Zero to Hero

Hercules Katsaros. 25 years old. Making my own legacy. There he goes again Sweet and undefeated And an awesome ten for ten

[gothxdistance]

Hercules was starting to get way more used to being at Astra. Sure, being away from home was something that he was used to but he was mostly used to spending that time away with people that he had known for months at that point. Being along wasn’t something new to him but it made him a little sad seeing people going around with friends while he was along. Getting his aggression out at the gym seemed to be the best option for him and he thought it might be a good place to make friends as well. A few minutes into his run on the treadmill, he slowed the machine down to a walk and turned to look at the person who had hopped onto the machine next to him. "Hey...it’s a nice day for a workout, right?”

[gothxdistance]

ofhcdes:

Hayden had been in the complex for a couple of days now, meaning that he was fairly well settled. Being in the dorm set up was a shock to his system, having lived alone in his generous penthouse for so long, but he was starting to get used to it. Currently, he was in the convenience store, eyeing the vast array of sickly looking American snacks on display. ❝ Is there anything here that doesn’t look like it just tastes like a colour ?? ❞ He scoffed, picking up a bag of what looked like innocent crackers, but turned out to be cheesy monstrosities. ❝ I think I may have to brush up on my cooking skills. ❞

Being at Astra for more than a few months already, Hercules already had a well carved out routine of going to the convenience store every other day in order to almost clean out their supply of healthy snacks. It was almost like the person running the store had started ordering more since they noticed someone was actually buying them. Today was a little different though, he wanted actual candy. He was staring at the shelf in front of him when he heard someone next to him speak. Turning his head, the young man raised an eyebrow. "Tastes like color? I don’t know, you can always try some of those protein bars. They don’t taste like color but some of them do taste like dirt.”

[purejcy]

Joy was immensely relieved to be able to shrug their duffel bag off of their back, rolling their shoulders a few times to alleviate some of the tension that lingered there. Strands of their hair, damp from sweat, clung to their forehead and the muscle tank they were wearing stuck to their torso uncomfortably, but Joy was hardly bothered. Being from San Francisco, they were used to cycling making them unreasonably tired, considering how steep a lot of the streets are. They glanced around the lobby and grinned at someone’s questioning stare, ❝ I missed the last bus because a cute girl asked for help and I couldn’t resist, how embarrassingly tragic is that ?? So I had to cycle the whole way. ❞

[gothxdistance]

Hercules had been minding his own business walking through the lobby when he caught sight of the person who had just strolled in. He couldn’t help but notice that they looked a little worn out and he definitely hadn’t seen them around before. The tips of his ears turned red as they grinned at him and he let out a quiet laugh. “Oh what better reason to miss the bus! Plus, it’’s always just good to get good karma or whatever they say, right?At least you got some good exercise out of it, though.”

[gothxdistance]

trcnsylvanianbeauty:

“where the hell is it?” mavis spoke to herself as she looked at the map of astra, what the brunette didn’t realize was that she had had the map upside down. “hey, do you know where i can find the astra initiative?” she asked the nearest stranger. “i can’t seem to find it on my map.”

People talking to themselves wasn’t such a big deal, in fact Hercules would have to admit that he mumbled to himself every once and a while. Maybe that’s what made him stop and try to see what exactly the young woman was trying to figure out. He was a little shocked when she addressed him a few seconds later. Blinking quickly, he cleared his throat. “Um...yeah I know where to find it. I’m from there...well not from there but I’m going there right now, actually.” He couldn’t help but peek at the woman’s map. “I hate to be the one to tell you this, but your map is upside down.”

[gothxdistance]

ladvchess:

After being outright ditched by her date, who was supposed to be her next prince charming, if she had to be honest, Duchess wasn’t having a great time. Even though Dmitri momentarily cheered her up, there came a time when he, too, had to return to his date and she was left alone again, having already abandoned all hope of being offered a dance, or even a conversation, by her date at all. 

Standing against the wall, taking slow small sips of her champagne, wasn’t her idea of fun, and she was slowly beginning to get angry at being stood up. Before she could start to boil with anger and become less of a lady that she’d intended, someone suddenly shook her out of her thoughts; someone she recognized. “Oh! No… I mean, yes. I guess I’m one of the few people for whom this didn’t really work out…” After a moment, she finally recalled his name. “Hercules, right? You helped me with my chaise longue.”

He would be lying if he said his heart didn’t leap a little when he realized she remembered him and he couldn’t keep the little smile from growing on his face as he nodded. "Yeah, that’s me! I definitely helped you move that into your apartment. How’s it been working out for you so far?” Hercules wanted to pull his standard move that he did when he was awkward which was to shove his hands in his pockets but he decided it wouldn’t fit the way he was dressed right now so he settled for running a hand through his hair before continuing. “I guess from the look on your face and the fact you’re standing alone that you’re not having that great of a time? If it helps any, whoever decided to ditch you might be a bigger idiot than I am, Duchess.”

[yourdisneyplaylist]

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[gothxdistance]

gasstonlegume:

After finally arriving where the gala was being held and entering the building, Gaston surveyed his surroundings, a smile spreading across his face. This was the perfect time to meet the fellows members of Astra. Attendance was required, so his options were nice and varied. His eyes had settled on a few locations that had been gathered at by others already, but nothing seemed quite right. There needed to be the perfect number of people so that there weren’t too many and he couldn’t get a word in, but so far all of the groups seemed much too large for Gaston’s liking. How many friends did these people have? Eventually, Gaston just decided to do the best thing to gain the full attention of everyone at once.

He began making his way toward the back wall of the building where a massive stage was located. There was a microphone stand there, which had been what caught Gaston’s attention in the first place. When he got to the stairs on the left side of the stage, he climbed up and took the microphone. The music stopped as if on cue, which was pleasing to Gaston. “Hello, all! I hope you all are having a good time tonight. I’d like to inform everyone that my name is Gaston Legume. I’m relatively new at Astra and I’m using this as my opportunity to get myself out there to you, so feel free to make your way over and have a chat with yours truly!” His voice was loud even with the help from the microphone, so he knew that must have brought most, if not all, people out of their own conversations and their eyes on him.

It wasn’t like Hercules was really planning to dance anyway, but he was having a pretty good time watching other people enjoy themselves on the dance floor. That was, until someone decided to cut the music and let someone who sounded like he loved the sound of his own voice talk. He’d met plenty of people like him when he was traveling and he seemed like the kind of person who gave guys everywhere a bad name. Turning to finally look at the guy, he couldn’t help but feel a little angry especially when he said his name. So this was the guy who decided that someone like Duchess wasn’t a good enough date to occupy his time? Was he crazy or something?

Hercules wasn’t sure what it was that made him move towards the guy, it might have been some underlying anger or curiosity to see if this guy was really as full of himself as he’d made it seem in about 15 seconds. When he finally got close enough, he cleared his throat before speaking. "Hello. Gaston, right? I’m Hercules Katsaros. Can I just ask what you have to say that’s so important you thought it was an okay thing to do to interrupt people having a good time?”

[gothxdistance]

icequeenxxelsa:

She felt utterly ridiculous. For a second there, Elsa was tempted to text Hercules (cool name, most definitely not used a lot in modern times) and to inform him that, unfortunately, she has caught the flu and was unable to attend the gala with him. However, something nagged at her that just because she didn’t want to go, she shouldn’t ruin some stranger’s night. Besides, he could be nice.

Standing outside the compound, the blonde brushed invisible dust off of the skirt of her dress as she attempt to keep her hands busy and her nerves low. This was a bad idea; She’s so uncomfortable meeting new people. To be a complete stranger’s date for a night? Good lord. However, she smiled a little when she noticed a young man heading her way. “Hercules, I presume?”

@gothxdistance

Hercules was sure he’d made a huge mistake in letting himself be set up with a stranger. He got anxious sometimes when he had to talk to people that he’d known for years, how the hell was he supposed to cope with this. But it was way too late to back out now, he knew this as he tugged on the sleeve of his suit jacket. Furrowing his brow, he picked up his gift for his date that he’d, unfortunately, picked up at the convenience store on the Astra campus earlier in the day. Better that than nothing.

Walking to meet his date was stressful but he had to mind his own actions or else he might snap the one flower he was able to get in half. A little smile was on his face as the young woman caught his eye and he stood up a little straighter. "Yes, that’s me. And you must be Elsa,” he nodded his head before holding out his hand with the flower. “Um...wow I realize how crappy this flower looks now compared to your whole outfit but I wanted to get you something...”

[gothxdistance]

@ladvchess

Valentine’s day had never been a big thing for Hercules. He’d never really seen the point of celebrating it, but maybe part of that was because his parents always did nice things for each other every day of the year. Still, the whole point in him coming to a place like Astra was to get more out of his comfort zone. He wanted to make friends and if he got to do it while he was socializing with pretty girls, then he would do it.

Staying in the Olympic village a few years ago made it easy for him to recognize the face of a woman who was too pissed off at her date but too nice to say anything. That was the face that Duchess was wearing right now and it almost made him want to laugh as he took a slow walk over to the woman. Sure he’d helped her move some furniture in to her room, but she probably wouldn’t even remember him. “Hello,” he said a little too quietly before he cleared his throat. “I mean, hello. Your date got you down?” Hercules flashed her a sympathetic smile.

[gothxdistance]

hadeslackey:

annoyed was one way to sum up meg’s mood as she watched the other stumble. hazel eyes followed as she couldn’t help but look away. maybe if he hadn’t interrupted she would have found the small mishap funny. once upon a time, she would have even asked if he was okay. but tonight, neither were emotions megara was particularly feeling. she rolled her eyes instead, shaking her head softly in disapproval. “oh, were you really?” she asked in a mocking tone, “huh. would have never guessed it.” meg’s eyes fell down to the book as she studied the cover for a few seconds. meg silently agreed, she had been worlds away, using literature as a safe haven from her actual reality. she debated for a moment whether to answer or not before lifting up her copy of the catcher in the rye toward the man. 

The look on the woman’s face was enough to make Hercules blush even more than he was before. Why did she have to be so mean? He’d apologized and everything! "Oh I really was. Believe me, if I wasn’t trying to be quiet and careful, I probably would have tripped up a lot sooner.” He cracked a weak joke. No matter what attitude the woman was giving off, Hercules couldn’t help but take another step closer to examine the cover of the book. “Oh nice! I don’t think I’ve read that in a while.” Or he was supposed to have read it for school and never did. He couldn’t be too sure. 

[gothxdistance]

artistheartxxexplorersoul-jane:

“Gah!- shit…” This damn machine- how could anyone find it handy? And has soon as Jane had assumed that she finally figured it out, she got tea all over her shirt. Sighing, she looked around the room to noticed that she was alone. The brunette began to take off the stained shirt, thankful that she was wearing a tank underneath. However, that thankfulness changed the moment she realized that she was both: a) completely stuck and b) had caught the tank as well, and was now showing off her midriff. “Shit, shit, shit…” Stupid clumsiness.

Hercules often found himself wandering the halls and grounds of the Astra complex lately. Sure it was close enough to home for him to not feel so homesick but that didn’t mean it felt totally like home to him either. It wasn’t shocking to him that he would meet up with another astranaut every once and a while too but he stopped in his tracks when he saw this woman. "Um...uh...you alright?”

[gothxdistance]

hadeslackey:

darkness filled the common room except for the lamp that sat next to megara on the coffee table. just enough light for her to be able to do some light reading as she sat on the floor in front of the couch. sure, it wasn’t the best of light to read under but the brunette preferred the calm that the dark brought rather than to turn on the lights in the middle of the night. it was more peaceful this way, finding some comfort in the solitude she was surrounded by. or at least she had been — the sound of footsteps bringing her attention back to the real world as she looked up from her book. “hello? is anyone there?”

Hercules was finding it hard to sleep lately, which was odd. Maybe it was the fact that he was around so many new people that was making him almost uneasy and a little out of his element. He didn’t want to stand out here and there was probably nobody here that would know his family name which was both a blessing and a curse. He noticed the woman, of course, and tried to walk a little quieter since she seemed to be so engrossed in her book. Still, maybe he wasn’t that quiet since she noticed him. "I...” He trailed off as he almost stumbled on one of the other coffee tables in the room. “Ow. Sorry, I was trying to walk a little quieter. You reading anything good? You were lost in it, it seems!”

[gothxdistance]

haydenkokinos:

In response to the man’s question, Hayden shrugged. “You can say that. I’ve been living here for… almost a year now?” Time seemed to move by much quicker than he’d imagined it to be; one minute he was leaving Athens for Sacramento and now he was spending Christmas in the United States. Things had turned upside down completely for him.

As soon as Hercules mentioned Greece, Hayden knew. That was it, that was definitely the link. He didn’t know of any American that had been named after a mythological character before, so now things seemed to make more sense. “Ah, I see,” he commented. “Well, Hercules is a fine, if not uncommon, name. At least you weren’t named Eros or Ascelpius, now those would be terrible.” He could sense an awkward pause or two between them, so he tried to diffuse that by trying to switch topics. All he needed to do was turn on the usual businessman charm, ignore his terrible gut feeling, and things would hopefully change. “So. Are you… well-versed in pumpkin-picking?”

Hercules was almost shocked when the man said he’d only been living in California for a year. It seemed to him like it might have been longer. "I hope America is living up to your standards then! I know it’s probably not as nice as some places back home that I’ve visited but it’s not all bad when you get used to it.” He smiled at the man, partially unsure about why he’d felt so nervous when he almost ran into the guy. He didn’t seem all that bad.

Hercules actually let out a laugh at the man’s comment about his name. “I could’ve been named something a lot worse like Icarus or something. At least my parents took some kind of mercy on me.” He cleared his throat as the other man changed the subject, switching the pumpkin to his other arm. “I mean, I think I’m more well-versed in pumpkin-lifting but I think I did a pretty good job. What about yourself or are you more here for the caramel apples?”

[gothxdistance]

haydenkokinos:

One of those faces. Perhaps that was one way to put it, but Hayden thought otherwise. He wasn’t sure if it was exhaustion messing with him or if he was just imagining things, but all he knew was that something just wasn’t adding up in his mind. Maybe he just needed to sit down and clear his head; but really, what good would that do?

His head snapped up slightly. “Television?” he repeated. “Yes, yes, maybe that’s it.” Hayden had to restrain himself from snorting at the other’s name; sure, he had cousins named after mythological figures — his father’s middle name was Chrysaor, for goodness’ sake — but he’d never actually met someone named Hercules. The longer he lingered on it, the funnier it seemed to him. “That’s an interesting name you have there, Hercules. Are your parents Greek mythology fans?” He stuck his hand out for a shake regardless, just like his parents taught him. “I’m Hayden. Kokinos.”

Hercules was pretty sure that he’d never met the other man before but the look that he was getting was sending chills down his spine. Something was really off about this guy but Hercules wasn’t one to judge people based on first impressions.

"I mean a lot of people have probably seen me there, so it’s just a guess. Maybe you’ve just seen me around. Have you been in California for a long time?” He threw that out as an option in hopes that maybe that would be it. A smile grew on his face as he nodded his head. “Yeah, actually. I think they were! You know, maybe it reminded them of their homeland. They moved to America from Greece before I was born so maybe it was like a sentimental thing.” He shrugged his shoulders and let out a little laugh as he reached out and shook the man’s hand. “Nice to meet you, Hayden.”

[gothxdistance]

haydenkokinos:

The act of committing a mistake wasn’t something Hayden quite liked, especially when it came to ones that could have been avoided in the first place. Injury by pumpkin, now that would be a good way to go — hilarious, even, if his father was to know about it. He could feel his blood pumping from the shock, pressing a hand to his chest to try and calm it down.

He shook his head in response, waving it off. “It’s alright.” He had no idea how Italian leather would react to pumpkin guts, but he imagined it was a messy affair. As he glanced up at the young man he’d nearly run into, he couldn’t help but squint a little, an eerie air of familiarity suddenly hitting him. But Hayden could swear he’d never met him before; there would be a name to the face if he had. Whatever it was, it was bothering him. “My apologies, but… have we met before? I feel as if I’ve seen you once.”

Hercules studied the man in front of him for a second as he shifted the pumpkin to his other hand. If the thing had been a little heavier, maybe it would’ve fallen on the guy and then he really would have felt bad. The man didn’t look like someone who would take too kindly to that either.

Something about the guy, maybe it was the vibes that he was giving off, made Hercules a little uncomfortable. Still, he kept the smile on his face as he shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t think so? I’ve met so many people lately it’s getting hard to keep track though. Maybe I just have one of those faces.” He paused for a second to clear his throat. “I have been on television before though, so maybe that’s where you’ve seen me? I’m Hercules, by the way. Sorry for not introducing myself, my mother raised me better than that!”

[gothxdistance]

ladvchess:

At the sight of his very present muscles, Duchess couldn’t help but stare. God, they were everywhere, weren’t they? But staring was rude and unladylike, so she cleared her throat and fixed her eyes on his. “I didn’t want to assume anything,” she explained, clasping her hands together in front of her. “Hercules, then. Yes, actually! I asked around for people willing to help me move some furniture, and your name and apartment number were mentioned. I hope I’m not imposing?”

Hercules let out a little laugh at the woman. Nothing about it was cruel in nature, she just caught him a little off guard like most people here were doing. He couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. "I...wait really? I was mentioned by name?” The thought of someone recommending him for something shook him for a moment before he regained his composure and flashed the woman a grin. “Oh absolutely not imposing, miss...I don’t think I caught your name.”

[gothxdistance]

ladvchess:

@gothxdistance

Duchess had known at the beginning that she would never be able to move the couch herself. The employees had been stubborn, unwilling to drag it up the stairs themselves, and her bodyguard was out on a hunt for her missing dresses that were supposed to have arrived weeks ago. That was the only reason she asked around for people willing to help her, and it was the only reason she found herself knocking on the door of apartment A406. “Hello, you’re mr. Katsaros, right?”

The knock on his door was a little shocking given that Hercules didn’t know that many people at Astra yet and the people he did know probably didn’t know exactly where he lived. Still, he walked over and opened the door slowly. "I...uh yeah.” He opened the door a little wider and took a step out into the hallway. “My first name’s actually Hercules. Mr. Katsaros sounds too formal for me! Can I help you with something?”