Heracles Karpusi

He/him or They/them 20 y.o. Fae - Pixie half-human, half-sprite Lower Anuipuk Resort employee

[autumn-pixie-hera-blog]

“I don’t want to talk about how or why I’m here, just help.”

@theirishwix

He frowned a bit in thought, though he didn’t appear upset, “I wasn’t really going to ask why you’re here… it’s a resort. There’s only so many reasons it could be…” He stood up from his spot at the desk, however, rolling his shoulders with a slight crunch as he eased the ‘joints’ that had gone stiff from sitting in one place for too long (though it sounded more like leaves being squished together- since he was actually made of leaves)

“What can I help you with?”

[autumn-pixie-hera-blog]

theirishwix‌:

“I need a place to stay the night- but I don’t got any money on me… I got bleedin’ mugged, didn’t I?” She groaned, “two fellas thinkin’ a little girl is gon’a be an easy mark- they took my money pouch!”

A beat.

“Just one night to get myself together- y’know?”

Heracles frowned. Lower Anuipuk was rather crime-free so the idea that a poor lady could get mugged didn’t sit well with him. The fact that she may be lying crossed his mind, but he didn’t want to think poorly of people in need. If someone faked being in trouble for something as simple as a place to stay or food, he couldn’t exactly refuse. Still, the resort rooms were for paying customers only.

“You can stay in my room if you like, I’ll be working the night shift and not using the room anyway... but I think you should speak with the authorities about this... I don’t want anyone else to end up in this kind of trouble.”

[autumn-pixie-hera-blog]

Seek out your Soulmate!

Prepare to be whisked into a loving Frenzy! Your man is sure to be real great, To serve you well- let the wedding bells ring! Go paint yourself a picture-perfect date.

[autumn-pixie-hera-blog]

“I don’t want to talk about how or why I’m here, just help.”

@theirishwix

He frowned a bit in thought, though he didn’t appear upset, “I wasn’t really going to ask why you’re here... it’s a resort. There’s only so many reasons it could be...” He stood up from his spot at the desk, however, rolling his shoulders with a slight crunch as he eased the ‘joints’ that had gone stiff from sitting in one place for too long (though it sounded more like leaves being squished together- since he was actually made of leaves)

“What can I help you with?”

[justmorerpmemes]

Hmm... Starters

“Well that’s an interesting predicament…”

“How did you get yourself there?”

“Care to share how you wound up in this situation?”

“I don’t want to talk about how or why I’m here, just help.”

“You have a thoughtful look on your face.”

“You’re looking a little spacey.”

“I could elaborate, but I won’t.”

“Can you explain this to me one more time?”

“I have questions, and I doubt you have answers to them.”

“I don’t think any amount of explanation is going to save whatever headache this is giving me.”

“I don’t need to explain anything.”

“I could tell you what happened, but you will not believe me.”

“I would like to claim plausible deniability.”

“Nothing you say is going to make this any better.”

“I put a lot of thought into this.”

“I didn’t think this through.”

“I thought about this a lot and it still came out like this.”

“Sometimes I just need a quiet place to think.”

“You really thought this all out?”

“It’s difficult to have a spare moment to myself these days.”

“You look suspicious.”

“I have no idea what you’re referring to.”

“Do you just stare while you think?”

“You have a thoughtful look about you, something up?”

“Hmm… oh what? Sorry, it’s nothing. Don’t worry.”

[autumn-pixie-hera-blog]

otterly-adxrable‌:

“Good! It doesn’t seem like it’ll be very windy today, so you should be fine.” Feliciano very naturally tended to care for people in his life, so Hera of course was no exception. Though there seemed to be a different type of connotation now that they’d found out their poems were about each other. 

As they began to walk along the street, Feliciano kept his hands clasped behind his back, walking with a slight swing in his step. After a moment, he smiled up at Hera. “So… is it okay to assume you’re okay with this? With the poems?”

Hera nodded in answer to Feliciano’s question, “Yeah. It’s definitely okay.” He gently bumped into Feli’s shoulder with a smile, “I can’t say it’s something I would have thought about on my own. I tend to go with the flow... but I was pretty comfortable, y’know, with our close friendship and having a secret menu and all that... but after you said we’re a match, I realized that not much would have to change in order for us to be more than friends... that you’re already very special to me.”

He hummed a bit as he thought of how to admit he’d been interested in Lutz first, before deciding to just say it outright, “there is one thing, though... I was bringing my coffee maker over to Lutz to see if he could fix it... and he said that if the poem thing didn’t work out that...” Hera hesitated, gauging Feli’s reaction, “he’d maybe like to go on a date... but it’s not like I’m disappointed in having you over him or anything like that. I do really like you... it’s just that I like him, too. Is that weird? It’s not like... I feel like I’m missing out by dating you and not him, but just that...” 

Hera pursed his lips as he thought of how to say it, “dating is spending time with a person you like... and I feel like I could do that with both of you. I don’t want to hurt either of you, though, which is why I’m being honest now. Not that I’ve said anything to him yet, obviously. You only just told me about the poems a few moments ago.” 

He chuckled nervously, “I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’m still just taking it slow and going with the flow, which is just my way of things, but I also want to be honest and let you know about stuff... a-and you said I need to get out of my bubble more so I’m trying that, too?”

[autumn-pixie-hera-blog]

otterly-adxrable‌:

Feliciano giggled at Hera’s obvious attempt to hide his embarrassment, still a little embarrassed himself, but now more giddy than anything.

“Okay! Let’s get going then!” He gestured for Hera to follow him, opening up the front door. “You have your keys? Anything else you might need? You’re warm enough, right? You don’t need a hat or anything?”

Hera followed, checking for his keys and wallet, just in case, before shutting the door behind him. “Yes, I’ve got everything and I’m warm enough. My hair keeps my ears warm most days, unless it’s really windy.” He nodded, putting his hands in his pockets to warm them up. It was kind of Feli to check on him, though, and he appreciated that Feliciano seemed to pay attention to his well-being pretty often, now that he thought about it. “Thank you, though.”

[autumn-pixie-hera-blog]

otterly-adxrable‌:

Feliciano took the jacket with a thank you, paused, then blushed slightly with a light laugh. “What happened to taking it slow? Just kidding~” He stuck his tongue out a little before turning to head towards the front door.

“Well, I guess we can decide while we’re walking! This is all kinda last minute anyway, so it’s okay if we wing it a little, right?”

Hera buried his face in his jacket sleeve, hiding his blush. “Right, joking.” He nodded, still in his sleeve, and spoke with a muffled voice, “okay, we can decide then.”

Recovering from his embarrassment, he said, “yeah, winging it sounds good.”

[autumn-pixie-hera-blog]

otterly-adxrable‌:

“Hm? Oh–” Feliciano blinked, laughing as he realized his own state. “Ahah, I must have been in such a rush I didn’t grab mine! If you don’t mind, I’ll borrow one of yours, then. It might be big on me but that’s alright, I don’t mind.”

“Oh, well, I was just going to do something simple, so don’t worry about it~ Simple but still special! It’s fun to challenge myself to make something with whatever’s available. Oh, but is there something you’d like? We can still stop by the store if you want!”

Hera handed over a fluffy jacket that looked a little worn, but still warm, before pulling on his own. “I want whatever you’re willing to give, Feliciano...” 

He coughed, realizing suddenly how that sounded, “I-I meant for breakfast, um... we should be fine. If we really need something specific, we could always go to the coffee shop and get it instead.”

[autumn-pixie-hera-blog]

otterly-adxrable‌:

He’d been so excited about figuring it out that Feliciano hadn’t quite processed the actual soulmates part yet. So now, as everything calmed down, he was starting to feel sheepish. “Eheh, okay! It’ll just be a special breakfast. And I do want to have breakfast with you!” He smiled softly. “I’m glad you’re not grumpy. Take your time in getting ready, too. We can go as slow as you’d like~”

“I’ll just get a jacket on... it’s probably cold out today.” He glanced at Feli, happy that Feli was willing to slow down, when he realized, “Did you run here without a jacket? You should borrow one of mine for our walk...”

As he opened a closet door, he said, “We may have to go shopping if I don’t have the ingredients you want to cook with... Or we could walk to your house.”

[autumn-pixie-hera-blog]

an-bauuen‌:

Perhaps it was fate that Lutz jsut so happened to be headed out front at this moment. 

“Oh, hey Hera!” He was cheerful when he spoke.

Hera stumbled backward, more startled than he should have been. 

“Oh, hey! I... I’m here to check you ou– er– check on my coffee maker!” 

[autumn-pixie-hera-blog]

otterly-adxrable‌:

“Yeah! We can do all sorts of things~ Ahh, I’m excited now! It’s going to be nice, I think. I wasn’t expecting it to be romantic, but it’ll be nice.” For once, he actually blushed a bit, feeling embarrassed thinking about it too much. “Oh, a walk would be nice! And I could make breakfast afterwards, if you want, since I woke you up. I know you said it’s okay but I still feel a little bad so I’ll make something nice~”

Seeing the blush on Feli’s face made Hera smile. He’d never seen Feliciano embarrassed before, so it made him feel special that he could do that. “A special breakfast? Sure. Sounds like a plan... but not because you feel guilty. Just because you want to have breakfast with me, okay? I’m not too grumpy if I wake up... just sleepy.”

[autumn-pixie-hera-blog]

@an-bauuen

Heracles stopped by the mechanic’s to check on his coffee-maker a few days after their first conversation.

He began talking to himself outside the door, “So... hey, to um– follow up, I guess... my match figured out who was who... and I’m happy! but I think maybe I’d like to introduce you and spend time with you both? That sounds bad, uh... what I mean is...” he wiped a hand over his face, “how do I even say that I like them both?”

[autumn-pixie-hera-blog]

otterly-adxrable‌:

Seeing Hera’s smile, Feliciano grinned, nodding with a laugh. “Hehe~ Of course! I was gonna ask you the same thing~ Though I guess we already make lots of plans to hang out already, huh?” He giggled again. “Isn’t it funny? The poems were about us all along and we never noticed. I’ll have to thank Mister Andrei later for helping me get to the answer.”

“Sorry for rushing you to get ready so early, though,” Feliciano said with a sheepish smile, rubbing the back of his neck. “I was just so excited I had to tell you right away!”

“Yeah... our plans to hang out could be romantic, too. Visiting the library... planning a local wine tour... hanging out when my shop is closed during the summer...” he repeated, his smile growing with everything he listed, though he was interrupted by a yawn once again, “one day maybe I’ll wake up early enough to see the sunrise... until then, I’ll just have to nap during the day...” 

“Oh, it’s– it’s okay for you to wake me up. If nobody does, then I’ll sleep all the time... when important things are going on. I’m glad you woke me up to tell me the answer.” Hera smiled sheepishly, “A morning walk sounds nice. If you want to?”

[autumn-pixie-hera-blog]

otterly-adxrable‌:

“Yeah! I tried to get in touch with you but then I realized you were just gonna sleep through it all so I went back to bed. But I’m here now!”

Once in the living room, Feliciano spun around to face Heracles. “So! The poems! I thought about what Mister Andrei said a lot, about the answer being under our noses. It took me a while to get though, ‘cause I guess it was kinda so obvious that I didn’t even think about it. But then I remembered! You know how we were saying they kinda sound like us? That’s because they are about us! We had the answer from the beginning all along!”

“If it’s a huge emergency, you could have called my home phone... I only have it because if it rings, I’m forced to get out of bed to answer it...” He knew that Feliciano wasn’t angry that he didn’t answer (very few people would answer at 3am anyway), but it still was important to mention, regardless.

Heracles thought about what Feliciano was saying for a few beats before a soft smile lit up his face, “it’s about us? so... you’re my soulmate?” Hera tilted his head, not unlike a cat, making sure that he understood Feli clearly. “is this– you’d said... that I needed to get out of the house more... and you know that I’d rather take it slow so... can I ask you out on a date, then?”

[autumn-pixie-hera-blog]

otterly-adxrable‌:

By the time Heracles finally opened the door, Feliciano was practically ready to blast into orbit from all of his bouncing. “HERA!” he exclaimed, pulling out the now slightly wrinkly paper with his poem on it. “I figured it out!! I figured out the poems!”

He rushed inside, still bouncing slightly. “I talked to Andrei and he was super smart and stuff he knew everything about the poem right away! And then he told me that the answer was right under our noses this whole time and we just hadn’t noticed yet! And he was right! I finally got it!”

Heracles chuckled a little as he closed the door behind Feli, “is that what my phone has been ringing off the hook for?” He followed Feli into the living area of his house, listening carefully. 

“Oh? What did you and Andrei figure out?” He brushed his hand through his hair, trying to comb it somewhat.

[autumn-pixie-hera-blog]

otterly-adxrable‌:

@autumn-pixie-hera

Sometime around three in the morning that night Feliciano had come upon a revelation and had spammed Hera with endless amounts of text messages. It took him about ten minutes to realize that that was probably not enough to wake the other up, so he gave up and went back to sleep. 

Bright and early the next morning, he texted Hera again to tell him he was coming over (hopefully he was awake by this point) then rushed out of the house.

He arrived in record time, and quickly knocked on the door. He would continue to knock until Hera answered.

Heracles was most certainly not awake at 3am and was hardly any more awake when Feliciano was knocking on the door later that morning. He’d just pulled on a pair of sweatpants after taking a shower when he heard the incessant knocking, “hang on a minute!” he yelled, “keep your shirt on! ... while I literally get a shirt!”

He was pulling a white t-shirt over his head as he answered the door, his damp hair popping out of the neckline. “Is something the matter, Felici?” He asked, opening the door to let his friend inside. “The coffee shop isn’t open today if you were worried why I wasn’t there...” He yawned, indicating that he had planned to spend his day off relaxing, though he didn’t say so aloud. He liked spending time with Feliciano, so this change of plans wasn’t too bad.

[autumn-pixie-hera-blog]

perennialardency‌:

autumn-pixie-hera

“I think whoever wrote them wanted to get everyone together, but basically they took facts from the census and made it into love poetry, right? That doesn’t really mean you’ll swoon over him… it sounds like… he likes comfort? and either also has a child or won’t be bothered by you having a child? Just because the poem was implying something romantic doesn’t mean the person it’s about is interested in romance, either.” He shrugged, not exactly interested in poetry analysis as much as Andrei was, “It sounds to me like city hall has a matchmaker, but that doesn’t mean the person being written about even cares about the romance of all this. After all– mine has wedding bells in it but you said that doesn’t mean my match is interested in having a wedding right away. The same goes for your match, right? Just because they may like kids doesn’t mean they’re interested in being a second parent for Ilie…”

Heracles spoke his mind on the matter, but he was antsy about seeing the photo. He loved cats, so seeing the lynx near Andrei made him a bit jealous, though he knew it was for the best that the lynx not be taken from his environment– and it was unlikely that Hera would ever visit the place in the photo. Still, he smiled kindly and put a hand under his chin to indicate that he wanted to look at the picture a while longer. “Can you zoom in on the lynx? I want to see its fur.”

“I don’t really care about the intentions behind this,” Andrei sighed, frustrated. “Not a soul around here knows me well enough at all to even guess at what kind of relationship I would want out of a person at all–platonic, romantic, and familial alike. I’m a stranger to everyone–an outsider, in spite of me trying to slot myself a place over the past months I’ve been here, purely out of wanting to make life more comfortable for my son. And here I am, the weird scientist at the end of the road, not unlike the mysterious wizard in so many stories, whom everyone’s heard about but no one’s ever actually met.” He shook his head and pressed his forehead with a palm. “It’s been terribly difficult for me to find my place here in this little village, so it certainly doesn’t make me feel like there’s someone fated to be my…bestie or partner or whatever they’re meant to be, not here at least.”

As he’d much rather focus on his actual love, Andrei gladly zoomed in on the picture so the cat could be seen more clearly. “He was fairly young, less than a year, which I think is why he was so curious. His mother was nearby and she didn’t want to come very close to us. I did my best to try and touch him but that wasn’t going to happen. He was so gorgeous though. It felt very special and I’m glad my colleague got the occasion in photos.”

Still looking at the photo of the lynx, Heracles tapped a finger on his chin, “well... I’ve actually met you and I’ve actually held a conversation with you, just now. And nearly everyone in town comes to this coffee shop at some point or another. Doesn’t really feel like you’re an outsider to me... but regardless, I think you’re focusing too much on the ‘fate’ that the local government is trying to sell you...”

Hera sighed and let him take his phone back, becoming a little irritated (it was nearly his nap time) because he wasn’t getting his point across clearly, “...So what if you’re not destined to be lovers or best friends?! Isn’t it enough to know there’s someone in town with a few common interests? That’s how friendships are made, even passing ones, or even just a way to make friendly conversation with neighbors. You only become a part of the town by actually talking to people in passing and really /living/ here... instead of a rabbit hole.” He chuckled, but then coughed as he realized that was probably a little harsh. “Even just having this conversation with me, despite the fact that we’re not close friends, brings you closer to becoming a member of this village.”