miguel tried to comfort you, you were distraught, crying tears of anguish into your pillow as the darkness surrounded you. For the first time, no flowers bloomed where you stepped or where you lay.  Instead, only roseless thorns and weeds gathered where you walked, and in the world above, it was the worst harvest the mortals have seen in decades. 

While your parents argued with your husband about the conditions and length of your stay, you blocked out their voices. The only sounds you heard were your cracks splintering through your heart as you mourned the warmth of the sun and the endless blue sky. As much as Miguel tried to coax you out of your chambers and into the dark gardens of his kingdom, you planted your roots into the ground, refusing to be anywhere near him. 

Only for the winter, your father proposed. Your mother wept by his side, but your husband nodded in agreement, sealing your fate as swiftly as the seasons changed. 

It took some time, but throughout the first few years of your marriage, you began to be civil with Miguel. Much like him, you kept him at arm’s length, watching him and trying to understand what kind of king he was to his subjects in the world below. While you heard the whispering lore and legends of him in your ears, you soon learned that he was not everything that the people believed him to be.

A cloud storms in his brown irises as he looks over at you, his brow slightly furrowed. “If I may ask, are you happy here?”

A bitter laugh threatens to spill from your lips, but you quickly bite your tongue.

It has been decades since you were taken to rule the world below. While you may not have lived long enough to control your godly emotions, you still felt an aching pain and loss as you grieved leaving your home. 

“I did not have a choice in becoming your bride,” you answer, your voice laden with sadness and despair. “What say do I have as your wife?”

You were a younger goddess who lived only a couple centuries, but you had yet to learn the complexities of the universe. You still needed to experience the worlds around you, both above and below, but your maidenhood was cut short by the man your father arranged to be your husband. 

Even with the decades behind you, time had yet to fully heal the part of your heart that grieved for your maidenhood. You were conflicted in your grief and loss when Miguel had been cordial and respectful, in his own sentimental way. A part of you may resent him, but you still did not completely understand the feelings you held towards him. 

His brown eyes soften at your words, his lips slightly parted as white cotton clouds flutter in the air from his breath. 

“You are not a prisoner here,” he assures you gently, approaching you as if you were a skittish deer in the woods. “I am truly sorry for the pain I brought upon you.”

You look up at him slowly, seeing nothing but remorse in his gaze. You wonder if he would ask for your forgiveness, but it was too late for that. It has been half a century since your marriage, and the world already recorded the event in the stars and the sky. 

Miguel was a man of many things, but you know in his eyes, he is lawful. With the living and the dead, he merely rules over the departed to balance the universes. He only follows the rules of nature, but in godly matters, he follows the customs and traditions. A marriage only needs a father’s blessing for his daughter to be wedded without the husband needing to court or ask the bride. He broke no laws, but he did not fully understand the depths of your grief.

His voice is gentle as the winds quiet around him.

“I know it will take time for you to fully accept me as your husband, but I am a patient man. All I ask and plead is for you to give me a chance.”

The winter winds pull the air out of your lungs as Miguel turns with his hand outstretched towards you.

As you grieved the sudden end of your maidenhood, you reflect on everything you have seen. The gods and goddesses may indulge in heresy and scandals whenever they pleased, but from what you learned from their whispers, some of their stories did not reflect what you have seen. 

The god of the dead was not cruel, nor was he kind. He often deals in absolutes and ultimatums, with the universes remaining in balance as he ruled over his domain. 

Even so, you remember Gabriella’s smile as he held her hand in Elysium. A child taken too soon, but found comfort in the man who guided her to the Isles of the Blessed. 

Perhaps he was kinder than you believed.

Snow gathers in his palm as he holds his hand towards you. It would be easier for you to turn away and loathe him for the rest of your days, but something stirs in your heart. 

Darkness may have taken its hold over the mortal realm, but it has not fully consumed yours. 

Your fate is already written in the stars, your marriage bound in a godly affair. While you are still a younger goddess in a single web of the universe, perhaps it would do you no harm to trim the thorns that protected you and allow a rose to bloom. 

Slowly, you take his hand, his skin oddly warm against yours.

Your husband smiles gently at you and raises your hand to his lips. 

“I promise to love and care for you,” he whispers, “as long as you are by my side.”

Snowdrops and hydrangeas begin to bloom from the frost that dusted the ground beneath you, tangling with the roots of the tree as you walk beside him, allowing him to guide you away from the moonlight and towards the river from where you came. 

A comfortable silence falls upon you as Miguel rows the boat along the Styx, the water calm and quiet on the journey away from the darkness. The winter winds begin to fade into a distant echo, and as much as you wish to turn back to gaze at the world above one more time, you keep your eyes forward.

The winter solstice may have begun in the mortal realm, but the spring solstice has begun to blossom in the world below. 

And in the depths of the Underworld, the tree that holds the mirror above sprouts a single crimson fruit, a small pomegranate in the start of spring.

[codenamesazanka]

About your AU on Shigaraki being saved by All Might and then becoming a Hero who openly advocates for reform and social change and opens a center focused on Villain rehabilitation, I was wondering if you had thought of Gran Torino’s role in all of this?

Like, does he approve? Did he try to stop Toshinori from retiring to help the boy? Does he have some kind of bond with Shigaraki or does he hate his guts old man style, like “stupid punk youngsters with their damned liberal ideas”?

And what about Deku? What does he think of his idol retiring? I can see him going stalker mode and finding out about the mysterious protege thanks to his fanboy abilities, honestly. That would be a good opportunity to have him research and consider Shigaraki’s views and the perspective of saving villains. I dunnow.

You made me realize I have forgotten about Gran Torino! Given his sorry nothing of a role in Act 3 and basically non-conclusion re: Shimura family or OFA shenanigans, I just forgot he's semi-important lol

But from my notes:

[2 months after the All Might-All For One fight, and capture of Shigaraki Tomura] Gran Torino and Nighteye and HPSC convince All Might to give up on Shigaraki Tomura (after first few meetings with the boy went badly); All Might reluctantly agrees

[Two months after that] All Might has a breakdown when back on the job—Every time he saved someone, he would see Shigaraki like a ghost in the background, angry and bloody and accusing, sometimes looking like Nana right before her death; sometimes looking like (headless) All For One right after his death. One day, All Might found that he couldn’t even smile; Ultimately decides to give up being Symbol of Peace to help Shigaraki

After lots of emotional conversations, Gran and Nighteye and HPSC sigh and says fine. All Might wants to help the brainwashed grandson of his beloved mentor by getting the kid out of Tartarus solitary, which anyone would grudgingly admit is pretty harsh for a 14 year old? Well, All Might did go through a near-death experience, he’s done so much, let him be a little sentimental.

Then Gran also gets involved a bit when Shigaraki's therapy tries to piece together what exactly happened to the Shimuras - mostly there to provide background on Nana and Kotarou, plus helping with the investigation via dusty medical records, preschool registration documents, hunting down neighbors and acquaintances to pry at their faint memories, etc.

But otherwise, I don't really have much a role for Gran Torino! It's All Might's relationship with Shigaraki that would of course be more of the focus; and then because I'm pretty fond of All Might/Nighteye, Nighteye also gets more cameos.

In canon, Gran Torino - who knows how much the Shimura family separation hurt Nana, who was literally there watching Kotarou cry as Nana gives him that last hug goodbye, who knows what a manipulative scheming bastard All For One is - still would say to (Nana's grandson and last living blood relative) Shigaraki's face that he's trampling over Shimura's memory and that his very existence hurts Toshinori (and everyone). What a guy! No, I don't think he would like Shigaraki Tomura in the AU either. Dislike Shigaraki from the moment he learns of the kid's existence. Even after Shigaraki's rehab, he'll prob see Shigaraki as a threat to all their peace.

I think any lessening of negative feelings about Shigaraki would depend entirely on how All Might is doing. Toshinori feels happier now that Shigaraki calls him (Toshinori) "uncle"? Hmph, well, if Toshinori is fine with it...

But you have allowed me think about what Gran Torino would think about Shigaraki's project. Thank you for that!

Gran is, after all, the first person in the manga to state that the age everyone is living in is one of "suppression"; and all his words and actions points to him being in favor of that, working in service of that, even if he does say of it "for better or worse." He's a Hero who sees killing as a form of salvation; he's an old-timer, having lived before All Might's era of peace and seen the chaos there; hell, he doesn't even care about being a Hero, instead simply taking advantage of using a Hero License as a way to use his quirk freely and legally.

I think he would be a guy that probably doesn't think much about Shigaraki's intents of reform. He can provide a good opposing ideology, or at least a countering voice. Question is whether he would do something about it, or just go bah, humbug and not care as long as he can collect his pension or whatever.

As for Deku. I also haven't thought about him much. In my notes, he still does become the next OFA wielder; but he only gets a mention in a dumb joke scene in the so-called "Iida Arc" of this AU (UA sending Stain Arc Iida to Shigaraki Tomura cuz they actually notice the kid needs help).

All Might, dialing Shigaraki week before internship week: Hello—

Shigaraki: No. *hangs up*

All Might, an old man who doesn't text, calling again: To—

Shigaraki: Give him to Gran or Nighteye. *hangs up*

All Might, calling again, all in one breath: It's-not-about-Young-Midoriya. Please.

But I have thought about how All Might's change would affect Deku, who would be about age 10 when All Might's announces the gradual retirement (without revealing his skeletal form) and start highlighting reform efforts. An impressionable age, whether it's from what All Might is doing or (more importantly), what the adults around him say about what All Might is doing.

Idk about stalker mode; Deku would still be collecting All Might merch tho; but it would be funny if he becomes a young All Might Stan and Defender (or, gravitates towards that crowd on tigtog or something) and that informs his future views on Villains.

(Gotta wonder... what's Stain doing throughout all this. I know I mention Stain Arc earlier, and I do think Stain would still be a serial killer <3, but would he change his targeted victim profiles? hmm)

Will say that Shigaraki is not All Might's protégé, and def not acknowledged or connected as such publicly. He's just a Hero that popped up one day, independently. Someone combing through records might see that All Might is a stakeholder for the rehab center, but so is Nedzu and other Heroes and organizations and names. As for on a personal level, Toshinori keeps his relationship with Tomura as private as he does anything else, so the knowledge of him having a 'nephew' is as well known as him having that giant torso wound—which is to say, not known at all.

Thanks for the ask! It was fun!!!!!! I'm really happy you read my idea and thought about it!!!!!! Hope I actually answered your questions!

[tsarinatorment]

okay so-

on the discord i was scrolling through past convos in a desperate search for a link that i've seen before, and i came across another one of your and fsinger's aus starring Michael👀

It was like a Kronos Wins/Time-Travels AU where Michael, Thalia, Bianca, Nico, and Hazel are the MCs and I was like !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and then when the first main plotpoint was basically Michael going "SAVE MY DAD" my FIRST thought was that one Puss In Boots: The Last Wish scene;

Michael, about Apollo: I will save you!

Every other god, suffering in Tartarus: Save us too!

Michael: ...if it's convenient!

like. gnawing on this au rn. i gnaw on all of your aus. this one and the Lee Lives/Apollo Becomes Mortal/BotL Au are officially my favs (Eclipse at this point is basically canon to me lol)

but yeah. I know this au has a BUNCH of beloved characters die, which would have admittedly upset me like, three years ago, but now?

now i merely eagerly rub my hands as my brain imagines how this scenario goes down eheheehhe

Ah yes, this AU! Not one I've thought about in a while, but still a fun one!

Fun fact, for you if you missed the origin of it, and also for anyone else who might be reading this and hearing about this AU for the first time - this is an AU spinoff of my AU fic Tears Will Not Wash Away Your Crimes, where defeated!Kronos from canon timetravels back to the start of TLT to take Michael out before he could become the threat that saves Olympus (see: my long rants on how by being the one to realise Williamsburg Bridge needed to break, Michael stopped Kronos winning on the first day of the siege). In that fic, he succeeds in making Luke kill Michael, and while the fic never goes on to state it, it does become an alternate timeline where Kronos does, in fact, win (due to various factors such as Luke's betrayal not being discovered because Percy wasn't there to survive being poisoned and reveal that he was the traitor, etc. and also Kronos knowing how the demigods/gods operated and basically having the cheat code of being able to squash anything they try before they try it).

But also I am a perpetual Michael!lives fan, so with the enabling of @fearlessinger, as you mentioned, another AU spawned off of this, whereby when Luke carelessly mentioned Apollo by name, he caught Apollo's attention and the god himself turned up to whisk Michael away to safety. In the end, though, it doesn't stop Kronos from winning, because no-one knows enough to trump what Kronos knows. Hence, Kronos wins!AU.

But then!

There are some key changes that go down because of Kronos' prior knowledge... Change #1: Thalia is not restored by the Golden Fleece. Kronos did this because he wanted her as his host, but he tried that last time and it failed - he won't try again. Change #2: The di Angelos do not leave the Lotus Casino. No Thalia in the running suggests that Hades may not have bothered to pull his own children back into the prophecy race - if he really wanted them to be feasible as prophecy children, he'd have brought them out when Percy was claimed, as that would make Bianca a similar age to Percy and therefore viable as an alternative. Bringing them out a year or two later makes his kids younger than both Thalia and Percy and doesn't actually make sense, unless it was a response to being the only Big Three god with no kids involved... Change #3: Daedalus doesn't die, because Nico isn't around Change #4: All our Greek Hero demigods (and the Hunters) are dead, barring the above, and Michael, who was kept safe on Delos the whole time.

And these changes all line up quite neatly into a ridiculously large plot, based on the following consequences:

Consequence #1: the gods are thrown down into Tartarus Consequence #2: the triumvirate's deal with Kronos for their support involved getting Apollo as their prize so Caligula can still claim the sun god spot and Commodus gets his revenge. Apollo is passed to them, instead of Tartarus Consequence #3: Michael is rather pissed off about all of this

What happens after that, well. Imagine Michael, no longer trapped on Delos because the twins aren't there, making his way to Delphi. Imagine Phoebe initially reclaiming Delphi, before Kronos realises she was never on her side and instead release Python to reclaim it; Michael has enough time to speak with his grandmother, but only very little before he's forced to flee into the Labyrinth to hide.

Imagine Daedalus trying to atone for all the deaths he's caused by keeping this one demigod still alive, hidden in the Labyrinth while Michael tries to work out how the fuck he's supposed to save the gods, but never even considering not doing it ("the gods", of course, meaning "Apollo, mostly").

Imagine Apollo weakened, but still able to make dream contact. Apollo not being able to dissuade Michael from trying to save him. Apollo with nothing left to lose except his one son he can't protect himself, so he gives Michael knowledge, things to help him stay alive.

Knowledge, like how the daughter of Zeus is a tree but isn't dead, can be healed by that golden fleece (Percy, Annabeth and Grover retrieved it still, but the tree was not sick and so it was never hung upon it). Knowledge, like how there are two more Big Three kids trapped in a place where time doesn't move.

(Imagine Apollo chained up and forced to be his own oracle as his divinity is drained away. Imagine a little girl with sickle-rings on her fingers being drawn to him anyway, this captive god of the Beast. Imagine the god that still wants to save a child, if only he had the chance)

Imagine Michael healing Thalia with the fleece, the pair of them fleeing from the remains of camp (the remains of Michael's home) as Kronos realises he's there. Imagine Michael and Thalia edging into a casino that's too bright, too jovial compared to their broken world, and pulling two younger demigods back into the timestream. Imagine lurking in the Labyrinth, in the Underworld and discovering a dead girl who still remembers when she shouldn't.

Imagine these demigods plotting, scheming, desperate, and the power of three children of the Underworld combined, pooling their powers together until they can go anywhere the shadows touch.

Imagine them rescuing a god, and the little girl coaxed along with them.

And when they've got one god back... it's only a matter of time before they get the rest.

(And when Kronos discovers it's Michael, again, that foiled him in the end... Well. Some Fates can't be denied)

[wilting-broken-endings]

MIGHTA BEEN! WE HAVE SOME AT THE BASE AFTER ALL. YOU SHOULD KNOW. YOU BOUGHT IT

i finally got myself unglued from the ground. after an unnecessarily long time. was that fucking super-super-glue or some shit

[mayviespa]

ok so ive finally thought up a plot for the whole sharpwolf/antimachus thing (it only took me two sagas lol)

i dont want to do some basic in universe fic cause while that can be good, its probably already been done to tartarus and back. so that leaves me with some brainstorming and ive come up with an idea

has anyone heard of the anime Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation? if you haven’t, don’t watch it (srs). basically, its an isekai anime that is about some guy who was a bum otaku in his past life, dying and waking up in the body of a newborn baby in a fantasy world. he works to make his new life better than his first one, but his very obvious flaws get in the way of that. but i was thinking of doing something based on that. with a little bit of a video game au attached to the fic too.

so there are now three options.

option one: antinous is the one getting isekai’d, and the video game narrator is all up in his head when he gets born being like, YOUR GOAL IS TO BECOME KING OF ITHACA; IF YOU FAIL, YOU DIE PERMANENTLY. and it follows him as he learns to navigate his new world, gathering xp, achievements, getting past his old prejudices and flaws and eventually becoming a suitor to penelope to complete his quest. he thinks its the only way, and then he meets… telemarketing.

option two: same au, but this time, telemachus is the one getting isekai’d and his goal one goal is to keep his mom from getting married before odysseus returns. he gains xp, achievements, and all that stuff. he is averse to the suitors, trying to make sure they dont try anything, but then he meets… antidisestablishmentarianism

option three: same thing as the last two, except theyre both isekai main characters (but they dont know it) this one is my favorite

if you guys have any headcanons or ideas comment/reblog trust 🙏🙏