#Eros is such a little prick

[softquietsteadylove]

Thena and Gil are filming a movie with Eros this time. Eros still doesn’t like Gil and finds a perfect time to take revenge! Gil and Eros have a fighting scene and Eros takes the chance to “accidentally“ hit Gil really hard at his temple causing him to loose consciousness for a few seconds. When Gil regains consciousness again he is really angry at Eros and his reckless behavior but lucky for our snob Thena is here to hold Gil back before it could escalate😈

"And...action!"

It was pretty basic choreography. Blow for blow, it was Gil vs. Eros. Not that everyone thought a fist fight between the two of them would necessarily translate the right way on screen. But Gil's character had thus far sustained a few injuries, he was at the end of several other fights he had faced.

Eros didn't really appreciate being told that he didn't seem like he would be able to fight Gil realistically, but that was beside the point.

Gil swung a few times, Eros managing to dodge and deflect them. There were a few hits that would be faked for the camera, but they had both practised how to make them look as believable as possible.

They had promos and interview to do! They couldn't go damaging the goods.

"Easy, old man," Eros taunted as he leaned out of another punch. "Don't want to pull your back!"

Gil was 'panting', some fake blood already applied to his arms and some bruising and scratches just faint enough to be a nice subtle touch. He huffed, "don't push your luck, kid."

Eros cracked his knuckles, the large signet ring on his pinkie indicating the allegiance of his character. He pulled back his fist and wound up.

The sound of the ring meeting Gil's head was deafening.

"Gil!" Thena sprang up from the side of the sound stage. Under any other circumstance she would never display such unprofessional behaviour. But she leapt from her chair.

Gilgamesh swayed a little, completely dizzied by the punch. He touched his temple where it landed, where there was a sizable welt growing, as well as blood that was not special effects. "Shit."

"Cut!"

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Thena rushed onto stage, pushing grips and gaffers alike out of her way. She leaned close to Gil, who swayed right into her. "Are you okay?"

He grunted, but his attempts to stand upright didn't go as planned.

"Gil, mate, I'm so sorry, are you all right?"

Thena would glare at him if she weren't supporting most of Gil's weight as much as she possibly could. "Gil, it's okay, just sit down."

"I'm fine," he groaned, obviously not fine.

"Gil," Thena tried again to calm him, running her fingers through his hair.

He put his hand on her back, but he pulled his head up from her shoulder, glaring at Eros behind her, "what the fuck?"

"I really am sorry," Eros professed, putting his hand to his heart and everything. "Honestly, I didn't-"

"I took the time to work on this shit with you," Gil huffed at him, squinting with the eye closest to where he got hit, "just for you to wide swing and hit me in the face?"

"Gil," Eros held his hands out, taking a step back as Gil took an even more aggravated step forward.

"Gil," Thena said gently, pushing against his chest. "I know, but I need you to sit down right now."

Gil swayed a few more times, flush with adrenaline. "You get away with a lot of shit, man, but this-"

"Gil," she repeated, still working on trying to get him to sit down and take a breath. "Hey, look at me."

Gil moved his squinted eye from the man he wanted to punch right with the face. He looked at Thena, who was still somewhat holding him up. "Thena, I'm okay."

"You're not," she shook her head, tipping his chin at her. "You are almost certainly concussed, and that's nothing to say of the black eye you're going to have."

Gil did sigh faintly as Thena's soft skinned and cool fingers touched his temple. "This sucks, though--we have to get this scene shot."

"Not with an injury like this," Thena broke the news to him, even making a face as she watched the swelling on his face begin to protrude.

"Thena-"

"I think Thena's right, mate," Eros added, which the entirety of the room could have told him was a stupid choice.

Gil made one more feint of a lunge at him, spooking Eros just for the fun of it. He chuckled, letting Thena press her hand to his chest to keep him in place. Although she didn't remove it afterward either, so really she just had her hand over his heart.

Thena put her (other) hand on Gil's cheek, "we're done for the day."

The director inched forward from the shadows, "uh, we?"

"Come on," she coaxed him back to his chair at first, leading him with her hand on his peck and letting him lean on her.

Gil peeked out from the crook of Thena's neck at Eros behind them. He couldn't wink with his bad eye, but he couldn't resist smirking a little as he nestled back into Thena's hair and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"You poor thing," Thena whispered, running her hand over his cheek as she helped him sit.

"Thena, you know you can't really take the day off, right?"

"What about him?" Gil sighed as she gave him a sip of her water, and then pressed the bottle to his temple.

Thena didn't even look over at Eros, still hovering around nervously at the edges of things. "Don't worry about him. We're going to get you checked out and then we'll head home."

Maybe he usually wouldn't, but Gil nuzzled in more, his head on Thena's shoulder, letting her run her fingers through his hair. If he could purr, he would.

If he couldn't actually hit Eros back, this would have to do.

#Thenamesh Actors AU #Eros is such a little prick #gets away with anything because he's young and has that hair #he clips Gil in the head #and Gil is concussed #he goes to the hospital and they're like #we see you a lot huh #Gil's like I don't wanna talk about it #can I go home with my wife or what? #Gil loves rubbing his closeness with Thena in Eros' face #usually he doesn't but y'know what? fuck it #that little asshole hits him in the face? #Gil is so cuddly with Thena #she dotes on him all afternoon #Eros goes to see Gil to apologise and Thena answers the door #he has an aneurysm on the spot

[arlechinav-blog]

The Literal vs. Folkloric Interpretation of Spider Bites in Mediterranean Spirit Traditions

June is Spooder Season! aka Tarantella Season so I will be doing dives on Tarantella all month. Here comes a fun one.

One of the things that I find most entertaining about Tarantella is how little people actually knew about it in the last few decades. When humans don't know the answer to something we are inclined to fill in the blanks with a best guess and that has had some hilarious results as that knowledge gets filled in later. For quite a while the prevailing theory around Tarantella is that the ritual evolved as a method of working spider venom out of a person's body by making the body sweat. That theory was held for a disturbingly long time. And as research emerged that showed that this does not actually work, the goal posts started to be moved. Instead of it being a method of working out spider venom in general, it was supposed to be the venom of one particular very rare spider that hadn't been tested for.

The identity of the one spider whos venom could be treated in this manner started to shift. Hopping from native spider to spider, continually being proven wrong, until somebody came up with the brilliant idea that perhaps this ritual involved a now extinct species that nobody could test. And this was around the same time that somebody finally said that it cures a spiritual spider bite. Not a real one. Which was collectively met with the question, "WTF is a spiritual spider bite?" (I am definitely paraphrasing, summarizing, and generalizing the history of beliefs and anthropologist nonsense involved in Tarantella's history but that is perfectly in keeping with the folklore vibe of this blog. It is a story! Enjoy it. lol)

Folklore is fun in that lots of things can be true simultaneously, even contrary things. The world does not have to make sense. That being said, I am going to try to explain WTF a spiritual spider bite is and how Tarantella relates to both material world spiders as well as spiritual spiders. If you guessed that this is cultural code for something, give yourself a treat.

All of this confusion is brought to you by two deities. Dionysos & Eros. Or better yet, the cultural coding that they represent and come from. These were ideological seeds that were planted a very long time ago and we are still enjoying the fruit.

Eros is a little prick. Not as an insult but as a cultural function. A pricking from the arrow of Eros is to be injected with certain overwhelming feelings and urges. These feelings are externalized as not coming from inside you but from without. There may be many reasons for this but the one I am going to hone in on is the idea that humans are not responsible for their actions if those actions came from somewhere else. A very respectable person can be pricked by Eros and do some socially unacceptable things (maybe not morally wrong but still not thought of very highly) without losing the esteem of their community because the community sees those acts as not coming from them but from Eros.

This is also true for Dionysos to an extent. And honestly, how much or how little your fellow humans are willing to look the other way while you do things that seem at odds with the rules of civilization also comes down to how much those people like you. So this is not a get-out-of-social-pariah-jail-free card. Just a running concept functioning in the background that gives people a little leeway now and again.

Moving onto Dionysos and the quintessential spiritual snek. Snakes are code for a lot of different things depending on the surrounding context but the one that concerns us most here is snake as a spiritual envoy and snake bites as vectors of possession. The (folkloric) natural desirable state is to be cool and dry. Or at least not covered in your own bodily fluids as that can lead to dehydration and loss of spiritual potential. So there are a lot of beliefs about the exchange of fluids and the properties of liquids.

All of the modern vectors of possession involve some kind of liquid. The transference of venom or just saliva from a spider or a snake into a human body, or the mishandling of blood, or a suspicious form of running water. These are believed to carry spirits from the spiritworld into our world and more specifically into our bodies. Things like rabies and epilepsy were often filed together under the same umbrella as the prick of Eros or of Dionysian madness. These were things that caused a person to act contrary to their established nature. And this ideological loophole allowed people to continue to engage and be treated with respect even though they had behaviors that would be considered impolite.

Getting back to spiders and what this all has to do with spiritual spooder bites... The arrival of summer brings Tarantella season. This is a warm if not outright hot weather phenomenon connected to some aspect of agricultural field work. The bite of the spider is encoded as the pinch of unrequited love or lust. A hopeless feeling that makes it impossible to concentrate, that gets under your skin and causes you to act contrary to your regular nature (which, of course, is that of an upstanding and reasonable human).

We would all be very respectable people if not for the constant meddling of the spiritworld! ✊ And I would have perfect spelling if not for the constant meddling of the spiritworld too! 🤭 (This can work for a lot of things.)

Tarantella can be described as a broken-hearts-club. Those who suffer from a great burning spiritual affliction that causes them such great distraction that they will humiliate themselves in the name of love. Many Tarantella threads (spirit songs) have lyrics relating to tragic romance, the loss of a loved one, the pain of loneliness, an inability to marry a sweetheart, or even about cheating rascals who broke hearts. There is a bit of a spectrum to it. Some songs are just very sweet and romantic but intoned in a tragic voice.

The purpose of Tarantella is not to cure an actual spider bite by sweating the venom out. That is the kind of nonsense you get when you look at a folk practice and take everything literally instead of as encoded culture. The purpose of Tarantella is to replace that pain in your heart with Dionysos. Because if the person you loved has died, he is not coming back to life but that pain will be there forever if you don't DO SOMETHING about it.

However! The spider is very real. The pain in a Tarantata's heart was probably there before the spider bit them but the bite is the catalyst that tips the balance. The Tarantata has been chosen as a Bride and she must dance to confront that pain and find healing. There are so, so, so many layers to this and I am simplifying it a lot but this is still a good place to begin building an understanding from. All of the behaviors of the Tarantata are a part of the expected cultural coding that gives them the time and space to process these incredibly powerful emotions.

I am pretty sure that I already explained somewhere on this blog that Tarantella is also a misnomer. The spooder gets all the credit but literally any biting creature can set off a Bride. I frequently name 7 vectors of possession, the seven little ambassadors of Eros and the spiritworld. But those are just the 7 most common culprits. There have been cases of dog bites setting off a Tarantata's lifelong journey as a Bride of Dionysos (or St. Paul--whatever name you chose).

#tarantella #trance work #dance ethnology #dionysos #cults #spiritwork

[tom-foolery-incorporated]

Don’t know if you’re taking requests, and if you’re not I completely understand. But if you are then I have an idea that I just had to say and see written, I love your work and just had to ask.

So! Scenario; Rando demon gets jealous that MC and Beel (or even Diavolo) are together so they throw cake on her and when he’s walking over to handle the situation she starts laughing, not bothered by what took place. With a smirk she asks Beel (or Diavolo) if he’s hungry. Pointing at her chest with cake all over it, staring at him teasingly.

❤️🧡

I'm always down to take requests but I can't promise I'll get to them quickly lol. I'm in my final year of university so things are pretty hectic plus I have a job so please be patient :'3 (/general to anybody, not specifically aimed at you)

Also, I write all reader inserts as gender neutral.

Suggested NSFW, MDNI, suggestive, Angry! Beel, gender neautral! Reader, racially ambiguous! Reader, reader gets something thrown at them, mild food play, made up lesser demon, kind of short

Look at you over there all cute. Your pretty hair worked into your signature style, sweet smile painted onto your perfect lips, your eyes glimmering with admiration as that oaf rambles on about whatever through each bite from his mountain of food. The poor demon across the way in the RAD dining hall couldn't stand it. Darthalax was your partner in potions last semester and ever since then he's been obsessed. Your beauty was wasted on such a muscle headed idiot like Beel when you could be with someone as intelligent and devoted as him. He sneered across the way at the two of you.

You reached up to brush some of the custard away from Beelzebub's mouth with the napkin you picked up from your lap. His surprised face flushed a bright red at the action then relaxed into an expression of pure love and devotion. You were Beelzebub's world and he would do anything for you. Is that mountain in the way of your sun? Don't worry Beel is on his way to push it. Beel took a spoonful of the custard and held it out to you with bated breath. This wasn't something he did often and you needed to take his offer quick or else he'd end up eating the spoonful himself. You met Beelzebub halfway, taking the spoon into your mouth and looking up at him through the top of your eyes. You made sure to take longer than necessary to lick the custard off of his spoon, even going so far as to let a little of the thick white pudding dribble out of your mouth so you had to clean it up and lick it off of your finger. The whole time making eye contact with a very flushed Beelzebub who couldn't help but breath through his mouth at the suggestive sight to gave him.

Apparently, Darthalax couldn't help but watch as well and decided that enough was enough. When you had gotten up to grab some more water, a pink flash flew through the air landing in a cold wet lump on your shirt that slid down your torso onto the floor. White icing mixed with pink spongecake and pink sprinkles made its home as a sloppy mess on the shirt of your RAD uniform. You could only look down at your disorderly clothes with a shocked expression then up at the direction you saw the cake come from. There he sat with a fuming red face. You remembered him your potions class last semester. While Darthalax had enjoyed his time with you in potions class, it was a one sided relationship. The truth was that he was a pretentious asshole with enough ego to the grand ballroom of Diavolo's palace. His constant correcting and manhandling of your assignments made him an insufferable prick in your eyes and you were glad to be rid of him at the semester's end.

"You wooden-headed strumpet!" Darthalax called at you, "stop flaunting your abhorrent eros when there are those of us trying to enjoy our repast!" The way he spoke was insufferable. You were sure he had a thesaurus under the table he was sneaking peaks at in order to make himself sound smarter. Who even used the word repast anymore? Hell, who used the word strumpet?! You were about to respond but your mouth quickly closed when a dark shadow slid over you. Beelzebub was making his way to Darthalax in his demon form. The insect wings on his back buzzing like an agitated colony of wasps about to strike. While you hated the poor lesser demon, you didn't want to see him killed and devoured.

"Beel!" You called making your boyfriend stop with fists clenched to turn his head to look at you. The dark shadow of anger that was cast over his face lightened when he saw your eyes half lidded and your finger tracing over your chest. "Beelzebub, " you said in a soft seductive tone, "I got a little dirty over here." You scraped some of the white frosting off of your shirt and licked it off of your finger. "Wouldn't you rather come clean me up?"

Beelzebub's eyes went wide as his face flushed red. No longer did he care about Darthalax's cowering form when you were standing before him so willingly offering him two of his favorite things; you and food. "Come, " you said sauntering off, "meet me in the bathroom when you're ready to help me clean up." Beel eagerly nodded his head and trailed behind you like a puppy. His wings beating like an eager cicada now.

#beelzebub #obey me beelzebub #beelzebub x reader #obey me #obey me x reader #obey me x mc #obey me beel x reader #obey me beelzebub x reader #obey me shall we date

[cloverdaisies]

INSANITY: LEE SANGYEON

“i want you to make the darkness disappear. i want to drive to crazy. my love is dangerous.”

a lee sangyeon imagine based on the song insanity by the boyz: request from my lovely darling @winterchimez ☆

contains: mature themes¡ slightly toxic relationship¡ half angst¡ half fluff¡

“sunday morning.. rain is falling..” his sweet honey voice echoed through the room bouncing off the empty walls in a sinister melody. audible from the room next door, the tune broke the silence of the fresh aftermath of a recent argument lurked over the home.

living with sangyeon was glamorous hell:

- he’d treat you like royalty one day and hate your guts the next

- he’d shower you with gifts and love one day, then fill you with words hate and malice the next

- he’d surround you with everything you loved one day then surround you with your very worst nightmare the next.

the kind of love that draws you in and out but you just can’t let go of it. his bright white smile and sweet sycamore eyes were enough of an apology for his harsh little sayings that just seemed to slip off the tip of his tongue on his worst days.

“honey?” my ears pricked up at the endearment, beckoning me to listen like a siren to the words he had to say. “would you please lay with me a while, my head is feeling ill and i’d like some company.”

if only minutes before he wasn’t screaming about how he hated my very existence and how he didn’t want me in his space at all. he didn’t mean it. i tell myself in short snaps of thoughts that are evidently in denial. he was receiving therapy, which he drove himself to everyday to talk about his duplicitous behavior and lack of mind control. he’d bring home new medicines that sat in the cupboard rotting away for weeks as no placebo seemed to fool the voices in his head to go away.

which is why i feel that the antidote is to wrap my arms around him feeling his muscles relax and his eyes soften from a dark black to the familiar hazel brown they always were.

i trail my way over, in my silk garments bare footed against the polished wooden planks of the flooring, to the white leathered couch where he sprawled himself out like eros picking out fruit from a grape vine.

he gently whisked me into a romantic embrace, where i was warmed into his soft chest and cradled like a baby on his lap.

“will you make it go away?” he asked softly.

“make what go away, my cherub?” i replied stroking the soft wisps of hair away from his face.

“the darkness. will you rid of it for me?” his eyes sparkled with tears that had broken out of the lids that held them.

“of course i will.” i pulled his head into my chest with a sigh, unable to see the boy cry. his mind was broken, in fact shattered to pieces. with the difficult career he’d chosen and the abundance of trauma behind him - he loved me, he showed that on his best days.

“my love is dangerous for you.” he looked up with sorrow written all over each feature of his face.

“that’s okay darling. we’re working on it together.” i reply with an exhausted sigh which hung on to the tip of my lips.

“but i don’t deserve you. i’ll drive you as crazy as me-” he began to vomit words which attempted to erase everything he wishes he never did.

when i first met the boy he was likely in god’s line of favorite angels, a sweet boy with no bone that held the ability to kill no more than a small fly. his career had deduced him to no more than mere emblem of success that would never be fulfilled, an object for passersby to gawk at and observe.

but he was my baby boy, my knight in shining armor, no matter how dangerous his love was, no matter how much he pulled me in and out of romance, he was my angel.

“shhh darling.” i hushed the hysterical boy in my embrace. “i’m here now yes? i always will be.”

“i love you.” he whispered looking up at me unsurely, his lips curving up into a small smile.

instead of replying, i sealed his lips with my own, letting all our problems fade out into a background of slow jazz music and warm low lighting.

lee sangyeon’s love was dangerous, but he made me feel like no other would.

☆*:.｡. .｡.:*☆☆*:.｡..｡.:*☆☆*:.｡. .｡.:*☆☆*:.｡..｡.:*☆

if you enjoyed this: request your own tbz member & song over on my profile! (anon is welcome)

i hope this fulfilled ur requests <3

#kpop imagines #the boyz imagines #the boyz x reader #the boyz fanfic #the boyz x you #the boyz fluff #the boyz #the boyz angst #sangyeon #sangyeon angst #sangyeon fanfic #tbz #tbz sangyeon #i love winterchimez sm #the boyz drabbles #kpop #tbz scenarios #kpop scenarios

[theanonymousopossum]

A Court of Trials and Tragedies

Hello my loves! In honour of #feysandweek2023, I've created a multi-chapter Eros and Psyche AU for them. I'm not sure how often this will be updated as my work schedule is pretty crazy, but I'll do my best. The first few chapters will be shorter, but they will bulk up once the main plot starts rolling. Read the first chapter below, or here on A03. Always open to constructive criticism, and apologies if there's any mistakes as I'm my own beta reader.

Summary: Feyre Archeron, the princess of Prythian, has suddenly begun to be worshipped as a reincarnation of Amarantha, goddess of beauty and love. When Amarantha discovers this, she is furious, and sends her son Rhysand to prick her with a magical arrow to make her fall in love with a horrible beast. All goes according to plan, until...

Feyre Archeron stared out at the flat plains that stretched out beneath her castle. The grassy lands of Prythian were beautiful, and she was lucky enough to be the princess. She observed the party currently happening in the town square. There was dancing and music, food and fun, and everyone had come in celebration of her 18th birthday. Feyre knew she should be out there, dancing with some important noble. She had just come of age, and she knew her father would be soon seeking a suitable partner for her to strengthen their political alliances,

and yet here she was, hiding in a small tower, dreading when her mother would call her down and demand she present herself.

Feyre was dressed immaculately, with her hair pinned up into a bun, small stars adorning it. Her lips were painted a striking bright red colour, stained with some berry imported from a far-off land, and her eyes we line with kohl. She knew she looked like a vision, and that was why she was hiding. Her sisters were both truly stunning, and had already secured themselves rich, influential husbands. Soon it would be her turn. But Feyre knew she was more beautiful than her sisters, because since she had gone from a cute little girl to a stunning young woman, men had been throwing themselves at her, begging for her attention. Soon her sisters began to hate her, as they got less and less attention.

 It didn't matter to them that Feyre never wanted the advances of men, never wanted the wooers, constantly being in the spotlight. Suddenly she heard the sound she'd been dreading.

"Feyre! Where are you? It's almost time for you to come and present yourself to the town!"

Her mother's shrill voice cut through the air, and Feyre sighed. She knew this time would come eventually, but here she was all the same.

She stood, knowing making her mother wait for her would only lead to trouble, and looked in the mirror at her reflection. Her dress was a white gossamer piece covered in delicately sewn flowers, buckled with a gold belt, and clasps holding it to the purple shawl her father had given her this morning. She fingered the shawl, tracing its edge. Purple was so rare and expensive; she was still in awe she had received something so beautiful.

"Only the prettiest for the prettiest girl," he'd said with a smile as he presented to her.

 "Feyre! Don't make me come and get you."

 Once again, her mother called out for her, and she sighed, moving along down the corridor to where she knew her mother would be waiting to escort her out.

She approached the main gates of the castle, and there she was. Emeline Archeron, looking as beautiful and regal as she always did, her gossamer dress the same shade of periwinkle as the valerian Feyre had seen when she was visiting the temple. The temple. The temple brough back the memories she’d been fighting so hard to avoid.

She had gone to the temple of Amarantha, goddess of beauty and love, to leave an offering as was her custom. It was a lovely day, surprising considering December weather was usually horrid, but she had decided to make the most of it. Her servants had prepared all of the necessary things for sacrifices, and they were off. The trail to the temple was a representation of the goddess herself, people said, as the scenery was as lovely as she was. Flowers of every type grew in numberless bunches along it. Pale white narcissi spread their petals next to the dainty irises, whose amethyst hues stood out amongst the grass. In the lake, plump ducks swam through the water lilies that filled the air with their sweet scent. Sweeping trees that Feyre couldn’t identify waved their branches over the dirt road. The temple itself was a humble structure, made of stone, though still beautiful in its own regard. A row of columns held up a simple roof, ivy hugging tightly to each one. Grapes hung in small bunches from the vines, and Feyre knew all were invited to take some as a gift of the goddess’ bounty. Inside the temple, a large marble statue of Amarantha stood erect right at the back, with an altar directly in front. Torches burned all along the walls, and materials for burning sacrifices were laid in neat piles, ready for whoever came to make their offering. But something was off. Along with the thin layer of dust that coated every surface, there was no one there.

“Is anyone there?” Feyre called out, wondering if perhaps the priests had just slipped outside to pray, or perhaps were out of sight.

 However, no one came at the sound of her call. This was unheard of, as the temple always had at least a dozen priests and priestesses caring for it, and this level of disrepair should never have been allowed. Suddenly, a clicking noise sounded from the entrance she had just come from. Feyre turned, and an old man with a cane hobbled in.

“Chrysis! It’s so good to see you!” She rushed forward to hug the frail, bearded, limping figure that had just walked in.

Chrysis opened his arm and embraced her. He had known her since she was a baby, and she had grown up listening to his stories of gods and monsters, heroes and tyrants.

“Where is everyone? I thought the Festival of the Sun wasn’t until tomorrow,” she said in confusion, hoping her friend, the high priest of all the surrounding temples, could provide some answers.

Chrysis sighed. He looked greatly troubled, which was very strange. As long as Feyre had known him, he had always been calm and happy, but now he looked distressed.

“My princess…,” he began, which set Feyre on even higher alert than normal. He knew he never needed to call her that.

Words seemed to fail him, so he tried again.

“Lady Feyre, the priests and the people…have all gone to worship another.”

Feyre frowned. “But the priests are bound to this temple! They are free to go wherever they please when not working, and of course the people may go to all the temples, but why have they all abandoned this place?”

Chrysis clutched his stick tighter, his wrinkled hand turning white from how hard he held it.

“They do not believe they need to serve Amarantha anymore. You see, they believe she now walks the lands of Prythian in human form. The people and priests have gone to her residence to worship her instead.”

“But that’s apostasy! Amarantha will be furious. Who is this woman? She ought to deny all these claims and send everyone back to the temple,” Feyre responded angrily, trying to think through all the ladies it could have been. She certainly knew plenty of females who would love nothing more than to have people worshipping them as the reincarnation of the beauty goddess, and if Feyre had to bet, she’d place her money on Ianthe. That horrid priestess of Helion, with her fake blonde hair and her unnatural blue eyes, only played at modesty, while secretly revelling in the attention men paid her.

Feyre was snapped out of her thoughts when Chrysis looked her deep in the eyes and said, with a more solemn voice than she’d ever heard him use before,

“The woman, my lady, is you.”

--------------------------------------------------

Amarantha was fuming. She yanked her hand through her scarlet red hair as she stared down upon Prythian in an utter fury. She’d first begun to notice that her numbers of sacrifices were dwindling, so naturally she sent out an epidemic of what the mortals called “chicken pox”, which left many of the young women pock-marked and scarred. That got everyone back to worshipping her again, knowing that a curse against someone’s appearance would always be hers. Strangely, it started happening again shortly thereafter. And some of her priests had left the temple one day, never to return.

She wondered what could have happened, and decided to give one last reminder. She sent her servant out to wreak havoc amongst all the families of the earth. It was cruel, weaponizing the one she called her son against innocents, but Amarantha had never been known as a kind woman. Rhysand would be back any minute now, and shortly thereafter everyone would resume their sacrifices to her.

A smile played on her red lips. How foolish the humans were to forget her. Soon she would haunt their waking hours and their sleeping ones. However, in one small corner of her mind, a little voice nagged at her to figure out why her worship had ceased. Surely not everyone would have forgotten all at once, so why then?

Just as she was considering doing something she so rarely did-leave her pristine palace, dressing in human clothes, taking on the despicable human form, and walking amongst them to discover the source of the issue-, the smell of citrus and ocean waves reached her. Amarantha frowned. He was back on time, bow slung across his shoulders, black hair swept from the wind.

“Rhysand,” she said contemptuously. She had a feeling whatever news he was bringing would not be news she liked.

“What news do you bring of the human world? Have you done all that I asked?”

Rhysand bowed stiffly, his wings jostling behind him.

“I have done as you requested, and many have fallen victim to the blight. Many will not make the week,” he said, and though this information made Amarantha cackle in evil delight, Rhysand’s scowl seemed to grow by the second.

“However, the people still will not return to worshipping you. They have found another, a human they believe to be your incarnation. All their praise and adoration is for her now,” Rhysand said, and if Amarantha had been angry before, now she was livid.

“What human DARES to present herself as me?” she screeched loudly. Whoever this wretched girl was would soon find out just what it was to slight a goddess. Her wrath would be unquenchable, and the girl would never know a day of respite until her last feeble breath squeezed out from her pathetic lungs.

“It is the human princess, Feyre Archeron. She has tried to cease the people’s worship of her, but to no avail. Already a temple is being constructed in her honour, though she has attempted to stop them at every turn,” Rhysand said, but Amarantha had tune out everything but the girl’s name. Feyre. Archeron. The fact she was a princess made this all the more fun.

She began to consider what possibilities existed for her to destroy Feyre. All her usual methods of illness and torture seemed insufficient for this task. She then turned to Rhysand, her cold eyes surveying him. Yes. That would do.

“I see,” she responded coolly, even though her mind was racing, “well my dear, I have one more task for you.”

“And what might that be, my lady?” he said, and Amarantha did not miss the hint of bitterness in his tone. Clearly, he knew what she intended to ask him, and he didn’t like it. Unfortunately for him, she didn’t care.

“I want you to go to this human while she sleeps, and pierce her with one of your magical arrows. Make her fall in love with something so hideous, so vile, so repugnant, that not only will she be shamed by her whole family, but she will disgrace her whole kingdom. No one will ever be able to say her name without spitting it, when it is done. That is your task. Do not fail me,” she stated with authority, and she could see she had won. No matter whether Rhysand liked it or not.

Heaving a heavy sigh, he said, “So be it then, my lady. I will see to it that it is done.”

With that, he vanished in a puff of smoke.

A/N: Thank you for reading! The next chapter should be up before the end of the week. Let me know if you enjoyed!

Taglist: @officialfeysandweek2023

Comment if you'd like to be added!

#feyre archeron #feysandweek2023 #feysand #pro feysand #rhysand #theanonymousopossum #a court of trials and tragedies

[yoificfinder]

Hello hello!! Hope you are doing well!!

I was recommended to come here to see if you could help me find a fic!! So please if you can, I'm looking for an Otayuri fic on ao3, I know theres a bit of an age gap, and it starts with JJ bringing Otabek to his favourite tattoo studio which is where Yuri works (other characters work there too but I cant remember which)

The most specific thing I can remember (plus the reason I'm asking lol) is that Otabeks family lived on a farm and had horses, one of which was called Ted who was a pretty slow old horse that Yuri ends up riding at some point!! I fell inlove with the derpy horse and it's the reason that fic is one of my favourites, but completely forgot to bookmark the fic and it's been a little over a year since I've read stuff for this fandom. So please any help is welcome and if you cant find it that's okay!!

I also think they get married at the end along the beach if that helps??

Thankyou so much for taking your however much of your time helping me!!

Hello and welcome!

Just a Little Prick by accidental-mormon [E, 66K]

Yuri Plisetsky is a tattoo artist at the locally-famous eros + agape body arts. When Otabek Altin accompanies a coworker for his first tattoo, he finds that it's not the artwork that draws his eye.

#yoi #yuri on ice #yoi fanfic #yoi fic search #otayuri

[phoenix-downer]

Where I Belong Chapter 2

Playing Hooky: ~3150 words. Sora and Kairi spend the rest of the day together at Hercules’ villa. The romantic garden statues prompt Sora to tell Kairi about a famous Greek myth, and he finally works up the courage to confess something important to her. 

Story Info: Sora/Kairi. Starts during the end of KH3/during ReMind and moves into KH4. Kairi POV. Angst, Romance, Fluff.

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5

Running around the villa all afternoon with Sora was so much fun. They played hide and seek in the gardens, splashed around in the pools, and recounted their favorite stories and memories from back home. They played all sorts of games together, challenged each other to perform various types of tricks with their Keyblades, and enjoyed a delicious dinner courtesy of Herc and Meg’s gracious staff as the sun sank low over the sea. 

As the stars came out, Sora asked her if she’d like to go for a walk. She nodded and reached for his hand, wanting to enjoy this beautiful night with its perfect weather before they had to leave. The gardens were gorgeous, and they hadn’t even seen all of them this afternoon. Besides, the villa had a different feel to it at night. Everything was more atmospheric, more romantic.

Presently, they strolled past a round, tiered fountain that caught Kairi’s eye. A statue of a fish with its tail raised high in the air was on the upper tier, and out of its mouth water poured into the basin of the lower tier. A tall pediment with a group of singing women graced the lower tier, and at the base of the pediment were statues of two couples, both kissing. One of the couples was seated with the woman’s arms around the man, a flower resting in her hand. His arm was wrapped around her back, the other resting over his heart. Kairi's face felt hot when she thought about Sora kissing her like that.

The other couple was even more scandalous. The woman was lying on her side, her torso gracefully twisting so she could cup the face of her lover and kiss him. He for his part hovered over her, his big beautiful wings extending behind him and his hand resting on her waist as they embraced.

Now her face was really red. Why did this garden have so many statues like this? Everywhere she and Sora turned there were statues of couples kissing, caressing, embracing. It was putting thoughts in her head that she didn’t know what to do with, awakening feelings she wasn’t sure how to handle.

Sora noticed she was staring at the statue. “That one’s really nice, isn’t it?” he said, a faint blush dusting his cheeks. 

She nodded, too embarrassed to say anything. 

“Herc and Meg told me about it the last time I was here. It’s based on one of the myths of this world. There was once a beautiful woman named Psyche. She was so beautiful that people thought she was the goddess Aphrodite in human form and began to worship her. That made the actual Aphrodite jealous and upset because Psyche was just a human. So Aphrodite asked her son Eros to make Psyche fall in love with some wild animal to humiliate her.” 

Kairi frowned. “That seems a little excessive, don’t you think?” It wasn’t like it was Psyche's fault people were worshiping her instead of Aphrodite. 

Sora glanced around. “I wouldn’t, um, say what you really think about the gods here, you never know when they might be listening.”

Kairi clasped her hand over her mouth. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay. Anyway, Eros has these arrows that he can shoot at people, and his targets fall in love with the first thing they see after he shoots them. So he was gonna use one to make Psyche fall in love with a wild animal. Problem is, the moment he saw her, he was so taken with her that he accidentally pricked himself with the arrow and fell madly in love with her instead.” 

“Serves him right,” Kairi mumbled, then clasped her hand over her mouth again. Oops. 

Sora cleared his throat and continued. “So, Eros made arrangements for Psyche to be his wife. He had to sneak around and do it though because his mom didn’t approve. He brought Psyche to his beautiful palace and made sure she was well taken care of. She got to eat all the finest foods and received all the nicest gifts. And when night came, he came to her and, well, they, um, they, you know—” 

Kairi’s face was even redder now. She was glad it was dark outside and hoped Sora couldn’t see how hard she was blushing. At least he seemed as flustered as she was. 

“Um, anyway,” he continued, sputtering and rubbing his neck, “they were sort of married after that, I guess, and he visited her every night. During the day, she could do whatever she wanted. He had only one rule for her, that she couldn’t see what he really looked like or know his name. That was why he always left at sunrise.” 

“Why do you think he didn’t want her to see him?” Kairi asked, tilting her head. If he was a beautiful god with splendid wings like the statue before her, why wouldn’t he want his wife to know who he was?

“Maybe he was scared she wouldn’t love him for him if she knew,” Sora said. “Maybe he wanted to make sure she wasn’t just in love with him because he was a god.”

“I suppose that makes sense,” Kairi said, resting a hand over her heart. She looked at Sora. He’d grown so much and he’d gotten so strong, plus he was well-liked by people across so many different worlds. Maybe he was worried that people cared more about that than about his heart. 

Well, she didn’t. She loved him for him. She’d loved him ever since he was a dorky islander boy who thought a onesie paired with a jacket and big, clunky shoes was the height of fashion. She smiled affectionately. The time she’d known him only endeared him to her more, not less.

“Anyway,” Sora continued, unable to keep his eyes off of her, “one day, Psyche’s sisters visited her and were so jealous of her new home that they convinced her to break Eros’s one rule for her. They preyed on her fears that Eros might be a monster who wanted to devour her and told her that was why he was hiding his appearance. So Psyche got a lamp and a dagger ready and stashed it in her room. That night, Eros came to visit her like he always did. When he was asleep, she grabbed the dagger and lit the lamp so she could see what he looked like and then kill him if he was a monster.” 

Kairi listened intently. This story just kept getting more and more intriguing. “What happened?”

“She saw that her husband was really a god and was startled by how handsome he was. She stumbled and pricked herself on one of his arrows and fell madly in love with him, just like he’d fallen madly in love with her. But she accidentally dripped hot oil on him from the lamp, and it hurt him really badly. He was so upset by her betrayal that he flew away.” 

“Oh no,” Kairi said. Poor Psyche, she hadn’t meant to hurt him, she’d just been scared and curious. It was all just a big misunderstanding, surely Eros knew that.

“Psyche was inconsolable after he left,” Sora said, his voice breaking a little. “She wandered the earth looking for him and eventually found his mom, Aphrodite. Aphrodite was still angry at Psyche and thought this was the perfect chance to punish her. So she gave her an impossible task that Psyche was only able to accomplish with outside help. Aphrodite was irritated but kept giving her more impossible tasks, and Psyche beat her every time. Then she gave Psyche one final task: if she could bring back some of the goddess Persephone’s beauty in a box for Aphrodite from the Underworld, then Aphrodite would let Psyche see Eros again.”

Something was going to go wrong, Kairi just knew it. She nodded at Sora to continue.

“Psyche went to the Underworld and got what Aphrodite asked for, then returned to the light of day.” He sighed deeply. “But she got so curious that she opened the box when she wasn’t supposed to. She hadn’t learned anything from before.” 

“I don’t think she meant any ill by it,” Kairi said softly. “I think she just wanted to be beautiful for her husband. Maybe she was worried he wouldn’t love her anymore.”

Sora just looked at her. “I don’t think he could ever stop loving her.”

Her heart skipped a few beats as they just gazed at each other, and then he finally continued. “Inside the box was Sleep, and Psyche fell into a deep sleep she couldn’t wake up from because of it.” 

“Oh no,” Kairi said. Poor Psyche, to have come all that way, only to fail at the very end.

“But Eros’s wounds from the hot oil had finally turned into scars, and he flew out of his mom’s house to search for Psyche. When he found her, he was grieved to see what had happened to her. So he drew the sleep from her face with a kiss and put it back in the box.” Sora gestured at the statue. “That’s the moment this statue is showing.” 

“How romantic,” Kairi said, clasping her hands together. Sora was right, the statue was that much more beautiful knowing the meaning behind it. Eros awakening his wife with a kiss. Even after she’d hurt him, even after she’d betrayed him, he still came for her. And she’d proven her love for him by doing all those impossible tasks just for the chance to see him again. 

Sora continued. “Eros pricked Psyche with an arrow that didn’t hurt her, then together they flew to Aphrodite and presented the box to her. After that, Eros took Psyche to Zeus and asked for permission for him and Psyche to be married properly. Zeus gave his permission, and before all the gods he blessed their union and gave Psyche this stuff called ambrosia to drink, which made her immortal. Then there was a big wedding banquet, and before too long they had a daughter named Hedone.” 

“What a beautiful story,” Kairi said, sighing happily. “I’m glad they got their happy ending. Thank you, Sora, for sharing it with me.” She reached for his hand and squeezed it gently. She knew she and Sora could never have what Eros and Psyche did, but it was nice to know that fate wasn’t always unkind to two people in love. 

Of course, she and Sora weren’t gods, they were just ordinary humans. Maybe that was why they were so unlucky. 

“Kairi,” he said softly, and her breath caught in her throat. “Do you think we could ever…”

She tilted her head. “Do I think we could ever what?” 

He rubbed the back of his neck. “Ah, nevermind.” 

She frowned. She wanted to know what was on his mind, but she didn’t want to press him. He was troubled, that much she could tell, and she wanted him to be happy. 

“Come on,” she said, hoping to distract him. “Let’s see the rest of the gardens.”

They continued their stroll till they reached an area with a large rectangular fountain with rounded ends. In the fountain was a statue of a couple dancing together, and in her eagerness to reach it, Kairi felt a sharp prick on her bicep. 

“Ouch,” she muttered, rubbing her arm. She’d accidentally run into a small statue of a boy with a bow and arrow…a boy with an arrow…Oh dear, was this supposed to be a young Eros with his special arrows that made you fall madly in love with the next person you saw? She knew it was just a story, but the gods here seemed pretty real, and so maybe Eros’s powers were real too, even in statue form—

She hurriedly glanced at Sora, hoping he hadn’t noticed. 

Of course he had. “You okay?” he asked, his brows knitting together in concern.

“I’m fine!” she quickly reassured him, trying to block the statue with her body. He peered over her shoulder.

“Did you bump into that statue?” he asked. “It looks kinda pointy—” His eyes widened when he saw what the statue was. “Is that Eros with his bow and arrow?”

“I guess,” she mumbled, her shoulders slumping as she admitted defeat. Besides, it wasn’t like she’d needed some magic arrows to fall in love with Sora. His own charms had done the trick ages ago.

He just grinned at her and purposely pricked himself on the arrow. “There, now we’re even.”

“S-Sora!” 

He shrugged. “What? It’s not like I need a magic arrow to tell me how I feel, anyway.” He reached for her hand again. “C’mon, you wanted to see that statue over there of the dancing couple, right?”

It was a lovely statue too, and Sora filled her in on what Herc and Meg had told him about it as they lounged on the edges of the fountain. They chatted for a while afterwards about this and that, but then he fell silent. As she looked at the stars above, taking in the sea of diamond constellations, she felt his eyes on her and waited patiently for him to speak again.

“Kairi?” he said at last, and his voice was low. Heavy.

She frowned, her heart sinking. In a sharp contrast to his cheerful demeanor from before, his head drooped and his eyes were pained. “What’s wrong?” she gently prodded, though she suspected he was finally ready to tell her what she already knew. 

“I’m dying.” His voice broke on the words, and she could see the fear and anguish in his eyes. The sorrow and resignation. Death was staring him in the face, trying to collect its payment, its due. Saving her life had come at the cost of his, and this world trip and romp through the gardens was simply delaying the inevitable. 

Death would come for him in the end. And while he was very brave, even the strongest of hearts sometimes needed the comfort and reassurance of another person, especially in the face of such a terrible, uncertain, inevitable specter as death.

“I know,” she said softly. “I’m so sorry. It should’ve been me, not you.” If only she hadn’t been so weak and useless, Sora wouldn’t have needed to sacrifice himself for her. Again. Her mistakes had cost him his life this time, and that regret would stay with her forever. 

He shook his head. “No, absolutely not. I don’t regret my decision to save you. It’s my fault you—”

“It’s Xehanort’s fault,” she said grimly. She would not let Sora die blaming himself for this. “And while that was awful, you didn’t let me die. You saved me from my imprisonment. You rescued me from a fate way worse than death, and all at a great cost to you. You could’ve just given up. Moved on and lived the rest of your life and died of old age. But you didn’t.” 

He studied his hands. For a brief moment, they flickered in and out of existence, the truth of what was happening to him wounding her heart like she was watching him drown moment by agonizing moment, helpless to do anything. The beautiful weather and serene scenery was in such a stark contrast to the cruel forces they were battling. 

“Herc once told me why he gave up his immortality to be with Meg,” Sora said at last. “He said, ‘I’d have to be apart from the person I love most, and that life would be empty.’ It’s stuck with me ever since. And when Xehanort struck you down, I knew. I knew that I couldn’t just abandon you to fate, to death. I just couldn’t. I didn’t care what it cost me, I had to bring you home.”

She was once again moved by his selflessness, his sacrifice. It had given her a new perspective on everything. A new lease on life. But oh the cost to him. Written in his blood, carved into his heart for all time. 

And yet, she didn’t want his sacrifice to go to waste. Hating herself would be like a slap in the face to him. Would tell him that she didn’t think his sacrifice was worth it, that he wasn’t worth it. The least she could do was try to love herself the way he did.

She fiddled with her necklace. “On my own, I really struggle to like myself sometimes, you know? I just feel so…worthless. Useless.” He opened his mouth to protest, and she put a finger over his lips and smiled gently. “But I know I’m not, because you always lift me up and bring out the best in me. You support me and believe in me. With you by my side, I can literally soar through the heavens. You’re always showing me such wonderful new things, and you keep sharing your heart with me. How could I hate myself in light of all that?”

He reached for her hand. “If only you saw yourself the way I see you.” 

She smiled sadly. “I think I’m starting to.” 

“Then keep seeing yourself that way when I’m gone, okay?” His voice was getting all choked up, and a lump built in her throat too. Life was so cruel, so unfair. Nasty people like Xehanort got to live long, happy lives while Sora was doomed to die young and tragically. Sora, who was so selfless and good and wonderful.

Why was fate so unkind? 

Hot tears welled up in her eyes. “I’m sorry…I’m sorry…”

Sora wordlessly pulled her into his arms, and they held each other for a very long time. Nothing else needed to be said. She was supposed to be the one comforting him about his death, and yet here he was comforting her. Or maybe they were comforting each other, two lonely, broken hearts finding temporary solace in one another till they were torn apart once more. 

“It’s time,” Sora said softly. “Let’s go home.” They returned to the main building of the villa to say goodbye to Hercules, Meg, Phil, and Pegasus. Their little group was much more solemn now than it had been earlier today. Kairi sensed the others knew something was wrong, but they were kind enough to humor Sora and didn’t say anything about it. Instead they just gave their usual well wishes and made their playful demands for him to visit again soon. That got him to smile and laugh and crack jokes, and Kairi was grateful for it.

That little bit of normalcy was the best gift they could’ve given him.

Presently, he summoned his Keyblade and pointed it at the sky, then offered his hand to Kairi. She took it, and this time, they both acknowledged how it flickered in her grasp.

“Until next time,” he told their friends, and with that, they were on their way.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: The prompt for this fic was provided by Aquafolia, who requested a story based on this quote from Hercules during KH3 in regards to why he gave up immortality to be with Meg: “I’d have to be apart from the person I love most, and that life would be empty.” She suggested Sora share it with Kairi while he breaks the news to her that he’s dying, so I worked it into this chapter. Thank you again 🙏

Thank you also to Liv for her feedback on the story and for keeping me motivated with all the kind support ❤️ 

The statues mentioned in this chapter are all actually from Herc’s villa in the movie, so I had a lot of fun working them in. Most of them show up during “I Won’t Say I’m In Love,” and as I was watching the movie and taking notes, I noticed the Eros and Psyche statue and inspiration hit. The statue that Meg accidentally pricks herself on was another one I knew I had to incorporate somehow lol.

Thank you to everyone who liked and reblogged the story, it really means a lot! And thank you all for reading!

#kingdom hearts #sokai #sora #kairi #sora x kairi #sora/kairi #phoenix writes #phoenix-downer #kh fanfiction #sokai fanfiction #sorakai #sorakairi #hercules #hercules 1997 #disney hercules #disney's hercules #long post #where i belong #chapter 2

[ambrial-blog]

Behind the Castle walls... lurks an intruder.  someone who isn't meant to be there but is drawn to Blitzillion Castle nonetheless his name is Blitzo Vanitas. as he wonders the desolate corridors. he is suprised to find that he isn't alone. Blitzillion has left his fledgling behind. With a begrudgance.  and the young hermphidte is eager to make new friends.  boundries don't exisist here.  How far will the Hermphidite go to ensnare his very own Omega....  ___________________________________________________ The golden encrusted bath was more like a sauna accented by the golden hued lights of the onyx candlelobras that  decorated the bathroom.  Reflecting within  the magnificent bubbles the floated around the air.  Blitzo stood their shivering in nothing but his boxer shorts. which by the look of the naked serpent standing before would be short lived.  Blitzo vanitas had already been through so much: from his resent capture with Mammon to finding out his sister's soul was still entact. by lying dormant within a doll stuffed to the gills with Loo-loo-land currency.   To using forbidden alchemy to restore his sister and ultimately paying the price. While earning his mates displeasure in the process.   Whereas each demon had given up something precious as memory, Blitz had given up his left eye as payment.  His left eye  had been sealed with magic.  None of them really understood. but standing before his mates as they each glowered down at him as if accusing him. his body had shook and he coulnd't bring himself to look. instead he had opted to run away: taking Eros's bike and leather jacket. the infomous cupid doll and bolting out into the rain.  Striker had left him in the bathroom: left him cold once he knew what he had given up.  Everything he owned and cherrished was strapped to his back.  A tear fell from Blitzo's eye as a slender hand wrapped around his neck. pulling him close almost flush against a warm naked body.  Blitzo flushed as he was drawn back to the present.  Striker nuzzled Blitz as Blitzo closes his eyes melting into the fledglings touch.  tears pricking his eyes. his heart lurches in his chest as the fledgling catches him.  "it'll be alright"  Striker whispers cupping the side of Blitzo's face.  "Forget everything that made you sad, they can't touch you here"  "I've never seen an omega before spoke the snake imp"  "whatever is on your mind I can easily put to rest"  Striker brings Blitzo's head closer to his neck.  "inhale, and reliquish your memories to me"  "soon you won't have a reason to leave"  "relax little one, I won't bite you"  "Shhh, my little one, your safe with me"  "Now let's finish that bath shall we"  Blitzo gulped. his eyes taking on a goldish hue as he obeyed.  Drake and the twin serpents faded from his memory as a single tear fell down his cheek: as the memory

#Hellvua Boss #Striker/Blitzo #Hermphidte Striker/Omega Blitzo #fanfiction #The Rift: The Vampire Heart/Wings of love. #Fanart #Illustrations by MagicMoonLove.

[long-hot-stories]

Lost In Eros, Book 2: The Forest - Part 3

Toshia In The Pit

By BradentonLarry - Listen to the Podcast at Steamy Stories.

None of the men rushed ahead to get at her, and these good manners put them ahead of the sisters in Toshia's esteem. Smiling at them, Toshia decided to throw herself into things and get as much fun out of the situation as she could. She started to crawl toward them across the mattress, which prompted hoots and cheering from the audience overhead, and encouraged the men to join her on the mattress, walking on the mattress toward her. 

When she was surrounded by them, she sat back on her haunches and smiled up at them. They cheerfully smiled back, and one of them, a cute guy with light blue eyes, dark hair and a thin physique, reached out to gently run his hand over her hair. Toshia reached up and brushed her hands over several of the cocks swaying around her.

Before waking up in Eros, Toshia had never been with more than one man at a time. Since then, on her first night, she had had a man in both her pussy and mouth at the same time; the next day she had satisfied five men in a little gangbang orchestrated by Don, with the assistance of Shelonda; there had been her marathon in the disco, and the orgy in the steam room, when she had taken Don in her pussy and Peter in her ass, as well as comparatively light play during the masquerade, when she'd been fucking and sucking simultaneously; and, of course, there had been her time with the satyrs. She remembered how much she had come to love fucking here, and had discovered her love of XYZ saturated cum. She recalled the delirious and delicious frenzy that she had surrendered herself to in the disco, and felt her body responding in anticipation as she leaned forward to brush her cheek against one of the five cocks at her disposal.

She began to stroke the two cocks which were currently in her hands and bent down a little to kiss one of the two cocks in front of her, which were now standing out a bit, offering themselves to her. She kissed the other one, then, and licked it. She moved to the other, licked it too, and then took its purple head into her mouth. Toshia slowly sucked on it, as if it were a hard candy, feeling it swell between her lips. The cocks in her hands were stiffening quickly, and the man behind her, who must be the one with the big dick, continued to stroke her hair and shoulders. The other men followed that one's lead and began to touch her. Strong, rough, but gentle hands caressed her face and neck, and moved over her arms and touched her breasts.

Toshia released the one cock from her mouth and caught the other she'd kissed in her mouth. She bobbed her head on it a little, looking up at the two men directly in front of her to make sure they were watching her. Seeing that they were paying attention, Toshia pushed herself forward, and let this cock slide over her tongue and down into her throat. She held it there for a long moment, breathing through her nose. Then, she pulled back, only to turn and give the same treatment to the other cock.

She was dimly aware that the women above were shouting encouragement, but Toshia's attention was on the cocks in front of her and in her hands, and the hands that were exploring her upper body, particularly the ones that were now pinching her nipples. This last made her moan around the cock in her mouth.

Toshia pulled off this cock, then, and turned to her left, pulling the cock she'd been stroking with that hand to her mouth. While she was sucking that now very stiff prick, the man behind her knelt down and reached around to run his big hand over her belly, as his other hand continued to tease her tit. The man behind her kissed her shoulder and his fingers delved down between her thighs, brushing against her clit and touching her wet lips. The all too brief and tantalizing caress sparked another moan.

One of the men in front of her knelt down then and leaned in to kiss and suck at her free breast. Toshia took this as a cue to turn her head to the right and give the cock in that hand the treatment three of the others had enjoyed. She found herself sucking with growing enthusiasm. The sensations of those thick, hard cocks sliding in and out of her mouth were enough to get her riled up all by themselves. The thought of having five of them to herself was an additional thrill. The man behind her then managed to part her pussy lips with his large fingers and to push a digit partway up her. Toshia responded by rocking against him, rubbing herself against his hand and trying to get that finger to penetrate deeper. She would have leaned forward, so that the man behind her could fuck her from behind, but there was a man in front of her, sucking on her nipple, blocking her way.

Instead, she tried leaning back a little, to make it easier for the man's finger to get into her. Soon, she was lying back against this big man, feeling his cock pressed against her lower back. His was the only cock in the bunch that wasn't fully hard yet, but it was already long and thick. Now he was able to fuck his finger in and out Toshia's pussy freely, rubbing his hand against her clit all the while. Meanwhile, the other guys had gotten on their knees around her. Two men now had their mouths on her tits, while two of them made sure that she always had a cock in her face. Laughing, she took hold of both of these cocks, brought their heads together and sucked them both into her mouth. She'd seen this done in porn films, but had never done anything like it before. She stuffed both cocks into her mouth as far as she could, which wasn't far, and then released them, but held them so that she could play with both heads with her tongue.

One of the guys in front of her, the one who had been first to drop to his hands and knees, was kissing down her belly, and coaxed the hand away from her pussy. Toshia whimpered as the finger left her, but then moaned in appreciation as she felt that large finger replaced by two slightly smaller ones and a warm tongue lapping at her clit. She went back to sucking one cock at a time, deepthroating one and then the other, until her first orgasm hit her hard. She moaned and trembled as she sucked hard on the guy lucky enough to be there at that moment. Toshia didn't wait to stop shaking before she went back to enthusiastically sucking. The guys were ready to change things around, though.

The man who had licked her so well backed away, and the big guy behind her lifted her up off him and scooted out from behind her. Toshia fell backward, letting her legs splay out, one managing to slip between one guy's legs and the other caught by one of the gentlemen whose cock she'd just been sucking.

For a moment, she saw the sisters around the big opening in the ceiling. They seemed to be watching the action closely. For some reason, the idea that she was putting on a show for those women added a lot to how turned on Toshia was. She tried to spot Daphne – she wanted to make sure the dark-haired bitch could see that she was having fun – but the men and their cocks crowded out her view.

Four of the guys were kneeling around her upper body, including the still relatively limp dong of the guy who'd been so patiently behind her until now. She smiled up at all the guys, but focused on that one big cock, reaching up to run her hands over it and to pull it down to her lips. She could feel someone parting her legs and then lifting her hips up off the mattress, but Toshia concentrated on kissing and licking the head of the cock in her hands. She felt a hard head being pushed into her pussy and pulled the other into her mouth at the same time. She wrapped her legs around the waist of the man inside her, pulling him into her until she felt him filling her and then fucking her. As the cock in her mouth grew harder, she had to turn her head to the side so the big man could keep it between her lips. The other three guys continued to move their hands over her body, concentrating mostly on her tits, which were being caressed and pinched almost constantly. The cock in her pussy was fucking her steadily, and her pussy was milking it with each thrust. Letting the man with the big cock hold her head in place and gently fuck in and out of her mouth, Toshia moved her hands over the other available men, grasping for their hard organs and stroking and pulling at them whenever she found them.

Toshia was loving all this attention, and was sure she would come again soon, but also thought there must be more efficient ways to do things. For one thing, she wasn't giving this deliciously thick cock the attention she wanted. She pulled her head back, and, once her mouth was clear, said, "Let me up for a second."

As soon as the guy fucking her pulled out, Toshia rolled over and got up on her hands and knees. Looking back over her shoulder at her erstwhile fucker, she said, "Carry on, but you boys need to take turns."

This made the guys all laugh. They cheerfully gathered around her again, hands all over her back, butt and tits, as that cock was pushed back into her waiting pussy. Toshia smiled at the guy with the big cock and said, "Now, bring that back over here."

The big man grinned down at her and pushed his hard cock down so she could get the head of it into her mouth. She took hold of the thick shaft with one hand began to work the fat, purple head in and out of her mouth. It was soon slick with her spit and sliding in and out of her throat with surprising ease. He held on to her head again, and she let go of him so that she could find another pair of cocks to stroke.

Behind her, her narrow waist was held tightly as a thick cock slid in and out of her grasping, wet pussy. She could feel the man's balls slapping against her clit as she felt his body pressing against her butt. With each thrust into her, Toshia was pushed onto the thick cock in her mouth and throat. She found herself grunting and moaning with animal abandon.

Abruptly, the cock was pulled out of her pussy and there was motion on the mattress. Then, without any preliminaries a second cock was pushed into her. Apparently the guy who did not have his cock in Toshia's mouth or one of her hands was now fucking her. She pushed back onto him to welcome him. It didn't take long for him to begin fucking her with enthusiasm, and she was again moaning around the thick organ in her mouth. Then, again abruptly, that cock was pulled out of her, and one of the cocks in her hands was withdrawn, only to be pushed a moment later deep into her pussy.

Toshia wished Don was here to see her fucking one guy after another in quick succession. She managed to glance to the side and saw her reflection in the mirrored wall. She was on her hands and knees, surrounded by men who were fucking her, while she deepthroated a hung stud. Don would love this!

Then there was another sudden change of cocks fucking her pussy. She felt a hand slipping up along her belly until the questing fingers found her clit, just beneath someone's thick cock fucking her pussy. Strung between two male shafts, with her tits being squeezed and someone playing with her clit, Toshia came again, groaning loudly. The big guy in front of her pulled his cock out of her mouth, so she could catch her breath.

Toshia looked up at him and the others with a happy grin, "Thanks, boys. Let's try something else."

She had the big stud lay down on his back, and she quickly straddled him. She took hold of his hard cock, and pushed the fat head of it up into her pussy. "Mmm, nice!" she smiled down at him. Then she slowly lowered herself so that the thick shaft filled her completely. She paused a moment to adjust to the girth – it was the biggest cock she'd had inside her since the Manor – and then began to fuck up and down on it. Soon she was rocking on that big prick, enjoying the feeling of it moving inside her as well as the hard body she was grinding down against.

The other guys clustered around her, their cocks in her face. She spent a few minutes moving from cock to cock, sucking on them each. Then, she concentrated on one, bobbing her head up and down on it vigorously and taking it down her throat. Pulling off it, then, she said to its owner, "Now get behind me and fuck my ass."

Toshia was already sucking another cock by the time she felt the head of a cock pushing against her butt. She relaxed and exhaled as her ass was penetrated. After her time with the satyr's she was pretty comfortable with this, even though the cock in her pussy was much larger than that of any of the satyrs. Toshia let herself revel in the feeling of having her mouth, pussy and ass well-filled by cock. In another moment, she was being fucked hard in the ass, as she tried to keep her mouth and hands busy on the three cocks in front of her. She had the middle cock deep in her throat, and the other two cocks in her tight grasp when she felt the unmistakable thrusting into her from behind that indicated her ass was about to be filled with cum. She moaned encouragement and kept sucking and stroking. The cock in her butt swelled and Toshia felt the warmth of hot jizz shooting up inside her.

As the guy behind her pulled out of her, she pulled back off the cock in her throat, looked up and said, "Your turn. Get back there and fill me up."

As that man hurried to comply, the other two guys closed ranks and she pulled both of their cocks to her mouth. She had both of their heads in her mouth as her ass accepted its second guest of the day. The guy fucking her ass had been ready to blow when he was down Toshia's throat, and now that her tight, strong ass was squeezing him in its hot grasp, he was only able to thrust a dozen deep and hard times before he exploded up inside her.

One of the guys in front of Toshia didn't wait to be told what to do, but hurried behind her to replace the man who now pulled out of her ass. This one hadn't been so close to coming, though, so he was able to give her a sound fucking. Shoving back onto him and the big cock underneath her, Toshia pulled the man in front of her closer and sucked his cock intently. She wanted to taste some delicious cum, and she meant to make this cock give it to her. One fist wrapped around the base of its shaft, she let him fuck in and out of her mouth and throat with abandon. All three cocks in her were plundering her body for every ounce of pleasure, and she was getting as good as she was giving. A series of rising orgasms blossomed at her clit and swept through her body, making her pussy and ass clasp hungrily at the cocks in them. Before she was finished coming, the cock in her ass erupted with what felt like a torrent of hot cum. That guy kept fucking her though, and was still hard inside her when the cock in her mouth swelled and a flood of cum filled her mouth. Toshia swallowed again and again, until there was no more to be had.

Slowly, gently, the cocks were withdrawn from her ass and mouth. Of the five men, only the guy beneath her hadn't come. Toshia felt a playful sense of accomplishment at this, and was about to ask the patient man how he wanted her, when there was squeaking sound as the cell gate was opened again. The four men who had come slipped out and another four came in.

"Oh my," Toshia said, noting that at least one of these newcomers was as well hung as the man in her pussy.

Seeing what was going on, the man underneath her suggested, "Turn around and sit on my cock, so you can fuck it while sucking them."

She laughed, and said, "Good idea."

She pulled herself up off him and turned around, squatting over his cock, which he held up for her. She sank down on it with a satisfied smile, and beckoned the new four guys over. As she began to take turns sucking and stroking these new cocks, the man underneath her lifted her by her waist and lifted and lowered her, while fucking up into her. The up and down motion helped her stroke and suck the cocks around her. Oblivious to everything but the good, steady fucking her pussy was getting, the strong hands on her waist, and the cocks in her mouth and hands, Toshia gave herself over to being the instrument of sexual pleasure for these strangers. Before she knew it, the cock in her left hand was spraying a thick stream of white cum over her forehead and down her cheek. Laughing, she tried to get her mouth on that cock before more escaped, but just as she did, the cock in her right hand erupted, shooting cum all over her neck and tits. Toshia sucked the remaining cum out of those two cocks before releasing them and turning her attention to the remaining two cocks, including the other really big one. For now, she concentrated on the smaller of the two, sucking on it enthusiastically while stroking the larger with her hands. When the cock in her mouth spewed its delicious load down her throat, Toshia knew that she was ready for something more, and thought that she should try to give the guy beneath her something of a treat.

She looked over her shoulder to explain what she had in mind, but then noticed that the cell gate was being opened again. Three new men were being admitted as the three who had just come left.

"How many men are there?" Toshia asked.

"Twenty six," the man smiled.

This exchange, which had been heard above, set off a raucous round of laughter among the spectators.

Toshia laughed and said, "OK, well, I'll worry about that later. For now, I want to try to take you up my butt. Be gentle!"

He lifted her up, and she reached down to catch his cock and then pushed it back so she could feel the big head of it pressed against her asshole. Her butt was still slippery with cum, and his cock was very slick with her juice, but he would be the biggest thing she'd ever had up her ass. Toshia thought, If I pull this off and live, I'm going back to the Manor and having the Player and Igor double-team me! Slowly he lowered her and she opened herself up, until the fat head was up inside her. "Goddamn that's big! Fuck, it feels good!" she exclaimed, realizing that she was making a spectacle for the audience above her. Then, she added, "You ought to try this Wanda."

This made the spectators erupt in raucous laughter, which then became applause.

Toshia took hold of the forearms of the man underneath her and pulled herself down further. She felt simultaneously that she was tearing herself apart and that she was having the most intense sexual moment of her life. She wasn't done, though. Once she was sure she had that big cock firmly up inside her, she leaned back and beckoned to the man with the other big prick who had been watching all of this with great interest. He knelt down in front of Toshia, and pushed his cock down until the head was brushing against her clit and pussy lips. "Put it in me," Toshia said. "Fuck my pussy with that big cock."

With a big grin on his face, this guy slowly pushed his cock into Toshia's waiting and very wet pussy. He wasn't even all the way in before Toshia began to come. Trembling all over and gasping, she managed to shout, "More! Give me more! Fill me with your cock!"

The man beneath her held her in place, while the man over her pushed all the way in and then began to fuck slowly and steadily in and out of her. Toshia found herself coming over and over again as these two big cocks moved inside her. She wrapped her legs around the waist of the man in front of her and urged him to fuck her harder. Soon he was fucking that big cock into her vigorously, and Toshia was gasping and grunting in time with the thrusts.

Slowly she became aware that the three new men were standing around watching the action and stroking their very hard cocks. Letting the man beneath her hold her in place, she reached out and caught one of the cocks and pulled it and the attached man closer. He bent his knees and Toshia leaned a bit to the side, so she could get her mouth on this new cock. The other guys came closer and one of them took hold of Toshia's free hand and placed it on his cock. She immediately began to pull and twist on it. The third man, directly over her, reached down to caress her hair and throat. Toshia responded to this by taking her mouth off the one cock and dropping her head back. She caught the balls of the man in front of her in her mouth and sucked on them, while continuing to stroke the cocks of the men on either side. The man whose balls she was sucking pulled back then and pushed his cock down so it could slide into her mouth. Toshia relaxed her throat and let him push into her. Soon he was fucking in and out of her mouth and throat steadily. Toshia lay back and let the cocks fucking her have their way with her; the only really active thing she was doing was stroking the two cocks on either side.

Surprisingly, it was the guy in her right hand who came first, shooting a stream of cum over her upturned and sweaty breast. Toshia could only feel the cum splatter over her tits and then running down her hand. Then, the man fucking her throat was pushing more insistently, and the shaft filling Toshia's mouth swelled as a thick flood of cum washed down her throat. She tried to swallow without choking, and was mostly successful. Before the guy on Toshia's left could take his place at Toshia's mouth, the guy fucking his big cock in and out of Toshia's pussy shoved extra hard into her and shot a big load of cum into her, which spilled out of her as he drew that thick shaft out of her. Without waiting to be told or invited, the guy who had been on Toshia's left hurried to get between her legs. She smiled down at him as he shoved himself into her, squishing more cum out of her. It took him only a few good thrusts before he added his own seed to Toshia's pussy.

Another three guys were waiting their turn, but Toshia held up her cum-covered hand. She said to the guy beneath her, "Let's roll over, so you can really fuck me."

This maneuver was carried off with surprising ease; the big man's strength and Toshia's small size no doubt helped. Now Toshia was on her hands and knees again, as the original big cock of the day fucked in and out of her ass with enthusiastic abandon. Toshia just shoved back on that wonderfully large cock and ignored everything else for the moment. There were guys all around her, pawing her and stroking their cocks, and one guy managed to worm his way underneath her, kissing and sucking at her nipples as she fucked. All she was thinking about was fucking that cock and taking his cum in her ass. After all his patience, it didn't take long for this steady, hard fucking to bring him off. Toshia smiled happily to herself as he pumped what felt like a gallon of cum into her bowels.

As he pulled out of her, she looked back at him and asked, "What's your name?"

"Victor," he smiled.

"Nice to meet you, Victor," she grinned. I'll have to find a way to bring him along when I get out of here. Then she was being pulled down on the hard cock of the man who had been underneath her. She rode this guy happily, taking the cock that was offered to her mouth as well. Then she felt someone behind her, and she turned to say, "Put it in my pussy, too."

The new guy laughed a little and nodded. He pushed the head of his cock down as the guy underneath Toshia pulled out. They put their heads together and slowly pushed into her.

"Mm, yeah," Toshia smiled and pushed back on them. "That's good. Fuck me together like that." She found herself wishing there were some way to get a cock into her ass, too, but contented herself with going back to sucking on the cock in front of her. She was amazed and delighted by how much her body could take, and how much pleasure it could give her. Her experiences in Eros had awakened the daring sexual explorer inside her. It didn't take long for the intense double-fucking she was getting to make her come yet again. Later, after this set of guys had all come and gone, and Toshia had completely lost count of how many men had come in and on her, she had another interesting idea.

She was now again, lying back on a man who had his cock up inside her ass, and had taken five guys in her pussy, and a sixth was now pushing himself into her. She put a hand on this sixth man's chest and said, "Try to get into my ass too."

"Ambitious," the man smiled. He pushed himself the rest of the way into her pussy, getting himself well coated with pussy juice and cum, and then pulled out. Working with the guy beneath her, he slowly pushed into her tight butt with his companion.

"Oh my god!" Toshia shouted. "Too much, too much! No, don't stop! Fuck me. Fuck my ass! I'm such a slut!"

With two cocks sliding in and out of ass, Toshia came in a spectacular, screaming display. She gasped and shook, clawing at the back of the man on top of her. They fucked her to two more orgasms, and then the man on top of her pulled out of her ass and moved around to push his cock into her eager mouth. She gave him a sloppy, enthusiastic blowjob until he pulled out and came messily all over her face and throat. Toshia laughed and pushed the cum into her mouth. Then the guy behind her rolled her over so that she was lying on her belly and he was fucking her ass hard and fast. When he finally came inside her, Toshia stayed in that position, letting the remaining half dozen guys, who might have been repeats for all she could tell, fuck her pussy or ass as they wanted. She was done coming, and was happy to just give herself up to these men who had given her so much pleasure.

When it was finally done, Toshia rolled over and looked up at the sisters. She finally saw Daphne watching her with a frown. Toshia smiled sleepily up at her and blew her a kiss.

The Stayrs have their way with Toshia.

Chapter 8 

Tracking Toshia

Don scrambled down the last gravelly decline and looked frantically about for any sign of Toshia. Now that he had finally managed to come down from the area that had been separated from the river by a steep cliff-face, Don found himself in a lightly forested, grassy hill country, through which the river ran rapidly. On the other side of the river, beyond a small, and empty, grass clearing, were more hills and a thicker forest. 

He, Nicole, Amy and Shelonda had followed the edge of the cliff, careful to keep an eye on the river below in case Toshia had managed to catch on to some outcropping or root. They had seen several cataracts – not too big, but large enough that anyone going over them would be plunged violently underwater. The last of those little waterfalls was only a dozen meters upriver from where Don stood now, making quite a bit of noise.

By the time the girls had caught up to him, Don was already moving downriver, hugging the waterside and looking frantically for evidence that Toshia had made it this far. It seemed that the river was gradually widening, and this meant that the current would ease up, so Don thought it was increasingly likely that Toshia would have been able to make it to shore. He thought he would probably find her waiting for them. He needed to remain convinced that he would find her impatient and wet. Still, not finding her at all was better than ... some alternatives.

After about ten minutes of his hurried chase down the river, he noticed that Nicole was trying to get his attention, calling, "Professor!"

Hoping she had spotted Toshia, he spun around, almost colliding with Shelonda, who had been trailing him closely.

"You better come look at this," Nicole said. She was looking out into the river. With a sinking heart, Don ran back to where Nicole and Amy stood.

"What is it?"

"There was something, or someone..." Nicole trailed off, staring intently at the water.

"I saw it too," Amy added.

"There!" Nicole pointed.

Sure enough, there was someone in the water. Moreover, this person seemed to be beckoning to them. Don moved closer, actually taking a few steps into the river. The beckoner disappeared under the water, only to resurface a few meters away from Don. He could now clearly see that it was a beautiful young woman with big eyes and long straight hair of dark, emerald green.

"Uh, hello," Don tried.

The green-haired young woman rose up out of the water, displaying pale, perfect breasts. She pointed upstream.

"Have you seen our friend?"

The woman repeated her gesture, more emphatically.

"Timmy's in the well?" Nicole smirked. Nobody laughed.

"I suppose she's saying we need to go back," Don said, stepping back on dry land.

"If she were here Toshia would say, 'You suppose?'" Amy said. She had already started heading back upriver.

Once they had backtracked to almost where they had finally reached the riverside, the woman in the water got their attention by splashing water at them. When they were looking, she pointed at a small clearing on the other side of the river, or at the trees beyond the clearing.

"Toshia went that way?" Don asked.

The woman nodded.

Without any hesitation, Don started into the water.

"Hold on a second, Professor!" Nicole said. When Don turned, impatience written clearly all over his face and posture, she said, "Maybe we should think about this for a minute."

"What? I can swim across that."

"Maybe," Nicole shrugged. "You don't know how fast the current is. But, that's not what I meant. We don't know anything about that woman," she nodded toward the green-haired stranger. "Maybe she's trying to lure you to a watery grave, or something. Maybe she did that to Toshia."

Getting into the spirit of things, Amy said, "And if Toshia got out of the river there, why didn't she stay there so we could find her?"

Don frowned at the girls. He knew they had good points, but he couldn't resist the conviction that Toshia could be in trouble and he had to do whatever he could to find her. Apparently he wasn't alone, because while he paused to consider Nicole and Amy's caution, Shelonda dove into the river and began crossing it, swimming a bit clumsily while holding onto her staff.

The green-haired woman watched Shelonda's progress with a smile, and made no move to interfere.

"Well, that's that," Don said, and promptly dove in after Shelonda. The current was strong, but not so strong that he couldn't compensate. After a couple of minutes, he was pulling himself out of the water. He smiled at Shelonda and said, "Thank you."

She just grinned back at him and shook the water out of her hair. Don found himself distracted by the way her tank top clung to her fit body and luscious tits. It had been an uncommonly long time since he'd had any release, after all. Shelonda broke his distracted train of thought by bending down to help Amy out of the river. Don turned to give Nicole a hand up onto the grassy bank. Once they were all on dry land, Don looked back ask the green-haired river maiden if she could give them any more information, but she was nowhere to be seen.

Don decided to reassert some direction, before the others started to succumb to the enflamed sex drive that was already making him painfully aware of the wet feminine bodies so near at hand. He said, "OK, well, if Toshia came up here, something must have made her leave. Otherwise, as Amy pointed out, she would be here waiting for us. So, let's look around and see if there's some kind of sign or evidence of ... something."

"There are animal tracks over here," Nicole said after a moment. The others gathered around a patch of dirt where a number of prints were clearly visible.

"Hoof prints," Don nodded. "Deer maybe... No, pigs, or goats maybe."

"Kind of big for goats, don't you think?" Nicole asked.

Don shrugged, "I know they're not horses or deer, but that's about it."

"It looks like someone went this way in a hurry," Shelonda said from further along the edge of the clearing.

"What do you mean?" Amy asked.

"Well, these little branches are broken, and those flowers are trampled, and look here – that's a footprint. It's about the right size for Toshia."

"How did you notice all that?" Amy asked.

Shelonda just shrugged, and kept moving into the woods, following the trail of minor destruction that she assumed had been left by Toshia.

"I say we follow Shelonda's lead," Don said, "but everyone try to remember how to get back here, in case we lose the trail or something."

Unfortunately, they had only gone deep enough into the woods to slightly diminish the sound of the river and that last little waterfall, before Shelonda drew up and shook her head, "I don't know where she went next."

"That's OK," Don said. "Let's think, if she'd been running this way, where would she run next?"

"Maybe that way," Shelonda pointed up the side of the hill in front of them. So, they all climbed up that hillside, moving slowly so Shelonda and the others could look for any sign of Toshia.

At the top of the hill, Amy held up her hand and hissed, "Shh!"

Everyone held their breath and strained their ears. Finally, Don asked, "What was it?"

"I don't know," Amy shook her head. "I thought I heard something – maybe a sex sound, maybe a Toshia sound. I think it came from off that way somewhere, but I can't be sure."

Don peered in the direction Amy had indicated, which was to the left of the way they'd been heading. He couldn't hear anything, but the river behind them.

Then Shelonda, who had moved around a large rock jutting out of the side of the top of this hill, said, "Oh, she went this way!"

The others quickly came around to join Shelonda, and they could all see the signs of someone crashing and sliding down far side of the hill.

"How do you know it was Toshia?" Nicole asked.

"Look," Shelonda pointed to a clear hand print in some wet dirt. If it hadn't been made by Toshia it had been made by a woman with a hand very close in size to her. Without waiting to see if the others agreed with her assessment, Shelonda followed the screed down to the base of the hill and then started up the next. Near the top, she paused, though.

"It was so clear, but now..." Shelonda said as Don came up next to her. "Oh, she turned this way!" and headed to the left.

"That's the direction I said, wasn't it?" Amy asked.

Don only nodded and followed after Shelonda, who seemed to have had some kind of hunting or tracking experience before she was brought to Eros. Combining this with her martial arts skills, Don thought she might have been in the military, though he knew it might just be that she'd had a parent who took her camping a lot and then later she took kung fu classes.

Following along after Shelonda, they made slow but steady progress along a line of hills that seemed to parallel the course of the river. Finally, after what must have been an hour, Shelonda led them up a particularly steep slope, where, Shelonda said, it was obvious that Toshia had climbed up using both her hands and feet. Just past the top of this steep slope, there was a small, leaf-carpeted clearing in front of a very large moss-covered fallen tree trunk.

"Whoa! I smell sex!" Amy announced.

Don could smell it too – not only the smell he loved so well of Toshia's aroused sex, but also of male cum, and quite a bit of both.

"There's cum all over these leaves," Nicole noticed.

"Someone's been having fun," Amy laughed.

"It's hard to tell with the leaves," Shelonda said, "but it looks like Toshia tripped on that root there and fell here. Then someone had sex against that tree, and then more sex over there, on those leaves with the cum on them."

"I'm starting to think Toshia doesn't need our help," Amy smiled.

"Why was she running through the woods, then?" Nicole asked. Clearly, after the incidents with the sex-plants and the attack over the river, Nicole had adopted a much more cautious attitude toward Eros. Don thought that attitude was entirely appropriate.

"If it was Toshia having sex here, and I agree that it probably was," Don said, "we should assume that it was against her will. But even if she was having fun, that doesn't mean she doesn't still need our help or that we ought to just abandon her."

Nicole and Amy nodded their agreement, the former a bit more emphatically than the latter. Shelonda was already checking out the brush around the clearing. "They went this way," she announced at last.

As they all fell in behind Shelonda, Don asked, "Are you sure?"

"Yes," she said quietly, "but I think Toshia was being carried, and there are more of those hoof prints."

The path they were following was more or less straight, angling upstream and away from the river. Though Shelonda said the trail was pretty easy to follow – "they were all together and not trying to be sneaky" – it was quickly getting dark, which slowed them down considerably.

"What do you mean 'they were all together'?" Don asked. "How many were there?"

"Three or four, plus Toshia, I think," Shelonda said. "We're going to have to stop soon. I can't follow them in the dark."

"What's that?" Nicole asked, pointing ahead through the trees and deep shadows.

"A light?" Amy suggested.

"Probably a campfire," Shelonda decided. "I can follow that in the dark."

"OK, but we need to be careful. It could be a trap," Don said. "We move slow and quiet, and nobody does anything crazy, alright?"

The women nodded back at him. He was glad they all seemed to be taking this seriously.

Shelonda took the lead, and the others moved behind her. Step by cautious step the fire in the distance grew until they could make out figures near it. Shelonda led them down into and then along a low gulley that kept them from seeing the fire for about five minutes. When she climbed quietly up the far side of the gulley, she stopped when her head was just over the top edge. Don joined her, lying on the ground next to her, looking at the campfire which was now not so distant. While it was easy for Don, Shelonda and the others to see what was going on around the campfire, those in that bright circle of light couldn't possibly see into the darkness of the forest where Don and company now spied upon them.

"What are those?" Shelonda whispered in honest, open curiosity.

"They look like satyrs," Don whispered back, while simultaneously gaping.

There by the campfire was Toshia. She was on her hands and knees, while what looked to Don like a half-man-half-goat creature was clearly fucking her vigorously from behind. There was another satyr in front of Toshia, and she was stroking its very erect cock. Toshia looked over her shoulder at the satyr behind her and said, "That's it Scratch, keep fucking me!" Then she pulled the one in front of her closer and began to suck its cock.

"Now that looks like fun!" Amy whispered in Don's ear with a grin.

A third satyr came into view and promptly flopped on its back and scooted under Toshia, reaching up to play with her tits as the swayed over his face while she was being fucked.

The three women were, like Don, transfixed and turned on watching their lost companion enjoying the rough pleasures of satyr-loving. They watched intently as Toshia pulled herself off the cock behind her only to lower herself down on the one beneath her. The satyr she'd called Scratch wasted almost no time, then in pushing himself into Toshia's ass from behind. During these maneuvers Toshia hadn't taken her mouth off the cock in front of her. Toshia's happy grunts and moans, along with those of the satyrs, carried easily in the night air.

Amy declared quietly, "And that looks likea lot of fun!"

While he was watching all of this, Don was acutely aware of his own, very stiff, cock, and the presence of the women on either side of him. Shelonda was breathing heavily, and Amy was moving her hand up the back of his leg.

"What's it going to be, then, Professor?" Amy asked. "Do we bust in and 'rescue' her, or just join the party?"

"She might not want to be interrupted at the moment," Nicole observed quietly.

"Well, someone better 'interrupt' me soon," Amy breathed.

"That does look like fun, Don," Shelonda added.

Don had to admit that he had little to no interest in making the women wait much longer for sex. He thought there was a chance that Toshia might get hurt if they startled the satyrs, but he couldn't think of any way of doing that and not also giving them a chance to carry her off in the night. They did seem pretty distracted by fucking Toshia.

By now Shelonda was biting Don's shoulder as she played with herself, her arm between her body and the earth, and Amy's hand was on his ass. Yes, something had to give.

"OK," Don said, "this is what we're going to do." He stopped talking then, because he hadn't heard the "we're going to do" part. He tried, "That's weird!" but didn't hear that either. Then he noticed that he couldn't actually move and that the fire-lit scene in front of him was rapidly fading to black.

Alarmed, he tried shouting, "Hey!" but not only did he hear nothing but he was pretty sure his mouth hadn't even opened. Then, everything was black, and he thought he must be asleep.

Chapter 9

Toshia's Frustration

Toshia was tied up again. This time, though, she was sitting down. She was tied to a wooden frame chair with a low back. Her arms were tied together behind her, bound at the wrists to each other and the chair. Her legs were tied at the ankles (to the legs of the chair) and at the knees (to the posts that supported the ends of the arms of the chair), so that she couldn't close her thighs. Other than that, she was comparatively comfortable, particularly in relation to being tied to that damned X-cross. Beyond that, though, she actually thought her situation was much worse.

Shortly after passing out on the big, red-sheet and cum covered mattress, Toshia had been dragged out of the men's quarters and been washed down, first by several buckets of cold water, and then by a pair of serving girls who must have been chosen for their lack of gentleness. Then, she had been tied down spread-eagled on the stone floor in a room off the main hall where she'd been on display earlier. She was left there overnight and well into the morning. Toshia really hadn't minded that bit, though. Once she'd gotten used to the cold stone against her back, she'd been quite content to sleep. The lack of sleep from the previous two nights, each of which she'd spent tied up in one way or another, as well as the exertions of her hours of sex with the men, had left her in desperate need of unconsciousness. Still, she'd awakened hours before anyone had come to check on her, and the feeling of isolation that swept over her was brutal.

Toshia had never doubted that Don must be trying to find her. She expected him to burst in and rescue her at any moment. Or, at least, she had. It was becoming increasingly difficult for her not to think that something terrible had happened to Don. In her more selfish moments she feared that he might have given up on her and decided to return to the Manor. More often, though, she didn't doubt his devotion to her, but worried that he might have gotten hurt or worse and couldn't get to her. Of course, the most likely scenario, she thought, was that he was looking but simply couldn't find her.

In any case, the solitary confinement was ultimately lifted. She was untied, allowed to eat, and then tied to this chair, which was then hoisted up and carried into a big chamber off the main hall. This room was obviously the feast hall of the castle. Four large, heavy tables dominated the four quadrants of the chamber. There were also quite a few colorful pillows and mattresses here and there. There were, at first, no sisters present – only half a dozen serving girls who were cleaning up, refilling fruit bowls, and doing various other domestic tasks. Toshia and her chair were set on a raised platform at one end of the room, and then left alone for at least an hour.

Then, Daphne came into the room and walked straight up to Toshia. The leader of the Sisterhood was wearing a crude metal breast plate and loin cloth, and was covered in perspiration, as if she had been engaged in vigorous exercise. She had her long, black hair pulled back in a ponytail. With an expression devoid of personal interest or compassion, Daphne checked the bonds around Toshia's wrists and knees. When she was satisfied, she placed her hands on Toshia's bare thighs and leaned forward so that her face was directly in front of and very close to Toshia's own.

"You put on quite a show yesterday, pup," Daphne said with contempt. "That got me wondering if you can take it as well as dish it out. Tonight we're going to put on the show and you have to sit there and watch – just watch."

Toshia realized the beautiful woman might just have discovered her Achilles' heel. Since waking up in Eros, Toshia had been acutely aware of the powerfully aphrodisiac effect seeing other people having sex had upon her. Watching Don with the Nymphets and then spying on people through the window/mirrors in the secret passage, had, in less than an hour, demolished her resistance to sleeping with her friend. Still, she certainly didn't want to let Daphne have the upper hand, so she smiled nonchalantly and said, "Bring it on, bitch."

Daphne chuckled and left her sitting there.

Another hour or so passed, with Toshia sitting there alone with her chair and her thoughts, before the sisters began to come into the hall. They had left their armor and weapons behind, and were wearing much more feminine garb. Brigit was wearing a long blue skirt with slits running way up both sides, and a necklace of flowers that almost looked like a Hawaiian lei. The flowers rested on top of her impressive, full, and very naked breasts. Other women were wearing open robes, loosely belted togas, sarongs, and the like. Daphne came in later, with only the robe she'd worn the day before barely covering her tits; her hair was loose now and fell over her shoulders. No one paid any attention to Toshia, but proceeded to eat, drink and be merry.

Judging from what she could overhear, most of the conversation going on centered on fighting and physical training. Apparently the women spent a large portion of each day working out and practicing with their weapons. Toshia thought that Don and Shelonda would have their hands full fighting these women. Of course, given the filling nature of the fruit they were eating and the stimulating qualities of the XYZ they were drinking as water and eating with the fruit, it didn't take long before sex was breaking out all around the room.

Toshia watched as, off to her right, a blonde woman carried on joking with her friends across the table while a woman with short brown hair lowered her face to the blonde's breasts and ran her hand up between her thighs. Just a short distance down that table, the big, freckled redhead who had licked Toshia's cheek her first day here was sitting up on the edge of the table with her strong thighs spread as another woman bent down to go down on her pussy. The redhead held the woman's head in place with one hand while pinching and twisting her own nipples with the other.

On Toshia's left, a particularly attractive pair of amazons were making out passionately, naked breasts pressed together, and muscular arms straining as they reached down to play with each other against the hard surface of the bench they straddled. Beyond them, Brigit sat with her back to the table, and a warrior woman on either side of her. Toshia watched intently as the two women kissed and sucked on Brigit's breasts and worked their hands up under her skirt. Then she noticed that Brigit was watching her in turn and smiling mischievously. Toshia felt her cheeks burning with embarrassment and excitement. Her pulse was already racing a bit, and she could feel the wetness and heat of her pussy.

In another fifteen minutes it seemed that there was nowhere she could turn her gaze and avoid seeing these women in some sexual act. Now there were women writhing on the floor around her, locked in 69s or twisting in muscular, feminine daisy chains. The aroma of womanly arousal filled the air. Daphne had known what she was doing, alright, Toshia realized. This was the easily the worst torment she'd undergone – to see all this unbridled and glorious sex on display right in front of her, assaulting her senses, and yet be unable to participate or even to touch herself where she desperately needed to be touched! Toshia tried to tell herself that this was just another test for her, to see how much she could take. She had pushed her own limits as to what she could do with her body to give and receive pleasure, and now she had to see how much frustration she could stand.

Toshia finally caught sight of Daphne, who was coming back into the room, followed by some serving girls, including the petite brunette who Toshia thought must be Nina – the girl who had bathed and fed Toshia and given her a sweet and all too singular orgasm in the middle of the night two nights ago. The servants brought with them a chair similar to the one Toshia was tied to, and set it down in a currently clear part of the floor directly in front of Toshia's but several meters away.

With her cold blue eyes on Toshia's, Daphne sat down in the chair. With one hand, Daphne reached into her robe and cupped her own breast. Toshia watched as the woman licked her own lips and smiled cruelly across the space between them. Then Daphne moved her hand lower, parting her long, firm legs until Toshia could clearly see the pink lips of her pussy. Sure that she had Toshia's attention, Daphne pushed the robe back, exposing her breasts. As much as she hated the woman – particularly in that moment – Toshia could not deny that Daphne was a strikingly beautiful woman. She also knew that she would give anything right now to be untied so she could get her hands on that woman, to kick her, scratch at her, beat her – to get her fingers into that woman's pussy, to kiss and bite that cold smile off her face, to make her cry out as she came on Toshia's mouth.

Toshia ground her teeth together and sat still.

As if she could read Toshia's mind, Daphne made a gesture, and Nina, who had been waiting patiently naked behind the chair, came around and knelt between Daphne's legs. Daphne ran her fingers through Nina's hair almost affectionately, as the girl leaned forward. Toshia could only watch the muscles of Nina's thin back as she brought her mouth to Daphne's pussy. Toshia remembered the feeling of Nina's tongue and lips on her own pussy and clit, and watched as Daphne relaxed in her chair, eyes half closed, but still watching Toshia. One hand still caressed Nina's hair, and the other now cupped her own breast.

As Daphne's head rolled back a little and the muscles of her arm showed that she was pinching her own nipple hard, Toshia felt a moan that was almost a whimper building up in her own breast. She had never in her life been so enflamed with sexual desire. She knew that a big factor in her frustration was that release was positively denied her. If she thought she would be allowed to come sometime soon, she would bear this restraint more or less cheerfully, almost enjoying the furiously burning excitement in her body. But the fact that there was no satisfaction coming for her was making Toshia wild with frustration.

Still, she struggled to maintain an outward appearance of calm, even when it became apparent that the warrior women, who denied themselves all day and kept themselves in peak physical condition, were going to keep this orgy going for hours.

To be continued.

By BradentonLarry for Literotica

[ramonadecember]

For Nikka:

Eros 2, 5

Philia 3, 4

Storge 5

Agape 2, 5

Ludus 5

Pragma 2

Philautia 1, 3, 5

oc love asks.

like I was telling you, I feel like I over-answered all of these cause I was trying hard not to make Nikka sound like a total prick lmfao.

—

Eros/2: sex in a relationship is pretty important to Nikka in the sense that like… that’s pretty much the basis of his relationships, ha. they sure aren’t feelings-based, Nik won’t allow for that. it was too complicated and risky when he was in the Circles (or… bouncing around them). since then, he’s also found it to be a good way to convey words and feelings that he can’t make himself express/let himself actually have (see: his entire relationship with Cullen). but the more he distance himself from his years in a Circle, and the more he grows… I don’t think he’d see it as quite as ‘vital’ anymore, because there finally is more to relationships. 

Eros/5: Nikka doesn’t put too much thought into his looks, so it doesn’t factor in a whole lot to his self-confidence. he knows he’s a fairly handsome guy, and that’s nice and all, but it doesn’t really matter. the only time his confidence in his appearance kind of take a hit is when he starts getting with Cullen who’s like… 10-15 years (haven’t settle on an exact age) his junior. Cullen is like the human embodiment meant of heroic carved statue and, and he is… an old mage who shows how much he’s been beaten down by the world. but even then, there’s bigger issues in their relationship than if he’s hot enough for Cullen and it still doesn’t factor in a whole lot, ha. 

Philia/3: patience and understanding are probably things that Nikka, even if he isn’t specifically looking for that, could use in his friendships. surprising absolutely no one, Nikka has a bad habit of saying or doing the exact wrong thing or making situations worse, but the thing is… for the most part, he is really trying. yeah, he definitely sometimes purposefully says bitchy, biting things as a defensive mechanism, but that’s a whole separate issue. this is just… Nik trying his best in social situations and still not quite getting there/coming off in ways he doesn’t intend. it’s why he really really appreciates people like Iron Bull who, for some reason unbeknownst to everyone, including Nik, thinks Nikka is absolutely hilarious. bff’s.

Philia/4: Nikka has a hard time making friends with anyone, but definitely with people really different from him, at least like… when it comes to their views. this kinda goes with Philautia/3, in that he’s… kinda judgmental, so if he doesn’t have people on the same page as him, he tends to struggle more than usual, mostly because he just uhhh. doesn’t try. you know that like ‘this isn’t a disagreement over pizza toppings’ thing re: when you can disagree about things and still be friends? there’s very few of Nik’s beliefs that he sees as trivial enough to be on that level. 

Storge/5: it’s not a singular person that Nikka has loved unconditionally, but a group—any of the young mages that found themselves in the circle. Nik may act like his heart is made of ice, but he has such a soft spot them, loves them like they are his own kin, wants to care for them and protect them at all costs, and he has no expectation of anything back from any of them in return. they can hate him for all he cares (and I’m sure some of them do—loving them also means calling them out on shit, and we know Nikka can be fairly… blunt, to put it nicely), so long as they’re safe. it’s probably a reflection of the type of love he didn’t feel he got. and it’s also not something he has afforded to others besides the little magelings.

Agape/2: I know what you’re getting at here because I’ve shared the ‘Nikka loves weather’ fact recently lol, and he does, and he loves nature, and all things outside in general, but I dunno that he considers that a necessarily ~spiritual~ connection (mostly because he doesn’t consider himself much or a spritual person, period), just a byproduct of a few decades of captivity. the feelings that it inspires though, the thrill and sense of freedom and peace that comes from simple things like lying in tall grass or feeling mud between his toes or snowflakes sticking in his eyelashes… it probably is akin to something spiritual.

Agape/5: Nikka really does not even try to empathize with his enemies. if you are against him, or he perceives you as against him, then that’s that. he can maybe be a little too black and white on things like that, refusing to acknowledge nuance or exceptions to rules (rules which he has determined, which aren’t always fair). it takes a lot of outside coercion/convincing to convince Nikka to like, maybe not be so harsh in his judgment at all times. sometimes the enemy perceives is not nearly as great as he makes it out to be (see: his detestation for all Templars on principle, for one example).

Ludus/5: answered heeere.

Pragma/2: the biggest challenge Nikka has had to overcome while in a relationship is probably like… what made that same relationship such a struggle in the first place, and that’s his distrust (and honestly, hate) that he has for Templars on principle. as I’ve said before, Cullen and him have history, and just about none of it good, and so when you combine those things, then… it was a big struggle. Nikka needed to work through lot of biases/prejudices and uhhh, stop lashing out at Cullen unjustifiably (it…wasn’t a good relationship at first, if you could even call it that) and decide if he wanted to try to make a relationship actually work. believe it or not it was also a Templar who helped Nikka through a lot of it, because despite the positions they find themselves in now, in now, Samson was once the one Templar Nik ever trusted, and now he’s sitting in the Inquisiton’s dungeon…

Philautia/1+5: putting these together because they’re really similar in this case. when Nikka was younger, his view of his own worth/value was a little skewed… he’d been willingly given up by his parents, he’d been told verything about him was bad and wrong simply because he’d developed magic, he learned that at best he was a tool to serve others. Nikka was so angry about all of that, and he stewed in that anger. and over time, that opinion of himself changed over time, learning that being a mage didn’t make him any lesser, refusing to see himself that way or to let anyone make him feel like less than he is. it’s why, after he decides that he’s actually going to stay with the Inquisition and not flee into the night, he has to put some work into not going on a power trip. because it’s be really great to show people how powerful he is and how he’s not to be messed with. 

Philautia/3: Nikka is definitely a little judgey, and a little hypocritical in that judgment. he seems to have excuses/justifications for all of his behavior (I have never done anything wrong in my life.jpg) and why it should be acceptable/why it isn’t that bad. Nik has a bit of a complex about how like… he’s earnedsome leeway after how much shit he’s been through. but he doesn’t tend to afford the same to other people, and Nik can be pretty… harsh in response. it’s something he’s working on, even if it doesn’t seem like it/seem like it’s going well lmao. 

#Cullen and him get their shit together it’s FINE #oc: nikka trevelyan #dragon age #oc tag #oc memes #ask memes

[thecosmicmushroom]

Just a little drabble from the Star Dads server that might turn into something more down the line... 😏

Prompt: Cloudburst

“Are you kidding me?”

Luke’s furious shriek disappears under a cloudburst. Heavy droplets drag his hair down, flatten it to his scalp in seconds. Despite his best efforts, the notebook and papers in his arms soak up every molecule of moisture in the air. With eyes to match the sudden weather, he stares down at the sodden, ruined essay he spent the last four hours typing.

He howls again, throwing the whole mess down on the steps before crumpling there, too. As an afterthought, he twists around and shouts, “I hope your booty call is worth it, asshole!”

Something about that stings worse than being locked out of his own apartment, losing hours of word, or even being caught out in the rain. Knowing Han, the selfish prick, is up there right now, adding another conquest to his Excel spreadsheet—seriously, what kind of pervert keeps a spreadsheet?—while he’s down here, drenched and alone as ever. Wasn’t college supposed to be the time to let loose and experiment?

What a joke, Luke thinks, slipping his glasses off haphazardly, fingerprints be damned. The wire bridge of the frames dig into his palms as he presses the backs of them into his closed eyelids and fights not to cry.

What he doesn’t expect to find when he blinks bleary eyes back open is the face of a small, bright-eyed child less than an inch from his own.

“Whoa, little guy,” he yelps, one hand flying to his chest like he’s in a bad ‘50s sitcom. Coughing to disguise the wheeze of his breath, desperately wishing he hadn’t left his inhaler behind alongside his raincoat and the spare key Han promised he wouldn’t need. “Where did you come from?”

That sweet face, half hidden behind a frankly eye-gouging green scarf, lights up, and a little mitten-covered hand flies up, pointing toward the apartment next door. Luke follows the line of his arm, and that’s when he sees him.

And he’s pretty sure his heart stops.

“Kid, you can’t run off like that,” the shirtless Adonis says in a gentle voice. He crouches down, the very picture of Eros with rainwater tracing the hard lines of his body, apparently unconcerned with the deluge going on around him. When he holds out his hands, the little boy runs giggling into them, shrieking with joy as he’s lifted into the air.

“Patoo, patoo,” he babbles, slapping the man’s cheek in excitement with one hand while waving at Luke with the other.

If his door would only open—or if his roommate could spontaneously grow a conscience—he might have turned and run before being pinned in place by that soft, dark gaze. Instead, his entire body floods with warmth, skin on fire even as the rain cools it, and it’s a wonder he doesn’t start steaming. Those eyes dart over to the locked door, and Luke’s heart drops to the approximate vicinity of hell itself as they spot the red-hot panties hanging from the knob simultaneously.

“I-I—” he tries, throat closing in shame and embarrassment, and it’s all he can do not to simply hide his face in his hands until the man and his adorable child leave.

“Did you want to come inside?”

He almost misses that the words are meant for him, so busy planning his escape from the situation and possibly from life before humiliation does the deed for him. All he can manage is a blank stare.

The man cocks his head, jerks it back toward his open door. “It’s pretty cold out here, and you’re soaked through. We were just making cocoa. You’re welcome to join us to get out of the rain for a bit.”

The question-without-a-question hangs there, dangling all the possibilities in front of his face, and funny enough, it’s his own words that make the decision for him.

Wasn’t college supposed to be the time to let loose and experiment?

He sends a silent thanks to that bastard, Solo.

“Yeah,” he croaks, blushing from his hairline to the tips of his toes. Determined, he clears his throat and smiles a little too wide. “Yeah, I think I’d like that.”

#dinluke #din x luke #skydalorian #fanfiction #dinluke server

[sallyf4ce]

wolves

chapter III

-> sallyfacexf!reader

-> enemies? to lovers

-> previous | next

cw: drugs, cigarettes, abuse, violence

*does not follow original plot of sally face*

summary: (y/n) wakes up early to avoid sally. sally’s upset that he did something wrong yesterday. (y/n)’s first meeting with travis isn’t the nicest.

The incessant beeping of your alarm tugs you out of your dreamless sleep.

The sticky tears on the ground remind you of yesterday’s events, but you disregard them. All you want to do is take a shower, throw on your jacket and get out the door. You slowly clamber up off the ground and across the living room to turn off the alarm. After making sure it’s not on snooze, you drag your sore body to the shower. It smells like smoke and lots of cleaning supplies. This place is fucking gross. Is it even monday?’ you check the calendar. It is, in fact, monday. You strip and turn the shower handle.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><

You're so glad that you chose to wake up early. Usually kids this far from school drive or get picked up by the bus, but you prefer to use your skateboard. That’s why you get up at 6:30, so you have enough time to get ready and get to school on time. Sanity’s fall quietly played as you washed your breakfast plate and cup, brushing grease residue off the greyish porcelain. You wonder if Sal is awake yet. Probably not. You know, waking up early ensures that you won't see him in the morning. The guy’s not that bad, his eyes just freak you out a little.

Pulling the pink glove off your prosthetic, you wipe your hands with a towel and move to the closet to put your shoes on.

“Jacket, jacket, jacket, jacket.” you mumble, eyebrows knitted. “Where are you?” oh, right, you left it in your room.. With poppy. Was that even her name? You kind of just decided it for her.

Alright, don't be a pussy. Just go in and grab the jacket. You sucked in a breath and opened the door to your room.

“Eeh! A teenager! What’s your name, little lady?” her blond ponytail bounced with every sentence. This was the first time you could get a good look at her. She didn't really have feet, just bloody stumps where they used to be.

“Holy fuck, you’re so loud!” your hands covered your ears.

“Ahh, so sorry! I haven't used my voice in years.” she coughs.

“S’ fine... Can I just- just grab my jacket?” you point at the green pile amidst the boxes all around the room. You didn't get a chance to set up.

“Go ahead!” she nods and smiles.

“Alright. uh, listen, lady. This-” you motion towards the whole room. “Is my room. I live here now. I get that you, like, can't leave this place and shit, but could you maybe sit quietly while i set up later? I really need to clean my room up. I’ll set up a little chair place for you or whatever, so you could sleep at night.” you mumble the last part, embarrassed about your hospitality.

“I can’t sleep.” she smiles, her teeth surprisingly shiny for a ghost’s. God, she’s so preppy that you forgot she’s dead.

“Pretend to then, i dont fucking know. Alright, i have to go. Just… don't cause trouble.” grabbing the jacket, you begin shutting the door. “My name’s (y/n), by the way.”

You can hear her squeals as you leave the apartment. You decide to take the elevator because you don't feel like running down the stairs with a heavy ass bag on your back.. Stepping in, you press the main floor button. It looks like there’s a bit of sticky stuff around it. gross. Syrup? You hoped so.

The elevator dings and you step out, heading out the front doors. It’s cloudy. Again. Not a surprise, really. Keeping your eyes on the gravel, you set down your skateboard and begin your journey to school.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Sal’s point of view:

“She probably went on without us, man. Don’t know why you're worrying so much.'' Larry leaned back into the bus seat.

“It’s not that, Larry face. Yesterday, when we left…” was it my fault? Did i scare her? Did she see my face through the mask? Fuck.

“What is it? Spit it out, sally dude.” he pulled the cigarette out of his mouth and puffed the smoke out the window.

“I think i scared her, larry. I think she saw my face.” i let out a shaky breath. God, everything was going good. Why the fuck does this stupid face ruin everything?

“Did you- did you take your mask off?” he sat up in the seat, eyes wide.

“No. She probably saw it through my mask.”

“I still dont get it. Explain more, dude.”

“She looked so scared. We made eye contact, and she, like, panicked. Her eyes widened and then she threw me out. It was definitely my eyes. We were fine the whole night, i dont know why she freaked out.”

Larry let out a long hum. He was probably trying to piece things together. Anyway, she definitely went to school earlier than us. I can ask her about it there.

“Woah, sally face. Calm down or you’ll go bald.” larry’s hands pulled mine off my pigtails. Huh, i didnt even notice.

“Thanks, dude. I think we’re here.”

Your point of view:

It was around eight o’clock by the time you arrived. Kids were already piling out of buses and cars, standing by the school’s entrance and conversing with their friends. You definitely felt some eyes on you. That was expected, though. They didnt recognize you, and nockfell didnt seem like a town with many new people. Thinking back to yesterday, sal and larry mentioned some bully kid. Probably wouldnt be hard to spot him.

“Watch it, goth freak!” a pair of hands gripped onto your shoulders.

Ah, what a coincidence.

“Get the fuck off me, fucking prick.” he twitched as you gripped onto his hands and pushed him away.

“Is that a metal hand? Ha, you’re a fucking cripple! How pathetic.” he chuckled. Blond hair draped itself across his forehead, definitely not complimenting the purple shade of his shirt and eye. School fight? or daddy issues? Who knows. I mean, you’re not one to speak, your dad’s literally dead.

“Let me guess, you’re that bully fucker they talked about. God, isnt there enough troubled kids in Nockfell?” you rolled your eyes, just wanting to get to school.

When you said you had bad luck, you really meant it, because all of a sudden, his fist landed on your face.

Are you fucking serious?

You just moved here yesterday and you’ve already been fucked up twice. You can’t keep taking hits, (y/n)! You gotta dish some out!

Sighing in disbelief, you reached out to your gushing nose.

“Mother.” you flicked the blood off your prosthetic hand. “Fucker.”

At this, travis bolts. You drop your bag and get back on your skateboard, weaving through the crowd to get to that shrimpy little fuck.

“I’m so fucking done with nockfell.” blood trails down the side of your face as you lock your eyes on the blond mop of hair in front of you.

Do you jump? Or let him get away?

Nah, you jump.

The skateboard shoots out beneath you as you kick off. He lets out a strangled cry as you land on his back and send him to the concrete. A few whoops can be heard from the kids far behind you.

“Fuck, i’m sorry! Get off me!” he scrambles beneath you.

“Now you’re fucking sorry?”

He doesnt say anything. You slowly climb off, keeping a hand on his neck.

“Pussy.” a snicker escapes you.

“What’d you just-” the hand on his neck squeezes tighter and shuts him up.

“What’s your name again?”

“Tr-travis, fuck.”

“Travis, huh? Well, travis-”

“(Y/n)? What are you doing on Travis?”

Sal’s point of view:

Me and larry were getting off the bus when we heard a bunch of cheering. Weird. I looked in the direction larry was staring. Hold on, that’s travis and some other kid on top of him.

“Sally face! I think that’s fucking (Y/n)! Holy shit!” larry shakes my shoulder. That’s actually her! What is she doing on travis?

“Larry, c’mon, we have to go get her off!” i try pulling him away, but he doesnt budge.

“No way, man! I wanna see her beat him up! She’s doing what you won’t let me do!” he smiles wide. Fuck, i guess i’ll just have to go alone. Larry frowns as i drop my bag and begin running towards them. I’m not letting her get in trouble on the first day. I hear her say something to him as i come closer.

“(Y/n)? What are you doing on travis?”

She looks up in surprise. Holy shit, she’s bleeding!

“I’ve gotten fucked up twice in the past 24 hours. I’m not letting this fuck get away with it.” She snarls. As bad as i feel, she’s kind of attractive, bloody and feral like that. God, what the fuck? Not time for this, sal.

“Oh my god, (y/n)! Here, uh, get up and i’ll take you to the office.”

Your point of view:

You look back at travis. There’s a visible blush on his face, and he’s staring straight at sally.

Oh.

OH.

A smirk forms on your face.

“No thanks, porcelain face. Me and blondie here will go by ourselves. Right?”

He growls, but you tighten your grip on his neck again and he nods.

“Uh, okay. Do you want me to take your skateboard or something?” Sal scratches his head and changes the topic. Just a sliver of jealousy can be found in him, but he is grateful for the nickname. It suits him.

Your expression darkens for a second, all of a sudden feeling possessive of your skateboard. He’s not touching it. It was your dad’s.

“No. Take my bag or something.” you nod towards it by the entrance of the school, where it sits. He obeys and gets up to pick up your bag. You pull travis up with you, blood dripping down your shirt and an arm around his shoulders. Sal’s quite a bit away at this point.

“You gay?” you hum. Travis’s back straightens and fear flashes through his eyes. How did you know? How the fuck did you know?

“No! Fuck you, you’re just a pussy who thinks she knows everything-” he starts yelling, trying to get away, but you interrupt him.

“God, shut up. You’re making my head hurt more. It’s okay, you know. I wont fucking tell anyone about your little self exploration journey.” you pat him on the back and he flushes.

“Fuck, you’re so sappy it’s disgusting.”

“I’m not gonna be a dick to someone because of their sexuality, fuckass. I’m not that low. Let’s get to the school.”

taglist: @dream-of-eros @potatochic2003 @mr-bombastic @purelydarling @ghostfacefricker6969 @deadpoetsandhoney

#sally face x reader #ashley campbell #larry johnson #sal fisher x reader #sally face

[latte-fairytaekwoon]

❥𝓔𝓻𝓸𝓼 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓟𝓼𝔂𝓬𝓱𝓮

𝑃𝑎𝑖𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔: 𝐸𝑟𝑜𝑠! 𝐾𝑎𝑛𝑔 𝑌𝑒𝑜𝑠𝑎𝑛𝑔 × 𝑃𝑠𝑦𝑐ℎ𝑒! 𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑟 (𝐹𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑒)

𝐺𝑒𝑛𝑟𝑒: 𝐹𝑙𝑢𝑓𝑓, 𝐴𝑛𝑔𝑠𝑡, 𝐿𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑆𝑚𝑢𝑡, 𝐹𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑠𝑦/𝐺𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑘 𝑀𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑦 𝐴𝑈.

𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑑 𝐶𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡: 11.8𝐾

𝑊𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠: 𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑣𝑦 𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑔𝑖𝑜𝑛, 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑝, 𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠, 𝑚𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑠/ 𝑑𝑒𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑒𝑠, 𝑠𝑢𝑔𝑔𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑠𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑠, 𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑢𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑑𝑒, 𝑑𝑒𝑐𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑘, 𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡.

~"𝑀𝑦 𝑠𝑜𝑢𝑙 𝑚𝑎𝑑𝑒 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑠𝑜𝑢𝑙 𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑚𝑒𝑡.

𝑊ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝐼 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝑙𝑎𝑖𝑑 𝑚𝑦 𝑒𝑦𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢, 𝐼 𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑔𝑛𝑖𝑧𝑒𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢.

𝑌𝑜𝑢 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑑 𝑚𝑦 𝑓𝑢𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑠." - 𝐴𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑎 𝐾𝑟𝑖𝑧𝑧𝑎𝑛.

━━━━━━━༺۵༻━━━━━━━

"Eros, my darling son.......come here for a minute."

The golden haired goddess gently stroke the dove that was nestled in her embrace, her eyes fixated on the ray of light that shone through the crystal windows of her palace.

She heard the footsteps of her beloved child stop right in front of her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him bend down in obeisance to her, his arm rested across his chest.

"Yes mother?" The snowy white haired deity awaited her instructions.

"I've been rather uneasy lately my love. Very uneasy." She waved her hand and he slowly rose up, eyes meeting hers.

"Why is that?"

The Olympian got up from her seat, sending the little dove flying away to perch itself on one of the trees that decorated the room. Gracefully, she paced around the room, her hands folded in front of her abdomen, fingers tapping against each other as she mused about the current situation.

"There's been....some unsettling rumors being spread in the mortal world and it has reached Olympus..."

Eros waited for her to continue. It must have been something very grievous for her to be so out of sorts, and this was the same goddess who didn't fear the consequences when her long life affair with his father, Ares, was discovered.

She peered down the window, sneering at the city below that was barely visible with all the clouds covering a vast majority of it.

"Apparently one of the daughter's of the King of Athens is said to be remarkably beautiful....."

She paused as she took a deep breath, jaw clenching as she sputtered out the next words.

"So enchanting that they dare compare her to me....Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty itself....

They've even begun to bring gifts and worship her on the day they're supposed to pay respect and praise to me!"

Eros flinched slightly when she hastily turned around and marched past him, tipping over a table that held a tray with a golden tea set. But he didn't stop her, so used to his mother's infantile tantrums, although he was pretty shocked to hear the severity of the issue. To worship a mere mortal, one who was so far below one of the gods, and not just any god, but one of the 12 Olympians themselves, was inconceivable.

Aphrodite clenched and unclenched her fist, trying to control her fury threatening to seek vengeance.

"I need you to go down there and find out who she is. And when you find her.....shoot her." She commanded him.

Eros nodded, understanding what she was asking of him.

"Who would you like me to have her fall for?"

Aphrodite groaned in annoyance.

"Oh! I don't know! Anyone or anything! An old haggard beggar, a toad, have her go mad over a tree stump for all I care! Just make her go insane!" She threw a cluster of grapes across the room, scaring the flock of doves who flew away to different parts of the room.

"As you wish my goddess."

Eros bowed to his mother one last time before retreating out of the hall, and going to his own chambers to prepare his necessary equipment for the journey. He too was curious to find out just how captivating this woman really was.

━━━━━━━༺۵༻━━━━━━━

The young girl sighed softly as she looked at all the smoke coming out from the temple, the light scent of incense could be made out from her bedroom window. She was well aware and against what was going on in there. It was utterly disrespectful of her father to allow them and even encourage his citizens to offer sacrifices to her in Aphrodite's sacred temple, and on her very own yearly celebration. Had they no fear of a wrath from the gods?

She simply looked away and went to her own little corner where she made a small shrine dedicated to the goddess of beauty, love and fertility. She admired the small marble figurine of the goddess herself, and straightened out the roses and pearls surrounding it. She lit fire to a few myrtles and let them burn in a small ash tray as she murmured one of the many hymns in devotion to the deity. If she wasn't so soft hearted, she would have finished it off with sacrificing one of the best doves that were kept in the stables, but she could never bring herself to do that. She hoped the goddess would understand and forgive her, or at least, try to appease her for all the foolishness her father was causing.

She straightened her nightgown and crawled under the blankets of her grand bed. She was exhausted from the day's festivities and from the guilt and fear eating her alive. She shut her eyes, secretly hoping it was nothing but a bad dream and when she awoke, everything would be fine and back to the ways it was meant to be. She soon was fast asleep, only movements coming out of her body were the rising of her chest, signaling her breathing.

A soft thud landed on her balcony. The being looked behind him, making sure nobody had seen him. Not that it mattered, even if they did, they would tremble away in fear. Pushing the window open, he let himself inside the girl's bedroom, the one they reverenced as Psyche. His eyes scanned the room, landing on the bed which he cautiously approached. His hand reached out to pull away at the drapes covering the sleeping figure.

"Let's see who is it that is said to rival Aphrodite."

Eros pulled the drape away, letting the moonlight behind him shine on the face of the occupant on the bed. His arm fell to his side, slapping slightly against his thigh as he took in the beautiful countenance of the woman sleeping peacefully in front of him. He blinked slowly, trying to decipher if what he was seeing was indeed real. She was absolutely breathtaking, almost ethereal, never had his sight been blessed by such radiant and magnificent beauty, and he'd spent some time around Poseidon's Nereids.

Without realizing it, his hand reached out to caress her face or simply push back a lock of her hair, he himself didn't know what he was doing. But a small shifting of position on her part made him retract his hand, elbow grazing on the leather of the pouch on his back.

That's right. He still had a mission to carry out.

His arm reached back and grabbed an arrow from the pouch. He then proceeded to hover his hand above the tip, humming the soft incantation that would allow him to pierce the girl's heart and render her insane for the first object she saw. As he chanted, she began to stir in her sleep, putting Eros on guard, hoping she wouldn't wake up. He took in how her once peaceful expression, showed now sorrow and pain. It somehow pained him to see such a beautiful girl seem so troubled. He was so lost in her gaze that he didn't realise it until it was too late...

Until he felt the sharp tip of the arrow prick into his palm, even piercing the skin. Eros widened his eyes as he quickly yanked the arrow out, flinging it across the room. He looked at his hand, no blood coming out because he was an immortal, but he still clutched it as he felt an overwhelming pain and flutter course through his entire body. His heart started to pump at a faster pace, and his breathing became heavier. He tried to look away, but his mind forced him to look back at the unsuspecting girl on the bed.

"Oh no......what have I done?" He whispered softly.

Feeling dizzy, he scurried out the window, not caring anymore about being seeing in the dark of night, he just knew he wanted to back in Olympus as soon as possible. He flew back into the heavens, discarding only a few white feathers on his desperate flight back.

━━━━━━━༺۵༻━━━━━━━

Psyche stood in front of the mirror, trying not to gaze at her own reflection, which she thought of as more of a curse than a blessing. She simply let her maids comb and adorn her hair as they wished and wrap a golden belt around her lilac colored tunic.

"My lady would you like breakfast brought to you or would you prefer to go down to the dining room?" One of them inquired.

She shook her head.

"I won't be taking breakfast today thank you."

The maids exchanged a puzzled look between each other but decided not to pry any longer. They simple allowed their mistress to wander off to the castle's pavilion located in the center of the gardens.

She preferred being alone these days, avoiding as many people as possible, but especially her father. Lately he had been rambling and complaining non stop at the lack of suitors coming to propose marriage to her. It'd been almost a year since he put out the announcement that she was of age and ready to be betrothed to any suitable prince or monarch, he had even raised the dowry triple what it was originally worth, but still, no one had come to claim her or propose.

"Perhaps it's just as well." She thought to herself. It wouldn't surprise her if this was how Aphrodite was showing her anger, by making her face the humiliation of being unwedded and childless.

Perhaps the biggest thing bothering her was the fact men just came to admire her beauty, but seemed to never really fall in love with her, and she herself couldn't fall in love either. Was she just a pretty face for people to gawk and fawn over? Was she destined to feel lonely and empty for the rest of her life?

"Little Psyche out here all alone?"

She stiffened when she heard the voice of her eldest sister, Amara, from behind her. Small steps let her know she was entering the pavilion and soon enough, she felt her presence stand right next to her.

"I wanted to be alone. That's all." She explained, although she really didn't feel the need to.

Her sister hummed softly.

"Would one really think that to be such a good idea? Father would be concerned if anything happened to his precious and beautiful Psyche, especially after that incident of the arrow in your room."

She was getting irritated at this point, her hand gripping harshly at the side of her tunic, creasing it slightly.

"That was many months ago Amara.....and I've said before that I don't like the title given to me by my father and the people....."

She took a deep breath before stating firmly:

"My name is Y/N and I shall be referred as such."

Her sister was taken aback by her sharp tone, but paid no attention to it. She opted for plucking some of the little violets that surrounded one of the pillars.

"As you wish....after all, anything you say is practically law. Anything you desire, you'll get." Her voice was laced with envy.

Y/N shook her head.

"Not everything."

Although she was referring to the fact her father refused to listen to her in the matter of Aphrodite's temple, her sister wrongly thought she meant the matter of matrimony.

"Oh don't worry little sister. Father is to go visit the Oracle of Delphi to seek help from Apollo in regards to your.......shameful circumstances."

Y/N couldn't stand it anymore. It's not that she hated her sister, but lately she seemed to enjoy in taking delight of her misery and pain, hurting her with her mock pity and double sided remarks.

"If you'll excuse me Amara, I shall go back inside."

Y/N was barely 4 feet away when her sister dismissed her.

"See you later......Psyche."

Y/N refused to eat during the entire day, worrying her loyal and trustworthy maids.

"But Miss....you must eat at least a little. Whatever shall you do if your beauty fades away?"

'Then I shall be content.'

She only thought those words but didn't say them out loud. She felt bad about her maids attending to her with such tenderness that she forced herself to at least eat some of the grapes in front of her. It seemed to put her maids more at ease and Y/N was happy about it.

"Anything in particular you wish for us to do Miss?"

There was one thing she really wanted. Something everyone around her never seemed to do anymore.

"Could you......could you please call me Y/N?"

The two women looked back and forth at each other, unsure of whether to refer to the princess in such an informal way.

"Please?"

Y/N was just craving to be reminded of who she truly was, be assured about her existence and her true person. Both women smiled fondly at her before curtsying to her.

"Lady Y/N."

She felt her heart full with warmth and felt happier in that moment than she had felt in the last 8 months that had gone by. But that happiness was short lived when her door swung open, her other sister, Melia rushing in, looking out of sorts and with fear in her eyes.

"Melia? What's wrong?"

Y/N stood up, but it was her sister who clutched onto her and sobbed on her neck.

"Oh poor Psyche! Why must this have happened to you? To my dear little sister?"

Y/N didn't know what to make of this, but it must be something dreadful if her usually composed and quiet sibling was hysteric. She pulled her back to take in her countenance.

"Tell me. What is it?" Y/N pleaded.

Melia pursed her lips before recounting what she heard and witnessed.

"Father came back from meeting with Apollo's Oracle......and Psyche, it's dreadful!"

Y/N gulped slightly. Although she was expecting the answer to not be a favorable one, she was not expecting this outburst.

"Tell me Mel.......am I not to get married ever?"

Y/N braced herself for the negative response.

Melia shook her head though.

"No Psyche.....it's much much worse than that."

Y/N felt her heart drop at that. What could there possibly be that was worse than not getting married?

"The Oracle told father that your husband has already been chosen for you. He gave us instructions that we are to deliver you to the top of Mount Lycabettus, dressed in black and to leave you there...."

She sniffled and held her handkerchief to her mouth.

"Will my husband meet us there?" She questioned.

Melia shook her head no.

"Well- then how can we be married?" She was beyond puzzled at this point.

"We don't know Psyche, the Oracle only said to deliver you. One thing is sure Psyche. Your husband is not mortal."

Y/N would have rejoiced at the information would it not have been for the terror in her sister's eyes.

"Melia tell me.....who exactly is my husband?"

Melia seemed troubled to reveal more information to her, but she knew she had to say it.

"We don't know. He refused to tell father. All he mentioned was that he flies through the skies and even the gods are terrified of him.....

"Psyche....I fear you're destined to marry a monster..."

━━━━━━━༺۵༻━━━━━━━

The girl watched as her parents, sisters and their husbands disappeared from sight, not even leaving behind their footprints to keep her company. Crouching down, she settled herself onto the ground, her arms wrapping around to hug her knees. She sighed in despair as she thought about what was going to happen to her now. Was her new husband really a monster? It seemed to be the only logical explanation if even gods were afraid of him. The only thing she could think of was....

A titan?

'No it can't be.'

She quickly discarded that thought. All of the titans were locked away in Tartarus. And the world would have definitely known if a titan had gotten out.

She anxiously waited for a sign, a movement of some kind, but nothing ever came. All she had to accompany her besides her solitude was the light breeze that blew some of her hair in front of her face. She shivered slightly, her arms crossing over her chest as she rubbed them with her hands. She faintly noticed that the wind seemed to be getting a little more heavier, and it seemed as though fog started to appear around her. But Y/N couldn't really pay attention to it as she felt herself getting drowsy and tired. She struggled to keep her eyes open, but the feeling was overtaking her. Her eyes ended up closing as she fell back onto the moss underneath her, falling fast asleep without even knowing why.

While asleep, she felt a strange sensation of being lifted up and carried up into the sky, almost as if though she were flying.....but that was surely impossible? But it felt so real. She had a fantastical dream of flying above the peak of mountains, drift through the clouds in the sky and somehow even be close to the stars. She felt as if she were being carried in the arms of some strong entity. And at the end, she could faintly hear a voice assure her:

"Have no fear little one, for you are truly loved."

Awakening hours later, when it was even darker and more deep into the night than before, she sat up and looked around at her surroundings. The green moss from before was no longer accompanying her. Instead, she awoke to find herself placed on an ivory marble resting bench. Beautiful varieties of roses surrounded what she guessed to be a very beautiful and luxurious garden. Her hand reached out to caress one of them, its petals being one of the most soft things she'd ever felt.

Standing up, she followed the stone path that was right in front of her. A tiny river flowed through the garden, a slight trickling sound was the only noise that was heard. She stopped when a grand and extravagant mansion stood before her. It was 10 times more beautiful and seemed more expensive than the very castle she grew up in. Cautiously, she over to the front door, which seemed to be made out of pure gold, pearls adorning the edges of them.

Y/N was about to knock on it, but to her surprise, the doors opened by themselves. She slowly stepped inside, her eyes bulging out as her eyes took in the hall in front of her. Clean and neatly polished marble floor, crimson red silk drapes covering large and vast windows, the furniture looked unlike anything she had ever seen before. Her hand was gliding over the ottoman in the center of it when a voice called out:

"Welcome mistress! We have been expecting you!"

She whipped her head around, then looked at all directions, but found no one standing anywhere near her.

"Who...who are you?" Y/N fearfully looked at the ceiling then at every corner, wondering where the voice was.

"We're your servants mistress." A chorus of at least 5 women rang out, puzzling her even more.

"Where....are you?"

The invisible women giggled amongst themselves.

"We are right here next to you mistress. I'm afraid you just can't see us."

Y/N watched as a silver pitcher was lifted up in the air, pouring what seemed to be wine in a glass cup, which was then hovered right in front of her.

"Wine mistress?"

Y/N hesitantly took the cup, indeed feeling someone's weight let go of it. She took a small sip of the wine, its rich and crisp flavor enticing her to drink more of it.

"Would you care for any fruits?" A platter holding strawberries, grapes, cherries and blueberries were held up in front of her. They looked so fresh and ripe, Y/N couldn't help but reach for one of the grapes, her tastebuds becoming completely engaged at how delicious and juicy they were.

She no longer felt disturbed by the faceless voices talking to her, nor about the objects floating around, carrying articles that were being offered to her, and she did not get startled when she heard music filling the room, playing the most sweet and beautiful melody her ears were blessed to hear. She just let her invisible attendants feed her some exotic foods that she never even knew existed. She also didn't mind them guiding her to a lavatory, where there was a bathtub, the size of a large pond already waiting for her. She nearly slipped into another deep sleep when she stepped inside, the warm water relaxing her muscles while the scent of lavender calmed and eased her mind. After washing her body, her maids oiled and scented her body with vanilla and jasmine while they dried her. She saw as a periwinkle blue robe was extended towards her and Y/N slipped into it, her hands caressing the soft, velvet material, smoothing the folds on her waist and hips.

"Oh mistress! You look so beautiful!" One of them cheerfully exclaimed.

"You're the most beautiful creature we've been honored to serve." Another piped in.

"We're so happy to have you here with us. It shall be a lot more livelier now." She heard someone chuckle.

"I think our job for tonight is done. My lady, please step into the room behind the other door. The master will join you shortly."

Y/N was so filled with bliss and contentment, that she had completely forgotten why she was here in the first place. Recalling her sister words, she begged her maids not to leave her, but they apologized and retreated to who knows where, leaving her by herself once again. Her hand reached for the doorknob, turning it slowly before she stepped into the next room.

Y/N tried to move around in the space, but it was extremely difficult because the room was pitch black. She could barely make out the outlines of the chairs, the bed draped with curtains or the dressers. On the corner, she saw a single window, but the curtains were drawn, and even if it was open, the dark night would hardly help her see any better. Y/N out stretched her arms, grabbing onto the empty void around her to maneuver herself to the bed, where she settled down into, hugging her knees like she did back when her family left her on top of the mountain.

She rocked herself back and forth as many thoughts ran over her mind:

'When will he arrive? Will he be kind or not? What will he look like....

And who was he?'

Y/N rested her hands on her arms that were hugging her knees, her eyes closing, but she wasn't tired at all. She just wished time would speed up faster and someone could explain to her what was going on. She felt a light breeze suddenly pass through the room. Looking up, she saw that the curtains by the window had been moved, pushed slightly open, letting just the dimmest sliver of light pour in, but she still couldn't see anything.

She felt something .....someone else in the room with her. On edge, she quickly sat up from the bed and tried to make way back to the other room.

"You have nothing to fear my dearest Y/N."

She halted at the sound of her name. She was expecting to be called that odious title she was often referred to, but instead, she heard her very own name.

"How....how do you know my name?"

The deep, baritone voice spoke again.

"It wouldn't be fitting for a husband to not know his own wife's name, don't you think?"

Y/N eased slightly at his words but still felt nervous.

"Where...are you?" She took small steps, eyes squinting to see something, anything.

She felt a rush of warmth fill up her body when a gentle hand placed itself on her shoulder.

"I'm right here beside you, where I shall always be."

She didn't tremble at his touch, on the contrary, she relaxed and her fear was suddenly gone. Whoever the stranger was, he slowly turned her around to face him. She could make out a bit of his outline, but still couldn't define any of his features or details.

"Why aren't there any lamps? I can't see you."

Lifting her hand, he placed it on his cheek, his skin feeling as soft as a petal.

"See me with your touch my love."

Her hand delicately traced his features, trying to imagine what he looked like. He had a very sharp jawline, a well defined nose and delicately carved lips that tempted her to reach up and kiss them. She was still confused as to why she couldn't see him though. As if on cue, he spoke:

"I know it must be difficult for you to understand this Y/N. But please don't be afraid of me. I would never hurt you."

Y/N retracted her hand.

"My...my sister said you're a monster."

He chuckled heartedly, his voice full of music and splendor.

"Do I feel like a monster or sound like one?"

Y/N giggled softly, realizing it did seem silly.

"If you're not a monster though......why can't I see you?"

She could feel the man in front of her think about how to answer her. Sighing softly, he took her hand again, holding it with his two hands and running a thumb on the top of it.

"I'm afraid I can't give you the answer to that question yet...."

She felt her heart sink at his words. She lowered her head in disappointment. Not wanting to upset her more, he kissed the palm of her hand and swore:

"Just please trust me Y/N, and I'll promise to love you forever......can you trust me?"

Maybe she was mad or delusional, but in spite of all the mystery surrounding him, she sincerely felt the veracity of his promise and had no doubt in her mind about trusting him. She moved closer to him, accidentally stepping too far and colliding with his firm chest.

"Umph!" Y/N groaned slightly.

He giggled softly at her cute action. He saw as she tried to reach out again to feel him, but instead pulled her hand away.

"You can touch me love."

Her hands once again traced his smooth face, traveling down his neck before resting on his broad shoulders. Although he felt somewhat slim, his body seemed very toned and vigorous. Y/N wanted to drop her hands further but she felt to shy to do it. Once again, he read her mind.

"Y/N....it's ok. We're married." He drew out that last word, more to himself than to her.

Her hands pressed down across his chest. She could tell his tunic was made out of fine linen, even if she couldn't see it. His chest felt strong and sturdy, she bit her lip slightly as she pictured what it would look like in the light, without his garment.

She gasped when she felt him pull her against him, his breath against her lips, just wanting to close the space between them and kiss her. His finger traced the curve of her luscious and plump lips. Although she was content with everything he'd said so far, there was just one more question she had:

"I....... I don't know what to call you."

He raised an eyebrow at her.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean....you know my name....but you never told me yours." She pulled away slightly.

He realized she was right. She felt him smile at her as he brought her face close to his again.

"Please call me Yeosang." Her heart fluttered when she heard his name.

Yeosang brushed his lips against hers.

"Trust me my dear. I love you with all my heart."

Y/N melted at his words and before she knew it, she whispered back:

"I love you too....Yeosang."

As soon as she spoke out those words, Yeosang could no longer control himself as he enclosed his lips over hers in a passionate and loving kiss. Y/N blushed at being kissed for the first time in her life, but happily returned the gesture, surprised that she easily could. Even though she couldn't see him, she knew Yeosang was beautiful, ethereal and very kind...

And she was already falling in love with him.

━━━━━━━༺۵༻━━━━━━━

It had been roughly 4 months into their marriage and Y/N was extremely happy. He'd visit her in the dead of night everyday, as usual, in the pitch black so she couldn't see him, but she had grown accustomed to that. He'd usually leave before she was even awake and before the sun would even start coming out. He'd always leave a red rose by her dresser everyday, attached with a small note filled with terms of endearment and vows of love and adoration for her, always succeeding in making her blush.

Y/N was more than content. Now, whenever she looked in the mirror, she wouldn't turn away nor hate the face she saw. She came to love her appearance now, because there was light and love in it. She was in love, she was loved and there was no greater feeling than that.

During the day, she would either spend time outside in the garden or inside, her maids, or rather, their presence, always keeping her company. She loved listening to their stories about the world she was now a part of, finding them extremely fascinating. They were all so gentle and caring towards her, attending to her every needs and overall staying by her side so she wouldn't get lonely.

"Won't you tell us something about where you are from for once Mistress?"

Y/N was elated, happily telling them all about her home, her family, how she grew up and various other aspects of her life.

"You seem very close to your family Misstress." One of them observed.

"I am. I love them very much, and I have such fondness for my sisters...."

She stopped at the moment. It hit her how she hadn't heard from her family since she got there, nor did they have any idea of her whereabouts or her fate. Her heart suddenly felt sad as she began missing them terribly.

"Mistress is something wrong?"

Y/N quickly plastered a smile back on her face, not wanting them to be concerned at all. Instead suggesting they all play a game together so she wouldn't think about it. But it was futile. Her mind kept thinking back to her family. She missed them more and more. She hardly ate anything else for the rest of the day, instead opting to go to her room rather early, even though it'd be hours before Yeosang got there. She wept silently, her tears staining the pillow underneath her face. She tried to keep a positive and cheerful attitude when he did finally got there, but he could sense that something was troubling his beloved wife.

"What's bothering you my love?"

Y/N sighed softly.

"I miss my family...."

Yeosang tightened his embrace around her, his lips kissing her temple. Y/N nuzzled her face into the crook of his neck, drinking in his scent that always calmed and soothed her mind.

"They must be so worried about me. They probably don't even know if I'm alive or not." She continued to pour out her distress.

Yeosang was pensive for a moment, wondering what he could do to help his sweetheart.

"Would you like to write to them? I can have someone give it to them." He offered.

Although Y/N found it kind of him to offer it, more than anything, she wanted to see them.

"I was actually wondering......if maybe they could come see me?" She reluctantly asked.

She very well noticed how Yeosang tensed up. Even in the darkness, she had learned to read his body language and knew he was hesitating about what to respond.

"I......I'm not sure that's a good idea love..."

Yeosang's heart felt when he heard a disappointed sigh escape her lips. It hurt her to see her in such a state. All he wanted was to make her happy. So although there were going to be risks, he agreed.

"They can't meet me. But if you wish, I can have Zephyr bring them here just like he brought you."

Y/N became so happy at the thought of seeing them again. Cupping Yeosang's face, she kissed him fervently, her reaction making Yeosang chuckle.

"Does it really make you that happy?" He questioned as he caressed her face.

Y/N nodded happily.

"So I take it you won't need anything else tonight?"

Well....there was actually one more thing. Y/N bit her lip as she stared up at Yeosang with a sparkle in her eyes.

"Oh.....I see."

Y/N could hear the smugness in his voice, but she didn't care. Not when he lips made her melt, when his hands caressed and fondled her tenderly and especially not when he slid in and out of her in such a passionate and loving way, bringing her into such a euphoric state. Another thing she discovered about Yeosang: he was an amazing lover, she almost felt drunk in his love whenever his body became one with hers.

Yeosang let out a grunt when he spilled himself inside of her, enjoying the feeling of her walls tightening around him as she also reached her own high. Without pulling out, Yeosang bent down to kiss her again, his hand reaching down to press against her stomach.

"I can't wait until you become pregnant with my child. I bet you'll look even more lovely than what you already are."

Y/N felt her face flush at his words. Suddenly feeling confident, she teased him.

"How about we try again? Just in case."

Yeosang sucked in a breath, his hands gripping at her hips.

"I thought you'd never ask."

Y/N's hands clutched at the sheets underneath her, moans slipping out of her lips as Yeosang moved inside of her once again, this time at a more fast and rough pace than before.

━━━━━━━༺۵༻━━━━━━━

Y/N offered more pastries to her sisters. Melia excitedly accepted them, loving how rich and exquisite the foods at her little sister's place were. Amara however refused, her eyes still looking around at the place. She was very put off by how strange Y/N's circumstances were. The weird wind that transported them there, the invisible servants, the fact they could not meet her husband? It was extremely confusing. But most of all, she was insanely jealous of how Y/N was living. Her mansion was 10 times better than hers, the food was of better quality than what was served at her castle and everything was just so much more expensive.

"You seem to be...very happy here." Amara pointed out, her lips pursed tightly.

Y/N couldn't help but smile.

"I'm more than happy. I love it here. And I love my husband."

"Such a shame we couldn't meet him. Do you know when we will get the opportunity?" Melia asked.

"Oh...umm.....the thing is...you can't meet him..." Y/N fumbled with the sash across her dress.

Her two older sisters looked at her incredulously, then they looked at each other with a suspicious look.

"So is it true then? That he's a monster with scaly skin, serpent tongue and sharp teeth?" Melia looked frightened.

Y/N slammed her fist on the table, outraged that they'd dare think such things of Yeosang like that.

"He's not a monster! He's beautiful, absolutely handsome and the most kind being I have ever met!"

Her outburst made them even more curious.

"Then tell me Psyche, what does he look like?" Amara raised an eyebrow.

"It's Y/N! My name is Y/N. And.....I......I don't know! But I just know he's beautiful!"

Melia seemed puzzled.

"You don't know? What does that mean?"

Feeling cornered, Y/N had no choice but to tell them how her husband would only visit her at night, shrouded in darkness and whisper loving words in her ear. That only served to sprout out more questions from her siblings.

"How can you possibly be in love with him if you've never seen him?"

"I just am!" Y/N exclaimed.

"If he doesn't see you during the day, where does he go to?" Amara pressed on.

"I don't know." Y/N answered.

Not wanting to miss the chance to hurt her younger sister, Amara smirked wickedly at her.

"I bet I know where."

It took Y/N a few seconds to comprehend what her sister was implying, but when she did, it only served to further anger her.

" You're wrong. I know What you're thinking and you're wrong. Yeosang loves me!" She was fuming at this point.

Amara however rolled her eyes at her foolishness.

"All right. Let's say he really is as handsome as you say he is. Why must he be so stubborn about not letting you see him nor know where he goes off to?"

Y/ N crossed her arms.

"I don't know. He asked me to trust him and I do".

Melia now seemed concerned for her.

"Psyche... do you not realize that maybe ...... he could be seeing other women while he's away?"

Y/N now froze at what her sister said. Her brain kept telling her not to listen to them, that Yeosang was faithful to her and would never lie to her. But then she remembered how her own sister's husbands behaved and she couldn't help but think if perhaps Yeosang would do anything similar like them.

"No..... it can't be true...."

Amara suspiciously came up behind Y/N, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"If he really did love you.....why would he force you to live with such doubts?"

That was the final drop that made the glass tip over. Y/N had to find out who exactly it was that was sleeping with her every night.

━━━━━━━༺۵༻━━━━━━━

Y/N waited until Yeosang was fast asleep, his breathing calm and serene. Carefully, she peeled herself from his grasp and crept out of the bed and to one of the dressers. She silently took out a candle and match that she had secretly hid inside. Walking as cautiously as she could, she stood by the edge of the bed where Yeosang was. Taking a deep breath, she striked the match and lit up the candle, holding it up so she could finally see him for the very first time.

Her eyes grew wide as she stared into the most beautiful face she had ever seen. He was absolutely glorious. His hair was white like the snow in winter, skin fair like marble ivory, his jawline was chiseled to perfection with a nose that seemed to have been carved to perfection. And he layed there, sleeping soundly with absolutely no clue that she had just betrayed his trust.

"Oh no.....what have I done?"

Y/N was so horrified with herself that she unconsciously tumbled backwards, hitting herself on a piece of furniture. Suddenly Yeosang awoke, his eyes painted with agony once he realized what was happening.

"I.....I can explain!"

But Yeosang simply sat up without a word, already reaching for his tunic. He sighed as he stood up and walked towards the window.

"Please forgive me Yeosang! I beg you!"

Y/N dropped to her knees, tears pouring out her eyes. Yeosang pinched the bridge of his nose, head full of turbulent thoughts that he couldn't place in order.

"Please just say something!" She cried out, desperate to hear his voice.

"I knew it would be a bad idea to let you see your sisters. I knew they'd turn you against me and actually betray me...."

If they were still in the dark, Y/N would have still been able to recognize the hurt and pain in his words.

"I'm sorry Yeosang! I'm sorry for not trusting you! But I kept thinking about their words, they said you were probably visiting other-"

"You could have chosen to not listen to them! No one forced you to believe them! You chose to act on your own accord!".

It was the first time he had ever raised his voice at her, and it boomed all over the room, making her tremble in fear. Yeosang opened the window and stepped out into the balcony.

"No no! Please!"

Y/N ran after him, her hands wrapping around his neck in an attempt to keep him there. Gently, he pried her hands off him, looking somberly at her.

"My mother told me not to trust you. That you were a mortal woman and would never understand me or us, and break my trust. I could never believe that she was right....."

Y/N saw as tears filled on the brim of his eyes.

"But I was too madly in love to listen to her..... I guess I truly did get a taste of my own medicine."

Yeosang made way to leave again, but Y/N held onto him.

"Please don't leave me! I'll die without you! I love you Yeosang!"

Not able to contain his feelings anymore, Yeosang pushed her off him and turned sternly to her.

"Don't.....ever say such lies again...and don't address me so informally you lowly mortal. I am not your equal and I am no longer Yeosang to you..."

Y/N covered her mouth in terror and astonishment when ethereal and shiny wings sprouted from his back, making him look even more heavenly than he already was.

"I am Eros, son of Aphrodite and Ares, the god of love ......... and you......."

He sniffled as tears streamed down his face.

"I can't stay here knowing that I want to hold you..."

Without any other word, speedily flew out of there, disappearing from her sight. Y/N shouted for him, going mad at the thought that she had just lost the love of her life. She was so erratic that she didn't think twice before she flung herself down the balcony, not wanting to live without her love. Unfortunately for her, a large gust of wind stopped her fall, placing her gently on the ground, thwarting her plan.

"Let me die!" Y/N pounded the ground.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that Psyche. Aside from being tasked to bring you here, Eros appointed me to make sure no harm should ever come to you."

Although it was supposed to be calming, Zephyr's voice only angered her.

"So I can't even die?!"

Zephyr sent a small breeze, the only physical way of comfort he could bring her since he was invisible.

"Psyche, we both know you don't actually want to die."

"Yes I do! My heart is broken. My love is gone and it's because of my foolishness. I have nothing else to live for!" She declared.

Zephyr sighed.

"My lady....all hope is not lost. I may perhaps.....know a way of helping you."

Y/N perked her ears at his words.

"But first, allow me to tell you a little story, one you don't know about but in which you were the main protagonist."

Y/N watched as a swirl of clouds formed above her, Zephyr trying to make his presence manifested as he began recounting a story:

"Now...it all began when the people began to worship you instead of Aphrodite. I know, we all do you tried to stop them. We weren't blind to it. But Aphrodite is a jealous goddess. She could not stand someone being compared to her. So she sent Eros to you with the task of making you fall in love with a toad or something similar."

Y/N didn't seem too surprised by that. She knew fully well who Eros was and why he was feared even among gods, because no one was immune to his arrows that made them fall in love.

"He came to you one night while you were sleeping. He was so distracted by your beauty that he ended up pricking himself with his own arrow."

Now it made sense to her what he meant when he said he had gotten a dose of his own medicine. She was shocked that this actually happened.

"Eros had fallen in love with you. Curious isn't it, that while you were the most admired woman in the country, no one proposed. Wanna know why? Because Eros stepped in every time, making any suitor fall in love with someone else so they wouldn't take you away from him."

Y/N remembered all those months where no one approached her. Now it all made sense.

"Poor Eros was also begging his mother to let him marry you. But of course, being as stubborn as she is, Aphrodite refused. It became such a quarrel between them that Eros refused to obey her anymore if she didn't agree. Of course, she couldn't have that, so she allowed him to marry you on one condition: your love had to be put to a test....which....I think you know what it was."

Y/N nodded. He asked her to trust him even if she couldn't see him, but she betrayed him.

"Aphrodite probably isn't surprised. She expected it all along. But Eros......he was so in love with you that he put all his faith and trust in your love. And now.....he's probably back home again, moaning and crying just like when he came back that night he met you."

Now the guilt began to eat her up.

"I don't deserve him. I never did. I deserve to die."

Zephyr sighed once again.

"Now now child. As I said. Not all hope is lost. Listen very carefully to me Psyche. Here's what you're going to do."

━━━━━━━༺۵༻━━━━━━━

Y/N waited for the goddess to arrive. Her fingers fidgeted nervously, playing with the belt on her tunic. She suddenly felt a gush of wind pass by her. Light started to emanate from the ground. Y/N stared in wonder as a powerful entity appeared before her, looking so radiant and angelic that Y/N froze in place before remembering who was standing in front of her. She fell to the ground in honor and respect for the goddess in front of her.

"My goddess Aphrodite. I am your humble servant who has offered sacrifices at your temple and-"

"Oh stop groveling like a little bitch and get up." The goddess sneered at her.

Y/N slowly got up. Aphrodite stepped closer to her, one of her slender fingers tilting her chin up as she closely scanned her rival's face. Bewilderment took over her features, a scoff coming out of her mouth.

"Impressive. Very extraordinary. ..."

She let go of her and backed away.

"Pity though that your eyes are still red and puffy from weeping like a child. It really does not suit you....nevertheless, even I acknowledge you're beautiful and pleasing...."

She crossed her arms.

"No wonder my son is so smitten with you."

Y/N glanced up at the mention of Yeosang.

"Tell me, how is Yeosang? How is my husband."

Aphrodite lifted a hand.

"First of all, you have no right to call him by his birth name. You shall only address him by his godly name you mortals know. And second, he isn't your husband anymore, not after you broke your end of the marriage."

Being reminded of her acts, Y/N once again felt remorseful and ashamed. But she was not about to give up.

"If there's anything I can do to mend things, I'm prepared to do it."

Aphrodite rolled her eyes.

"Yes yes I know very well you are willing to. Zephyr didn't bring you here just for giggles or a cup of tea. And either way, sooner or later Zeus and Hera would have been on my ass about intervening, not to mention that his father wouldn't leave me alone if he saw the state his son was in."

Y/N beamed with joy at the thought of being able to mend things with her love.

"Thank you oh most merciful goddess!" Y/N resisted the urge to throw her hands around the goddess and hug her.

Aphrodite, however, dismissed her thanks.

"Don't get so happy yet foolish girl. I haven't even told you what the tasks are yet."

Beckoning her to follow, Aphrodite lead her through a meadow and deep into a forest. There, she approached a tall laurel tree and pointed at something on the floor.

"Before your eyes, you see a pile of different types of grains. Your job is simple: separate them all and arrange them into piles."

Y/N's jaw dropped at the task.

"That's impossible! It's not simple!"

Aphrodite merely shrugged. "If you truly love Eros, you'll find a way."

She turned away and began walking back to where she came from, but not before telling her:

"Oh and Psyche? You have until sundown to finish."

Y/N knew the goddess was probably laughing by now, already gloating in her failure and inability to finish such a task. She slumped down on the ground and began picking at the grains. They all looked too similar, there was no way to tell them apart. Y/N flung the grains back in the pile.

"It's hopeless..."

She wasn't offered a second chance, she was merely being humiliated for the own amusement of Aphrodite. Y/N couldn't help but wonder if she deserved this....

Suddenly she felt something crawl up on her hand. Looking down, she saw a tiny ant perched on one of her fingers.

"Hello most beautiful mortal. Please don't cry. Let me assure you that this grain will be sorted before Aphrodite comes back."

If Y/N hadn't already seen so miracles and fantasy sightings since she arrived, she would have seriously thought she was insane for thinking an ant was actually talking to her. She watched as thousands of other ants crawled up and began carrying the grains out of the pile, effectively assorting them into neat and tidy piles.

"How are you..?"

The tiny ant let out a squeaky laugh. "This is our specialty my lady. We do this every year."

"But...why are you helping me?" She couldn't understand why they would help her.

"Don't fret about that right now. Leave this all to us and just worry about being reunited with your loved one."

Y/N was touched by their tremendous kindness, thanking them incessantly as they eagerly finished what seemed to not an impossible task for her. True to their word, before the sun set, it was already finished. 5 piles stood in front of her. The ants bid her farewell and good luck for any upcoming tests Aphrodite was going to put on her.

When the goddess came to inspect the work, her eyes nearly bulged out when she saw it was accomplished. Scoffing, she crossed her arms.

"I see you finished it....very well. Tomorrow I shall take you to do the second task. But trust me, you won't get very far."

The goddess was so sure Y/N would never be able to finish them, but she didn't count on the fact someone was pulling strings behind the scenes to make sure Y/N would be successful. When Y/N was tasked to collect the gold fleece from the magical sun rams, the mystery person asked the reeds growing on the riverbank near her, to tell Y/N to wait until the rams left the pasture to fall asleep in a meadow, then she'd be able to collect fleece that would usually get caught on the brambles where they often played or fought in. On her third task, she had to collect water from a pit that was guarded by a fearsome dragon. Y/N dared not approach the beast, but once again, the hidden figure sent an enormous eagle to help her by flying her down the pit while the dragon slept so she could fill up the bottle Aphrodite gave her. Y/N asked the eagle, like she did the reeds and ants, why were they helping her, but all of them remained silent, not answering her question. They only wished her luck and encouraged her to stay determined to win back her husband.

Aphrodite took the bottle in her hands, fury in her eyes as she flung it across the room in pure outrage.

"I don't know what kind of tricks you've pulled to accomplish these tasks so easily, but I will not stand for it any longer!"

Determined to make sure Y/N would never see her son no matter the cost, she declared her last mission:

"You must go into the Underworld and bring me Queen Persephone's beauty cream, the one she makes herself. I was going to go there myself....but you can do it for me."

Aphrodite's eyes did not hide her malice or her hatred towards the poor girl.

"But....no human can descend into the Underworld and return!" Y/N exclaimed.

"Then I guess you shall have to be the first."

━━━━━━━༺۵༻━━━━━━━

Y/N touched the ground softly as Zephyr dropped her down.

"Psyche listen to me very carefully. There is a way for mortals to go into the Underworld and return alive. But pay very close attention or you'll never see the light of day."

Out of thing air, Zephyr made 2 coins and a loaf of bread apart before her.

"The coins are for Charon. He's the boatman that will take you to the Underworld and will also bring you back. The bread is for Cerberus."

Y/N gulped at the mention of the dog that guarded the gates of the Underworld.

"You mean.....the one with 50 heads?"

Zephyr laughed.

"You humans sure do like to add charm to stories. No Psyche. Cerberus only has 3 heads. He won't do anything to you while going in, it's when you're getting out that'll be the problem. You see, he's not guarding souls from going in, he guards them from leaving."

Y/N nodded, drinking up all the information he was feeding to her.

"When you're leaving, give a piece to each of the heads, it'll put him to sleep long enough for you to get out of there as fast as you can."

"Got it."

Y/N began walking into the foggy mist, trembling slightly as she realized she was about to be in front of the gates of hell very soon.

"Another thing! Accept no food or drink and do not rest at all! Just go in, take the cream and get out. I'll be waiting here for you."

"Thank you Zephyr."

Y/N wandered through the dense and humid mist that blurred most of her vision. She spotted a light looming out of the water and headed towards it. She stopped when she reached the end of the dock and stood face to face with a dark cloaked figure. Its face was completely hidden by the hood, the only thing she could see were its hands that were holding a staff that was no doubt used to row out boat.

"Are you.....are you Charon?"

The cloaked figure simply nodded very slowly.

"Can you take me to see Queen Persephone?"

Charon did not respond either that time, instead he held his hand out. Y/N now could clearly see that his hand was only bone, absolutely no flesh or skin surrounding it. Although startled, she handed one of the coins to him, which he put into a small purse that he kept tied to his waist. He signalled for her to get in. Y/N had some difficulty getting into the boat, slamming down on it, her bum hardly hitting the wood floor. She was sure if Charon was able to, he'd probably be laughing at her. He waited until she was settled into the boat before he began rowing down the Styx river.

Y/N hugged her knees as her eyes scanned everything. So far only the splashing of water and the silent boatman kept her company. And then a foul and putrid stench filled her nostrils, making her want to gag. As she kept looking around, she noticed what seemed to be people standing by another dock, looking pitiful and some even crying.

"They're the souls of people whose families didn't pay the fee or didn't have a burial upon death." Charon spoke up for the first time, his voice sounded hollow and had somewhat of an echo in it.

She understood what he meant. All people usually put a coin under their deceased loved ones tongue as payment for a ride to the Underworld.

"Will they stay there forever?"

Charon let out a raspy breathe.

"They'll stay there for a hundred years before they're allowed to cross over. Our master is not that cruel as you mortals depict him."

Mention of his master sent Y/N into panic. She was about to meet the actual god of the Underworld and his wife. She shivered as she remembered all she was ever taught about him: her teachers often painted him as a cruel, evil and wrathful god that loved tormenting the souls that were sent to him. The only reason he had a wife was because he kidnapped her, only allowing her to spend time in Olympus for half of the year. Y/N feared seeing him.

"This is the end of your journey."

Y/N saw a colossal black door in front of her. She lifted her hand to knock on it, but wondered if it was even possible for them to hear her. She felt someone or something sneeze by her right side so she turned. First there was only a gigantic dog head that soon turned into three, Y/N almost fainted when it began approaching her. This had to be Cerberus. The hellhound merely scanned her, puzzled as to why an alive human would be there. But he went back to his job and used one of his heads to push open the door for her. Y/N was prepared to see a sea of tormented souls being stirred in fire or some other kind of torture, but instead, she walked in a long and regal corridor, much like the one back home in Athens. Everything was decorated in either black or a deep purple color. At the very end, she saw two thrones side by side, black and made out of hard iron and steel. 2 figures sat by them and when she reached close enough, she was face to face with the rulers of the Underworld.

As per custom, Y/N bowed to them, trembling in the process. The monarchs looked at each other in confusion.

"You are not dead nor dying, what business do you have here?" A male voice inquired.

Y/N swallowed harshly, trying to speak but fear made her paralyzed and unable for recall what she was there to do. Noticing how scared she was, the queen stood up and walked over to her. She gently lifted Y/N up, her hand cupping her chin to look at her. Y/N finally had a glimpse of the Underworld queen and she was mesmerized. She wasn't as beautiful as Aphrodite, but her beauty was so haunting and eerie, unlike anything she'd ever seen before. It made her very unique and therefore more interesting in her eyes. Y/N felt self conscious now. She hadn't properly cleaned up or slept ever since Aphrodite had her do all those tasks, so she probably looked like a mess in front of the beautiful queen.

Persephone merely smiled at her, a genuine and kind smile.

"You're Psyche aren't you?"

Her eyes widened at the mention of her name. The man behind her also became curious at him mention of it.

"How do you know who I am?" But Y/N soon wanted to slap herself for asking that. She was a goddess, of course she'd know.

The lady chuckled. "Not everyday one meets a face that rivals Aphrodite's. I've heard so much about you."

She turned back and Y/N assumed she was going to take her place on the throne, but instead, she shocked her when she opted to sit on her husbands lap, her arms wrapping around his neck. He visibly stiffened, and Y/N was surprised to see him......blush?

"So tell me. Has the mighty goddess of beauty sent you here for another task?"

Persephone looked back to see Y/N with a mouth wide open.

"We know all about your endeavors to win your husband back. News reaches here first before it reaches Olympus. Gives a little entertainment to us and our subjects you know."

She waved her hand and instantly a grey and cloudy figure appeared before her, offering her wine or food from a platter. She didn't want to seem rude, but she remembered what Zephyr said and thus refused any of it. Persephone chuckled softly.

"Very smart." Persephone observed. She above anyone knew what eating food from the Underworld would mean.

"So tell me Psyche. What has she sent you here for?"

Y/N began explaining how the goddess wanted some of her beauty cream. Persephone rolled her eyes, knowing all too well how vain Aphrodite was. Her fingers stroked through her husband's hair, puzzling Y/N more. If she was kidnapped and forced to marry him, how could she be so....in love with him? Persephone only took her attention away from her husband when another grey figure brought out a box to her. Thanking the servant, she held out the box to Y/N.

"Take this to Aphrodite and be reunited with your love."

Y/N thanked the merciful queen and walked back, now more happy at the thought of seeing Yeosang again. Persephone watched her with a motherly gaze, feeling somewhat nostalgic.

"You seem to be very interested in that human." Hades' voice broke her trance.

"She's an extraordinary girl if you ask me. And she's doing everything for love."

She smirked as she cupped her husband's face.

"Reminds me of a certain someone who also went to great lengths to win the person he loved the most."

The Underworld God cleared his throat.

"Love makes us do crazy things sometimes." He justified himself.

Persephone nodded and leaned in.

"I know. That's why am going to vouch for her when Zeus holds the meeting."

Hades looked puzzled. "What meeting?"

The queen let out a hearty laugh before kissing his lips.

"Married life has made you lose some of your sharpness my dear lord." She teased.

━━━━━━━༺۵༻━━━━━━━

Y/N successfully fed the bread to the demon hound and made it back across the Styx with Charon's help.

"Thank you Charon." She handed the other coin to him.

"First time anyone has thanked me to the work I do." Although he tried to be neutral about it, Charon's voice had a lighter and more grateful tone to it.

Y/N crossed the swamp again and came back to the meadow where Zephyr had left her. She called me to him, but he did not answer. Y/N sat on the grass and waited for him, growing tired in the process. It had been 4 very long and tiring days and she was beginning to feel the intensity of them. Her eyes began to flutter, trying to stay awake, but tiredness began to overtake her. Her gaze fell on the box she was holding. Feeling curious, she slowly opened the box to peer into its contents. A sudden burst of light shone right in front of her, the power being too much for her and instantly, she fell unconscious on the floor.

━━━━━━━༺۵༻━━━━━━━

Eros sighed softly to himself, the longing for his wife becoming too unbearable.

"Would you please stop that moaning? It's getting on my nerves." His mother said from the doorway.

"I miss her...." He covered his face with the pillow.

Aphrodite scoffed.

"Seriously this lovesick fool."

Eros ignored his mother, all his thoughts were about Y/N and the last time he saw her. He recalled the harsh words he said to her, regretting them so much, each letter feeling like a stab to his heart. Although it hurt him to have her distrust him, it hurt even more to be separated from her. He wanted her back in his arms, he wanted to kiss her, he was going even more insane than the first time when he pricked himself on his arrow.

Suddenly he heard a commotion coming from the living room, with the way a voice roared like thunder, he knew who had just came in. He got up, ready to intervene in case the two individuals in front of him started getting physical. Not noticing him, they just continued their screaming match.

"I've put up with so many of your antics, but this my dear goddess, is low even for you!"

The anger in his father's voice was unmistakable, but it was even more serious than all the other times he'd quarreled with his mother.

"Oh shut up Ares! I did what I had to do for our dear son."

Aphrodite twirled her hair on her finger, batting her eyelashes at her longtime lover, hoping to seduce him and get his mind off the subject, but this time it didn't.

"No, you did this because you're a selfish, conceited and cruel woman! Putting an innocent girl through so many hardships just for your own amusement! Don't you think Psyche and Eros have been through enough already?"

Now it was Eros' turn to make his presence known.

"What about my wife?"

Both of his parents turned to look at him, one in shock at being discovered and one in sad pity for him and his love. Ares crossed his arms.

"Well? Tell him Aphrodite. Tell him all about the tasks you made Psyche do these past days." He challenged her.

Eros looked at his mother, waiting for her to answer, but she kept her lips shut. Getting fed up, Ares spilled everything to him. Eros immediately got worried.

"Where is she now?"

Ares looked to the goddess in front of him as he did not know what the last task was. Gathering some of the rage he inherited from his father, Eros harshly grabbed his mother and shook her.

"Where is my wife?!"

Aphrodite pushed him off her.

"I sent her to the Hades and Persephone."

Eros wasted no time and grabbed his bow and arrow. The Underworld was dangerous even for a God and he knew he had to go get her before anything happened to her.

"Eros! Don't you dare go after her! She isn't your wife anymore!"

Turning back to his mother, he looked at her in defiance.

"She is my wife. She'll always be my wife. I love her.....and I'm going over to her now."

Spreading his wings, he flew as fast as he could to the swampy forest where she had been hours earlier. He asked the boatman if he had seen her, but Charon only said she had completed her voyage and was headed back home. He breathed a sigh of relief, at least she was alive. He flew back to his mansion, bursting the doors open, alarming the servants who were no longer invisible. He didn't spare a glance at them, he simply ran upstairs to his room. Slamming the door open, he saw as Zephyr, now in his physical form was hovering over an unconscious Psyche.

"No..."

Eros ran over to her side, taking her hand in his.

"The power inside the box her majesty gave her is too much for a mortal to bear. I've tried everything, but she still shows no sign of waking up. Her body has also been weak these past days due to exhaustion. ....and heartache." Zephyr said somberly.

Eros spilled tears when finding out all she had been through and how much suffering he had put her through.

"I'm so sorry my darling."

His arms encapsulated her in a tight embrace, almost crushing her from the intensity. Eros sobbed uncontrollably. Zephyr decided to retreat from the room, giving him the space he needed.

Brushing out some of her hair, he pressed his forehead against hers.

"Please don't leave me.." he whispered before pressing his lips against hers.

He heard as she started breathing slowly, pulling away to check on her. Y/N's eyes slowly opened, thinking she was dreaming when she saw her love's handsome face in front of her.

"Yeo- Yeosang?"

His heart started beating faster when he heard her call him by his name.

"Oh Y/N thank Zeus you're all right!"

Y/N held him tightly, not wanting to let go.

"Yeosang I'm so sorry! I should have listened to you but I was so stupid!"

He hushed her, his hands caressing her arms.

"It's ok. I've forgiven you my darling. I don't care anymore. All I want is for us to be together again."

Y/N hesitated.

"Will we be allowed to?"

Clearing his throat, they both turned their attention to Zephyr who came back.

"Even if Aphrodite won't like it, she'll have no choice but to allow you two to be together after a power greater than her allows it."

Yeosang and Y/N looked at him in confusion. Zephyr once again began explaining:

"I'm sure Y/N..." He smiled when he called her by her real name for the first time.

"You've been curious about why so many creatures helped you while you were performing the tasks for Aphrodite."

Y/N nodded, none of them had told her why they'd help her.

"They were all sent by none other than Zeus, who had been watching all this happen and agreed it was unfair of Aphrodite to put you through such hardships."

The couple couldn't believe their ears. The king of the gods himself intervened on their behalf.

"He looks favorably upon your marriage and has even called a meeting to determine if Y/N should be allowed to become an immortal herself."

Y/N's mouth dropped unable to comprehend his words, but Eros was delighted. He could finally be together with his wife for all eternity, not fearing that one day he'd lose her in death because she was human. He felt so grateful to Zeus.

"It shall be put to a vote and needless to say, your mother won't say yes."

Of course they expected that.

"But fear not. There's already many who are willing to vouch for you. Persephone and Hades for example, Ares, Apollo, Demeter and I'm willing to bet that Dionysus will show up drunk and will agree to anything."

They all let out a chuckle at that.

"I'll let you know what the results are. Zeus agreed it'd be better if you two weren't there. He wants a peaceful meeting without Aphrodite throwing a tantrum."

Leaving them alone, the two lovers stared at each other for a while, unable to believe how lucky they were. Y/N reached up to touch Yeosang.

"It's ok Y/N. I'm real and I promise I won't ever leave you again."

His hand cupped the side of her face, thumb drawing circles on her cheek.

"I love you and I promise to love you my heart......

For all eternity."

━━━━━━━༺۵༻━━━━━━━

#ateez #kang yeosang #ateez fluff #ateez fanfiction #ateez fanfic #ateez fantasy au #ateez angst #ateez smut #ateez au #ateez greek mythology au #ateez olympus series #eros!yeosang #ateez yeosang fanfiction #ateez yeosang #ateez yeosang fluff #ateez yeosang imagines #ateez yeosang scenarios #ateez scenarios #ateez yeosang angst #ateez yeosang smut #kang yeosang fanfic #kang yeosang angst #kang yeosang smut #kang yeosang fluff #kang yeosang scenarios

[phant0mprince]

i live for Pernico but make it strictly platonic and Annabeth just—

Okay okay guys but imagine Percy wasn't as out of character in HOO and the bond between Percy and Nico hasn't been fucked up and they actually got closer. Like, People are all "JASON IS NICO'S BIG BROTHER!" like no,,,,,

I love Jason, really. But like, Percy took on a prophecy even if it meant it would get him in a bad situation just so Nico didn't have to suffer. He literally spent the entire BOL worrying over Nico, like??

He's literally an overprotective mother.

I need An AU where Nico and Bianca( you know he summons her after the titan shit is over) finally talk and he tells her about his crush and she tells him she loves him. And after a while he gets the courage to tell Percy. An AU where Percy takes his time and they try to work on it together with the help of Annabeth.

An AU where Nico isn't outed but comes out on his own terms. And he has his loving friends Annabeth, Thalia, Rachel and Percy.

But seriously here's me trying to convince you how amazing this AU would be.

Just imagine;

Percy took a sip, trying to keep himself from pushing Nico. Whatever it was, he could tell that Nico couldn't just prompt it out, so he let him take his time. “I just don't want anything to change between us, Percy. I'm just…”

Percy's eyes softened looking at the little guy in front of him. In a way Percy had almost seen the son of Hades grow up. From the hyperactive mythology nerd to his boy who still had trouble interacting with people but he was getting better.

He placed the can down, giving him a reassuring smile. “You'll still be my friend even after whatever you tell me, Neeks. I mean it can't be worse than you almost getting me trapped in the underworld forever right?”

Nico frowned but refused to comment. “It's okay, you can tell me whenever you're ready but remember, I promised Bianca to take care of you and besides, I'll never be able to leave you, you little annoying prick.” Percy chuckled, getting up.

“I like you, Percy.”

And very logically Percy just spit his drink all over Nico.

And like imagine,

“And you spit water all over him?" Annabeth asked, amused.

“You knew, didn't you?” Percy whined. Annabeth sighed, avoiding the question. “Well, then, don't tell me you walked away?” she said, glaring at him.

Percy just shook his head, “No, I told him, we'll work on it together. Since, you know, he's like my little brother. We decided to set a few boundaries and still make sure nothing changes.” Percy explained but even as he said it, it hardly made sense.

“You'll get there, Seaweed brain.” Annabeth reassured him, softly eyeing. The gods knew how Nico meant to Percy. He'd done everything in his power to take care of him and he still blamed himself for Bianca.

“I hope so, Wise girl.”

AND THEN like they do get over that phase and it's nothing more than a joke Nico uses to startle Percy with the help of Annabeth. Everyone at camp knows Nico is literally Percy and Annabeth's child at this point.

“I wouldn't mess with Nico, If i were you.” Rachel told the new camper, absentmindedly. “Oh, yeah? Huh, I'm not scared of the child of hades.” the camper replied, arrogantly only causing Rachel to chuckle darkly.

“Oh, if only, that's all.”

“Why are Annabeth and Percy glaring at me..?”

“Rest in Pieces.”

And imagine like the seven are just like;

"I don't trust Nico!”

And Percy just uncapped Riptide and pointed it at them lazily. “If you mistrust my brother, you mistrust me.” Annabeth just glaring at them from the corner.

And Nico tries to not facepalm while Hazel eagerly nods agreeing with Percy.

And like when Nico goes to Eros, Percy goes with him instead of Jason and literally just challenges him to a duel.

“I fought the god of fucking war and fucking Titan, I'm sure I can take you. You're not messing with Nico.”

But Nico doesn't have anything to be afraid of because he is already out to the few people he wanted to tell at the moment. And simply tells the god, “Yes, I liked Percy Jackson but he's like my brother now. You don't have to be in love with people to love them!”

Like the tartarus scene,

“If you two are going down, you'll need me too!”

“Nico, no, listen—”

“No, Jackson! I'm not losing another sibling.”

The three of them fall together because they are family.

And just, bloopers from Tartarus,

“Oh my gods, what the fuck are you?

“Nico, you don't ask people!”

“THAT'S EXACTLY WHY YOU'RE DYING YOU PIECE OF KELP!”

back to serious stuff,

The aftermath and all of them just trying to console each other.

Also since, Percy bullied Nico into staying at camp. He did in fact know a bit about Will Solace. So, it's not the in the moment thing but a gradual and slow process where the two explore their friendship and after the war their blossoming relationship.

And Annabeth and Percy just facepalming not understanding how Will and Nico are this oblivious. Grover is just like "oh yeah, totally doesn't sound like a pair i know.”

And Percy always invites Nico for every holiday and at some point Nico practically lives with the Jacksons. Sometimes they talk about Bianca and Nico tries to rediscover the things he had forgotten with Hades and Percy's help while also trying to find this new him.

And throughout this process, he will always have a family.

The only reason Bianca felt safe leaving Nico was because she trusted Percy to take care of him and Percy hoped he was doing a good job at it.

And even when times will get rough, Nico will know that he will always have a home with Percy and Annabeth.

#platonic!pernico #percyjackson #percy and annabeth #percy and nico #nico di angelo #I'm soft for platonic pernico and there's not enough content about them so here i am writing it #like percy is the overprotective mother #Annabeth and percy literally adopted nico if you think otherwise you're kidding youself

[kaykay-13]

Eros qiu keeps interacting with yun like its all good and then one day yun finds one of his arrows and pricks his finger on it accidentally and when xingqiu is like " OH MY GOD YUN NOOOO " Yun just looks at him like " huh? What happened? Its just a little cut ?? "

ABSJDBDJRBRJENEEK YES!!!! that’s what i thought!!! what a way to confession to the gods of love himself

#xingyun #kk13

[mythologyfolklore]

Marpessa isn’t into gods (and Ares makes a speech about love)

(My take on the myth where Marpessa rejects Apollon out of worry, that he would abandon her in old age)

.

Apollon was arguing with a mortal man over the probably most gorgeous girl he had ever seen.

Who did that boy think he was anyway? Daring to compete with him for a girl's hand! Him, the god of light, music, medicine, prophecy and so much more! This puny mortal man couldn't compare with him to save his life and he had the gall to point an arrow at his face!

“Lower your bow”, he ordered. “Cease this nonsense. You're insane to attempt to go against a god.”

“I don't care, if it's crazy!”, Idas spat. “I will stop you from taking away my bride, no matter what!”

“Cute”, Apollon commented, “But there is nothing you can offer her, that I don't have as well.”

“Sure is!”, Idas spat. “How about true love and a faithful and caring husband?”

The god gasped at the insolence: “Are you saying that I'm a liar and a player?!”

“No, I'm saying that you're an arrogant prick, who only wants her for her beauty!”

By now Apollon was too angry to just point out, that Idas was being hypocritical, since Marpessa's beauty had been the reason why he had abducted her in the first place.

With a face like thunder he pulled out the sword that was hidden beneath his chiton (and no, that was not a euphemism, that was an actual sword). “That's it! You must be hubristic or suicidal – or both! Either way, enough of the useless talk. Let's duke it out. Single combat, for the sake of fairness I won't be using any of my divine abilities.”

Idas nodded grimly. “So be it then.”

Then the god and the mortal engaged in mortal combat, while poor Marpessa just stood at the side, not knowing what to do.

This lasted for several hours and it was getting nowhere.

But then, all of the sudden a voice boomed: “EVERYBODY SETTLE DOWN!”

And in a flash of lightning, Zeus and Ares were standing between the contestants, driving them apart.

“Cease this pointless fighting right now!”, Zeus ordered. “This is getting ridiculous and the noise can be heard all the way up to Olympos.”

“Yep”, Ares nodded. “At first I thought it was funny, but then I looked down and saw, that you're fightin' over my granddaughter like she's some kinda prize.”

Ares' granddaughter, huh? Well, that explained why the oaf of a war god was here.

“So”, Zeus said, “why don't we just ask the lady herself? Has that occurred to you?”

Apollon felt just a little awkward, because in his case the answer was no.

Idas cleared his throat, making the three gods glare at him.

“In all respect”, he coughed, “Marpessa agreed to elope with me, because we're in love with each other and-”

“Did she?”, Ares questioned coolly. “Certainly didn't look or sound like that to me earlier-”

“No, no”, Marpessa finally spoke up, “He really didn't abduct me. I was just fearful, because the chariot was so fast. The speed was scary.”

“Huh. Sorry, my bad”, Ares apologised. “But her father (my son) just drowned himself in a river in despair, when you made off with his only child, so do forgive me, if I'm not the most reasonable.”

“My father is dead …?”

Zeus clapped his hands to get everybody's attention. “No time for this. Let's get it over with. Everybody be silent, except for Marpessa. This young lady here will choose who she wants to be with and the loser has to accept her decision. Is that clear?”

The two contestants nodded and Zeus turned to his great-granddaughter: “Well then, child. Make your choice.”

Marpessa looked back and forth between the god and the Argonaut.

For a few minutes, she considered.

Eventually she addressed Apollon (he could hear her heart racing in her chest): “Phoibos Apollon, Life-Giver and Lord of the Oracle …”

“Just Apollon will do”, he told her gently and tried not to look too nervous.

She swallowed and went on: “Please forgive me, but I choose Idas.”

The god of light felt all colour drain from his face, while Idas cheered in triumph and danced around joyfully, like young men in love had the tendency to do.

Great. Now that bold son of Poseidon got to be all smug and happy, while-

Oh, what was that? Ah, that was Apollon's heart being shattered into a thousand pieces! Again.

“Wh-what?! Wh-why?!”, he choked. “What does he have that I don't?!”

“Mortality”, she answered.

“What?!”

“Let me explain”, the young woman pleaded. “You're without a doubt the most handsome man I have ever seen – no offense, o King of the Gods …”

“None taken”, Zeus laughed in good humour.

“… I know what I would gain with you, Apollon”, Marpessa continued. “You're the god of many wonderful and terrible things and abundant in talents and virtues like no other. You could give me everything: adventure, excitement, and so on. But you're ageless and immortal. I'm not. I will age and die. You love me now, because I'm young and beautiful, but how will it be then? Will you still call me the most beautiful woman you have ever seen, when my face is covered in wrinkles and kiss the top of my hair, that by then will have gone grey? Will you be there, when I die? Will you cry, when I'm gone? Will you remember me fondly, because I delighted you in my youth?”

The god of music was speechless.

The question had hit him right in the gut. He hadn't thought about that – never had, because it had never been necessary. His lovers usually either broke up with him after a while, or they died young. Or he didn't get lucky in the first place, like now.

“Your silence says it all”, Marpessa sighed. “You wouldn't – perhaps even couldn't – stay with me for the rest of my life. But Idas would. He truly loves me. We will grow old together and, for all of his adventures, he will never abandon me.”

The Argonaut hugged her from behind and she turned her head to smile at him.

No, there was no chance he could convince her to change her mind, Apollon realised.

Suddenly there were sniffles behind him and to everyone's surprise, Ares was wiping his eyes.

“That was one of the most beautiful speeches I have ever heard!”, he sobbed. “I just can't even! Anyway, well chosen, my granddaughter. You two have my blessing. Off ya go!”

She beamed at the war god and let Idas help her back onto his chariot.

And off they went.

Zeus gently pat Apollon's shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. “Better luck next time, my son”, he said. Then he vanished in a flash of lightning, leaving Apollon with Ares of all gods.

“Won't you leave too?”, the god of prophecy asked.

Ares shook his head. “Ya don't wanna be alone as much as ya think ya do.”

“Ares, please.”

“M-mh. What she said back there really got to ya, didn't it?”

The blond god groaned in distress. “She really thinks I'm so shallow as to abandon her at the very first wrinkle.”

“Well, is she wrong?”

Apollon stared at the black-and-red-haired god. “Excuse me?!”

“Has anyone ever asked that of ya before?”

“Well, no, but-”

“Would you have stayed with her?”, Ares queried sternly. “I'm her grandfather, so I wanna know. Would you stay with her until she dies? Would you make the effort of weathering the storms of life with her, for better and for worse? Would you be to her what every person, mortal or divine, needs: a constant in her life, who's always there? Would you give her the loyalty every woman wishes for? Could you handle the pain of seeing the woman you fell for grow old and frail, while you stay forever young? Could you still love the face that belonged to the once most beautiful girl in all of Hellas, when it's full of wrinkles? Would you still find her beautiful? Would you wax your pretty poetry and tell her cheesy shit to cheer her up, when she gets nostalgic? Would you take care of her, when she can no longer take care of herself? Would you hold her hand, when she lies on her death bed, tell her how much you love her and give her one last kiss, before she descends to Hades?”

“I … I …”

Ares cupped Apollon's chin and forced the younger god to look him in the eyes.

“You're not that kinda guy, Apollon”, he stated with uncharacteristic gentleness. “Ya give your affection so easily, but it fades so quickly. And even if not, you leave your lovers with pretty gifts and abilities and then watch them from afar. But that's not what they need. What humans need is commitment. What Marpessa an' I just listed up? That's commitment. That's real love. And it takes a kind of courage most gods don't have or are unwilling to muster, 'cuz lovin' a mortal is painful. You an' I know that all too well, don't we?”

By now Apollon was trying really hard not to cry in front of the savage god of terrible war. But damn, Ares had a forsooth impeccable talent of hitting people, where it hurt the most. It was rivalled only by Aphrodite and their arsehole son Eros (like parents like son, Apollon supposed).

Ares sighed and hugged his younger half-brother.

“I hate you!”, Apollon choked. “And your oldest son too! What have I done to you for you to always hurt me like this?!”

“I know, I know”, Ares muttered. “Promise, I didn't do it on purpose this time, though. I just wanted ya to understand.”

“…”

“It's okay to cry, by the way. I may not be the best shoulder to cry on, but I won't judge. Let it out. It'll do ya no good to bottle it all up.”

Screw it.

The god of light collapsed in his older half-brother's arms and began to bawl relentlessly into the other's shoulder.

“Shhh”, the other murmured, while soothingly rubbing Apollon's back and holding him tightly.

They stayed like that for a while, before Ares backed off to look at the other.

“Man, they're really screwin' you over, huh?”, he asked sympathetically. “C'mon, lil' brother. Let's go home. Hestia gave me lots of cookies, but I don't like sweets, so you can have them as comfort food. Take a break from love and while you're at that, think of what I said, hm?”

Apollon just sniffled and let the older god transport them both back to Olympos.

#Greek Mythology #apollon #idas #marpessa #zeus #ares #apollon needs a hug #ares is sympathetic #ares tries really hard to be a good bro #he's not really that good at it #zeus has the biggest braincell in this situation