Hi everyone! I'm sorry that this is so late, I just haven't been inspired to write for a long time.
Before I begin. I want to give a quick shout-out to my four reviewers!
I'm not ofreakingkay, Bakes for Dem, superflare, and Imperial Bear, thank you so much for wasting your time XD to review my bad story.
As always, I don't mean to offend anyone with my first chapter and recurring topics surrounding religion, I just thought it would be cool to write a story like this.
(Btw, I go on some long tangents in this sooooo sorry this may be even more boring than the last one 'gasp')
Sons of Poseidon have always been loyal. Some would say they're too loyal. As Athena, the goddess of wisdom herself said, "The most dangerous flaws are good in moderation". Loyalty proves vital when used in certain cases, but when it becomes excessive, nations will be razed and anarchy will reign supreme. The Greek playwrights had it right all those years ago. Heroes' tragic flaws, or hamartias, will end up destroying them in the end. And that is exactly what happened to Perseus Jackson. His excessive loyalty obliterated his soul mercilessly from the inside. And that one act, almost destroyed the entire world.
Percy Jackson has always been what people would consider the epitome of loyalty. He always stands by his friends, through happy and sad. He would never do anything to hurt his family, even if they hurt him. But most of all, he would do anything to help his one true love, Annabeth Chase. If anything happened to her, he would surely blame himself forever, and nothing could reassure him.
It's always been said that the worst betrayals come from those we shared everything with. Late nights talking until 4 about life, philosophy, and really whatever; warm hot chocolate on cold winter days; fancy restaurants where you laughed at the formality; tears wiped away by warm hands; that amazing tingly feeling you get when your eyes meet; and the complete and utter peace you felt when their hand was in yours. All of that gone. With a few simple words.
Some call heart-broken individuals histrionic, or attention-seeking. They say everyone's lost friends, and that they aren't any different. But that's like throwing a rock through a window versus ripping the foundation of a house out from under it. One can be replaced. One can never be repaired to its former glory.
There's also those who say young love cannot exist. And that, is one of the most ignorant, unsupported, and philosophically and scientifically inaccurate claims ever made. Just because people are young, doesn't mean they can't understand emotion and connection. Saying that people cannot love because of their age strips them of their humanity. And in the world we live in, humanity may be the only defense we have against the monsters that live outside, and inside.
Love isn't the stuff of careless teenage "relationships" built on the idea of using another to climb the social ladder. Careless attractions with no meaning. The desire to make every facet of your lives public. Our misuse of the word love has faded its beautiful bold letters emblazoned on the highest peak of human life, and relegated it to a dusty old trophy case in the corner of a bedroom. It's become the clothes you keep from the morning after as a prize, instead of the thing you want above all else in life.
True love is the stuff of dreams. It's happiness in its purest form.
But everything has to have an opposite. To ground it. For balance. And the opposite of pure happiness, is pure hatred. Just as true love can unite nations, its dark counterpart can lacerate any semblance of sanity from anything and everything.
However, true hatred is unsustainable. It eats away at you from the inside, consuming you, until nothing remains.
Now, no explanation is complete without examples. And there is no shortage of examples.
Evan Chang was a stereotypical Asian. Or so he thought. His life had always been a preparation for college. At first it was thrust on him by his parents. But it soon became self-imposed. He felt ugly and out of place. His social skills were subpar and he was sure he'd never get a girlfriend, much less get married. The only way he could gain self-worth in life was academic excellence. He got into Harvard, as expected. He got all A's as expected. He was in every club humanly possible, as expected. Everything was going as expected, until one fateful day.
It was business as usual. Multivariable Integral Calculus had let out a little late and Evan went to the campus coffee shop. It was crowded, but he managed to snag the one empty seat. He opened his Mac and began working on his essay for English 4. Suddenly, he heard a loud thud and a groan. He looked over to see textbooks, notebooks, and pencils scattered on the floor. A girl was bending over them with her head in her hands. Being the kind guy that he was, he stopped to help. She looked up at him in gratitude and Evan couldn't help but be entranced. Her short black hair framed her pretty face formed of brushstrokes seemingly from the hands of Aphrodite herself. Her cheeks were rosy red and though she was flustered, he thought she looked absolutely adorable. But what hit him the hardest, were her eyes. Her striking black orbs seemed to stare into his soul, burning the surface of his heart, making it jump up and down in an awkward tap dance of admiration. He stared into her eyes and something passed through them that Evan couldn't really understand. They finished cleaning up and she joined him for coffee. And from that day onwards, they became the best of friends. Eventually, more than friends. But nothing is truly perfect. His grades began to drop, and tired became normal, as he would always help her with her homework sometimes until 3 in the morning. But he never cared. Because he had her. And she was all that mattered. He had never felt this way about anyone before. Love was an unfamiliar emotion. And he enjoyed it greatly. He finally understood what happiness was and whenever he was with her, nothing else in the world mattered.
Nothing good ever lasts. Life is full of cynical twists and turns. We can never really escape our demons, only push them away for a little while.
After 4 years, it was time for graduation. But before that, exams. Evan started taking all-nighters to help his girlfriend, sometimes leaving no time for him to study. He was woefully unprepared for his exams, and he knew it. Eventually, the sleep deprivation caught up with him. He got into a car crash at night, and was in critical condition. He recovered early, and went to surprise his one true love.
Demons will always return. He caught her cheating on him. She said she had only dated him to get through college.
Evan was destroyed. His ability to love was destroyed beyond repair. His demons reigned free once again, destroying all the happy memories from the past 4 years. He failed his exams, and had nothing left.
And so, Evan embodied true hatred. He escaped love's control. He eventually destroyed himself; demons are almost impossible to control.
You can find people like Evan everywhere, if you look in the right places. Bars, casinos, anywhere they can attempt to forget their lives. One day you'll see them, drinking their sorrows away. The next, they'll just disappear.
Heyy so that was probably disappointing. I still haven't really gotten into the actual story but that'll come soon! As always, please review! I appreciate criticism, but please say "This sucks because…" instead of simply "This sucks". If I don't update before it, have a great holiday and New Year!