(Before you wonder, Shrek Riven won’t be a thing in my AU; the effects will be different) River unintentionally wakes Nad while he is dozing off near the Asian pantheon. After River drank a different potion, Xylo handed him Hydra juice since he believed River had drunk tomb juice. Nad disagrees, but River believes he looks ugly and fears standing out. Nad tries to provide River with guidance on how to deal with the self-loathing potion, which continues to affect him.

To unwind, Nad takes River to the onsen. River is having difficulty relaxing despite Nad’s best efforts. Nad visits the onsen twice a day because of the stress of traveling to Helheim and Niflheim. Nad has been volunteering around the camp and is aware that Mania, Momiji, Ricarro, and Minamoto are the most frequent visitors to the onsen. After leaving the onsen with River, Nad goes to the library to do some research.

When Nad awakens, he silently returns to get the ice crystal that he left at the ball. He feels that he should to be on guard when he discovers it on the counter near the bar. He begins to feel terrible as he turns back home, chokes, and eventually falls into the river near the ball. When Hilda flies in, Nad awakens in an unfamiliar location. Nad replies that there is no reason to continue training at this time when Hilda tells him that he has cut back on his training. She also informs him that he is in a place between life and death. Nad declares to Hilda that he is not interested in gaining as much power as possible.

She warns him not to be scared of his powers and past and what his mother and family would think of him if he spent all of his time living in the past. Nad gets angry when his mother is mentioned and tells her not to mention her. Hilda previously trained Nad, and as she turns to go, she informs him that she still thinks he’s a good person.

It starts with Kay announcing the royalties of the Aphrodite Ball; apparently, it’s a tie. The kings are Inpu and Bryan, and the prince and princess are Ricarro and Momiji. Kay wasn´t prepared to have a tie, so she gives them paper crowns. Nad and Xylo cheer them on. Lee, fueled by alcohol, hurries over to Mario and Kay, addressing her as “snake lady.” Mario and Kay appeared surprised by Nad and Lee’s excessive alcohol consumption. After some catching up, Lee and Nad head towards the bar for some ice cream.

“you can’t die here”

kana paused, her foot already over the ledge. it was all too much, so much. kana just wanted to go home

“i’ve tried before. to kill myself”

a. stood next to her, taking a seat on the ledge of the hill, his legs dangling off. a gust of wind could blow him away

“i..” kana bit her tongue, the words bubbling in her throat. she couldn’t tell if she wanted to yell, scream, cry, or throw up

a. looked up at her. “you look young.”

“i’m 19.” kana grumbled, barely over a whisper

“still pretty young. and healthy”

kana swallowed her heart, bit of her hair tangling in her teeth, sticking on by the tears streaming down her face

“why are you here? haven’t your parents taught you better”

“i’m here for my mom!” kana yelled out. almost out of frustration that someone could even dare to think poorly about her mother. “she’s sick, okay? i’m here for her”

“ah,” a. let out a pitiful sigh. “so you’re here for that too”

kana bit her tongue. her eyes darting over to a. but not daring to turn her head

“a lot of people come here for that,” a. continued. “the cure. that’s why i came here too”

“you came for the cure?”

“yeah. for my late wife”

a. sighed again, picking a flower off from the ground. “but once you enter, you can’t leave.” he said, picking off the petals as the wind took them away. “and well, you’ve met him before”

“he seemed nice..” 

“he always does”

a. sighed one final time, letting go of the stem of the flower once full of life. he stood up and let out his hand for kana

“don’t trust anyone here”

kana stared back at a’s. hand. “even you?”

“even me.”

kana took one look at a’s. face. his blonde hair blocking out his icey blue eyes. they seemed so cold, so unkind. nothing like her mother’s

kana shook her head, before stepping away from the ledge

It starts with Nad knocking on Lee´s door to take her to the ball. Nad finds Lee stunning in that dress and gives her a flower that she likes. Since the ball is in the sky, Lee brought flying horses with her, stored in a special amulet. Nad receives a horse named ‘Boneless Pizza’ from Lee, which flies despite lacking wings. If it weren’t for seeing Bryan’s horse before, he would think that Lee´s horse was sparkly. He likes boneless pizza cause he’s an oddball just like him. They head off to the ball. Bryan and Bri introduce everyone to the ball of Aphrodite. There’s a tunnel of love; there’s a garden where you can take pictures with your loved ones, and there’s a lot of food, drinks, and dancing to be had in the palace. At the end of the night, the ball will crown a king and queen.

i went on a walk with kelly

i went on a walk

with kelly

i can still feel my heart beating out my chest. i wonder if she heard it

do vampires have heart beats? do they feel a heart beating long after theirs stop?

i wonder. i’m not sure. i can’t think

what did we even talk about during that walk? god. why can’t i remember. it’s kelly. it must have been important, or at the very least intriguing. kelly always is

god. fuck

all i can think about is how if she wanted to, she could have had her way with me. and no one would have ever known

why didn’t she attack? i guess she trust me, maybe she likes me? 

but aren’t vampires violent by nature?

god who knows. i don’t. i don’t know. when have i ever known anything

maybe the townspeople are right. maybe i am just trying to be a pathetic copy of my ██████

god, how i loathe that

god. how i loathe ███

god.

i can still taste the garlic in my mouth

It starts with Nad using the rune to get everyone back to Earth. After some banter, they head back to camp. Nad is exhausted and frustrated after the trip to Niflheim; he’s upset that he lost his temper again. Nad also fears that his powers are returning and are stronger than before. While Nad is pacing on the field in frustration, Kay and Mario approach him. Nad is venting his frustrations to Kay and Mario about his trip in Helheim and Niflheim. Kay and Mario understand Nad’s family issues, since they have their own. The Aphrodite ball is coming up, and Nad had no idea. Seeing Nad struggling with his situation, Kay recommends the oracle of Delphine. When Nad enters the small temple, he finds the oracle is a big eyeball with bat wings, which surprises him.