To be honest, this is the ship that I’ve been waiting for to talk about, but I didn’t know how to start with them. And I still kind of don’t, but oh well. Here we go. Cassius is undoubtedly my favorite OC up to this day, and when I first created him, I never thought that I would find someone who would be able to handle him outside of his family. And he has been through a lot of pairings ( mostly BROTPs even though I do have another ship for him outside of Castellan ), and wow, I honestly just love all of them. But see, Castellan is probably one of the OTPs for me. To think of the fact that annebolevn and I didn’t plan them out is hilarious to me knowing where they are now. Really, though, I hadn’t even intended to play Cassius again, but Ciel came up with this beautiful character called Stellan Vaughn, and bun asked me if I wanted to create some sort of connection for Stellan. And me being me, of course I couldn’t say no. Then by some chance, I thought of Cassius and went and looked at the old overview I wrote for him, and realized that he might play really well against Stellan. We didn’t even intend to make it a romantic ship at first, though. But lmao, I just had to go find this plot bunny that I thought would suit these two well and bam, this ship happened. And I didn’t think that I’d love them this much, but now they’re all I think about.
See, Cassius is your typical grade A asshole who you should probably not come close to, and Stellan’s also a little shit who blackmails people a lot. They’re not really good people ( they can be, but they’re not a lot of the time ). And the story for them honestly differs from the universe that Ciel and I put them in, but in the original verse, they were rivals to begin with. Two Slytherin kids who started one-upping each other ever since they first met and got sorted into Slytherin. And it was that way up until fifth year, when they were partnered up to do a project together. I mean, they still butted heads a lot, but they started spending more time with each other because of that damn project and sometimes they get drunk together and then this one time, Stellan just had to lean in and kiss Cassius. Which, of course, freaked him out. Especially because Stellan is the first boy that he had ever kissed. Then drunken kisses turned into drunken making out sessions, then not-so-drunken making out sessions, and oh man, there’s just so much sexual tension between them??? But also as time goes by they stopped becoming just rivals, and Cassius decided that he could probably call Stellan a friend. Except they weren’t really just friends. They were rivals turned almost lovers. And with each day they spend with each other, with each “Shit, are you okay?” and each “I’m gonna fucking kill him for what he did to you”, it’s not like it isn’t expected of them to eventually become lovers.
And that, my friends, is the story of Cassius Fulgora and Stellan Vaughn in the original verse where Ciel and I created them for. Now? I don’t even know if I can talk about half the stuff that we talk about for Castellan without going on and on and on and never stopping.
Who’s more dominant: Lmao we all know that this is Cassius but he also loves it when Stellan is being dominant.
Who’s the cuddler: I'm laughing because Cassius being a cuddler is so foreign to me but probably both? Stellan a little more, though.
Who’s the big spoon/little spoon: Big spoon is Cassius, Stellan's the little spoon probably.
What’s their favorite non-sexual activity: Does cuddling in bed counts? Honestly, though, with them almost anything can turn sexual. But um, cuddling in bed and maybe Cassius reading to Stellan sometimes.
Who uses all the hot water: Lmao they shower together more often than not so... Yeah.
Most trivial thing they fight over: Lbr here they argue on who's the better tease lolol.
Who does most of the cleaning: Cleaning??? What is that??? Lmao but yeah they'd both try clean together and fail and would probably have to hire a maid. In the verses where they don't, they do cleaning together and make out in the middle of cleaning things up sometimes.
What has a season pass on their dvr/Who controls the netflix queue: Whoever it is doesn't really matter because they always end up getting distracted by each other instad of watching things anyway. But probably Cassius?
Who calls up the super/landlord when the heat’s not working: They don't have a landlord pls they live in a mansion but um Cassius would probably make Stellan do it.
Who leaves their stuff around: Both of them do, I think.
Who remembers to buy the milk: HAHAHA neither of them would remember until one of them wants to drink milk.
Who remembers anniversaries: Tbh they'd probably wake up and kiss and be like, "Happy [insert date of anniversary here]."
Who cooks normally: Cooking, you say? They're princes they don't cook. Nah, but really. The most that they'd cook is breakfast and that'd end up as a food fight in the kitchen probably.
How often do they fight: Only about being worried about each other sometimes. Or probably Cassius sometimes scowling and pouting whenever Stellan pays his cat more attention.
What do they do when they’re away from each other: Talk on the phone and/or video call on Skype more often than they should, really. How can they be away from each other?
Nicknames for each other: Stellan calls Cassius "Evander" sometimes but I think that's pretty much it.
Who is more likely to pay for dinner: Probably Cassius? I mean, I don't think that Stellan would always let Cassius pay, but at least when they were still in that "boyfriends but not really" phase Cassius probably paid for dinner more often.
Who steals the covers at night: Stellan probably lmao.
What would they get each other for gifts: Cassius got Stellan a cat. And they got each other's names tattooed. That's it that's all I have to say.
Who kissed who first: It depends on the verse really but I like the HC of Stellan kissing Cassius first.
Who made the first move: Again, depends on the verse but more often than not it's Cassius.
Who remembers things: Idk tbh maybe Cassius but maybe Stellan too. Depends on what these things are.
Who started the relationship: Uhh... I don't know?? They were boyfriends before they became actually boyfriends, so. It just happened.
Who cusses more: Cassius tbh I mean he overuses swear words.
What would they do if the other one was hurt: They wouldn't wanna leave the other's side.
Who is the dirty talker: Lbr here both of them are.
A head canon: Stellan named his cat Evander bye. Also, they are Lucius' OTP.
for the boys who were never really just friends to begin with. for the boys who started out as rivals and ended up as lovers. for the boys who were never looking for love but found it in each other. // a cassius fulgora & stellan vaughn playlist
i. heroes (we could be) - alesso // ii. eyes wide shut - jls // iii. use somebody - kings of leon // iv. something i need - onerepublic // v. love me like you do - ellie goulding // vi. state of grace - taylor swift // vii. all about us (ft. aaron gillespie) - he is we // viii. if i lose myself - onerepublic // ix. turning page - sleeping at last
BLACK INK ON YOUR SKIN
a cassius fulgora/stellan vaughn drabble
in which cassius decided to surprise his boyfriend with a valentine's day gift and got a surprise in return too.
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021.
He couldn't see it. Not even when he looked in the mirror and tried to crane his head to get a glimpse of the ink tattooed on where his neck met his back. But he knew that it was there. That in black ink, the name Stellan was etched onto his skin—possibly permanently. Cassius' lips curled up into a slow smile as he reached up to rub the skin on the back of his neck. It made him feel something—he wasn't quite sure what, but it ignited something in him—to know that it was there.
He couldn't wait to show the tattoo to Stellan.
Deliberately making sure that his back was facing away from his boyfriend, Cassius walked over to the bed they shared. Stellan was already lying in bed, and it didn't take Cassius long at all to join him. Except unlike on other days, he didn't pull the other man against his chest, and instead turned so that it was his back that was in Stellan's line of sight.
He heard Stellan's breath catching when he did so, and it took everything in Cassius to not turn around to look at his face. The other man was silent aside from his sharp intakes of breathe. Cassius had to bite his lip to stop himself from asking about what Stellan thought of it. He could only hope that Stellan didn't think that getting his name tattooed was too much. And although he forced himself to lie perfectly still, he couldn't help the shiver running down his spine when Stellan reached forward to touch the tattoo. "Cassius?" Stellan murmured as he traced over the 'S'. "What is this?"
Still facing the other way, Cassius replied with, "A tattoo of your name. What else could it be?" The words came out steadier than he thought they would, and he was glad that they did. Please don't let him think that this is too much.
The response from his boyfriend wasn't immediate. Stellan continued tracing the ink, and it was only when he reached the 'N' that he finally spoke again. It was another question that Cassius received as a response. "When?"
"Before I came home from work on Tuesday," he replied, deciding that he might as well humor Stellan if he wanted to play a game of Twenty Questions. He just hoped that it would be before he ran out of patience that he'd get an actual reaction out of Stellan.
Alas, his words were only met with yet another question.
"How?"
Cassius furrowed his brows. How? Wasn't that pretty obvious? But Stellan's voice was not more than a mere whisper when he asked, his breath warm on Cassius' neck, so of course, another answer made its way out of his lips. "Well, I mean. I went to a tattoo parlor to get it done. The guy doing it did it with ink? But that's obvious, isn't it?" Despite the intensity of the situation, he couldn't help but make the sarcastic remark. Maybe it'd get Stellan to laugh and stop him with Twenty Questions.
Then again, when did Stellan ever do what Cassius wanted him to? Almost never. It was part of his charm. Another one word question followed instead of a laugh. And this time, his voice was so soft that Cassius almost thought that he imagined it. "Why?" Stellan asked, his fingers still dancing on Cassius' skin.
"Because I love you."
The answer came without hesitation. There were a lot of things that Cassius wasn't sure of, —like the fact whether Stellan liked it or not—but that was the one thing that he was sure of. He knew it. It was the reason why Cassius had gotten his boyfriend's name tattooed, and he wanted Stellan to know that too. He wanted Stellan to always know that.
Stellan's hand moved down from the back of his neck, slowly beginning to encircle his waist and guiding him to turn around to finally face his boyfriend. There was a look of awe on Stellan's face. "It's perfect," he breathed out, before pressing his lips against Cassius' in a firm kiss.
When they pulled away, all Cassius said was, "Happy Valentine's Day, Stellan."
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2021.
He should've known that something was going on when he had waken up without Stellan in the bed this morning. It was unlike his boyfriend to leave to work early when he could make up excuses to not. More often than not, Stellan would be trying to get out from morning calls. Especially on mornings after Valentine's Day.
But Cassius hadn't really thought twice to question why Stellan had left earlier today. He had figured that maybe it was an emergency thing at work. And the day went on as normal, until his boyfriend decided to come home from work before nine that night. It wasn't usual for Stellan to leave early and come home early—not that nine was early, but earlier than Cassius had expected. Usually when he had to leave early, Cassius would be staying up until at least eleven waiting for him to get home. But on that particular night, he had only settled on the bed and picked up the book that he was planning to read when the doorknob of their bedroom turned.
And as soon as he entered the bedroom, Stellan wasted no time at all to get out of his work attire and into more comfortable clothing, but he seemed to be particularly taking a while to get out of the dress shirt he was in. It was when he completely shrugged off his dress shirt that Cassius caught a glimpse of black ink on his hip. His breath hitched. Could it be...?
His eyes were glued on his newfound discovery, and it was almost as if Stellan could sense this because right at that very moment, he looked up and smirked at Cassius. Well, fuck.
"Stellan?" he called out to his boyfriend, his voice huskier than he'd like it to be.
"Hm?"
"Come here," Cassius demanded. Beckoning Stellan to come closer, it was apparent that his boyfriend didn't need much more encouragements before sauntering over to him. Stellan practically threw himself onto Cassius' lap almost without care, his arms moving up around Cassius' neck. With that smirk still plastered on his face, it took everything in Cassius to not just lean forward and kiss the smirk off Stellan's face. Instead, he focused on the tattoo on the other man's hip, lifting a hand up to touch it.
His fingers ran over the word—the name—etched on Stellan's skin. It was his name. Cassius, that was what the tattoo read. And it was perfect. "You got this today?" he asked.
"Yeah," Stellan responded, a hint of pride evident in his tone. "Do you like it? I thought that it'd look nice on me."
Like it? No, he didn't like it. He more than just liked it. He loved it. "God, Stellan. I fucking love you," Cassius murmured, before finally surging forward to meet his boyfriend's lips and pulling Stellan against his own chest.
what is love? you ask yourself, and the answer that you find is, stellan vaughn.
also known as the story of how the son of mars fell in love with son of aphrodite. for cassius evander fulgora and stellan vaughn in the percy jackson universe. happy valentine’s day, annebolevn! <3
i.
you see him there standing amongst the rest of the greek demigods. weak, you think. he is a son of the greek goddess of love, aphrodite. what good would he do? stellan vaughn. even the sound of his name makes you want to scoff. what a stupid name. a stupid son of the goddess of love. stupid greek. everything about him annoys you. you think that he is not worth any of your time, and that he does not deserve a place on the battlefield.
after all, you think, he is the son of aphrodite.
ii.
you’ve started spending more time with him. against your will, of course, but you find yourself being around him more these days nonetheless. it’s probably just a coincidence, you try telling yourself, but there is nothing coincidental about the wicked gleam in lucius’ eyes when you realize that vaughn is going to be your sparring partner for the evening. you glare at your brother, knowing full well that he had been the one who planned things to happen this way. you told him about how vaughn annoyed you, and you should’ve known that he would pull something like this. dammit, lucius. still, you can’t not go. besides, you are certain that managing to beat vaughn in a duel would be satisfying. but you are also certain that vaughn would not be a very challenging opponent.
after all, you think, he is the son of aphrodite.
iii.
it wasn’t supposed to happen like this. you hate him. but when he looks at you like that, there is something that ignites in you. and what scares you is that you know that it’s not anger. you should be angry at him. you don’t understand why you’re not, but gods, he has you pinned not just by his body, but also by his gaze. there is nothing that you find more attractive than confidence. arrogance. and vaughn’s lips are curled up in the most infuriating yet captivating smirk that you have ever seen. it makes you want to kiss the arrogance out of him. it makes you so mad that he has this effect on you. and you hate how you find it hot that he has you pinned against the wall instead of the other way around—it’s usually you who has him pinned down on the ground when you two spar. you take a deep breath, trying to get yourself together and maybe push him off, but he gives you no time for that.
instead, with that arrogant smirk still intact, he leans up and brushes his lips against yours. you almost groan in frustration, before finally reaching for him and bringing your lips together roughly. fucking stellan vaughn. you have no idea how he could be so good at this game of seduction, but you think, after all, he is the son of aphrodite.
iv.
his body flushed against yours, your hands on his hips—that starts to become a regular occurrence. you aren’t sure how that happened, but as much as you try to brush it off, you know that deep down you’re glad that it did. you hate admitting it to yourself, but you look at him and you think, he’s beautiful. the way he moans your name when you kiss his neck drives you insane. and the way he looks at you with that goddamn smirk. gods, how you love that smirk he has. it has became your favorite thing about him. he always leaves you wanting more, and oh, how that frustrates you. everything he does frustrate you.
and with his body trapped under yours on your bed, you think, after all, he is the son of aphrodite.
v.
there is no joy in slowly falling in love. it makes your heart hurt, because you’ve never been in love before, and you’re not sure of what you’re doing. heck, you’re not even sure if this is love. all you know is that this feeling is foreign and absolutely, utterly and completely terrifying. you look at him, and your heart yearns for him. it aches because of him. who ever said that falling in love is beautiful is wrong. you don’t understand the beauty of wanting for someone who might not want you back. for all you know, all stellan—somehow, along the way, he becomes stellan instead of vaughn—wants from you is for you to be just another casual fuck buddy. after all, you are not the only person that he takes to bed ( you know that he hasn’t slept with anyone else but you for a while now, but you still don’t know what that means ).
but you are the only person who he stays with until morning, and you can’t help but think that you’re special. you can’t help but hope for it. could it be possible that he’s in love with you too? there are so many questions that you ask yourself, but alas, the answers to none of them would come. you don’t know how to be in love. and it kills you to think that you are slowly falling in love with him. you think that you might already be in love with him, but you fall for him even more with each day. it makes you want to scream. what is love? you ask yourself, and the answer that you find is, stellan vaughn.
after all, you think, he is the son of aphrodite.
vi.
you finally stopped worrying about it. you know you’re in love with him, and that you will always be in love with him. you’ve decided to stop fighting it. there is no good in fighting the feeling, for you cannot control how you feel. you learned that the difficult way, because despite your attempts on drinking it away, your heart still screams for stellan. instead, you chose to accept how you feel for him. besides, the way he looks at you makes you think that he might just love you back the same way, too. the way he falls into your arms and leans back against you and sighs softly when you wrap your arms around his waist and kiss his neck makes your heart soars. you know that it is love.
after all, you think, he is the son of aphrodite.
the future.
"would you still love me if i wasn’t the son of aphrodite?" he asks you one day.
you take his chin in your hand, and make him look up at you. you meet his eyes and holds his gaze with yours. he is the son of aphrodite, but that is not why you fell in love with him. you fell in love with him, and not for the fact that he is his mother’s son. you love him for him. and you tell him that.
