King of Kings

meet the parent;

Eunbi was not used to feeling like she was in the hot seat; and despite the outward civility of the conversation, it certainly felt like that was exactly where she was. But, that was probably to be expected when you met your boyfriend’s father for the first time– although, the stereotype had always been fathers being overprotective of daughters, not sons. Assuming Horus was protective, of course. It was hard to get a read on him.

She paused a moment, considering her answer before deciding to reveal just a bit more of her hand. It was not like she really cared if he knew a few details about her life, after all. She just hoped he did not ask who her parent was– but she could avoid it if he did. “Not me. No siblings or parents, at least. Maybe some cousins or such, but unraveling a twisted family tree to figure it out seems like more trouble than its necessarily worth.” She knew that she was more or less an outlier, though. Apparently Cao-Guojiu was not as interested in hoing around as a lot of the other gods. She could respect that, and that was the most she could say about her father. “I don’t mind it, though. I grew up an only child, so…”

She nodded as he spoke about books, putting on a facade of interest even though she found the subject rather boring. It was not like she was really a book person, after all, much less a classics person. “Yeah, most classics are pretty awful, if you ask me. At least things can’t be as dull when there’s a monster hanging around,” she agreed, glancing around the office curiously as she spoke. Professors’ offices were always interesting, in her limited experience. They were often highly personalized, after all. “I imagine you do a lot of reading, huh? Kind of part of the job description?”

As Eunbi considered her answer, Horus leaned back a little in his big leather office chair and clasped his hands against his stomach, trying his best to look nonchalant as the conversation rolled slowly along, very much like a tiny rowboat knocked about on a huge lazy river. If he played his cards right, Horus would manage to be the river while Eunbi would play the little rowboat. He had no interest in scaring her; the opposite was true. He wanted her to think he was only somewhat paying attention so she would let her guard down and slip up somewhere. No one on this island had as few connections as this girl claimed to have. Hopefully she would reveal the truth herself without meaning to. Or better yet, without realizing she had even done so.

The latter didn’t seem especially likely, though.

“Well, you do have at least one parent. Otherwise you wouldn’t be here.” Horus snickered almost coldly. “But I’m well aware that gods don’t usually make the best parents.” In that sense he himself was something of an outlier. Somehow his immediate family had managed to stay rather tight-knit and loyal, relatively speaking. It also struck Horus that, if Eunbi was somehow telling the truth about herself and her family, she must be awfully lonely. In that case, it might actually be quite a good thing that she had managed to attract perhaps the single most familied individual who possibly ever lived. Certainly that was true on this island.

Horus watched the girl speak, becoming more uncomfortably aware at the perfectly neat state of his office. The place was utilitarian bordering on clinical. The walls, though painted a pretty shade of deep muted teal, were mostly bare save for the handful of certificates and diplomas that were relevant to both his administrative and academic posts at the university. There were an abundance of charcoal grey filing cabinets, some even holding flyers or the occasional potted succulent that was gifted to him by a well-meaning colleague or a doting or grateful student. A few wall shelves were home to a collection of books, mostly encyclopedia collections, history books, or very expensive antiques. The room said about as much about Horus as Horus would be able to say about himself: he had responsibilities and he fulfilled him. The lack of any obvious personal items...

Was hopefully nothing that concerned the girl across from him, who Horus suddenly worried would be sizing him up.

[ mythical son ]

(...)

“these youngins have no patience whatsoever,” he complains with a little huff, shaking his head lightly as he settles down in his own seat, closing the door and moving to put on his seatbelt. “drive carefully, would you? i quite like this body and i don’t want to have to reassemble it from scratch again.”

Horus just rolls his eyes at Osiris’ little quip, a grin settling comfortably into his lips. For all that Horus feels so compelled to act more like a child around his father, Osiris does him the courtesy of treating him like the grown immortal god that he is. It’s something of a strange dynamic, especially when Horus is so used to playing the role like his own father with so many others, but it’s one that Horus truly appreciates. He so rarely gets to let his guard down - and even more rarely feels comfortable actually doing so - that the few moments when he does are particularly precious to him.

Not that he would ever reveal something like that to Osiris. Or anyone, really.

“Fast food it is,” Horus announces as he starts the car. His mental catalog being rather limited, he pulls off toward one of the few burger places he knows from having driven past it. Part of him worries about being seen eating there by students from the university, but another part of him, the part that is enjoying his playing the child for the moment, can’t bring itself to care.

Horus snorts a little. “Youngins...” he echoes, almost wondering what Osiris thinks of the demigods around them if he thinks of Horus as a ‘youngin’. “I always drive carefully. Someone around here has to. You wouldn’t believe the drag racing epidemic we have around here.”

[ SMS: Bird Bro ] Welp sounds like a you problem [ SMS: Bird Bro ] Can you drive? Can DAD drive?? [ SMS: Bird Bro ] Anyway, yes please I would like a ride

[ txt: Yuyan ]:  Pretty sure dad can drive. You’ve heard him talk about his vessel, right? What is a car but an accessory to the old man?

[ txt: Yuyan ]: Also, don’t make fun of my car.

It tickled Horus to think about what Yuyan must have thought when he had offered a ride without knowing whether he could drive. Then again, Horus wasn’t that funny. Irony didn’t exactly come naturally to him; if he had offered a ride, then he both could drive and had access to a car. Relatively boring, as far as Yuyan was probably concerned. But then again, it wasn’t like she could fly. Better that he had a car and knew how to use it.

Although he could always fly, Horus thought smugly to himself. Yuyan may have had her irony, but she didn’t have wings.

When the reservation time rolled around, Horus descended into the little champagne-colored Honda Civic that he drove with equal parts pride and dread (it wasn’t exactly a cool car, but it was practical and it was his), and sent one last text to his sister as he idled in front of their apartment building.

[ mythical son ]

horus is grinning at him, up until the point where he starts squirming due to osiris’ fingers prodding him and then he’s trying to somehow justify being an overly skinny fucker by saying he has no time to eat. “then you should make time, my boy!” he counters instantly, brow furrowing as he gives horus his very typical dad look, though he thinks it’ll be entirely different from what it used to be now that he’s in another person’s body. still, he’s sure it’ll bring his point across, which of course is: listen to your father.

then his son seems to pick up on where this is all going, saying he’ll drag him out for a meal, and that is definitely the greatest idea this kid has ever had, so he’s instantly grinning again. “such a good idea,” he says, “i–” his mouth remains open in full out shock when horus calls him an old man and then tells him he’ll drive and he should say where they’re going.

“excuse you?!” he exclaims as he throws an arm around horus shoulders like they’re the best of friends - if they aren’t yet they really should be, anyway - and starts to walk outside, his body language entirely contradictory to his voice which is pitched a little higher and full of supposed outrage. “old man? who are you calling old? i’ve got thirty years on this thing if anything.” he looks down at himself and then back up with a mischievous little grin. “well, maybe almost forty, i can’t tell with this guy he’s too jacked.”

he laughs at his own little joke and then slips through the door sideways so he can keep holding on to his son, before pointing at the end of the hallway - though if he’s facing the right direction to get out of there, he’s not even sure. “to fast food!” he says joyfully. “i bet you can eat three servings or maybe even five and by osiris i will not leave my seat until you’ve finished every last fry!”

No matter how long it’s been, no matter what face Osiris wears, Horus at this point willfully refuses to take the other god seriously. Maybe it’s the fact that Osiris is overdramatic, takes everything too seriously or not seriously enough, or maybe it’s the simple fact that he tries so hard to act like Horus’ father when he in no way, shape, or form looks like Horus’ father, but most of what the older god says evokes little but a scoff from him. That said, Horus has every intention of doing as he says. Not much can sway a determined Osiris.

And not much can make Horus determined. So, lunch it is.

Horus lets Osiris more or less drag him bodily from his office, managing to swipe his wallet and keys before the office door clicks shut behind them. “It’s not the face that’s old, it’s the soul behind it.” Even after so many years, Horus can’t tell if the older god’s vanity is genuine or if it’s exaggerated for his own amusement. Possibly both. Horus can’t say he cares much, except that if Osiris were really and truly that vain he would be the slightest bit disappointed. But he also doubts that’s the case.

“Really? Of all the good food on this island you want to get fast food?” It doesn’t really surprise him, but Horus would have preferred something a bit healthier, or at least a bit cleaner. Here they are, two immortals with far too much mortal money for their own good, and they’re going for fast food? Horus rolls his eyes but doesn’t object any further. “Fine, but I will eat a comfortable amount of food, thank you very much. I’m not going to stuff my self for your enjoyment.”

And very much like a little child, Horus sticks his tongue out at Osiris before unlocking his Civic and descending into the driver’s seat.

meet the parent;

“Ah, yes, so I’ve noticed. I’ve never known another demigod with so much family around,” Eunbi commented, keeping her tone neutral. Jinseok’s abundance of family was certainly annoying, although it did sort of warm her heart to see he had such a wide support system. It was something she couldn’t possibly relate to. He had all these friends and family to introduce her to and who she needed to impress, and she had no one to introduce him to in return. But at least he had known she was a friendless bitch from the start.

She considered adding another comment, perhaps something along the lines of: It’s nice. I don’t have any family, myself. However, she decided against it. Any pity points she might gain from leveraging her lack of family was not worth it– she did not like pity, after all. And she did not want to make it seem like she was someone who pathetically craved a family, because that was ridiculously far from the truth. She was the one who had cut her mother, her only known relative, out of her life; and that was not the action of someone who wanted a family.

“That sounds nice. Oh, I… did attend university. Briefly. It didn’t work out.” Which was putting things mildly, but it was as close to the truth as she was ever going to get when it came to her time in university. Luckily, the book question was much easier to answer honestly. “Oh, well, I just finished Frankenstein and I’m on to Dracula. You know, to get in the Halloween spirit. I find you can never go wrong with gothic literature.”

The way she said it, it sounded very much like Eunbi either had no opinion on Jinseok’s extended family, or she had very much opinion indeed. Considering the culture of the island - especially due to the fact that they were all children of mythology as the heart of things - Horus decided it was far more likely to be the latter. That said, he couldn’t say he had much interest in her opinion of his family; he had no need to impress her, at least as long as he could get along with her to some extent. At least around Jinseok. But so far Eunbi was proving to be relatively unremarkable. It would have been disappointing if Horus didn’t know his son so well.

“I find that hard to believe, at least living here. It seems everybody has an older brother or a younger sister. A cousin. An uncle.” It felt almost too natural to wrinkle his nose in distaste at his own inside joke. “Parents, obviously. And children.” Once again Horus was keeping his voice flat, as though the remark about parents and children was just as obvious and dull as anything else he had said. He wasn’t interested in discussing the fact that parent-child relationships on the island, as well as those between parent gods of one kind with demigod children of another, were far too messy and complicated for Horus to care to think about in his off time. 

{ problem child } + Jungjin

“It’s…what?” he asks pressing on to figure out just what it is that had the god so worried. Really if he had any common sense in this moment when it came to the Egyptian’s drama he might have been able to pain the picture himself.  Either way if Horus doesn’t feel like he should answer he will just have to live with that and making figure it out another way. 

While trying to shake the thoughts of his mother out of his head his attention is back on the god when he asks about how well he’s been doing. At this point with all he’s said and all they have shared he wonders if Horus should be the first god to know of just how much hell he’s had to deal with in his life.  If he should get tested for this PTSD he might have.. It’s hard to admit but he’s really starting to think that his mental health has really taken a hit ever since he’s learned about his powers and the horrible things they can do. 

“Umm..” he starts off hesitant but even just minutes ago the both of them seemed to have let their guards down. Given each other a chance.. “I-I’ve been better honestly..” he says softly looking down at his drink suddenly looking so small where he sits. “The island is beautiful and i’ve met some people here and there but I try and stay away from people too. I’m too scared of what I could do to them.” 

Horus almost cracks a smile at JJ’s persistence. It’s almost a little endearing to see the boy so invested in Horus’ own family politics and emotional well-being. Rather than return to the sleeping dog that the god really should let lie, Horus shifts the conversation. “It’s...well, I’m not sure how much you know about your family, but it can be quite messy sometimes. Between all the uncles and aunts and cousins and grudges and alliances, it’s like medieval Europe all over again. I would know.” Though he plays it off as a joke, there’s a hint of steadiness in Horus’ tone that suggests that perhaps the Egyptian family drama really is that intense and absurd.

Something in Jungjin’s demeanor shifts - the way he looks down into his drink, mostly - and Horus wonders if he has pressed too far. But the boy continues, so if something is wrong and he wants help, the headmaster is more than ready to put on his Leader hat and help guide JJ through whatever darkness currently has its hold on him. 

Rather than answer, Horus simply nods and leaves the space open for JJ to continue. If he wants to talk about it, he will. And he does, or at least he starts to. That’s more than a lot of people can say, especially on this island, Horus thinks. When JJ finally lands on what it is that has been bothering him, Horus nods again. That is certainly trickier than a little quarrel with a friend or an emotional qualm. But it’s not impossible. Set’s influence may creep wide and deep, but that doesn’t mean that JJ can’t push back against it. And Horus is determined to help in any way he can if JJ wants it. “How much do you know about your family here? About your...abilities?”

It’s a conversation that Horus has had with each of his children in turn, and he’s prepared to have it again if the son of his greatest rival turns out to need it.

[ SMS: Bird Bro ] Not my fault you chose to be an authority figure [ SMS: Bird Bro ] Oooooh, I’ve been wanting to check out this thai place downtown. Wanna grab dinner later?

[ txt: Yuyan ]: I was born an authority figure...

[ txt: Yuyan ]: That’s kind of my whole thing...

[ mythical son ]

the blond god stands and walks around his desk, and osiris doesn’t hesitate in closing the distance between them. he takes hold of horus’ face first, eyes skimming the god’s features as if to make sure it is truly him and he is really well, and then he steps in closer, arms slipping around the boy’s shoulders, body pressing against that of the other man. physical contact is like no other connection, sealing fates together as easily as glue.

“you know what drives me,” he says, even though horus most definitely does not know, not anymore. last they saw each other he was still stern, serious, confined to a body that could not move, down in the egyptian underworld. there is nothing left of that bitter, resentful man except for a slight distaste for anything to do with confinement perhaps. “rumours. adventure. the possibility of seeing my family.” he smiles a bit wider at those words.

“you do look a bit waifish indeed, it’s a good thing i arrived so i can make sure you eat your vegetables and get enough fuel to grow.” he steps back again, letting his hands travel down horus’ arms and sides, poking a finger into his ribs and pursing his lips in displease when there’s little to no cushioning. “have they been starving you, boy?”

Though he had seen the hug coming from a mile away, much like he had felt his father coming from the moment he set foot on university grounds, Horus hadn’t anticipated the sheer comfort it brings when it finally lands. Being a headmaster, a professor, a father, a leader and a caretaker at all times certainly weighs down on a person, even if that person is a good. Being civil with his uncle has drained him outright with every meeting. With his father here and his arms around him, Horus feels like a child again for the first time in what feels like thousands of years. Maybe it has been thousands of years.

How time flies.

“Sounds like you’re getting up to no good,” Horus replies, stifling a giggle. It would be a joy to see someone like his father get up to no good. Something about the thought of it reminds Horus of an old friend of his. Then the atmosphere shifts and Osiris is poking at him in a way that makes Horus squeak and jerk. “Hey-!” The younger god rubs at his prodded and lightly tickled ribs. “I don’t have time to eat! Do you have any idea how much time and work it takes to maintain a university like this?!” That isn’t strictly true, of course. Between his children and his family, Horus has been taking far more meal breaks than he felt strictly necessary.

meet the parent;

Eunbi had sort of been hoping that Jinseok’s family were all as dense as he was (bless his sweet heart), but it seemed like she was coming up 0 for 2 in that regard. It was a shame, because things would have been so much easier if she could just smile and look pretty and fool them all into thinking she was just the most wonderful girl in the world. No such luck, as usual. Just once, she would have liked for the universe to cut her a break.

Not that she deserved it. And she knew that.

It was hard to be sure, but she took the curt answer as a sign that Osiris had not told Horus anything. Not yet, anyway. Surely he would have brought it up already if he knew what she was. That was good. She almost felt like she could relax, at least a little bit. At the very least, her heart could get out of her throat and she could breathe a little easier. “I’m sure you are. I bet Jinseok is really fond of him too, right? It seems to me they’re kind of similar, personality-wise.” Well, Osiris reminded her of Jinseok when he wasn’t scaring the daylights out of her, anyway.

She smiled and took a seat, perching on the edge of the chair and crossing her legs at the ankles– hands in lap, back straight. A princess’ posture, her mother had called it when she was a child. Some habits do not break. “Ah, well, I work at the Flower Mill. I’m a barista. And in my free time… Well, I like to go to the gym and read and watch movies, mostly.” None of it was a lie– although she had found that since she had stopped hunting that she really did not have any hobbies to speak of. Good thing she had taken a few up recently.

“It must be really interesting teaching at a university. You teach sociology, right?” Time to deflect attention back to him. She never liked to talk about herself for very long– too risky. If he was trying to get her to open up, he had a real uphill battle ahead of him.

“Jinseok is fond of all his family,” Horus muttered almost begrudgingly, thinking about the way he had decided it would be a good idea to trust his uncle Set of all people. Only for Jinseok would he have ever done something so foolish. The remark was a slip-up, but not one that Horus really minded; in fact, he was curious to see how Eunbi would respond. Was she a family person like Jinseok? Or was she more of a trust the people that earn it kind of person, more like Horus himself was? The god couldn’t say which he might have preferred. Maybe someone more like himself who could keep Jinseok from suffering at the hands of the snakes of the world.

Although Jinseok meeting a snake would likely result in a friendly tea party, knowing his son.

Horus listened attentively for details in Eunbi’s words, things he could latch on to in order to carry the conversation a bit further in her direction. The gym? So she was a good match for his son then, at least in that regard. He could almost see Jinseok dragging the poor girl every day. Or worse, the two excitedly burning an absurd amount of energy together. The idea almost made Horus shiver. He wasn’t reed-like because he enjoyed exercise, that was for sure.

Books! There was a start. “I do. I enjoy it very much. Helping students learn and grow is very rewarding. Have you attended college, or did you decide on a different path? And, if you don’t mind, I’d love to hear what you’ve been reading lately. Any recommendations?”

Horus as Lestat de Lioncourt

{ problem child } + Jungjin

“Have you not met your children before coming to the island?” he asked curiously. It wasn’t too hard to see that the god felt..someway about bumping into more than one child of his on the island. Really he feels like if he was in the other’s shoes he would feel the exact same way. Yet when he hears that the god finds it nice.. well maybe they weren’t so different after all.  “Heh, I think I understand what you are trying to say.” he says with a little smile on his face hands playing with the cup of his he reaches for. It was lukewarm now but it would have to do. 

“I actually don’t know where I might have ended up if I didn’t have my little brother. For years now I’ve felt awful for him to have to share the same mother, she really was a piece of work, but after all of that and taking care of him.. I don’t know if I would have come out the same if he wasn’t around.” It was something hard to think about really. To think of just how he would have grown up if he was totally alone without having someone to take care of, someone to worry about and have to go hungry for. Maybe he would have ended up being just like his mother would only left a horribly bitter taste in his mouth.  “Oh, no.. Woojin and I have only been on the island for ae couple of months. It hasn’t even been a year yet.” 

“My children? Quite the opposite, actually. I tried to be present in their lives as much as possible.” Which wasn’t all that much for an immortal god with as many responsibilities as Horus tends to load upon himself, but no one can deny Horus did his best with his kids. “It’s not my children that worry me, it’s-” Horus wants to say the truth, to tell JJ that the real problem in his family is the boy’s own father. But he also feels as though he has beaten that particular horse as close to death as he is comfortable doing directly to the boy’s face. After all, it’s not JJ’s fault that his father is the greatest source of torment in Horus’s life. If he takes his anger and hatred at the father out on the son, Horus would be no better than...well, the Greeks. And if there is one thing that Horus prides himself on, it’s that he’s not Greek.

As Jungjin speaks, Horus finds himself nodding ever so slightly. It’s a question the god has asked himself as well; where would he be if not for his loved ones? What would a path like Horus’s have done to a version of himself who was totally alone? As much as his family makes him antsy at the best of times, they had always been there for him - most of them. His children even more so, as well as his half-brothers and sisters. Likely the god-king who had suffered alone is not a pleasant thought to ponder. No, there are other, far better ideas to explore.

meet the parent; 

Once she entered the office, her gaze swept the room. She was used to evaluating every space she entered; noting exits and weapons and anything else important. Then her gaze settled on the god behind the desk. He was smaller than she had expected, considering the stature of Osiris and Jinseok; a little shorter and a good deal slighter than his relatives. She probably could have fought him if she needed to, which was a comforting thought– although it was so annoying that gods seemingly couldn’t be killed.

Not that she wanted to kill Jinseok’s father, of course, but she also did not trust him. She had no idea what he was like or what he was capable of yet. In an uncertain situation, she usually took solace in the mortality of men. Which was probably one of a million reasons why any reasonable person would not want her within spitting distance of their son. She was totally doomed.

Sure you would have. This isn’t a calculated move at all. But she did not voice that thought, simply putting what she hoped was a friendly smile on her face. “Of course. I don’t mind.” This meeting would largely consist of her lying through her teeth– she had known that from the moment Jinseok had mentioned wanting her to meet his family.

“Yes, of course. You know, I’ve already met your father, just the other day. He was… a delight.” Her expression wavered just a bit there, despite herself. She was trying to bait him into confirming whether Osiris had told him anything or not. “Anyway, what would you like to talk about?” She paused, fiddling with her bracelet. “Um, do you mind if I sit…?”

Something about the way Eunbi moved and spoke seemed to mirror some of Horus’s own mannerisms. That was good; she was either uncomfortable or scared, and Horus would take whatever leverage he could get right now. Morally speaking, this thought coflicted with his wishes to protect Jinseok and for Jinseok to be happy. He would not be pleased to find out that his father had scared his girlfriend. Not that she necessarily was, but it definitely contributed to the dilemma. Somewhat.

Not enough to stop the god though. Eunbi’s expression seemed to shift for a moment when she mentioned Osiris, which seemed a bit odd to Horus. Osiris was, as far as Horus was concerned, a true and real delight. Why wouldn’t Eunbi get along with someone like that? Or was the change of expression a bluff to try and get Horus to say something bad about his father? Or was Horus overthinking it? He wanted so badly to like and trust his son’s favorite woman aside from his own mother, but there was something about Eunbi that made that impossible, something Horus couldn’t pinpoint no matter how hard he tried.

“I’m glad to have him around,” Horus replied in what he hoped was as neutral a response as possible. Suddenly the conversation was feeling to him like the opening moves in a game of chess. It was a game Horus was good at, but he wasn’t sure why he was playing it in the first place. “By all means, please sit. I was hoping you would tell me a bit about yourself. What you do for work or for pleasure or just to pass the time. I, for example, teach and occasionally study sociology.” Hopefully this offering would goad her into exposing a slightly more vulnerable part of her.