Backstory: n her 12th birthday, a fury (one of her father's servants sent to "test" her) attacked her school. in a moment of pure terror, scarlet didn't just move objects with her mind; she accidentally cracked the pavement, sensing the spirits of the earth beneath her. she was saved at the last second by a silver arrow. Scarlet grows up thinking her father is the only one who "challenged" her to be strong, while the others just let monsters roam free. While other Hunters might get spooked by an ancient, angry ghost or a grues0me scene, Scarlet is clinical about it. She’s the one Artemis sends in when things get "weird" because de@th doesn't scare her—it feels like home. Her "bossy" nature comes from a place of survival. She knows exactly how dangerous the world is for a child of the Big Three. When she gives orders, it’s because she’s already calculated the risk of everyone ending up in her father’s realm. She doesn't trust the "shiny" gods like Zeus or Aphrodite, and she has a very dry, dark sense of humor that makes the younger Hunters a little nervous. She might act like she doesn't care, but she is the first one to jump between a monster and a younger Hunter. She shows love through actions (sharpening someone’s arrows, teaching them to track in the dark) rather than words. She has a habit of standing in the darkest corner of a room or tent without realizing it. It’s not that she’s hiding; she just feels "safer" in the dark. When she’s truly angry, the temperature around her literally drops. If Scarlet starts seeing her own breath in the middle of a summer hunt, everyone knows to get out of her way. You’d likely hear her muttering about how the campers spend too much time "flirting by the canoe lake" instead of training for the monsters she’s actually seen in the wild. Weaponizing Her "Outsider" Status Hades is the king of outcasts, and he saw Scarlet feeling like a "creepy poltergeist" kid in her hometown. The Narrative: He has sent dreams and whispers to her, framing the other gods (like Zeus or Apollo) as "golden children" who look down on anything dark. By making her think the Olympians would never accept her, he ensures she feels she can only trust him—or the Hunt. He orchestrated the attack (in her backstory) so she would feel abandoned by the "heroic" gods, only for him to "allow" her to be saved by the Hunters. He told her that Artemis only took her in because she felt "sorry" for a child of death, or that the other gods are planning to "prune" children of the Big Three to prevent the prophecy. She views his warnings as protection. When an Olympian like Apollo or Hermes acts friendly, she doesn't see kindness; she sees a trap. She thinks, "My father warned me they’d try to win me over with smiles." When she’s at Camp Half-Blood, she watches the other campers closely. She's looking for the "evil" or "hypocrisy" Hades promised, but when she sees a sibling helping another or a moment of true heroism, it creates a cynical glitch in her brain. She wants to believe her dad, but her eyes are telling her something else.
Potential plot: The air in the Hunters’ camp doesn't just get cold—it turns heavy, like the weight of a mountain pressing down on Scarlet’s chest. One moment she is leaning against a silver-barked oak tree, keeping watch over her sleeping sisters; the next, the sound of the wind is replaced by the low, rhythmic hum of the River Styx. The shadows at her feet stretch out, swallowing the grass, until she is standing on the polished obsidian floor of the Underworld palace. "Scarlet." Her father’s voice isn't a shout; it’s a vibration in the floorboards. Hades sits on his throne of fused bones, looking less like a god and more like an ancient, tired king. His eyes, the same shade as hers, track the silver circlet on her brow with a flicker of something—disdain or perhaps a father’s jealous protectiveness. "You look well in their silver," he says, his tone dry as tomb dust. "But do not forget why you are there. The 'light' of Olympus is a flickering candle, my daughter. It provides warmth, yes, but it blinds you to the monsters waiting in the corners." He stands, the shadows of his robes coiling like snakes. He places a cold, heavy hand on her shoulder—the only "affection" he knows how to show. "They will call you cynical. They will call you bossy. Let them. Strength is the only currency that never devalues. When the golden gods turn their backs—and they will—only the power I gave you will keep you standing." He leans in, his voice a dark whisper. "Does the Goddess of the Hunt know you’ve been practicing the earth-cracking? Or do you still play the part of the obedient little scout?" Before she can answer, the shadows lurch. Scarlet doesn’t flinch. She’s used to the cold—the literal chill of the Underworld and the metaphorical ice in her father’s voice. She meets his gaze with those identical scarlet eyes, her chin tilting up in that bossy, stubborn way that proves she’s 100% his daughter. "I’m a Hunter, Father," she says, her voice steady even as the obsidian floor hums beneath her boots. "The 'obedient scout' act is for the campers. My sisters in the Hunt are the only ones who have ever had my back without a contract or a catch. I’m loyal to Artemis because she earned it." Hades’s expression doesn't change, but the shadows around his throne flare slightly, sensing her defiance. She looks him dead in the eye, her cynicism flashing. "If the 'golden gods' try to prune me like a dead branch, they’re going to find out I’ve got deeper roots than they thought. I’m practicing, Father. In the dark. Where no one—not even the Moon—can see me." Hades offers a ghost of a smile—sharp, cold, and strangely proud. "Good. Loyalty is a fine cloak, Scarlet. But power is the armor underneath." With a sudden, violent jerk, the shadows reclaim the palace. Scarlet gasps, her lungs filling with the crisp, pine-scented air of the mortal woods again. She’s back against the oak tree. Her sisters are still sleeping. The silver circlet feels heavy on her brow. She believes that by becoming her father's most powerful, loyal weapon, she’ll have the "bargaining chips" to save Artemis when the shadows finally fall. She’s convinced that if she proves Hades is the "rightful" ruler, she can convince him that Artemis—with her cold, wild, and independent nature—is the only other god worth keeping. The moment finally happens during a midnight skirmish in the Titan-infested forests of the Northeast. A group of Laistrygonian Giants corners a younger Hunter, and the silver arrows are bouncing off their thick hide like toothpicks. In a flicker of fierce protectiveness, Scarlet doesn't just use telekinesis to nudge a rock. She screams, and the ground doesn't just crack—it shatters. Crush (Anyone can have him): Leo ( 18 he/him male straight ) Scarlet met him during a hunt in a mortal town. She is fascinated by how simple his life is. He doesn't have to worry about prophecy, gods, or "cracking the earth." To her, he represents the "peace" she never had. She uses her telekinesis to move things out of his way or trip up school bullies, all while staying hidden in the shadows. She tells herself she's "scouting the perimeter," but she's really just watching him live. She’ll show up out of nowhere, dressed in her silver-grey parka, and tell him his shoelaces are untied or that he shouldn't walk down a specific dark alley (because she knows a monster is there). She starts adding him to her mental "Save List" alongside Artemis. She tells herself, "If I help Father win, I can make sure this boy never has to see a monster. I'll make a paradise for him in the Underworld where he’s safe forever." (Which is very Hades-like—remember how he kept Persephone!) He knows Scarlet isn't "normal." He’s seen her move a heavy dumpster with a flick of her wrist (telekinesis) or noticed that the streetlights flicker and the temperature drops when she’s angry. He’s probably fascinated but terrified. He thinks she’s a superhero or a Ghost.
