I think about Poseidon's mortal lover suffering from a severe form of hemophilia and that Poseidon gave him a child just so that he [it's a boy] could ease his pain a little.
poseidon, in love with a mortal once again, watching them suffer. watching their disability eat away at them. watching, and unable to interfere, because that's not how the world works. that's not how being a god works.
perhaps it's cruel to the child. poseidon doesn't let himself care. they conceive, he and his lover, and the child siphons the sickness in their blood. they feed on it, grow with it, develop powers they would not have with a healthier parent.
poseidon leaves. he always leaves. never stays. never interacts, but always watches. neither of them know, his lover or their child. neither of them suspect. his lover grows stronger, healthier, that child still connected to the disease in their veins. the child grows, too, in ways a mortal could never comprehend. they know when their parent is ill before anyone else. they know their pulse mirrors their parent's with unwavering loyalty.
they know they were made to protect them.
the child goes to camp, grows in their powers, the ones they're aware of, the ones they hold over the ocean. the child slays monsters, maybe takes a quest or two. the child is still connected intricately to their parent's blood. there is never a question about their first priority. it will always lie with their parent.
perhaps their parent falls ill—more so than ever before. perhaps the child is scarred, terribly affected by a horror they've seen. perhaps there's no catalyst at all. perhaps one day, they just wake up, and know. poseidon's blood children always discover their most innate power.
poseidon never helps. never interferes. this is what that child was made for. protect poseidon's lover, save them from their own blood, no matter the cost. perhaps they love their power. perhaps they loathe it. but that doesn't stop them. they grow in it, learn to live with it, then thrive with it, then master it.
this blood child is dangerous. this blood child is a weapon. this blood child was built to protect their parent, and so far, no blood child has ever failed.
