Olympus [Greeks- Winter Solstice 2015]

ooc: Welcome to the Winter Solstice 2015 visit!

Please refrain from playing any of the gods; only the admins will be able to do so. Every so often the topic will be locked to allow us to respond in an organized manner. (There is no limit to how many characters you can bring, but try not to swamp us with people.)

You have one extra topic slot for each character you use here.

Please only use GREEK characters here.

Nerissa was excited. No, scratch that. She was ecstatic to see her father again. This year she decided on leaving Chessieblud at home,seeing as she realized her father wasn't that much of a cat person, and spent all her time working on a gift for him. She knew the gods would often give their kids gifts for the Winter Solstice but this time she wanted to change things up. The hall was already pretty crowded so Neri decided to do what she did every year, wait on the outer wall. Sitting down on a ledge with her laptop in her lap she went to town putting the final touches on her father's solstice gift. As she worked she fiddled with her necklaces and smiled to herself once it was finally complete. This was hopefully going to be something he would love and now all she could do was wait.

Outfit; http://www.polyvore.com/untitled_231/set?id=176090621
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Emily walked into the halls of Olympus liked she owned the place, and she sort of felt like it seeing as she was in the best mood ever. The daughter of Aphrodite had never actually met her mother before so she decided to dress to impress. Fixing her necklace from her father once more she walked over to the throne that belonged to her mother and clutched her hands tightly around the gift her father had given her for her mother. It was probably something not many other mortals would do for their god lovers but her dad still loved her mother and it was heartwarming to Em to know that love was still there, at least for him.

Outfit; http://www.polyvore.com/untitled_222/set?id=174174119
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Astrid walked into Olympus feeling more out of place then ever. She was told that the Norse gods were going to be here for the day to talk with their offspring and even still she was worried her dad wasn't going to be there. Izazel and Kriete were wrapped around her forearms in anticipation, they too were excited to see Loki in the flesh. The demigod was curious as to how her father would dress so she stuck with her usual clothing that made her feel comfortable. Both daggers were still set on her hips in their sheaths so it was slightly more relaxing being in the halls of the greeks. Looking around she couldn't find her dad so she simply stood near the entrance and talked with Izazel and Kriete in Parsletongue for the time being.

Outfit; http://www.polyvore.com/untitled_128/set?id=155031918
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Andy walked into the halls of Olympus with Necro trotting by her side and ECig smoke falling from her lips into the air. It was fun to see her mom again and this time she was in an even better mood because of a party she was going to with some other demigods to the club Lena's stepdad owned. Her heels made soft sounds against the tile floor and she took another long and deep hit from the ECig before blowing smoke rings and blowing the rest of the smoke through her nose. Andy spotter her mom almost immediately and smiled as she walked over to the magnificent woman. What's up witch? Andy laughed slightly as Necro sat next to her, red patched and designs glowing brightly. He knew who stood in front of him from the last solstice and he was glad he got to see Hecate again.

Outfit; http://www.polyvore.com/untitled_235/set?id=177234711

Nestor arrived, with his backpack He made sure the gift was secure. Earlier that day, he wanted to gift his mom Athena with a science fiction book, but his father insisted that 'she would condemn it to be rubbish'. He protested, but James Layman stuffed a thick philosophy book straight into the backpack. And that's why, at this current moment, the bag was surprisingly heavy. He also brought his iPad incase he wanted to do something else.

Finding his mom Athena sitting at her throne, he slowly approached, then looked up at her. "Mother?" he asked, but then he found it weird to say 'mother', he often called 'mom'. Adjusting himself, he spoke again. "I mean mom. Mom?" he asked again, waiting to get her attention.


Jack stepped into the hall of Olympus. Everything was designed neatly here, and he looked at everything in awe. But no, he didn't have OCD, so he quickly lost his interest and focused on finding his father. His mother had picked for him the present: a laptop. She spent at least 200 dollars for it, but recently she'd just won 4000 dollars lottery and she didn't mind anyway. Jack insisted it was a bad choice, but she simply laughed and gave him the laptop.

Besides, he didn't want to waste such a great computer.

Finally spotting his father, he approached, but he didn't want to gain his attention quickly. Slowly approaching, he looked up at him, and called out. "Dad?"



Aiden went to Olympus by himself. His father was gone, and he didn't want to think about him any further as it would bring up his trauma. He spent the remaining cash that he had left and bought one of the best beauty products that he could figure of, and finally spotting Aphrodite, sitting on her throne, he cautiously walked over to her throne, he looked up. Then he began, by faking his recently practiced British voice. "Hello, Mother."

Nerissa wrote:Nerissa was excited. No, scratch that. She was ecstatic to see her father again. This year she decided on leaving Chessieblud at home,seeing as she realized her father wasn't that much of a cat person, and spent all her time working on a gift for him. She knew the gods would often give their kids gifts for the Winter Solstice but this time she wanted to change things up. The hall was already pretty crowded so Neri decided to do what she did every year, wait on the outer wall. Sitting down on a ledge with her laptop in her lap she went to town putting the final touches on her father's solstice gift. As she worked she fiddled with her necklaces and smiled to herself once it was finally complete. This was hopefully going to be something he would love and now all she could do was wait.

Outfit; http://www.polyvore.com/untitled_231/set?id=176090621
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Emily walked into the halls of Olympus liked she owned the place, and she sort of felt like it seeing as she was in the best mood ever. The daughter of Aphrodite had never actually met her mother before so she decided to dress to impress. Fixing her necklace from her father once more she walked over to the throne that belonged to her mother and clutched her hands tightly around the gift her father had given her for her mother. It was probably something not many other mortals would do for their god lovers but her dad still loved her mother and it was heartwarming to Em to know that love was still there, at least for him.

Outfit; http://www.polyvore.com/untitled_222/set?id=174174119
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Astrid walked into Olympus feeling more out of place then ever. She was told that the Norse gods were going to be here for the day to talk with their offspring and even still she was worried her dad wasn't going to be there. Izazel and Kriete were wrapped around her forearms in anticipation, they too were excited to see Loki in the flesh. The demigod was curious as to how her father would dress so she stuck with her usual clothing that made her feel comfortable. Both daggers were still set on her hips in their sheaths so it was slightly more relaxing being in the halls of the greeks. Looking around she couldn't find her dad so she simply stood near the entrance and talked with Izazel and Kriete in Parsletongue for the time being.

Outfit; http://www.polyvore.com/untitled_128/set?id=155031918
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Andy walked into the halls of Olympus with Necro trotting by her side and ECig smoke falling from her lips into the air. It was fun to see her mom again and this time she was in an even better mood because of a party she was going to with some other demigods to the club Lena's stepdad owned. Her heels made soft sounds against the tile floor and she took another long and deep hit from the ECig before blowing smoke rings and blowing the rest of the smoke through her nose. Andy spotter her mom almost immediately and smiled as she walked over to the magnificent woman. What's up witch? Andy laughed slightly as Necro sat next to her, red patched and designs glowing brightly. He knew who stood in front of him from the last solstice and he was glad he got to see Hecate again.

Outfit; http://www.polyvore.com/untitled_235/set?id=177234711

Morpheus, the great god of dreams, was perched on his mini-throne for the day sipping Dr. Pepper from a glass with a candy-cane patterned bendy straw almost twice the length of the glass -- courtesy of his friend Hestia, who was handing out candy by her little fireside camp-thing. In his black trench coat and equally-dark boots, he looked more like a shady watch-seller in an alley than someone mentally preparing himself to talk to his kids, most of whom he hadn't seen in about six months.

Looking around at the gaggles of little duckling demigods surrounding the other gods, he mentally noted to himself there were fewer this year than usual. No matter, though. He had spotted a few of his already, but since none of them were coming up yet he decided to let them come to him instead of awkwardly gesturing for them to come over.

-------------

Aphrodite, as beautiful as always, sat on her throne focused on an ornate, golden, handheld mirror in her hand; encrusted with gems, it gleamed in the bright lights of the Olympian throne room, a treasure worthy of any pirate's strongest desire. Her well-manicured hand, bright blue for this occasion (and the beautiful weather, thank Aeolus), was tightly wrapped around the handle as the goddess watched the scene playing out in the glass: a man proposing to a woman by the sea to the setting sun, then changed to a scene of two women waltzing with each other in what looked to be a living room, then....

"Oh my!" The goddess of love laughed to herself as she looked up from her mirror, down at Emily as she nervously stood by her throne. "Terribly sorry, I just get wrapped up in my work sometimes." Pausing to catch her breath and rearrange her thoughts, she gave the girl a once-over. The necklace was a bit tacky, but it worked with her outfit. "My, how beautiful you look today.... Emily, is it?"

----------------

The Greeks were so boring.

Loki, sitting back casually on a wicker chair near Hestia, one of the only gods to acknowledge him today, felt like he hadn't moved for hours -- even though he had arrived only ten minutes ago, pretty late after deciding to dress decently nice (a black trench coat, khakis, and black dress shoes, the works). The Greeks had allowed him and his fellow Norse gods with kids at their Greek demigod camp to speak to their kids here, but what was the point? They had so few kids anyway that most of his fellow gods hadn't even shown up. Loki himself had several, but compared to Thor... ha. He was nothing like that "lovable goofable" crap Marvel tried to pull.

He had to say, though, he appreciated the sudden spike in interest in him from people totally misunderstanding his Marvel incarnation by treating him like some lost puppy instead of the maniac supervillian he was.

Glancing around disinterestedly, Loki looked for at least one of his damned kids.

[ooc: it's on you to approach him now, he's not gonna come fishing]

-----------------

Hecate was wrapped in a woolen blanket Hestia had thrown over her only an hour before, sitting cross-legged on her throne as she read through another spell book Athena had tossed her way, something she had found while wandering around in Salem, Massachusetts again. With a roll of her eyes, she crossed out the entire page of text on the yellowing paper with a red pen -- absolutely disgusting for people to make up spells like this, just tossing together dead languages into some weird poetry like they'd do anything except backfire and make magical fungus or something. Even her own kids had done this before, and oftentimes she was sent down to yell at them and deal with the aftermath.

She had just turned the page to another piece of foul mortal nonsense when a smoke ring flew in front of her, past her nose before dissipating within another foot. With a frown, she looked at the source just as the girl greeted her: one of her own children, Andy, smoking one of those blasted electronic cigarettes while greeting her a bit too casually for her liking. Snapping the book shut, with a flick of her wrist it disappeared as her gaze, perhaps a bit annoyed thanks to the combination of seeing her daughter act too casual and the stupidity of mortal magic, settled on the girl and her hellhound: "Firstly, please refrain from smoking anything around here. You may make us all panic since sometimes Hephaestus likes to make us new gadgets and all for this throne room -- and when something smokes, it usually means many explosions. Poor Clio almost lost half a head of hair during one incident. And secondly... hello. I'm not sure why you're not greeting me normally, since I thought you called me another word and was about to blast you off Olympus, but hello. Its nice to see you again."

Spock wrote:

____________

NESTOR

____________

Nestor arrived, with his backpack He made sure the gift was secure. Earlier that day, he wanted to gift his mom Athena with a science fiction book, but his father insisted that 'she would condemn it to be rubbish'. He protested, but James Layman stuffed a thick philosophy book straight into the backpack. And that's why, at this current moment, the bag was surprisingly heavy. He also brought his iPad incase he wanted to do something else.

Finding his mom Athena sitting at her throne, he slowly approached, then looked up at her. "Mother?" he asked, but then he found it weird to say 'mother', he often called 'mom'. Adjusting himself, he spoke again. "I mean mom. Mom?" he asked again, waiting to get her attention.

____________

JACK

____________

Jack stepped into the hall of Olympus. Everything was designed neatly here, and he looked at everything in awe. But no, he didn't have OCD, so he quockly lost his interest and focused on finding his father. His mother had picked for him the present: a laptop. She spent at least 200 dollars for it, but recently she'd just won 4000 dollars lottery and she didn't mind anyway. Jack insisted it was a bad choice, but she simply laughed and gave him the laptop.

Besides, he didn't want to waste such a great computer.

Finally spotting his father, he approached, but he didn't want to gain his attention quickly. Slowly approaching, he looked up at him, and called out. "Dad?"

____________

AIDEN

____________

Aiden went to Olympus by himself. His father was gone, and he didn't want to think about him any further as it would bring up his trauma. He spent the remaining cash that he had left and bought one of the best beauty products that he could figure of, and finally spotting Aphrodite, sitting on her throne, he cautiously walked over to her throne, he looked up. Then he began, by faking his recently practiced British voice. "Hello, Mother."

Athena, who had spent another sleepless 89 hours reading through old math texts dating back centuries just to prove one of the Muses wrong, hadn't really wanted to come to Olympus this time after that tiring stint -- but she had a duty to her children to at least listen to them for these 12 hours twice a year, so she had dragged herself out of bed after a 4 hour nap and to the throne room. At the very least, she thought as she flipped another page of Edith Hamilton's Greek mythology text -- what a rag of lies that was -- she would have some entertainment to keep her busy. Plenty of kids to talk to, plenty of stories to hear and judge.

After a few moments, she heard a voice calling her; looking up from her book, she found herself peering down at one of her sons... Nessie? No. Nestor. She vaguely remembered peering in on him once. Shutting her book with a snap, making a mental note of the page number she had left off on, she smiled slightly. "Aah, yes, hello Nestor. How are you?"

-------------

Deimos stood by his throne with his brother, Phobos, as the silent duo, hawk-eyed and stony-faced, observed their surroundings: gaggles of kids everywhere, gods trying to awkwardly engage them in conversation, Dionysus raiding the snack table for Diet Coke. Dressed in a leather jacket zipped up against the cold morning breeze from Boreas, combat boots, and leather pants, he seemed to take more after Ares than usual. He had just gotten back from a stint in Russia with his father and brother doing who-knows-what -- the three liked to go to bars and either get into fights they rarely lost or pick up women, even though Hera and Hestia and the other more dainty gods frowned upon that sort of "wild, foolish, dangerous behavior" even though that was literally what most of the gods had done back in the good old days.

Scratching his chin, the man looked over when a voice called out -- to him? He looked, and standing there was one of his few sons, Jack C-something looking a bit awkward standing more than five feet from him. "Eh?" Phobos, with a snicker, moved away to give the two privacy. "What? No hello? Ah, well, whatever. Welcome to Olympus, sparkly land of hell."

-------------

Aphrodite, who had just ended one conversation with another of her children, really hadn't expected -- for some reason -- to end up being bombarded with another child of hers so soon. But that was the curse of a god -- having so many kids they could barely keep track of them. If only she had, say, Athena's memory or one of the Muses' stupid but useful mnemonic devices to memorize her kids' names whenever she tried to look in on them once every... century. Ehem.

For now, though, she just raised her eyebrows as another boy walked up to talk to her. What was his name... Adel? Aaron? Adrian... Aiden. That sounded right. If what she could recall of him was correct, he definitely wasn't British -- and he certainly didn't sound like it now. "Are you sure you want to fake that accent, dear? Transparency is a nice thing, and I have checked on you often enough not to immediately think you were from Britain. But anyway -- how are you, Aiden?"

"I am fine. No, that's too cliche." snapping his fingers, he thought of a more advanced word for an answer. "I'm…excellent, mom. Everything's quite normal, actually. Anyways, mom: dad and I have a gift for you. I insisted a science fiction novel, but dad called it gibberish so I brought a book about philosophy." As he said so, he pulled out a thick book from his bag

-------------

"Yeah…" he began awkwardly. "Umm…dad, mom says hi. And she sent a gift as well. Not sure if you're even interested in mortal technology or not, but she insisted." Jack dug in his backpack and pulled out a brand new laptop. He knew it seemed dumb, giving a god something he could generate out of nowhere.

-----------

"Sorry mom." his voice, from thick Eastern British reverted back to a classic Northern American accent. "I'm fine, really." Aiden replied. Turns out Aphrodite was much much kinder than that he was told of. And his feelings toward her went from dislike down to neutral. "I'm just lonely after dad died. I never knew what happened to him. Do you, mom? I'm just curious, that's all. Anyways, I bought a bunch of beauty products which I guess could be the minimum to your beauty standards, I'd say." As he said so he dropped the backpack to the ground and moved it under her feet. "I bought a lot, must have weighed at least 3 kilos. I can't stack them all out here, it would've taken too long."

Neri saw her dad with a fun looking bendy straw and walked over with her laptop in hand. Hi dad. She smiled. There was always something about seeing her dad that made her happy and relaxed. He was always so relaxed when she came to visit and he seemed happy in the past, seeing as she was about the only child of his that did. How has Olympus been since last I saw you? She asked curiously sitting next to his mini throne, going back to finishing her gift to her dad.


With the notion of her mother Emily smiled a little as she nodded.Yeah, I'm Emily. And thanks for the compliment. I just kinda picked something that would please my siblings who wouldn't let me alone once they knew I was coming to see you. She said as one of her hands ran though her long blonde hair while her other hand held onto the gift from her father for her mother. It was interesting to see her mother for the first time in her life but at the same time, it was pretty cool.Oh, dad gave me something for you. If you want it that is. She said in a slightly nervous tone in her voice.


Astrid looked around the hall again and saw her dad almost immediately. Pushing off the wall and walking closer Izazel hissed slightly and Kriete tightened around her forearm.Hi dad. She said casually as the two snakes lifted their heads up to see the god in person. They wouldn't leave me alone. She said motioning at the two reptiles.


Andy gave her mom a slightly confused look.I always make remarks like that. Sorry if i offended you i guess. She said putting her ECig away and watching as Necro stop up and began looking around the room sort of nervously.Something feels different. He said to her mentally. Something did feel off about today though, Andy couldn't put her finger on it either. Is something different about the solstice this year mom? Andy wondered, nervously putting her head on Necro's head, not wanting him to panic and freak out.

Sawyer was trying not to gape. She had been to Mount Olympus only once before and she had remembered it as grandiose.... But being here again now, she realized there wasn't any word really to describe it. The colonnades of marble and gold were stunning. Mosaics rippled like movie sequences. The domes and porticoes made her want to weep.
She felt even more out of place in her snowboard parka and jeans -- those were her best jeans actually, even if they were a little stained with grease and motor oil. Her hair was washed and combed though, for once, and brushed into a dark shiny ponytail. Too bad her face kind of broke all of that.

Finding Hephaestus wasn't a problem. He was sitting in a streamlined throne, tinkering with gears and wires. Avoiding to look in the general direction of Aphrodite, his wife, she went to kneel at his feet. "Father."

Spock wrote:"I am fine. No, that's too cliche." snapping his fingers, he thought of a more advanced word for an answer. "I'm…excellent, mom. Everything's quite normal, actually. Anyways, mom: dad and I have a gift for you. I insisted a science fiction novel, but dad called it gibberish so I brought a book about philosophy." As he said so, he pulled out a thick book from his bag

-------------

"Yeah…" he began awkwardly. "Umm…dad, mom says hi. And she sent a gift as well. Not sure if you're even interested in mortal technology or not, but she insisted." Jack dug in his backpack and pulled out a brand new laptop. He knew it seemed dumb, giving a god something he could generate out of nowhere.

-----------

"Sorry mom." his voice, from thick Eastern British reverted back to a classic Northern American accent. "I'm fine, really." Aiden replied. Turns out Aphrodite was much much kinder than that he was told of. And his feelings toward her went from dislike down to neutral. "I'm just lonely after dad died. I never knew what happened to him. Do you, mom? I'm just curious, that's all. Anyways, I bought a bunch of beauty products which I guess could be the minimum to your beauty standards, I'd say." As he said so he dropped the backpack to the ground and moved it under her feet. "I bought a lot, must have weighed at least 3 kilos. I can't stack them all out here, it would've taken too long."

Cliche?... Normally Athena would have been just dandy with an "I'm fine," so she wasn't sure if he was trying to impress her or just not sound generic. She wouldn't even have minded such a vague answer, since she wasn't always very in tune with her children's troubles.

"Science fiction, philosophy, frankly I'm fine with any type of book that at least has a coherent line of thought... and good characterization. Ask your father to be a little more open-minded about his choice in literature, if you will." Gingerly taking the book, she squinted at the title and confirmed to herself that it was either something she hadn't read before, or something she had read a while ago and subsequently forgot about after a time. At the very least, she wouldn't be bored to death like she usually was, rereading old texts to brush up on old knowledge she had long ago forgotten bits of. "Thank you; I'll be adding this to my reading list. What was the title of the book you wanted to bring me before?"

--------------
[ooc: not sure you specified but i'm assuming the laptop is in a box.original packaging and all]

Deimos raised an eyebrow as Jack pulled out a new laptop to hand to him, wondering briefly if he had ever bothered to touch one in the first place within the past... ten years? He wasn't a techie like Hephaestus and his gang, and he didn't need a phone or tablet to keep track of anything like Thanatos and Athena did. He liked gaming, though, jump-scares and horror were easily (and perhaps obviously) his favorite types; he, Phrike, and Eris had loads of fun tricking the other gods into playing the former whenever the mortal world was boring them, which had ended up causing quite a few... incidents. Many of those involved them almost losing half a head of hair or getting fireballs thrown in their direction as they ran. "Huh. Whaddya know."

He took it from his son, drumming on the box with his fingers as he held it in his hands: fairly lightweight, the picture of it printed on the cardboard front made it seem okay-looking. He didn't even try to understand the space capacity crap printed on the side. "Uh, yeah. Thanks to her -- and you, I guess, not that many of my kids or their moms like to give me anything. You sure you don't need it instead?"

-----------------

Did she know what had happened to Aiden's father? Hm. What a loaded question.

Before Aphrodite could even respond to him, however, Aiden had contineud on to tell her about the cosmetics he had bought her -- the boy even acknowledged that he had bought a lot even though they probably met the bare minimum of her beauty standards... and as if she actually needed to apply makeup on her own. Seriously. Even she had difficulty winging her eyeliner by hand. Magic was a beautiful thing.

"Oh, darling, thank you so much; I appreciate the gifts, but are you sure you should have bought so much? I'm only half-aware of your situation, truthfully, but I do know that this must have been quite expensive." She leaned down to look at the backpack he had moved to her; it did look like quite a lot, plenty for the average mortal to go through within several months. After a brief pause. in which she felt something akin to guilt or regret, Aphrodite looked back up at her son: "Do you truthfully want to know what happened to your father, or were you just trying to make conversation? I don't look in as often on my mortal lovers as I do my own children, so my knowledge may not be entirely reliable on the matter."

Nerissa wrote:Neri saw her dad with a fun looking bendy straw and walked over with her laptop in hand. Hi dad. She smiled. There was always something about seeing her dad that made her happy and relaxed. He was always so relaxed when she came to visit and he seemed happy in the past, seeing as she was about the only child of his that did. How has Olympus been since last I saw you? She asked curiously sitting next to his mini throne, going back to finishing her gift to her dad.


With the notion of her mother Emily smiled a little as she nodded.Yeah, I'm Emily. And thanks for the compliment. I just kinda picked something that would please my siblings who wouldn't let me alone once they knew I was coming to see you. She said as one of her hands ran though her long blonde hair while her other hand held onto the gift from her father for her mother. It was interesting to see her mother for the first time in her life but at the same time, it was pretty cool.Oh, dad gave me something for you. If you want it that is. She said in a slightly nervous tone in her voice.


Astrid looked around the hall again and saw her dad almost immediately. Pushing off the wall and walking closer Izazel hissed slightly and Kriete tightened around her forearm.Hi dad. She said casually as the two snakes lifted their heads up to see the god in person. They wouldn't leave me alone. She said motioning at the two reptiles.


Andy gave her mom a slightly confused look.I always make remarks like that. Sorry if i offended you i guess. She said putting her ECig away and watching as Necro stop up and began looking around the room sort of nervously.Something feels different. He said to her mentally. Something did feel off about today though, Andy couldn't put her finger on it either. Is something different about the solstice this year mom? Andy wondered, nervously putting her head on Necro's head, not wanting him to panic and freak out.

"Same old, same old." Morpheus missed the straw again, the plastic poking him on the cheek as he laughed to himself and took another shot -- success. Straw still in his mouth, he continued on: "Olympus is like one of your mortal high school movies: there're cliques, people starting drama all the time. I'm not sure how Zeus and Hera haven't given up on us all yet, but hey. We always keep Eirene busy."

Sipping from his soda, he peered over curiously at his daughter's laptop: he wasn't very good with technology himself, so even if he wanted to understand he wouldn't have been able to. All he could see was some garbled nonsense from the glare of the throne room's lighting, so there was nothing for him to see, either. "What are you doing there? Am I not interesting enough that you're playing games there?"

---------------

"Oh, really?" Aphrodite often got gifts from admirers, so she shouldn't have been so surprised to get one from one of her former lovers -- but at Olympus? Really. Sometimes her children gave her gifts they made or bought for her, perfumes and cards and chocolates even, yet rarely did any of them bring her anything from their fathers to pass on to her. She half-expected this to be some sort of gag gift, a whoopie cushion or something inappropriate akin to Hermes and Eris' April Fools' pranks. "Ah well, why would I be so ungracious? Of course I'd love to see it. Tell him I said thank you; often my children's fathers aren't very... happy with me after I've left them."

---------------

Loki snickered, waving his hand flippantly. "Oh, no, perfectly fine. I'm not making the rules here, so it'll be a Greek who's gonna blast you to smithereens for having baby snakes around."

Pausing, he squinted at her for a second; she definitely hadn't come up to him during any of the solstices where the Norse were present. Her name was... Ester. Aster. Asteria? No.... Astrid. Yes. Astrid. He had so few kids that that shouldn't haven't been a problem for him to recall, but then again Loki had better things to do than constantly fret over his children like Freya did. "Nice to see you, though. How've you been? How's your, ah..." He snapped his fingers, trying to recall the word. "...camp? I've no idea what the Greeks do to you kids, the whole putting-in-Norse-and-Egyptian-kids thing was something Odin, Zeus, and Ra arranged. I like to keep my nose out of official stuff like that."

----------------

"I don't tune in to any of my children very often, so I wouldn't be very familiar with how you speak. I'm your mother, however, not one of your camp friends; there's a fine line between casual family visit and a casual hangout with your friends." Was she making Andy worry? The girl looked a bit more concerned than most would be while at Olympus, so either something was truly off about her behavior today or she just had something on her mind in general. Hecate ran a hand through her hair, exhaling deeply to calm herself as the blanket slipped off her shoulder. It took a lot to frazzle the goddess of magic, but blatantly bad magic basically topped her list of "Fast Ways to Annoy Hecate."

Looking back at Andy and her hellhound, she simply shrugged it off. "About the solstice? Heavens no, everything is fine here. I've just been a tad busy with this... stupid.... Ugh. People don't know how to set up proper magical rituals." With a wave of her hand, Hecate had made the book reappear in her hands; she opened it to one of her marked pages, with a large red X over the entire text, and leaned forward to show her daughter. "Look at this trash. There's no form, no proper incantation. I apologize for making you worry; I get very angry when these things happen."

Morgan Landry wrote:Sawyer was trying not to gape. She had been to Mount Olympus only once before and she had remembered it as grandiose.... But being here again now, she realized there wasn't any word really to describe it. The colonnades of marble and gold were stunning. The mosaics were perfect. The domes and porticoes made her want to weep.
She felt even more out of place in her snowboard parka and jeans -- those were her best jeans actually, even if they were a little stained with grease and motor oil. Her hair was washed and combed though, for once, and brushed into a dark shiny ponytail. Too bad her face kind of broke all of that.

Finding Hephaestus wasn't a problem. He was sitting in a streamlined throne, tinkering with gears and wires. Avoiding to look in the general direction of Aphrodite, his wife, she went to kneel at his feet. "Father."

The blacksmith god grunted, putting down a bit of copper wire to look down at his daughter as she knelt by his feet as he sat on his throne. Bah. Why did they always need to do that? He liked being honored and all -- not as much compared to Aphrodite or Narcissus, of course -- but weren't these visits supposed to "encourage family ties," quote courtesy of Hera and Demeter? Kids kneeling all over the place, he might accidentally run them over with his wheelchair.

"Thanks, kiddo, but you can get up. Family visits are complicated enough, bowing makes it more awkward." He shifted in his seat, readjusting his position so he could get a better look at her. It was clear the girl had tried to look presentable for once -- he remembered her face, from the several times he had peered in on her over the past several years, and had seen how unruly she could look -- and he rather appreciated that, even though he didn't care an iota for how she looked as long as she didn't come to Olympus in a potato sack. "But yeah. Nice to see you, Sawyer, it's been -- a while, I guess,  you probably haven't come around very recently. You doing okay? Eating well? No major mishaps in the forge from you or your siblings?"

Sawyer stood up, a warm smile stretching her chapped lips. "Everything is fine, Dad. Camp's good, school's good -- got an internship at Apple over summer. To be honest, it's not really what I want but it'll have to do for now." Sawyer had a desire to be an engineer for secret agents -- a bit like Q in James Bond. Coming up with life-saving, high-tech gadgets was pretty much what she had done the last few years anyway. "Mom's doing good too. She's still working with her brother, they're making money." Not enough to move out of their flat though but she didn't need to say that. "What about you? How're things on the godly side?"

"I guess you've read it, but it was 'Journey to the Center of the Earth'. Jules Verne. An oldie, so I figured there was a 94,6% chance you read it." he shrugged. Then, moving to another subject, he looked at her again. "So Mom, how was work here on Olympus?"

----------

"I do want it, but Mom already gave me one. And I apologize if it does not fit with your standards." he thought about how silly it was giving the laptop to a god that didn't major in technology like Hephaestus. But the point was the love sent in it by Jack's mom. "So dad, being the god of terror, what exactly do you do?"

----------

"It's nothing, mom. Only took at least 3000 dollars, from all of my savings during the days on the streets." he shrugged like it was nothing. "It's just…I've been lonely after I heard rumors about Dad's death." It was a touchy subject but he didn't want to cry in front of his mom. "Mom…" he began, his voice shaky. He decided to revert to another subject. "What do you do on Olympus?"

Oh gods no! Nerissa laughed softly as she turned her laptop towards him.It's your christmas gift. She smiled, showing her father that what she was so engrossed in was a set of various rhythms and beats for a song she had written herself. Some of the other demigods who knew how to play interments helped me record some things and I'm just working on making it just right. She said with a smile and she looked up at her dad with puppy dog eyes.


I'll let him know exactly what you say after you see what it is he got you. Emily smiled as she went to hand her mother the box but lifted the lid anyway and showed her mother the diamond and onyx necklace her father had given her to give to Aphrodite. It was gorgeous and fully encrusted with diamonds.Dad had it specially made. Something about being your twentieth anniversary this year. She said smiling at her mother. http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/woman-enjoying-flower-field-beautiful-nice-female-lying-down-meadow-flowers-pretty-girl-relaxing-outdoor-having-fun-30674349.jpg


Astrid smiled at the god of mischief. I've been pretty good actually. Camp is pretty boring but I've started a little sparring group with some of the other strong and misfit demigods. Not many other Norse kids out there though. She smiled as Izazel slithered his way down her arm, leg and onto the floor, moving to look up at Loki before turning to Astrid and speaking in parsletongue about how he had never thought the father of the world serpent would look so much like a normal person. Astrid laughed and looked at her father with a slight shoulder shrug.


Necro says something about other gods being here and how it's not comforting. Andy said before looking at the book her mom had in her hand. Mortals are stupid beyond compare. They want something they can't have and then when they realize the truth they fake it. She said annoyed while still petting Necro, feeling him tense under her hand.

Alex was happy to see his beautiful mother once again after six months of not having contact with her. He wore a custom made Cabin 4 green sweat shirt with a pair of boot cut blue jeans and a pair of tan timberlands. He searched over the throne room before finally seeing her. "Mom!" He shouted, moving passed the other children of the gods before wrapping his arms around her. "It's good to see you again. How have you been this year?" He knew at this time of year was rough for her with Persephone being down in the underworld.

[ooc: I'll add more later]

Morgan Landry wrote:Sawyer stood up, a warm smile stretching her chapped lips. "Everything is fine, Dad. Camp's good, school's good -- got an internship at Apple over summer. To be honest, it's not really what I want but it'll have to do for now." Sawyer had a desire to be an engineer for secret agents -- a bit like Q in James Bond. Coming up with life-saving, high-tech gadgets was pretty much what she had done the last few years anyway. "Mom's doing good too. She's still working with her brother, they're making money." Not enough to move out of their flat though but she didn't need to say that. "What about you? How're things on the godly side?"

Apple? Well, at the very least Hephaestus knew that was quite an accomplishment -- but he still thought the company and its products were overrated and overpriced, no matter how decent-looking the designs were. He didn't really look in to mortal technology, considering that a lot of it originated from him or his own children (or Athena's).

"Good t'hear," he grumbled, drumming his fingers on the arm of his metal throne. Much too common were stories of woe and loss from his children -- or many demigods in general, anyway -- so it was nice to hear a decent story for a change. (He also rarely checked in on his mortal lovers, which was... probably a jerk move on his part. Should he at least care about his children's mothers and guardians and all? Perhaps. But his children were usually in more danger than the mortals who raise them, so his inaction was probably a bit rational.) "We're all fine up here. Made some hoverboards that actually hover more than fifty feet off the ground, teleportation machine or two and a virtual reality device with Athena, swords that detect enemies' weak spots on their own with Hecate, had some fun tinkering with the idea of a time travel machine -- in the past, I don't know, week? Not as much as my usual quota and probably not to my normal high standards, but they still suffice."

Spock wrote:"I guess you've read it, but it was 'Journey to the Center of the Earth'. Jules Verne. An oldie, so I figured there was a 94,6% chance you read it." he shrugged. Then, moving to another subject, he looked at her again. "So Mom, how was work here on Olympus?"

----------

"I do want it, but Mom already gave me one. And I apologize if it does not fit with your standards." he thought about how silly it was giving the laptop to a god that didn't major in technology like Hephaestus. But the point was the love sent in it by Jack's mom. "So dad, being the god of terror, what exactly do you do?"

----------

"It's nothing, mom. Only took at least 3000 dollars, from all of my savings during the days on the streets." he shrugged like it was nothing. "It's just…I've been lonely after I heard rumors about Dad's death." It was a touchy subject but he didn't want to cry in front of his mom. "Mom…" he began, his voice shaky. He decided to revert to another subject. "What do you do on Olympus?"

"Aah, yes, that one. Not my favorite Verne book, but still enjoyable." Despite the fact that the science didn't really add up, but Athena was probably biased since she knew more of geology and physics than Verne did in his day. Oh, the perks of being a goddess. She took a glance at her watch, noting that the seconds hand was a bit off by a quarter of a second -- which rather annoyed her, since Hephaestus had just fixed it last week. "Work here? It's fine as always. I've been working on Hephaestus on some projects of his, been editing and annotating old nonfiction books about history and science and what-not. You've no idea how even the best theories have their glaring flaws... but that's to be expected of mortals."

-------------

Deimos didn't really have standards when it came to technology, as long as it didn't blow up on him in the first ten minutes. The god of terror tucked it under his arm, making a mental note to ask Athena or Hephaestus to help him deal with it later. "Go around and harass people? Terror and all, good for large crowds -- horror movies, pandemics, sea monster sightings, all of that good stuff. I'm usually around when it happens, or I set it all up before and watch everything go to s*** from somewhere else. Phobos and I have loads of fun going around the world and messing with the mortals, it's like they're afraid of their own shadows sometimes."

-------------

.... Really? That much? Aphrodite wasn't sure if she should ask him to take it back or to keep it, since it did seem like he wanted her to keep the stuff. Poor boy. Should she actually tell him what she thought happened to his fa-- no, no, that wasn't her realm of power. At least, it wasn't directly hers, and he already seemed miserable enough at the thought. "Aah? Well, usually I'm here with Eros matchmaking -- celebrities to the most mundane people, he and I have usually had a hand in it all. I like to check in on my favorite couples, sometimes tear them apart -- as is natural, since we don't often put together the most compatible people. The honeymoon period is such a strange thing."

Nerissa wrote:Oh gods no! Nerissa laughed softly as she turned her laptop towards him.It's your christmas gift. She smiled, showing her father that what she was so engrossed in was a set of various rhythms and beats for a song she had written herself. Some of the other demigods who knew how to play interments helped me record some things and I'm just working on making it just right. She said with a smile and she looked up at her dad with puppy dog eyes.


I'll let him know exactly what you say after you see what it is he got you. Emily smiled as she went to hand her mother the box but lifted the lid anyway and showed her mother the diamond and onyx necklace her father had given her to give to Aphrodite. It was gorgeous and fully encrusted with diamonds.Dad had it specially made. Something about being your twentieth anniversary this year. She said smiling at her mother. http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/woman-enjoying-flower-field-beautiful-nice-female-lying-down-meadow-flowers-pretty-girl-relaxing-outdoor-having-fun-30674349.jpg


Astrid smiled at the god of mischief. I've been pretty good actually. Camp is pretty boring but I've started a little sparring group with some of the other strong and misfit demigods. Not many other Norse kids out there though. She smiled as Izazel slithered his way down her arm, leg and onto the floor, moving to look up at Loki before turning to Astrid and speaking in parsletongue about how he had never thought the father of the world serpent would look so much like a normal person. Astrid laughed and looked at her father with a slight shoulder shrug.


Necro says something about other gods being here and how it's not comforting. Andy said before looking at the book her mom had in her hand. Mortals are stupid beyond compare. They want something they can't have and then when they realize the truth they fake it. She said annoyed while still petting Necro, feeling him tense under her hand.

Aah? Morpheus was no good at music, so everything he could glean from Nerissa's laptop screen didn't make any sense to him at all. He nodded approvingly anyway, though, and leaned back on his throne as he took another sip of his soda. Very rare that any of his kids would try to make anything for him -- not that he had many in the first place, but still. It was the thought that counts... or something. "Thanks for the effort, kiddo, I'm sure that's taken a lot of time. You don't play any instruments yourself? Or were the other kids just there to help?"

----------------

Twentieth anniversary? Oh, dear. Aphrodite couldn't even remember that. But she did look wonderingly at the necklace Emily showed her, very expensive-looking even though she wasn't much of an expert on jewelry (she had tons thanks to centuries of admirers , but she left appraising all of that to Hephaestus). "Oh dear, it's gorgeous! But you really shouldn't have -- it's just been so long since I've last seen him, I don't feel comfortable taking it."

-----------------

Loki could hear what the snake was saying -- and he wasn't sure exactly what the thing had expected. Was he supposed to be... half-serpent? Like a mermaid but with a snake tail instead? What an interesting thought. Halloween next year would be very interesting for him. "Yeah, well, I'm guessing us Norse aren't quite as romantic or charismatic as these Greeks here -- not that we want a lot of kids, that wouldn't end well judging by the whole of Greek mythology and the recent wars."

------------------

"Did you bring him here last solstice? There were plenty of other gods then too, so I'm not quite sure what he's worried about." Hecate shut the book and, with a flick of her wrist, it had disappeared and would -- hopefully -- be back on her desk at home with hundreds of other scrolls, tomes, and whatever people wrote magic spells on/in. "I could say the same about many of my own children, unfortunately. They overreach their abilities and when they can't succeed at their goal, they make something up and sell it -- or even try it out themselves. I've lost quite a few that way, even if I've warned them prior that it wouldn't work."

Zoopathic wrote:Alex was happy to see his beautiful mother once again after six months of not having contact with her. He wore a custom made Cabin 4 green sweat shirt with a pair of boot cut blue jeans and a pair of tan timberlands. He searched over the throne room before finally seeing her. "Mom!" He shouted, moving passed the other children of the gods before wrapping his arms around her. "It's good to see you again. How have you been this year?" He knew at this time of year was rough for her with Persephone being down in the underworld.

[ooc: I'll add more later]

[ooc: Since I need to reply to everyone else now I'm just gonna post something for Alex -- if you add more later I'll repost my reply with additions.]

Demeter smiled benignly at her son as he enveloped her in a hug -- normally she'd be a tad more averse to sudden hugs, but this was an Olympus visit, after all, and especially in the wintertime appreciated seeing her children. She returned the hug for a brief second before pulling away to look at him at arm's length -- was he growing? She couldn't remember how tall he'd been last time she had seen him. "Ah, Alexander -- it's nice to see you again! Everything's been going fine so far; the harvest went well, the weather's been unnaturally decent this winter so I can still enjoy my time outside on the eastern side of America. Tell me, how have you been? I feel like you were shorter the last time I saw you."

"True, most mortals are oblivious after science overpowered the old cultures. And information became misinformed as well" he remarked, with interests, "But science is great, actually." Nestor shrugged. "And it must be hard work, am I right, Mom? I mean like, you would have to look through hundreds of works, right?"

----------

"Terrorizing others? Wow. Seems like the perfect job." he remarked, then looked again at his dad. "Harassing others? Well, I'm not like you so much, so I must have inherited my traits from mom." he laughed quietly.

----------

"I don't like people that are too perfect being with one another. It causes unbalance in the universe." he nodded in agreement. "Mom, do you mind a hug? The thing dad did to me is starting to hurt me again."

Neris smiled at her dad and shrugged.I do play guitar and sing so that part I did do. She smiled as she finished burning the song to a CD for her dad. Pulling it out of a drive she put the new song in a case and handed it to her dad.Promise not to listen to it till you get home? She asked hopefully.


Emily laughed. Nope. You gotta take it. For dad. She said handing her mom the necklace. Dad used to say that when I was young I would always remind him of you. She laughed at the silly remark. Her father was always fond of her mom and actually never remarried, even though he had dated a few other women after she was ten.


As long I don't have to deal with more than a few siblings I'm good with hoe the Norse view having kids. How many does Thor have tho? Like a decent few dozen? She laughed to herself as Oracle slithered through the halls of Olympus to rest by Astrid's side. Thank's for Oracle too dad. She's super chill. She smiled at her father. Oracle looked up at the god and hissed a thank you as well before curling into a strike position like a cobra and watching the other demigods around the hall.


It's probably the Norse gods that's upsetting him. I knew Astrid was coming to see her dad but I guess Necro doesn't care for those gods all that much. And you don't have to worry about be making up spells of my own, i'll stick to the book. She said gesturing to a book under her arm. Speaking of, are there any tricks you can give me to help with casting? Not shortcuts by any means but tips for translating accurately. Sometimes it's hard with dead languages. Andy explained as held the book in her hand

Sawyer's eyes widened. Hoverboards, magic swords, teleportation, that sounded sweet. Sawyer knew a girl at camp, Victoria, who actually made a hoverboard that could fly, but she figured what Hephaestus did was ten times better.

"Wow, Dad," she said. "That sounds really freaking impressive. What does the virtual reality device do?"


After a cup of creamy, honeyed hot chocolate and pulling Christmas crackers with Erato and Terpsichore, I looked over to Hecate. After all, she was the reason I was here. Currently, she was talking with my sister Andy, so I went back to talking with the very gorgeous Aglaea, casting minor spells to turn my hair green, white and red or change her earrings to candy canes. She was laughing, which was the most pleasant sound I ever heard. We shared a Christmas cracker and, after she won the pair of gloves inside, I decided it was time to go talk to my mother.

I was dressed in a Christmas sweater, black pants and winter boots, my hair back to its natural brown colour, a golden crown from the Christmas crackers sitting on my head. I came to a stop in front of the throne, hands in my pockets, and looked directly into Hecate's glowing eyes. "Hey mom," I smiled. "Merry Christmas."

Spock wrote:"True, most mortals are oblivious after science overpowered the old cultures. And information became misinformed as well" he remarked, with interests, "But science is great, actually." Nestor shrugged. "And it must be hard work, am I right, Mom? I mean like, you would have to look through hundreds of works, right?"
----------
"Terrorizing others? Wow. Seems like the perfect job." he remarked, then looked again at his dad. "Harassing others? Well, I'm not like you so much, so I must have inherited my traits from mom." he laughed quietly.
----------
"I don't like people that are too perfect being with one another. It causes unbalance in the universe." he nodded in agreement. "Mom, do you mind a hug? The thing dad did to me is starting to hurt me again."

"It doesn't take me as much time as it does for you mortals," Athena replied with a shrug. She could read hundreds of works in just three or four hours if she really tried, but often she'd get sidetracked looking up other information to reconcile or correct the current facts presented to her. Sometimes Hestia or Hecate would find her asleep in a pile of books reaching the ceiling of her home, precariously balancing empty or forgotten cups of coffee, nectar, or tea on the shorter stacks directly around her. "But I suppose it does in the end, since so many facts of old contradict the ones today -- and writing takes more effort than reading and appreciating."

-------------

"For the better, I guess," Deimos said blandly. Where was this conversation even going? "You might get kicked out of camp for trying to do that; I know Chiron's a stickler for these things lately. Called me a few years ago to complain about one of your siblings when she tried to create something like a giant hellhound illusion to terrorize the masses here -- luckily she wasn't strong enough, so she fainted before the thing was the size of a Jeep."

---------------

"No, that's perfectly fine." Aphrodite did like hugs, but she didn't exactly like them when they involved tears -- as this one seemed likely to evoke. It wasn't that she disliked criers, or that they'd ruin her makeup or clothes or, more likely, their own, but she wasn't too tactful dealing with emotions like that. Love and loss related to that, sure, she could watch it all on Olympus just fine.

Actually dealing with it face to face was more difficult.

Nerissa wrote:Neris smiled at her dad and shrugged.I do play guitar and sing so that part I did do. She smiled as she finished burning the song to a CD for her dad. Pulling it out of a drive she put the new song in a case and handed it to her dad.Promise not to listen to it till you get home? She asked hopefully.
--------------
Emily laughed. Nope. You gotta take it. For dad. She said handing her mom the necklace. Dad used to say that when I was young I would always remind him of you. She laughed at the silly remark. Her father was always fond of her mom and actually never remarried, even though he had dated a few other women after she was ten.
-----------------
As long I don't have to deal with more than a few siblings I'm good with hoe the Norse view having kids. How many does Thor have tho? Like a decent few dozen? She laughed to herself as Oracle slithered through the halls of Olympus to rest by Astrid's side. Thank's for Oracle too dad. She's super chill. She smiled at her father. Oracle looked up at the god and hissed  a thank you as well before curling into a strike position like a cobra and watching the other demigods around the hall.
------------------
It's probably the Norse gods that's upsetting him. I knew Astrid was coming to see her dad but I guess Necro doesn't care for those gods all that much. And you don't have to worry about be making up spells of my own, i'll stick to the book. She said gesturing to a book under her arm. Speaking of, are there any tricks you can give me to help with casting? Not shortcuts by any means but tips for translating accurately. Sometimes it's hard with dead languages. Andy explained as held the book in her hand

"I don't even have a CD player," the god of dreams laughed, sliding it into his backpack of wonder at his feet, "so you're safe until I go find one. Might take a few weeks since I'm so busy all the time -- not sure I'll be able to let you know how I like it until next solstice anyway, but I promise you I'll listen to it by then."

He wasn't really much of a music critic either, so even if it sounded terrible he probably wouldn't mind. (The fact that it was also his child who had given him the music as a present would also probably soften the blow.)

-------------------

Taking the box, Aphrodite could only acquiesce and slip it into her purse for safekeeping. It might end up in the piles of other jewelry she'd amassed from centuries of admirers, but the thought of it was very nice and would probably warrant wearing it once or twice within the next decade. "Did he now? His memory must still be very sharp if he can remember me so well. Has he tried to pursue love after me? I'd rather not have him wallow in the past, the poor man was such a sweetheart and I'd hate for such a loving person to go to waste like that."

------------------

Loki waved his hand dismissively at the girl's thanks, not really thinking anything much of it. If he was being nice for once, then the other person sure as hell should appreciate it or they'd get a nastier gift soon. God of tricksters -- what more could you want? "You're welcome, whatever. It's the least I could do, since for some reason even Odin and Thor are making us abide by the don't-contact-your-kids rule the Greeks made up. At least us Norse aren't as bloody terrible parents as them."

Then again, this was coming from the guy who fathered a giant wolf.

--------------------

"There aren't really any tips I can give since I naturally can read them all if they're related to magic," Hecate sighed, brushing a lock of hair out of her eyes and behind her ear. "All I can say is be cautious that you don't try to directly translate things into English -- or whatever other language -- and then back. I've seen it done by even my own children. Direct translation always messes things up in transit. I'm sure there are books in your camp's library -- Athena and I have donated a few -- talking about pronunciation and translation."

Morgan Landry wrote:Sawyer's eyes widened. Hoverboards, magic swords, teleportation, that sounded sweet. Sawyer knew a girl at camp, Victoria, who actually made a hoverboard that could fly, but she figured what Hephaestus did was ten times better.

"Wow, Dad," she said. "That sounds really freaking impressive. What does the virtual reality device do?"
------------------
After a cup of creamy, honeyed hot chocolate and pulling Christmas crackers with Erato and Terpsichore, I looked over to Hecate. After all, she was the reason I was here. Currently, she was talking with my sister Andy, so I went back to talking with the very gorgeous Aglaea, casting minor spells to turn my hair green, white and red or change her earrings to candy canes. She was laughing, which was the most pleasant sound I ever heard. We shared a Christmas cracker and, after she won the pair of gloves inside, I decided it was time to go talk to my mother.

I was dressed in a Christmas sweater, black pants and winter boots, my hair back to its natural brown colour, a golden crown from the Christmas crackers sitting on my head. I came to a stop in front of the throne, hands in my pockets, and looked directly into Hecate's glowing eyes. "Hey mom," I smiled. "Merry Christmas."

"Similar to that thing from those movies -- 'Tron' or something? Only it's not confined to just walking around inside some video game world or whatever." Hephaestus scratched his scarred cheek, trying to recall the details from memory. The amount of blueprints he and Athena had made for that thing could probably fill a small apartment in New York City, had they chosen to frequent such a place to work. It was the goddess herself who had made the references to 'Tron,' which Hephaestus had never bothered to watch. "Only it's much faster, less likely for the programming to somehow rebel like in the original movie, and much more variety to locations and situations than that mess. You could walk in China during the Qing Dynasty and talk to anyone -- you wouldn't notice they were all programs instead of regular people -- or fight with Blackbeard during his last stand, be a Pokemon trainer, watch the Library of Alexandria burn if you're a terrible person, whatever. Athena and the Muses helped provide the scenarios and dialogue and all that stuff; I mainly worked on the machine and its software. You can use helmets or just get zapped into the program itself like in those movies, only the second way is still a bit buggy; once, when we zapped back Erato from the pre-colonial period in North America, she couldn't stop speaking Cherokee even after an hour. We managed to fix that one, but we're still looking for others."

-----------------

"And happy holidays to you too, Morgan." Hecate nodded to her, leaning on the arm of her throne as she ran her fingers over an old, semi-glowing rune carved into the stone on said arm -- something she herself had done centuries ago during a particularly boring Olympus visit, marking a defensive spell for fireballs in case Hermes tried to put paste or clay or cow dung on her seat again. Aah, fond winter memories. Poor man lost an eyebrow the next solstice, Zeus had actually seemed to care enough for his son that he'd actually gotten mad at her for it... unless he was also mad about his throne room being burnt. The latter option seemed more likely. "You're looking well this winter. Have you grown an inch since I last saw y-- when did I last see you? Last solstice?"

[ooc: Just a note, but for the sake of consistency please try to refrain from mentioning interactions with other gods in your posts, even very generally; it's so we can make sure nothing shady related to the gods is going down that we haven't approved of and keep track of what gods are doing what and where in case they're needed elsewhere.]

"Right...right..." he regarded, before abruptly changed the subject. "So Mom,..." his voice trailed off before he even began. "...I'm kinda cramming myself on what to say about, so suggestions?"

----------------------

"No, no, I mean like I don't go around harassing others or terrorizing anyone. Probably because I inherit more traits from mom than I did from you. But don't get me wrong, I love both my parents equally." he said. "A sister of mine did that? Woah, that's something to note the next time I meet them, they might be attempting to do so on me. And some of them cuss a lot."

----------------------

Aiden gave his mom Aphrodite a hug, before pulling back. He was successful in pulling the tears back in before they get a chance to move out of his eye. "Thanks, Mom." he spoke, "Mom, I still need to know if Dad's alive or not." he asked again, almost pleading or insisting. "Please, mom." Now his tone was pleading for real.

OOC: Yeah, announce him dead cuz he is (that didn't get clarify so much in the bio as it says "presumably" in Aiden's LBC, so now just say that he is dead)

Can't you use the moths? She asked as her small swarm of moths flew into the hall and formed the hat he gave her a few years back. I can always listen to one of them if you wanted to tell me something. Or is that against the rules as well? Poseidon did it with Percy through the water kind of. She said as she thought she found a loophole through the system. Plus you use the dreams sometimes to try and get me and my siblings to visit you during the solstice. She went on to say. It was rather brilliant really. Nerissa was proud of her possible loop hole in the whole no communication thing.


Em looked at her mother and smiled. It's only been about 18 years since you left mom. It takes way more than that to forget a face. And yeah, he's dated a few other women after I turned ten. I haven't really liked any of them all that much and neither has he so It's still just the two of us for Christmas and the holidays. She admitted a little sad. Emily really wanted her father to find someone to love again, she really did, and she knew her father did too. Things like this were always hard though.


Too true. Astrid said laughing a little at the remark about the Norse being better parents. I know of at least like thirty Hermes kids and there are only like two siblings I have. It's obnoxious. She said sitting on the ground by the throne, thankful to finally be off her feet for a while at least. Oracle slithered her way up and around Astrid's shoulders before tilting her head up and looking at Loki. She hissed in parsletongue, asking if she could climb onto his shoulders to try and see if there were any vermin she could hunt and Astrid laughed a little. If she's not asleep or pissed off she wants to hunt for food.


I don't think I've ever directly translated any of my book straight to English. Besides, sometimes it's easier to cast while it's in Latin or whatever. Andy admitted as Necro laid down at her feet looking around the room. He didn't like all the Norse gods being at Olympus, it was almost too much power in one place for his liking. Looking up at Andy he told her he was going back to camp to hunt for a while and the demigod simply nodded as the Hellhound bounded out of the hall, his red patches glowing a little brighter than normal. I guess the Norse gods being here doesn't sit well with a hellhound.

"...Tron: Legacy?" Sawyer's eyes gleamed. She loved the visuals in that movie. "By the gods, Dad, that's incredible! How did you manage to digitalize someone without killing them?"

I shook my head. "I didn't attend last solstice visit. I was busy killing the Python in Delphi." I remembered that only too well -- Apollo had basically dropped from the sky and teleported Ben and me to Greece for what pretty much was a suicide mission. Both he and I missed death by an inch countless times, and our wounds hadn't totally healed just yet. My collarbone still ached and so did my ribs where the snake had almost bit me in half.

"I think the last time you saw me was last year. Oh, and thanks for the torch by the way. I absolutely love it."


OOC: Sorry Kendall. I've been admin for two years so I know how to post with gods and thought it was okay. Won't do it again.

Khan wrote:"Right...right..." he regarded, before abruptly changed the subject. "So Mom,..." his voice trailed off before he even began. "...I'm kinda cramming myself on what to say about, so suggestions?"
----------------------
"No, no, I mean like I don't go around harassing others or terrorizing anyone. Probably because I inherit more traits from mom than I did from you. But don't get me wrong, I love both my parents equally." he said. "A sister of mine did that? Woah, that's something to note the next time I meet them, they might be attempting to do so on me. And some of them cuss a lot."
----------------------
Aiden gave his mom Aphrodite a hug, before pulling back. He was successful in pulling the tears back in before they get a chance to move out of his eye. "Thanks, Mom." he spoke, "Mom, I still need to know if Dad's alive or not." he asked again, almost pleading or insisting. "Please, mom." Now his tone was pleading for real.

"How about your studies?" Athena asked him with a shrug. She wasn't very good with interacting with her children, it seemed, especially when he didn't give her much to go on in the first place. "I'm sure your father won't let you get away with slacking off while you're at camp. What are you thinking about pursuing in the future or now? Any interests in anything?"

----------------

"That cussing thing might be a teen thing, not a me-thing," Deimos chuckled, scratching his chin. It felt a bit more bristly than he'd like, but whatever. He could shave in ten years and look like Poseidon or something. Sea monster illusions were some of his favorite to pull on the masses whenever he was around a large body of water. "But you're safe, since that incident was years and years ago. Now Chiron keeps more of an eye on the other troublemakers since he knows most of my kids aren't capable of that without some serious outside help."

------------------

Aphrodite sighed as he released her, wondering briefly if this were the right thing to do. Immortal goddess telling emotional son that his father was dead during one of the two days a year he could see her? Amazing. Truly. What a family bonding experience today turned out to be. "I'm sorry, Aiden, but as far as I know he is. I'm no goddess of death, but if I can't find him with my mirror, he's most likely gone."

Nerissa wrote:Can't you use the moths? She asked as her small swarm of moths flew into the hall and formed the hat he gave her a few years back. I can always listen to one of them if you wanted to tell me something. Or is that against the rules as well? Poseidon did it with Percy through the water kind of. She said as she thought she found a loophole through the system. Plus you use the dreams sometimes to try and get me and my siblings to visit you during the solstice. She went on to say. It was rather brilliant really. Nerissa was proud of her possible loop hole in the whole no communication thing.
------------
Em looked at her mother and smiled. It's only been about 18 years since you left mom. It takes way more than that to forget a face. And yeah, he's dated a few other women after I turned ten. I haven't really liked any of them all that much and neither has he so It's still just the two of us for Christmas and the holidays. She admitted a little sad. Emily really wanted her father to find someone to love again, she really did, and she knew her father did too. Things like this were always hard though.
---------------
Too true. Astrid said laughing a little at the remark about the Norse being better parents. I know of at least like thirty Hermes kids and there are only like two siblings I have. It's obnoxious. She said sitting on the ground by the throne, thankful to finally be off her feet for a while at least. Oracle slithered her way up and around Astrid's shoulders before tilting her head up and looking at Loki. She hissed in parsletongue, asking if she could climb onto his shoulders to try and see if there were any vermin she could hunt and Astrid laughed a little. If she's not asleep or pissed off she wants to hunt for food.
---------------------
I don't think I've ever directly translated any of my book straight to English. Besides, sometimes it's easier to cast while it's in Latin or whatever. Andy admitted as Necro laid down at her feet looking around the room. He didn't like all the Norse gods being at Olympus, it was almost too much power in one place for his liking. Looking up at Andy he told her he was going back to camp to hunt for a while and the demigod simply nodded as the Hellhound bounded out of the hall, his red patches glowing a little brighter than normal. I guess the Norse gods being here doesn't sit well with a hellhound.

[ooc: So I'm not sure if an admin allowed that, but contacting kids via dreams or animals would break the no-playing-gods-unless-you're-an-admin rule... so I'll just ignore the dream part.]

"If only," Morpheus sighed, shaking his head. His glass was empty now, just a bunch of melting ice cubes and a bit of water and soda at the very bottom of the cup. "But Zeus only lets us contact you guys if it's urgent, like what Poseidon would often do with Percy... and unfortunately Big Three demigods are held to a slightly different standard than regular demigods. Mainly because they're always the subjects of prophecies and all."

-------------------------------

Aphrodite nodded, a bit disappointed but not very surprised. It wasn't even just common with her lovers, either, but many gods' -- and many of those poor people ended up becoming bitter and cold and neglectful even to their own child(ren), which always sorely disappointed and grieved them that they couldn't help. At the very least, she could try to make up for his heartbreak by helping him pursue new loves. "Well, he loves you, doesn't he? Romantic love isn't the only type of good love -- ironic coming from me, but still."

----------------------------

"There's no food you'd want here," Loki told the snake, not unkindly; he reached down to rub her scaly head, remembering that he should probably go feed his own pet snakes back home. What did those things eat anymore? They were like very long vacuum cleaners, eating whatever monstrous things the trickster god would throw to them. "But anyway, Astrid. Maybe you'll find more of your siblings someday since I'm pretty sure I've had more children within the past two decades. Perhaps they haven't made it to camp yet, or I just forgot to claim them. I am pretty forgetful, after all."

---------------------------

"Eh, well. I don't mind them being here exactly since I can exchange tomes with their magic gods -- but I've never understood why Zeus let them come to the Greek camp." Hecate's eyes drifted over to Loki, where he sat talking to a girl (probably his daughter) with a snake slithering over her shoulders. The trickster god had learned fairly fast not to mess with the Greeks; they were just barely tolerant of Hermes' pranks, so some Norse hotshot coming in on Odin and Zeus' good faith in each other to their realm and messing with them probably unleashed their pent-up annoyance at Hermes towards Loki. She could fondly remember Ares sending a wild stampede of boars after him once, when the Norse god had stolen his sunglasses. "But back to our magic conversation. Latin's not really the best language to cast in; I've always liked the ancient Mesopotamian or Egyptian spells myself, obviously apart from the Greek ones."

Morgan Landry wrote:"...Tron: Legacy?" Sawyer's eyes gleamed. She loved the visuals in that movie. "By the gods, Dad, that's incredible! How did you manage to digitalize someone without killing them?"
-----------------
I shook my head. "I didn't attend last solstice visit. I was busy killing the Python in Delphi." I remembered that only too well -- Apollo had basically dropped from the sky and teleported Ben and me to Greece for what pretty much was a suicide mission. Both he and I missed death by an inch countless times, and our wounds hadn't totally healed just yet. My collarbone still ached and so did my ribs where the snake had almost bit me in half.

"I think the last time you saw me was last year. Oh, and thanks for the torch by the way. I absolutely love it."

OOC: Sorry Kendall. I've been admin for two years so I know how to post with gods and thought it was okay. Won't do it again.

[ooc: It's fine, but if you're not an admin atm we would have to hold you to the same rules (in most respects, anyway) as regular members. That would include playing gods, unfortunately.]

"Very complicated process involving technologies that haven't been created yet in your world -- and probably won't be for at least another 150, 200 years, even by my own children or Athena's. I won't be able to drop you any hints about how to do it yourself, since it's still very dangerous and of a flawed design I'm not satisfied with yet, but within your lifetime or a little beyond that mortal technology will advance to at least make it a feasible goal." Hephaestus picked up a gear on his lap and held it close to his eyes, examining the edges for any imperfections. It would probably explain why the clock in front of the throne room had been a full 1.5 seconds off when he and Athena had arrived before the solstice visit started. "Watch out for the robot revolution, I hear from the Fates that'll be wild."

-------------------------

Hecate rolled her eyes -- Apollo trying to kill her daughter? What a wonderful man he was, she'd be sure to send him another gift basket full of monstrous chocolate or obnoxious talking fruit that'd make him only sing opera for hours on end again. "Aah, I see. I suppose I'll have to have another talk with him, make sure he doesn't try having my children doing more of his chores. But you're welcome for the torch, I like giving gifts to my children -- it's always fun to see how Hermes messes it up on Christmas. Did you know he once lit his hair on fire when Hephaestus gave him one of those fiery swords to deliver to one of his sons? The poor man, I had to make him stick his head in special burn ointment I'd made for several hours because he managed to knock over some experimental potion Athena and I created onto his head. Iris had to go deliver the presents instead of him that year -- about fifty years ago, I think?"

[OOC:Morgan was the one to do it I believe for the last solstice. She said Morpheus sent a dream message asking his kids to come visit him during the solstice.]

Nerissa gave a sad look to her dad. What was she expecting though, Zeus wouldn't lessen the rules for even the minor gods.Guess I just wished we could talk more. Sort of like a normal family I guess. She said with a shrug of her shoulders. It wasn't too upsetting to the young girl, in all honesty she wasn't surprised and was sort of preparing for an answer like that.I just miss you sometimes. She admitted, playing with her odd bracelet. Alice had given it to her and told her it was a sign of strength for girls like them. It was a razor but it couldn't cut anything with how it was now, it would have to be sharpened. As long as Neri had it on, she was strong.

Em smiled at her mom with the notion of her dad loving her and she nodded.He tells me everyday he does, we try to talk that often anyways. When I talked about the solstice a few weeks ago he overnight shipped the necklace telling me that he had been saving it for a good time. Guess now was the time. Emily laughed a little as she looked at her nails, perfect manicure like always and rounded just enough to be noticed but not hurt if she made a fist. How has your love life been anyways? Is dating any more difficult with being a goddess? She asked curious. Emily's own luck with romance had sucked so far so she wanted to know if she was doing something wrong.

Oracle hissed happily and then went on to go find Izazel who had somehow snuck into the hall. The python hissed at the demigods and gods who got to close and returned not long after leaving with a black snake that was no longer than a garden snake.It would seem Izazel wanted to visit as well. Astrid laughed a little bending down to pickup her smaller friend.As far as siblings goes I would be completely fine with them not coming to camp. The greeks already dislike us a lot so more trickster demigods would probably get the camp burned down. She laughed again thinking of the destruction her siblings and her could cause of there were more and all planned something together.

I mean it's interesting to see how few of the Norse demigods there are. I know for a fact Astrid likes having so few relatives though. Andy said gesturing to the girl talking to Loki. She had to admit though, seeing her handle those snakes like that was a little concerning and disturbing.As for the spells I've never tried any other language besides Latin really. I guess I'll have to brush up on some new ones in order to improve right? The Hecate daughter laughed a little. She could already speak Latin and read Nordic as well as Anglo-Saxon so what was a few more languages? No big deal right.

"Oh, study's been great. A's at school and Camp trainings' were no less. I was thinking of becoming a writer. Write some sort of book. That is in the scenario where I might survive til' 18." he began. "And yeah, dad's been preventing me from slacking around. Great dad. No wonder you loved him." Nestor added.

--------------------

"I did have a bunch of conflicts with my siblings. They're just…irritating. I guess most of them possess your nature. Warlike." he shrugged. "First sibling I met, we almost strangled each other." he admitted. "But the past is the past."

---------------

Aiden did his best not to cry. And it worked. "I never loved him anyway." he said, almost hastily. "He disowned me, kicked me out of the house and created a new trauma within me." he openly admitted, although he wasn't sure if Aphrodite would protest. Maybe not.

OOC: Did I? I'll have to look that up

BIC: Sawyer felt disappointed. Even if she understood her father's concerns, it still felt like a, 'run along now, the adults are talking'. She lived for inventions like that one, and being cut away from it felt as if her father had told her about this delicious ice cream shop with sixty-two mouthwatering flavours, then told her she would never be able to go.
However she did not have hybris, so she simply bowed her head, before perking up.

"Robot revolution?" She couldn't tell if her father was serious or not. In doubt, she half-grinned. "Is that actually going to be a thing?"

________

I couldn't help but chuckle, glancing at Hermes. The messenger god was deep in conversation with one of his children, toying with his caduceus. I respectfully lowered my gaze and looked back at Hecate.

"I met Dad again. He's in New York. Did you know?"

After fifteen years on Aeaea, Circe's island, my dad was finally free -- and back to human form. I had set him free during my Quest, and now he was back in the mortal world. He found a job as a modern Greek teacher whilst doing studies in parallel. After all, even if he was forty or so, he still looked like twenty-five.

Nerissa wrote:[OOC:Morgan was the one to do it I believe for the last solstice. She said Morpheus sent a dream message asking his kids to come visit him during the solstice.]

Nerissa gave a sad look to her dad. What was she expecting though, Zeus wouldn't lessen the rules for even the minor gods.Guess I just wished we could talk more. Sort of like a normal family I guess. She said with a shrug of her shoulders. It wasn't too upsetting to the young girl, in all honesty she wasn't surprised and was sort of preparing for an answer like that.I just miss you sometimes. She admitted, playing with her odd bracelet. Alice had given it to her and told her it was a sign of strength for girls like them. It was a razor but it couldn't cut anything with how it was now, it would have to be sharpened. As long as Neri had it on, she was strong.

Em smiled at her mom with the notion of her dad loving her and she nodded.He tells me everyday he does, we try to talk that often anyways. When I talked about the solstice a few weeks ago he overnight shipped the necklace telling me that he had been saving it for a good time. Guess now was the time. Emily laughed a little as she looked at her nails, perfect manicure like always and rounded just enough to be noticed but not hurt if she made a fist. How has your love life been anyways? Is dating any more difficult with being a goddess? She asked curious. Emily's own luck with romance had sucked so far so she wanted to know if she was doing something wrong.

Oracle hissed happily and then went on to go find Izazel who had somehow snuck into the hall. The python hissed at the demigods and gods who got to close and returned not long after leaving with a black snake that was no longer than a garden snake.It would seem Izazel wanted to visit as well. Astrid laughed a little bending down to pickup her smaller friend.As far as siblings goes I would be completely fine with them not coming to camp. The greeks already dislike us a lot so more trickster demigods would probably get the camp burned down. She laughed again thinking of the destruction her siblings and her could cause of there were more and all planned something together.

I mean it's interesting to see how few of the Norse demigods there are. I know for a fact Astrid likes having so few relatives though. Andy said gesturing to the girl talking to Loki. She had to admit though, seeing her handle those snakes like  that was a little concerning and disturbing.As for the spells I've never tried any other language besides Latin really. I guess I'll have to brush up on some new ones in order to improve right? The Hecate daughter laughed a little. She could already speak Latin and read Nordic as well as Anglo-Saxon so what was a few more languages? No big deal right.

[ooc: 'Twas Josh, and okay.]

She probably just missed the idea of him being around, Morpheus thought, maybe a bit too bitterly. He definitely wasn't a fan of Zeus's no-contact rules, but he couldn't do much to protest it. With a shrug, he replied: "Wish we could too, but rules are rules. Who knows? Maybe if you get a quest or something I could come talk for a bit to help. Lots of gods have done it in the past... although I'm not sure about survival rates."

-------------

Aphrodite thought a moment: was it very difficult? She had people of all genders fawning over her with just a look, but it was rare she actually felt much of an emotional connection to any as soon as they met or much beyond that. "As goddess of love? I guess I'm sort of biased or jaded about it, most people approach me just because I'm so --" (insert hairflip here) "-- beautiful. But the connections are always fun, I make sure not to break hearts too often if I can help it.... Sometimes people idealize their partners and can't handle finding out they're nothing like they imagine. Like with me very often."

------------------

"You're forgetting how bad the monster problem is," Loki reminded her, running a hand through his dark hair. For today, at least, he decided to look half-presentable -- but when one of the Greek Muses had jokingly told him she'd expected Tom Hiddleston, he had gotten a little more miffed than he'd like to admit about it. "You kids are much safer at that camp than at home, so at least I agree with Odin on that note. Don't like having a trail of dead kids and all, y'know?"

----------------

"More languages doesn't exactly mean better, honestly. It's a wider range of power, sure, but magic works a bit differently for each language." Hecate could take hours recounting all the different ways she had currently discovered with the languages she  had concentrated on -- and she still needed to confer with other magic gods about it, just in case she was wrong. She was an expert in Greek and Latin, not Egyptian or Japanese or anything. "For example, ancient Native American spirits concentrate much more heavily on nature than us Greeks. Even as a magic goddess, I'd be powerful, but nowhere near what they're capable of in that field."

Khan wrote:"Oh, study's been great. A's at school and Camp trainings' were no less. I was thinking of becoming a writer. Write some sort of book. That is in the scenario where I might survive til' 18." he began. "And yeah, dad's been preventing me from slacking around. Great dad. No wonder you loved him." Nestor added.

--------------------

"I did have a bunch of conflicts with my siblings. They're just…irritating. I guess most of them possess your nature. Warlike." he shrugged. "First sibling I met, we almost strangled each other." he admitted. "But the past is the past."

---------------

Aiden did his best not to cry. And it worked. "I never loved him anyway." he said, almost hastily. "He disowned me, kicked me out of the house and created a new trauma within me." he openly admitted, although he wasn't sure if Aphrodite would protest. Maybe not.

"Book about what? Nonfiction or fiction?" Writing, though a very rewarding and enriching field of work in her view, was a very volatile industry. If your stories or articles didn't sell, you were probably going to have a hard time surviving on that alone. Athena knew of many great writers, such as Poe and Lovecraft, who deserved much better in their eras.

------------------

"As long as none of you have actually killed each other, s'okay." Deimos wasn't particularly sure what incident Jack was referring to, and he was sort of afraid to ask. He didn't hover over his kids like some of the other gods liked to do -- he was both lazy and a bit hesitant to invade their privacy like that. "And if you even try, I'd probably try to strike you down before you finished. Dad senses and all, I usually know when to look in if my kid's in trouble."

-------------------

Aphrodite really wasn't sure how to respond -- she had known his father, but he clearly hadn't been the man she had known before leaving Aiden with him. "And you are -- you are perfectly valid in thinking that. You don't ever need to forgive him for mistreating you like that -- but at the very least, you can make a new family for yourself with your siblings -- or friends at camp."

Morgan Landry wrote:OOC: Did I? I'll have to look that up

BIC: Sawyer felt disappointed. Even if she understood her father's concerns, it still felt like a, 'run along now, the adults are talking'. She lived for inventions like that one, and being cut away from it felt as if her father had told her about this delicious ice cream shop with sixty-two mouthwatering flavours, then told her she would never be able to go.
However she did not have hybris, so she simply bowed her head, before perking up.

"Robot revolution?" She couldn't tell if her father was serious or not. In doubt, she half-grinned. "Is that actually going to be a thing?"

________

I couldn't help but chuckle, glancing at Hermes. The messenger god was deep in conversation with one of his children, toying with his caduceus. I respectfully lowered my gaze and looked back at Hecate.

"I met Dad again. He's in New York. Did you know?"

After fifteen years on Aeaea, Circe's island, my dad was finally free -- and back to human form. I had set him free during my Quest, and now he was back in the mortal world. He found a job as a modern Greek teacher whilst doing studies in parallel. After all, even if he was forty or so, he still looked like twenty-five.

Hephaestus chuckled as, with a flick of his wrist, he had tossed away the clock gear he had been examining before right into a trash can ten feet away. He could make a new one the moment the solstice visit ended, or maybe get Zeus to invest in one of the blacksmith god's digital clocks. "Oh, heavens no. It's not exactly going to be a full-blown war or anything, but you mortals must be careful not to make so many that can learn to think of themselves. The amount of lost jobs will be enormous, even though it'll make your lives much easier."

-----------------

"I knew he was off Circe's island, but I haven't checked up on him lately," Hecate confessed with a tired sigh. When was the last time she'd slept? She'd been going to bed so late nowadays that she felt as if she hadn't really slept at all. Perhaps a visit to Hypnos or Morpheus would do the trick. "I've been so busy -- the recent Titan wars with Kronos and Gaea messed up quite a few places, so I've had to work with the other gods to repair things or alter the Mist just right. There's also the fact that these damned mortals keep using Ouija boards or finding spells to use on the Internet, so I've been fixing their messes before they accidentally summon old Mesopotamian demons or something."