#ol.

[newyorkthegoldenage]

125th Street in 1943.

Photo: CSU Archives/Everett Collection

[reushq]

ABOUT

Full name & known aliases: Aite Tenax, Aite: Host of Nagging Nemean Faction: Olympe Occupation: Host of Nagging Nemean, internet sensation Age: 27 Gender & pronouns: Cis woman; she, her. Faceclaim: Anya Taylor-Joy Can be seen: Purposely calling the paparazzi, updating Tala multiple times a day, holding onto Zagreus’s arm during important events, on television for Nagging Nemean at 8/ost, signing people’s backs, belting to songs during karaoke nights in Tartarus.

STATS

Influence  ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ Charisma  ★ ★  ☆ ☆ ☆ Protection  ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ Information  ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ Experience  ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

CODEX

tw (imprisonment, parental death)

It is upon Aite’s arrival that her father damns himself. Affectum is supposed to be their future. The company was built to grow with technological advancements. Affectum originally coined itself as using diagnostic software in a microchip with the means to fix issues from within. Over time, this changes. It is with her father’s knowledge that it instead is used as a recording device. The chips began to replicate and copy over the exact make-up of programs, which allowed Affectum’s developers to later sell off the stolen ideas of smaller companies. Damnation slips between her father’s ribs like a knife. The company’s own paranoia sweeps through the department, and before Aite’s father can reason with them for the grounds for his departure, they create a scapegoat out of him. The information on Affectum’s wrongdoings is attributed only to Aite’s father, and he is left, knife through the back.

Aite is twelve years old when she says goodbye to her father for the first time. With his imprisonment, her mother changes. Aite follows suit, placing one foot in front of the other. It’s across Arcadia, Olympe, and Tartarus that Aite creates a version of herself so far removed from the one her father would recognize. At seventeen Aite says goodbye to her father for the second time. In silence, Aite has to watch the citizens of Arcadia step upon her father’s name. With his destruction, Aite builds herself into something new. What happens to a connection when severed? Well, one would say that the wound would be susceptible to infection – but what happens when that festering breeds something else? Something deeply rooted under the guise of justice, that Aite deludes herself into thinking is attainable.

The Aite that is known with hair down her back and ruby painted lips is so far removed from that of the child I remember stumbling after her father as he left out the door. In following her mother’s footsteps, she has used every connection to get her to where she is today. It’s Zeus’s own child, Artemis Rhea, that extends a helping hand as she steps foot in Olympe. It is from other’s perceptions of her that Aite holds the upper hand. And I would say that those around her are easily fooled. They take her for a woman whose intent is clear: fame and fortune. Only, they could not be more wrong.

At twenty-five Nagging Nemean, a pop-culture based talk show, is finally given the green light. What the public want to see is evident; a pretty girl with too much money who doesn’t know when to keep her mouth shut. This plant she has built is bound to have its defects, but within these walls, it will be easier to narrow down who it was that brought her father to his untimely downfall. Aite would be ignorant to think that she would unfurl her plan without getting scathed, as there are plenty more snapping jaws hoping to sink their teeth into the downfall of another.

CONNECTIONS

Familial Connections: N/A

Professional connections: Artemis (owes Nagging Nemean to them), Zeus (the boss), Icarus (a ticking clock), Athena (political liaison, used as a resource when not wanting to be sued),  Orpheus (invites them onto the show at least monthly), Dionysus (a individual worth studying, often promotes their fashion on Tala)

Social connections: Zagreus (ex-boyfriend, arm candy), Odysseus (intended target), Delphi (a helping hand with a knife enclosed), Charybdis (plaything, taunts them online under the pen name of tomatolover420, cause for brain integrity concern), Megara (an individual worth goading), Menelaus (a piece of home, best kept at a distance)

ORIGINAL CHARACTER WRITTEN BY ZOE.

[siegethemees]

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for curiosity’s sake , what does this look like when it’s bigger and longer and does more for idk ... existing ??? lmao just like

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nnbxcmnvbcxv

[reushq]

ABOUT

Full name & known aliases: Ganymede Dardania. Occupation: Anchor of Nemean Newsroom, journalist. Age: 33. Gender & pronouns: Nonbinary, he/they. Faceclaim: Xing Ye Zhi Jian. Can be seen: Reading his notes behind the desk at the Nemean Newsroom studio - smiling brightly as soon as the ‘live’ prompt switches on, stalking the shadows with Pan in Arcadia, grinning with Zeus as they tab through an archive of secrets, rolling his eyes at Aite as he watches a live studio recording of Nagging Nemean, preparing talking points for interviews.

STATS

Influence  ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ Charisma  ★  ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ Protection  ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ Information  ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ Experience  ★  ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

CODEX

House Dardania is one whose regard was particularly hard-fought. Plagued by plentiful death in its infancy by way of illness and tragedy, it is said their progenitor had made his fortune from founding a tract of land in Arcadia rich with an abundance of gems said to have spilled from a seam in the sky. Descendents theorized bad luck to be responsible, or a land cursed to reject those who settled on it, determined to swallow their bones and spit them back, blackened and clean, in exchange for the excessive wealth it offered in turn.

Wealth and paranoia shape themselves into a new need for currency. When one’s coffers spill over with all the world’s gold, influence and secrets become worth more all of it thrice over. They create their own exchange rates, catering to notorious and the notable, up-and-comers who need capital and fading stars who have come to be accustomed to a certain lifestyle - a hefty loan for 500k drax, no need to repay, so long as you offer a secret of similar value - and the secrets were often devastating. Grimey, dirty things that take on a life of their own in the dark, these secrets, and the Dardanias are given the leash, the choice of a muzzle. They rise to the top of Arcadian society like this, but they manage to truly obtain éminence grise when they decide to offer a secret they gained to Zeus Rhea and Nemean News to report on - that of Demeter Iolus’ corruption. The headline dominated for months, ran Demeter out of Gaia, but it was Nemean News who was the first to break the story - and this was worth more than any amount of drax.

Superstition and paranoia became a common thread linking together the family beyond blood bonds, and the region’s most prolific fortune-tellers and charlatans enjoyed House Dardania’s ear throughout the centuries. Of all their auguries, some fair and some false, one remained: Beware a Dardania who tempts and is in turn tempted - It will be your end. And many a Dardania were born, plenty lovely, and all reviled by their own family, kept confined to the estate until they withered away. When Ganymede was born, it was thought he would suffer the same fate - a darling, beautiful boy who was hungry for anything within reach, hunger like searching, sprawling vines, who they determined would never leave the estate, as with those like him, a rose whose thorns would be cut before they could grow.

Life is quiet and lonely, stowed away. He hears of lives lived through the periphery, through the news and through stories told by family who are allowed to come and go, and becomes restless with a world given little depth. Grows to hate his kin for their superstition, and learns that his hatred is as valuable a secret as any. Bides his time, knows the nature of his ilk - how loyalty is secondary to power. When a competitor to Nemean News approaches the Dardanias for a favor, Ganymede has his ear pressed up against the door. They propose feeding a false story to discredit the news conglomerate, make them look amateurishand to busy them with repercussions: they propose whispering hearsay, of the sudden turn of Quorum Member and mother to Zeus’s Hermes (the very fact known to very, very few), Maia Pleides, of her decision to campaign against the monopoly of Nemean News. Upset a tepid calm, make it personal, leave Zeus to clean up the mess and the mark against Nemean’s reputation when it is eventually to be found unsubstantiated and untrue. Zeus trusted the Dardanias, wouldn’t think twice about it. Ganymede couldn’t quite hear what was promised in exchange, but he knew it to be great, for such skittish folk like the Dardanias to be willing to gamble so much.

He goes to Zeus Rhea. Not literally - he’s not allowed out of the estate without a chaperone. But he calls him, deep in the gardens. “I have something you may be interested in, sir. A betrayal. A plan to cut you at your knees and humiliate you.” Zeus drops by the estate the next day - he is every bit the king he imagines. Regal. Considerate. He asks Ganymede to accompany him in a stroll around the estate, asks what he wants to do. “I want to ruin them,” Ganymede seethes beneath the gardenias. Solitude has made him cruel, has made him sharp, has made him as lovely as a drop of poison. A hand on his shoulder. “I know how attractive revenge can be. I know what it feels like to have family become the enemy.” “They made me their enemy.” “I know. All the same. Don't go for the quick fix. Choose the long con, a drawn-out satisfaction over a quick vicious strike. Starve them of their livelihood, use it for your own gain - don’t let it go to waste. In my industry, secrets go a long way - drink from the well, then let it run dry.” He offers to take Ganymede to Olympe - a great show of service deserves its own great reward. For a betrayal, a slow starvation, and nothing the Dardanias can do about it lest they hasten their own decline. Every secret, now Nemean’s, to be used however Zeus pleases - more often than not, as a headline on Nemean Newsroom, of which Ganymede has been given the position of lead anchor, another gleaming jewel to the Nemean crown.

CONNECTIONS

Familial connections: None.

Professional connections: Zeus (employer, deliverer, subject of any devotion of which he is capable). Aite (a pretty little thorn in his side, as obnoxious as her programming). Pan (two sides of the same coin, partner-in-crime, a droll arriviste). Athena (frequent contributor and guest for Nemean Newsline; delightful repartee).

Social connections: Hyacinth (coward; they think they’ve triumphed, and perhaps they have - but Ganymede is never without a failsafe). Artemis (similarly delightful public faces, both know how to use words as blades). Clytemnestra (families in the same social circle; intrigue). Megara (first taste of freedom, wondered after all this time). Hera (queen to the king; as such, has his loyalty). Delphi (occasional guest and interviewee on Nemean Newsroom; capable maverick). Hermes (anomaly; cannot fathom why he’d leave Olympe). 

ORIGINAL CHARACTER WRITTEN BY K.

[reushq]

ABOUT

Full name & known aliases: Pan Xanthos Pleiades. Occupation: Journalist at Nemean News. Age: 29. Gender & pronouns: Cis man, he/him Faceclaim: Lucien Laviscount. Can be seen: Drinking the last of the office’s good coffee, leaning against Athena’s desk, hounding witnesses for statements, meeting Artemis and Menelaus for drinks, promoting Nemean’s latest success on Tala, gathering information by observing intimate conversations, consulting with Zeus, smoking outside of a club’s entrance.

STATS

Influence  ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ Charisma  ★  ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ Protection  ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ Information  ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ Experience  ★  ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

CODEX

The Pleiades are an active lesson in what people will do when the chips are down. Some will play until they can no longer fool themselves into thinking they have a chance. Others will fold – exit the game with dignity, while they still can. I remember a time when Electra Pleiades seemed to be the latter. However, that was before her sister proved that there was a third option. If you can’t change the bet, then you must change the game. Even if it’s at the cost of everyone else with their skin flayed open on the table. Maybe especially then. Suppose a boy of the Arcadian hills had to learn such a skill from someone.

You see, when a young Maia Pleiades accepted her father’s offer to fund her efforts to rise in the Quorum, he knew it would cost quite a bit of money. That was without question. And that it did – her triumph, at the expense of nearly all his savings. What he wasn’t anticipating, in the months following such a price, was for the Fates’ rusted - hinge laugh to rasp just beyond his shoulder. For them to watch as he walked up the blood - steps of Naos to meet Chaos. Leaving one daughter a success, and the other fumbling blind in the penumbra cast by her incandescence.

Within the region where Electra raised her son following her fathers’ death, there are tales of children that turn into trees. It’s little more than a fear tactic to ensure that kids come home before dark, but with the way he ran wild in the hills, I would dare to say that Pan saw those stories as a challenge. In theory, he could have stayed that way – a young boy, facing the rest of the world with a radiant grin that dared you to follow deeper into the veins of Arcadia. But very few things are truly made to last.

After all, a thing like resentment, when left to fester, can quite easily become a genetic sort of haunting. The dark and mangled roots of a mother’s feelings for a sister, sharpen to enmity in the hands of a son. Regardless as to whether it’s a heedless grandfather that deserved it, or the cousin he had yet to meet that became the focus instead, I could tell you the precise moment Pan decided to change the game. When he finally figured out a way to play the hand he was dealt.

Don’t ask me how he accomplished the feat of landing a job offer from Zeus Rhea those couple of years ago, because he won’t divulge. In a way, it’s become a rags to riches story – some think it to be a kindness, what Zeus did to turn around Pan’s circumstances. Others find it to be a testimony to the will of the Pleiades boy himself. Here’s what I think: nepotism is a remarkably easy weapon to use, if you’re lucky enough to have it in the arsenal.

CONNECTIONS

Familial connections: Hermes (cousin, acts as a thorn in their side).

Professional connections: Zeus (employer, the king to protect in this game of chess). Athena (occasional collaborator, reliable office entertainment). Icarus (could be a worthwhile time investment). Ganymede (two sides of the same coin; a tempting guide). Prometheus (regular contact, someone to keep on good terms with).

Social connections: Apollo (familiar drinking partner, useful ally for now). Odysseus (curious, someone to keep tabs on). Artemis (similar in spirit). Delphi (a tie to home). Hephaestus (existing as strange reflections; source of amusement). Menelaus (an old friend).

ORIGINAL CHARACTER WRITTEN BY AMANDA.

[reushq]

Welcome again everyone, and we look foward to seeing all who applied on the dash! Read below for our Olympe acceptances.

CONGRATULATIONS, CHLOE ! You have been accepted for the role of Apollo with a John David Washington playby. You’ve created a multi-dimensional Apollo we can’t wait to see on our dash and silver screen! The tragedy of Hyancinth couples with his journey and reason - from his role in childhood of wanting to be pleasing so to be loved with his current deep ambition and hunger. We’re excited to see what kind of character he’ll play out next. Highlight: “ He preferred being gospel than to be someone sitting in the pews.”

CONGRATULATIONS, ARGO ! You have been accepted for the role of Orpheus with a Roberta Colindrez playby. Argo, you managed to write their journey to the surface with so much love and heartbreak, her affection and care for each person so clearly written. We loved how you contrasted the two sets of name at beginning and end, a shift in position and place and people clearly described throughout your app and developments. Highlight: “Or, perhaps, it is they who find love, drawn to what it promised amidst the bleakness Tartarus had to offer a child.”

CONGRATULATIONS, AZA ! You have been accepted for the role of Zeus with an Idris Elba playby. Get ready to cash some checks.

[reushq]

ABOUT

Name: Prometheus Klymene. Suggested Occupations: Assistant to Zeus, the family’s legal consultant. Age: 33. Gender & Pronouns: Non-binary & they/he. FC Suggestions: OK Taecyeon. Can be seen: Monopolizing the office’s holographic scanner, gently discouraging Dionysus’ newest venture, welded to a coffee thermos, receiving extended advice from Zeus, turning down tequila tastings with Orpheus, shredding documents, hacking Tala accounts, playing the long con.

STATS

Influence  ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ Charisma  ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ Protection  ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ Information ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ Experience ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

CODEX

Arcadians know how to hold themselves to a standard like no other, and over the years that stubbornness has paid off in many ways. It was from this obstinate, insulated metropolis that Prometheus emerged. He grew up on the outskirts of the city, tucked into the cool shadow of the labyrinthine hills, in an area that was neither well-heeled nor poor. His father was the son of a literati, thrust into the narrow destiny of a bureaucrat. He poured his frustrations as the Lethe floods the banks, and filled the boy’s head with tales on ethics and history. Of course, he only served him the palatable version - the thorns sanded off, the complexities eradicated. In his mind, the world was a thing of two dimensions: the old, which is good and safe, and the new, which is a dangerous morb at worst, and a distraction at best. See, his father was afflicted with that famed Arcadian malady: believing tradition is superior to progress.

One cannot fault Prometheus for believing it. After all, who doubt their father’s wisdom? Braver men than him have clung to it until it led them to perdition. Look no further than the Rheas - though perhaps they got the better end of this fable. And I wouldn’t wish to discount the power in holding on to old faiths. There’s a practicality to it, after all - it’s what kept Arcadia safe in its seat for millennia, while city-state after city-state around them crumbled under their own weight. Why change a strategy that’s won every hand dealt to it? 

In school, it was only more of the same. As the boy’s intellect grew, so did his distance from reality. When he secured a scholarship to one of Arcadia’s academies, he was shuffled to advanced classes and specialty tutors, his days mired in outdated facts. Around him there were only youths similarly accustomed to their own brilliance, fed on the knowledge that they alone could keep Arcadia prosperous and safe. They were pillars of the future, the present and the past, tasked with the mission of imparting them on all of Gaia - after their own city’s interests were secured, of course. The only duty above charity is loyalty, as the saying goes.

But loyalty is a two-pronged thing. At the end of his schooldays, Prometheus only did was what inevitable, I believe: he stepped outside. He saw the real Arcadia: a world of vice and hypocrisy, with contraband from reviled Tartarus moving between the city’s labyrinths - and payslips from Olympe gracing pockets in the council.  A world of neither heroes nor villains, but people who grew too many to seize the opportunities of the past. People whose lives would be bettered by neither tradition nor progress, but a careful union of the two.

When Prometheus secured a position as a legal aide in the Quorum, he was brilliant and bright-eyed and destined for ruin. He left it the same month. As far as I can tell, he never went back since, but hired his talents as a personal consultant. Each man must understand two things before their time is over: how wrong they were, and how right they can still become. Prometheus saw how the Rheas’ and their influence seeped through Arcadian politics. Like roots under a temple, like fissures in a structure already to old to bear its weight, their wills and their laws and their crimes undercut all of Gaia.

The problems in Arcadia couldn’t be solved from within the city, not when they’d begun outside - to fix it would be like patching holes in a sinking ship. Prometheus chose to infiltrate the source of the corruption itself: a time-honored strategy, though as dangerous for the sympathizer as it is for the snake. He buried his soul somewhere deep, where he couldn’t hear it. Made his way up the ladder like that  scorpion of nursery rhymes, the one they called the fire-flint. He lied and demurred until he reached Olympe. He was seated on the perch of Zeus’ sponsorship, one of his many pet projects. This was just after Hephaestus’ departure. Ever since, Prometheus has been overseeing the family’s documents - and consulting them on each choice they make. All this while, he is gathering  material for ruination: recordings, holo copies, secret Tala conversations. He is bidding his time. As once dreamed in childhood, Poseidon reached the heights. And it is there he’ll set his fire.

CONNECTIONS

Familial connections: None.

Professional connections: Zeus (employer, sponsor, target to uproot). Hera (former employer; maintains useful access to her files). Athena (superior or collaborator, depending on how Zeus’ mood turns). Apollo (works to manage their assets; if he had to guess, he’d say envy). Artemis (opposition to Zeus; if only she knew how closely their values align). Hermes (they collaborate on agreements with Pontius; a friend, a possible agent to be activated). Dionysus (to kind to ever be turned, but kindness is its own tool).

Social connections: Orpheus (a culture above the likes of Olympe; a broken creature, but one that can be used). Icarus (Arcadian colleague; once thought him a sympathizer to the cause, now believes their soul is lost). Hephaestus (the betrayal that haunts Xenion; wishes he could buy the bastard a pint). Ares (constant threat; the pair of eyes at the back of his head). Theseus, Ariadne & Mino (a quarrel back in Arcaida, back when he still thought honesty was an asset; wishes he could lead them to a better fate).

WRITTEN BY ANNA.