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uselessmoonlight · 5 months ago

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Stranger part 19 Hermes’ version

Reader is Telemachus' friend, and when he leaves for his "diplomatic mission" he asks her to watch over his mother. Later, once the king has returned, she stumbles upon an injured Poseidon.

Previous / series masterlist / character sheet / next

Content specs: she/her pronouns used, afab reader, Platonic! Telemachus x reader, Epic!Hermes x reader, possible OOC!Hermes, Polites’ daughter! Reader, unrequited love, blood, fighting, nudity, illusion, possibly more?, trying to avoid using y/n, slowburn, suggestive themes.

A/n: Welcome to the Hermes au! Everything leading up to part 18 will have happened the same way, but from this chapter and onwards, things will happen differently.

“This necklace contains one of my feathers, if you wear this you’ll be able to keep up with me by holding my hand.” He explained. “Here, I’ll help you put it on. Isn’t that an honour, darling? We get to hold hands all day long.” Hermes teased. With a pull on her hand, he took off.

The speed at which the God travelled was unlike anything she’d ever experienced, and she’d never been this high up before either. Her heart was beating out of her chest and her hands were getting sweaty, but instead of dropping his hand and wiping it, she gripped tighter. Probably tight enough to break his hand, had he not been a God. She would’ve closed her eyes out of fear, but she feared that would make her nauseous.

Hermes must’ve glanced sideways, as he was now laughing and clutching his stomach with his free hand, they were floating somewhere in the sky as he did so. The moment of stillness gave Ónoma the opportunity to look around, the view was breathtaking when they weren’t going so fast. If she wasn’t so mesmerized, she would’ve complained about the God’s laughter. “You get to see this every day?” She asked, somewhat jealously.

“I usually don’t take the time to take it in. Things to do, people to see, messages to deliver, you know?” He replied somewhat sheepishly. “That’s a pity, it’s really beautiful up here, when you’re not going so fast.” She mumbled the last part, still looking around and trying commit the image to memory. The God absentmindedly chuckled at her comment but took her words into consideration.

“I should, take the time to look around, that is.” He mumbled, taking a glance at their surroundings, but focusing on her. She was calm in a way he had not seen before, an almost childlike joy taking over now that she was getting used to the height. The sun behind her casted a glow around her that made her look otherworldly. “But we must get going now, darling. Time is ticking, much to do.”

The entire day they flitted about, island to island, city to city. Only once had she been left behind, as he had to deliver a message to one of the Olympians. “You’re not exactly allowed on Mount Olympus, darling.” He’d explained. “Maybe next time.” He’d joked. There was no way that she, a mere mortal, would be allowed up there under any circumstances, she thought.

As the day went on, the God got more and more energetic. He seemed nervous, or excited, for whatever he had planned, and Ónoma was getting anxious. If he was nervous, it probably wasn’t anything good, and if he was excited, it probably wasn’t anything good either. Maybe he was planning an elaborate prank or something.

Twinkling lights caught her attention. Hermes had been flying slower than he had the entire day, they were headed to Troy, or rather what was left of it, of all places when they appeared. The lights were floating around the God, seemingly trying to get his attention. It wasn’t until Ónoma pointed them out that he noticed them.

“Finally!” Hermes exclaimed. It was excitement, then, what he was feeling. “What is it?” Ónoma asked. “Souls! I asked Hecate to take care of as many as she could today, seems I underestimated her, a lot.” His answer only raised more questions, but before she could ask the, he took off, dragging both her and the souls along with him.

As they reached the entrance of the underworld, he let go of her hand. In his, now free, hand he materialized his Caduceus. Using his staff he transformed the twinkling lights, before them now stood people. Ónoma questioned if that was the right word to use, as she knew these people to no longer be among the living.

The winged man led them to a point along a river, the Styx, as she knew it to be. In a boat Charon sat waiting, hand outstretched, awaiting the coins needed to ferry across the river. Ónoma started to move towards the man, as the souls had done, but she was held back by her travel companion. “You’ll get to go on the boat someday, but today you’re with me, darling.”

Just as they were starting to leave, or rather, Hermes was leaving and Ónoma was being pulled along, another figure showed up. A woman holding a torch was guiding sparkling lights, or souls, as she now knew them to be. The twinkling of these souls seemed more incessant, restless in a way. “You owe me.” Were the first words she spoke as she reached them.

“Difficult bunch I see.” Hermes commented, smugly. Hecate glared at him with such intensity, that Ónoma instinctively moved slightly behind him. She felt him squeeze her hand, but it did not feel reassuring, it only communicated his amusement. “Ares started another war, these souls believe their death should have been grander.” She replied.

“There are no do-overs in death, when will they learn?” “You try telling them that.” Hecate moved around them to get to the ferryman and took a look at the girl almost hiding behind Hermes. “You brought a living soul to the land of the dead?” The Goddess questioned. “That’s quite unlike you, is that why you needed the day off?”

“Kind of, I suppose I should thank you. Now I’d love to stay and chat, but we really must get a move on.”

@apollos-dodgeball-target @barrythestrawberry041 @darling-eos @doodle-with-rhy @glaciuswduo @hardbarbarianfox @h0ne4bee @isla-finke-blog @keikeiluvyou @missam @suckerforblondies @trashcannotbealive @visha1965

#epic the musical #epic hermes #hermes #hermes x reader #epic the stranger saga

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uselessmoonlight · 5 months ago

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Stranger part 21 Telemachus’ version

Reader is Telemachus' friend, and when he leaves for his "diplomatic mission" he asks her to watch over his mother. Later, once the king has returned, she stumbles upon an injured Poseidon.

Previous / series masterlist / character sheet / next

Content specs: she/her pronouns used, afab reader, Telemachus x reader, possible OOC!Telemachus, Polites’ daughter! Reader, unrequited love, blood, fighting, nudity, illusion, possibly more?, trying to avoid using y/n, slowburn, suggestive themes.

Welcome to the Telemachus alternate ending! This story will have been the same up until part 20, but will be different starting from part 21 (The finale) and continue after the original series ended.

“Love? Do you not think that’s too strong of a word?” Ónoma questioned the man.

“I do not, in fact, I think it is not strong enough to describe what I feel for you. It is something I’ve never felt before, not even for Amphitrite when we were still married. The Gods do not feel as humans do, you are well aware of this, do not question my feelings for you again, they are carved into me like a river cuts through a mountain, like a ships cuts through the waves.” The sincerity and seriousness of his voice stunned her.

“I appreciate your apology, truly.” She paused, she hoped Poseidon’s pride would not be the cause of her death. “But I do not reciprocate those feelings, your words are that of a poet, but your actions are not. I accept your apology, but I cannot forgive you. The kiss we shared was nice, but it was just that, a kiss. I was so swept away in the newness of it all, that I did not realize there was no feeling behind it, at least not for me.” She gulped as she finished her rant, but held his gaze.

If he was going to strike her down, she would hold his gaze as he did so. No matter how frightened she felt in that moment. For a moment she thought he would, and for a moment, so did he.

“Your interactions with the Gods have never been kind, neither has your interaction with me been. You showed me kindness, I mistook it for affection, and I hurt you because of it. Let me show you kindness now, by leaving you be. I would not have done so previously, let that be known, but my interactions with you and him have changed me.” He inhaled deeply. His response clearly took a lot of restraint. “I will take my leave now, before I go back on my word.” He sounded defeated, and he dragged his feet on the way out. Ónoma felt her heart ache as she watched him enter the water and disappear.

After Poseidon had left, her day went by rather peacefully. As did the next, up until the start of the ritual. As the end of the harvesting season was nearing, so was the seasonal open ritual, which happened to be tonight. She was not looking forward to having the public to look out for as well as the priestesses, especially with some of the royals and nobles still present on the Island.

King Nestor sought her out during the ritual, asking many questions about her purpose, and what kind of activities happened. She’d probably given the man too much information about the mysteries she witnessed, but she couldn’t help it with the man’s never-ending questions. Ónoma admired his curiosity and knowledge and would happily indulge him.

A tingling sensation pulled her out of conversation with the man, she scanned the room for the cause of it. Eustachys had seemingly set his sights on someone else, much to her delight, but upon further inspection it was not a good thing. Irene was pushing, or rather, trying to push a way too drunk Eustachys off of her. He wasn’t being handsy, but he was being handsy, like a child clinging to their mother’s legs. The sight would’ve made her laugh, had Irene not been so uncomfortable.

Ónoma excused herself from the conversation with the old king of Pylos, and grabbed a cup of water as she made her way to her friend. She handed the cup to Irene, but gestured to the cuddly man. The man’s proximity caused Irene to spill some of it’s contents. This worked in her favour as the man snapped up in alarm at the cold liquid.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you Eustachys, but I’ve got a drink for you.” Irene spoke to him, kindly. He accepted it gladly and drank it in a singular gulp. The combination of the cold water against his skin and the non-alcoholic drink now in his system seemed to sober him up a little. Not much, but enough for him to step away from Irene in embarrassment.

“I’m sorry fair maiden, I don’t know what got into me, touching you like that” Eustachys stuttered out.

“I do not mind your touch, just the longevity of it. It is rather improper, as you must know.” Irene replied, slyly. Ónoma had seen enough of their conversation to realize that they would be fine on their own. Perhaps there would be a wedding soon.

She walked around the room once, before returning to the spot she always waited. Nestor was still sat there, waiting for her return, and greeted her with a smile. They were able to converse for a while before Ónoma had to break up another situation. One of the noblemen was pestering one of the priestesses. It took a more hands-on approach to resolve this issue, physically shoving the man out of the temple’s doors, but this too, was not too difficult of a problem. Tonight was annoying, sure, but calm.

As the night went on, the town’s people and guests of the island started trickling out, and when the morning came, the temple was empty save for the sleeping priestesses and the old king. The royals of Ithaca had not shown up for the ritual and Telemachus’ absence left her with an empty feeling in her chest.

“I’m going to fetch breakfast for the ladies, do you want to accompany me?” Ónoma asked Nestor.

“I will walk with you for a bit, but I do not think my old legs can carry me from here to the market and back, so I will return to my place of stay instead.” She nodded at his answer, smiled, and helped him up from his sitting position. As they walked he spoke once more. “I’ve watched you tonight, you approach each situation differently, that is a good quality to have. I know many a soldier or guard who would just strike, no matter what the problem may be.” He smiled at the girl. “Yet I’ve also heard of your ability to hold off 30 men during an ambush of sorts, which requires more brute strength than strategy. People often come to me for advice, may I refer them to you if they are in need of aid in battle or war?”

Ónoma was stunned, of all things he’d not expected this, this was pretty much the highest of praise she could receive from such a seasoned warrior. “You may send them my way, but I cannot guarantee that I will help them.” She responded.

“That is fine, I believe you are more than capable of making your own judgement in who to help. I myself am far too old to go back to the battle field, and with my limited time I want to spend as much time with my children as I can. I’ve lost so many to war, outlived them. While it is a blessing to have reached this age, I cannot bear the loss of another son or daughter.” His voice was full of sorrow.

“I can imagine that, it’s an honour for you to trust me enough to refer me.” She replies, grabbing his hands and looking at him. She bowed her head in respect at the man.

“Though you must tell me, when I refer to you, should I call you the future queen of Ithaca, or the wife of Poseidon?” Ónoma Froze at the man’s words, eyes wide as she stared at him.

“Of course Odysseus would confide in you.” She muttered softly. “Neither, I think? Poseidon, or as I knew him, Perikles was surprisingly accepting of my rejection, although he told me in honesty that he would not have reacted the same way before.”

“The Gods are not known to take rejection well, you must truly be special. Which is not that surprising with all the attention you’ve garnered. Apollo, Athena, Ares, Demeter, Dionysus, Glaucus, Hermes, and of course Poseidon. Have I forgotten anyone?”

“Demeter? I have not heard that before.” Was it truly half the Pantheon she’d interacted with?

“Oh yes, she was rather inspired by your hard work and has blessed the soils of Ithaca, or so they say. It is true then, that you’ve interacted with all of them?” Nestor was even more intrigued than he had been before. “My, in all my years I’ve not met many so close to the Gods.”

“It is truly not that interesting, my interactions with the Gods that is. Apollo caused the death of my brother, but he did mentor my mother in medicine. Athena only interacted with me because of her association with Odysseus and Telemachus, she was following me around because the king thought I would commit treason or something.

Ares has only helped me murder people, which I suppose is kind of his thing, or at least the brutality of it. Demeter I didn’t interact with, I wasn’t even aware of her interference, so I suppose I should thank her. Dionysus was only there because it was his temple, his priestesses I was protecting, but again I had to kill a man after our interaction. Glaucus guided us out of a storm, which was nice I suppose, I thank him every time I go fishing.

Hermes brought the news of my brother’s death, you would think that the messenger God would know how to deliver such a message, but it was a rather odd interaction. OH! I almost forgot, Eileithyia was there for one of the births I helped with, and Poseidon you must already know about. He deceived me, abused my hospitality, and tried to seduce me.” Ónoma was out of breath at the end of her ramble. “I understand the circumstances of our interactions are not of their design, but you must understand my caution around the Gods. Whenever they grace me with their presence, something bad has happened, or is going to happen. Even with the news of Demeter this stays true, for she did not show herself.”

The man only smiled at her as they continued their walk, only when it was time for them to part ways, did the old king speak. “Thank you for indulging me, you may not realize, but our talks have taught me much. Until we meet again, future queen of Ithaca."

"Thank you, but I’m not-"

“The heart wants what it wants, in due time you will realize this too, young Ónoma.” Ónoma wanted to question the man more, but she knew she would not get an answer from the retreating figure.

#epic the musical #telemachus #telemachus x reader #epic telemachus #epic the stranger saga

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