i can go the distance

I'll be there someday, I can go the distance I will find my way if I can be strong I know every mile would be worth my while When I go the distance

[herculesvlahos]

HERCULES skidded to a halt, throwing his hands up as he just narrowly avoided a collision. His own fault for not being careful enough, he let out a breathy chuckle of relief and removed his earphones. “Woah there!” he smiled, happy not to have hurt anyone. “That looks pretty heavy, do you need a hand? Trust me when I say its no big deal.”

[herculesvlahos]

whosyourfriend​:

♡

Benji couldn’t wipe the grin off his face at Herc’s approval. He was the kind of person that was going to wear what he wanted to wear no matter what anyone thought, but it was still nice to get compliments. And to make people smile, that was the best thing in the world. “Right inside here,” he gestured to the store behind him, buzzing with excitement over the idea of matching with this kind stranger. “Do it! You should totally do it! We could take such a good selfie!”

HERCULES grinned at Benji because it was unusual for anyone in Prentiss to match his energy. It could be such a serious town sometimes, with so many complications and yet there were these exciting little moments where men could be boys once more and forget about being heroes for ten minutes. “No way! Okay-- I got to go get a pair!” he smiled walking towards the door. He turned back to Benji “Do you think they’ve got hats too? Because that kind of selfie would be so   a w e s o m e!”

[boysappetit]

Simu Liu

[whosyourfriend]

Benji was not good at not blowing his money. Not that it was much of a problem, he had no bills to pay, no need to worry about losing the roof over his head that Mr. Robin provided. He lived a life of luxury with the cash he did obtain, his luxury being sweets. And outrageous clothing items. Stepping out of the store with a giant pink sun hat on top of his head and shades to match, he asked the opinion of the first person his eyes met. “What do you think? Too much?” He didn’t give them time to respond before shaking his head. “Too much, I knew I should’ve gone with the neon green lenses.”

@ptstart​ 

[herculesvlahos]

HERCULES had never been too caught up in trends or the latest fashion. He mostly just wore whatever was the most comfortable, it wasn’t until he began travelling and seeing different styles in different cities did he start to feel a little out of touch with the times. As he stood wide eyed in front of a man in colorful accessories he began to feel super self conscious in his boring shorts and a shirt.  “What?! No way man!” he called out, only just registering in his head what had been said to him. His eyes lit up, he wanted to look just as cool as this stranger! “I was just going to ask where you got them-- If i bought the green we could match!”

[drksprings]

@herculesvlahos​

Persephone knew of the famous Hercules, son of Zeus & Hera. He was destined for greatness according to them and yet he’d fell down to earth to be a simple human. She’d learned empathy for mortals during her own childhood there, before Demeter showed her what they were entirely capable of. That was something she had in common with the golden child was that she had a period of her own youth that was spent as close to a mortal as she could. It’s also how she came to appreciate her power and its purpose in the greater scheme of things. 

That didn’t mean she’d forgotten Hades’ plan. It was no secret to her what was the hopes for his nephew but she’d never had the pleasure of meeting him herself. She’d never thought of going out of her way to make an introduction. It was just on this day she stumbled upon him during her time in the town. Persephone couldn’t deny her curiosity as she smiled. “Come again. What was it you were looking for?” She asked, after being caught slightly off guard upon realizing who it was in front of her. 

[herculesvlahos]

HERCULES had been rambling again, as hard as he tried to keep himself cool it was lost on his own nerves. Phil had told him charisma was part of the hero brand... but Hercules had never really been good at it. He was great at being genuine, relatable and kind-- but confident and charming.... yeah that wasn’t his strong suit. He couldn’t even remember what he had been stammering on about only that it was surely unnecessary and embarrassing. His cheeks began to flush a darker red at the lady’s words. He felt like an idiot. 

“Oh right-- yes!” he muttered awkwardly, fidgeting with his hands. “I know its strange to ask but do you happen to have change of a dollar? --It’s for the launderettes ...I’m all out of socks..”

[herculesvlahos]

hercules vlahos; social media(s) - instagram  

[herculesvlahos]

fastflyinfairy​:

She’d left Iridessa, traumatized probably, long enough to go grab a slushie from one of the snack stands. She wasn’t prepared enough to bring her own food, and she wanted something sweet to sip on. Hesitating on her way back to her seat when she heard Hercules speak, Vidia could not help the smirk that crossed her expression. “Yeah, sweetie, normally they don’t air Christmas movies at the beginning of summer.”

HERCULES felt dumbfounded by the shock of his own... well stupidity. He should have double--no, triple checked the poster and copped it was a horror from the fanatics with terrible hats and homemade finger knives. “I guess I was just hoping for a Christmas in July vibe...” he confessed with a sad sigh. “Hey-- can I sit with you? I don’t want to bail on this in front of everyone but... this kind of stuff gives me the creeps.”

[herculesvlahos]

fiery-marigold​:

She wasn’t going to stay for the movie, but seeing her favorite person caused her to pull up short with a grin. “This is a summerween must watch.” She laughed and waved from where she was standing. “Hello Hercules!” She chirped. “Mind if I join you? I don’t have Christmas food but I did bake some sugar cookies so… close enough?” She said, offering him the Tupperware bowl.

Originally posted by oliviaisrodrigos

HERCULES smiled at Marigold as she approached, always delighted to see her friendly face now that she actually spoke to him instead of disappearing before he could say hello. “Summerween! I like that-- but horrors.. man I don’t know how I’ll endure it.” he explained with a small chuckle. “Hello Marigold, I’m real happy to see you-- please take a seat!” he beamed, gesturing to the blanket covering the ground. “Thank you-- and what’s mine is yours, help yourself some snacks, do you want a beer? It’s slightly warmed but... still good!”

[herculesvlahos]

kingofdisappointment​:

-

“He can be when I want him to be,” the man said with a shrug, snapping his fingers to get the beauceron dog’s attention. His upright ears pulled back, and he quickly darted back to stand beside him. “His name’s Cerberus. He’s my guard dog, so I thought it’d be fitting,” on the nose, really, “Thanks for finding him and keeping his attention for a minute. I owe you a drink. Name’s Haden. And you are?” Dumb question - the god had to internally restrain himself from rolling his eyes, but he had to play this right.

HERCULES watched the dog react to the man’s command in both awe and disappointment, he enjoyed petting a furbaby every now and again. Maybe he should talk to John about a house pet... “He’s very well trained, most dogs I come across trade their owners for belly rubs.” he explained, standing back up. “Oh no I couldn’t-- it was my pleasure to help keep him busy.” he smiled, his eyes still focused on the doggy. “Nice to meet you Haden and Cerberus! I’m Hercules-- but Herc is fine--- it’s kind of a mouthful.”

[herculesvlahos]

HERCULES sat cross legged on an old tartan blanket spread across the grass, beside him a cool six pack of beer and two small lunchboxes. One contained a selection of chopped fruit and the other crackers, cheese and some relish. He opened his beer sitting back into a more comfortable position, for the first time since he arrived his eyes fixated on the giant screen. “Oh...” he sighed out loud. “I thought this was the Christmas movie-- I guess a horror in June makes more sense.”

[herculesvlahos]

initforthekicks​:

-

John starred at Hercules, his eyes wide and his lips pulled into a faux frown, touched by his generosity as he stood up from the lounge chair and tossed his arms around the man, pulling him into a big bear hug. “You’re the best, man,” he said before he let him go. “I’ll pay it back in some way. Always do.”

John raised an eyebrow and tilted his head forward when Hercules mentioned a kid who had seemed lost. 

“Robin was tellin’ me that their scout was already here. She’d gotten in the way of him gettin’ some shapeshifter’s feather to track it down for his pack to hunt. Slim but athletic build, silky brown hair, kinda short, big doe eyes anyone would fall for? That’s the description I got from Robin. Kid’s name was Douglas if I remember correctly.”

John walked over to the mini-fridge in the living room and flicked it open with a finger to pull out another beer while he chewed on Herc’s question. He half smiled, charmed by how trusting Hercules was, but also a little worried for the guy at times because of it. “That’s a good question. From experience, usually they’ve got vague reasons for bein’ somewhere. Or they’re stalkin’ around areas they shouldn’t be. Askin’ weird questions. Bein’ too nosy. Bullyin’ people for info. All those things.”

HERCULES shook his head in disagreement with Jonathan, he didn’t want any payback, any kind of present or money. He was more than happy to help keep a roof above both of their heads, besides whether Jonathan realized it or not he was already paying Herc back; in friendship. “You can put out the trash tonight and we can call it even” he chuckled. 

“Oh..” Hercules sighed sadly, putting the pieces of the puzzle together in his head. He had met Doug, he really liked the kid but he also had a feeling he was running from something. John’s words were the crushing realization that Doug had either lied-- kind of-- to Hercules or else he was in bigger trouble than he had thought. “I’ve met him I think. He’s harmless-- he’s naïve!” Herc sighed, once upon a time he had been too. “He really is just a kid... gods this is horrible.” he cursed, his fist balled in anger. 

Hercules wanted to protect Doug, just like he would protect his new friend Lilo, or John or Tiana-- or anyone he cared about. Protecting people was quite literally what he lived for and right now he felt helpless to Doug’s cause. He sat with his shoulders slumped in defeat, how the hell was he supposed to help make this right when he didn’t even know where Doug had run off to? “Hm kind of sounds like you when I first met you.” Herc teased. “Without the bullying because bullying is...bad...” he stated. 

Taking the final sip of his drink Hercules placed his empty can on the coffee table and looked towards John. “So what do we do about Doug?”

[tonystarksfavoritedaughter]

STOP HE’S SO ADORABLE

[herculesvlahos]

fiery-marigold​:

As cute as he was at a distance, his awkward smile melted her heart. He seemed like such a sweet gentle soul which was… a weird thing because she’s seen him rip a door off a car before. “Farmers?” She asked, genuinely interested in what he had to say on the subject. “I hat brought you here then? It’s not exactly farm country.” She paused and laughed. “I’m nosy so if I overstep please tell me? It won’t upset me to be told to calm down.” She cocked her head “no. I’ve lived here my whole life. I’d like to go out and see everything one day though…. That sounds lovely.” She laughed. “Oh boy. You’re telling me! But that’s part of why I like it so much.” She admitted with a soft grin. “Never a dull moment.” She twitched her fingers, unaware that a small spark of flame assed between them as she talked to herc.

Originally posted by ofviolentdeath

HERCULES was beginning to think he was rambling way too much, despite the friends he’d made over the years he still found it incredibly awkward to talk to new people without screwing it up. “Yes yeah-- well they mostly grew olives and grain-- hot weather plants you know...” he stumbled, flushing at the mediocrity of it, it wasn’t exactly a edge of your seat story. “Uh family-- they um, thought I should travel and you know-- see other cultures and stuff-- I’ve been in America almost ten years.” he explained. “No no never-- I like it. No one really ever asks me questions so this is nice.” He smiled softly at her words. “Prentiss has its beauty but I think your heart would ache at the sight of a Santorini sunset, it’s magical.” he confessed “If you ever need any recommendations I have plenty for you”.  His eyes flickered to her hands and he double took feeling alarm raise in his head. “--Was that-- did you-- are you holding a lighter?”

[herculesvlahos]

lilopls​:

“I figured. You seem like a nice guy.” She studied him for a few seconds, making sure of her opinion, that she hadn’t been quick to assume he was kind because he didn’t make fun of her doll. Yeah. He seemed like a nice guy. “What’s your name? You already met Scrump, but I’m Lilo.”

HERCULES smiled at that, he was always trying to be a nice guy. A trustworthy person, an ally, a friend. He was always trying to do better than yesterday, he appreciated that she picked up on that. “Thank you. I definitely try to be.” Hercules held out his hand to shake as he grinned. “Nice to meet you Lilo, I’m Hercules! -- but if that’s too much Herc is fine... or anything really like hey you! or that guy!”

[kingofdisappointmentx-deactivat]

A large black canine came running up on a person, it’s size and muscular stature intimidating. The dog’s dark coat with red, fox-colored marking on the feet and mouth made it look like its feet were on fire as it ran forward, its upright ears perked in attention as it stopped short of the person of interest and sniffed at them with its pushy snout.

A man rounded the corner in a light jog, coming to a stop as he seemed to be relieved by the sight of the dog with the stranger.

“Oh, fantastic! Thanks, you found my dog,” he said, “-and he didn’t eat your soul. That’s good. He must like you.”

[herculesvlahos]

HERCULES stopped in his tracks, his hands hesitantly in the air as the dog barreled towards his direction, the last thing he wanted was to spook this four legged friend and cause it to run out onto the road. He began to smile as the dog sniffed around his knees, slowly bending down he turned his back away and held out the back of his palm for the dog to smell. “Hey buddy, you lost?” he asked softly with bundles of affection for his new pal. His attention snapped to the person coming towards him, Hercules stayed crouched down to not disturb the dog investigating his scent. “Awh that makes him sound scary. He’s not like that at all What’s his name?”

[herculesvlahos]

amongstgods​:

That wasn’t the reaction she had been expecting, especially from a man of his stature. His concern and apology seemed genuine enough, even if he was stammering over his words like a toddler in trouble. It was kind of cute though. “Whoa, calm down there steamboat. Don’t want you revving your engines too hard now.” Megara kept a small smile at her lips, still using his chest to keep balance. “I’ll be alright, I’m a big girl after all. I can handle myself for the most part.” Megara chuckled, looking down at her now broken heel that was barely hanging on. “No first aid is needed, though would it be asking you too much if you had a spare pair of shoes? Preferably flat ones.” Considering she hadn’t sustained any major injury she needed something else to keep him near. She wouldn’t be able to get any intel if this was the end. Besides the faster she got this over with the faster she could get her soul back. Her freedom.

HERCULES had been raised to treat people with the upmost respect, to look out for anyone in need, to lend a helping hand whenever he could. Even if he wasn’t trying to win over the Gods with his heroic nature he would still be helping people, because that’s how his parents had thought him to be. Although sometimes... he could be a little too full on with his caring. His heart was hammering against his chest as his cheeks flushed, he was worried about her but also captivated by her. She was like a beautiful oil painting come to life in front of his eyes, perfection. “I uh don’t doubt that for moment Miss---.. I would just hate to have hurt you.” he explained bashfully, practically red as a tomato from her steamboat comment.  Hercules shook his head with a smile, happy to throw himself into offering some help. “I think my own might be a little too big for you, there’s a store down here I’m sure sell some. I can assist you if you like? I wouldn’t want you falling over again or breaking the other pair.”

[herculesvlahos]

loveatfirstbark​:

-

“That sounds exhausting,” Douglas said truthfully, knowing how hard it was for him to always be good. He generally was, but from time to time, he had selfish moments. “What if you’re not really in the mood for it? What if you want something that doesn’t benefit someone else?” He asked, genuinely curious as to if he was missing something. Maybe there was some secret he didn’t know about to resisting those impulsive, selfish moments he had. “That sounds great, please!” Doug’s stomach grumbled as if on cue to the thought of grilled cheese sandwiches.

“I like to workout. But it’s okay - I spar because I have to. It’s not exactly my favorite. I don’t dislike it, but it’s just something I have to do. But I don’t like fighting much I really like to dance – I know ballet. That’s – that’s kind of more my thing,” the young man’s face went red, a little embarrassed to admit. He’d gotten a lot of criticism about it from Alphonse and others in he pack by extension. “I know it’s not as cool or useful as fighting but it takes my mind off of things.”

A giant question mark may as well have appeared over Doug’s head when Hercules asked him questions. “…No, I don’t know if those are the right words for him,” He began, thinking about it to explain. He’d never really talked to anyone about this before; it wasn’t a negative thing for him. It just was what it was. And then came the part where Doug talked too much. All of his attempts at secrecy fell apart; trusting easily was a flaw, but he was also so eager to make friends.“Alphonse is my alpha. Charles is our pack’s master. He takes care of us and we get protection by serving him. He’s an-” he paused, autocorrecting himself to at least stop himself from mentioning that Charles was a hunter,”– explorer, so I track for him. I’m a really good tracker. Not to brag, But Charles says I’m the best tracker in the pack,” He looked so happy about it; something good that he clung into for comfort when he didn’t feel like he fit in with the rest of the pack. “Finding people or things is easy for me once I’ve got their scent. I’m kind of a natural at it.”

He looked up at Hercules, starring at him for a second before it clicked in his head that there was an inkling of concern in his eyes. “Just to be clear, mister Hercules sir, I’m not in any danger. In fact, I’m doing very well. I’m alone, but I’m happy about that. I earned it. This is my first time getting to be alone somewhere. I’m usually by Charles’ side, in the next room, or on his plane. Or I’m with Alphonse. This is kind of a big deal for me, sir. I worked really hard to be trusted on my own.” 

If Doug had a tail, it would have been wagging from how proud he was of that fact. He had worked hard. So much so that he’d lost count of how many hunts he’d successfully tracked down for Charles. However, he tried not to think too hard about the lives that were lost because of his great success. He’d also worked very hard to repress that, too.

HERCULES gave Doug a small sad smile, over the years he’d experienced many different kinds of cruelty and it was hard to try and rise above it every time. Doug was wrong, it was exhausting but it was also his destiny.  “Sometimes the hardest thing you’ll ever do is be kind--especially to the people who don’t deserve it. ...but after awhile it gets easier.” he explained, leaving out the heartache that came with ‘toughening up’. Hercules smiled extending his arm out towards the next left “Its down here c’mon-- she does a mean milkshake too.”

“Hey now ballet is awesome! And its way more difficult to learn how to dance than it is to fight-- you gotta’ be super tough on yourself” Hercules began, he had tried to learn to dance as a kid but his dumb clumsy footwork and lack of a partner caused him to quit. “Take it from me kid, there’s way more people out there who will be more impressed by a trained dancer than a fighter-- including me. I always wanted to Pasodoble.” 

Hercules had a pretty basic understanding of the hierarchy of packs. Jonathan fondly explained the in’s and out’s on the regular to him, although some areas were a little grey... and complicated. Hercules didn’t understand the loyalty to it but then again he had also never experienced a bond so worthy of protecting. It worried him that Doug was this young and in this deep--what had this kid been exposed to already? “So if Charles is supposed to take care of you where is he now? And your ...Alphonse guy? Are they letting you just run the streets on your own?” he asked with a frown. Hercules could feel his heart ache for this kid, the excitement and pride in his voice, it was clear that Doug worked very hard to prove himself, it reminded him of when he was younger. “It must be such a huge honor to be the best of your pack. --Are you out looking for anything now?”

A small smile spread across Herc’s lips as he nodded at Doug’s words. He was terrified this poor kid was in grave danger--walking into some kind of trap. But yet he seemed so full of confidence and excitement that this was a true reward to alone in the real world, to be trusted to be by himself. Something was quite adding up-- he needed to keep an eye on him. “In that case I’m really happy for you, just could have picked a nicer city with less crime although I bet you can handle yourself.” he smiled. “Are you going to be here by yourself for long? --’cause my roommate and I could help you out if needed anything.”