open: all harmony of instrument or verse, all prophecy, all medicine, is mine. 1

[papadopoulos]

Poetry is great.
You don't have to take my word,
try it for yourself!
___________________________

Somewhat unexpectedly, Apollo is indoors. It’s been some time since he’s had the time or energy to dive into poetry and books: though Tyson and his harpy² girlfriend did run a bookshop at Camp Jupiter; Apollo had had no time to look in on things in the midst of battle and trying not to turn into a zombie. He is taking some time today to appreciate the quiet of the library; immersed in any and every kind of poetry he can get his hands on. There are books of sonnets piled about him, Dante’s Inferno, some of Byron’s works, and a collection of Oscar Wilde’s poems. He has even managed to find some examples of Chinese poetry, and is sprawled out across a couch dressed for the beach, but looking as content as a cat who’s gotten into cream and like he's quite happy to stay inside all day.

It feels like it’s been an age since he’s properly gotten to dive into the written word as much as he likes to; and he is more than willing to take advantage of this peace and quiet.


¹Actually, he hates terza rima, but this poem is about him so it will do.
²Complimentary.

Comments

[papadopoulos]

He preens a little. "I know."

[kadewest]

"Mist?"

[papadopoulos]

He laughs, but it is unamused. "Thanks. You know, when I was mortal, they were betting on me, seeing if I would live or die? What a great extended family I have, huh?" He falls silent for a moment, flipping a page in his book. "At least Artemis wasn't with them, but she was forbidden from helping me."

[wickedwit]

"Artemis -- thy twin?" he asks, remembering that much of mythology.

[papadopoulos]

"Oh, it's -- a thing, in my world, helps protect mortals from supernatural things. It kind of -- makes them see normal things, things they can understand as opposed to, y'know, harpies and nosoi and stuff like that."

[papadopoulos]

"Yeah. Older twin," he replies with a fond smile. "She's the goddess of the hunt, the moon, lots of things. Has a whole pack of hunters that follows her around."

[kadewest]

"Stuff like that," Kade echoes.

[wickedwit]

"Yes, she's still quite popular among maidens who wish to remain maidenly. Queer women," Claudius clarifies, since he has that word in his vocabulary.

[papadopoulos]

“I mean, they might be queer, fair enough,” he shrugs. “But Artemis’ thing is more sworn to be celibate than anything else. I’ve got a couple friends back home that used to be hunters of hers, Emmie and Jo —but when they wanted to be together, like in a relationship; she let them leave. They gave up their immortality to be together. Got a cute kid too.”

[wickedwit]

"To be sure, I don't imagine any of my cohort back home were sincere worshipers of Artemis. It's simply how women who love other women find each other." But he smiles at the story. Sober in a priest in the middle of the day, he still loves love every bit as much as he told Tally at the bachelor party. "As thy friends Jo and Emmie found each other. Giving up the immortal hunt to have a cute little family -- how terribly romantic. Art thou a romantic, Apollo?"

[papadopoulos]

He can't help but laugh, and it is again more charming than it has any right to be, though a little sadder than he's willing to admit. "I'm the god of poetry, what do you think?" Apollo leans back against his couch again, sprawl still inviting as ever, thoughtlessly attractive but somewhat subdued now.

"..Yeah. I guess I am," he continues, quiet. "Not to say that I get along well with my sister; in fact I think she gets great pleasure out of fucking my life up, but ...I'm a sucker for a pretty face."

[papadopoulos]

"Mm. Sounds like we have a lot of people that like fighting here." There's a beat. "I mean, I'm not bad at it either, it's just --healing's my thing, you know."

[papadopoulos]

"Yeah. Monsters, bent on the destruction of humanity and stuff? It, uh. Helps keep things saner, in theory. Then again, there are some humans who aren't much better than that."

[futaille]

"My thing is generally being no help whatsoever!"

[kadewest]

Kade makes an inquisitive noise.

[papadopoulos]

"Wow. I hadn't noticed.' He's clearly teasing, giving Grantaire a grin.

[futaille]

"I'll have you know I'm an expert."

[papadopoulos]

"Yeah? What else are you an expert in? --Besides drinking."

[futaille]

"Nothing at all! Expertise in anything else would severely limit my ability to be an expert in not being useful."

[papadopoulos]

"I mean, I guess."

[futaille]

"You only guess?"

[papadopoulos]

He shrugs. "I'm an expert in lots of things. I'm biased."

[wickedwit]

Claudius laughs, feeling fond of Apollo in his openness, teasing, "I think a half of poetry must be written for that reason. In praise of a pretty face. Are there any faces thou hast noticed since coming to this place?"

[papadopoulos]

"Well, of course. Aleksander, for one." He smiles fondly. "Susan's not bad either; but she didn't seem particularly interested. And some others, but --" There's a shrug. "I didn't exactly start off on the best foot with them."

[wickedwit]

“That's no problem. A little initial conflict creates tension, and leads to negotiation — romances that start smoothly won’t always stay so. If you've disagreements from the start, you learn how to resolve them." Or keep arguing until you've driven each other away completely, but Claudius doesn't have to say that. "Who are you thinking of?"