𝑑𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝑓𝑒𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑒

✱ ╱ baifern pimchanok + cisfemale + she/her ━ if you happen to find yourself stuck in tartarus, make sure you don’t run into AMPHAI THONGKHAM there. the TWENTY-EIGHT year old has made quite the reputation for themselves under their alias as APHRODITE, a DANCER for THE TITANS. while their enemies often describe them as narcissistic and meddling, their syndicate would say that they’re clever and adaptable. they DO think that zane was murdered, but they’ll be keeping that to themselves for now. ( sleek black dresses and strappy heels, going on dinner dates with you men you don’t really like, a wicked smile full of trouble, staring at a reflection so long you lose a sense of reality, a ballerina taking her bow ) vi + 20 + she/her + est.

playlist can be found here, pinterest can be found here TW; mentions of nsfw topics!

     wade hardly ever was somewhere he was not needed for business. usually he’d arrive promptly ten minutes before whatever meeting time was set and was the first person to leave the table. tonight he’d been captivated by the vocals of the woman on stage. lingering behind as business wrapped up, foregoing his walk home and instead now sat with a sips left of scotch coating the bottom of his glass. ‘ hm ? ’ the first words from the other barely penetrating his focus before he directed it over to it’s owner. ‘ ah yes. i mean, i am not usually one to admire in such a manner, but her talent certainly garners that sort of attention. ’ he offered the woman a nod before downing the rest of the liquor in his glass. ‘ you ever met her before ? ’

being the wife of the mayor of tartarus was a spotlight that shone 24/7, she always had to be on, it was why she appreciated the underground clubs and lounges so much. those sorts of places prided themselves on discretion and she found that their patrons generally kept to themselves or at least didn’t bother to pester her about the city’s current political climate. in the cover of the dimly lit room, lana could savour the refined voices and enjoy a glass of wine or two. taking a sip of red wine, lana’s attention wavered toward the woman sitting at the table alongside her who had just spoken in her direction. lana nodded in agreement, careful to keep her voice low, “she’s magnificent –” lana glanced briefly in the other’s direction “–I assume you’re a long-time fan? you sound quite enamoured with her – not that I blame you.”

donny   lounges   in   his   chair,   a   cigarette   dangling   from   his   fingers,   his   features   partially   obscured   by   the   cloud   of   smoke.   he’s   not   exactly   in   the   mood   for   a   party   tonight,   nursing   a   drink   &   looking   uncharacteristically   somber.   he   stares   lazily   into   the   middle   distance   in   the   direction   of   the   singer,   taking   another   drag.   his   eyes   snap   back   into   the   focus   at   amphai’s   words,   blowing   out   the   smoke   before   he   turns   his   head   over   to   his   old   friend.   “are   you   two   …   friends   ?   “   he   asks   with   an   implication   in   the   quirk   of   his   eyebrows,   although   it’s   not   as   light   as   he   would   usually   manage.   “her   voice   is   pretty,”   he   agrees,   slightly   noncommittal.   “she   has   a   good   range.”

location  —   𝚊𝚗 𝚞𝚗𝚗𝚊𝚖𝚎𝚍 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚢

Sara has her work cut out for her. The Titans were functioning, and they have power, but the culture is an absolute mess. She knows she has to inject more love and community into the syndicate or they’re  going to get eaten alive. It’s something she’ll have to bring up with Reese, see what he thinks. But she’s here to focus on Amphai, and she’s going to hold herself to that. So she hums and nods, and folds her arms over her chest. “Well what do you want? What do you want the next step for yourself to be?” She knows it’s hard to move on unless you have a direction.

      𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐛𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐫 at the sound of her laughter and the greet he gets. ❛  hey baby.  ❜ their friendship has always been a rather tactile one and dennis doesn’t bother moving back, knowing amphai won’t care about the lack of personal space. ❛  what happened to friends and family discount?  ❜ the question is enclosed in playfulness, he’d always give whatever she wanted. ❛  i can definitely do the tacos, i’ll even throw a tres leches cake in there. never say i don’t treat you the best,  ❜ he adds, tone still carrying the same sentiment. he’s more interested in their time away from the glamour of heavenly, of course. ❛  shall we?  ❜ he asks, offering her his hand.

his smile turns upwards, the memories of their early years something he holds onto fondly. he remembers finding it funny how infuriated she seemed to get whenever he didn’t respond to her flirting, that he didn’t seemingly fall at her feet that way she was used to. he used to like that. liked listening to her flirt, loved riling her up only to turn her down. now, he just wonders what would have happened if he hadn’t of resisted all this time. zane would have had something to say about it for sure, would have made both of them suffer because the man would surely make it his business somehow. but then maybe they would be here, side stepping anything that would cross out of the realm of teasing and into the land of something real. “that’s not how i remember it.  i’m pretty sure if i walked in the club while you were on shift and asked for a dance, you wouldn’t say no.” it’s a bold gamble, and something that he’s had to resist doing in the last year or so. he chuckles at her statement, hand pausing from massaging her calf for the moment. if only she’d realized how many times he’s stopped himself from leaning over, closing the distance between them and showing her that he’s more affected by what she says as he’d let her believe. “there are a few impulses i’ve been able to resist. kissing smartass brunettes being one of them.” he quips all too casually, teasing in his tone even if he was entirely serious about that fact. “you’re the one that said it, not me.”

𝙼𝙰𝙺  𝙿𝚁𝙾𝙱𝙰𝙱𝙻𝚈  𝚆𝙰𝚂𝙽'𝚃  𝚃𝙷𝙴  𝙱𝙴𝚂𝚃  person  to  speak  on  the  phantom  thoughts  that  amphai  had.  she’d  frequently  thought  the  same,  had  ‘  accidentally  ’  knocked  drinks  out  of  their  clienteles hands when  she’d  first  started  dancing,  hadn’t  learned  the  game  of  how  to  be  charming  yet.  there  were  times  where  she  still  struggled,  often  having  to  stop  herself  from  making  expressions  that  she  knows  would  run  off  their  clients,  or  at  the  very  least,  show  them  just  how  unpleased  she  was  to  have  them  there.  she  had  never  been  a  social  creature,  always  preferring  the  shadows,  so  makayla  understood  amphai   well.  ‘  i  mean … i’m  definitely  not  going  to  say  that  some  of  them  don’t  deserve  it.  i’m  also  not  saying  that  i  wouldn’t  support  you  on  that  one  hundred  and  ten  percent,  but  there’s  security.  might  as  well  make  them  work  for  their  pay,  you  know  ?  whoever  the  hell  that  guy  is  can  go  back  to  his  sad  existence,  and  we’ll  go  get  tipped  and  make  a  ton  of  money  at  this  bachelor  party.  ’

a tenuous sense of camaraderie existed between the two women the kind that frequently popped up in their industry. they were competitive, sure, she would have stepped on most of the women in here to get the biggest pay but she would never leave them somewhere unsafe. this was the code they lived by and the one she kept close to this day. she laughed coarsely and inhaled deeply trying to regain her composure. lately she felt like it was slipping farther away, getting hard to hold on to the facade of aphrodite, like atlas being crushed under the weight of the world. “and who doesn’t love a bachelor party.” she snarked making sure all her bits and pieces were in place. 

“I know they are.” She nods. Maybe she doesn’t know those girls in specific, but she knows the brand of woman well. Those overlooked and cast aside. she was Zane’s first example in that regard. The beginning path in what would be his not-so-long-life of casting women aside. “And I’d be happy to show them how important they are to me, and to this family.” Because she’s decided that she’s not going to run the Titans like a syndicate anymore, but like a family. A family’s bond is bigger than anything else. Bigger than business, bigger than egos.

Augustus was guilty of loving the way she spoke to him sometimes, her voice a pleasant purr. It was a shame they argued so much that he had grown used to preferring her mouth occupied. “You’ve got it all planned out in your pretty head, don’t you?” He teased, his dark gaze snapping to her. “Except I don’t feel so seduced yet.” But that wasn’t entirely the truth. Her mere presence did things to him he would never admit to, like he was trained to shove her against the nearest wall and make her cuss in moans upon sight. He simply could not wait to put her in her place, but that was something better left unsaid. 

she simmered falling back for a moment, bored with pretending to be witty. it was a constant volley with augustus, one that could be tiring when all she wanted was a warm body. but he had never been there just for that. it was for amphai to prove to herself at least, how clever she was, how easily she could take someone down. fangs out and jugular bared in every instance she went straight for the throat. “you’re no fun augustus.” she sighed turning back to face the dance floor. 

her words have the desired effect on him, just as they always do when they’re like this. the pair of them pushing, pulling, wondering how far they’ll both go without either of them actually doing anything. it’s the game they play so well, only it’s beginning to feel less and less like a game every time they do this. he swallows thickly at the pressure against his thigh, his fingers dancing back up under her knee and brushing against where her thigh begins. “you should tell me some time. we’ll see if you can make me blush.” his knowing smile remains in place, a little too smug. his mind is conjuring up a great visual of her thinking about him. he laughs then, grinning at her response. “what? you’ve wanted to dance for me for years now, i’m just offering to give you what you want.” he’s mostly joking, at least in the manner that he’s talking about it. really though, he wants her to say yes, to give in and cross the line they’ve been so carefully toeing all these years. he wants her to do something, to let him know that she wants more. on the other hand, he’s begging for her to not do anything and keep their carefully crafted friendship intact. he snorts then, a look of disbelief crossing his features. “believe me, i have plenty of self control.” he doesn’t think he could commit to abstinance if he tried, though. he just doesn’t like the idea of ending up like his father, having children that he never saw with women that didn’t matter to him. it’s not the life he wants for himself. “right now the only person calling me daddy is you.”

while she’s not entirely new to tartarus, she doesn’t know as much of the history as she’d like. she’d asked her father once about what it was like working for the man before he’d followed desmond, and ezekiel hadn’t held back from his truth. he never had when it came to josefina. he’d told her about how cruel the man was, like an overgrown teenager who didn’t like it when things didn’t go his way. she’d heard about his countless affairs, about how he’d even had another son pop up out of the blue. she knew that while all of the people in this life did questionable things at least, none were quite on the level as zane. hearing amphai’s story now, she’s glad that the man is out of the picture. “i’m glad you don’t have him in your life anymore.” she answers, knowing that saying she’s sorry isn’t going to help anything. “i know it hasn’t been long yet, but it must be a lot nicer getting to go to work and not having to look over your shoulder for him.”

The whole sympathy that comes out of things is a bit weird for her. She’s not sure how to take it. Yes, it is hard. But also Zane was awful, so do people actually feel that bad that he’s dead? She c an’t even be upset if they don’t. “Well,” She runs her hands over the front of her stomach, giving a small smile. “I’m a strong woman. There’s nothing I can’t handle. And as the woman in charge now, I’ve got impressions to make.” Above the grief and the changes, she’s been most overwhelmed by the new role, and everything that comes with it. How her ex brother in laws are likely underestimating her. Then again, she always thrives in that environment. “But send my best to the girls. Maybe I’ll come by soon and pamper them a little too.”

𝙴𝙼𝙴𝚁𝙸𝚂  𝚁𝙰𝙸𝚂𝙴𝙳  𝙰𝙽  𝙴𝚈𝙴𝙱𝚁𝙾𝚆  𝙰𝚃  the  other  woman,  though  they  couldn’t  say  that  they  weren’t  surprised,  more  so  slightly  impressed  that  it  had  been  years  yet  amphai  was  still  doing  the  same  thing  she  had  when  emeris  had  been  around.  ‘  so  what  was  the  point  of  the  date  ?  ’  they  couldn’t  imagine  sitting  and  entertaining  men  just  for  the  hell  of  it,  and  especially  not  just  for  a  bland  dinner  and  some  drinks.  then  again,  emeris  had  never  exactly  been  one  to  entertain  many  people,  and  they  knew  that  there  was  an  art  to  it.   ‘  where  is  he  ?  ’  they  asked,  turning  slightly  in  their  stool  to  look  over  their  shoulder.

amphai stifled a bit uncomfortable, what was the point of the date? she certainly didn’t like this man and didn’t think he was all the handsome. she thought that it was just she enjoyed the validation of being bought whatever she wanted without having to pay for it, and that she was tired of the leftovers in her fridge, and she’d spent all her money on a sparkly pair of boots last week. finally she settled on, “i wanted calimari and i didn’t want to pay for it.” her grin was wicked at the phrase. she shrugged callously, “he’s over there somewhere i told him i wanted to catch up with a friend at the bar so i assume he’s calling his finance bros and doing business-like stuff right now.”

THE INTERROGATION 

the room is cold and the lighting does nothing for her skin, which is frankly what annoys amphai the most. at this point she nearly considers zane’s murder to be a public service so being dragged into a tiny, damp, room to be interrogated has her thoroughly peeved. she exhales through her nose and looks up preparing to answer the barrage of questions.

she’d originally been so against the idea of forming connections outside of the souls and to a certain extent, she still was. she didn’t like the idea of her motives coming into question, especially by desmond. but she couldn’t see it all as black and white, too busy fixating on all the grey areas. she continues to reason that it wasn’t like phai was a capo or the underboss of a stallions. she worked at one of their clubs, entirely uninvolved with the business side of her syndicate. she trusted her, and as long as they kept up their bounderies of no work, they’d be fine. “you’re a genius.” she grins. “the cookies will make for a perfect dessert.” she pops a piece of sushi into her mouth after drowning it in soy sauce, listening to make sure that amphai wasn’t mad. “yeah, i’ve heard a lot of people say that. was he really as bad as everyone says?”