⟨ LEE SUNGKYUNG. NON-BINARY. SHE/THEY. ⟩ though the mist might prevent some from seeing it, 𝑴𝑨𝑬𝑯𝑾𝑨 “𝑴𝑨𝑬” 𝑳𝑬𝑬 is actually a descendant of DEMETER. it’s still a question of whether or not the TWENTY-SIX year old PRE-MED & BOTANY MAJOR from ANDONG, SOUTH KOREA has taken after their godly parent completely, but the demigod is still known to be quite 𝑪𝑶𝑴𝑷𝑨𝑺𝑺𝑰𝑶𝑵𝑨𝑻𝑬 & 𝑺𝑬𝑳𝑭-𝑹𝑬𝑺𝑻𝑹𝑨𝑰𝑵𝑬𝑫. 

hi! i’m sara, i’m 18, and i’m fashionably late to the intro party. the other intro post was 3 months old so if you read through it no you didn’t <3 my discord is (currently) emo reindeer#6500 if you need me!!

        GLANCING DOWN AT THE pot in his delicate hands, he nodded slowly, a silent agreement of the idea before rolling his eyes a bit defensively, “i know they need chilly weather-” it was a bad habit of his, to bite back on harsh words like that, but this apple tree wasn’t just that. it was a symbol of importance, a reminder of his grandmother that would remain consistent, one that he would tend to every day. “sorry, it’s just, this is important to me.” but he didn’t go any further into his explanation, not willing to give up details on his past let alone appear vulnerable. 

         DAX HAD TO JUMP through hoops to get an apple tree here, but in the end, he knew it would be worth it. “we do…but if anyone tried to fuck with this tree they would be walking out of the party sideways.” dax admitted, gritting his teeth before sighing through his nose because…she was right. sure he could fuck someone up if they touched the tree, but by then, the damage would’ve been done. her offer was kind, genuine, and it caused him to pause in a bit of surprise, “…..really? you’d let me do that?”

❀

    “don’t worry about it, dax. i’d get pretty offended myself if someone questioned my plant knowledge,” they try to lighten up the mood with a soft laugh, though it dies out to somber silence. it isn’t unusual for one to feel so attached to their plants—at least not for mae—but the intensity within dax’s eyes speaks of more than mere plant-dad attachment. curious.

    “of course! need you even ask? i promise you she’ll be loved well even when you’re not there to attend to her yourself, and no one will need to walk out sideways. now,” they hold out their hands to the pot in his arms, “shall we?”

                “    hmph,    ”    the  retort  leaves  pursed  lips  as  he  glances  back  down  at  the  cat  again,  who  is  still  nudging  at  his  thigh  in  order  to  garner  his  attention.    eventually,  izak  sighs,  lifting  a  hand  to  scratch  miss  crumbs’  head,  as  mae  had  suggested.    his  eyebrows  rise  as  the  cat  starts  to  purr  and,  after  a  little  bit,  hops  down  from  the  bench.

        izak’s  hand  then  falls  onto  the  page  of  the  book  he’s  reading,  and  he  shakes  his  head  as  he  tucks  in  the  bookmark  and  closes  the  book  with  a  snap.    “    since  when  were  you  a  cat  expert  ?    ”    he  questions.    has  he  really  been  so  out  of  touch  lately  that  he’s  missed  such  little  things  as  this  ?    possibly.

❀

    “see? what’d i tell you?” mae beams at him as crumbs hops off the bench and finally starts nibbling at her food. the book snaps shut and they know they have izak’s full attention. strange how that alone makes them feel pleasantly warm... perhaps his absence affected them more than they care to admit.

    “you don’t know me well enough then,” said with a coy smile and a silent offer shining in their eyes: but you can if you wanted to. “the cats are frequent visitors to the demeter gardens given how often we feed them. if you spend enough time with them you’ll start to notice their individual personalities! i mean crumbs here is a shy baby: she always hangs in the back during dinner time and only ends up with the crumbs...thus the name.” 

-

“  EURGH, the little shit’s down here,  ”  a vocal display of disgust echoes down the hallway as lyra leads mae to where the spider’s taken domain, an abandoned room of some long-gone sibling now a containment zone. she had contemplated closing the door and pretending she never saw it, but the visions of it crawling into her bedroom or spawning babies were enough to send her fleeing to poseidon housing — plus, jax is useless as resident advisor, so mae’s their best bet. pushing the door open, she gestures to where the spider’s inching upwards on the white wall, grimacing again at the sight of its black silhouette.  “  there’s fucklord, first of his name. i can pay you in pocky or doritos, by the way. exterminator’s choice. ”

❀

    “fucklord? that’s cruel.” but perhaps what would be more cruel is subjecting an athena kid to the ‘spiders are innocent creatures that mean you no harm’ lecture so mae lets it go; it’s not like they can help it. upon closer inspection she figures the spider is harmless, picks it up with her hand and into the glass jar it goes. “it’s a girl, by the way, but fucklady doesn’t have the same ring to it as fucklord, does it? not that it matters, food is food in the eyes of a venus flytrap. now, for how long has this room been abandoned? should we check for fucklings just in case?”

                    why  is  it  that  whenever  he  finds  a  spare  few  minutes,  there’s  always  something  that  disrupts  him  ?    if  not  the  annoying  obnoxiousness    (  he’s  one  to  talk  !  )    of  the  loud  and  boisterous  students,  then  it’s  the  stray  cats  on  campus  that  seem  to  find  their  way  around  you  and  tend  to  stay  there.    this  particular  tabby  cat  has  been  hovering  around  him  for  the  past  hour  and  he’s  just  about  to  move  from  his  seat  when  he  feels  someone  pass.    he  doesn’t  even  register  who  it  is  until  he  speaks.    “    this  is  the  third  one  this  week.  is  there  some  sort  of  union  that  takes  them  in  or  something  ?    because  they’re  doing  a  terrible  job.    ”        @maexeu  .

❀

    “forgive me, my liege. i can’t chase after every single cat on campus,” mae rolls their eyes, though a fond smile is drawn over their face. the often stoic son of zeus getting so miffed over a cat—and crumbs no less, an absolute sweetheart...is oddly fascinating. “believe it or not, sometimes food alone isn’t enough to drag them all in.” 

    ...as proven by little miss crumbs, who ignores the chicken scraps mae sets on a tissue by izak’s feet once she sits next to him (if only for her continued amusement), and proceeds to headbutt his leg. “huh. maybe she misses you too. have you thought of scratching her head? it’s only the bare minimum of civility, you know. maybe she’ll let you go then!”

event: EU carnival who: @maexeu (closed)

    while he’s still working on getting himself a car, anton’s got the next best thing: mae and her bike. sure, his legs and feet are fine, and he could just walk anywhere he needed and wanted to, but getting driven everywhere in style by mae and her bike trumps all that and more. she’s not just doing him a great favor by helping him get somewhere, too. for anton, her company is a refreshing boon in itself.

    plus, mae seems like she doesn’t mind helping him get anywhere and everywhere anyway, which is why he’ll always be indebted to her, whether she knows that or not. when the day comes when he finally gets around to driving his own car, he’ll definitely make it up to her, something he’s been really looking forward to. once they get to the carnival, however, he immediately disappears into the crowd to get them some snacks as fast as he can, which he actually pays for himself, a rare treat to be sure.

    “hey, mae! look at what i got! cotton candy!” he exclaims gleefully before biting into his while surrendering the other to mae. it’s not much, but it’s all he can afford. for now, anyway.

❀

    “oh, anton; you spoil me!” mae teases but there’s no malice behind it, they emphasize so by rushing towards anton and linking arms with him. somehow his company eases the urge to brood on some faraway tree, lamenting their loneliness. once they lost him in the crowd, that familiar heaviness in their chest came back — of course he doesn’t care for your company, he only needed the ride. and just as easily as it came upon them, it leaves as anton reappears. they tear away a small wisp of the candy and let it melt in their mouth; it isn’t often that mae indulges themself in sweets, but maybe today they don’t need to be so uptight.

   “since you’re so good at finding good snacks so fast, surely you can help me find the perfect one for when amelia joins? and we can go on any ride you wish for, my treat!”

belladonna :   how does your muse respond to silence ?   do they take comfort in soundlessness ,   or seek to fill the void with noise ?

magnolia :   describe your muse’s relationship with nature   &   the natural world .

it is what you’d expect from a demeter kid: nature brings them comfort. whenever life becomes too much; they drop everything and leave as far from civilization as needed, whether that be a hike in the woods or a short bike to the lake at night. 

hollyhock :   how strong is your muse’s sense of ambition ?  what’s something they strive for in life ?  

strong enough to be almost the only thing driving them. being a demigod constantly reminded of the possibility that your last day could be tomorrow doesn’t leave much space for hope. but they want to make something good for themself, and hopefully the generations that follow; it’s the least they owe to their mother who did everything in her power to protect them when she’s only a mere mortal.

iris :   if your muse could convey one last message to someone they have lost or left behind ,   what would it be ?

amaryllis :   what is something or someone that your muse takes pride in ?   how do they express that pride ?  

they try to take pride in the little things: how well they tend to their plants, their chlorokinesis research, dancing. not much of a show-off (except for dancing, where they like to give it their all on stage) but they’ll start info-dumping if you ask about any of these things until they realize how much they’ve been talking and getting flustered. mae also might get a little jealous if someone tries to outdo them in “their thing.”

begonia :   how cautious is your muse ?   are they prone to noticing red flags ,   or paranoid to the point of untrusting most everyone ?   why or why not ?

apple blossom :   how does your muse go about expressing or not expressing their sexuality ?

they associate sexuality very heavily with vulnerability—not something they’re willing to share with anyone. once the curiosity and the novelty of exploring it wore off, mae went back to being quite reserved, though at times they wish they could be more comfortable in their skin and well...let loose.

chrysanthemum :   how does your muse express romantic love ?  how do they feel about love as a concept ?

a younger mae was in love with the fairytale version of love—soulmates, unconditional love, you name it. somewhere deep down, they still dream about these things, but they’re a little more jaded now. pre-relationship they often play the long game, always testing the waters before doing something too bold like rest a hand on person’s shoulder. very much an acts of service lover.

snapdragon :   is your muse merciful ?  why or why not ?

       WHEN PEOPLE LEARNED THAT dax was in botany club, it certainly brought more confusion than understanding, but he was a dio kid which meant he had some plant manipulation abilities up his sleeve. mostly vegetation than anything else, but still, it was something that dax secretly enjoyed and that brought him peace in his dark mind. something he’d noticed since joining the club, however, was something missing that would really make him value coming to the meetings in general. he’d gotten in contact with someone, given his various connections all over the world, and here he stood with an apple tree sapling in his hands as he looked around for a place to plant it. 

      MAE’S VOICE MADE HIS gaze lazily drift over, then his attention moved to the sapling in his hands before nodding slowly, “yeah….i guess i do.” dax murmured, clearing his throat as his brows pushed together, “where can i plant it…it’s an apple tree.” as if that was totally normal for athens, but it had a significant meaning to him, the one thing that reminded him of his dearly departed grandmother. a memory in her honor, a lasting reminder of her here with him. “i was thinking somewhere it could root nicely.”

❀

     it’s silly, but mae feels a sense of pride that daxton is comfortable seeking their help. “she can stay in her pot here, for now—” force of habit, referring to plants as if fellow people, “—but i don’t think she can stay for too long in the greenhouse. if you’d like to see the tree bear fruit, at least naturally, we’ll have to move her out. apple trees need the chilly weather.”

    turning away from him, mae gazes over the campus thoughtfully. where could they let an apple tree grow on campus? “you could move the tree once it’s ready to the dionysus gardens... but your house does throw parties often, no? if i were you, i wouldn’t appreciate having drunk kids throwing up all over my plants—no offence.” mae’s still bitter about the occasional tipsy student stumbling into the demeter garden, which isn’t too far from dionysus’, and gracing it with the rather unorthodox fertilizing method. but those are easier to control when your house isn’t the life of the party. “i wouldn’t mind having her grow in our garden, if that’s fine by you?”