through the gardens, from the flowers

( mason gooding, he/him, cis male )   —  MARMA“DUKE” EVANS  is a child of  DIONYSUS  with the power of  INTOXICATION INDUCEMENT  & MADNESS MANIPULATION.  they were born in  1996  and have been in nemean lion since  2012 .  with the change, they  ARE TRAINING IN  the  STANDARD  role which makes sense since they’re usually  MIXING DRINKS & LIVING HIS BEST LIFE .

“thanks for the heads up, the very last thing i want to do is contribute to making a man feel special,” ariel responds without any real heat behind it, which is alarming because her default setting of exclusively being rude to jae feels like a thing of the past. and it’s silly, that she’s had this realization approximately seventy times during this one conversation when any normal person would just accept it and stop… wishing to be mean. “i’ll admit nothing to you but certainly not a lie.” she has great taste, it’s why she dislikes herself so much. “and that doesn’t inspire you to change in any way?” she wouldn’t expect it to, of course. it’s not as if she ever allows herself any meaningful development as a person. “we could,” she says in agreement, no hint as to whether the idea is appealing to her. ariel feels a bit… lost is too strong of a word but indecisive is too weak. they’re exploring something new, the concept of doing something mindless that apparently doesn’t involve their bodies. “what do you do when you’re not pestering me?”

“They did not.” Just like Juniper, he let the snowball to hit him, the impact not as hard as what hit the demigod behind him. Though, honestly, if she had thrown it with all her strength, Narumi would’ve been able to take it. “I’ll look like this,” he said, gesturing to his chest covered with a few specks of snow. “Also, you can see me getting hit.” 

“Juniper—” he starts, but he knows there’s no good way to finish his sentence. There’s no good way to tell her they had their reasons, however much they backfired, nor does it seem like she can hear that regardless, if if they hadn’t blocked her powers that night, there would have been nothing she alone could do. Peter hates the feeling stuck in his throat now, the choking sensation that came along with the reminder of how much he had failed her and everyone else. It had been a hard year, hard to get up in the morning and believe in the path he was on after all of this. But none of it was Juniper’s fault or burden, so all he can do is swallow his words and nod. “Right. Thanks for the heads up,” he tells her, and continues on.

“None at all.” Even if ze did like someone, ze wouldn’t tell that to Lillian. Minzhe didn’t even know her. “I’m telling you that there isn’t anyone. I don’t mind just… kissing you,” ze said. “Honestly, I should be asking if you’re fine being stuck with me.” A complete stranger. 

cynthia’s pout forms into a full blown scowl when she realizes jae’s deflecting. nothing new, but doesn’t fail to surprise her. “it’d have to be dia, no? daphne or peter probably contributed in some way if i were to guess.” from the few times she’s seen the three of them in passing, she chalks it up to the event lead to stir the pot in some way. then there’s that annoying grin. that’s the jae she knows, having a blast at her expense. as much as she wants to wipe that damn smirk off his face, he’ll carry on as long as she’s visibly distressed. just because they’ve recently reconciled doesn’t mean she doesn’t have any cards up her sleeve. that’s why rather than wriggling in his grip, she grasps onto his other forearm, maintaining her composure and their closeness, if not inching imperceptibly closer. “whoa, you’re a little eager there. did you want this that badly, hm?”

Narumi chuckled nervously, furniture integrity? How strange for Jae to say that during this very moment. While he didn’t understand why Jae asked about his table, he knew for certain that it had nothing to do with furniture integrity. Following Jae’s movement, the back of Narumi’s legs hit the edge of the table, eyebrows raised by the action until it finally hit him. Oh, was that… was Jae asking about his table because of– he didn’t know what to say or how to react. You know, other than his usual air of silence and stiff movement. He had to do something different, something unusual that matched the unusualness of this very gift. He breathed in and then breathed out, hoping to settle his hammering heart ( though to no avail ) as he let Jae’s words sink into his brain. What do you propose I do with my gift? Gods, he wished he knew what to say. No, scratch that, Narumi did know what to say, it was getting the words out that was the problem. Being honest about what he wanted, especially to the person he had romantic feelings for. It was difficult, for a young man who has never been in this situation, Narumi didn’t feel like a twenty-four year old man but a twelve year old pre-teen dealing with a crush for the first time. He felt small, embarrassed, and very much unsure of how to go about this situation. This is ridiculous, he thought to himself, frowning at the fact that he was still radio silent. Only for some seconds! While only seconds have gone by, it still frustrated Narumi because this wasn’t like him. He always had a response, whether it was a few words or a gesture, he was always ready with a speedy response. But not here, not before Jae as he presented him with an unusual gift. 

Then do something that was equally unusual. 

And it dawned on him, what he needed to do. Reaching forward, Narumi grabbed the front of Jae’s shirt, pulling the other closer to him for a kiss. It was soft and lasted for some seconds. The same length of time it took for Narumi to come up with an answer. Pulling away, Narumi said, “Whatever your heart desires, it’s your gift.” And went right back to kissing him.