#technically anyways

Unedited and edited, not sure which gets the effect better but HEY MONSTER TRIO SHARING MATCHING EARRINGS FOR THE FIRST PAGE OF MY NEW SKETCHBOOK!!

[Hyth and Hades Stay AU] Hyth went exploring Thavnair and was quite taken with the fashion there. So much so that he brought home a matching set for Hades.

Some pre-fall sibling fluff! I’ve gone back and forth about what to do with Stentor’s character for a while, but I think I’ve got it figured out. For this au, Stentor is still adopted, however this happened before Taygetos (by at least a year or two). In canon, he’s the eldest—he’s at least 30 when you first meet him, as that’s when Spartan men would become eligible for command positions. Here, though, he’s a few years younger than Alexios. I think it really sets the family up for a different dynamic going forward.

This version of Stentor, only being 6 or 7 when Alexios and Kassandra ‘died’, would have looked up to his brother quite a bit. Alexios was smart, sharp, and strong (helped along by the whole demigod thing) and up until the fall was the epitome of a good spartan child. At least as far as baby Stentor over here was concerned. The adults thought that similarly but also thought he was a stubborn little shit.

I’m going back and forth on whether to include the ‘boy king’ idea from my post about whether Alexios would have been in line for/already on the throne or not, which changes things as well. I’m leaning towards yes, although I haven’t decided how to resolve it past Alexios not returning to the position. I think it would he hysterical if they were desperate for him to come back because of Pleistoanax and/or Pausanias’ betrayal and he is absolutely not having it.