I'm a writer and artist, love hurt/comfort, found family, character design and media analysis. (Also jewelry, colors, design in general including CSS, fonts, cats, my blahaj, fairytales, crafts, singing, etc.)
So I have stuff like that on my blog, and the rest of the time I yap about my life, chat with my moots, and do silly Tumblr things.
Some facts about me:
24 yo, based in Germany
Majoring in Multimedia (aka crying about pixels)
Either busy writing, making arts and crafts, or on tumblr
Feel free to tag me in stuff, whether it be tag games or just stuff that made you think of me :D
(If you don't want to be tagged in tag games and stuff, please let me know, I'll stop)
I know it won’t mean shit to the bots, but for genuine questions: I don’t do art commissions or strict requests, but if you have a suggestion and I like it, I may doodle it when I have time.
(dividers and badges in this post are by me :D)
Okay, now for stuff I actually do on this blog under the cut, aka my #s and fandoms:
General Tags
#tasha talks : Life updates and the like, non-fandom related opinions etc
#tasha asks : for... asks. lol.
#tasha's 4thewords stuff : This is a website I use for writing with word goals and quests and stuff, and sometimes I post about what quests I'm doing rn or how my avatar looks and such things
#tasha is not okay actually : for when I'm depressed and/or anxious enough to annoy tumblr with it
Arts and Crafts
#mer acle art tag : My art (and my crafts)
#tasha's quote collection : content from my handlettering journal and some digital collages. Paired with the tasha is not okay tag bc the quotes are usually by veerrry mentally well people /sarc
#tasha collages For my pinterest collages and moodboards
#tasha sings: Yeah that’s a tag *looks away*
Fics:
You can find all my fics on Ao3 under Mer_acle, I have some Marvel fics about Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow that are a bit older, and my current wips in the (EPIC / Greek Myths) Athena fandom
#fic: fighting to be loved
Fighting to be Loved is my most well-known fic, it’s about Athena after the events of EPIC the wisdom saga dealing with her injuries and the emotional fallout with the Ithacans and later, her siblings.
Read on Ao3
Read up on some extra lore on canva: fighting-to-be-loved-lore.my.canva.site
Look at the Art on Tumblr because Ao3 is weird
#Silent Wars Modern AU
My Greek Mythology Modern Times AU about Athena, Ares, and Athena's less than great mental health. It has a lot of interesting family dynamics and follows a human version of Athena basically from birth to adulthood.
Read on Ao3
Lore and Art on canva
Connected tags: #sw visuals #sw snippets #sw lore
#fic: Cuckoo’s Nest
Cuckoo’s Nest is a fic about a young Athena after the death of Pallas wrestling with her grief and the loneliness on Olympus. In comes Hera, who is not planning on mothering her husband’s daughter… but the fates have different plans for them.
You should know about me that I am a Mom!Hera truther to the grave.
Read on Ao3
#epic “Slipping through my fingers” AU:
A Greek Mythology AU about Hera and Athena. Currently on hiatus but there’s some content to look through either way :3
#Fly Fast AU:
A modern Greek Mythology adjacent movie concept :3
Masterpost
Original Writing:
Nemori
#nemori / #nemori by meracle
Nemori is my original wip novel about a nefarious secret society and a family trying to escape their clutches. It focuses heavily on relationship dynamics, family both found and biological, power, and sacrifice.
Find the introduction, characters, and the prologue on Ao3
My sideblog for all things Nemori: @nemori-novel
Like I said, you can find me on Ao3 (and on Insta) as Mer_acle and on youtube as mer_acle8101, I have some animatics and film analysis videos on there
And finally, my fandoms (non-exhaustive lol)
EPIC The Musical and Greek Mythology would be the big ones especially at the moment, but I also like (/have watched/read /can be talked to about):
MCU (Infinity Saga mainly), Dracula, 12 Angry Men, Alice in Wonderland, Anne of Green Gables, LotR, The Boys, The Promised Neverland, Kpop Demon Hunters, Six of Crows, Hazbin Hotel, Mean Girls (Musical and otherwise), Heathers (Musical and otherwise), Beetlejuice (Musical and otherwise), AtlA, Encanto (and most of the well-known disney catalogue), The Fall of the House of Usher, Miraculous (okay I have mostly lore on that rather than Watchtime), It (Stephen King), Hamilton, SIX, The Agatha Christie catalogue lol, Sherlock Holmes, Elementary (currently watching S3), Descendants, Stranger Things (mostly S1 tho), Saw, Final Destination (honestly I'm not listing more horror stuff, chances are I know something about it at least, I like watching videos about horror movies), Five Nights at Freddy's (just lore LOL), the Princess Bride, etc etc
Therapist's office, late afternoon. Simply but cozily furnished in light greens and browns. A large soft couch and two varieties of chairs are available for the clients. ATHENA sits on the edge of the couch today, her arms wrapped around her midsection, fingers playing with a fidget ring out of a box on the low table. Her therapist, IRENE PHELAN, middle aged, hair in a bun, is sitting on a chair diagonally from her. She writes into a notebook instead of on a clipboard, after the first few session she let Athena pick the cover of hers.
IRENE: So you were homesick basically from the moment you stepped into the school.
Athena shrugs.
ATHENA: I guess, yeah. I didn't wan- I didn't get why I had to go there when there was a school so close to our house.
IRENE: Did your parents explain it to you, do you remember?
ATHENA: Yeah... The term "good reputation" doesn't mean that much when you're six, I suppose.
Irene nods.
IRENE: Not commonly, no. Were you angry?
ATHENA, shifting uncomfortably: No... no, I don't think so. I didn't... I didn't have a tantrum or something like that, I just cried a lot.
IRENE: Before, or at school?
Athena bites her lip.
ATHENA: Both.
She looks down as if she's ashamed.
ATHENA, faster, almost apologetic: My Mom comforted me when she knew. She made sure I always had snacks with me and all that, and after the school didn't let me call home once because they said I was being dramatic, she went there and told them they had to let me whenever I wanted.
Irene lets it linger for a moment to make sure Athena is done.
IRENE: This sounds like your Mom knew you were unhappy to a degree and she tried to accommodate you within her capabilities. Whatever she could do without removing you from the school altogether.
ATHENA, nodding: Yes. She couldn't really get me out, my Dad decided and she didn't have custody at the time. They fought about it a few times.
She looks down again, the ring moving faster between her fingers.
Irene watches for a moment.
IRENE: I suspect my next question will be interpreted as blame by your mind, so let me make clear that either way, you are not to blame for having to stay in the school even though it was very hard on you. She smiles mildly. Did you ever try to tell your parents you wanted to switch schools? After they explained it to you?
Athena's jaw clenches briefly, then she smiles bitterly.
ATHENA: Yes. I didn't... I didn't go to Mom because I understood she couldn't decide it and I didn't want them to fight anymore. She shrugs uncomfortably as if trying to get rid of the memory. I went to my Dad, though. A month or maybe two in... or maybe it was around Christmas, I'm not sure. She huffs, almost a laugh, but joyless. I had a paper, I remember that, and I had made a list, as nicely written as I could at the time, of why I didn't like it and wanted to stay home and go to the other school. Y'know, things like 'I don't like the food', 'The other girls think being smart is a bad thing.', 'I wanna play with Ares more.', 'I miss getting a bedtime story at night.', that stuff.
She hugs herself more tightly.
IRENE, gently: How did your father react?
Athena shifts again.
ATHENA: I don't remember all of it. He- I don't think he understood that I wasn't asking for a toy that I didn't really need, I suppose it's hard to discern what a 6-year-old is serious about. I remember- I remember he said that if the other girls didn't get that brains were important, that was their loss, and I never had to be ashamed about that. That I was a strong girl and this would make me even stronger.
For a moment, Irene looks like she's about to knock someone out with a child psychology textbook, but she keeps it together.
IRENE: Not the most empathetic way to approach a child who's outright telling you they're struggling, is it?
Athena draws a shuddering breath. For a moment, she wants to downplay, but then she just shakes her head.
ATHENA, breathily: Not really.
Irene wordlessly slides over a tissue box even though the young woman isn't crying yet.
IRENE: Athena, would you guess, or do you even know maybe, that this made you more hesitant to ask about similarly important things in the future?
Athena looks up, grey eyes slightly damp. She hesitates, then nods.
ATHENA: When it's important to me, you can almost bank on it that it's not what he wants for me. I- I don't have to ask for permission anymore, so... it's better, I guess. It's- he didn't want me to have it- to have it this hard. He just didn't understand...
Her voice trails off as if she's struggling to get the words out. A tear runs down her cheek and she wipes it off. Irene unobtrusively writes something down and gives her a moment.
Funfact, I actually used to mostly do traditional art, I really only switched after the wisdom saga. And normally i don't use watercolors either but I was in Art Club and they don't have alcohol markers (bc nobody besides me uses them booo)
According snippet:
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Ares was just as glad as his sister when they were done eating. They helped clean up, then he waved Aphrodite over.
"Come on, I'll show you the house."
She slipped her hand into his, feeling giddy and younger than she was, it never stopped being exciting to see someone's home, where they'd become the person they were today.
"Beep beep," Hephaestus called, overtaking them. Athena followed more slowly, her hands buried in her hoodie pocket. Aphrodite guessed that a part of her wanted to sleep more than anything else, but her brother had clearly waited eagerly for her, so games it was.
"He's so cute," she said to Ares when the boy had disappeared. "So much energy."
"Takes after me," he replied with a laugh. "Here's a bathroom by the way. And that's the laundry." He touched the back of his neck. "Not too interesting."
She puffed his arm.
"Aww, you're so nervous, baby. I want to see, you know? This is where you grew up, it's a part of who you are."
"I suppose." He moved to the next door, opening it. "That's the living room. I think it's changed the least out of everything over the years."
Aphrodite stepped into the room, light filtering through the curtains. The walls were painted a warm old rose, and like everything in the house so far, it looked like Hera had been responsible to furnish it, and then had let the kids take over. It was largely orderly, but Hephaestus clearly spent time here. Someone also had taken a crayon to the far-off wall near the floor. She guessed Ares, but imagining a small Athena doing so was also adorable.
She was naturally drawn to the photos on the wall, different ones than Ares and Athena had in the apartment, more so a timeline of the last 20 years.
"Is that you or Athena?" she asked, pointing at the photo of a sleeping infant.
"Ath, I think," Ares said, brow furrowed. "At least I don't remember this blanket, I had a different one, I think." He pointed at the picture below. "That's me... at least I believe it is. Gotta ask Mom."
"You look way too alike," she said with a chuckle, then looked at the photo beside the baby ones, showing Ares, this time recognizable by his dark eyes, playing in a sandpit, and next to that, with a slightly older Athena, brown hair in a stubby ponytail.
Aphrodite thought to herself that she would have taken Hera as someone who put an even number of pictures of both children, but she supposed she was being pedantic.
"So adorable," she said. "I demand seeing a baby album of you, babe."
"But then I get to see one of yours, too."
"You make hard demands."
She giggled when he hugged her from behind.
The next pictures were about a year later, she guessed, showing little Athena peaking out from underneath a table fort like a small ghost, Ares covered in finger-paint - gaining another 'aww' from Aphrodite, then both kids being carried by their father, though Ares made a valiant attempt to use him as a tree substitute. Athena was holding on properly, calmly sitting on his hip.
Another time jump, this time jarringly obvious. Ares was no longer a toddler but maybe 5, and Athena - Athena was smiling, for the first time, not the mild camera smile her current pictures had, but genuinely. They were on a sandy beach, maybe the sea or a lake, building a very muddy sandcastle, hair frizzy from the salt and sand, Ares standing in the middle of it with a small shovel, and Athena half-turning to the camera, grinning.
Aphrodite bit back the comment that she had never seen her this openly happy. She supposed life happened to everyone but she still would have liked to see more of this Athena.
"Where's this from, what place I mean?"
"We went down to the coast, near Syracuse, Lousiana," he replied. "Was a cool trip, judging from the pics, I don't remember it that well, but I do remember the food was very good and being at the beach was great. This sandcastle became so epic, you could think Heph helped build it."
Aphrodite looked at him.
"Sorry if that's a stupid question, but could he? With the sand and all?"
"Not with the wheelchair. We haven't been at the beach in years anyway, Athena is not big on it anymore, but we would make it work, I'd say. Handcart would probably be fine, something with wider wheels." He nodded to himself thoughtfully. "Might bring that up to Mom and Dad actually, I think he'd like it."
He pointed at the next picture.
"That was my birthday, don't remember which one. We went to the carnival all day. Thena was there because it was a weekend day, and we had a lot of fun. Rode a rollercoaster for the first time."
"I can never ride one of those again," Aphrodite said with a laugh. "I watched Final Destination 3 and Ride the Cyclone and I'm too superstitious to test my luck."
"Put both of these on our movie list, I haven't seen either yet."
Aphrodite tried her hardest not to jump around with joy. She knew it was normal to have a boyfriend that was willing to watch what you cared about, but Ares was the first that she felt genuinely comfortable dropping musicals on. She had clearly dated too far in the star-quarterback-spectrum before, but ever since she had come into her kitchen in the morning to find Ares humming a song from Hamilton, she knew this was what she wanted. Not just concessions, genuine compatibility.
"Noted and moved along. Signing Thena up too."
"Doubt she'll complain."
They moved a little further ahead. There was Hera, clearly pregnant, with her arms around the older children, there was Athena with a Greek Language Translation Trophy, Ares upside down on some monkey bars. A picture from a party with some relatives.
"Those are my aunts," Ares said. "Hestia and Demeter, my Mom's sisters. Demeter is the mother of Persephone, the cousin Mom mentioned earlier."
"The one with the baby?"
"Yep. And there is baby Heph, look."
"Oh, he's adorable." Aphrodite meant it. The baby wore soft braces, gently nestled in Hera's arm, completely safe. The pictures beside it were of him with his father, and both of his siblings. Athena looked more serious again, holding her brother with quiet reverence. Ares beamed at the camera as if saying 'Look, that's my brother, isn't he perfect?'
"You look complete there," Aphrodite said softly. "I love this picture."
"Me, too." Ares smiled. "Even though I still remember Thena endlessly lecturing me to be careful with him. She read books on how to take care of babies in general and babies with physical disabilities in particular. At age 12. Thea in a nutshell, really."
"That's so sweet, and so her. But you're both so good with him, it's so clear he adores you."
She took another step, again seeing the children grow, one of the first professionally taken portraits among the snapshots, then Athena reading from a thick carton book to Hephaestus, Ares playing with blocks with him, the family at a historical archeology exhibit or something similar.
Ares slowly growing from a child to a lanky teenager, Athena gaining subtle curves, much less hidden than now, though Aphrodite supposed she mightn't cover up as much as right now if this summer wasn't so pitifully cold, Hephaestus now decidedly a toddler.
"This was one of Thea's birthdays," Ares said fondly. "We visited an owl sanctuary. It was a surprise and Mom was really giddy about it because she knew she'd love it. It was cool." He shrugged. "I'm not as obsessed with owls as Thena but they are goofy and badass which is my favorite combo."
She smirked.
"Mine, too."
The graduation photos from the kitchen weren't repeated, but the family photos from both were hung up, instead showing more from the summer two years ago, the siblings in carefree freedom. Then lastly, clearly recent, a picture from Athena in the apartment that Ares had clearly taken in secret as she was studying, one from Ares on the apartment rooftop and one of Hephaestus crafting in his room.
Aphrodite turned to her boyfriend with a smile.
"I love that all these pictures are there. Your Mom doing that?"
Ares snorted. "Yeah, it's not my father, that's for sure. There are photos all over the place."
He slipped his hand back into hers.
"Wanna continue?"
She nodded, letting him lead her out of the living room.
Ares opened the next door.
"This is like a playing space. It looks way different than when I was little, Thena and I had a playhouse and a rockclimbing wall, but obviously we remodeled for Heph."
Aphrodite nodded.
"You actually have your own playground," she commented.
"Would never complain about a lack of toys," Ares said, slightly embarrassed.
She puffed his shoulder.
"I'm just mad I didn't get to play here when I was a kid."
He chuckled. "Fair."
He didn't take her to the elevator next to the play room, but back down the hall.
"We don't really use the elevator unless with Heph. Leave it on the floor he's at because it's his way to get around. It's not really a hard rule and we would have taken it up either way, but you know... small things that just are like that."
She nodded.
"Totally, noted."
"This is my parents' room," Ares said upstairs. "There's a study, and this is the proper bathroom. Nothing to see, really, you'll check it out later after all. This is Heph's room, or inventor's lair, really. Athena's room is that one at the end of the hall, and I'm square in the middle."
He opened the door to his room, shyly waving her inside.
Aphrodite grinned. It was red, of course, with accents in dark grey and black, a bed, couch, TV and wardrobe. She sat down on the foot of the bed like she did at the apartment.
"I thought your childhood furniture was all in the apartment."
He sat down next to her.
"It is. I had very little to do with this furniture. After Thena and I moved out properly, with all our furniture, our rooms were completely bare. Mom wanted us to come home to something nice, so she refurnished them how we would like it. I think she did a stellar job honestly, my old room never looked this cool."
"That is so sweet," Aphrodite said, considering briefly if her parents would have repurposed her childhood room if her furniture hadn't stayed there. She decided she didn't care to have that question answered. "And it's so fun that you, as the middle child, have the middle room."
Ares dropped backward onto the bed, sprawled comfortably.
"I didn't always. I used to be in Heph's room, but it's bigger, and he can navigate it more easily. And obviously now I don't live here, it'd be silly for the big room to be empty anyway. So yeah, the natural order was achieved."
She chuckled.
"I like it," she said then. "the house I mean. It's homey."
"I'm glad." He wrapped his arm around her, and she rested her head on his chest.
"You want to take a walk around town, or is this enough exposition about my life?"
She giggled.
"Of course I want to see the town," she said, and kissed him.
----------------------
I have the house built in the Sims and a tour recorded, I only need to edit it... sighh
I hope this makes some sense.
Also pictureess (Aph, you're SO close to clocking Athena, just a little bit more and you'll get she's depressed)
Hi, I'm Tasha (she/her) :) ( you can call me Mer, too, if you want)
I'm a writer and artist, love hurt/comfort, found family, character design and media analysis.
So I have stuff like that on my blog, and the rest of the time I yap about my life, chat with my moots, and do silly Tumblr things
Feel free to tag me in stuff, whether it be tag games or just stuff that made you think of me :D
(If you don't want to be tagged in tag games and stuff, please let me know, I'll stop)
Ask box is open :D It is very easy to get me to yap about stuff, try it out lol.
If an ask goes unanswered, that means I forgot about it!! I'm unfortunately super forgetful and have no sense of time. I'm trying my best but sometimes things slip through. Feel free to send me a reminder that I haven't responded yet, it really helps me and my weird brain :)
Blog-relevant # to search (or filter out) below the cut:
. ◠ . ◠ . ◠ . ◠. ◠ . ◠ . ◠ . ◠. ◠ . ◠ . ◠ . ◠
#tasha talks : Life updates and the like, non-fandom related opinions etc
#tasha asks : for... asks. lol.
#tasha's 4thewords stuff : This is a website I use for writing with word goals and quests and stuff, and sometimes I post about what quests I'm doing rn or how my avatar looks and such things
#tasha is not okay actually : for when I'm depressed and/or anxious enough to annoy tumblr with it
#tasha's quote collection : content from my handlettering journal and some digital collages. Paired with the previous tag bc the quotes are usually by veerrry mentally well people /sarc
. ◠ . ◠ . ◠ . ◠. ◠ . ◠ . ◠ . ◠. ◠ . ◠ . ◠ . ◠
#mer acle art tag : My art (occasionally diy)
. ◠ . ◠ . ◠ . ◠. ◠ . ◠ . ◠ . ◠. ◠ . ◠ . ◠ . ◠
#fic: fighting to be loved : My main EPIC fanfic that's currently being written, I post updates, snippets and ofc when a new chapter comes out :)
Lore:
. ◠ . ◠ . ◠ . ◠. ◠ . ◠ . ◠ . ◠. ◠ . ◠ . ◠ . ◠
#epic “Slipping through my fingers” AU: My Greek Mythology AU about Hera and Athena
. ◠ . ◠ . ◠ . ◠. ◠ . ◠ . ◠ . ◠. ◠ . ◠ . ◠ . ◠
#Silent Wars Modern AU: My Greek Mythology Modern Times AU about Athena, Ares, and Athena's crippling mental health. Lore posts, snippets etc.
Lore:
Unsupported client – Canva
Connected Tags:
#sw visuals #sw snippets #sw lore
. ◠ . ◠ . ◠ . ◠. ◠ . ◠ . ◠ . ◠. ◠ . ◠ . ◠ . ◠
#nemori / #nemori by mer-acle : Posts relating to my original novel "Nemori" which is in progress rn. (feel extra free to ask about it my life will be yours)
Intro Post
. ◠ . ◠ . ◠ . ◠. ◠ . ◠ . ◠ . ◠. ◠ . ◠ . ◠ . ◠
My projects/Other socials:
Here's my linktree
Some explanations:
I post art and diys on instagram, you can find some animatics and movie analysis videos on youtube, and ofc an unreasonable amount of my fanfic on Ao3 (masterpost of what works you'll find here, I've got EPIC / Greek Mythology and MCU stuff)
Fandoms:
It's tumblr lol. Ofc I have fandoms. EPIC The Musical and Greek Mythology would be the big ones especially atm.
Some other things I have watched/read and can therefore be talked to about lol:
MCU (Infinity Saga mainly), LotR, The Boys, The Promised Neverland, Kpop Demon Hunters, Six of Crows, Hazbin Hotel, Mean Girls (Musical and otherwise), Heathers (Musical and otherwise), Beetlejuice (Musical and otherwise), Saw, AtlA, Encanto, The Fall of the House of Usher, Arcane (Season One so far no spoilers pls), Miraculous (okay I have mostly lore on that rather than Watchtime), It (Stephen King), Hamilton, SIX, The Agatha Christie catalogue lol, Sherlock Holmes, Descendants, Stranger Things, Final Destination (honestly I'm not listing more horror stuff, chances are I know something about it at least), Anne of Green Gables, Dracula, etc... (I already know I missed like a million things, when in doubt, just ask)
In case anyone wondered how EPIC came into this :D
The family and Aph have a quiet evening.
---------------------
Evening dawned, and they came together in the living room. Zeus had excused himself on accounts of work, but Hera put down a tray with tea and hot cocoa and ruffled Hephaestus' hair.
The boy wheeled himself over to where Ares, Aphrodite and Athena were settled on the couches.
"'Res, can I sit on your lap?" he asked, half-oblivious, half establishing territory. Aphrodite untangled herself from under her boyfriend's arm without further prompting.
"Come here, bug," Ares said with a smile, scooting forward and helping his brother from his chair into his arms. Hephaestus leaned his head against his shoulder.
"Thena?" Hera had stepped inside, holding a folded piece of knit fabric. Athena looked up from a book she was definitely too tired to be reading.
"I found a cardigan for you the other day," Hera said, holding it out to her, black with a subtle white pattern. "I thought you might like it, and the fabric feels nice."
Athena ran her fingers over it.
"It does," she said quietly. "You didn't have to-"
"You said you were cold on the phone the other week," Hera said matter-of-factly. "clearly you don't have enough warm clothing."
She brushed a strand of hair behind Athena's ear. The young woman smiled faintly, putting the cardigan over her hoodie.
"Thanks, Mom."
"You're welcome, little owl."
Hephaestus demanded hot cocoa, then his green eyes lit up with an idea.
"I got a new puzzle! From the game that Mom won't let me play properly still." He pouted.
"You can play the later levels when you're old enough," Hera said evenly. "Be grateful we bought it even though it's 12 and up so you could try out the other mode."
"What game?" Aphrodite asked.
"EPIC," Hephaestus said. "But I can only play Winion mode... you catch little creatures and collect stuff. Mom thinks I'm too young for the story mode because it has violence." His tone was quietly indignant.
"EPIC?" Aphrodite asked. "I haven't played it, but I love the soundtrack! It's like a musical pretty much."
"Of course you like it, then," Ares teased fondly. She stuck out her tongue to him.
"Anyway," Hephaestus said. "The puzzle is real big, but can we do it over the weekend? All of us?"
Ares shared a glance with Aphrodite.
"I'm down," she said.
"Thena?"
Athena jumped slightly, looked up.
"What... I mean, yeah, of course. Should we get the table from the play room in here? It's warmer here."
"Mom, I fear you have to buy better cardigans, Thena's still freezing."
Hera looked up from her magazine.
"Do you want me to stack the fire, Thea?"
Athena shook her head.
"It's- I'm not cold now, but I would be in the other room, that's all."
She put down her book and got up.
"Is the puzzle in your room, Heph?"
He nodded. "Yes, on the shelf at my bed."
"Okay, I'll get it," she said.
Ares nudged his brother.
"Let me move? I'll get the table."
Hephaestus hesitated for a second as if torn between wanting the puzzle and wanting the hug, then nodded. Ares helped him settle on the couch and got up.
"Be right back."
Aphrodite stayed seated, a mug of hot chocolate in her hands, her eyes flickering between the fireplace, Hephaestus and Hera.
The drink was good. She still tasted the difference between fresh milk like she had grown up with and store-bought, but there was a touch of spice and definitely some heavy cream and it tasted like a winter afternoon.
Ares returned first, placing the table from the playing room in place of the couch table and moving back the couch set enough to make room to fold it open to its full size. He went to get the chairs as well, since the sofas would be too low.
Hephaestus pulled his wheelchair closer, climbing back on it with practised motions and wheeled himself over so he could reach the table top more comfortably.
Athena reentered the room, holding a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle box.
Aphrodite leaned forward to see what the picture was.
“It is from the God Games level,” Hephaestus said gravely. "That's when Minerva fights the king of the gods to help her friend.” He grinned. “Thea is Minerva, by the way. I decided.”
Aphrodite looked over to Athena who shrugged, then at the image on the puzzle, showing the goddess from the game surrounded by her adversaries. She remembered what happened in that level pretty well because the song was one of her favorites on the soundtrack.
"Are all of the gods people you know?" she asked.
Hepheastus nodded.
"Yes. Dad is Jupiter. I decided because his work is called Lightning Invest- Investment? And because I think Juno is like Mom. Jupiter is evil, of course," he said earnestly. "But he's also really powerful and cool so I think it's okay."
Aphrodite nodded, thinking to herself that that was the most innocent shade she'd ever seen thrown.
She could see Hera as Juno though. The queen stood to the side on the puzzle, peacock feathers around her, gentle yet fierce.
"And you?" she asked Ares. "Did you get a cool god, too?"
Ares grinned.
"Yeah, that's me," he said, pointing at the tall god in red and black, brandishing a sword.
"Mars? Yeah... yeah I can see that." She laughed.
“Thanks?” He sounded a little unsure.
“No, I really like him! I mean, he is loyal, he has strong principles, And I think that him and Minerva have such an interesting relationship, just like you and Thena, so it fits.”
“Okay, I am totally taking this then," Ares said with a laugh.
Athena smiled a little.
"I'm Vulcan," Hephaestus said proudly. "He builds the coolest machines."
"That fits well, too," Aphrodite replied with a smile.
Hephaestus reached for the box.
“Can we start now?”
“Alright alright, Mr. Impatient,” Ares teased, and they opened the box.
“I wanna do the edge first,” Hephaestus proclaimed. “And then the people and the sky and lightning stuff.”
“Good plan,” Athena commented. “Oh, I forgot the sorting trays, let me get them. Heph, you guys take care of the edge pieces?”
“Yes, ma’am!” The boy saluted playfully.
By the time she returned, they had separated all the edge pieces, and all four started on one corner.
"If you get... 21 and 13... 34 pieces of the edge, you're better than Ares and me," Athena said lightly to Hephaestus.
"Don't let me win though!"
"I would never dare to insult you like that."
"And I'm barely competition in the first place," Ares said. "I am here for the fun."
Hephaestus did manage 34 pieces, and if Athena had 35 because she had worked more on her shared edge with Aphrodite, she didn't point it out.
For a while, they worked in quiet solidarity, each of them mostly at their corner but handing over the others' pieces if they found some. most of the faces took shape because the eyes made it easier. Athena was quietly working on the upper corner, on a cluster of lightning and clouds. Hephaestus was gleefully working on Vulcan. Ares was slowly putting together Mars' massive sword. Aphrodite jumped between doing the marble steps and doing Juno's cape.
The sun fully disappeared behind the horizon, and Hera got up with a glance on her watch.
"Time for bed, Heph."
"Mooom!" He protested. "I'm almost done with Vulcan!"
Hera didn't argue that he was still about a half hour away from being done.
"You can finish him tomorrow. We'll leave the puzzle setup like this, and you can continue in the morning."
He pouted, sneakily putting in another piece.
Hera rounded the table and pressed a soft kiss to Athena's head.
"You, too, sweetheart."
Athena looked up at her blearily.
"Hm?"
"You should go to bed, too."
Athena nodded slowly, looking like she was already half asleep.
"Ares is allowed to stay up longer," Hephaestus complained.
Ares got up.
“We're headed up to bed too, buddy,” he said. “Been a long day.”
Hephaestus murmured something that sounded a lot like ‘traitor’. Aphrodite fought against a giggle.
“Heard that,” Ares said. “Very rude.”
“You’re rude,” Hephaestus shot back grumpily.
“Alright, that’s it,” Hera said. “Up you go.”
Athena rose quietly, wrapping the cardigan more closely around herself. Hera gently touched her back as she left.
"Should I help with the mugs?" Aphrodite asked, but Hera shook her head.
"No, thank you, I'll tidy up later all in one. Gotta get my little one into bed first." She smiled. "I won't disturb you two later. Aphrodite, if you need anything that Ares doesn't have, left bathroom cabinet might have it."
"Don't mention it."
Hera turned to Ares, and they hugged.
"Sleep well, darling."
"You too, Mom."
----------------------
hehehehhe
MOM HERAAAA give your baby all the cardigans
Also I am genuinely so happy about incorporating EPIC like this, because it lets me have both a mythology version and the EPIC versions of the characters, thinking up how the game works in rough strokes was super fun AND i mean Jorge wants the epic video game so i made it happen hehe
I debated a bit on the naming but I just decided for the Roman variants bc it's less hassle than making names up, and I think this AU is not goofy enough for Goddess of Wisdom Teagan lol
Also baby Heph is murdering me stop being SO GODDAMN CUTE
(also, am I the only one who doesn't see my posts under the #silent wars modern AU tag?? cos I just see @grape-jucie-dog 's for some reason with like a few of mine from march or something, even in the "Latest" category. I used to see my own as well. Any tumblr experts that can help me out?)
