My fics for stray gods mostly come in sapphic, particularly Calliope/Persephone because they're so angry and messy and delightful and writing Calliope soothes my inner menace. The first I ever wrote was Kore Enterprises, filling in the missing scene of Persephone visiting Calliope's apartment.
I expore Calliope and Persephone first getting together in Firewater, which probably still has one of the better opening paragraphs I've managed recently.
Calliope is used to Persephone on the edges of things. A cautionary tale for late night drinks and the bluer days of late autumn, when the city parks are full of crows fighting over the night’s scraps amongst raw and jagged trees, their final leaves are just the shed skins of their livelier, younger selves. A fragile song through tiny bones.
I wrote You caught my voice and listened as a response to @kshaar's Earworm, which is such a good drabble istg. Everything they write is incredible, whether for stray gods or dragon age, you should read all of it. But Earworm was the one that had me seeing if I could remember enough Greek to mangle some Sappho. It's also, like most of my fics for these characters, full of extravagant eidolon lore.
I have one Calliope x Grace, Calliope x Persephone, eventual ot3 everyone lives AU called Sing all your questions to sleep, which was quite fun. Comes complete with a rant about The Symposium!
The two fics I'm probably the most proud of, however, are The seed that grows without the sun (complete) and Monsters of the old world (one chapter to go).
Monsters of the old world came about because Hephaestus's fate in the game haunts me. He is one of my favourite Greek gods, and because I'm me I was tangled up on the crip potential of it all, and also the idea of Medusa on a very particular rescue mission. I'm trying to close off the final chapter, but it keeps running away from me because I get caught up in the absolute mess that is Aphrodite's choices re: Venus. But it's nearly done!
Hephaestus is blowing glass the first time he hears about the snake-haired bitch in the compound. It is only training and muscle memory that stops him from swallowing and ruining this body’s throat, and frankly the body is built more for war machines drawn up in CAD than the construction of delicate, physical parts. But Hephaestus has always worked better with a prototype, and while you can take a smith, lock him in a server room with a wall of screens, and he’ll make do, he’s always preferred to bother his captors with these specific, ‘old fashioned’ demands. A workshop. Bronze and coal where they want radium. Glass blowing, when a single wrong move would fuck his lungs beyond repair. Even he’s got to live, and showing the bastards just how much their discards can do is some extra stolen joy.
When Hephaestus has to pass on, the higher ups throw the infirmary at him. Why waste an able fighter on the crippled god? Hephaestus’s eidolon tends to lead to injury, and well—that path is a dark one. But he is sure the tales of Medusa’s arrival are something he’s dreamed up in a crucible, and it’s not till he’s in the compound’s refractory and a hooded, writhing figure is shoved into a chair opposite him that he believes it can be true.
Medusa stares at him, eyes hectic and flaring in a single, surprised moment before she ducks her head, the snakes around her face extending flickering tongues into the air between them. Chains hold her arms at her sides, and a corporal slams a bowl down, glaring at Hephaestus as the known quantity.
“You feed her,” he snaps. “Not like the snakes will get you.”
For a moment, Hephaestus and Medusa, two who have not spoken in millennia and rarely even then, meet each other’s eyes in perfect accord, amazed that this child-human thinks snakes are the problem
Seed is...it's about Persephone meeting the woman she would become in the late 1940s. It's one of the most personal stories I have ever written, despite being in a time and place I have not lived.
If you read any of them, read this one.
“—I can help with that.”
Chastity wipes sweat from her eyes and blinks at the woman leaning against her gate. She’s seen her around. Hard not to, when there’s only one good place for bread in the village—though if there’s any more rationing or prices go up again, she’ll have to start making that, too, and God only knows where she’ll find the flour. But that’s future, and presently Chastity has a stocky, slouching stranger smiling at her, and she’s got a spade. And the spade's not covered in rust like the one Chastity found in Sal’s shed. Hers has an edge to it, and Chastity, a married woman for nearly a year and imagining it cutting through the dirt she’s barely managed to scatter, is pretty sure this is what lust feels like. Turns out, Sister Immaculata was wrong.
"You do know that I'm abso-bloody-lutely tone deaf, yes? That being said..........I cannot resist belting out "Shake it off" by Taylor Swift because that song is all about having fun and not giving a flying hoot whatever anybody thinks about you - the true meaning of karaoke, if you ask me!".
Note: Barn Anon. decided to play around with this idea while zoning out through work.
He hoists his backpack higher as he trudges through the thick undergrowth. The mocking words of his fellow researchers echo in his mind and he grits his teeth. Soon, soon he will prove them wrong. His backpack suddenly gets pulls off him and he turns to see none other than his own Ultramarine staring back at him. No words are spoken but he can feel the disapproval and wariness in his gaze.
"Look, all I need is proof okay? Just something, anything! I know I'm right about this... You believe me don't you?" He looks up at his Ultramarine who has been his loyal pet friend for the past few years.
A deep sigh comes from the blue behemoth but his friend doesn't leave. Good enough for him he figures. Slipping a hang into his pocket he pulls out a map that's decorated with the ramblings of a madman and old drops of blood. But if he is right then the former owner of this map isn't mad, the former owner didn't die chasing fantasies. Crude sketches of landmarks and arrows with half sensible annotations give him the directions he seeks. A few more days of trekking through this unforgiving forest, just a few more days.
--
The sun was just starting to set behind the mountains when he spots it, rushing forward and ignoring the alarmed shouts from his Ultramarine. His eyes are set on the massive and slightly eerie run down structure in front of him. it looks like part of a fortress's outer walls. It's design reminds him of what that massive pack of Imperial Fists had built in the park near his home. Yet it has it's own distinct characteristics that differ from the typical fortresses built.
His Ultramarine is at his side and trying to pull him away from the structure but he pulls away from his pet friend. Instead he takes his camera out and starts snapping pictures. His eyes are drawn to an worn out symbol and he rushes to clear the leaves and vines off it. Could it be? The symbol of one of the Lost Legions? A frustrated grumble leaves his lips when he realizes it's getting quite dark. When he turns to get his backpack from his Ultramarine, he's annoyed when his Ultramarine refuses to do so and starts pulling at his arm.
Why? He knows how much this discovery means to him! With this he can prove to his fellow researchers that he was right! The Lost Legions? They still exist, far from the touches of human civilization. There's more breeds of space marines out there than they thought and he will be right!
Then his Ultramarine seems to have heard something. He lets out a startled shout when he's picked up and held over his Ultramarine's arm. His Ultramarine now at full sprint away with him from the structure. Anger and annoyance flares and burns only to sputter out when in the growing darkness, he spots shadows moving without a sound. Each one the size of a Space Marine yet with they have their own distinct style that mark them different from the Loyalists and Chaos that are already so well known.
Then a shot rings out. His Ultramarine falls and he hits the ground hard, half crushed under his Ultramarine. The last thing he sees are more silhouettes of the Lost Legion marines closing in as his Ultramarine tries fruitlessly to fight them off. He closes his eyes one last time.
He was right about the Lost Legions.
Barn Anon gonna be honest I feel like a publisher for your works because how do I add onto this? I spent the past 5 minutes trying to figure out how to add onto this.
I tried my best
Feel free to ignore my addition I decided to try something a little bit more horror? A little bit more dread? A little bit more
But like I said feel free to ignore this
He opens his eyes feeling sore... sore? He makes the mistake of looking down and swallowing a scream. There must be a tech-marine around or a techpriest as the leg that was crushed under his Ultramarine companion was fully replaced by mechanics that few people seem to understand how it works.
No one wants to look deeper into the sudden appearance of these demi-god like beings... no one wants to question their behaviors... no one wants to look beyond the surface that there are suddenly demigods who decided to spend time with certain humans. Everyone likes to joke how they adopted their marine when in the painful itching cancerous thought in the back of your mind tells you the truth... they chose you for some reason. To accept the love and affection that people give to them just like his Ultramarine.
They speak in that language that no one can really follow as soon the helmeted heads all turn to his groggy face. He is painfully aware of how thirsty he is and how weak he is. He's painfully aware of his own mortality is this how some owners feel right before they get mauled.
He sees his Ultramarine rush into the room and carefully pick him up.
"I was right." He says deliriously with a pale smile, "They do exist."
A childing sigh and some words he doesn't understand are the reply as an unarmored hand just pets his hand. In this situation he feels like the silly little pet that got hurt and just woke up... tail wagging and happy to see its owner.
"Rest." A raspy voice scrapes out from a hooded figure as he looks away from the uncomfortable face... with tubes and wirings pushing and plugged into human flesh. He never did like admech... far too horrifying. But he somehow heeded it leaving his Ultramarine to deal with the consequences of this expidition.
If there was any two ifs you could reccomend at this moment what would they be and why? 👀
How am I suppose to pick only two?? Cruel!
Buuut at this moment (ok, any moment) I would recommend Golden by @milaswriting. Mila is an amazing writer and it's so easy to immerse yourself in her story. Also, I have the biggest weakness for vampires. And for some sweet sweet angst. If you didn't read Golden, I don't know what are you doing! 👏
As for the second recommendation, two days ago I found Fields of Asphodel by @chrysanthemumgames and I lost a lot of sleep because of that. In a good way, since I was not able to stop reading and wanted to check different routes (and ending with Hermes every time). And I'm really ashamed how late I found it! Me being obsessed with Greek mythology and all! It's really fun if you like the subject aaaand apparently there is an update coming soon. 👀
I will listen and not list more than two, but IT IS HARD. Shame on you anon. And thank you for the ask! 💖
This is a loaded question omg but I think... if there's one ship I keep coming back to no matter how long it's been since I consumed the media, it would have to be Captain Swan (Hook x Emma) from Once Upon a Time. I've been a fan of that ship for over six years now and I haven't felt my love for them fade at all. They're the perfect embodiment of enemies to reluctant allies to friends to lovers, and they have one of the most iconic love stories of all time with errrrr I might need the fandom's help but multiple kisses, confirmed true love without actually saying the words, a TLK, two proposals, a wedding, and a baby.
@zeromorph see that’s what i’d thought was happening too but when i first started noticing it happening a year ago and mentioned it to my psych, after he told me to clear it with my medical specialists, he went “well you know studies show depressive symptoms are reduced for every pound of weight lost” and i was just “... : ) o kay.”
other that that he’s been a good psych but at that moment i kind of wanted to strangle him.
