#and he just wants priam to want to be his friend

[monstercampus]

Harpy Professor - First Meeting

(cws: slight alcohol mention, brief lewd references)

wc: 3.5k

Last night was a mess. Priam had been out all night partying with his friends, while Antón had been rage-cleaning the apartment in a frenzy in order to have everything spotless before the first day of term. The two of them you've gotten used to, of course, but their habits still tick you off when you're not in the mood to deal with them. Priam's drunken stumble back into the dorm at 4 AM didn't help either, as your vampiric roommate got into an argument with him over leaving the living room a mess. Exams have been over for weeks, and yet the two of them still find stupid things to fight about in the heat of the moment.

And you were left to endure it as best you could, your pillow clamped over your ears for half the night and your blanket pulled down over your feet by your shadow friend–who also seemed to be quite frustrated by your other tenants and their noise, trying vainly to block out the light and seal your door in his mist to try and muffle the ruckus. Either way you weren't going to sleep, not well, so now you've stepped into your first class of the new semester with bags under your eyes and half your school supplies forgotten. Just get through it today. Tomorrow will be better.

First on the roster this morning is Monster-Human Relations–a class you knew would be small, but not this small, with barely ten or so seats filled so far in the mid-sized lecture room. There's only about five rows of staggered desks on a slope anyways, with a curved, connected desk to separate the section from the front of the class and the podium. And you're a few minutes early, so you anticipate there'll be more students filing in as they wake up from their respective hangovers or hangovers-by-association, like yourself. Being an advanced class, though, it's not going to be much bigger than this. The only reason you're even taking this class was because the professor made a request for your attendance, and gave you special permissions to attend based on your unique species allocation. And lo and behold, even so, there's a face you recognize right as you walk in the door, his piercing eyes perking up as he lifts his head at the sound of your footsteps. It's Nick. Gods you are glad to see him. He peers at you through a few loose strands of dark hair, and at the sight of you a smile flashes across his face.

"Hey," He brightens up, pulling on the back of the chair beside him to offer you a seat. "Didn't know you were in this class too." He chuckles, though your look of relief doesn't seem to entertain him enough not to notice the weight of weariness you carry in your slumped shoulders. You're quick and eager to drop your bag on the table and slide into the chair, but Nick's worry stops you in your tracks. "What's up, buttercup? You look exhausted. Why aren't you in bed?"

"Roommates kept me up," You sigh, flipping open the lip of your bag to pull out your laptop. "But I'm okay. Can't miss the first class, anyways."

"Of course you can." Nicky's grin returns as you hoped it would, but it's gentler this time. "Besides, Wellwright's a big puffball. You can pretty much do whatever you want in his classes."

"I don't wanna be rude."

"You don't have a rude bone in your body." He's not flippant about it, but he does avert his eyes as he makes his comment–although it could just be because he's scribbling the date and the course number down in his thick notebook. "Wellwright's a super sweet guy, he was my mentor in Commonspeak class. He'll love you."

"You took Commonspeak?"

"Sure did." Those pearly teeth make an appearance as he chuckles, pride swelling his chest. "Barely spoke a word when I got here. Now I'm the most voracious person you probably know."

"Voracious?" You laugh, and he joins you, though as uplifting as it is it doesn't last for very long. You're grateful for it even so, your chuckling devolving as more people filter in and drawing to a close as the door to the classroom nearly slams off the hinges.

One moment of peace turns into chaos like the flip of a light switch, a pair of huge, strong wings entering the room with a scraggly, rough-looking man stumbling in alongside them. A tornado of feathers seems to cascade over the front of the room, flying off and whipping up with the breeze as those enormous wings flap and fold in an attempt to keep their host on his feet. Both you and Nick have to grab hold of your notebook and laptop respectively just so they don't fly off the table.

"My apologies!" He squawks, arms full of books and papers that also seem to be flying everywhere as he makes his way to his desk. You spare a glance over Nick's shoulder as he checks his watch, to which he taps and mouths "late" to you to elicit another giggle.

Raven Wellwright, a harpy of considerable acclaim, is definitely a name you've heard beyond the professor hastily scribbling it up on the whiteboard. Not only is he one of very, very few male harpies known to the world, but he's also very conveniently one of a handful of experts on the field of monster and human cooperation. He's penned a library of papers, articles, and books on the subject, won awards for his aid in developmental projects and awareness campaigns, and he's even been the first monster to be welcomed into a previously human-exclusive collegiate of considerable prestige. He's a rarity in all senses of the word…a rarity that's molting his feathers all over his desk, sweat gathering at his collar as his short waves of strawberry-blond locks falling haphazardly back into place while he shuffles around.

"Right!" He bellows out to the three-quarters-empty classroom, the tak tak of his papers hitting the podium echoing off the walls like glass marbles. "What was I saying?"

"You haven't started yet, professor." Nick calls out, and although it's certainly an awkward air in the room the harpy seems somewhat relieved that he hasn't already forgotten what just came out of his mouth.

"Right, thank you Nicholas. Nicholas!" He suddenly bursts into a frenzy, a smile plastered over his glowing face and his eyes sparkling with grateful familiarity. "Nicholas will be our note-taker this term, as well as your TA! Take a bow, Nick!"

Funny enough, even confident-and-cool Nick boasts a spot of shyness and a dark flush to his ears as he's encouraged to stand, turning around to wave at your fellow students who eye him up with varying degrees of interest, all while Raven claps with an eagerness to him that lasts until your friend reclaims his seat. Whispers dominate the classroom while Raven's head is turned, though it doesn't seem like they're just regarding the scatterbrained professor and his handsome assistant–especially not when he turns back and his square glasses-framed eyes land directly on you.

"Oh," That soft puff of air could just as well be a gunshot with how loud it feels to you, Raven's lithe fingers trembling slightly as he pushes his lenses higher up on his nose. For a split second, even with Nick's comforting words in the back of your brain, a tense knot of worry tightens in your stomach as you wonder whether your presence will be met with disdain.

"H-Hello! It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance," And yet that concern evaporates the instant he skirts around the podium, features bright and his wings rustling excitedly as he hustles towards your desk and thrusts his hand out to yours. You barely have to hold his at all with how violently nervous his grip is, fingers clamped down so tight you can just barely feel the itch of his filed claws for nails against your skin. "Raven Wellwright, P.H.D! I'd like to welcome you to our university–it is a joy and an honour to have you here!"

With one last tight squeeze of his unusually cool hand, he pats your arm and releases you from that iron grip to scurry back to his podium. As luck would have it, all he's got prepared for today is a review of the syllabus, which soon flies by despite being peppered with occasional comments and brief anecdotes to supplement it, courtesy of a now hyper-focused prof who clearly knows what he's talking about. It's almost a little intimidating to watch him switch so quickly from anxiety to decisiveness, the nervous shakes vanishing as he briefly divulges the core topics of the material you'll be going over. It actually helps to stir you a bit from your exhaustion, though the half-smushed granola bar in the bottom of your bag also helps once he reiterates that eating in his class isn't a faux pas.

"I'm sure you're all readily familiar with the plagiarism policy and academic conduct sections as well, yes? Any questions?"

A revolution of head-nodding round the room seems to suffice, and with a quick glance at the clock by the door Wellwright rolls out his shoulders and drops his papers against the podium with a refreshed sigh.

"Well, that's good enough for me! Take an early lunch and enjoy the rest of your day, we'll start with our introductory lecture next class–oh, and could you two come to my office for a spell?" As he passes by your joint desks he gives them a tap, making eye contact with both you and Nick with a reassuring smile as the rest of the class shuffles their bookbags and lets their chair legs squeak as they get up from their seats. Your heart kicks up with a nervous thump, thump, thump, but whether Nick can smell it or hear it or is completely oblivious to it he pats your thigh under the table and nudges your shoulder playfully.

"No worries. He probably just wants to gush over you." He whispers into your ear, and with a half-smile conjured up from your dwindling pool of strength you gather your things in kind and follow alongside the werewolf as you both make your way to Wellwright's office, the path known well enough to him that he can chat your ear off the whole way there, and still make it in time to watch the professor hustle along down the corridor with his bag in tow as the two of you wait for him to unlock the door.

"Come in, come in! Take a seat–anywhere is fine–and have a snack! I've got tea…uh, somewhere! Just give me a moment.."

It's most certainly more haphazard being around him in the cramped office than it was in the lecture hall–as Wellwright hurries in and you two follow behind, Nick has to bring his hand down firmly on your head for you both to duck, just barely missing the professor's wing as it swings around and nearly collides with both of you. And with the size and strength of those muscles and that coat of healthy tawn-coloured feathers, you don't even wanna know how hard it would hurt to get smacked with one of those things.

But, oblivious to your plight, the avian totters around his office chirping up a storm while the werewolf at your side leads you–with your heads appropriately bowed under his wing line this time–to take your seats in the two plush chairs across from his spacious corner desk. Raven busies himself by the window with what looks to be a teapot on a portable burner for a minute or two, before the spout starts to whistle a familiar tune and he expertly tips it out to pour three steaming cups of fresh tea. Ginger-flavoured by the smell of it, the scent pervading your nostrils in an oddly relaxing way as he lays out each cup in front of all three of you. Curious, you watch as he takes his own seat, and notice that the arms of his chair dip towards the back for each wing to settle comfortably in the empty slots. Monster creativity truly knows no bounds, no matter how benign the design.

"-Anyways, that's quite enough about me! I'd like to know more about you." His bangs flutter over each brow as he turns to meet your eyes, not an ounce of enthusiasm missing from his gaze as he takes a sip from his cup–and proceeds to splutter and cough with a napkin pulled up to cover his mouth, mumbling in a half-lisp about burning his tongue. When you follow his lead with a giggle you make sure to at least blow on yours, and it's actually rather sweet despite the strength of the ginger threatening to overwhelm you. "I–we–are well and truly excited to have you here! I can't tell you how integral your presence will be in the pursuit of monster-human cooperation–you are sincerely a gift to this establishment, and I cannot thank you enough for taking the plunge and attending despite the odd circumstances."

Somehow–perhaps it's an effect of the tea–the mouthful of praises the professor drops are free from his usual stutters and vocal stumbling, as if the topic of you is yet another subject he can't help but be eloquently passionate about. You, on the other hand? You're not even sure what to say to that...such high praise feels uncalled for, not that it's unpleasant in nature, but that it should be reserved for someone that's actually done something to deserve it. All you really did was go with the flow and refrain from kicking up a fuss.

"I, uh…th-thank you, professor, but I really didn't do much…" You shrug shyly, suddenly wishing you could disappear from the awkwardness and hide inside Nick's jacket for comfort. But the silent moment passes not in a hollow, nerve-wracking way, because it's filled by Raven's easy smile growing into something a little more intimate, his feathers settling to lay flat as he reaches over the desk and gently clasps both hands over yours.

"You took a risk, my dear. Unsure of what lies on the horizon, you chose a path seldom travelled yet long overdue for progress. That in itself is worth a world of praise."

You knew he could be eloquent, but that…that was poetry. And could that warmth tipping his pointed ears be a blush, coincidental with how his fingers retract from touching you? Worried his touches may come off as something more the longer they linger? Or are you simply reading into things?

"Maybe I should go," Nick teases, and that thankfully eases the tension enough for you to snap back into the reality at hand–and for Raven's feathers to ruffle in embarrassment as he leans away from you just to bump his head painfully on his overhanging lamp.

"Sweet Chaos–ah, I'm fine, I'm fine!" He waves away your worry while Nick erupts into a cheeky laugh beside you, the professor's unyielding clumsiness proving too much for him to keep it all sealed in. Especially hearing a string of curses fly from such a sweet, kind-hearted man's mouth, who wouldn't hurt a beetle even if it bit him. "Before I injure myself further, perhaps I should just get to the point." He sighs with a palm pressed to the back of his head, rubbing the soreness off the fortunately very minor bump there.

"It's the MHC thing, right?" Nick pipes up, sobered from the giggle fit but still grinning from ear to ear.

"Just so." Raven nods, those cotton candy-pink eyes shifting back to you. "My dear, I have a favour to ask of you. Would you consider being a human ambassador on my behalf?"

"...Ambassador? As in..?"

"Oh, i-it's nothing too taxing! Allow me to explain: being an ambassador simply means you would be willing to speak as an individual of your species for MHC conferences. It would really just involve me calling on your opinion and presenting it to the Monster-Human Commission–most of it will just be in writing, no more than a sentence or few."

"You mean 'sentence or two', professor." Nick cuts in, leaning back in his chair like he owns the place. If you weren't mistaken, you could swear there's a glint of something fierce in the harpy's eyes as his gaze flits over to his protégé–but it's there and gone in a moment, and you try not to let the thought linger for fear of how it might make you wonder.

"Goodness! Surpassing your mentor already, eh? Maybe you should be the one teaching commonspeak, Mr. Wolf." He soon returns to the comfort of your gaze on him. "By no means is it a necessity, but it would be of brilliant use to my colleagues in the commission. Take some time to think about it, okay? There's no rush. You can start and stop whenever you please."

"I, uh…yes, thank you, professor. I'll give it some thought." Wellwright nods with a happy grin, and allows you to finish the rest of your tea with a few occasional spurts of scatterbrained conversation peppered in between. He's so courteous and well-spoken, gentle and kind…there's no wonder you've heard giggling from the harpy girls on campus when he's brought up, his dreaminess a total diamond in the rough for any self-respecting monster. An absolute gem. A-

"Hey, professor, I can't quite remember–are we reviewing interbreeding this term?"

As if burning his tongue and bumping his head wasn't enough, Wellwright balks at Nick's unforeseen question and nearly chokes on the dregs of his tea, the liquid splattering his chin with a cough that he's quick to wipe with the back of his hand. If it crossed your mind in time, and if you weren't so tired, you'd have half a mind to give Nick a pinch under the desk for torturing the poor man.

"C-Cross-species mating? Uh, ye…yes, we are.."

"Mmh. Gotcha. We've got a human this year, so maybe we can do our independent study on it? That'd be pretty helpful for your research, huh?"

What hits you right away is that he doesn't say no. Not that it's not his first reaction, but that the word doesn't even cross his lips. The slightest twinge of his brow has the harpy narrowing his eyes at the werewolf, and for a brief spell you think the professor might be humouring the exact same reaction as you were.

"Th-That would depend on the human's decision, Nick–and that is certainly not the full extent of my research, I might add!"

"Y-You, um…you study interbreeding, Dr. Wellwright?"

Your query flits out like the most timid of butterflies, curious and interested in equal measure. It must be so easy for both of them to pick up, but you can't really help it–the idea of such a sweet professor pursuing such a lewd scholarly topic is…fascinating, to say the least.

"He does. In great detail." Nick leans over to whisper into your ear, and the air in the room seems to change as Raven squirms anxiously in his seat.

"I-It's a necessary component of my research…" He mumbles, suddenly unable to meet your eyes as the heat in his face stretches to reach the tips of his pointed ears.

"So necessary." Nick adds with a shit-eating grin.

"Nicholas!” Raven finally huffs, brow furrowed and eyes dimmed of their sparkle. Oh, now he's mad. And yet, with a glance over at your companion, Nick couldn't look more enthused about the prospect. They certainly seem to be on familiar terms with how much teasing your friend knows he can get away with. Ripples start to part Wellwright's feathers like shudders, and almost under his breath, he quietly asks if you would give him a moment with his T.A–and you have never been more quick to oblige, setting down your teacup at an earnest pace before your bag is slung over your shoulder and you're soon closing the office door firmly behind you. The click of the lock echoes in the otherwise empty corridor, and though you'd like to wait for Nick out of courtesy, the hushed whispering that ensues followed by the flap of your professor's wings clues you in that perhaps it would be better to give them some…privacy.

Although, at the very least your phone buzzes before you've even left the wing, a glance down at the messages revealing that Nick's gonna be tied up for awhile, but he's alright. His words echo in your head, “Wellwright's just a big puffball”, and it loosens a pleasant sigh from your throat as you let your shoulders relax. The last thing you want is to get anyone in trouble, which you seem to do quite easily by your very nature of being human.

This class may end up being a different story though, if your professor's…enthusiasm towards the human race is anything to go by.

[hamletshoeratio]

Pride was Theseus' fatal flaw.

He abandons Ariadne, the literal only reason he survived the labyrinth, because he feels he can do better or because he doesn't want to acknowledge that he couldn't defeat the minotaur and survive the labyrinth alone. He gets so caught up in his victory that he forgets to raise white flags so his (mortal) father knows he survived, and said father throws himself into the sea in despair and dies thinking his son is dead. Becoming King of Athens as a result of that, he becomes a tyrannical king because of his pride and because a toxic friend uses his pride to manipulate him. Where once he was brave and cared for other people, only attacking after first being attacked, after meeting Pirithous, he began doing dangerous and cruel things without thinking about the consequences of his actions. He becomes cruel and self-serving. He kidnaps a thirteen year old Helen of Sparta, intent on making her his wife (never mind the wife he already has) because she is a beautiful daughter of Zeus, the most beautiful girl on the Earth, who else would be worthy of her?, he thinks. He tries to help his friend kidnap Persephone, a goddess in her own right, so that they both can be married to daughters of Zeus, who could stand in their way? Hercules saves his ass from Hades' punishment, but even despite all of the above bullshit, the Gods still don't abandon him. Not until he murders his own son do they abandon him. He kills his son out of jealousy and out of pride. Now he's old, and his own people despise him, even the gods have abandoned him, so he decides to try and be a hero again. He fails. He's lost everything because of pride. Eventually, he is either pushed or he himself jumps (depends on the retelling) into the sea and drowns. If he was pushed, he was too proud and thought that he couldn't be tricked. If he jumped, maybe he was too proud to believe that his father had abandoned him, or maybe he realised his fatal flaw, realised the devastion that he left in his wake as a result and couldn't live with it.

Theseus represents the worst aspects of Poseidon. He's possessive, temperamental, violent, selfish, impulsive, and all-consuming. He doesn't take no for an answer. He's too proud. If Poseidon is anything, it's a prideful god. See the Odyssey, where he has a long vendetta against Odysseus for killing his son. See the Illiad where he sides the Greeks because Laomedon, the mortal King of Troy generations before Priam, Hector and Paris, promised a temporarily mortal Poseidon great reward for building the walls that would later protect Troy from the Greeks for over a decade, then when the task was done told him that setting him free is the best reward that Poseidon could hope for. Posedion took every opportunity to attack Trojan ships and even sent a blood thirsty sea serpent to terrorise the city. There's countless stories where Posedion's pride is the driving force behind them.

Pride is not all that Posedion is, but it's one of his faults.

Do you understand how significant his surrender is? Because I do and it's driving me insane. He sets it aside and he surrenders to his brother, a brother who once took his powers and made him mortal, the brother who is the very last person in the universe he would ever want to submit to. He does it to save Percy because Percy matters far more to him than his pride.

Posedion is one of the Gods who have grown the most since ancient times. He's no Saint and he will never be one, but he's calmed, he grown, he can now set his pride aside.

It's probably why Kymopoleia was banished (she deserves better from Rick because she is full of untapped potential and ngl hoo did her dirty and I can and probably will rant about it someday just not in this post), because she reminded Posedion too much of his dark side, a side he isn't indulging in as much because he's not conspiring to steal Zeus' throne, because as far as we know he doesn't have any vendetta currently ongoing (other than doing significant damage to Florida when Hera kidnaps Percy in tlh).

We do see Posedion set his pride aside for Percy in the books, in the last olympian when joins Zeus and Co in the battle, letting his own domain face destruction. Kronos doesn't expect Posedion to join Zeus & co because of his pride and he's both shocked and pissed that Posedion has done so. It wasn't part of his plan, he never considered that happening (which makes Hades showing up too so much sweeter). Percy had to ask him to do that. Seeing Posedion set his pride aside without a single word from Percy, who has closed his eyes and accepted his fate? I'M A FUCKING WRECK

[ilions-end]

uh oh i've finished THE THEBAID! time to talk about it!

disclaimer: i'm not a roman empire girlie. like with the aeneid, i'm AWARE the author is using the medium of greek myths to say things about the state of the republic and roman culture, and i'm just kinda... not interested in that. i'm here for the plot and the characters. envision i'm a child watching saturday morning cartoons with my bowl of fruit loops going "yayy did you see the character do the thing?! that was so cool!!". basically i'm enjoying these stories on the "easily entertained dumbass" level

and i LOVED it. i got FUCKED UP by this epic in the best way. HOW TO DESCRIBE THE THEBAID?

it's so deliciously engaging and funny and dark. to me it feels more closely related to the iliad than either the odyssey or the aeneid, but it's in conversation with all of them and also so unique. there are bitter ironies everywhere, troubled people making worse choices. ALL the characters are flawed, but in extremely interesting and engaging (and even endearing) ways.

there's something about how it starts out as a GREAT EPIC telling the story of BRAVE HEROES except they can't retain their integrity as the story progresses, they can't fathom their own limitations or flaws. it's like the iliad if achilles HADN'T accepted priam's plea, it's the odyssey if odysseus hadn't retained enough of himself to string that bow or remember the bed. it's a story that tells you "they failed, none of this mattered, but also all of it mattered".

i love how statius as an author is SO present, leading you by the hand through the narrative, offering his views (he has so many opinions and snide asides! and sometimes he complains about how much WORK it is to tell you this story, omg why are you forcing him to do all this work!) and it all feels so -- aw that's my buddy statius!! my funny friend statius is telling me this story and it's great!

this might be the first epic i've read where we know the author wanted it to more or less BE like that, so there are some LONG LINES being drawn from the beginning of the story to the end

i'll be honest, i didn't know much about the theban cycle when i started reading. i knew about oedipus, and antigone, and that diomedes' dad was in it, and that everybody fails spectacularly at what they're trying to achieve. and turns out that was more than enough knowledge to hit the ground running, it's surprisingly straightforward

i'd assumed diomedes' dad was just "one of the seven leaders against thebes", but no he's a MAIN main guy! tydeus is so central, at one point he is ENTIRELY to blame for everything bad that happens later, and i fell in love with that awful little murderman

like the way tydeus introduces himself in the first chapter saying he's from "calydon, the breeding ground of monsters". and you're sitting there like HOHOHO i think we're gonna discover who's the latest monster to come out of calydon!

like the iliad, it shows both sides of the conflict, and arguably our main point of view guys are WAY MORE fucked up than they guys they're fighting. like i love polynices, he's sympathetic because he's been treated so unfairly but that doesn't mean he's not kinda fucked up; i love eteocles, who's a tyrant and cheated, but he's fun to watch and equally fucked up

the wonderful thing is that it doesn't matter who you cheer for, everyone's gonna lose :D

it has everything you want from an epic: gods taking sides, glorious aristeias, tragic battlefield deaths, a trip to the underworld, funeral games, evocative descriptions of weaponry and equipment (statius is SO to the point when it comes to ekphrasis, love him for that), a sexy night raid... the contexts for some of these might surprise you!

AND. AND. IT HAS WHAT THE ILIAD LACKS. that's right: DIONYSUS, baby!! he's here, he's involved, he's getting his hands dirty! also he gets to play a very thetis-like part at one point, which i think is sexy.

statius does amazing work making all these characters distinct. i never thought i'd get a detailed sense of all SEVEN against thebes (and other characters besides ofc) but each of them has their uniquely memorable moments and oddities and they're all so different from each other. it's about PERSONALITIES and it's about those personalities gradually being INFECTED by polynices' transgressive thebe-ness. and still i'm hugging them all to my chest. my little fucked up dudes

it's fascinating that the thebaid is ultimately a tragedy, but it's not like athenian tragedy -- this isn't about how there was no other way, or that everything's already locked down heading for catastrophe; it's the opposite! the heartbreak is in how we see that the conflict could have ended HERE, or HERE, or HERE, or HERE, but they're all so set on doing this they're willing to ignore EVERY bad omen, write off EVERY loss, and convince each other OF COURSE they're gonna win (which they won't!) because they're THE HEROES, DAMMIT. it's HUBRIS, THE EPIC

my favourite moment of "this could easily have ended here" is before the war, when polynices falls out of his chariot during the funeral games, and he's in the middle of the track when all the other racing teams come thundering towards him. statius STOPS TIME at that moment to tell us how close polynices is to dying, that ALL THE PAIN AND DEATH that is sure to come would have been avoided RIGHT HERE if only he'd been trampled and killed, and what a blessing that would have been. but the story has to continue, polynices escapes without a scratch and everything bad happens as it must. THE FLAVOUR of moments like that?? GAWD

so those are some general thoughts. specific moments under the cut because i can never stop talking once i get going

a main thing is how IMMENSELY DISGUSTED zeus is with oedipus, and it never stops being funny. because, like, 1) oedipus' incest kids are adults at this point, and you're still THIS worked up about it?? 2) zeus has got it all wrong, he's like "OMG EWWW can you believe he SOUGHT OUT his own mother to fuck her?? that this PERVERT wanted to fuck his own MOTHER all along?! DISGOSTANG!!" like mate that's REALLY NOT how that happened! and 3) zeus buddy, you're having a tantrum about the concept of incest to your sister-wife........

you know what never gets old? statius describing the activities of the furies' snake hair. the snakes get thirsty! they get sleepy! they get excited! amazing.

MAN how the beginning of book 2 drew me in. we're dropped straight into the action with hermes on an important mission heading out of the underworld, we have no idea what's going on but it's SO atmospheric, it's SO intriguing, and we have to follow his tracks to see where the narrative is going with it. THIS STORYTELLING FEELS SO MODERN

there's a CURSED NECKLACE that i really thought would play more into the plot. i mean it's there to emanate bad vibes, i guess, and indirectly influence things. i'm just not used to full-on CURSED ARTIFACTS in my epics

tydeus' stint as an emissary is hilarious, i'm still not over it. when he loses his cool and basically yells at eteocles "WELL YOU'RE THE SPAWN OF INCEST!!" when he's there ON BEHALF of the other spawn of incest......... tydeus you're SO bad at this

OOOOUGH TYDEUS FIGHTING BACK THE AMBUSH AT THE SPHINX' ROCK IS SO SEXY AND HORRIFYING OMGGG. hang on i gotta go reread that now...

...fucking hell, it's so good. IT'S SO GOOD!!!! it's my new favourite aristeia in any of these epics, from the first cheap shot that almost gets him in the jugular, to the clambering up the rock, and his shield BRISTLING with enemy spears which he pulls out and uses against them, and not to mention how it shows just how fucking EXHAUSTED he gets once the initial adrenaline rush is through

man, statius is so excellent at realistic physiology. like the detailed descriptions of how the runners at the funeral games warm up, how their muscles feel doing this or that... statius obviously knows so many things firsthand

also love how from there on out tydeus lies about the ambush. honey you killed forty-nine guys, not fifty, and you know it!! it's impressive enough, you don't need to round up

i wish athena would play a bigger part as she's taking tydeus as her champion and everything. she's probably the MOST unknowable of all the gods in the thebaid, she rarely speaks directly to anyone, and is kinda only present for her core scenes in the myth. tell me what you're thinking about babe...

we get way more of that "UH OH YOU'RE A GOD'S FAVOURITE, THIS ISN'T GONNA END WELL" with apollo's love for amphiaraus, though. i appreciate that

while we're on the gods, i'm also VERY weak for how openly ares simps for aphrodite. when she jumps in front of his horses to stop him and there's this lovely passage where he rushes from the chariot to take her in his arms and comfort her... awww. and then it's kinda wild when he's like "darling you're my only respite from war"... ares babe, you LOVE war!

there are several suicides in this story, and each one is surprisingly disturbing in its own way, but maeon though??? guy went out with IMMENSE STYLE and INTEGRITY. respect

statius is really good about chronology (since the theban war happens before the iliad-aeneid-odyssey) EXCEPT at one point someone throws a big rock (hippomedon maybe? i can't remember) like polyphemus threw boulders at odysseus and i'm like NO THAT HASN'T HAPPENED YET. ODYSSEUS IS A BOY IN ITHACA AT THIS POINT

i didn't expect to love parthenopaeus so much!! he's a BOY who's snuck off to war, he's glorious but he doesn't understand the consequences! that's a still-developing brain in there!!! when he's killed, EVEN THE ENEMIES GRIEVE FOR HIM, aaaaah! and statius keeps using him as a symbol of how meaningless the war is, and he's a proto-achilles (proto-neoptolemus?) in so many ways and it just KILLS ME

the whole nemea section is sooooo weird. and i GET that it's meant to be weird, that it's part of this whole campaign's WRONGNESS but it's... it's weird. like WHY does their entire army get involved in this place's family and history and politics? why do they get DELAYED FROM WAR eagerly listening to a nurse talking about the massacre of lemnos? why would she put the baby on the ground and leave it? what's UP with that snake? why do they have these MAJOR FUNERAL GAMES OF MILITARY PROWESS for a random dead royal infant? it's so weirddddd

the funeral games in themselves are great fun actually. and that only makes it worse because the next day the battles start and EVERYONE STARTS GETTING KILLED. the vibes turn on a DIME here

there are so many references to heracles that i can't appreciate because i'm clueless about heracles. i should fix that.

i cackled SO HARD at how statius reveals tydeus' cannibalism. that perspective change?? how athena is watching his comrades trying to WREST the decapitated head from him like he's a dog chewing on plastic? oh gosh it's amazing

AND i love how eteocles USES TYDEUS' CANNIBALISM AS A POINT OF PROPAGANDA. he's SO good at painting the entire enemy force as savages because would you believe even one of their fucking LEADERS chomped on theban brains!! THEY'RE HERE TO EAT US UNLESS WE FIGHT

also. also way later when we're told tydeus' wife's love for him is SO GREAT that she even managed to forgive him for that final taboo... do you know who else forgave him for that? INSTANTLY, without a moment's doubt? who was even impressed with him for it because he's fucked up like that? POLYNICES. his love for tydeus goes unremarked but statius sure implies...

i'm not deeply invested in gore but statius is VERY good at describing gore. he's definitely more... structured about battles than homer is though (two leaders dying per chapter, chosen for maximum contrast and effect, etc), to the point where towards the end of the fighting i was getting hungry for something else

the weirdest quirk of statius is how he will reuse names all the time? if there's a random argive background character you can almost bet that there's a random theban background character with that exact name -- i guess to make a point how similar they truly are -- but in a book that shit gets CONFUSING.

the night raid is clearly based on the iliad's night raid except everyone's more twisted and making worse choices, and i appreciate that. then while the heroes are doing awful dishonorable stuff, you get the lowly squires of tydeus and parthenopaeus sneaking off to steal their corpses back and being ACTUALLY HEROIC! oh the contrast is delicious

when statius interrupts his own storytelling to beg the muses to MAKE HIM MORE MENTALLY UNHINGED for the next part he's going to tell?? this man is GIVING IT ALL to tell you this story properly. i love you statius

polynices and eteocles' final duel is the CLIMAX we've been waiting for the entire epic and it's perfect. oh they're equally horrible and they're equally interesting and ohh yummy yummy this storytelling

i would have been fine if the story ended on the battlefield. i understand the "mini epic" in the final chapter as a way to contrast the whole thing ("look at theseus being an ACTUAL epic hero!") but it is a bit of a major vibe shift in the final round

and then it ends with statius pondering if people will enjoy this story after he's dead? :'-) i'm heeeere i'm reading it love it! it's still so great don't worry!!

[psychedelic-ink]

( ✉︎ ) SHORTCUTS TO MY MULTI-CHAP FICS!

This masterlist has got all my series in one spot. I put it together because my pinned post was getting way too long, so now it's easier for you to find and enjoy everything hassle-free. And of course all series can be find in the characters respective masterlists as well!

[✦] MLISTS .  LIBRARY

ego & black powder: pero tovar x prisonguard!reader

ongoing series, loose-fit fic

A prison guard shouldn’t be infatuated with a prisoner. Simple as that. But this new prisoner who you didn’t know the name of, made this rule very difficult to follow.

million dollar man: jack daniels x reader x frankie morales

ongoing series

Two years had passed since your break up with Jack, a fellow Statesmen agent. But everything re-ignites again when Champ asks you to go to San Francisco to investigate the disappearance of multiple women across the country and, sadly enough, agent Malibu. While doing anything with Jack is chaos enough, you also run in to another ex, a man that actually showed you kindness and someone you thought you could spend the rest of your days with that is until he started asking too many questions about your job, Frankie Morales.

we fall like snow: dieter bravo x bodyguard!ofc!amina addams

completed

After the events that took place at the Cliff Beasts set, needless to say as his bodyguard (and friend) you became overprotective of Dieter. You have all your worries under control until you accidentally flip over a young fan by grabbing her wrist, causing the media to stir with speculations as to why. Luckily Dieter's family arrives in the nick of time, scooping you both from New York to their cozy cabin; however winter wonderland can't last forever and you need to face the consequences of your actions sooner or later.

advanced politics of human sexuality: javi g x ofc!mia pradera

ongoing series

Still struggling to come to terms with his father’s recent passing, burdened by the weight of the business he left behind, Javi feels adrift. Meanwhile, years later, an unexpected twist of fate brings you back into Javi’s life again—the daughter of his favorite housekeeper. Uncertain about your future and what to do with it, you find yourself at a crossroads, while Javi wrestles with the irresistible pull he feels towards you.

i've got you darlin': moonknight x reader x din djarin

ongoing series

you find yourself in the middle of a dangerous race of who will steal priam's treasure first; a mysterious cloaked figure who calls himself moon knight or a man in clad armor who calls himself the mandalorian. amongst the chaos, you and steven try to protect the remnants of history.

watercolor eyes: sw!santiago garcia x reader

loose-fit fic, ongoing

After another day of lack of customers and loneliness, you come across a flyer that might grant you a night of relief and pleasure.

musician!joel miller masterlist

loose-fit fic, complete

One night you decide to visit a bar all by yourself. There you meet a guitarist, Joel miller, and things escalate from there. Here you'll find snippets and one-shots of the relationship.

exile: joel miller x ofc!june

Completed

Runners. Stalkers. Clickers. Shamblers. Bloaters. Domestics. All infected. One unlike the other. You expect the infection to eat you from the inside out, turning you into something horrid. But instead, you find yourself with leaf-shaped ears and antlers that belong to a deer. While you live out the rest of your days trying to adjust to your new features and survive, you meet Joel, a survivor just like you but with a more grim approach to life. Both of you adopt the forest as your home. One wants the other gone, meanwhile the other will do anything to not be left alone.

stay in bed: joel miller x reader, one sided tommy miller x reader

Ongoing series

After your grandfather’s passing, you find yourself moving into his home in Texas. You meet the Millers; Tommy, his older brother Joel and his daughter Sarah. With time, you and Tommy become close friends and Sarah visits you often. But Joel…Joel keeps his distance. The reason for this is due to one crucial fact you don’t know but he does; Tommy has a crush on you. Which means you’re off limits no matter what. But as your own feelings for Joel grow, things start to get more and more complicated.

Infections Of a Different Kind (TLOU AU): FEDRA javier p. x firefly!reader

Completed

Javier, a former member of the Federal Disaster Response Agency in Kansas City, is haunted by the guilt and violence he indirectly caused by not taking action when he should have. After fleeing Kansas City in the aftermath of Kathleen's violent overthrow of FEDRA, you and Javier seek refuge in an abandoned train in the middle of a forest. As you and Javier turn the train into a living space and learn to navigate the dangers of a post-apocalyptic world, you gradually overcome your differences and form an unlikely bond. But when your pasts catch up with you, you must confront the demons that haunt you and make a choice that could mean the difference between life and death. Will you choose to protect each other and find a way to build a new life together, or will the ghosts of your pasts tear you apart?

dark hearted people: joel miller x reader x ezra

Ongoing series

Trying to reach Tommy, you and Joel meet a charming stranger. He persuades the two of you into helping him find his stolen equipment. During your travels, none of you expect to fall for one another.

behind the velvet rope: joel miller x actress!reader x dieter bravo

loose-fit fic, Completed

a grumpy bodyguard, an eccentric actor, and you, who is thrust into the limelight. What can go wrong? The three navigate the challenges of Hollywood, tensions may arise and conflicts may occur but they’ll always have each other to lean on.

move me | the stripper saga: stripper!jack daniels x f!reader

Completed

frustrated by your everyday life, you seek solace at a male strip club. It's your first time and you're instantly mesmerized by the one that calls himself "whiskey".

ravish masterlist: joel miller x webcam model!reader

loose-fit fic, Completed

Joel, only now starting to feel the impending sense of loneliness, decides to listen to Tommy and sign up on an online streaming service called Ravish.

GLOSSARY

loose-fit fic: A fan fiction style characterized by a series that lacks a strict, predetermined plot or timeline, often with irregularly posted chapters.

loose-fit fic, complete: A series that is complete but might produce new chapters typically driven by audience demand or interest.

loose-fit fic, ongoing: A series that lacks a strict, predetermined plot or timeline, often with irregularly posted chapters.

[johaerys-writes]

I see people hating Achilles for what he did to Hector's body bc they love Hector and forgetting that…hmm checks notes Hector want to give Patroclus' body to the dogs? A considerable part of the Trojan army was happy to comply if it meant rewards and he didn't stop doing it because he benevolently changed his mind it was bc he didn't get the body 🤔🤔🤔

And then I see someone who sympathizes with Alexander complaining about Agamemnon bc of Kassandra but hmmm checks notes Alexander in certain versions literally kidnap Helen? And then they say like "lol Achilles and Agamemnon fighting over Briseis and Chryseis as if there were no other girls" and yeah…Alexander also didn't want to give Helen back even though his city was falling apart and the Trojans were asking him to give her back...and with him being a handsome prince I'm SURE there were other women for him imao

I've even seen people complain about versions where the Achaeans blame Helen and talk about how she should have stayed in Troy…guys did you skip the part where she says very obviously that only Hector and Priam were good to her? And the sources where the Trojans literally blame Helen? Or talking about infidelity as if they thought that all of Priam's children are Hekabe's (and that all of Hekabe's are always Priam's too) and Hector absolutely does NOT have concubines in ANY source of the myths (spoiler: he does)

And let's not even talk about characters from past generations (like... there are versions that the Trojan princess Hesione was almost sacrificed by the Trojans themselves lol)

Like guuuuuys neither the Achaeans nor the Trojans are saints 😭😭😭when did this narrative of dichotomy between good and evil begin for God's sake

My friend Baejax made a really good post explaining why and how Hector and the Trojans are constantly being portrayed as beacons of civilization and selflessness while Achilles has been hated on for centuries, and I think she says it much better than I could lol, but basically yeah I agree that the dichotomy that exists currently is a load of BS and not how Homer intended these two cultures to be perceived. If anything, their similarities are highlighted over and over in the epic, instead of their differences. The Iliad is NOT a story about good vs evil, nobility and selflessness vs barbarity. Exalting the Trojans and condemning the Greeks (or vice versa) completely misses the overarching tragedy of it all: that their lives and deaths, their love and pain and misery and struggle are nothing but a spectacle for the gods, and that their fates are something they have no control over. (Frankly, whoever reads it that way just isn't doing a very good job thinking critically about the text, and instead focuses on proving their own biases right by trying to bend the original text and its meaning to their will while thoroughly ignoring the context. Which is incredibly unfortunate, if you ask me)

What the Iliad is is a work that shows the gruesome reality and futility of war, and how there are no winners! None!! It begins with an argument between a shitty, incompetent leader and his best (albeit extremely tired and fed up) soldier, and it ends with not one, not two, but three funerals (Patroclus, Hector but also Achilles, whose funeral is heavily foreshadowed by Hector's). For me, the beauty and tragedy of the work is in realising that both the Achaeans and the Trojans are doomed no matter the war's outcome. And this is something that is confirmed by the Odyssey, where we learn that Troy was sacked and razed, and that the Achaeans, the victors, either returned to broken homes and broken people or got lost or died trying to get back. There is no glory to be had for literally anyone.

[floralcavern]

TSOA - Tying Up Lose Ends - Part 1

“Where is he?” I murmur, tapping my finger. “He should’ve been back by now.. perhaps he’s helping heal whoever’s fallen..”

Anxiety creeped up my shoulders, but I shrugged it off. Patroclus is ok. I know he will be. 

There’s loud clamor coming from outside. Men, panicked, but also angry. I could hear them outside my tent. 

I arrive outside. “What is going on?” I demand. 

The men pause. 

There’s something they’re all clamoring to hold onto. To keep safe and unharmed. I’ve seen enough dead men to know what the heap they were all surrounding was. 

“What’s this? Who is this? Where’s Patroclus?”

The men pause, frozen. 

“No..” my voice is caught in my throat. I push pass the men, grabbing onto the man they were all holding. 

The man..

My..

A scream erupts from the depths of my soul. Horror inducing. Blood curdling. No one would believe a scream such as this would come from the lungs of the fearless Achilles. 

“PATROCLUS!”

I grasp his face. It used to be warm and full of color. Now pale and lifeless. 

Another scream that shook the souls of the men around me. 

His eyes, once full of life and humor. Dull and lifeless..

Another scream. 

My voice.. my throat.. I can no longer feel it. But it doesn’t stop my sobbing. 

I grasp onto his body, wailing. I bury my face into his chest, whispering his name, hoping that would be enough to bring my beloved back.. that if I say his name enough, he will wake from the dead..

He is so cold..

The men around me are horrified. They had never seen me like this.. so agitated. I could only imagine what a sight it was to see me so pained and heartbroken. 

I’m once again reminded of how human I truly am. This pain. This sorrow. Only a mortal could truly understand this..

After about 10 minutes.. or maybe an hour.. or maybe a day.. I couldn’t tell.. my thoughts were all on my beloved..

Odysseus.. Odysseus had the audacity to urge me to eat and drink. 

I wish to lash at him. I wish to kill him. I wish to slice his throat and watch him die.. and I was just about to.. but I feel my grip on Patroclus loosen. Almost immediately, my arms are around him again, my face in his neck. I hear Odysseus walk away. 

I drag him to my tent. I lay him in the spot he would always sleep. As if he will awake, like he did every morning, looking at me with sun filled eyes as he greeted me for another day. And I fall asleep, holding his body. I dream of his soul tormenting me. I jolt awake, and go to shake my beloved up, to ask him to comfort me for I had just dreamt of his demise.. only to realize I was living the nightmare.

I wrapped my arms around his body, twitching and sobbing. This pain.. my most beloved..

“Awake.. awake..”

But he would not wake up.

I come into my tent and see Briseis over his body. Cleaning him. 

She dare touched him.. like she had touched his lips with her own filthy lips, trying to steal him once again.

“Get away from him!”

We yell at each other. I don’t remember what I say. I don’t remember what she says. All I remember were the words I tell myself every moment I am living:

“I hope Hector kills you..” she hisses. 

“Do you not think..” I whisper, not looking at her. “that I wish for the same thing?”

King Priam came to collect his son. 

I had desecrated Hector’s body, giving it no mercy as I shamed it in front of every Trojan who wished to see me. 

Priam dared to call Patroclus my friend. Like how every other warrior in my army, like how my father, like how everyone on the outside looking in will call him. 

I tighten my grip of the heap of my dearly beloved. 

“Philtatos,” I say, the word snapping out of my throat harshly. 

The old king seems surprised, but then nods. 

I return Hector’s body. I have no use for it. I don’t want his dreadful soul anywhere near the sweetness of Patroclus’. 

I’m in the finale battle. I hear the gods conspiring to kill me. I slice down every warrior who runs to me. I show no mercy. I kill them fast, but I hope their suffering is slow. 

I can sense the god, Apollo, with the boy. Paris. The cause of this whole damn war. 

Apollo..

He must’ve helped with the demise of my Patroclus. 

Apollo. 

I will never forgive the bastard that is Apollo.

But, he does one thing that I will be eternally grateful for..

The stab of the arrow, so sweet and deadly. 

Oh, thank the gods for Apollo’s arrow. 

Thank the gods…

I can see my Patroclus again. 

Next

[writing-till-i-am-dead]

The Song of Achilles - Tying Up Lose Ends

Transferring fanfics from my main onto here. This contains all the parts.

“Where is he?” I murmur, tapping my finger. “He should’ve been back by now.. perhaps he’s helping heal whoever’s fallen..”

Anxiety creeped up my shoulders, but I shrugged it off. Patroclus is ok. I know he will be. 

There’s loud clamor coming from outside. Men, panicked, but also angry. I could hear them outside my tent. 

I arrive outside. “What is going on?” I demand. 

The men pause. 

There’s something they’re all clamoring to hold onto. To keep safe and unharmed. I’ve seen enough dead men to know what the heap they were all surrounding was. 

“What’s this? Who is this? Where’s Patroclus?”

The men pause, frozen. 

“No..” my voice is caught in my throat. I push pass the men, grabbing onto the man they were all holding. 

The man..

My..

A scream erupts from the depths of my soul. Horror inducing. Blood curdling. No one would believe a scream such as this would come from the lungs of the fearless Achilles. 

“PATROCLUS!”

I grasp his face. It used to be warm and full of color. Now pale and lifeless. 

Another scream that shook the souls of the men around me. 

His eyes, once full of life and humor. Dull and lifeless..

Another scream. 

My voice.. my throat.. I can no longer feel it. But it doesn’t stop my sobbing. 

I grasp onto his body, wailing. I bury my face into his chest, whispering his name, hoping that would be enough to bring my beloved back.. that if I say his name enough, he will wake from the dead..

He is so cold..

The men around me are horrified. They had never seen me like this.. so agitated. I could only imagine what a sight it was to see me so pained and heartbroken. 

I’m once again reminded of how human I truly am. This pain. This sorrow. Only a mortal could truly understand this..

After about 10 minutes.. or maybe an hour.. or maybe a day.. I couldn’t tell.. my thoughts were all on my beloved..

Odysseus.. Odysseus had the audacity to urge me to eat and drink. 

I wish to lash at him. I wish to kill him. I wish to slice his throat and watch him die.. and I was just about to.. but I feel my grip on Patroclus loosen. Almost immediately, my arms are around him again, my face in his neck. I hear Odysseus walk away. 

I drag him to my tent. I lay him in the spot he would always sleep. As if he will awake, like he did every morning, looking at me with sun filled eyes as he greeted me for another day. And I fall asleep, holding his body. I dream of his soul tormenting me. I jolt awake, and go to shake my beloved up, to ask him to comfort me for I had just dreamt of his demise.. only to realize I was living the nightmare.

I wrapped my arms around his body, twitching and sobbing. This pain.. my most beloved..

“Awake.. awake..”

But he would not wake up.

I come into my tent and see Briseis over his body. Cleaning him. 

She dare touched him.. like she had touched his lips with her own filthy lips, trying to steal him once again.

“Get away from him!”

We yell at each other. I don’t remember what I say. I don’t remember what she says. All I remember were the words I tell myself every moment I am living:

“I hope Hector kills you..” she hisses. 

“Do you not think..” I whisper, not looking at her. “that I wish for the same thing?”

King Priam came to collect his son. 

I had desecrated Hector’s body, giving it no mercy as I shamed it in front of every Trojan who wished to see me. 

Priam dared to call Patroclus my friend. Like how every other warrior in my army, like how my father, like how everyone on the outside looking in will call him. 

I tighten my grip of the heap of my dearly beloved. 

“Philtatos,” I say, the word snapping out of my throat harshly. 

The old king seems surprised, but then nods. 

I return Hector’s body. I have no use for it. I don’t want his dreadful soul anywhere near the sweetness of Patroclus’. 

I’m in the finale battle. I hear the gods conspiring to kill me. I slice down every warrior who runs to me. I show no mercy. I kill them fast, but I hope their suffering is slow. 

I can sense the god, Apollo, with the boy. Paris. The cause of this whole damn war. 

Apollo..

He must’ve helped with the demise of my Patroclus. 

Apollo. 

I will never forgive the bastard that is Apollo.

But, he does one thing that I will be eternally grateful for..

The stab of the arrow, so sweet and deadly. 

Oh, thank the gods for Apollo’s arrow. 

Thank the gods…

I can see my Patroclus again. 

…

Achilles was tapping his foot impatiently, his nerves buzzing. Eventually the boat reached close enough to land. Before Charon could announce their stop, Achilles jumped off, landing in the Elysium Fields and throwing off his helmet into the grass. He pushed his way past many burly looking men, who all seemed to be looking at him curiously. 

“PATROCLUS!” He cried out. 

He looked around wildly. His soul felt cold and alone. His soulmate, his other half, wasn’t here. He couldn’t sense the warmth of his dear Patroclus..

“Where is he?!” He sobbed. 

The other heroes looked at him, mildly concerned. 

“Has anyone come in?!” He asked, yelling and panicking. 

“Not anyone named.. Patroclus, was it?” Answered one man. Achilles had seen enough art and sculptures of this man to know that this was Heracles. Usually, in any other circumstance, he’s be in awe of being face to face with the great Heracles. But right now, that was not his greatest concern. 

“Where could he be?!” Achilles sobbed. 

He turned to Charon, who was about to sail away, but before he could, Achilles grabbed onto him. The other heroes were shocked. No one dared grabbed onto the ferryman of the dead, not even Greek’s greatest heroes. 

“Take me to Hades,” Achilles said through snarled teeth and desperate eyes. 

Charon was surprised by Achilles’ boldness, but gave him a simple nod and calmly drifted off on the river. 

He reached a castle. It was relatively small, but it still managed to loom and cause dread. Surely, this was the castle of Hades..

Hades was already waiting outside, as if he was expecting Achilles..

“Where is he?!” Achilles demanded, stumbling off the boat. “Where. Is. Patroclus?!” He didn’t care that he was face to face with a god. Hades, no less. He didn’t care about the terrifyingly pale skin of him, or his black, glowing, haunted eyes that seemed to have spirits trapped within them. 

“Achilles..” he simply said, a whisper, a whisper of the Lord of the Dead. “You surely managed to avoid the Fates for quite a while.. the gods were afraid you would change the course of the future..”

Achilles was fuming with rage. He didn’t care about that. He didn’t care about what the gods thought of him, or the Fates. 

“Where. Is. He?”

“I’m afraid he’s not here.”

“What do you mean?! He’s meant to be buried with me! Why isn’t he here?”

“I’m afraid he was never properly buried.”

“What? What do you mean?”

“Your son, Neoptolemus, refused to honor your final wishes. He’s still wandering the mortal planes.”

“My.. son..” Pyrrhus..“No.. please” Achilles legs were shaking and now, desperate and full of sorrow and despair, bowed on one knee before the god. “Please. I know. I know I have been rude. I know I have been disrespectful. But please.. please make an exception for my dearly beloved Patroclus..” his voice broke. His forehead pressed pressed against the cold ground. “I’ve heard stories of your cruelty. But I’ve mostly heard stories of your mercy. Please.. I cannot live even in the Afterlife without him..”

“I’m sorry..” he could hear the pity in the god’s voice. “There is nothing I can do for this..”

Achilles sucked in a sharp breath. 

“I understand your sorrowing, Aristos Achaion..”

“You.. You know nothing of my pain!” He lifted his head, forgetting once again who he was speaking to. “You are a god! You look down on us mortals and you love to ruin our lives! I know this to be true! I know what Apollo did! He helped them! He helped them… take away my philtatos..” he said the finale words, breaking into tears. 

“Young Achilles. I truly wish there was something I could do. I understand what it feels like to be ripped from the love of your life. I always experience this, every year.”

“Yes.. but in the end, you’re always reunited with your dearly Dread Persephone..” he said the name bitterly. He knew it was a horrible idea to speak badly of Persephone. If Hades wouldn’t kill him for speaking ill of his wife, she may kill you herself. But he was already dead. And he didn’t care if they made his soul cease to exist. It would mean nothing to exist without Patroclus…

There was a pause. 

“Yes.. I am..”

“Please.. I beg of you..” even though he no longer had his physical body, he could still feel the knots in his stomach, the nausea in his head. “Just one exception.. please.. for my beloved Patroclus..”

“I’m afraid it’s just not possible..”

The world was falling. 

“There are some things not even gods are capable of doing..”

His head is spinning. 

“He may never come to the Underworld..”

His voice now raw as he screamed in pain, on his knees, screaming, as the Lord With Many Names stared at him with the greatest pity a god could give a man. 

…

Achilles hid in the small area he always hid in. The spot he always lied in and never left. Where he felt his souls wither and rot. 

It was the coldest, darkest area he could find in the Elysium Fields. 

In the beginning, the others tried to bring comfort to him, but as the years went by, they realized it was a lost cause. Achilles was nothing without his Patroclus. Not even in the Afterlife. 

Achilles had kept track of how long it’s been through scratches on the stone. But, over time, it’s been harder and harder to keep track. And he didn’t see the point in trying anymore. There was no point. Nothing mattered. It didn’t matter how many days it was. Patroclus still wasn’t there. 

He’s sure it’s been years. At least 3 decades..

He lies onto the cold floor, his soul limp and useless. 

He hears cheering and welcoming in the distance. 

Someone new? A new hero? It’s rather rare for someone to come in.. and.. seeing as how long it’s been, it could be someone that he knew from the war. The likelihood was rather high. 

But he didn’t care. He didn’t bother moving as he felt his body still press against the cold floor. 

.

.

.

“And you’re sure he’s over here?” Pyrrhus asked. 

“Yes..” said one man. Pyrrhus didn’t know who, but he didn’t care. He was probably in no greater than himself. “But.. it’s really not worth it. He just kinda.. lays in the same area. Never moving or talking.”

Pyrrhus scoffed. “I’m his son. I’m sure he’ll be perfectly happy to see me.”

The men looked at each other nervously, but didn’t try to stop him. 

Pyrrhus followed the instructions and eventually found a crumbled, disheveled soul of a man. 

“Are you Achilles?”

The soul lifts his head. His eyes are dull, like an eternal cloudy evening. He didn’t glow with pride, like the souls of the other men Pyrrhus saw. He was rather pathetic. 

“Surely you can’t be Achilles..” he said with disgust. 

“Who’re you..?” The man asked, barely moving to even look at Pyrrhus. 

“I’m Neoptolemus. Pyrrhus. Your son. Surely you can’t be my father.. you’re so.. pathetic..”

The soul, once dull and sad, now glowing with a fiery rage, his eyes now like thunder. “Neoptolemus..” he hissed.

“That rage.. yes, you are surely my father.”

Achilles stood up. He hasn’t gotten up in 3 decades. He felt like he was being born again, like a phoenix. 

“You..” he said, his voice like a snarl. 

“That look in your eyes.. I know you did not want me, but surely that’s not why you are filled with such rage.” Pyrrhus kept himself distinguished, hiding the nervousness he felt from his father’s glare. “Was it the offerings? I gave you plenty. I even gave you a human sacrifice.”

“You did what?!”

“What angers you so much?!”

Achilles flinched, remembering that day.. the day of the ‘wedding’.. the blood.. her face..

“I can’t believe you.. you are not my son..” Achilles was still slumped as he stood, but his face and posture made him look like a lion on the prowl. 

“What? Of course I am. Because of me, you’re now officially a legendary warrior.”

“You were not the one to save my legend! The one who kept my honor was Patroclus!”

“Patro-.. you mean that servant boy?! Surely you jest!”

“I do not! Patroclus was my love! My best friend! My philtatos! And you.. you’re the reason he’s not here.” He clenched his fists in rage. “You will never be my son.”

Pyrrhus was frozen. He had expended a shower of gratitude and congratulations from his father for having carrying the torch of his legacy. He did not expect.. this.

“You..” Achilles said, hissing through his teeth. “Are the embodiment of everything I hate about myself.”

The atmosphere was still and heavy. 

“Now leave..”

Pyrrhus couldn’t move. Achilles punched him in the face, causing him to fall to the cold, dark ground. “I said leave!”

Achilles watched as Neoptolemus, the boy who had Achilles’ own blood run through his veins, scurry off, once again leaving Achilles alone. 

…

Yelling. 

Distant yelling. 

There was always yelling in the Elysian Fields, so Achilles didn’t bother getting up and looking. 

But something did spark his interest. “Go tell him… somebody go get him..” 

Were they talking about him?

Why would they want him? Was it something to do with Pyrrhus? If that were the case, Achilles couldn’t give a shit. 

Eventually, one person, Atalanta, came up to him. 

“Um.. hey, Achilles,” she said awkwardly. He looked up, absolutely miserable in appearance. “What?” He asked bitterly. 

“Um.. what was the name of that guy you were askin’ for all those years ago..?”

There was a pause. “Patroclus..?”

“Ya, that guy.”

Achilles began to sit up, a serious look on his face. He tried to stifle any and all hope bubbling in his chest. “What about him?”

“There’s a guy here who’s saying he’s-“

Before she even finished that sentence, Achilles was up and running. Despite not walking or running in 3 decades, his speed did not change. He was just as fast as he used to be. Or maybe it was just the hope. 

He shoved past all of the other warriors, looking around wildly. “Where is he?!” He yelled. 

“He’s with Charon,” answered one. 

Achilles huffed and continued to run. Run just like he used to. But instead of running into battle, to what he used to think he wanted from his life, he ran to Patroclus, the thing he truly did want in his life. The person he wanted to be remembered for. The man who saved his legacy. Who saved him. He jumped over the River of Styx. He reached a dark area with the faintest blue glow of flame. 

“Patroclus.. PATROCLUS!” He yelled out. His breathing was heavy and intense. 

There was slight movement from the corner of his eye. He whipped his head around. And there he was. In all his glory. 

His beard, his curly hair, his brown eyes.. has his eyes always been that stunning?

“Achilles..” his voice was soft, echoey. 

Achilles ran to him, his hand extended to him. He ran at full speed to reach him, but even at that speed, it felt like closing the gap between the two of them took 100 years. 

Patroclus extended his hand toward him. The two of them interlaced their fingers together. 

What a joyous day in the Underworld. 

…

A soft breeze ran through the golden hair of Achilles. I always liked his hair. He rested on my chest, having cried himself to sleep. My lips were red and raw and his were too and I could still feel him shaking. 

I was never much of a crier, but even I shed a tear or two when we had at last found each other. 

I caress his neck softly. We had not let each other go. He had been none stop sobbing for the past 2 days. I’m starting to think he’s going to cling onto me for all of eternity. But, truthfully, I don’t hate that idea. 

The other heroes of the Elysian Fields gave us curious glances and would attempt to ask questions, but Achilles would glare at them and force them to back off. 

But now that Achilles was sleeping, they approached quietly. 

“So, you’re Patroclus?” Asked one, Theseus. 

“Yes, I am,” I answer softly. 

“You don’t look like a warrior.”

“I’m really not.. but I suppose I’m still seen as a hero.”

“We were wondering who was the person that could make the Aristos Achaoin so.. weak?” Bellerophon said before giving Achilles a nervous look to see if he heard him. 

“Hm.. well.. here I am.. hah..” In all honesty, I didn’t know how to talk to the people here. Yes, I’ve spoken with warriors, but these men were ancient heroes. And while Achilles may count as one of them, I never counted him as one. To me, he was always just Achilles. And that was always enough. 

In the distance, I saw one watching, glaring. I recognize his fiery red hair and sour face. Neoptolemus. 

I choose to ignore him. The mere thought of him makes my blood boil, but I don’t dare try to provoke him. For a number of reasons, really. 

One, he is Achilles’ son. Two, I want to put everything, the war, the pain, the loneliness, I want to put it all behind me. 

Achilles began to stir and all of the other warriors quickly got up to leave. 

He looked up at me. I smiled. He smiled too, but it was sad. He reaches up to kiss me. I caress his hair and he pulls away. His face is now sad and I brace myself to comfort his tears. 

“I’m so sorry, Patroclus..”

I was surprised. This whole time through his tears, he hasn’t managed to get any words through. 

The tears began to come and he wrapped his arms around my waist. “I’m so sorry.. I’m sorry.. I’m so sorry for my pride. For my own stupidity. For my selfishness. I’m so sorry..”

His breath is ragged and I feel his quivering. I rub his back, hoping to comfort him and remind him that I am here. That everything turned out ok. 

“I’m so fucking sorry..!” He choked out. 

I kiss his shoulder, but instead of comforting him, he only cries more. 

“Achilles..” I whisper. He doesn’t respond. He can’t respond. And, truthfully.. that’s ok. 

I don’t try to have him stop. I let him cry. I let him apologize. I let him let out all his sorrow so that way once it’s all gone.. we can spend out eternity of peace together. 

So, I can wait. I can wait for his tears to subside. I can wait for him to remember how much I love him. 

I wait for him to remember my oath to him that I shall stay by his side.. forever. 

[lemonadehtwooh]

Can you tell more about your Fate redesigns? Like your Penth, Hektor, Paris/Apollo, and Astolfo?

*FOAMING AT MOUTH* YES I CAN.

WARNING FOR A SUPER LONG READ

OKAY so first Imma talk about Paris/Apollo because Alexander-Paris is one of my most in-depth designs ATM and also explains some of Hektor's concepts!

Ignore that all I can in find my camera roll are SUPER old doodles of him lmao XD this ask really making me go through doodles from last year

So firstly is the color symbolism! I noticed in FGO that his design is very light-colored, and while that's interesting, I thought it would be more symbolic to have the main colors be dark as to point towards how he inherently can't escape his fate and actions as an adult, even in a child/teenage body, and also as a sort of symbol of how dark his future is. Adding on, Paris is VERY SPECIFICALLY summoned as having a child's body but the memories of his entire life, and I had the idea that the darker colors also show that he knows more than he lets on/he isn't innocent. The gold and such are to point towards him being a prince and technical demigod, and the blues are just in general for color diversity

With his horns and wings: Both Hektor and Paris in my AU are biologically Apollo's children (reference to some versions of the Troy Boys actually being his biological children instead of Priam's), so the horns and wings symbolize that (which Hektor doesn't have, more on that later). Apollo-Sheep's "humanoid" design concept actually has the wings and horns too (just bigger and more fancy lmao). Another Fun Fact: Both Hektor and Paris have some sun/fire related abilities in my AU, although it's slight

Next Paris and Hektor's eyes! Yep! I put thought into eye color! Paris' eyes are orange, while Hektor's are black. HOWEVER, when they use their NPs, Paris's eyes darken to black and Hektor's glow orange! Prominently, I honestly just thought Hektor having glowing eyes when using his NP would be Fun and Sexy XD However then i was like "...Okay but what if... Paris had opposite? What if... Symbolism?" And this idea is so cool to me because of how they can connect!!!! Hektor's glow because he's deemed to be Troy's hope, while Paris's darken because he's deemed as Troy's downfall!!! Sorry I just love how I can make the brothers contrast each other and how they can be interpreted AAAAA

I also made Paris's hair darker while Hektor's hair lighter so that they would look more similar to each other/look more like brothers, same with them both having wavy hair and the eyelash part on the bottom eye (it's kinda hard to see in the pictures RIP). I just wanted them to be a lil match-y. They also both have beauty marks that mirror each other! I imagine both of the Troy Boys to have thicker bodies

I gave Paris some armor parts as well as to look more similar to Hektor, while I also kept the cute dress parts because the cute stuff just seem to be more of his own style and I think That's Neat. The symbol on his skirt piece is Romeo's command spell symbol, matching with a headcanon I had posted some time ago about the command spells appearing somewhere in a Servant's design

Paris also has these sorta long-sleeve glove things due to me originally adding it to my Jekyll/Hyde redesign (which I need to remake) and Paris, in my AU, is one of Hyde's best friends, so I thought it would be cute for them to have a lil match-y thing XD

With the black wool, I thought it would be interesting to show physically of Paris being more of the "black sheep" of his family, especially considering he wasn't raised as a prince, he was raised as a sheep herder. And how he was sorta cast aside as a baby due to the prophecy of him becoming Troy's downfall

This is my current concepts for Hektor (the graphite sketches are a lot older than the digital btw, but good a good idea about his arm and shoes design), but it needs some work XD I want to add a lot more later on, but this is a good start I think

with Hektor, color-wise I tried to make his pallette somewhat a mix between opposite and similar to Paris. For him, the dark colors represent more of his death. He doesn't have the horns or wings anymore due to Achilles dragging his corpse, too. I think I posted some old sketches before of the back of his head having the broken bases on his horns. I would imagine his back having scarring and some skin disfigurement where his wings once were as well

With the red, specifically the red wool and the red gradient in his hair, I wanted it to represent the blood that was shed during the Trojan War. Plus, it also contrasts against Paris's blue colors, pushing more of that contrast between the two

With Both the Troy Boys' personalities, Paris still has that childish demeanor about everything, but he's definitely fully Aware and could manipulate if he really wanted to. However he doesn't really, unless if he wants to get away with childish things (like sneaking candy). He's a bit cheeky at times, and in general is A Lot like his canon FGO self. He likes being helpful when he can. Although something I added is that he Hates romance/romantic things. He thinks it's gross, but also his view point is due to the Trojan War and his whole thing with Helen.

Hektor is a mix of things that's hard to explain. He's similar to his canon FGO self. The thing is that FGO itself states that he has a facade going on, which pretty much is what For Funsies AU also does, so there isn't much for me to add XD Although I think in my AU, his facade is a bit different. Other than that, he's silly goofy as usual

i could have sworn I had pictures of her that are more recent/go more in-depth with her design ideas, but I can't find any TwT I'll talk more about her personally redesign since there isn't much physically I can exactly say

Next with Beserker/Penth, her concepts are still definitely a WIP. The general idea I have for her is this 16 year old being very elegant yet absolutely able to kick your ass with the slightest provoke. She's beefy, I would imagine (I really wish I had better sketches of her). I kinda want her to lean more towards having a "royalty" look yet also young and armored up. Iirc in Canon FGO she literally has herself be summoned at a younger age so Achilles can't flirt with her, so I decided to lean on her looking young. I also gave her more furs and armor coverage since she's a warrior and also the whole thing with her fighting in a bikini just. Doesn't sit right with me.

Personality-wise, I think she would try to act very mature and serious, but she's Not immune to Acting Her Age. Aka being a goofy teenager. She definitely tends to butt heads with Paris because he keeps stealing her hair comb. I definitely think she's super smart though, considering the business she has going on in Canon FGO. However, even smart teenagers can be silly (as a treat). She's definitely still has that Extreme personality trait, like tending to take things too far and being rather hot-headed. I like her dynamic with Mr. Utterson because he'll be like "Thank God you're here. Maybe you can talk some sense into Paris" and immediately Penth is trying to knock Paris out with her fist because it's faster and more efficient XD (also as revenge for stealing her comb). She's wonderful, although I'm still working on her dynamic with others and how she generally acts

i can't find any of my Astolfo doodles other than this Really Old One TwT (HELP IM BEING SUBJECTED TO MY OWN DRAWINGS)

In general, color-wise I'm thinking of making their outfit+armor VERY vibrant with Many colors to the point it's gaudy and dramatic. I kinda still want a cutesy look with them, but also messy and disorganized to show more of the sorta "frantic" and "can't sit still" vibe they have. It's hard to change anything about Astolfo because they're already a pretty interesting character with a solid design and personality. Anyway, as you can see in the drawing, I tried making their hair Super Messy. I imagine them being so energetic that their hair is never done in a "proper" way

So yeah! Yippee! Thank you for the ask <3

[birlwrites]

hi just wanted to say that i love heather brown. tell me about heather brown. if you want to. <3

HEATHER!!!!!!!

i'm just going to say random facts about her afjlskghljksdf, some of these may be things i've said before but who cares, LETS GO

so, she's the middle child, the only girl, and the only slytherin among her siblings - she has an older brother rowan, who's heir to house brown, a former gryffindor who graduated at the end of heather's 4th year (so, reg was in 3rd year). she also has a younger brother linden, who's going to start hogwarts this fall and go to gryffindor. gryffindor is a common house for the browns - they have kind of an even mix of the other houses, when someone does get sorted into another house

(side note, heather's younger brother is going to be in the same year as the eldest of priam's younger siblings - his sister is going to go into ravenclaw though)

she loves pink because a) she loves it and b) she associates it with things like sunset clouds and other things that are both soft and fun, like cotton candy, except not because cotton candy is the american term, but u know. it's basically her comfort color lmao. it's her go-to in any situation and like, Her Color

and heather genuinely loves being around people - she thinks people are fascinating, she loves figuring out what makes them tick, she's very chatty and it's a good thing she and regulus have never tried to study together because they'd drive each other bonkers, what with heather keeping up a steady stream of Unrelated Talking and regulus responding with monosyllables if at all. she's bored and he can't focus. hell. (but that's why heather does most of her schoolwork in the slytherin common room - she gets to hang out with her friends as she does it, and also chances are high of priscilla parkinson appearing, aka heather's favorite cat)

priscilla is not heather's favorite ANIMAL because heather has a beloved barn owl named thistle, who has been very helpful to the plot, but thistle doesn't really hang out in the dungeons so

her birthday is december 1, i feel like i've mentioned that before but i'm saying it again - it renders her birthday Very close to evan's, which i didn't plan and am actually only realizing now ajfhglkjdf. such is life, i don't think that'll affect the plot so we carry on

she has a generally solid relationship with her immediate family - they keep in touch during the school year and like, spend time with each other over the summers and all that jazz. her mom is first cousins with arnold macmillan's dad. heather is capable of getting along with arnold, but he's a very straightforward person, so she kind of picked him apart long ago and there's no more puzzle to be had there, which means she's kind of whatever about him

the browns are the highest-ranked non-dark family in the sacred 28 (which tells you how much the dark families DOMINATE). they and the weasleys are the only non-dark noble and anciente families, and the weasleys basically don't count, so. heather's not on regulus's level, but nobody is.

she tends to run cold and has Many blankets in her room, which she will either use as a cape or put over her lap when she's in the dungeons - she can cope without them, but like, why be uncomfortable when you could be comfortable. (priam is also an option for Heat Source afjslghjskf)

she loves sour candy - anything that's a combination of sour and sweet really

and she's in slytherin because she is very good at piecing together how to get what she wants!

[getitfrenchship]

P//riam being a favorite mongst friends:

Recently I’ve been thinking about him & Anne just gushing about swords. It gets him out of his quiet mode and he doesn’t mansplain about the craftsmanship but he does explain it as someone who is very obsessed with swords (folks on the Internet might say autistically which I hope is accurate but I don’t want to use the wrong terminology & offend). And Anne talks about her training which Priam just goes “YOU TRAINED WITH CHON’SIN ROYALTY, MASTERS OF THE BLADE?!” while holding her up in excitement. He gets flustered at first but the two enable each other’s excitement about swords together :]

[monstercampus]

Ellie help I have werewolf brain rot and Kirk has been living in my mind rent free the past few nights 😩 please tell me more about him, does he have a secret soft side or is being mean his love language and you know he cares about you if he's giving you a hard time? Why does he live in a dorm by himself? Where is he on the possessive scale? Honestly just tell me everything you know about him so I can simp to the best of my ability 🥺😫🙏

And actually while I'm here, anything about Elliott or Julian would also be tasty 👀👀👀 forgive me for the werewolf team fic altered my brain chemistry and I may never be the same

absolutely !! !!!!! i am at your mercy uwu <33 (this is mostly stream of consciousness so if u want more i am READY)

(cws: kirk being a sap + lore)

Kirk is very much that way--giving you a hard time is generally how he shows he cares about you. He's only truly mean to those he doesn't care about, and trust that there is a difference even when you get frustrated over his attitude in the beginning. He didn't grow up with a lot of love in his household so it's really not his area of expertise, he never really learned how to show it and only started experiencing affection when he joined the pack and made friends with all the other werewolves. Being snuggled, having his hair stroked instead of pulled, listening to his friends talk about him being handsome and smart even if he's got a shitty attitude.....it's weird to him. He doesn't hate it deep down, but he hates how it makes him feel vulnerable when he doesn't want to be.

'Vulnerable' is barely even in his vocabulary, which is why he comes at you with so much heat at first. He'd been hoping and praying that you two could boink, have a good time, and then you would pretend like it never happened so he wouldn't have to face any of those feelings he has when he looks at you. But when you don't, and when you're just so sweet, Kirk can't handle it and has to revert to what he knows: being a dick. Not nearly to the extent of how he is with other people, but just enough to keep you at arm's length in his constant fear that you're gonna end up making him feel like he isn't totally worthless. Because what would he do then? He's accepted the role of being an irredeemable, raging douchebag for pretty much all his life. He's got an attitude, his temper is awful, he doesn't consider himself that good-looking, he's got some of the worst grades out of the whole pack, he fixates on things and lets them consume all his thoughts, and he hasn't even got any palate to boot and will eat just about anything, even if it's on the verge of spoiling. He's total garbage and he's friends with a pack of people that couldn't be more perfect; Julian is incredibly charming, Portia's practically a genius, Nick is insanely handsome, Elliott is so gentle and really funny, Priam is a total sweetheart and Athos is the pinnacle of cool in his eyes. How could he even think of measuring up to all that, much less stick out among the rest and prove he's worth even a little bit of your love?

That may be the most frustrating part about Kirk--he can be the prickliest guy you know and he would die before he ever says those things out loud, but he seriously admires his friends and you yet he has little to no belief in himself. Granted, growing up he would've gotten his ass beat for showing that kind of weakness, so it's still deeply ingrained in him as an adult--especially since the pack are pretty much the first friends he's ever made on his own. And at his core, he's jealous. Jealous of them and their nice families, jealous of how well they all turned out despite going through their own struggles, jealous of how easy it is for them to be open when he's terrified of people finding out he's bi, jealous of you for being so brave and so beautiful in equal measure....so that's why the best thing he can do--in his own opinion of course--is to be your collective guard dog.

After all, Kirk isn't afraid to bite. His instincts are hard to control in his human form, could you even imagine how feral he can get when he's full wolf, or even just close to the full moon? If anything it's what he's good at; hunting, beating ass, and taking a punch. If he can't be as good as you and the others deserve, the least he can do is make sure that sweetness and the goodness of your souls isn't ever dominated by someone else. He'll spill blood, he doesn't care. He would even get suspended if it came to that, expelled, arrested, whatever it takes and he'll let the chips fall where they may. You'll know his love for you is real when he starts acting protective over you, not only when other people try to bother you but as far as your daily needs as well. Have you eaten properly? Are you thirsty? Do you need to sleep? When's the last time you stretched? He acts like it's a favour he's doing for you, like you're a little wolf that needs caring after, but in truth it settles his own self-doubts and makes him happier knowing that he's doing something for you--that he's taking care of you like a mate would, and when you smile at him or thank him for his help he just melts. He would do anything to keep hold of that smile.

.....Which is why he's got a plan in his head for after graduation. He and Nick are the oldest and thus are going to graduate first of all of you, so once that's over and done with he's got plans to start building a place for you all to properly call 'home'. It's nothing crazy--just a cabin in the woods--but if there's one thing he can confidently say he's good at it's woodworking, and he's sketched out the designs to make it everything you could ever want.

Personal rooms for you, him, and Portia who has trouble falling asleep when it's noisy. A big living room with enough sofas to fit you all. Polished oak walls like Julian grew up with and always wanted to see again. A bathtub big enough to fit Nicky's giant, muscly legs without spilling over. Tables and chairs to fit everyone and more, to fit all the family gatherings and maybe even the pups you might have one day. A garden out back where he'll plant those ugly little flowers Elliott loves. Trees and greenery around where they can run and hunt and play during the full moon, totally obscured by the rest of the world. A big fucking chandelier in the dining room to intimidate any friends you bring over that think they're hot enough shit to snatch you. It's gonna be perfect, it's gonna be the one thing he can say he's proud of in practically his whole life. It'll be a gift to all of you for putting up with his assholery for so damn long, for sticking with him even when he couldn't find a single reason why you should.

That's the kind of love Kirk shows. Words don't mean much to him--actions and acts of service are how he expresses his affections, because it's much simpler for him to put work into something he can touch and measure and paint rather than throw some flimsy words around and call it love. Plus, one of the reasons why he lives in his own dorm is because his downtime is incredibly important to him. Usually he would request a private one-bedroom apartment, but this year he was assigned roommates that he very quickly drove away with his annoying habits almost entirely on purpose. If he's not comfortable with someone, then like hell is he going to share an intimate living space with them--and after a long day he just needs time to be completely alone. He has to think, work on his projects, exercise, chew on something, and have no prying eyes around that will impede his progress in trying to figure out how the hell he can try to make himself worthy of being loved by you. A dumb, violent wolf reaching to grab the very moon from the sky.

[childofaura]

Big question I have: who are your top 10 favourite Awakening characters from the First Generation and why?

This one will be fun :D also same disclaimer I always say: these aren’t in any particular order except for number one, because he really is number one.

That’s pretty much how all my lists go, lol.

Priam. This man is perfect and wonderful in so many ways; before I played Awakening, I watched all the confessions of the male characters, saw him, and went “THAT ONE. HE’S THE ONE .” He left me smitten even before I knew anything about him, like him being Ike’s descendent, and I’ve always been drawn more towards the “Avatarsexuals”. The game always tries to play him off as annoying, but he’s just incredibly passionate about gaining strength. He’s actually pretty passionate about everything he does, especially when he confesses that he’s fallen in love with you. His confession portrait has to be one of the most romantic in the game:

Priam is a hulking beast of a warrior but here, he’s kneeling down in front of you, having taken his gloves off so he can hold your hand in his (no one else does this by the way) while he gazes adoringly into your eyes. Combine that with how powerful and handsome he is, he’s my ultimate husband choice in Awakening. The only downside is how far in the game he is before you can recruit him (Chapter 25) but he’s worth it.

2. Aversa. I like a lot of SpotPass characters, and I like Aversa for her extra lore. Most people hate the SpotPass characters for turning the villains “good”, but I think it’s neat that the bad guys help defeat the TRUE villain pulling the strings (and it’s not like bad guys like Validar became good). Aside from that, Aversa is actually a sweetheart who struggles with making friends because she feels like she doesn’t deserve it (in her supports with M!Robin at least). It definitely makes her one of the more interesting female Awakening characters.

3. Vaike. WHEN, IS??? WHEN ARE WE GETTING TEACH??? Here’s hoping he’s not a demote when we get him… he’s a cool dude and his support with Sully is actually pretty touching, they were made for each other.

4. Frederick. I think Frederick (along with Dedue) is actually one of the nicer vassal characters in Fire Emblem, because Jakob can kind of be an asshole sometimes and Hubert is… Hubert. He’s diligent, cares about others, and holds the Shepherds together.

5. Gregor. The dude is SO overlooked as “haha funny Russian man” despite the fact that he’s powerful as fuck and even could have been a Khan of Regna Ferox if he wanted to. And RESOURCEFUL, the fact that he knew how to do Cordelia’s makeup is impressive. Plus I think he’s the best dad for Severa (I actually headcanon that Severa is bilingual in Gregor’s homeland tongue and it comes out when she’s pissed off at something or someone). Great dude and I’m glad he got added to FEH.

6. Gangrel. I said it. He works great as an antagonist and he’s a fun ally with a fascinating backstory (he kind of reminds me of Askeladd from Vinland Saga). It’s actually really sad to me that he dies a horrible death if he doesn’t support with F!Robin, I’d have liked for him to have loved to do SOMETHING.

7. Kellam. NO END. I’VE HEARD NO END TO THE INVISIBILITY JOKES. I GET IT. I will ALWAYS acknowledge my boy. He’s such a sweetheart and I adore his support with Olivia. He better get a prf when he gets added to FEH or I will riot.

8. Panne. She turns into a bunny. I like her.

But also she has a great backstory.

9. Virion. Ok yes he’s silly and goofy and flirts with anything that looks remotely female and walks on two legs. But if you read his Support with F!Robin (definitely one of the most sincere supports of the game in my opinion), he’s actually a very noble and caring guy. Especially during one of the DLCs where he sells an heirloom dagger for an old couple who was sick, and refuses to be acknowledged in any way or form for doing so. He’s got a great heart.

10. Mustafa. Does this count? Probably not but I wanna give him a shoutout anyways. I’m mad that HE wasn’t a SpotPass character, as cool as Walhart was, I would have preferred Mustafa. At least he got added to FEH, I’ll take what I can get.

Special additional shoutouts to Olivia, Sully, Lon’qu, and Yen’fey, they’re also really cool. I do like the other characters (especially Maribelle’s support where she knows how to talk like a sailor) but I’d prioritize these guys on the list.

[eden-dum]

bestie i need u to give me an idiots summary of the iliad bc i was reading the one on spark notes & there r TOOO many words !!

BESTIEEE i’m so sorry i only just saw this. i’ll try summarize this as simply and interestingly as possible.

the story starts off in two different places: in the mortal realm and the divine realm. in the mortal world, there are a king and queen of a kingdom called Troy, who are expecting a child. shortly before the child is born, the Queen Hecuba has a nightmare—the priests interpret this dream to mean that the soon-to-be-born prince will cause the downfall of the kingdom. When he is finally born, she and King Priam decide to leave him out in the mountains to die, but he is found by a shepherd, who decides to raise him as his own son. The prince is named Paris, like the city but not actually the city. He grows up not knowing he is a prince, thinking he was always a farmer instead.

Around the same time, the gods are having a great wedding. This is going to sound a lot like the Sleeping Beauty, so just think about that. All the gods are invited to this wedding, except one—Eris, the goddess of disagreements. She shows up, angry, and throws a golden apple into the crowd, saying only the most beautiful will catch it. Problem is: three goddesses catch it. Aphrodite, Athena and Hera start fighting over the apple, so they agree they need a good judge to do the deciding for them. They choose Paris, who is famous for his honesty. Each one of them wants to win this beauty contest, so they secretly bribe Paris, who in the end chooses Aphrodite. Some things happen and Paris finds out he is actually a prince, and the royal family takes him in. Anyway, Aphrodite had bribed him with the most beautiful woman on earth as his wife, so that is what he would get.

Now, this most beautiful woman on earth is Helen, Queen of a different kingdom called Sparta. She is already married to a man named Menelaus, King of Sparta. Years ago, when she was ready to marry, many, many men wanted her hand in marriage. So many men in fact, that her father was scared they would start a war. To prevent this, he made all these men swear an oath that they would a) not do this and b) they would join their armies to protect her and Sparta in case anything happened.

Paris is sent to Sparta on a diplomatic mission, where he sees Helen and falls in love with her. Since Aphrodite had promised her to him, he takes her and they go back to Troy together. When Menelaus finds out about this, he is livid, and goes to Agamemnon, his brother, who is king of a nearby kingdom. Together, they go around to all those men that wanted to marry Helen in the first place and make them unite as Greeks to join a war against Troy.

Now that was all backstory, I’m afraid. The Iliad starts 9 years after the war begins, in the middle of a different fight.

—

Agamemnon, who is chief general of the army, is arguing with Achilles, their strongest soldier. They’re technically arguing over some war prizes that Achilles earned, but Agamemnon took, but it spirals into Achilles telling Agamemnon the war is stupid and that there is no reason Achilles should be fighting for Menelaus’ wife. Agamemnon tells Achilles that he is stupid and nobody needs him, so Achilles decides that he doesn’t want to fight anymore. He and his army step out of the war.

Many, many things happen, but the most important thing is that without Achilles, the Greeks start losing the war. Hector, crown prince of Troy and Paris’ brother, can push back the Greeks and at one point even breaks their defenses. Agamemnon gets so desperate that he sends some men to apologize to Achilles and offers him the war prizes back, but Achilles is stubborn and tells them that he has decided to leave Troy entirely (he doesn’t). Many, many Greek men have died because Achilles refuses to fight, so Achilles’ close friend/boyfriend (up to you) decides to go against Achilles’ decision and fight in the war. He is called Patroclus.

Patroclus tells Achilles this, but Achilles still refuses to join him. Instead, Achilles gives Patroclus his own armor to wear, so the Trojans will think that it’s not Patroclus fighting, but Achilles, and run away. He also tells him to not go further than a certain point in his attack. The plan works, and most of the Trojans run away when they see “Achilles” (who is actually Patroclus). But Hector stays, desperate to kill Achilles, who has killed so many of Hector’s soldiers.

Patroclus, confident that he can continue to defeat the Trojans, goes further than the point that Achilles had told him to stop at. Even worse, Achilles’ armor, which doesn’t fit him (since it’s not his), falls off Patroclus and he is completely vulnerable. Hector takes the opportunity and immediately kills Patroclus.

When Achilles finds out that his closest companion was killed by Hector, he goes batshit crazy. He wears different armor and finally goes back into battle (much to Agamemnon’s relief). He slaughters everyone in his way until he finally reaches Hector. After a long chase, Achilles catches up with Hector and kills him. He keeps the corpse for three days and absolutely destroys it, until Hector’s father (King Priam, from the very beginning) literally begs him to give it back, which Achilles does.

—

The Iliad ends about here, but the war continues for another year. In this year, Achilles is killed by Paris. Paris is killed by some guy. Odysseus, a smart Greek guy I didn’t introduce, comes up with a strategy to win the war once and for all. He has the army build a large wooden horse, which they will present to the Trojans as a peace treaty. The twist here is that the horse is empty in the inside, with enough room to fit many, many Greek soldiers. The Trojans see the horse, are happy that the Greeks supposedly gave up and bring it into their city.

At night, while everyone is sleeping, the Greeks inside the Horse sneak out and open the gates for their fellow soldiers. Together they start killing people from the inside of the city and win the war.

That’s the story of the Trojan War finished… there are many details and characters and such that I left out that you might want to research on your own, and also the entire Odyssey, which is basically a continuation of the story from Odysseus’ point of view (it’s about his long journey back home). If you’d like, you can start reading my fics now! The update I told you about is out now :D

[arkus-rhapsode]

Do you think Ike is gay and that’s why he friend-zoned Goldmary?

Okay wow that's a loaded question.

Okay I really want to say this right because boy talking about this on the internet I think is delicate in regards to fandom, but in my personal opinion, I don't believe it's "canonical" that Ike is really confirmed one way or the other. He is the only MC to never marry or have the option to marry and I do think the openness of his ending on RD can be read different ways. I know people will bring up his only endings are with two men and then the other side will point at Priam and then everyone will bring up the behind the scenes stuff like the emphasis on Elincia and Ike was more a localization thing, and of course LGBTQ+ themes in in video games have often been subtext back when PoR had come out. Like its a lot, there's a lot of nuance.

I am of the opinion that how you read the character is kinda up to you. I mean I think anyone of any orientation can look at a relatable character in media and in the world of transformative works can explore that with this character. And I am one who will never rain down on "your interpretation is lesser than mine." Like if you were going to ask me, I always read Ike as kinda demiromantic/demisexual. Like he's this very straightforward kind of guy and I see him like not really caring about gender, more he would only feel love with someone who he truly connects with like a Soren or even an Elincia (if we count the localized version). And why Aimee (and Goldmary for that matter) don't really appeal to him. Like I don't see it as obliviousness, but he just would never feel that way for some he just really doesn't know. But that's my interpretation. Once again, Im not saying my reading is correct. I am never gonna attack some for thinking Ike is gay or ace or straight or how you see it. But in like a pure "what is written in canon," its never confirmed so I believe it is open to fans to do what they'd want.

I've said before, I want to see more FE characters particularly portags be bi or have the ability to be with everyone and I was really happy with that with Alear. Like Engage, I want that structure going forward, maybe without the kinda creepy child stuff though. I am happy the localization kinda deemphasized that.

But as for the Goldmary thing, no I think it was just Goldmary is the type to think all men would love her, even ancient Emblems. And you got this guy who is just very direct and blunt and not really seeing her in that way. And she just sorta accepts his somewhat of a response about feeling anything about her. Once again, that's just how I saw it, out of universe the answer is probably just "The writers enjoyed watching Goldmary getting this curt rejection from men which would be a blow to her massive ego."

[cashewally-sarcastic]

Okay hi hi hello I didn't forget about telling you about my Octopath OCs but I wanted to make more and oops! There went 10 hours of my day!

I have IDEAS for all of the characters but names for only some because coming up with characters names that sound nice AND have some sort of meaning AND start with the letters O, C, T, P, A, or H isn't fun.......(also if you have ideas or suggestions for names please for the love of G-D let me know)

Anyhow!

Ondrine Rivani - "Merchant", 35, She/her

A pirate captain whose ship is destroyed and is desperate to reform her crew. After getting a new ship, she travels the high seas in search of gold, good times, and the greatest treasure of all, henchmen friends! Manages to fool people into think she's a merchant ship despite having no documentation and piss poor lying skills and has to keep up to ruse lest she get thrown in jail. She just here for a good time lol

Themis - Thief, 24, They/Them

An archetypical gentleman thief but it's fun and novel because they're a dapper butch lesbian. Also you know how the "magical device/knowledge that corrupts/is secretly evil" trope is usually given to scholars or mages or whatever? Yeah well that's ALSO fun and novel now because Themis is searching for a bracelet said to bring back the dead after they lost their younger sister and this plan to bring back the dead TOTALLY isn't going to go colossally wrong.

Priam (Real name: Parsifal Pellerius because he's fancy) - Hunter, 32, He/Him

So rarely do I create a male oc that I like as much as Priam.

Not that's there's anything special about him though.... he's just some guy who leads a hunting party in the woods around the outskirts of cities to make sure nothing bad gets near them. Just a guy who loves his wife a whole lot and wants to keep people safe and is just a genuinely nice guy, just like...incorruptibly good and noble and purehearted. Definitely not a secret noble who ran away from that life because he felt trapped by it but now spends his waking hours wondering if he can help people more as the dashing folk hero Priam or the noble Lord Pellerius. Who's Pellerius? Definitely not the birth family Priam is considering turning back to THAT'S for sure haha.

Helena Drouit - Scholar, 42, She/They

She was a well respected philosopher before she released a treatises that proved to be too controversial for the conservative institute she worked at. After she finds her work being censored and herself being exiled from the academic community, she sets out on a journey to challenge those who would suppress knowledge and find like minded people to share her work with.

The Warrior is a female Sanctum Knight whose town (and by proxy, cathedral) suffers a great tragedy and after seeing such an event has a crisis of faith. But the Reverend Mother (idk if that's the right term...there's so many fantasy church systems I get titles mixed up) left her final orders to her most trusted knight, sending her only a journey that she prays restores her faith in her gods and her church.

The apothecary is a midwife in the worst part of the city, currently facing an influence of immigrants fleeing conflict in other parts of the country. With more and more people flocking to her clinic each day, the city guard is getting closer and closer to discovering her practice, dangerous for both her and the other migrants. Believing she could appeal to the lord of the region to keep her clinic open despite her lack of licensure, she sets out, but quickly realizes that there's more reasons than she suspected for the incessant attacks on Lowtown.

The cleric is an assassin seeking refuge in the church who finds himself loving his new life as a church member. After spending many years in the tranquility of the church, he finds himself called to go help others around the continent, however when he leaves the seclusion of the church, he finds his past catching back up with him but he's determined to lay it to rest once and for all...hopefully.

and...idk about the dancer tbh. All I know if that he's gay and flaming lol. I want to make him a courtesan but I'm worried that's too similar to Prim.

And blah blah their stories are connected through themes of belonging and community and the tragedy of loosing faith the things/people we belief in etc.... ALSO I JUST REALIZED HOW LONG THIS IS SORRY FOR CLOGGING YOUR ASK BOX BYE

DON'T APOLOGIZE I LOVE ALL OF THEM SO MUCH?????? Also if you want help with names, half of the octopath character's names are just like...random. Poked around the wiki so sometimes just going "names that start with [letter]" can be really helpful tbh I just kinda used a plant for mine

Also also a whole cast??? Thats so impressive and cool honestly like I spent 3-4 hours on ONE oc so having around 8 is fucking COOL i love them

Anyway my one (1) little oc info:

Hebe - Scholar, 19, she/her (really quick every scholar is in their 30's i just wanted to make a student-oriented one okay?)

Anywho yeah Hebe, a young student who's stubborn as fuck. Her mother was a researcher who gave her a random key necklace, said "I'll show you what this unlocks when you're older", and then got murdered 2 days later. Her father insisted on sending her to a school across the continent (somewhat against her wishes), and years later she decided Welp I've learned everything I can for now, it's about time I learned what this key is for. So she goes on a journey for answers to A) what her mother was researching B) why she was killed and C) what the key is for (haha these totally aren't all related haha)

[sealrock]

If your muse could say one thing to their childhood self, what would they say? Would your muse want to meet their childhood self in the first place?

ask meme

answer roulette

16. If your muse could say one thing to their childhood self, what would they say? Would your muse want to meet their childhood self in the first place?

so I'll be answering this for the brat pack (aka paris / evander / achille / patroclus) because this is too good of a question for just one. out of all of my ocs, these 4 have the most baggage regarding their childhood

cw: mentions of abuse

paris to their childhood self: 'this isn't something you want to hear, and it's hard for me to say as it is. but don't hate your mom, you don't know the full picture. I cannot tell you what will happen in your future, but please... don't do what I did'

I have it planned that paris and andromache eventually repair their strained relationship once the full details of andi's departure are known. but paris as a kid was traumatized and angry by both their dad's 'death' and their mom's abandonment of them, even if it was for paris' safety. paris, now having lived a life that revealed many truths and secrets, would like to go back in time to comfort their younger self and promise them that things will get better. they doubt it'll do much since there's not much to say to begin with, but they can try

evander to his childhood self: 'I won't paint a pretty picture for you or promise something that was not destined for you; your future is bleak and filled with hardships'

evander... doesn't have much to say to his younger self. he always gets bitter whenever he thinks about his past and the emotional abuse he got from his grandfather priam (and what he thought to be his mother's favoritism towards his brother). he was an extremely resentful and depressed child. evander now does not want to meet his childhood self; even though he's doing marginally better now, he doesn't think this would change the outcome of his childhood self's future. evander thinks there's no point

achille to his childhood self: 'I'm sort of bad at this kind of thing, I'm talking to myself for fuck's sake if that ain't strange enough... anyroad, what I'm trying to say is... you do have a reason to be here. you're not a mistake, and people love you. you're valued and thought of by many friends you made... so chin up I guess, eh?'

for all of achille's bravado and impulsiveness, he clams up whenever he has to think about his younger self before he was found by chiron. that short period of his life continues to haunt him since he's still trying to recover from tauvane's neglect and abuse. as for meeting his younger self, achille is reluctant to. achille tries to forget everything about the past since it's too painful to really talk about, so he doesn't want to carry that part of himself around any longer. despite his complicated relationship with his mother, achille's actively trying to forgive tauvane in order to have a normal relationship with her, but his childhood essentially made him who he is today

patroclus to his childhood self: 'I'm not sure if my words will be any comfort to you, but please don't lose hope. there are so many things you have yet to see. this star we live on is full of wonders and surprises, just like the stories mama would tell. you'll see them someday, with friends who care about you'

patroclus was extremely lonely growing up after the death of his parents and he wasn't allowed to explore much of the outside world. so I think patroclus would love to meet his younger self just to give himself a friend and someone to talk to. as an adult patroclus is trying to forgive and forget many things about his past and learn to let go of any lingering resentment, so he wants to pass this wisdom to his younger self so he could grow up less emotionally scarred