Body to Flame (Percy Jackson)
- Thread starter yokoo
- Start date
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Plan: Fuck it we Ball
Chapter 2
- Pronouns
- He/They
Alexandra leads you and Ilya through the streets, passing through alleys and shops. You don't know where you're going, but Alexandra seems to have a clear destination in mind. As you run by it doesn't escape your notice the streets are completely void of people.
"Natalie will lead the Nikai on a chase for a while, and when she can't hold them any longer she'll lead them to us." Alexandra slows her run until the three of you are standing in front of a clothing store. "We'll be ready for them when they get here."
You aren't sure exactly how a clothing store will help you defeat the large group of Nikai, but Alexandra probably knows what she's talking about. You watch as she walks towards the window of the building and with a powerful kick, the glass shatters.
"Alex, what the fuck?" Ilya stares.
Alexandra rolls her eyes as she steps over the broken glass into the store. "No time to disarm the trap we set on the door. Come on, grab the stuff you stashed here."
Careful not to step on any glass, you walk into the store to see Alexandra pulling out three backpacks from behind the counter.
"We couldn't bring them with us for part of our quest," Alexandra explains to you, "Figured we'd just stash them here and pick them up on our way back."
Ilya grabs his bag and takes out a strange golden sphere. "Let me guess, we're using my dome?"
"It's a sphere," Alexandra corrects, "But yes."
"What's the sphere do?" You ask.
"Gift from my dad." Ilya grins. "Alex will explain." He tosses the sphere to Alexandra.
"You know what to do," Alexandra catches the sphere. "Just find a spot outside of the range. I'll have Theo stay in this store."
"On it boss," Ilya salutes and turns to you. "You'll be alright Theo, just don't panic yeah? Panicking never helps."
You nod, "Thanks Ilya."
He pats you on the back as he heads out of the store.
"He doesn't like to bring it up, but he's pretty favored by Apollo." Alexandra sighs. "Come over here, let me show you how his fancy sphere works."
Up close you can see that the sphere has inscriptions covering it on all sides. At the top, there's a small hole going into the center of the sphere.
"What's it do?"
"A few things. Most obvious is that it creates an area where no one can make any noise. Which can be useful, but not super helpful for what we're trying to do. The real gem is that it lays a subtle compulsion over everything inside the area that makes them less likely to notice anything outside the sphere. Not strong enough to keep most things from being able to leave the area, but unintelligent creatures like the Nikai? They won't notice."
"What are the Nikai anyway?" Obviously flying ladies, but you think Alexandra knows you're curious about more than that.
"We can talk about that in a minute, first let me run you through what your job will be." She hands you the sphere. "The hole at the top is the direction the zone will be aimed at, so to speak. When you're using the sphere you'll always be at the very edge of the zone but still affected by the silencing and compulsion, so your job will be to stay in this store and point it at me while I'm fighting the Nikai. Ilya needs his voice, so he'll be outside of the zone doing the real damage to the Nikai. You just need to stay safe and keep that thing pointed at me, okay?"
You nod, thankfully it doesn't sound too difficult.
Alexandra sighs and sits against a wall. "I know this must be a lot, kid. How're you holding up?"
You aren't completely sure how to answer that. Have you even really processed any of this yet? Flying monsters, supernatural powers, literal gods. You don't really know what to think.
"I'm not sure," You start slowly, "I don't think it's really hit me yet. I mean, gods and monsters sound crazy. But I just saw a bunch of flying women chasing you. And I'm supposed to be part of this world? I'm part god? I don't know, I don't feel like anything special. I just feel like me."
Alexandra looks at you for a moment before nodding, "Yeah, believe me, I understand what it's like at first. It's overwhelming, but you still don't really understand the world you just entered. Not just yet." She pats the ground next to her. "Come sit, we have a few minutes, there are a few things you should know about."
You sit next to her against the wall. The moment feels weirdly still to you. Like the flying Nikai and all your other troubles fade away. It's just you and Alexandra inside this shop.
"You asked about the Nikai earlier. There's not much to them other than what you can see. Flying and angry, fairly unintelligent. They're servants to the Goddess of Victory. I can't say her Name. This is the first thing you need to know, Names have power. There are certain circumstances where they're okay to say out loud, but until you learn them you should just avoid saying them altogether." She takes a deep breath. "I told you this life sucks, but you won't really understand what I mean for a while. The gods don't care about us, or at least most don't. If you get a god's attention by saying their name there's a good chance they'll just be annoyed and kill you on the spot. It's rare for even your godly parent to care about you, although they're usually more relaxed about you using their name."
"So Ilya being favored by Ap- that isn't normal?"
"No, it really isn't. Ilya knows it too, but it's still sometimes difficult for him to understand not having the same resources he does. But being favored doesn't always make life easier for you. Usually when you're favored it means your godly parent has some kind of goal in mind for you. They're using you for something. Which can often be more dangerous than being ignored by them. It's a narrow path, too much attention and you'll be getting used to goals way beyond yourself. But if you don't take risks, make yourself known, you'll never get strong enough to be self-sufficient." There's some kind of emotion in her eyes now, but you can't tell what it is. "Some kids back at camp like to stay in camp, never interact with the gods, except for the very few that stop by camp every once in a while. My advice though? Do whatever it takes to be able to survive. Make plans, trick gods, steal artifacts. Make yourself indispensable to someone who can protect you. Research the gods as far back as you can. Information is everything. Use their grudges against each other. Whatever it takes."
You stare, a bit wide eyed as she winds down her speech. It scares you a bit, the way she's talking about this. There's anger in her voice, and something more you can't tell. Maybe she's right though, maybe the world is so harsh that you have to fight tooth and nail to make something of yourself. You don't really want to be trapped at a camp doing nothing for the rest of your life.
"Come on," She says while getting up, "It's about time for Natalie to get here. Don't worry though, you won't be completely alone while you're holding the sphere." She smiles.
-
You watch Alexandra as she sprays a bottle of mist in the air and then tosses a coin into the mist. The coin seems to disappear into the mist, and you hear her mutter a few words, before the mist shimmers and the face of a boy who looks around your age appears.
"Yo, Alexandra!" The boy grins, "Is this the little soda guy Natalie told me about?"
You're a little annoyed that's what he knows you by.
"Theo, meet my little brother Félix. Félix, this is Theo." She smirks, "And I wouldn't call him little, I think he's taller than you."
You take a moment to study Félix. He has messy hair so light it's practically gray, and his eyes are a striking green. He's wearing a casual gray hoodie and seems to be leaning back in a chair, looking very relaxed.
"Aww," He pouts. "Well, it's only a matter of time until I grow taller. Enjoy your vertical superiority while you can Theo."
"It's nice to meet you too, Félix." You respond cordially.
He laughs loudly. "Nice to meet you, Theo."
Alexandra looks at you. "This is what's known as an Iris message. Are you familiar with the goddess Iris?"
You shake your head no.
Alexandra smiles. "Goddess of rainbows. She's one of the best. Remember what I said about names? She's never really punished anyone for saying her name. If you keep saying it over and over she might take away your ability to do Iris messages for a bit, but that's it. She stops by camp pretty often too, so you'll probably get to meet her. I'll explain how to do an Iris message later, or maybe Félix can tell you while you wait. But basically the sphere won't affect Félix, since we're just calling him, so he can help guide you through anything."
Félix gives a salute, which you can't tell if it's meant to be mocking or not. "Here to help!"
Alexandra nods, "Alright, I'll leave you two. Remember your job, you'll be fine Theo." She steps out of the broken window onto the street, preparing for the Nikai.
You turn to look at Félix through the mist, who seems to be staring intently at you with a thoughtful look on his face.
"Huh." He says after a moment, before breaking into a grin again. "So how'd you run into these guys anyway?"
You briefly explain how your lunch at the diner was rudely interrupted.
He laughs. "Well there will be much better food here at camp, and it's free! So really you should thank the over-expensive diner for leading you Alexandra."
"I think it would have been fine if I ran into her without getting practically robbed for a burger." You state dryly.
"Well no use thinking about it now. Do you know who your parent is? The godly one, I mean, not the mortal one."
"Nah, no idea."
"Hmm if I had to give it a guess I'd say Aphrodite." He giggles. "Not that I have much to go on, so don't put too much stock into my guess. We'll see when you get here though."
"Are you just… always on standby for missions? Why'd Alexandra call you?" You ask.
"I'm the daytime ops for their quest." He grins, "The operator, the guy in the chair, the mastermind, if you will."
"Mastermind." You say, unimpressed.
"What, don't believe me?" He pouts, "All quests get assigned a daytime and a nighttime operator, so the group has someone to call for anything they need. I'm one of the best," He brags, "Cause of my amazing intellect and wisdom. But no time for doubting me! The show's about to start."
You turn around to see Natalie sprinting down the street, a large flock of angry Nikai behind her. You aren't sure exactly what she did to them, but they look significantly more injured and angry than they did before.
"You know how to use the sphere?" Félix asks.
With dawning horror you realize that no, you do not know how to turn the sphere on. Uh oh.
"Relaaax. All you gotta do is hold it with both hands, point it in the direction you want the center of the zone to be at, and think really hard about wanting the sphere to activate."
"Think really hard?"
"Yeah! You know, willpower and shit. Sphere reads off your intent. Just think about wanting it to turn on."
You hold the sphere in your hands. Think really hard? What's that supposed to mean? Well, it would be really nice if the sphere turned on and-
With a sudden glow the sphere makes a quiet humming sound, as a translucent dome appears over you, centered on Alexandra in the middle of the street. You turn to ask Félix if this was right, but you find no sound able to leave your mouth.
Félix laughs, "Well that's how you know it's working. Now just keep it pointed at Alexandra, and if you lose sight of her you can point at Natalie."
You nod, and watch Natalie and Alexandra keep the Nikai busy. It's unnerving to see the Nikai open their mouths to scream when no sound comes out. But you suppose it wasn't fun to hear their constant screaming either.
Without the confines of being in the back of a diner, they look much better at holding off the Nikai. Alexandra ducks and dodges smoothly, every swing of Nikai sword cleanly missing her. She even stabs one occasionally with her own weapon. Natalie looks a little more rough, but she'd already been running the Nikai for a few minutes before this. Still, you worry every time a blade narrowly misses her.
"And it begins." Félix says.
You don't understand what he's talking about at first, but you slowly start to hear it.
Singing. Loud and high tempo, you don't understand the language but you recognize Ilya's voice.
You watch as the Nikai seem to speed up with the tempo of the song, their wings beating faster, their stabs of their swords getting quicker. It looks almost more difficult for Alexandra and Natalie for a moment.
But the tempo of the song gradually slows, and with it so do the Nikai. One by one, they slowly fall to the ground, their wing beats getting less and less powerful.
They try to fight the magic, but there's nowhere for them to fly, and you realize this is why they needed to stay away from Ilya.
It seems like they're about to collapse to the ground completely, when you hear a piercing shriek from a Nikai outside the dome.
Uh oh. You look up to see a group of three Nikai flying above the dome, headed straight towards the direction Ilya's song is coming from.
"Shit." You heard Félix say from behind you.
Sure enough, the many Nikai that were previously on the ground, slowly rise back up, until their wings are beating fast enough to lift them in the air again.
Ilya's song is still going, but it's no longer as smooth as before. It sounds like he's trying to dodge being stabbed while singing. Which you figure is probably what's happening.
Unfortunately the pissed off Nikai are really starting to swarm Natalie and Alexandra. Alexandra is a blur of movement, swiftly making her way down the street leading a majority of the Nikai away from the direction of you and Natalie.
Natalie isn't doing as well, and the few Nikai that didn't follow Alexandra seem to be overwhelming her.
Another shriek makes you turn to look a couple buildings down, where you can see Ilya fighting the Nikai on a rooftop. He's given up completely on the song, and he's getting pushed dangerously close to the edge of the roof. You see a ladder on the side of the building he presumably used to climb up.
"Theo, listen to me." Félix commands. "Drop the sphere, it's not useful right now. Alexandra will be fine on her own, but the other two probably will need help. I'm going to call someone nearby and get them over here, but while I do that I need you to try to help Ilya and Natalie, okay?"
You nod, not trusting yourself to speak. This was happening, you were gonna have to run out there.
"Don't panic Theo, and whatever you decide to do don't hesitate. Hesitation will get you killed. Now go!"
The mist disappears and Félix is gone. It's just you now.
You run out to the street, and see Natalie and Ilya both hanging on, but barely. Natalie looks exhausted, and Ilya seems to be quickly running out of rooftop space to back up into. They both look like they could use some help. Who do you run to?
[X] Run to Natalie
[X] Run to Ilya
-
Thanks for reading! The in-game date is still July 5th, 2001. I know this chapter is kind of heavy on the info/exposition, but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless. I want to make it clear that this vote is not some kind of trick, and it's not something like whoever you don't run to is guaranteed to die or hate you forever. Just use your best judgement on your choice. Next chapter will finally have the vote for your godly parent, so maybe start thinking about that too. Voting closes in roughly 48 hours (Sunday morning pst). Feel free to ask questions.
"Natalie will lead the Nikai on a chase for a while, and when she can't hold them any longer she'll lead them to us." Alexandra slows her run until the three of you are standing in front of a clothing store. "We'll be ready for them when they get here."
You aren't sure exactly how a clothing store will help you defeat the large group of Nikai, but Alexandra probably knows what she's talking about. You watch as she walks towards the window of the building and with a powerful kick, the glass shatters.
"Alex, what the fuck?" Ilya stares.
Alexandra rolls her eyes as she steps over the broken glass into the store. "No time to disarm the trap we set on the door. Come on, grab the stuff you stashed here."
Careful not to step on any glass, you walk into the store to see Alexandra pulling out three backpacks from behind the counter.
"We couldn't bring them with us for part of our quest," Alexandra explains to you, "Figured we'd just stash them here and pick them up on our way back."
Ilya grabs his bag and takes out a strange golden sphere. "Let me guess, we're using my dome?"
"It's a sphere," Alexandra corrects, "But yes."
"What's the sphere do?" You ask.
"Gift from my dad." Ilya grins. "Alex will explain." He tosses the sphere to Alexandra.
"You know what to do," Alexandra catches the sphere. "Just find a spot outside of the range. I'll have Theo stay in this store."
"On it boss," Ilya salutes and turns to you. "You'll be alright Theo, just don't panic yeah? Panicking never helps."
You nod, "Thanks Ilya."
He pats you on the back as he heads out of the store.
"He doesn't like to bring it up, but he's pretty favored by Apollo." Alexandra sighs. "Come over here, let me show you how his fancy sphere works."
Up close you can see that the sphere has inscriptions covering it on all sides. At the top, there's a small hole going into the center of the sphere.
"What's it do?"
"A few things. Most obvious is that it creates an area where no one can make any noise. Which can be useful, but not super helpful for what we're trying to do. The real gem is that it lays a subtle compulsion over everything inside the area that makes them less likely to notice anything outside the sphere. Not strong enough to keep most things from being able to leave the area, but unintelligent creatures like the Nikai? They won't notice."
"What are the Nikai anyway?" Obviously flying ladies, but you think Alexandra knows you're curious about more than that.
"We can talk about that in a minute, first let me run you through what your job will be." She hands you the sphere. "The hole at the top is the direction the zone will be aimed at, so to speak. When you're using the sphere you'll always be at the very edge of the zone but still affected by the silencing and compulsion, so your job will be to stay in this store and point it at me while I'm fighting the Nikai. Ilya needs his voice, so he'll be outside of the zone doing the real damage to the Nikai. You just need to stay safe and keep that thing pointed at me, okay?"
You nod, thankfully it doesn't sound too difficult.
Alexandra sighs and sits against a wall. "I know this must be a lot, kid. How're you holding up?"
You aren't completely sure how to answer that. Have you even really processed any of this yet? Flying monsters, supernatural powers, literal gods. You don't really know what to think.
"I'm not sure," You start slowly, "I don't think it's really hit me yet. I mean, gods and monsters sound crazy. But I just saw a bunch of flying women chasing you. And I'm supposed to be part of this world? I'm part god? I don't know, I don't feel like anything special. I just feel like me."
Alexandra looks at you for a moment before nodding, "Yeah, believe me, I understand what it's like at first. It's overwhelming, but you still don't really understand the world you just entered. Not just yet." She pats the ground next to her. "Come sit, we have a few minutes, there are a few things you should know about."
You sit next to her against the wall. The moment feels weirdly still to you. Like the flying Nikai and all your other troubles fade away. It's just you and Alexandra inside this shop.
"You asked about the Nikai earlier. There's not much to them other than what you can see. Flying and angry, fairly unintelligent. They're servants to the Goddess of Victory. I can't say her Name. This is the first thing you need to know, Names have power. There are certain circumstances where they're okay to say out loud, but until you learn them you should just avoid saying them altogether." She takes a deep breath. "I told you this life sucks, but you won't really understand what I mean for a while. The gods don't care about us, or at least most don't. If you get a god's attention by saying their name there's a good chance they'll just be annoyed and kill you on the spot. It's rare for even your godly parent to care about you, although they're usually more relaxed about you using their name."
"So Ilya being favored by Ap- that isn't normal?"
"No, it really isn't. Ilya knows it too, but it's still sometimes difficult for him to understand not having the same resources he does. But being favored doesn't always make life easier for you. Usually when you're favored it means your godly parent has some kind of goal in mind for you. They're using you for something. Which can often be more dangerous than being ignored by them. It's a narrow path, too much attention and you'll be getting used to goals way beyond yourself. But if you don't take risks, make yourself known, you'll never get strong enough to be self-sufficient." There's some kind of emotion in her eyes now, but you can't tell what it is. "Some kids back at camp like to stay in camp, never interact with the gods, except for the very few that stop by camp every once in a while. My advice though? Do whatever it takes to be able to survive. Make plans, trick gods, steal artifacts. Make yourself indispensable to someone who can protect you. Research the gods as far back as you can. Information is everything. Use their grudges against each other. Whatever it takes."
You stare, a bit wide eyed as she winds down her speech. It scares you a bit, the way she's talking about this. There's anger in her voice, and something more you can't tell. Maybe she's right though, maybe the world is so harsh that you have to fight tooth and nail to make something of yourself. You don't really want to be trapped at a camp doing nothing for the rest of your life.
"Come on," She says while getting up, "It's about time for Natalie to get here. Don't worry though, you won't be completely alone while you're holding the sphere." She smiles.
-
You watch Alexandra as she sprays a bottle of mist in the air and then tosses a coin into the mist. The coin seems to disappear into the mist, and you hear her mutter a few words, before the mist shimmers and the face of a boy who looks around your age appears.
"Yo, Alexandra!" The boy grins, "Is this the little soda guy Natalie told me about?"
You're a little annoyed that's what he knows you by.
"Theo, meet my little brother Félix. Félix, this is Theo." She smirks, "And I wouldn't call him little, I think he's taller than you."
You take a moment to study Félix. He has messy hair so light it's practically gray, and his eyes are a striking green. He's wearing a casual gray hoodie and seems to be leaning back in a chair, looking very relaxed.
"Aww," He pouts. "Well, it's only a matter of time until I grow taller. Enjoy your vertical superiority while you can Theo."
"It's nice to meet you too, Félix." You respond cordially.
He laughs loudly. "Nice to meet you, Theo."
Alexandra looks at you. "This is what's known as an Iris message. Are you familiar with the goddess Iris?"
You shake your head no.
Alexandra smiles. "Goddess of rainbows. She's one of the best. Remember what I said about names? She's never really punished anyone for saying her name. If you keep saying it over and over she might take away your ability to do Iris messages for a bit, but that's it. She stops by camp pretty often too, so you'll probably get to meet her. I'll explain how to do an Iris message later, or maybe Félix can tell you while you wait. But basically the sphere won't affect Félix, since we're just calling him, so he can help guide you through anything."
Félix gives a salute, which you can't tell if it's meant to be mocking or not. "Here to help!"
Alexandra nods, "Alright, I'll leave you two. Remember your job, you'll be fine Theo." She steps out of the broken window onto the street, preparing for the Nikai.
You turn to look at Félix through the mist, who seems to be staring intently at you with a thoughtful look on his face.
"Huh." He says after a moment, before breaking into a grin again. "So how'd you run into these guys anyway?"
You briefly explain how your lunch at the diner was rudely interrupted.
He laughs. "Well there will be much better food here at camp, and it's free! So really you should thank the over-expensive diner for leading you Alexandra."
"I think it would have been fine if I ran into her without getting practically robbed for a burger." You state dryly.
"Well no use thinking about it now. Do you know who your parent is? The godly one, I mean, not the mortal one."
"Nah, no idea."
"Hmm if I had to give it a guess I'd say Aphrodite." He giggles. "Not that I have much to go on, so don't put too much stock into my guess. We'll see when you get here though."
"Are you just… always on standby for missions? Why'd Alexandra call you?" You ask.
"I'm the daytime ops for their quest." He grins, "The operator, the guy in the chair, the mastermind, if you will."
"Mastermind." You say, unimpressed.
"What, don't believe me?" He pouts, "All quests get assigned a daytime and a nighttime operator, so the group has someone to call for anything they need. I'm one of the best," He brags, "Cause of my amazing intellect and wisdom. But no time for doubting me! The show's about to start."
You turn around to see Natalie sprinting down the street, a large flock of angry Nikai behind her. You aren't sure exactly what she did to them, but they look significantly more injured and angry than they did before.
"You know how to use the sphere?" Félix asks.
With dawning horror you realize that no, you do not know how to turn the sphere on. Uh oh.
"Relaaax. All you gotta do is hold it with both hands, point it in the direction you want the center of the zone to be at, and think really hard about wanting the sphere to activate."
"Think really hard?"
"Yeah! You know, willpower and shit. Sphere reads off your intent. Just think about wanting it to turn on."
You hold the sphere in your hands. Think really hard? What's that supposed to mean? Well, it would be really nice if the sphere turned on and-
With a sudden glow the sphere makes a quiet humming sound, as a translucent dome appears over you, centered on Alexandra in the middle of the street. You turn to ask Félix if this was right, but you find no sound able to leave your mouth.
Félix laughs, "Well that's how you know it's working. Now just keep it pointed at Alexandra, and if you lose sight of her you can point at Natalie."
You nod, and watch Natalie and Alexandra keep the Nikai busy. It's unnerving to see the Nikai open their mouths to scream when no sound comes out. But you suppose it wasn't fun to hear their constant screaming either.
Without the confines of being in the back of a diner, they look much better at holding off the Nikai. Alexandra ducks and dodges smoothly, every swing of Nikai sword cleanly missing her. She even stabs one occasionally with her own weapon. Natalie looks a little more rough, but she'd already been running the Nikai for a few minutes before this. Still, you worry every time a blade narrowly misses her.
"And it begins." Félix says.
You don't understand what he's talking about at first, but you slowly start to hear it.
Singing. Loud and high tempo, you don't understand the language but you recognize Ilya's voice.
You watch as the Nikai seem to speed up with the tempo of the song, their wings beating faster, their stabs of their swords getting quicker. It looks almost more difficult for Alexandra and Natalie for a moment.
But the tempo of the song gradually slows, and with it so do the Nikai. One by one, they slowly fall to the ground, their wing beats getting less and less powerful.
They try to fight the magic, but there's nowhere for them to fly, and you realize this is why they needed to stay away from Ilya.
It seems like they're about to collapse to the ground completely, when you hear a piercing shriek from a Nikai outside the dome.
Uh oh. You look up to see a group of three Nikai flying above the dome, headed straight towards the direction Ilya's song is coming from.
"Shit." You heard Félix say from behind you.
Sure enough, the many Nikai that were previously on the ground, slowly rise back up, until their wings are beating fast enough to lift them in the air again.
Ilya's song is still going, but it's no longer as smooth as before. It sounds like he's trying to dodge being stabbed while singing. Which you figure is probably what's happening.
Unfortunately the pissed off Nikai are really starting to swarm Natalie and Alexandra. Alexandra is a blur of movement, swiftly making her way down the street leading a majority of the Nikai away from the direction of you and Natalie.
Natalie isn't doing as well, and the few Nikai that didn't follow Alexandra seem to be overwhelming her.
Another shriek makes you turn to look a couple buildings down, where you can see Ilya fighting the Nikai on a rooftop. He's given up completely on the song, and he's getting pushed dangerously close to the edge of the roof. You see a ladder on the side of the building he presumably used to climb up.
"Theo, listen to me." Félix commands. "Drop the sphere, it's not useful right now. Alexandra will be fine on her own, but the other two probably will need help. I'm going to call someone nearby and get them over here, but while I do that I need you to try to help Ilya and Natalie, okay?"
You nod, not trusting yourself to speak. This was happening, you were gonna have to run out there.
"Don't panic Theo, and whatever you decide to do don't hesitate. Hesitation will get you killed. Now go!"
The mist disappears and Félix is gone. It's just you now.
You run out to the street, and see Natalie and Ilya both hanging on, but barely. Natalie looks exhausted, and Ilya seems to be quickly running out of rooftop space to back up into. They both look like they could use some help. Who do you run to?
[X] Run to Natalie
[X] Run to Ilya
-
Thanks for reading! The in-game date is still July 5th, 2001. I know this chapter is kind of heavy on the info/exposition, but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless. I want to make it clear that this vote is not some kind of trick, and it's not something like whoever you don't run to is guaranteed to die or hate you forever. Just use your best judgement on your choice. Next chapter will finally have the vote for your godly parent, so maybe start thinking about that too. Voting closes in roughly 48 hours (Sunday morning pst). Feel free to ask questions.
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- Pronouns
- Human/Form/Keyblade
[X] Run to Ilya
- Pronouns
- He/They
it's difficult to give a specific answer because the boons are more focused on giving you access to things you wouldn't have had access to otherwise rather than raw power, but they definitely increased. you'll be able to see the details when you pick your godly parent
Tyrant_Rayne
Probably Not Evil… Maybe
- Location
- Canada
[X] Run to Ilya
Natalie is in danger of getting mauled by Nikai.
Ilya is in danger of falling off a roof and getting mauled by Nikai.
Plus I give someone exhausted better odds of survival than someone either concussed or down a limb.
Natalie is in danger of getting mauled by Nikai.
Ilya is in danger of falling off a roof and getting mauled by Nikai.
Plus I give someone exhausted better odds of survival than someone either concussed or down a limb.
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What kind of divine parent do you think we should choose?
I think we should immediately exclude the gods of the Trinity, since they are likely to be blocked due to too much plot change.
Here are some good options that I remember.
Aphrodite. It helps to neutralize the effects of our curses while giving powerful emotional manipulation so that most battles can be avoided, and where this cannot be done, sabotage the emotions of the opponent during the battle, greatly reducing his combat effectiveness.
We can choose if we want to focus on social roles and the confusion of the enemy.
Ares. We become the master of all weapons, we can curse the enemy's weapons and we can possess pyrokinesis. It can also inflate conflicts.
We can choose if we want to focus on power solutions to problems.
Apollo. Can grant healing magic, sound attacks, archery and the ability to control light.
It is worth choosing if we want to play a support role or get more diverse abilities due to the loss of specialization in a specific role.
Hecate. It can give us Fog control and magic abilities.
It's worth it if we want to immerse ourselves in research and have the ability to deceive enemies.
There are of course many more deities with various powers, but I no longer remember most of them, and these gods seemed to me the most useful.
Personally, I am still inclined to choose Aphrodite (to lead a more social game), Hecate (to conduct research) and Apollo while focusing on healing (helps to establish connections with many characters of the canon).
But maybe someone has additions to this list or arguments for taking other gods.
I think we should immediately exclude the gods of the Trinity, since they are likely to be blocked due to too much plot change.
Here are some good options that I remember.
Aphrodite. It helps to neutralize the effects of our curses while giving powerful emotional manipulation so that most battles can be avoided, and where this cannot be done, sabotage the emotions of the opponent during the battle, greatly reducing his combat effectiveness.
We can choose if we want to focus on social roles and the confusion of the enemy.
Ares. We become the master of all weapons, we can curse the enemy's weapons and we can possess pyrokinesis. It can also inflate conflicts.
We can choose if we want to focus on power solutions to problems.
Apollo. Can grant healing magic, sound attacks, archery and the ability to control light.
It is worth choosing if we want to play a support role or get more diverse abilities due to the loss of specialization in a specific role.
Hecate. It can give us Fog control and magic abilities.
It's worth it if we want to immerse ourselves in research and have the ability to deceive enemies.
There are of course many more deities with various powers, but I no longer remember most of them, and these gods seemed to me the most useful.
Personally, I am still inclined to choose Aphrodite (to lead a more social game), Hecate (to conduct research) and Apollo while focusing on healing (helps to establish connections with many characters of the canon).
But maybe someone has additions to this list or arguments for taking other gods.
[X] Run to Ilya
Nat has more experience and is probably better at working through exhaustion. Ilya is much less experienced (im pretty sure) and more likely to need the help.
Also when it comes to which parent, I don't know enough to know if a suggestion is completely wrong, but I'd say there are a few interesting ways to go with our parent, our curses, and our boons.
1. Lean into being bad at what our curses say we are. A god that would have grudges and be bad at deception. Ares is probably the most obvious choice for this.
2. Lean into somebody fucking with us and pick a god that specializes in the things we have been cursed against. Someone like Hermes where deception and diplomacy are expected. We've been fucked over somehow and are worse at it.
3. Lean into familial favor. A god that's actually chill or a god that wants something from us. For a chill god, Iris is explicitly stated in text as chill, and there are probably a couple others this could apply to. For a god that wants something from us, this could go anywhere. I personally find Hecate to be a fascinating choice that could lean into this, but this is the most open-ended option. I like this one due to it being very involved, whether our character wants it or not.
If I had to pick one, I would pick Hecate because magic is cool and mist control can be used in a lot of really cool ways, in and out of combat. Also I have a feeling that the author would be unprepared for it and that just sounds funny to do to them.
Nat has more experience and is probably better at working through exhaustion. Ilya is much less experienced (im pretty sure) and more likely to need the help.
Also when it comes to which parent, I don't know enough to know if a suggestion is completely wrong, but I'd say there are a few interesting ways to go with our parent, our curses, and our boons.
1. Lean into being bad at what our curses say we are. A god that would have grudges and be bad at deception. Ares is probably the most obvious choice for this.
2. Lean into somebody fucking with us and pick a god that specializes in the things we have been cursed against. Someone like Hermes where deception and diplomacy are expected. We've been fucked over somehow and are worse at it.
3. Lean into familial favor. A god that's actually chill or a god that wants something from us. For a chill god, Iris is explicitly stated in text as chill, and there are probably a couple others this could apply to. For a god that wants something from us, this could go anywhere. I personally find Hecate to be a fascinating choice that could lean into this, but this is the most open-ended option. I like this one due to it being very involved, whether our character wants it or not.
If I had to pick one, I would pick Hecate because magic is cool and mist control can be used in a lot of really cool ways, in and out of combat. Also I have a feeling that the author would be unprepared for it and that just sounds funny to do to them.
- Pronouns
- He/They
yeah with the amount of familial favor you took, your character is gonna be involved with a lot of stuff no matter what god you pick
i will say some gods are unfortunately off-limits. i was going to put it in the post where you'll vote, but the big three, all the celibate ones (for obvious reasons), hecate, hera, dionysus, and any primordial gods are not options. still lots of fun minor gods, cthonic gods, etc you can be, or you can always be one of the olympians. you won't be any less strong for choosing a minor god compared to an olympian.
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Tyrant_Rayne
Probably Not Evil… Maybe
- Location
- Canada
But it would mean that we'd be forced to bunk in the overcrowded Hermes cabin unless we can find other accommodations.
- Location
- Lasha Tumbai
I was leaning towards more towards going to help Nat, but I like people's reasoning for helping Ilya.
[X] Run to Ilya
[X] Run to Ilya
I was going to enquire about this too, but it's nice to know we get a good amount of choice. It's curious you've put Dionysus off limits, though! Think I'll wait until we see the full list you've got for us before commenting, honestly the Greeks got pretty busy.yeah with the amount of familial favor you took, your character is gonna be involved with a lot of stuff no matter what god you pick
i will say some gods are unfortunately off-limits. i was going to put it in the post where you'll vote, but the big three, all the celibate ones (for obvious reasons), hecate, hera, dionysus, and any primordial gods are not options. still lots of fun minor gods, cthonic gods, etc you can be, or you can always be one of the olympians. you won't be any less strong for choosing a minor god compared to an olympian.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Run to Ilya
I agree with everyone saying Ilya seems to be the one in more danger. I'm looking forward to seeing which gods are available.
I agree with everyone saying Ilya seems to be the one in more danger. I'm looking forward to seeing which gods are available.
Persephone would be a fun pull. We could get Underworld powers, harvest powers and affinity for doggos.
Is it possible when the list of gods appears to add next to them what abilities we can count on when choosing them?
It's just that after looking at the list of gods, I realized that their abilities are often not quite obvious.
- Location
- Your pantry
- Pronouns
- He/Him
That seems like a cool idea, yeah. Either that or Demeter? I feel like you don't see much of them, despite their importance. I could also accept seeing other underworld gods as theo's parents. My preference comes in no way shape or form from a certain video game…
- Pronouns
- He/They
there might be more but the ones that come to mind are annabeth, leo, luke, and clarisse. possibly all the kids of the big three too but i'm not really counting them since the big three have their own stuff goin on.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
The Big Three are really forced to have a quality over quantity thing since all their kids are part of big important prophecies.
- Location
- France
[X] Run to Ilya
- Pronouns
- He/They
sure, i'll add some basic info, though not everything.
they are either not formed or have other stuff going on (e.g. atlas holding up the sky). regardless, not an option.