Tumgik
#Also I know it was Ian who said that but I didn't know what else to use
thebearer · 7 months
Note
This anon has haunted me, but at lips apology, if he tries to propose bc “it’s the right thing to do” for you and the baby. He doesn’t want the responsibility but deep down he wants to have that responsibility bc always wanted to be a dad and husbands but scared
here's my thought on it.
he does it bc it's the "right thing to do" like it's just what you do, in his opinion. he doesn't want to be a bum who knocks someone up and doesn't marry them (his jaded opinion), but he also does love you and is sick at the idea of someone else being in yours and the baby's life that's not him. he's just fucked in the head really by this.
when you say no he's floored.
"wha-what do you mean? no?"
"no." you shake your head. "you don't really want to marry me."
"the fuck are you- i wanna fuckin' marry you, alright? i bought this fuckin' ring-"
"-you bought me a ring because i'm pregnant with your kid." you snap. "not because you want to marry me. not because you're in love with me."
lip is flustered bc... i mean, you're not wrong. you're not all the way right, but you're definitely not wrong.
"when you want to marry me because you want to marry me, and not because of the baby, then i'll think about it." you look down at the small diamond ring. "but i also wouldn't marry you right now, anyways, because i'm still not over all that shit you said."
"jesus, i told you i was sorry." lip sighs, closing his fist around the ring. "and-and ian is gettin' me in with his shrink to-to work this shit out like you said-"
"-and that's great, and i'm very proud of you." you say sincerely. his heart swells at the praise. "but that doesn't take back what you did."
lip feels like he could scream. furious at himself. "you wanna make it up to me? prove to me your sorry. prove to me you didn't mean what you said, and you're gonna be a good dad." you look down at his closed fist with the ring inside. "show me why i should marry you, because right now... i don't want to."
it's mean. it's cruel. it's harsh. but it's exactly what lip needed to hear. he worked double time, swallowing his pride and going to the "damn shrink" to figure out why he had control issues, why he coped the way he did (shocker: the majority of it was neglect from his parents, i know we're allllll surprised). he worked hard to prove that he wanted to be there for you, for the baby, and he did. he really did.
and he worked even harder to treat you the way you deserved. to show you that he loved you, and he really did. he spoiled you, the ways he could. home-cooked meals in your tiny apartment, baby proofing it, going to your birthing classes and every appointment. he would take you out on dates- real dates. hold your hand in the grocery, sweet kisses in the kitchen, let you use him as your own personal pregnancy pillow at night (when he finally got to sleep back in the bed with you).
lip was a good dad. you knew he would be. you knew from the moment the doctor told you it was a boy, his eyes shining with tears he refused to shed. something flipped in him. he'd been trying hard regardless but then, it felt real for both of you. lip didn't want to be frank, nothing like him. he upped his meetings with his sponsor, with his counselor and shrink. lip worked hard to unlearn years of trauma, to be better for freddie- be better for you. he slipped sometimes, always extra hard on himself when he did, but he was a good dad.
so when he asked you, when freddie was two and you'd grown together in every way- as parents and as a couple. you said yes. you knew he wanted to marry you for you. he wanted to spend the rest of his life with you, he told you that, rambled words while he was on one knee in front of you. you were glad you didn't accept his proposal the first time, truly, because it wouldn't have been nearly as great as this one. it was well worth the wait.
275 notes · View notes
foxportions · 4 months
Text
Slightly, not really, but slightly unpopular opinion: I love Nine as a character. Don't get me wrong, he's an absolute edgelord and can be annoying...But I think that's the point. I think people find it easy to hate him due to what we know about Tails' character and what we see on the outside of Nine. But on the inside, he's possibly one of the most fascinating Sonic characters yet. He's an antagonist, if not the main antagonist, and not only does this challenge the universal 'unbreakable bond,' but it also challenges what Ian Flynn had said. I currently can't find the specific quote, but what he had basically said is that is no Sonic without Tails, and vice versa. It gives the question of what if Tails didn't have that positive influence in his life? What if, even at four years old, he was left to fend for himself all because of a mutation? We get Nine. In a world that is a hellscape where he has to survive with his smarts and wits alone, having dealt with beatings all because he was different. There was no one to help him. So, he tries to help himself. But without that positive influence, and in a world where pretty much everyone is dead inside, he helps himself in the worst ways possible. Nine is a child. He is a mere child who hasn't had experience. This is unlike Tails, who is much more open minded and mature despite still being a child. That's because Tails had that positive influence. He had that stability. Nine didn't. So, when the chance arises to where he can start over? Have a new life? He's going to take it. He doesn't care if it's selfish or not, he just wants to live. With Sonic's arrival, Nine is at first conflicted. To actually be cared about for once...And well, I will admit, I 100% believe it is Sonic's fault for what happened. Sonic pushed this narrative of Nine being Tails. Not his own individual. And in his mind, when he is used to restore Sonic's own world, without even a chance for him, that's the breaking point. In his mind, Nine thought he finally had someone that cared for him for once in his damn life. But Sonic was seeing Nine as Tails, and therefore in Nine's mind didn't care for him as an individual at all. When all of his chances and work were taken away, he grows bitter again. Not to say Nine's not in the wrong either. He's quite the immature brat. But can you truly, honestly blame him? Nine doesn't want to be seen as someone else. He is real. And I truly believe that all he wanted was for someone to give him a chance and actually care for him. But what Sonic had communicated through words and actions conflicted with Nine's mind and ultimately led him to a path of destruction and hatred. Both for himself, Sonic, and those around him. His mind is set on 'survival of the fittess.' I do want to make it clear though that I do not believe Nine is a villain. He doesn't exactly have ill intentions at all. But he's to bitter and angered to the point it seems that way. I do believe underneath all of this, Nine is afraid. He's afraid of what will happen if the shards were put back together. He wants to be real. Nine is not Tails. It isn't fair to Nine in the long run. He hasn't had a single shot at life. Life let him down at such an early age to almost the path of no redemption. Of course, he's angry at Sonic. He's angry at everyone. And while Nine's actions aren't justified, his feelings are. He is a perfect example of a morally gray character, as well as what might have happened if Sonic never showed up on that fateful day.
91 notes · View notes
saturninemartial · 1 year
Note
I'm a casual listener. Why does everyone hate Panic? Or rather Urie?
I was an OG fan back in 2005/06 but tapped out after the second album, so I wasn't fully aware of all the drama, so I had to look some of it up.
P!ATD was started by childhood friends Ryan Ross and Spencer Smith; Urie wasn't invited until later. The original lineup was rounded out with bassist Brent Wilson, although he was later replaced by Jon Walker. It was Smith, Ross, Urie, and Wilson on their first album; and Smith, Ross, Urie, and Walker on their second. In 2009, Ross and Walker decided to leave the band, mostly on creative differences with Urie. So there goes one founding member, Ross, and another core member, Walker.
Dallon Weekes, whom you might know from IDKHOW, joined as bassist after this; with Ian Crawford on guitar. Smith, Urie, Weekes, and Crawford recorded and released an album in 2011. During the recording, Crawford left bc he wanted to create "real, genuine music."
Smith, Urie, and Weekes recorded another album that was released in 2013 and soon went on tour. Smith left for a bit for addiction reasons; and in 2014, Urie said it didn't look like Smith was coming back; and in 2015, Smith confirmed he wasn't coming back. So Ross and Smith, the original two creators of the band, are now gone; and Urie is the only one left from the original lineup.
In 2017, Weekes announced he was leaving so he could focus on his own band, IDKHOW. That's the final "replacement" member, and from then on, it's just Urie. Since then, Urie has used the Panic! name for what is essentially a solo career, creating music that is so far gone from the original vision and slapping someone else's name on it. The creators of Panic!, Smith and Ross, left a long long time ago, and Urie has essentially acted like nothing happened and hasn't really given them credit. It's been the Brendon Urie Show for ages; more than one person left because of creative differences with him specifically. The Panic! name was never his to use yet he kept on using it, I guess for clout?
Then we get into the allegations against Urie. I'm on mobile and at work so I don't really have time to add receipts, but googling Brendon Urie allegations will bring up a ton of links. Basically, there are allegations of him sexually abusing fans, possibly minors. He's also publicly made some nasty rape jokes, and used the word tr*nny. I think I'm just scraping the surface here.
Overall he's an intensely unpleasant person who's been happily profiting off someone else's concept and name without credit for years. He's used Panic! as a vanity project, and the shit he's put out isn't even good.
278 notes · View notes
lilac-hecox · 6 days
Note
I know that I&A said that they want to focus on their creative side so they have handed the responsibility of business and different aspect of things to other people but these recent controversies have been saddening. they neeeeed to step up and know what's actually going on in and out of their own company and take actions. few days ago seeing Dani's friendly comment on Ian's photoshoot and now seeing the whole linkedin post. she mentioned this mentor, who could it be that pushed her to the edge, what do you think?
I didn't know about Dani leaving a comment on Ian's Instagram photoshoot post until this ask so I went and looked at it. Honestly, because of that I kind of feel like they are on good terms and he isn't one of the people or the mentor in question.
Now, don't get me wrong. He could be implicit in it, but to me it seems less likely. I think that a mentor could be someone else from the marketing team?
Anyway, I do agree with your point that Ian and Anthony need to address certain things but they are very comfortable with letting any problematic shit kind of fall to the wayside until people stop talking about it, which is disappointing to say the least.
I do think that the issues likely spring from the leadership team as a whole and are not wholly reflective of Ian and Anthony's decisions solely because I agree that they both find it easier to focus on the creative aspect and less of the CEO type responsibilities and likely are briefed on certain things/have staff meetings/etc.
I will also say that from work experience you can like your boss/supervisor but not really like the other leadership people. Like, I have an amazing supervisor and she always goes to bat for us and supports us, but I don't necessarily feel like the CEO of the company I work for has my best interests at heart either. This is likely even truer in Hollywood and in the media business.
We love the dynamic of Smosh being a family and in ways it is, but it is also a business and because of that it will never be perfect or without it's flaws. I still enjoy Smosh and still think it is valuable to be critical of them when it is called for and genuinely feel for Dani that in the seemingly two months or so she worked with Smosh that she was unhappy and felt disregarded and disrespected and I wish her nothing but the very best in her career!
26 notes · View notes
pinkpetaljam · 2 years
Note
Aa could we get any headcannons/ writing maybe with Jack or Ren and how they would react to a mc with like a fear of touch or strong dislike of being touched? I’m curious o-o
Thank you for the request – let me know if this is to your liking! (◕ᴗ◕✿)
Sunny Day Jack
• The first meeting doesn't go well for either of you. Jack tends to touch people as a friendly gesture, whether it's handshakes, hugs or high fives – it's part of his character – but he learns that he's made things worse by trying to touch you.
• "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you..." He whispers softly, approaching you the same way he'd approach a lost child. "I'm Jack, Sunny Day Jack. What's your name?"
He'd never forget the way you looked that day, but he's also relieved that you didn't throw out his VHS tape when you had the chance.
• He wakes you up by singing your name rather than prodding you awake, but if that doesn't work then he'll resort to opening the blinds | curtains and taking your blankets. He'll always make blueberry pancakes to make up for it though!
• Jack's always protective of you whenever you work at Yoghurt-topia since some customers can be more touchy-feely than others, and while he can't physically intervene that won't stop him from telling them off.
• "That person needs to learn to keep their hands to themselves..." He shakes his head before turning to you. "Are you okay Sunshine? You can always take a short break if you're not feeling well..."
• He does ask you why you fear | dislike being touched when time passes. If it's because of something (or rather someone) you had to deal with in the past, he tells you that it's okay and that he'll never do anything that'll make you uncomfortable.
• Jack would envy Shaun and Ian if you let them touch you, but he'd wait forever if it means being able to touch and hold you one day – that said, if you don't allow anyone to touch you, he's happy as long as he's always by your side.
Ren | [Ȑ̵̮̀e̶͍̳͊̏ď̵͔͌̈́ȧ̴̱̩̌c̵̨̖͚̎̉̃ẗ̷͉́e̵̬̠̬͠ḓ̶̀͋]
• Ren has known about your fear | dislike of being touched for a long time, not that he'd tell you of course – but he'd act like his 'Haruko' self and make sure not to touch you when you're first meet – that's how he makes a good impression.
• "T-Thank you for the book recommendation!" He gives a tentative smile before he takes the book off your hands, but he's careful not to brush his fingers against yours. "I-I'm Ren, pleased to meet you..."
The smile you give him in turn is real compared to the forced ones you gave to people who touched you, and that was worth all the money he spent on hair dye, clothes and makeup.
• He's pretty happy with touching the same objects you touch, whether you're organising books at the library, sorting laundry in your apartment, or going out grocery shopping, you've practically blessed those things from your angelic touch!
• There's a chance that Ren knows what or who caused your fear | dislike of touch if he's looked through your social media and message logs – but when he hears about it from you personally, it's takes a lot for him not to go out with a sledgehammer.
• "It's okay angel, I won't let anything else happen to you, you're safe with me." His Haruko self wavers for that moment, but considering his [Ȑ̵̮̀e̶͍̳͊̏ď̵͔͌̈́ȧ̴̱̩̌c̵̨̖͚̎̉̃ẗ̷͉́e̵̬̠̬͠ḓ̶̀͋] past he's willing to make an exception.
• Ren definitely takes note of whose allowed to touch you, whether it's Leon, Violet, Elanor or someone else – but he also remembers those who try to touch you freely and make you uncomfortable – he's slowly crossing off certain names.
• And if you don't allow anyone to touch you, he's still happy because he'd do anything for his angel. As long as you have eyes for him and love him, he's considers himself to be the luckiest man in Corland Bay.
646 notes · View notes
yanderelovlies · 1 year
Note
I don't even know if you will answer, but I will hope. (⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄)
Hi! I would like to ask you for Jack, Shaun and Ian reaction to the fact that sunshine has an adopted child that she picked up on the street. And once, when they were sitting and having lunch at the table, the child giggledand said.
— My mom is so strong! Some uncle wanted to pick me up and dragged me to the car, but mom hit him like a superhero and smashed his car window with her fist!
And sunshine choked, and then blushed..
— Darling , you shouldn 't tell this to everyone
I love this idea aaahhh I got you!
Also for Ian's part this is an au where he didn't meet MC until college.
Tumblr media
Sunny Day Jack
When he first met you he froze in place. You laid already passed out on the couch while a child who did look like you stared at him wide eyed, and mouth wide open as he cuddled closer to you.
That night was very dangerous for Jack as you woke up ready to fight. It also wasn't easy to explain how he wasn't alive.
However things turned out okay in the end, and he began to bond with your little family. Your son Asher grew attached to quick which wasn't a surprise. It also worked in Jack favor because Asher would tell him things about he didn't know.
"Yeah my parent is so cool! One time this man tried to take me while we shopping, and they punched him so hard he didn't get up! Then.....then while waited for police they held his hand behind his back! They were just like a super hero!"
Jack eyes widened at the confession. You knocked a man clean out....with no effort.... Jack could feel his face heat up, and quickly looks away to hide .
"Sunshine sure is something else." His voice is so dreamy that Asher even picked up on it as he giggled.
Shaun
Your Daughter Evelyn was the first he met. While you were getting food at the salad bar in the cafeteria he watched her get distracted by something, and began wondering for you.
He stopped her before she got to the door, but now he had to find you. While he tried he learned Evelyn is at that age where she likes to talk but doesn't know what's okay to say, and what isn't.
"I'm sure they will find me soon! My parent is really cool like that! They one time had to break a window to get me when this man tried to take me! It was really cool! The looked like a hero!
Shaun looked down at the kid almost terrified. Did he just seal his Fate by helping this kid? Luckily for him no. He was safe in fact you ran up to your daughter and embraced her.
It's an odd way to meet the person he would up being with, but a story he enjoys all the same.
Ian
He met you during a group study in his first year. Unlike the others in group you talked and interacted with him and he was immediately intrested. Your friendship starts off slow, but eventaully the two of you were hanging out a lot
He even got to meet you adopted daughter Flora. The little girl was as quiet and shy as he is so they got along really well. So well that she didn't mind telling him all your amazing adventures.
"My parent is the best in my opinion......t-they um....one time they kicked someone so hard it hurt their nose as they tried to grab my hand when we are at the mall."
You.....you broke someone's nose?! He looked for to the little girl wearly who coloring unaware of the scared look. However the longer they sat in silence the more he....liked the idea??
You were a protector and he can admire that, and that means you were a caretaker. He really liked that idea. Maybe he could....shoot his shot??
198 notes · View notes
bumblekastclips · 6 months
Text
KYLE CROUSE: Alright, here's one from SmashZapper85. "The Sol Dimension seems to be lacking in villains. If you had to give Blaze a new arch-nemesis, what would they be like?" Well, I mean, you got rid of all the pirates. What the heck is up with that?
youtube
IAN FLYNN: I know, right? But at least Captain Whisker went down in the most metal way possible. KYLE: Yeah, but he didn't have to go down. You could've just kept him around! IAN: Could've, yeah, but also fighting the decapitated but still animated form is still freakin' amazing. That's way cooler of an end than I ever would've expected for him. [sigh] I would like to see... a rival nation. Y'know, they- she says that the Sol Emeralds and the Jeweled Scepter have been protected by her family for generations. Protected from whom? Who else wants to lay claim to magical MacGuffins? So that's what I would want to get into. What other nations are in the Empire? What other rulers answer to Blaze and are happy with it, or maybe not so much? Her world is so open for exploration and building that I just kinda wish she'd get her own spin-off franchise, please. KYLE: [chuckles] Uh, yes, please! In fact, make her the star of the franchise and make Sonic the spin-off. There we go. Fixed all the problems. IAN: [laughs] I mean, I would totally go full, like, Game of Thrones-y on this. Just... mm! KYLE: Mhm!
----- TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE: Please remember that nothing that is said on BumbleKast is canon! It's just some guys and their opinions occasionally spitballing ideas. If you don't like an answer, you don't have to take it as Word of God or anything like that. It's all just for fun! ----- This question was requested by @askthemagiccuddlybunnysworths! Do you want a specific question transcribed and posted? Send the question and the episode date to my ask box! Or if you just want questions about a certain character, send me their name and I will see what I can do!
26 notes · View notes
sunnydayroleplay · 1 year
Note
Okay! I finally slept and got a plot >:3 My poly ass is very lonely right now, how about MC is dating both Shaun and Jack? Maybe even Ian if you wanna go that far. It can be whatever, angst, fluff, smutty. I don't care. I'm lonely T-T
Hi! Sorry this got to you so late! I'm slowly getting through all my requests right now! Been very busy lately. Such a cute idea, I've thought about it before! It's gonna be rather fluff, soft, and vanilla because I'm in a rather good mood todayyyy! Spicy, but not overboard~ Just a dip in the water! With that said, let's write it! Contents Inside: Shaun x Reader x Jack, Slightly suggestive themes/Vanilla, Flirting/Pet Names, Mentions of Ritual/Spells/"Witchcraft", Over all a very wholesome post!
Those under 18, DNI. Though this is a relatively SFW post, the game it is based off of is a NSFW 18+ game/community only. It jeopardizes not only your safety, it jeopardizes mine, those involved, and the creator(s) own 'morals'. For 18- friendly/SFW posts/art, check out my art page: @feralhalfnhalfcreamer
______________________________________
At first, you kept Jack to yourself.
You didn't tell anyone that you even knew a Jack, let alone that you had a new boyfriend.
After-all there would be a lot of questions from your friends, and even more phone calls from your ex Ian.
You didn't really have the energy to explain that you can see a blue haired sweet clown man, but no one else could.
And also the fact that you have had sex with him on multiple occasions.
That was until Shaun moved in for the time being.
You were hanging out in the kitchen making some lunch.
Shaun was always one for ghosts, and horror, and some witchcraft, so he should totally understand where you're coming from.
"You're seeing a what now?"
"A-And you're dating it?"
"He's not an it, Shaun!"
"So...Lemme get this straight. He CAME OUT OF your T.V, and slowly but surely, you guys start to date. And he's a clown??"
"Pretty much!"
He wasn't trying to downplay what your thoughts, beliefs and sights were, but it was just a bit confusing.
If not a lot.
You gestured Jack to come over, which just looked rather odd from Shaun's perspective.
You told Jack to carry you, and the sweet clown man put you on-top of his shoulders.
"What the actual fuck?"
Now, since Shaun can't actually see Jack, and their Sunshine doesn't know how to fix that, the two of you would get down and dirty in the realm of spells.
Random rituals Shaun wrote down in this special book of his, or anything the two of you could come up with.
You spent time with Shaun more often, and that was something Jack didn't quite like.
Now, in Nick's situation (supposedly), Jack made his way to torment Nick for being a little bit too friendly. In the end, he tortured Nick so much by his pres
We can only assume that Jack can manipulate who he wants to be seen by.
Specifically those who are trying to take his Sunshine away.
And right now, Shaun is one of them.
With the amount of time you’ve been spending with him is not something he likes.
“This is the man you’ve been swooning over?! I thought we discussed this, no more clowns!”
“First Ian, now a literal clown!”
Starting off, Shaun and him didn’t exactly get along.
Whenever Shaun would start conversation, Jack just walked away or ignored him.
But eventually it has to get tiring.
The more time you spend with Shaun, you found yourself to be so much more fond with him.
Jack could say the same thing.
Shaun was a..new comfort to Jack.
He enjoyed that he could make terrible puns with Shaun to “torment” you with.
He didn’t try taking away his Sunshine in the end after all (ish), he just tried making you visible.
Eventually, I don’t know how, you all decided collectively to get together.
Now, since you’ve officially have two new boyfriends, there’s a lot of changes.
Jack would have to wake the both of you up in the mornings now..
“Mmph.. a few more minutes..”
“Wh-What they said..-“
“Rise and shine already! Breakfast is almost ready!!!”
You had twice the protection!
Jack had someone else to also give all of his love too.
Of course you had your occasional fight, but what healthy relationship doesn’t?
You guys were all happy in the end.
Whenever you were sad Jack would be comforting you on your left side, and Shaun would be there with all your favorite snacks, the two telling you how much they love you, and that it’s going to be okay.
You’d listen in on their conversation from the kitchen. Shaun telling Jack all about movie and film production, and Jack telling him about his time as an actor.
It was surprising how much they had in common.
Both somehow into acting/the acting process..
They both wanted to kill Ian..
They both loved you!
What more is there to ask?
107 notes · View notes
golden28s · 5 months
Text
so no one asked me but i have so many thoughts about ian and monica and today i woke up and chose to be annoying. this is mostly s5 centric btw.
i think the first obvious thing is that ian is the one that feels more connected to her, probably any of his siblings is as connected as he is to her. that connection became something tangible when ian was diagnosed, part of that connection finally had a name, a reason, a way to describe it. they shared something, something that no else in the family could understand and it felt like they only had each other, for monica it was her and ian against the world that was trying to fix them and change them, against the big bad world that was trying to separate them.
and ian thought, in his most vulnerable moment, that she was right. that people, that the meds where trying to fix something that wasn't broken, to change him, to change this thing that was making his mum stay with him for once. so he listened to her, so he let those words have an effect on him and be a voice that followed him like a mantra. monica used that, monica took advantage of his son's most vulnerable moment, of his son's worries, fears, sadness and frustration. she tried to make sure he knew she was the only person that understood him, that could actually take care of him, that he only had her. she tried to make ian become her, she tried to make ian destructive because that's what she was and that's what she thought thought her essence was and the thing that made her who she was, it was also the reason why frank loved her.
monica wasn't taking care of ian, monica knew, monica SAW how vulnerable ian was and practically tried to isolate him just to drag him to an environment that wasn't safe for him, to a life that was gonna try to make sure he was a copy of her. and she also knew ian was the most sensitive and empathetic one, she knew ian was quiet and sweet, she knew ian loved her and didn't have any faith in his father but fought every day to have it in his mum. he needed his mum, she listened to his call but she didn't know how to be something that wasn't harmful and destructive.
she also introduced him to the club scene, she went with his teenage son to a club and insisted on the idea of him flirting with someone. those someone were older men. his own mum continued the grooming he had experienced already, she pushed him towards it.
like i said monica just knew that with ian everything was different, that they had that connection since they were both very emotional and sensitive even before the bipolar was on the picture. she knew ian loved her, she knew no matter how many times she left, ian would end up smiling at her and accepting her again. probably the only time he didn't, the only time he actually got mad was in s7 and even then he mourned her death, he went through the grief, he missed her in his wedding, he thought of her.
she was an emotionally manipulator, she got things and love from their children like that and her sadness was constantly on sell. and the thing is ian, even if he realized that at some point probably in s7 like i mentioned, he still loved her and that might be the heartbreaking thing. monica used the emotional connection in her favor, to convince him, to make sure he was on her side but not to actually support him emotionally, not the be the mum he needed.
18 notes · View notes
Text
Promise
Tumblr media
Pairing: Ray Kon x Mariah Wong/Mao Chen
Note: So for my dear followers and members of Bakuten Shoot Fandom, here is my ReiMao Oneshot and a snippet from my book "The End is Nigh"
Tumblr media
Mariah was sitting at a hilltop, her eyes glimmering with tears as she rubbed her eyes again and again. She loved Ray. She loved him so much that it hurt her heart. But she had also promised herself one thing- that she will never come between Ray and his dreams. How can she be a good lover if she will bind Ray to her? Love isn't a bondage, its a bond that opens up the whole sky to fly freely. If Ray wanted to fly, who was she to stop him? Yes, it worried and hurt her heart that maybe, he will fall in love with someone else.
She scoffed. Of course, why would he love her? She was a reminder of the village anyways, just a village girl, nothing else. She would want someone with an open mind and modern thinking. She was a naive village girl, she wasn't even beautiful! He definitely won't love her-
"Mao?"
Whipping her head, she cursed in her mind when she saw Ray, and felt the tear marks on her cheeks. Frantically getting up she wiped them and turned to look at him with a smile. "Ray! You didn't leave?" She faked her happiness.
"Mao, what happened? You didn't even came to see me off. Are you hurt that I'm leaving?" Ray asked with concern lacing his voice, his eyes swirling with sadness and worry for the pink haired friend of his.
A Friend for whom he had feelings.
It wasn't long that he had figured it out. But when few months back The White Tigers and Blitzkrieg Boys arrived at same time at Tyson's Dojo- which was disastrously hilarious time of their life- he had been watching Mariah nearly tearing Kevin, Daichi and Ian in new one after the three had pranked Kenny and messed with his Laptop.
Surprisingly it was Tala who had pointed it out, just smirking and saying, "I didn't knew you liked pink." And when he asked how Tala knew his feelings, it was Bryan who snorted on his vodka and said, "It is so obvious that you love your pink haired Kitty." And that had made Ray blush, leading into the two taking it as their right to tease him about it at every point.
And ever since then, the pink haired girl of his own village had taken her heart. Maybe his heart was never with himself in first place, maybe she had it always.
"Oh it's nothing Ray, I just wanted some time alone." Mariah said and looked away, tucking a hair lock behind her ear. Something she did when she was nervous.
"Mao.." Ray held her elbow and turned her towards him. "You are lying. What is it? Tell me." Ray demanded, his golden eyes glinting in sun. Mariah felt her breath shortening. Ray looked like the very White Tiger, Baihu, the Protector of their clan. Be it his fair skin or those Golden eyes he—
Her eyes widened, and she gasped internally.
In the hazy midst of a dream, there stood a figure of enchanting allure. Adorned in the resplendent attire of an ancient Chinese dress, his long hair cascaded like liquid midnight, softly swaying in the ethereal breeze. His Zhishen robe, a pristine canvas of white, bore intricate designs in shimmering gold, each motif dancing in harmony with his every movement. Atop his noble brow rested the majestic Mianguan crown, a symbol of sovereignty and wisdom. Amidst the misty veil of slumber, he stood as a vision of regal elegance, a fleeting embodiment of grace and kindness, giving her a slow smile despite her being unable to see his face.
"Mao?" Ray's eyes widened in worry when he saw Mariah's tears flowing. "Mao!" He shook her worriedly and Mariah blinked, wiping her tears. What did she do? Did she zone out? Whom did she saw? Why was the person in her vision eerily similar to Ray? Why was she feeling this sudden urge to cry and hold Ray?
"I-I'm fine Ray!" Mariah choked out and Ray looked at her with a frown. "You are crying Mari—" "You want to know why I didn't came to see you off, right?" "What?" Ray was stumped by sudden question, thrown off guard.
Mariah took a deep breath and said, "You want to know why I didn't come to see you off, right??" She repeated, a tear rolling down her cheek. Ray widened his eyes, and his hand reached up, wiping the single tear that rolled down. "Yes, I do.." He said softly, cupping her cheeks.
Mariah gulped and took a daring step ahead, their chests now touching as her pink glove clad palms enclosed around Ray's black gloved ones. "Ray... Can I ask you something?" She whispered softly and Ray nodded gently. "Do you.. Do you love me?" She asked. She knew very well that Ray was aware of her feelings for him. Her feelings that never extinguished, despite him having left village. Lee always berated her for loving Ray before they made up, but she brushed it off and stood on her ground.
Ray was caught off guard as his breath got stuck in his throat, no words coming out for a while. He stood there silently, holding Mariah's cheek as his white eyes stared in her eyes, which were wavering. Mariah felt her confidence shatter and she tried to take a step back, but Ray's firm hold on her face prevented her to do so. Ray smiled softly and gently caressed her cheekbones with his thumb and peered in her golden eyes.
"Mao... I'm not a fan of Words. I would like to do the action." He smiled softly and tilted her head up, closing his eyes and pressing his lips against hers. Mariah felt her knees buckle as her tears flew rapidly, and she hurriedly wrapped her arms across his neck and his sturdy arms fell around her small waist, pulling her flush against him as he kissed her more deeply, savouring the taste if strawberry on her lips. He tilted his head for more access and kissed her more deeply, nipping at her lower lip with his sharp teeth.
Mariah let out a yelp at that, and Ray broke their kiss, adjoining their foreheads together as sun shone brightly over them, casting a lovely scenery around them. "I hope you know now..." He breathed out softly, smiling at her lovingly. Mariah nodded rapidly, her tears flowing more and more. "Mao, I promise you. I will return. And when I return.." He took out his Beyblade, and caressed the bitchip of Driger. "I will marry you.." He smiled softly.
Mariah let out a loud teary cry, and lunges forward. Ray yelled in surprise as he felt himself going off balance and he fell on his back, only for Mariah's lips to contact his in a sweet kiss. "I'm yours, Rei." Mariah mumbled shyly between their kiss, and he hugged her tightly, taking off her head scarf in process. "Ray!" Mariah gasped and tried taking her scarf back.
"Nuh-uh!" Ray shook his head and held her scarf up. "It's your token, I want you stronger than ever and face me in Tournament, okay?" He asked softly and her cheeks turned red as she nodded, and slowly laid her head on his chest, listening to his soothing heartbeat.
"I love you Ray.."
"I love you as well, My Little Mao.."
Tumblr media
I wanted it to turn out more beautiful and aesthetic but well ig that's the level if romance I can write—
8 notes · View notes
japhan2024 · 2 months
Text
Next to me
for smosh amangela week @zillaphoneswag
day 6: cute jealousy
You're not supposed to fall in love with your soulmate co-worker best friend. But then again, this was Smosh.
read on ao3
"Hey Amanda," Courtney sang in a character voice.
It was 7:15 am on a shooting day. Nobody else but Ian and Tommy were at the office yet, but they were watching stuff on Ian's phone and didn't pay attention. Amanda was making coffee, but now she turned her attention to Courtney.
"Oh, hello! Who have we here?"
"Tis I, the bringer of hot, scorching tea." Courtney did a little ballet dance around Amanda. She wore baggy clothes today, with her short haircut and glasses.
"Okay, okay, spill?"
"Well, have you noticed you always sit next to Angela in videos lately? There hasn't been a single one where there was someone in between you the last month."
Amanda actually didn't know. Or she hadn't noticed at least. It was so natural to have Angela at her side. They would always be joking, touching, hugging... it was great to have her 'soulmate' next to her, as Angela had declared "a soulmate can be a friend!"
"Is that the tea you're spilling, then?"
"No, it's just that there was someone who requested you always sit next to each other. Do you want to know who it is?"
"Is it... Is it Ian? No? Spencer? Kiana?"
Courtney kept shaking their head.
Tommy yelled, "Oh my god Ian, that's the worst thing I've ever seen! Please just... pour bleech in my eyes or something..."
Ian laughed and continued to show him whatever horrors he had on his phone this time.
Amanda ignored them.
"Then who?"
Courtney had that look in their eyes they usually reserved for when they were with Ian and Anthony.
"Angela requested it herself! She just always wants to sit next to you, she said!"
"Awwe, that's so cute! Oh my god, I'm gonna cry that's so sweet! I want to co-request it if you don't mind! Can we just always sit next to each other in every video?"
"Sure thing, honey."
Courtney tiptoed away again.
Amanda was genuinely moved. What a cute thing to request. She smiled and chuckled inwardly. She fondly remembered Angela clinging on to her, eyes closed as she loudly guessed the answers in a gaming video. She remembered snuggling on the couch together while Shayne read Reddit stories. And when they had fake-kissed in the Love is Blind episode. She swallowed, but kept smiling and just took a deep breath. Yeah, all better. You're not supposed to fall in love with your soulmate co-worker best friend. But then again this was Smosh.
Amanda continued to make coffee. It was Ian's "my favorite coffee" and it was delicious. She just took a sip, when Angela entered the room. She was beautiful in a black sweater and baggy jeans. She greeted Courtney and Ian and Tommy and Spencer, who also had just gotten there. But all the while, she looked at Amanda, smiling back at her.
"Amanda! How was your weekend?"
Amanda put her coffee on the counter and hugged Angela.
"It was great, I went to the beach with my sister."
"Your hair still smells like the sea."
"What, like rotting seaweed?"
"No! I mean like a... a fresh sea breeze."
"You're cute. What did you do?"
"I just slept. Gotta save my strength for this week, right!"
"Oh, sleep is the best thing to do on the weekends! Nothing beats it, really."
Amanda went to make coffee for Angela. When she gave her a cup, she decided to tell her she knew.
"So, you requested we sit next to each other, huh?"
"What? I, uh, I don't know! Maybe?"
Angela blushed.
"Ow!"
She had spilled some of her coffee.
"Oh nooo you just got your arm out of the sling! Be careful, babe!"
"Okay, I guess I'll put my hand under the faucet now," Angela grumbled, still blushing.
"It's just, I want to be the one next to you. If you sit next to someone else, I get kinda jealous? I know, it's weird. But yeah. I love it when you sit next to me."
"Ang! That's so cute I can't deal. Don't worry, I've doubled down your request to Courtney. From now on, we sit together, always!"
"Really? You don't find it weird?"
"Not weirder than I already think you are, you little freak!"
"Shut up."
It was time to film their first video of the day. They walked into the studio together, hand in hand.
7 notes · View notes
jerzwriter · 2 months
Note
alrighty, you said "meaningful songs" so I'm not pulling punches lol. local cancer patient attempts to make you emotional with:
the "diagnosis = incurable" song (side note: i love that Christian (Ian) writes about his mental health with such raw vulnerability! His albums are all about navigating bipolar disorder)
and the "respectfully, fuck that" song. (I've been bumping this a lot lately, post-chemo hehe)
OMG OMG OMG. I saw Walk, and I automatically started crying. This is one of my all-time favorite, most meaningful songs. I fucking LOVE it! It has pulled me through some serious shit - so this is THE FUCKING SONG for you right now! Play it all day, every day! Aggh. I can't listen to it without goosebumps, crying, and dancing around my living room like a total fucking maniac... and that's just what happened here at 11:30 PM - no fucks given.... this part...
To keep alive, a moment at a time That's still inside, a whisper to a riot To keep alive, a moment at a time That's still inside, a whisper to a riot The sacrifice, the knowing to survive That first decline, another state of mind I'm on my knees, I'm praying for a sign Forever, whenever, I never wanna die
I never wanna die I never wanna die I'm on my knees, I never wanna die I'm dancing on my grave I'm running through the fire Forever, whenever I never wanna die I never wanna leave I'll never say goodbye Forever, whenever Forever, whenever
I AM SCREAMING!!!!!!!! Literally screaming! Personal memory here. I went through some major shit some time ago; I honestly didn't think I'd survive. FF was on tour, but I was flat broke, so that wasn't happening. Well, my ex-girlfriend showed up at my job, threw a change of clothes at me, and said, "Just get in the car." Without telling me where we were going, she took me to see them live, freaking pit tickets. I almost died. I was stageside like I had Dave Grohl's (aka Jesus) sweat on me. Screamed this at the top of my lungs balling my eyes out. (She got so fucking lucky that night, but I digress). Def a top 10 moment in my life.
After that total catharsis, I had no doubt that I would love whatever else you suggested here - now, I did not know of DPR IAN before, but OMG, I loved this song. I listened four times in a row and loved it, and they are also added to my listen-to at work tomorrow because I need to know more about them. And "mental health with raw vulnerability" - babe, that's my thing right there. There is nothing I love more than artists who do this; it's one reason I love Noah Kahan; sometimes, I think that MF went into my brain and took notes that I've never been able to create. So I am ABSOLUTELY getting more acquainted with this artist. Thank you SO MUCH for introducing me.
Like - you put me in such a better state of mind rn - you have no idea - THANK YOU - and as I've told you before - you are a fucking ROCK STAR. Never mind these artists; YOU are the rock star! (I mean - you're a rock star compared to DAVE GROHL - that's something!) Sending you a huge hug and all the love!
Send me a song.
7 notes · View notes
lingy910y · 4 months
Text
Weekly Tag Wednesday
thanks @energievie, @mybrainismelted, @deedala & @mmmichyyy for the tags! 😁😌💖 these questions are long but fun
1. which character from any media would you like to have as a father? I KNOW i said i don't think ian and mick would be that good as parents but screw it, i want ian to be my dad 😌
2. if money, laws, time, and effort were no object, what animal would you want to have? i still wouldn’t bc i would like them to be free instead of living with me. even if it’s effortless there’s still a lot of responsibility that comes with taking care of another thing but if there was an ethical way, i want a teacup dog
3. what is your chinese takeout order? i eat chinese food on a daily basis so there’s so much i like but fried ramen or yaki udon (ik it’s japanese but chinese restaurants have them) and wonton. or shrimp rice rolls, i have them every saturday bc they’re my fav food
4. what’s your favorite emoji? 💀 in terms of most used. it’s the superior way to laugh
5. would you rather have a library, greenhouse, or home theater in your house? oooooh library
6. what childhood tv show do you think of the most fondly? my little pony 🦄 my little pony🦄 ahh ahh AHH AHH (i still like it)
7. what was your tumblr like when you first joined? bakudeku stuff and kinda cringey posts like "reblog if you don't want to have bad luck" and bad jokes
8. what clothing style do you love but don't feel compelled to replicate yourself? the cutesy kind like oversized sweaters and leg warmers
9. if you were plopped into a fictional world, which one would you know the layout of the best? genshin, even tho i did so bad on its geoguesser parody LOL
10. what is your favorite piece of art? the question didn't specify the type of art, so i'll say this person's fanart is up there: https://x.com/Tarokunnnn/status/1235139944525504513?s=20
11. do you have a water bottle? yes, it's coral-colored and insulated from zojirushi
12. what fanfic trope is a fanfic fave? ...cheating? if it's one half of the ship cheating on the other person with someone else. the fics aren't my fav bc it's ooc (most of the time) but like i've said before i like angsty drama lmao
13. do you carry a daily bag? what does it look like? what’s the weirdest thing in it? yeah my backpack that's preppy with pink and tan colors. weirdest things are post-its i still keep from compliments my classmates gave me on my english projects during gallery walks where we have to write down "glows and grows" for others (it's not weird but i had to write smth shh)
14. if you had to ship mickey with another gallagher, who would it be? lip is the least weird option bc debbie, carl, and liam have a way too big age gap with him and they look up to him. that leaves fiona but she's also a girl 😭 and i know i just said cheating is fun to read and it could just be an au but lickey makes me mad AKDJASF (no hate to the shippers) i'm thinking way too hard abt this let's just go with frank
15. what is a fanfic trope you didn’t expect to like and then very much did? historical aus :0c i said i don't really like aus but maybe it's cause i already like history
16. do you think s11 mickey can still carry s11 ian? yeah he's still buff as fuck
17. who got custody of the killing bat when they sold the house? they did not go through with selling the house <3 but if they do i see carl and mickey fighting for it LOL
tagging @heymrspatel, @softmick, @krystallouwho, @michellemisfit, @jademickian, @iansw0rld & @juliakayyy
7 notes · View notes
ashxketchum · 4 months
Text
Also available on FFN.
Notes on the AU can be read here.
Summary: Tyson and Co. are back to Camp Half-Blood for another summer of fighting monsters and playing lackey to the Gods whims and fantasies. The first Capture The Flag of the season has everyone tense and excited, but when an unknown reason leaves Tyson unconscious on the battlefield, he unearths some feelings that he didn't know were grounded in his heart until now.
Word Count: 11k+ (divider by @/cafekitsune)
Tumblr media Tumblr media
The scent of fresh strawberries hung stubbornly in the air making Hilary scrunch up her nose every time she took a deep breath. She wasn’t happy that her team was stuck with the Southern Hills as their side for tonight’s game of Capture The Flag, considering that Demeter and Dionysus’s cabins had decided to sit the game out. Now the strawberry fields, the only prominent landmark on their side, served as a bittersweet reminder of the advantage they lacked today. She shook her head and tucked a few loose strands of her curly, brown hair behind her ears as she turned around to face all the senior counsellors on her team tonight.
“Right, let’s get started,” Hilary said, her jaw set firmly as she acknowledged every leader standing around in a circle with her.
Max, the head counsellor for the Apollo cabin gave her a reassuring smile, his bright features making him glow like a setting sun under the dark canopy of the forest. Ian, senior counsellor for the Hephaestus cabin stood next to Max, tinkering with a screwdriver and chunky piece of celestial bronze, although his dark eyes were fixed on the item he was building, Hilary knew that she had his full listening attention. Emily, who was the next in command for Athena’s cabin after Hilary eyed Ian’s invention dubiously before facing her with a confident nod. Rei stood next to Emily, his arms folded across his chest with his trademark poker face. He was close to completing a full year with them yet Hilary still found it hard to trust him when she could never read what was going on in his mind. But since everyone else at the camp had warmed up to his presence already, she had no choice but to play along and hope for herself to be proved wrong.
Finally, her eyes met Tyson’s and it didn’t take her even a second to avert her gaze. They hadn’t talked to each other at all since the Hera fiasco last summer so when he’d arrived a few days ago she’d hoped to smooth things over with him. But his stormy blue eyes had looked right past her, like she no longer mattered to him, the past four years of spending every summer at camp with her turning into hollow, faded memories because she’d made one stupid mistake. Even now the impassive manner in which his eyes studied her almost sent a shiver down her spine. As if the nerves of leading the Blue team tonight weren’t enough, she now had to deal with Tyson’s temper tantrum as well.
“I think it goes without saying,” Hilary cleared her throat loudly, pausing for a minute to check for interruptions before she delivered her game plan for the night, “Rei will be the one responsible for capturing the Red flag.”
“Wait, why?” Tyson’s loud protest did not surprise her, she had been expecting his reaction to be exactly this.
“What do you mean why?” She replied calmly, and because she found it hard to meet his angry eyes, she addressed the other leaders instead, “He has Nemesis’s blessing, which makes him the most suitable for the task.”
“Doesn’t that mean they’ll be expecting him to take the lead?” Tyson spoke up before any other camper could get in a word of support, “That they’ll be ready for him? So we should-”
“We should what?” Hilary spat back, she didn’t mean to be aggressive, but an angry Tyson always brought out her worst traits, “We should let him stand guard at the back while you rush into enemy territory without thinking and make things difficult for the rest of us?”
“What happened to keeping emotions off the battlefield?” He scoffed at her, a tinge of hurt visible in his eyes as she poked at his weak point, “So much for being wisdom’s daughter huh?”
Hilary opened her mouth to argue that he was the one who started the argument by interrupting her explanation but Max raised a hand and cleared his throat loudly, easily shifting everyone’s attention towards him.
“Okay, let’s all take a step back and think about what’s important right now.” He eyed both Tyson and Hilary warily. While Tyson turned his face away murmuring something under his breath, Hilary nodded at Max, gesturing for him to go on. “We’re going up against Ares, Aphrodite and Hermes, all very formidable cabins with extremely talented leaders.” An exclamation of agreement passed around the circle as each camper considered Max’s words carefully.
“Hilary is the best strategist at camp, if she has a plan, we should adhere to it.”
Once again, everyone nodded along to Max’s statement and Hilary herself found her mind being soothed by his words. She’d always wondered if he instilled some healing magic in his voice when he spoke in situations like these. The effect was quite different from the Aphrodite charmspeak, he didn’t force anyone to feel less anxious but rather washed away the negative feelings with his choice of words and the strength he put behind them. Hilary had asked Max about it a few times too, but he’d brushed her off with a wink and a smile only igniting her curiosity further.
“And keeping all things aside, I agree that Rei should be responsible for capturing the flag, it’s his first time playing with us after all.” Max smiled at Rei and just for a brief second Hilary noticed the latter’s golden eyes flicker when he nodded curtly in response, the rest of his face continuing to not betray his true emotions. After confirming that everyone around the circle was on the same page, Max then turned around and motioned for her to continue explaining her plan with a wave of his hand “Hilary.”
“So as I was saying before I was rudely interrupted,” she glared at Tyson pointedly and he just rolled his eyes in response, “Rei will be heading for the enemy’s flag. Max and the Apollo cabin will be responsible for guarding our own. Hephaestus cabin will be laying down traps and providing support to Apollo campers. Half of Athena’s cabin will hold the front line, the other half will flank Rei. And Tyson you’ll-”
She found the words getting stuck in her throat when she met his eyes, stony and staring her down with the intensity of a thundering sky. Hilary studied the ground as she felt a rush of warmth spread across her face. She’s always thought that she was one of those people who were hard to intimidate, but clearly, she hadn’t taken into account the passion which Tyson instilled into every emotion that he felt.
“Tyson will be the decoy.”
The words left her mouth as just a whisper but the minute she finished speaking, the atmosphere around them completely changed. The purple evening sky rumbled above, despite being clear of any clouds and the air surrounding them started to feel tighter by the second like it was preparing to suck the breath out of their lungs. The circle of campers shifted uncomfortably as they all felt the change in their surroundings, but not even Max this time had the courage to smooth things over.
“I’ll be counting on you, Tyson.”
To her and everyone else’s surprise, Rei passed a calm smile in Tyson’s direction.
“You’re the only one I’d trust to watch my back,” Rei said, patting Tyson’s shoulder reassuringly.
The foreboding in the sky above died down and the air around them returned to its lighter self as Tyson blinked in surprise at Rei. When the meaning of Rei’s words finally registered in his mind, a grin broke out on his face as he rubbed his nose with an index finger sheepishly.
“You can trust all of us Rei, but yeah I’ve always got my friends’ backs.”
A collective sigh of relief went around the circle as if they’d just diffused a ticking bomb. With a final word on specific locations and tasks, the group broke out to take up their positions just as the first warning bell signalling that the game would soon begin sounded across the woods. Tyson dropped a comfortable arm around Rei’s shoulder and guided him towards the starting point, the creek that divided the two sides of the woods. Hilary watched them until they became specks in the distance, a little hung up over how Rei, who had known Tyson for the least amount of time out of all the campers, had managed to subdue him so easily. Nemesis was also known as the goddess of balance, so she couldn’t help but wonder if Rei had more tricks up his sleeve other than the stroke of good luck he freely boasted about.
Emily had already divided the Athena cabin into two groups, one responsible for the defence and the other offence, Ian and the other Cabin 9 kids were busy digging through the earth and planting mirrored devices that showed a realistic hologram of their team’s blue flag. The Apollo shooting brigade had taken up spots in the trees and were busy camouflaging themselves and their weapons. Hilary stood in the centre of the activity, unable to decide which way she was supposed to go, and which group would need her advice the most. She noticed Max slipping away towards the strawberry fields, where a makeshift wooden platform housed their actual flag, and ran to catch up with him.
“I’ll help you with guarding the flag.” She announced in between heaved breaths.
“I’m honoured to have you as my backup, but I know your heart’s not in it.” Max came to a stop just a few paces ahead of the fields. He grinned at her and gestured towards the creek they’d left behind with a nod, “Go with Tyson.”
“He’d strike himself with lightning before he teams up with me again.” Hilary groaned as she covered her face with her hands. As if dragging him along for Hera’s quest hadn’t been enough, she’d now even labelled him a decoy, possibly the biggest insult a child of Zeus had faced in over a century.
“He’ll come around.” Max laughed, he pointed to the red and blue baseball cap that she always kept looped around her waist, “Just follow him and make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid.”
Hilary eyed her cap, a gift she’d received from her mother when she first arrived at the camp. While it looked like an ordinary, worn-out baseball cap, once she put it on, she turned completely invisible. Max gave her one last knowing smile and bounded through the strawberry fields towards their flag. Hilary shook her head in defeat and positioned the cap on her head, watching her hands and feet disappear beneath her just as the conch horn beginning the game sounded loudly across the entire camp.
She let out a tired sigh knowing that Max was now far from her earshot, she muttered to herself as she ran to fall behind Rei and Tyson, “An impossible task for the gods themselves.”
xxx
Tonight was probably the first time Charlie was playing on a different team than Hilary's since she arrived at Camp about six years ago. They’d never really discussed such an agreement, but whenever the Capture The Flag schedule was posted, the two would look at each other and the decision to work together would be made with a simple nod. This year however, Charlie had been pleasantly surprised by the Aphrodite cabin showing interest in actually wanting to participate in the game rather than just help with the armour, so when their head counsellor approached her for an alliance, she found it hard to turn down the offer. Hilary took the news pretty well though, she’d immediately rushed off to the Apollo cabin to secure support for herself and that’s how the two of them had ended up standing on the opposite side of the battle tonight.
Hilary was the best strategist at Camp so Charlie would be lying to herself if she didn’t admit that she was feeling slightly nervous about going up against her friend, but still, she was confident that today’s game would turn out like no other. Too many unpredictable factors were involved, Aphrodite cabin joining the activity for the first time, Hephaestus cabin deciding to team up with Athena as retaliation, Ares and Hermes cabin working together for the first time in 3 years and not to mention, a demigod blessed by Nemesis, the goddess of revenge.
To say the least, tonight was going to be very entertaining.
And at worst, a few kids might even end up in the Big House infirmary with serious injuries.
Or at least that’s what Charlie had predicted, and had already taken bets over.
She hoped that the people who’d be putting kids in the infirmary belonged on her team. They’d lucked out by being assigned the Northern Woods as their territory, which gave them the chance to station their flag on the huge and not so easy to climb rock known as Zeus’s Fist. Surrounding their flag was the Aphrodite cabin, with their best charmspeaker and head counsellor, Mao, standing guard at the top of the rock. Half the kids from Cabin 11 had camouflaged themselves around the rock as backup support. The other half of the Hermes flock was supposed to invade the opponent’s territory. Their front line was marked by the Ares cabin, standing in a semicircle with their shields up, forming a sort of hefty barricade.
It would be difficult for anyone who couldn’t match the military precision of the Ares kids to break through the front line. On the off chance that they did, they’d probably be attacked by the confusing shenanigans of Hermes cabin. And even if their talented opponents managed to dodge the silly pranks and reach the flag, Mao’s charmspeak would simply not allow them to take the flag.
Charlie smiled to herself as she strolled casually to the frontline, being friends with Hilary for so long had seemed to rub off on her in a good way, she was starting to plan two steps ahead and maybe that’s what would lead her team to victory tonight. Or of course, the fact that she had her trusty winged sneakers which allowed her to fly, and she’d practised her teleportation skills rigorously for a month, which would surely enable her to steal the Blue flag from under their opponent’s noses.
With happy thoughts like this swirling in her mind, Charlie’s spirits were quite high as she waited for the signal that would begin the game. So when her eyes fell on Kai, head counsellor of the Ares cabin and her second in command today, she was slightly taken aback by the serious expression on his face as he stared straight ahead, one hand on the hilt of his sword ready to unsheathe it at a moment’s notice and the other grasping tightly onto a bronze shield already raised in defence. She suppressed a grin as she took in the sight of him properly and then walked over to him, hoping to loosen him up a little bit.
“I know wanting to kick Tyson’s ass is an irresistible urge, but you do realise that he’s just a decoy right?”
For a moment, Kai did not move or indicate in any way that he’d heard her, but since Charlie didn’t budge from his side, he sighed quietly and gave in.
“How can you be so sure about that?”
“Because no one in their right mind would pass up a chance to have someone with Nemesis’s blessing gun for the flag.” Charlie snorted, shaking her head at his indifference.
“Or maybe Hilary is already expecting us to think like that and she’s changed her strategy,” Kai muttered, though he lowered his shield by just an inch.
“As much as I admire Hilary’s brains, I don’t think she’s bringing her best game tonight, she’s too preoccupied.”
“Preoccupied?” He turned to face her, and although his face was mostly covered by a helmet, she could notice him raise a curious eyebrow at her as he asked, “With what?”
“How to get Tyson to forgive her.. for what happened last summer.” Charlie shook her head exasperatedly. She’d heard Hilary rant about this so many times already that she had half a mind to tightly slap Tyson across the face and tell him to make up with Hilary for her sanity’s sake.
“I’m not a fan of Hera either but we did a good job completing the quest last year.” Kai seemed to be frowning under his helmet. His shield was now resting on the ground in between his feet, “What’s Tyson upset about?”
“The usual, how could we force him to help the goddess responsible for his mother’s death blah blah blah.” She waved a dismissive hand in the air, signalling that she was done talking about Tyson’s problems any further. Folding her arms across her chest, she excitedly explained her theory of what she was expecting from Hilary tonight.
“The point is I have her all figured out, Rei will be heading for our flag, Tyson will be the decoy that keeps you and the other Ares kids distracted, Hephaestus cabin traps and Apollo cabin sharpshooters will keep us from reaching the flag. And on the off chance we do reach the flag, Max will be waiting for us with his never-ending supply of magical arrows.”
“Did you plant a bug in their camp?” Even through the helmet, she could tell that Kai was impressed by her analysis, something that pleased her. Slightly.
“Hmm. Tempting but no.”
She grinned, turning her head in the direction of the Southern Hills. Her expression softened for a moment as she thought about her best friend fidgeting around with new teammates and partners, getting along with other people was not Hilary’s speciality and most people rarely ever liked her at first sight.
Except for Tyson, of course.
The two bickered all the time but he’d barely ever left Hilary’s side ever since he started at Camp. She sighed suddenly, earning a curious look from Kai, but she did not voice her thoughts out loud. Maybe leaving Hilary alone to fend with Tyson his first week back after all the shit that went down last year was not the right decision to make tonight. She felt a bit stupid for giving in so easily to the temptation of winning and outsmarting Hilary for once that she forgot about her duties as a best friend. She could only hope that Max could keep the peace between Tyson and Hilary and things didn’t get any worse between the two. Charlie shook her head lightly in an attempt to get the guilty feeling cropping up out of her mind. Turning her gaze away from where the opposing team was prepping, she noticed that Kai was still looking at her pointedly, waiting for an explanation of how she was so confident about figuring out Hilary’s strategy for tonight’s game.
“Hilary’s been acting nervous and fidgety all week and hasn’t been thinking straight,” she said, trying to keep her voice steady and free of any shame. “It got worse when Tyson arrived. Somehow he manages to bring out all her stupid traits, must be one of his secret abilities.”
Kai nodded in understanding, if he had noticed that she was starting to feel guilty about ditching her friend, he didn’t let it on. Instead, he surveyed their set up with a watchful eye and then turned to ask her, “So would you prefer I move closer to our flag?”
Having Kai ask her for cues was interesting, he was the oldest camper by age and along with the bucketful of pride that came with being an Ares kid, he was usually the one leading quests and any combat activities. Tonight’s alliance, however, was an odd mix of Cabins who rarely worked together and much to her surprise, they’d unanimously picked Charlie as the Captain. Her dad, Hermes, was known for maintaining strong diplomatic relations with all his family members despite all the drama that went down between them. So she felt she too was responsible for always being friends with all the Cabins and that had finally worked in her favour tonight. The thought brought back the confidence that had begun to slip away over her concern for Hilary and she squared her shoulders.
For now, she would concentrate on finishing this match and deal with the consequences of her selfish actions later.
“It will take them by surprise if you’re not at the frontline.”
“But?” Kai prodded her with just a hint of eagerness in his voice.
“But, even if they plan to use Tyson as just a decoy, he is pretty strong and we don’t have anyone on our side who can match his step except you.” She saw that Kai puffed out his chest a little bit at her words and had to hold back a smirk.
“I’ll ask the Ares battalion to spread out evenly closer to the flag then. Keep only a few of them as backup around here.”
“That’s better. I’m sure Cabin 10 can use the support since they’re new to this, and Tyson will definitely not be happy about being underestimated,” Charlie said.
“Interesting. Did you do a course in psychology over the school year or…?”
She saw the edge of his mouth curl upwards in a smirk before he turned to signal to some of his cabin mates to move further back. She had to stop herself from rolling her eyes at the sight, Ares kids had their own set of hand signals for such battle related communications which shouldn't have surprised her. Kai didn’t say a word out loud, only made a few odd gestures with his hand and the entire Cabin 5 reshuffled into a new formation, completely in sync.
“Just years of making friends with every camper to ever cross the boundary,” Charlie muttered to herself, unsure if Kai was still paying attention.
“I suppose I have to take your word for it.”
Charlie almost jumped as he spoke up after a few minutes, just as his Cabin finished repositioning themselves.
“However, don’t expect me to team up with the Aphrodite lot.” He warned her with a pointed look in the flag’s direction.
“Yes, of course, you don’t want to sit through a lecture about how war paint on faces is so passé.” She snickered when she noticed him scowl at her through the helmet.
“I’m still sceptical about letting them guard the flag.”
“Well according to the intel that I’ve gathered, Mao has a score to settle with Rei.” Charlie stated confidently, though Kai still looked unconvinced so she elaborated, “She’s even been practising her charmspeak for two weeks just for tonight.”
“Again, I have to take your word for it.”
Before Charlie could respond, the conch horn signalling the start of the game blew loudly across the camp. Her eyes locked with Kai’s and they both nodded at each other, without saying a word they dispersed to their planned positions. Charlie used her winged sneakers to fly between the top branches of the trees, settling on top of one which had enough growth to shield her from being sighted but just enough cracks to give her a good view of the battleground for the night. She could see the Blue Team fast on their heels as they attempted to break into their territory, Tyson visibly taking the lead with lightning flashing all around him.
It didn’t take long for Kai to appear from in between the woods, charging with full speed and intercepting Tyson in his path in a matter of seconds. Their swords clashed with force, and the sound of two celestial bronze blades grating against each other filled the forest, almost making Charlie smile at the predictability of the scene playing out below her.
xxx
Thud.
The sound of Tyson’s body hitting the ground rang deafeningly across the forest.
Kai stood with his sword still half raised as everything around him came to a sudden halt.
He knew that time had not stopped, he could still feel his chest rise and fall as shallow breaths escaped his lips, he could still hear the leaves rustle as a gentle, cool breeze flew past them. He could hear the hushed voices of the campers as they gathered in a circle around him and Tyson. And yet Kai felt heavily weighed down by an intangible feeling, it was as if he’d made the mistake of looking at Medusa and now he was frozen as a statue with his sword raised in an attacking stance over Tyson’s now seemingly lifeless body.
In the midst of all this, a lone thought crossed Kai’s mind.
Did he do this?
The question was answered by the shriek that filled the air as Hilary appeared from nowhere, ripping off her invisibility cap and letting it fall to the ground while she dropped to her knees at Tyson’s side.
“What did you do?”
Her ruby eyes blazed up at him, sending a shiver down his spine as the cool breeze vanished and was replaced by an almost suffocating pressure as all eyes fell on Kai after Hilary’s open accusation appointed him as the person of interest.
Not that he could blame anyone since he still hadn’t lowered his sword.
“Kai?” Charlie’s unsure yet soft voice cut through the tension like a knife, reaching him despite how quiet her tone was.
He blinked a few times to focus his mind, finally allowing the sword to drop at his side, he turned to face Charlie, unable to look at the sight that was right in front of him. But that was not a good decision either, he realised, as Charlie’s face too held doubt and suspicion like the others. She hadn’t called out in support of him, she’d called out in disbelief of him being the culprit behind whatever had happened.
What in the goddam Olympus had happened?
Kai yanked off his helmet and let it drop to the ground, earning a few more whispers from campers now beginning to gather around the scene in full. He forced himself to think about what had played out between him and Tyson a few minutes ago. There was no doubt that the two had been way too engrossed in their battle, despite knowing that this was just Capture The Flag, a game that would take place every weekend until summer was over. There was no need for them to go all out as they did, but this was probably the only thing the two had in common, they were too battle oriented. Things like friendly matches meant nothing to either of them and the sword fighting that the two had shown tonight was proof of it.
Tyson’s skill had improved tenfold from when he’d just arrived at camp a few years ago, partially due to Kai’s tutelage but mostly because the passion that drove him to become the strongest demigod was perhaps on a different level than anyone this camp had hosted in a long time. Kai respected that drive, it was what made training with Tyson and fighting alongside as his partner so much more rewarding. Though, they rarely got a chance to fight against each other outside of a training arena. Maybe that’s why somewhere deep down both of them had been eagerly awaiting a moment like this and that’s why they had gone overboard with their battle, losing track of how this game wasn’t about fighting each other but about capturing the flag.
But the more Kai replayed their fight in his head, the more certain he was that his sword had not managed to touch Tyson.
They’d been going back and forth, cornering each other, provoking each other, but until the last moment, it was an evenly matched battle. The only reason Kai had raised his sword high to attack with full vigour was because he’d seen Tyson channelling a lightning strike through his sword. He’d meant to cut the lightning out by striking before Tyson could blast him off and that was when something went wrong.
Kai still couldn’t put his finger on what exactly had gone wrong, but for a brief moment Tyson’s blue eyes latched onto his with a look of desperation, the reason why Kai halted his attack.
But the very next moment the blue lightning that had been charging up around Tyson’s hand and sword went out like a fuse, making him and his sword drop to the ground. Kai was surprised by how sudden the change in Tyson’s expression had been, almost frozen to the ground by the momentary anguish in his friend’s blue eyes before they darkened and he dropped to his knees. A low, pained growl escaped his lips right as he rolled to his side and went limp, leaving Kai standing over his body with his sword raised high which would make any sane onlooker assume that he was responsible for Tyson’s fall.
“Charlie, you need to go to Chiron and tell him to call the game off.” Rei’s calm voice cut through the tension in the air and snapped Kai’s attention back to the scene in front of him.
He had been too lost in his thoughts, trying to figure out what happened to notice that Rei had arrived at the scene as well and was kneeling next to Hilary, inspecting Tyson’s face closely.
“Right. Of course, I will do that.” Charlie nodded in agreement but instead of moving, she cast yet another hesitant look in Kai’s direction as if searching for an answer of some sort.
“Oh, get Max too if you can.” Rei used her delayed response to add to his instruction, he looked up from Tyson’s face and met her eyes, “Let’s meet at the Big House, we’ll take Tyson there immediately.”
This time Charlie nodded more confidently, she squeezed her eyes shut tightly in concentration and in the next few seconds, she vanished from in front of them, teleporting herself hopefully to the Big House where Chiron must be.
“Kai, a little help?” Rei looked at him next, his voice still calm as he gestured towards Tyson, indicating that the two of them would need to carry him together if they were going to get there on time.
Rei seemed to be the only one currently surrounding the scene who wasn’t blaming Kai for what had happened and as relieving as it should have been for him, it only made him more suspicious of Nemesis’s son. Kai was probably still one of those few campers who found it hard to trust Rei easily, especially since the latter took extra care in not divulging many details about himself. While he respected the choice of personal privacy, when it came to going on quests and fighting life or death battles, Kai would much prefer to team up with someone like Tyson who wasn’t afraid to bare his truest intentions for everyone to see. To his dismay, however, it was Tyson who had openly welcomed Rei into their Camp, making it Kai’s responsibility to be wary of the stranger on behalf of both of them.
However, right now was not the time to dwell on these little things. Kai was still confused about the turn of events but ensuring Tyson’s safety was a priority and he decided to act accordingly. He bent down to help Rei but before he could get close to Tyson, Hilary moved forward, shielding him out of Kai’s reach with her arm as she glared furiously up at him, her eyes filled with contempt for him and it made his heart sink to the stomach.
Kai recalled his very first day at Camp, he’d just turned eight and hadn’t exactly been happy with his mother’s decision to drop him off at this strange and dubious place. Something he’d expressed by attempting to kick Chiron in the chest, only for the Centaur to rise on all fours and intimidate Kai into silent obedience. He’d heard a giggle behind him, and at the edge of the doorway stood a little girl laughing at him. But when Chiron assigned her to show him around, she talked animatedly, happy that there was finally someone here who was closer to her age than all the other kids. Until Ares had claimed him a month later, he’d spent all his time with Hilary at the Athena Cabin, allowing her to teach him all there was to know about the Gods of Olympus.
He never would have guessed that there would come a day when she’d look at him with eyes full of hate, lips quivering with anger, hands ready to put a sharp dagger to his throat.
All because she thought he was the one responsible for what had happened to Tyson.
“Hilary, please.” Rei reprimanded her, keeping a careful hand on her shoulder, he gently pulled her back, “We need to get Tyson to the infirmary.”
“Dragon,” Kai mumbled to himself, his voice coarse as he watched Hilary compose herself over Rei’s words very easily. Somehow that hurt as much as Charlie assuming he was the culprit just like everyone else.
“I’m sorry?” Rei fixed him with a confused look.
“Tyson’s Ventus. He’s our fastest bet.”
Kai did not meet his eyes but turned to look at the sky, putting two fingers in between his lips, he let out a loud whistle which echoed all through the forest. Tyson had taught him the call signal last summer before they left for the dangerous and long quest Hera had set out for them, though in the end he never needed to use it. Now he hoped that he’d gotten the tone of the whistle correct and that the storm spirit would heed the call of someone who is not his master. The silence that followed his call was a little hard to bear. He could feel Hilary’s furious eyes digging into him even as he kept his gaze fixed up at the sky. Although he hadn’t glanced at Rei, he knew that the newbie was doubting his attempt at summoning the Ventus. Probably the only person who would’ve stuck up for Kai and diffused this unnecessary tension that had built up between him and the rest of the Camp was Tyson.
Kai clenched his fists at his side, staring at the dark sky without blinking, begging silently for Dragon to heed his call.
He remembered what Aeolus had explained to him and Tyson on the quest where Tyson first met and tamed Dragon a few years ago. Once the storm spirit allowed itself to latch onto an entity like a god or demigod, it would be inclined to keep tabs on their wellbeing no matter how far apart the two were. If whatever happened to Tyson was serious, Kai was sure that Dragon must have felt it too and was already on his way to Camp Half-Blood long before Kai had called for him. And for the first time that night, things worked out well for him. After a few minutes of silence, the clear sky was engulfed by a swirling dark cloud that rushed towards them at an alarming speed. Once the dark cloud was directly above where they stood, it swooped down onto the ground, transforming into the shape of a pegasus as it landed.
Kai somehow managed to swallow his sigh of relief as the Ventus stood tall in front of Rei and Hilary who were still kneeling over Tyson. Its eyes, which were made up of lightning, took in the sight of its master and just as Rei opened his mouth to talk to the creature, it turned its smokey head towards Kai, staring straight at him as it awaited an explanation for the call.
Finally, someone else who still trusted him, Kai thought to himself, feeling his body relax slightly.
“I am not sure what happened, but he’s hurt,” Kai said, he heard Hilary scoff angrily but he kept talking, “We need you to carry him to the Big House, in that direction.”
He pointed eastwards but with the creature’s intimidating eyes made up of lightning, it was hard to tell whether it understood what Kai was saying. About a minute later, Dragon reached out with a swirling cloud, lifting Tyson in the air easily. The minute Tyson’s frame left the ground, his hands fell behind him and his head lolled, earning a frightened gasp from Hilary. Dragon knew what it was doing however, within a few seconds he’d managed to secure Tyson on top of his cloud-like back. Lifting off the ground in one swift movement, it flew off towards the Big House without a second glance in their direction.
Just when Kai thought he’d have to go back to dealing with untrusting looks from all the Campers that had now gathered at the scene, Charlie appeared out of thin air right where Dragon had stood seconds ago. She wobbled slightly before standing straight, teleportation was still a fairly new skill for her. In her hand she held a huge microphone, the one Chiron usually used to make important announcements whenever they had a full house for the summer. Charlie cleared her throat and brought the megaphone to her lips.
“Capture the Flag for tonight is cancelled. All Head Counsellors must make sure their Cabinmates are accounted for and then escort them back to the Cabins. Once that’s done, there’s a Senior Council meeting at the Big House. See you there.”
xxx
Tyson had been living as a demigod for over four years now, yet what he was feeling was something he’d never experienced before.
It was almost as if the ground had attempted to suck him in but made a mistake and now his body was above ground while his consciousness was travelling through the earth. It felt extremely weird to push through mountains of dirt without being able to make a head or tail out of anything, he wanted to close his eyes and sleep, he wanted to stop fighting against the flow and let his mind be carried wherever it was being taken to. But something kept nagging at him, kind of an inconvenient electric shock, begging him to not give into the temptations of the earth. Not that Tyson understood what that even meant, but he attempted to keep his mind awake, he attempted to take note of his surroundings and not become one with the dirt.
Whoever was responsible for doing this to him, did not enjoy that choice very much.
The force pulling Tyson away from the world above the ground tried everything within its scope to make him give up and allow his consciousness to fall asleep. It showed strange images in the dirt, his middle school math homework, the first novel he had ever been assigned to read at school, Homer’s Odyssey that Hilary had been begging him to read-
Hilary.
A jolt passed through whatever part of himself was stuck underneath the ground.
She would know what was happening to him, she would know who was responsible for this, which monster used the earth as an element, or which god would stoop so low to get back at Zeus for a minor scuffle.
She always knew everything.
But she wasn’t here right now and if he was being honest with himself, he was glad of it because wherever she was, she had to be safe.
The more he thought about Hilary, the slower his descent into the ground became. The culprit behind this became aware of it too and instead of trying to put him to sleep, they tried a different tactic.
The strange images in the ground began to change. Now they moulded themselves into scenes from his childhood.
His mother smiling goodbye at him before she left to pilot a plane that crashed and resulted in her death. His good-for-nothing Stepfather dropping him off at a military school in the countryside, taking with him the entirety of the money his mother had left behind for Tyson. His first visit to Olympus where his real father, Zeus, refused to even acknowledge his existence despite of Tyson finding and returning his highly valuable lightning bolt within a week of finding out that he was a demigod.
His first fight with Hilary, after which she chose Max as her quest partner and he was stuck with Kai. Him and Kai arguing right on top of the monster's hideout, which led to them being ambushed by a huge monster army that followed them straight back to the Camp. Hilary smiling and shaking Hera’s hand as she accepted a quest on all of their behalves. Hilary almost being crushed under a Giant’s foot because Hera lifted her protection the minute they completed her quest. His argument with Hilary after they managed to escape the Giant and make it back to Camp.
Every negative emotion he’d felt ever since his mother passed away clawed at him, telling him to give up and let the Earth Mother take over.
Earth Mother?
He felt like he should know who the Earth Mother was supposed to be but somehow that piece of information was evading him right now, like it had gotten stuck on one of the sedimentary pebbles he’d encountered on the way. But even then, being able to consciously realise that he was indeed being controlled filled him with confidence and Tyson began to fight back.
There wasn’t much he could do physically, having no clue how far his mind had been dragged from his body, but through willpower alone, he was able to turn the tide by filling his consciousness with happy thoughts, memories he wanted to cherish forever by carving them into this dark mud that surrounded him in the depths of the underground.
He remembered how his mother used to decorate cupcakes with golden lightning bolts for his birthday every year. He remembered the face of his grandfather in tears when he’d finally been able to discover that Tyson was still alive. He remembered the proud smile Chiron showed him when he came back successful from his first ever quest. He remembered the rush of excitement he felt when he fought back to back with Kai during the attack of the monster army on Camp Half-Blood. He remembered all the pranks he played on the Ares Cabin with Charlie, the sing-alongs with Max around the campfire, volunteering to try out every crazy invention of the Hephaestus cabin, falling prey to the silly confessions of love the Aphrodite girls sprung on him for their entertainment. He remembered feeling like how he was finally home every time he stepped through the boundary of Camp Half-Blood.
But most of all, he remembered Hilary.
She hadn’t left his side from his very first day of discovering that he was a demigod. She was there to help him understand everything there was to know about Camp Half-Blood, about Gods and Olympus, about Monsters. Sure he trained under Chiron and Kai, but most of what he knew about being a demigod was because of Hilary.
They didn’t always see eye to eye, however, in fact, it was rarer for them to agree on anything instantly. But still, they were both drawn to each other like a pair of magnets, arguing, seething, clashing and yet sticking to each other through everything.
And they always shared moments that left him feeling confused yet wanting more.
The first time he’d managed to come back unhurt from a solo quest, Hilary had been waiting at the entrance to the Camp on Half-Blood Hill, running down towards him the moment she saw him and throwing her arms around him with such force that he was almost knocked off his feet.
“I was so worried about you.”
His descent into the dirt stopped for a moment.
Despite of being responsible for the monster army invading Camp Half-Blood in the first place, when he’d managed to turn the Minotaur into monster dust before it could even cross the Camp’s boundary, Hilary planted a hasty kiss against his cheek, running back to join the Apollo Cabin’s shooting squad she turned one last time to laugh at his mouth hanging open in shock.
“Just like a true hero.”
He was now stuck in the same spot in the ground for some time, the Earth Mother, or whoever it was that had been pulling him away was going all out by trying to get inside his head again but it was too late. Tyson had gained full control of his mind because he knew what he was supposed to do.
He was supposed to get back home, to Camp Half-Blood, without getting hurt so that Hilary could greet him with a smile full of relief.
“I was told that Children of Zeus are not easy to manipulate.”
The words echoed all across his mind, it was like the drowsy, hoarse voice was speaking from inside his brain, which was possibly the only thing more weird than his consciousness being stuck in between layers of dirt and rocks underground.
“If you have a problem with my father, you should take it up with him.” Tyson tried his best to articulate a proper sentence in his mind. Since he didn’t have a mouth to speak from, he had to use his stream of thought to communicate with who he hoped was the Earth Mother.
“Oh, I plan to young hero. I need your help for just that.”
“Someone must’ve given you faulty info, lady. My father doesn’t care for me at all.”
He’d meant to put up a brave front against this Dirt Mother but thinking about his father’s disregard for him made the wall of happy feelings he’d surrounded his consciousness with tremble dangerously.
Hilary, think about Hilary, Tyson reminded himself.
“He will care, once I am done with you. However, I feel I was hasty in my actions. I am not yet prepared to take you on. My informant underestimated your mental prowess.”
He couldn’t decide whether he should take that as a compliment or an insult, and it was hard to dwell on it when he felt his consciousness dissolving into all the mud that surrounded him. Tyson wanted to ask just a few more questions to his captor but she seemed to have relinquished all control over him and his mind was now slowly slipping away from the scene, and hopefully back to wherever his body was. The voice did, however, decide to leave him with a few warnings that would ensure he spent yet another summer questing and looking for a way to save his life.
“But I shall be back for you, young hero. You have proved that you are worthy of my pursuit. I will be sure to send you a few presents that keep you occupied until our paths cross again. Perhaps, I will take the girl next time too…”
Before Tyson could retaliate he felt his whole existence being pulled apart and then put together again in one instance. A jolt passed through him and he was aware that he’d returned above ground, in his own body but he still felt heavy with exhaustion. He knew that his hands were lying at his side but he couldn’t bring himself to lift them, his eyelids too felt like lead making it impossible for him to even open his eyes to look around. Maybe he needed to rest before he tried to wake up, after all, the journey his mind had just taken hadn’t exactly been a vacation. Tyson decided then, that he would sleep for some time to recuperate, although the thought of his mind being pulled away while he slept did occur to him, by this point he was too tired to care.
When he woke next, he felt much more normal. It felt as if while he slept, his mind got accustomed to being back in his body, making it easier for him to be in control of his limbs again. He widened his groggy eyes and stared up ahead, realising that he was staring at the dome-shaped ceiling of Cabin One. Lifting his head Tyson looked around and saw that he’d been tucked into his bed, though he was still wearing the clothes from Capture The Flag night with only his armour and sword missing. He propped himself up on his elbows, blue eyes widening at the sight of Hilary resting her head near his knees with her eyes closed and shallow breaths escaping her lips.
Tyson tried not to get too excited over finally being able to see her in person. He straightened up and adjusted his back against the headboard. The movement on his end didn’t seem to nudge Hilary awake, so with a disappointed pout on his face, he cleared his throat loudly.
“You’re awake!” Hilary shot up from her position near his knees, eyes wide with shock and lips trembling as she met his gaze, “Tyson, I was so worried about you! I’ll go get Chiron and Max-” She got up from the stool she’d put next to his bed but before she could get moving, Tyson used all his strength to lean forward and grab her hand as tightly as he could.
“Wait! Don’t go yet!”
“But everyone’s been worried sick about you,” she said. Looking down at his grasp around her hand with confusion she added impatiently, “They’re going to want to know you’re awake. Chiron will have a lot of questions for you and Max will need to do a check up-”
“I know!” He really didn’t want to raise her voice at her right after waking up but that was the only way he could catch her attention and get her to stop talking for long enough to let him explain what he wanted, “I know the procedure, okay? Just wait here for now.” He added in a much calmer voice once she stopped fidgeting against his grasp.
“Tyson this is-”
“Hilary, please.” He interrupted her again, this time he looked straight into her eyes as he begged quietly, “Just stay with me for a little while.”
She held his gaze for a moment before she nodded, cheeks tinged with a light pink colour as she sat back down on the stool, pulling it closer to the bed after he dropped her hand.
“How are you feeling?”
Hilary’s tone was careful as she poised her question, wanting to know everything but not pressuring him to answer since he still hadn’t recovered. Her garnet eyes were shining under the dimness of Cabin One and it was only then that Tyson took in her appearance properly. Her hair was more dishevelled than usual, and her Camp t-shirt looked crinkled, which by Hilary’s standards was close to garbage. When he leaned forward to get a better look at her face, he saw that her eyes weren’t just shining, but they were bloodshot and puffy like she had been crying. A lot.
“I feel better now. How long was I out?” Tyson asked her, swallowing the lump in his throat with great difficulty. He hoped that he hadn’t made her cry for more than a day or two.
“Today would be the seventh day.”
“Damn it!” Tyson sucked in a sharp breath, “Dirt Mother better watch her back.”
“Dirt Mother?” Hilary passed him a confused look but he waved it off with a shrug.
“Never mind that. Is everything okay at Camp? Did anything unusual happen while I was out?”
“No, we’ve been careful since you collapsed.” Hilary shook her head with a sigh, sounding gloomy as she added, “Patrols, curfews, suspended activities and moving around in a buddy system. You know, the usual.”
“That sucks.” Tyson always hated these drills that Chiron would instate the minute he felt something suspicious was afoot in the Camp premises. He couldn’t believe that his friends had been subjected to this for a whole week while Dirt Mother played out his life in front of him in the form of mud theatre.
“You did collapse during a fight.” Hilary pointed out.
“Yeah, but that had nothing to do with what happened to me.” He mumbled to himself. All demigods were born with ADHD which is why most Camp activities were designed in a way that would keep their minds occupied in the right manner. If Chiron really had kicked in the most stringent protocol then Tyson would consider himself as the reason for everyone at Camp feeling restless and annoyed for almost a week.
“Does that mean Kai didn’t hurt you at all?” Hilary sounded extremely surprised by his claim.
“Well, duh! As if Kai would ever hurt me.” Tyson scoffed at her, shaking his head at her outrageous implication.
Hilary didn’t laugh off the thought as he expected her to. Her face fell as she began to fidget with her hands, “Oh no. Oh no, no-”
“What did you do?” Tyson found himself leaning forward again, frowning at how Hilary covered her face with her hands and shook her head vigorously.
“I was following you with my invisibility cap,” she said. Pausing to take a few deep breaths, she let her hands drop to her lap. Tyson could see that her cheeks were flushed red from embarrassment but she continued her explanation, “I came into the clearing and I saw you on the ground with Kai raising his sword above you, I- I panicked. I thought he’d hurt you-”
“Hils, his sword never touched me.” Tyson deadpanned.
“Oh, I feel terrible!” She groaned and Tyson almost grimaced at the tone of her voice, “I blamed him in front of everyone, the whole Camp has been giving him the silent treatment this past week!”
“Jeez, Hils that’s…” Tyson didn’t know what to say because he’d been in that position during his first week at Camp and he knew how terribly lonely it felt to be left out like that. When Zeus had claimed him right upon his arrival, the other kids were too afraid to talk to him because they didn’t want to break ranks. Apart from Hilary, of course. She was the only one willing to admit that being related to Zeus didn’t make Tyson a total jerk. That was something he was capable of on his own accord, as Hilary would probably agree to.
“I have to go apologise to him.” Hilary balled up her hands into tight fists on her lap and took a deep breath. With a determined look she got up to leave, but Tyson grabbed onto her once again.
“You definitely need to do that, but come on Hilary, how many times will you make me say it?” He gritted his teeth when he met her confused gaze, squeezing her wrist tightly for a moment before he spoke in a low tone, “Stay with me. Talk to me.”
Hilary looked shocked by the sudden change in his attitude towards her, he wanted to tell her that having your mind spend seven days traipsing through the dirty underground would do that to a guy but he held his tongue, and passed her a pleading look. She glanced at his hold around her wrist, eyebrows furrowing as if she was considering all the possibilities her staying with him could lead to. After what felt like an eternity, she finally nodded and with slightly pink cheeks, sat back down.
This time, Tyson did not let go of her hand, instead he locked his fingers with hers, and held onto her hand tightly. Hilary didn’t seem to mind and when she passed him a bright smile, he had trouble reminding his heart to not beat so fast that he’d end up passing out again.
“We’ve been facing thunderstorms every night since you collapsed.” Hilary finally spoke up after a few minutes had passed.
“Could just be a coincidence,” Tyson grumbled under his breath. He knew Hilary was trying to uplift his mood, but he didn’t want to know his father’s reaction to what had happened to him. Especially since no help had been sent to him in the seven days that he’d mentally exhausted himself in trying to get back to Camp sane and alive.
“When did I get back to my Cabin?” He asked, a feeble attempt to change the topic but Hilary was nice enough to oblige.
“Max said keeping you in the infirmary would be of no use since you weren’t physically hurt,” she said, biting her lower lip nervously as she probably was still thinking about how to apologise to Kai. “Chiron had you carried back here, he felt you would be more comfortable waking up in your bed.”
Tyson nodded along to her explanation, glancing around his cabin, he noticed a few new things. Rei was nowhere to be seen, which was odd since Hilary had mentioned a curfew and he knew it was getting dark outside since the domed ceiling reflected the actual sky. Closer to his bed, however, he noticed that a sleeping bag lay folded neatly, with many books on Greek Philosophy strewn around it.
“Did you sleep here?”
Tyson stared at Hilary in surprise. She quickly avoided meeting his gaze, the colour in her cheeks growing darker which gave away her response without a word being said.
“I thought you believed in maintaining traditions,” Tyson snickered. Not that he had any right to make fun of her considering all the butterflies that were somersaulting in his stomach at the thought of Hilary sleeping next to him for the past seven days. Clearing his throat, he mimicked Hilary’s voice perfectly as he teasingly added, “What would Athena say?”
“This isn’t funny, Tyson! I was worried about you.” Hilary looked up at him with a pout, “I tried to sleep in my own Cabin but I was afraid you’d wake up when I wasn’t here.”
“Rei didn’t mind?”
“Max allowed him to bunk at Cabin 7.”
Tyson glanced up at the sky reflected in the ceiling as silence settled over them. As happy as he was that Hilary had not let their argument from before affect her concern for him, he couldn’t help but reprimand himself for taking so long to get out of Dirt Mother’s stupid trap. He was sure that tomorrow morning when he’d hopefully be able to rejoin Camp activities, everyone would be happy to have him back, but at the back of his mind, he’d still feel guilty for throwing a damper on their first week back itself. He wondered if there would ever be a time when he’d arrive at Camp to spend a few boring months doing nothing but daily chores and activities. No monster armies attacking, no quests being handed out, just a simple summer of being a normal demigod.
His train of thought was broken when he felt Hilary slowly attempt to pull her hand out of his grasp. Tyson knew that she was probably getting impatient about getting him checked up but there were still a few things on his mind that he wanted to share with her before he would be overwhelmed by demigod responsibilities that he sensed were waiting around the corner.
“Thanks, for keeping me company. It means a lot.” Tyson tightened his grip on Hilary’s hand which made her look at him in surprise. She shook her head lightly at his words, mumbling something under her breath out of embarrassment as she stopped her attempt to get her hand out of his grasp.
“I’m sorry, by the way. For being mad at you.”
He was finding it easier, to be honest with Hilary now that he’d realised the only reason he returned safely into his body from the underground hell was because of her. She was obviously taken aback by the sudden change in his behaviour, her eyes searched his face for any hint that would give away his true intentions. Tyson squeezed her hand tightly once, as a way to let her know that his apology was sincere and came from his heart, Hilary raised her eyebrows at the gesture and though she did not seem fully convinced, a relieved look did settle on her face eventually.
“You don’t have to-”
“No, I do have to.” Tyson cut her off urgently.
He didn’t want her to write off his apology, he wanted her to accept it, he wanted her to understand that he did feel guilty for everything so the two of them could move past what had happened without any regrets or lingering anger towards each other.
“I’m sorry for ignoring you all year and for being a jerk to you the minute I got back.” He started again, making sure that his eyes didn’t stray from hers no matter how nervous he felt on the inside. “You were just doing what any demigod would do when approached by a God and I should have kept my personal feelings apart from the quest.”
“No, you weren’t completely in the wrong either,” Hilary said, a small smile tugging at her lips while she tightened the hold of her fingers around his as a gesture of reassurance. “Hera did lift the protection she blessed me with the minute I got her what she wanted, if you hadn’t been there watching my back, that Giant would’ve turned me into a puddle.” She grimaced at the thought of their battle last summer but with a shake of her head she finally allowed a full smile to grace her face when she met his eyes again, “Thank you for apologising, Tyson, and I’m sorry too.”
When Tyson stared at her in confusion in response, she laughed lightly and rolled her eyes, “I can’t believe I risked hurting your feelings for Hera’s sake.”
“Oh, tread carefully Hils, the old hag might curse you with a lifetime of no marriage if she hears you.” He laughed out loud, feeling as if a heavy weight had been lifted off his shoulder now that things were back to normal between him and Hilary.
“Let her.” Hilary scoffed, though the humour hadn’t left her face yet, she muttered in a solemn tone, “Who knows if we’ll even live long enough to get there.”
The average lifespan of a demigod at camp Half-Blood wasn’t so great, and from what he’d learned so far, it was even worse for the children of the Big Three, Zeus, Poseidon and Hades. In his four years at Camp, he hadn’t yet run into a demigod who was related to his...uncles, for the lack of a better word, so Tyson wasn’t sure what to expect when it came to staying alive as a son of Zeus. At the very least he wanted to make it to 21 because there was no way he’d let himself die before tasting alcohol.
Jokes aside, when Tyson did the math he realised that his goal was not that far away and he only had about 7 years left to truly enjoy his time alive. And like the idiot that he was, he’d wasted almost a year out of that limited time staying mad at Hilary and not talking to her. He didn’t want to start panicking, considering he’d only just managed to fix his mood and feel better about being mind-kidnapped, but when he looked at Hilary sitting across from him, smiling and holding his hand, bright eyes twinkling with excitement, his heart dropped to his stomach.
He could not afford to waste any more time that he had left with her.
“I don’t mind trying.”
The words left his mouth before he could control himself and Hilary’s smile faltered slightly as she let his statement longer in the air between them. They were both quiet for a while, with Tyson trying to keep his racing heartbeat in check and not let the turmoil of emotions that he was feeling on the inside slip out, and Hilary lost deep in thought, her face covered with a whimsical expression that didn’t quite give away what she thought of Tyson’s declaration.
“I bet that would make Hera really mad,” Hilary said, suddenly breaking the silence as she looked at him, eyes soft and a kind smile on her lips, “Seeing you all grown up, with a happy family.”
“Yeah,” Tyson replied, the anxious feelings building up inside him melted as soon as the warmth of Hilary’s smile reached him. He found himself feeling calmer and better in control of his emotions when he allowed himself to keep only her smiling face in his vision. “She might be evil, but she’s not ‘willing to hurt her own step-grandkids’ evil I guess.” He chuckled, managing to find his humour now that he was more relaxed.
Hilary laughed along with him before she lifted his hand and wrapped both of hers around it tightly. She fixed him with a determined look and a new emotion in her garnet eyes that Tyson didn’t recognise. Leaning forward in his direction, she spoke gently, “So let’s promise to stay alive together until we’re really old, to get back at Hera.”
“Okay, I promise.” It was a miracle that he could get those words out because his breath was caught in his throat with Hilary’s face being so close to his. Once he voiced out his agreement, she relaxed back and let his hand fall out of her grasp, sighing contently to herself. She was quiet for a few minutes before she looked up at him expectantly with her big eyes once again.
“Can I please go get Chiron and Max now?”
“Yeah, go ahead.”
Tyson laughed at how quickly she dashed out of his cabin, taking with her the warm, fuzzy feelings that had overtaken his brain. He knew it was only a matter of minutes before Chiron and everyone else would surround him, asking questions, taking notes and preparing for another summer filled with ugly monsters and tough battles. He wanted to take this time to collect his thoughts but his mind obviously had other plans. Instead of letting him structure responses for all the questions that would be soon thrown his way, a very vivid image entered his mind.
He was standing on the patio of a house he’d never been in before. Behind the red-tiled roof of the house, he could catch a glimpse of a mountain range. Above him, the sky was clear and filled with stars of every colour and around him, the air was crisp and fresh. In front of him, there was a big yard in which three boys were playing catch ball, one was taller than the other two, but Tyson couldn’t recognise all three of them. He looked down to check if he was really here, and not lying on his bed at Camp, and noticed that although there was a body attached to his head, it looked different than what he was used to. It was bigger, bulkier somehow as if he’d aged a good amount of years.
Tyson heard the door of the house open behind him and he turned around to get a look at this new addition to his vision.
When the woman stepped out, he recognised her immediately but at the same time, there were a lot of things about her that he could not recognise. Had her brown, curly hair always been this long? Had she always worn a gold chain around her neck? Had her ruby eyes always looked at him with so much love and affection-
“Tyson?”
She called out to him and just as Tyson was about to ask her what was happening and where was he, he heard her call his name again, this time more loudly and urgently.
“Tyson?”
He blinked and he was back in his Cabin, still propped up on his bed as Hilary peered at him with concerned eyes.
“Huh?” He was about to tell her that he was just talking to her, but it wasn’t exactly her when his eyes fell on all the other visitors that had surrounded his bed. Tyson took a deep breath and busted out a sheepish smile as he cleared his mind of what he had just seen. He faced the audience in front of him and rubbed the back of his head, “Sorry I think I fell asleep.”
“You don’t have to apologise for that, I’m sure you’re still pretty tired from what happened.” Max was happy to chime in with his opinion and Tyson nodded along to it.
He averted his gaze from Hilary and instead focused on everyone else. Chiron and Kai did not even ask him how he was feeling before they jumped straight to the question of who they would need to fight against this summer. Hilary shushed them sharply and allowed Max to get closer to him so he could check that Tyson was completely fine before he was interrogated. But even after his check-up was finished and Chiron very dreadfully revealed the true identity of Dirt Mother, Tyson found his insides buzzing with electricity that he’d never felt before. Sure things didn’t bode well for him or the Camp with the information that he’d unearthed, pun intended, after discussing his adventure in the mud at length with Chiron, but somehow he couldn't bring himself to feel worried about what was in store for him.
Because someone had already shown him a glimpse of what his future looked like.
Correction, what his future with Hilary looked like.
And Tyson was ready to fight against the Gods or their Mothers if it meant grasping at a chance to make it come true.
- x -
Tumblr media
6 notes · View notes
beanie-twink · 9 months
Note
So since you wanted some ianthony song recs... And I am also currently working on creating a playlist for them. I figured you wouldn't mind if I ramble about some of my favourite choices so far! :D
For now the playlist is still pretty TS heavy , since I went through her albums first to look for songs. So here are some of my top choices (aside from midnight rain) for them there:
- forever winter
"he spends most of his nights wishing it was how it used to be" "all this time I didn't know you were breaking down. I'd fall to pieces on the floor, if you weren't around"
- 'tis the damn season
"if I wanted to know who you were hanging with while I was gone I would have asked you" "so we could call it even [...] I'm staying at my parent's house and the road not taken looks real good now" "and I always leads to you, in my hometown" "so I'll go back to LA [...] And wonder about the only soul who can tell which smiles I'm fakin'"
- and then of course the corresponding "Dorothea"
- closure (this song hits even more since we know about the letter that Anthony wrote)
(tho I'm glad that the song doesn't actually apply to them irl anymore; it just feels like Smth for the in between phase)
- both happiness and evermore also fit pretty well for that time
Especially with "sorry, I can't see facts through all of my fury. You haven't met the new me yet" "now I get fake niceties. No one teaches you what to do when a good man hurts you and you know you hurt him too"
And
"motion capture put me in a bad light" "writing letters addressed to the fire" "I rewind the tape but all it does is pause on the very moment all was lost"
- also "right where you left me" for Ian Vs "it's time to go" for anthony
- I almost do
Literally the whole song fits so well here idk what else to say (works from both perspectives imo)
- Breathe
"Cause none of us thought that it was gonna end this way. Ppl are ppl and sometimes we change our minds. But it's killing me to see you go after all this time" "you're the only thing I know like the back of my hand" "It's 2:00 am feeling like I just lost a friend. Hope you know it's not easy for me"
- That's when
Just really reminds me of that time when they were still apart and when asked if there are any plans of Anthony coming back one day or Smth like that and said Smth along the lines of "the door is always open"
- the story of us
Again, literally the whole song istg
But especially "now I'm standing alone in a crowded room and we're not speaking. And I'm dying to know: is it killing you like it's killing me?"
- from folkore I think both "the 1" and "exile" fit pretty well
Especially "and it took you 5 whole minutes to pack us up and leave me with it" and the whole bridge with "you didn't even here me out. You never gave a warning sign/I gave so many signs"
- also "this is me trying"
With "I didn't know if you care if I came back. I have a lot of regrets about that." "But I'm here in your doorway. I just wanted you to know, that this is me trying" (Anthony)
"and it's hard to be at a party when I feel like an open wound. It's hard to be anywhere these days when all I want is you. You're a flashback in a film real on the one screen in my town"
- you're loosing me (right before the Anthony left smosh)
"do I throw out everything we built or keep it?" "my face was gray but you wouldn't admit that we were sick"
- New Year's Day (hurts during the "break-up" era, but also feels very healing atm tbh)
"don't read the last page. But I stay when it's hard, or it's wrong, or we're making mistakes"
"hold on to the memories, they will hold on to you"
"Please don't ever become a stranger, whose laugh I could recognize anywhere"
Honourable mentions:
- I wish you would
- you are in love
- long live
- the very first night
- hits different
Sorry this was way longer than intended lmao.
And mostly angsty
Hope you enjoy some of them tho! :D
ANOTHER IANTHONY SWIFTIE BLESSED DAY
11 notes · View notes
threadsun · 8 months
Note
Hi, so, fun story. I wanted to write a kink list for all the cult bois because you said you were interested in learning all their kinks, but then I started writing Ian's...and then I didn't stop writing Ian's. I think we might have another series on our hands because once I start writing it's so hard to stop. I'm also gonna put Berry's and Bo's in here just because I wrote them before Ian snatched my brain. So, here's whatever this is!
Berry: Corruption, Berry knows he’s fucking awful and he sees you as this untouchable god, so above the rest of them, so pure in every way. He wants to ruin that purity, he wants his blood stained hands to roam your skin. Where others seek to worship you from below, Berry wants to drag you down with him. Sadism, above all else, Berry wants to see you break, see you squirm beneath him as you try to convince yourself you don’t like it. If he’s feeling especially cruel he’ll fuck you while you while you beg him to stop, but as soon as your mind breaks and you want him to keep going he pulls out
Bo: Petplay, is an obvious one for Bo, but where it differs in this au is how he treats his master. You are the child of prophecy, the one who will bring new life to them all, Bo doesn’t just obey, he worships you. Bo’s also a lot more subby in this au, wanting nothing more than to be bred by his beloved master. Bo also loves to clean you up if any of your suitors have to leave before proper aftercare cough cough Jean and Berry cough cough. He loves to clean you up with his tongue, getting rid of their cum and maybe, if he’s been good, getting to replace it with his own
Ian: You, no, really, this man is weak for you. Any time he sees you he gets hard, the poor guy cums in his pants the first time you kiss him. Worship, I mean, they’re all in a cult so they all worship you but Ian especially. He worships everything about you, nothing you ever say could be wrong, nothing you do could ever be bad, you are the truth, and everything else is just trying to sully your wisdom. He loves to worship your body the most, taking his time to properly kiss and praise every inch of your skin. He makes sure to focus on any scars or marks or just the parts of yourself you don’t like, so long as he’s not breaking any boundaries of course
He thinks all your “flaws” are beautiful, the raised or bumpy skin being majestic mountains, uneven pigmentation becoming a beautiful pattern, and oh my god do not get him started on any fat you might have. This man loves some chub, taking it as a sign that you’re healthy and eating well, though he’ll also love it if you're skinny. Really, this man just loves you, the idea of you, the smell of you, the taste of you
To Ian you’re perfect, no matter what, and you feel it too. You feel it in the way he shudders as he breathes you in, in the way his lips gently brush your skin, in the way he just keeps cumming without being touched, but he takes care not to get any on you, unless you’d like him to of course. Ian is more than willing to paint your body in his cum before cleaning it all up with his tongue, shooting blanks as he reaches his peak again from the taste of his cum and your skin mixing together
OH THIS IS SOME GOOD SHIT!!!!!!! Barry's is sooooo fucked up and perfect for him, he wants to corrupt you, erase your godliness!! And Bo being subby is very in character for this AU I love it!!! Especially him cleaning everyone else's cum out of you 😍 and Ian........yep. yeah yep sounds about right for this wonderfully pathetic lil simp!! I love the idea that he cums untouched for you all the time and also is so into you that he'll just keep going~
14 notes · View notes