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baejax-the-great · 1 year

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Absolutely reeling.

So I knew that the origin of "Hector was a great man, moral, noble, better than all of the Greeks" began as Roman propaganda that somehow has made it to now, the year 2023, and is still taught to high school students.

What I did not know was why scholars shit on Achilles as vehemently as they did (and still do).

My copy of Fagles' translation of the Iliad has a preface by a different scholar who I'm not going to bother to name because he's an idiot (and idk probably dead at this point). I read the entire thing, absolutely baffled, because he would cite a part of the text (that I admittedly had not read yet! at all!), quote it, and then come to the most batshit interpretation based on that quote I had ever seen in my life. His general take was that Achilles was a sociopath who had no feelings for anyone other than himself and his own pride, and every action he took (until welcoming Priam into his hut) was done in service of that pride. To support this, he decided that Achilles did not see Patroclus as a person, but rather as an extension of himself, and thus someone injuring Patroclus was them injuring Achilles, and so he did not care about Patroclus, he only cared about his wounded pride.

Yeah.

That sounded wrong before reading the book, and while reading the book all i could think was, "Did we read the same fucking thing???" Put in context, those quotations still did not support his conclusions whatsoever.

But i cracked open Caroline Alexander's "The War That Killed Achilles" last night, and she solves this mystery of "Hector good, Achilles bad" for me right out the gate (which is good because so far I've only read the preface).

Western Europeans by and large learned about the Trojan war from Roman stories, which became fairly popular, and not the Iliad, which was not translated into French or English until centuries later. As mentioned, these were propaganda that cast the Trojans in a much better light than the Greeks because the Romans believed they were descended from Trojan refugees. This starts a trend that is still going on in scholarly circles as casting the Iliad as a war between "barbaric Greeks living in a shitty, lawless camp" vs "civilized, educated, weaving, real-wife-having Trojans," making the Iliad a tragedy in which Homer for some reason skewers his own people and their warlike culture as barbaric while propping up a dead, foreign city-state. This interpretation is still extant and was the postscript to another copy of the Iliad I have.

According to Alexander, scholars closer to Homer's time saw the entire war as a tragedy--both the destruction of Troy AND the destruction of the Greek army. While this is not covered in the Iliad, very few Greeks actually made it home after Troy. Some that did were then outcast (Teucer for example), some were murdered (bye, Agamemnon), some went on to create new kingdoms in other places (Diomedes), but by and large, there was no going home from that war. There was no great victory with all their loot. The entire thing was a disaster for both sides, spurred on by fickle gods.

Back to the more recent European interpretations of this story, one reason Hector ended up cast in such a "good" light, despite being a dumbass who wants to dishonor dead people just as badly as Achilles ever did, was in order to make Achilles look worse. Why was it important that Achilles becomes a villain in this story in which he is very much not a villain? Because Europeans were involved in so much war with each other and the rest of the world that a young, insubordinate man who criticizes his idiot of a commander, decides his life isn't worth throwing away for this war, and refuses to fight to sack a city was an affront to their values. Young men were to be obedient, follow their commanding officers, and colonize the world for queen and country. Achilles suggesting losing his life is not worth it to prop up Agamemnon's war is a dangerous precedent for all the good little soldiers needed to make their nations wealthy.

It's almost funny that these analyses propping up Troy as a beacon of civilization were made by people living in countries so bent on colonizing the world. They identified with the city being sacked and not the greedy sackers of said city, who they were much closer to. And Achilles, educated, morally rigid, emotional Achilles, is recast as a sociopathic asshole who doesn't care about anyone other than himself, unlike all of those other beacons of selflessness among the Greek leadership.

The tragedy of the Iliad is that Achilles is right, the war is pointless, Agamemnon did dishonor the shit out of him, and it doesn't matter because he's going to die in it anyway.

Frankly, given how badly his character has been interpreted for so long, I think the muses owe him an apology.

#the iliad #achilles #I have only read the preface of this book #hope yall like essays #writing essays at 6am and hoping they are grammatical #haven't even had my coffee yet my head is too full of achilles #also a hefty chunk of it was FRENCH propaganda like come ON

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idyllic-affections · 8 months

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achilles heel.

summary. the ninth harbinger takes on an... unexpected responsibility.

trigger & content warnings. references to poverty, [name] is a thief (at first), slightly ooc pantalone in some parts.

tropes, pairings, fic length, & other notes. fluff, slight angst, hurt/comfort. pantalone & child/young teen!reader, arlecchino & child/young teen!reader. 3.4k words. they/them pronouns for reader. this fic is divided into six drabble-like sections.

author's thoughts. inspired by a silly conversation @aroacenezha and i had. i dad-ify this man a little too much but you know what? i will keep doing it idc he's so dad-able. this post is structured differently than my usual content but i think it's kind of cool!!!

i. an unexpected guest ♡

Of all the possible unexpected things that could await the Regrator in his Snezhnaya residence—one of them, at least; the amount of properties he owned was certainly more than what one could count on both hands—this was... most definitely among one of the more shocking.

He was speechless, really.

"Please do humor me. How did you manage to get in?"

Of all the unexpected things that could await the Regrator in his his home, in his office of all places... thievery in and of itself wasn't unexpected; rather, it was the fact that standing in front of him was undoubtedly a child no older than fourteen. Not only that, but additionally the fact that they were actually standing in his office. They had not been caught. A child, no older than fourteen, possessed more skill than all of the others in the past who had made poor attempts to steal from him.

"You need better security"—they shrugged, making him somewhat annoyed at their nonchalance—"I really thought it would be hard to rob the richest man on Teyvat. It was harder to rob Lady Ningguang. I actually had to abandon that job, you know? Couldn't get to the Jade Chamber."

Again, he was left absolutely speechless.

Being compared to Ningguang made a bitter taste settle in his mouth. He made a mental note to drastically improve the quality of his security.

"You..."

"What? It's not my fault all of your agents are incompetent."

They weren't wrong, he supposed. His agents surely could do better at their jobs. Their smugness still irritated him, though. "Do you routinely rob the wealthy?"

They scoffed. "You all are hoarding wealth that should never have been yours in the first place. Archons forbid I steal from wicked people who couldn't possibly care less about anyone but themselves... Get over yourself. Seriously."

He genuinely couldn't tell if they had no sense of danger or if they simply had that sheer amount of audacity by nature. Though, admittedly, he did have to respect the fact that they managed to sneak in completely undetected. If not for his sudden appearance, they most likely would have gotten away with it. Their audacity did irk him a little, but... that was also something he had to respect. It was impressive in its own right. No average Snezhnayan child would so much as dream of talking to a Harbinger the way they did oh-so effortlessly

It did occur to him, however, that they did not look well-off; they were not the average Snezhnayan child.

Their hair looked as if it had been haphazardly and unevenly chopped off so that it was too short to become tangled (he did recall doing such a thing himself—at the lowest point in his life, taking care of his hair was a useless endeavor, solely because it did not help better his chances of survival). They were clothed decently enough in layers adequately thick to keep themselves from freezing which, indeed, was also something he understood on a nauseously personal level.

Most of the mora he managed to earn in his unfortunate youth was invested in... not freezing to death. Through them, he was forced to once again acknowledge his past, a past he endeavored to forget about because it made him feel pathetic.

...Or maybe it made him feel like an impostor in his wealth?

What kind of sick twist of fate had the Archons cursed him with, forcing him to think about such trivial things?

He should punish them. He should arrest them. He should send them off to Dottore and never spare them another thought ever again, even, but... somehow, he didn't want to. Much as he may have acted as if he couldn't possibly know why, he did.

The brat reminded him sickeningly of himself.

"Where do you think you're going?"

They were half out of his window when he called out to them, having taken advantage of his pondering.

"To sell what I've taken?"

He almost rolled his eyes. Almost, but didn't. That would have been immature and inelegant of him. "Come here."

They would have just left, but truthfully, it would not have been a smart move on their behalf. The only reason they had not yet been caught and apprehended was simply because no-one had spotted them in the first place. Not a single one of their 'victims' had managed to catch a glimpse of them. Now that a Harbinger had seen them...

They figured it was in their best interests to avoid being pursued by anyone with that much power, especially by someone like Pantalone. A man with that much political influence was dangerous.

"Show me what it is that you've taken."

They did.

A letter opener, a few picture frames... Nothing significant or extremely expensive (though, to them, anything at all from his office would likely be of high value), which is what left Pantalone completely perplexed. He honestly hadn't even noticed that anything was missing from his office when he had first entered.

Perhaps that was what made them so skilled, combined with their capacity to avoid being seen.

"Out of everything you could have taken," he mused, "you chose... these inconsequential items?"

"They're inconsequential to you, maybe. To me and to my buyers, things like this are worth a ton. Whether I'll actually be given what is owed is... uh. More or less likely. I don't know, I just— can I leave yet?"

"Not so fast, dear." He smiled, tilting his head slightly. They thought he somewhat resembled a fox.

"...What? Are you seriously going to arrest me for something so little?"

"Nothing of the sort. In fact... I have a proposal of sorts for you."

ii. the proposal in question. ♡

"You know, when someone says something ominous like 'I have a proposal for you'," they began, twirling a defiant strand of their now neat hair—which the Harbinger had... shockingly, taken upon himself to cut properly rather than paying someone else to do it—around their finger, "they generally don't mean... all this."

"Don't be difficult." He pinched their cheek like a scolding (or affectionate, but the nature of his gesture was debatable, given the fact that he tended to hide his thoughts behind a skilled mask of eerie calmness that they could only imagine took years to perfect) grandparent might. "Let the tailor take your measurements."

"Ugh... fine. I don't even see why I'm doing this," they murmured, gingerly raising their arms when the tailor politely prompted them to.

"Oh? Did I not say? My apologies. I intend for you to become a permanent resident of my household."

Silence.

"...So you're adopting me."

"That is one way to look at it, yes."

"Oh. I was... um." They paused, blinking a few times as if in an attempt to dispel the bewilderment they felt. "I was kidding. I didn't expect that response."

He only smiled.

They wondered if they would ever learn to understand that ambiguous smile.

iii. another unexpected guest ♡

Between teaching the newest member of his house noble etiquette, conversational skills, and other important skills they would need to master, Pantalone had grown unexpectedly fond of the little orphan he took in.

He should have been annoyed by how often they questioned his authority, by how unruly they were...

Of course, he wasn't. It was endearing and even refreshing in its own way—when was the last time anyone had dared to speak so freely and honestly and daringly to him? The respect rooted in fear that his status as a Harbinger gave him became dull after a while.

It really shouldn't have surprised him that he had become so fond of the little one who did not fear speaking in the most unfiltered way to him.

However... he did wonder if his fondness was causing him to spoil them just a little too much.

"...What is that?"

They grinned brightly. In their arms, a small arctic fox sat contentedly, strangely unbothered by the fact that a random child decided to pick it up and bring it home. It seemed to snuggle further into them and their warmth, in fact.

"It's an arctic fox!"

"My dear, that is a wild animal."

"And?"

Silence. Pantalone was the first to break it:

"I have the ability to acquire any animal you so desire of only the highest pedigree," he began, "the best available on the market—of course, assuming it could survive in an extreme climate such as this one—and yet, you chose to bring home a little street fox?"

They pouted, lower lip jutting out in an exceedingly childish way that he would have chided them for had it not just been himself, them, and the various Fatui guards stationed around (who all knew far better than to say anything about whatever they saw or heard within their Lord's residence) present. "Don't be mean. I came from the street too, you know... look at her! Look at this little creature! Say hi."

If it had been anyone else demanding such childish things of him, he would be appalled... but he supposed since it was them, he could tolerate it. He leaned down slightly.

"Hello."

Much to his apparent surprise, the fox barked back at him, to which they giggled.

"Soo, can I keep her?"

The silence returned for a brief second. Then, the Harbinger sighed deeply—it was undoubtedly comparable to the kind of sigh an exasperated parent might let out. As if he wasn't already going grey enough without this child around...

He caved to their whims regardless.

He was encouraging a bad habit, yes, but they looked so happy with that little fox. He could only hope that, in the future, they would not bring home any other wild animals.

"Very well, but I expect you to learn how to take care of her properly, otherwise I will be forced to let her go."

iv. old habits die hard.

The first event they ever had to attend with the Regrator was an annual event hosted by the Tsaritsa herself.

Much as they weren't exactly... keen on going, Pantalone insisted—he had claimed it was for publicity's sake. The public would favor him more if he was seen as the caretaker of a child. They supposed they couldn't really argue with that, but the thought of being used as a device to build public rapport was uncomfortable at best and nauseating at worst.

(He was very adamant on reassuring them that he didn't take them in solely for such a shallow reason. Though... he still did not tell them why exactly it was that he chose to take them in, which admittedly did make them doubt the sincerity of his words.

They decided to give him the benefit of the doubt, given how kind he tended to be with them.)

They absolutely hated being surrounded by so many pompous rich people who only ever turned a blind eye to the struggling of every low-income family in Snezhnaya. How these people could live with themselves, hoarding the majority of the wealth of an entire nation, they would never know nor understand.

(What made Pantalone any different, they sometimes wondered?)

However...

They were all viable targets, even including the other Harbingers present.

Columbina... there was nothing they could steal off of her without getting caught, and the idea of making a scene, especially one involving the third Harbinger herself, made their stomach churn anxiously. She was not an option.

Dottore... stealing off of him was unwise. They wondered if Pantalone would lose favor in them if they did. The Doctor, like the Damselette, was not an option, despite the many things they could take off his person without him ever knowing that something was missing (probably; they weren't truly sure if they'd like to test that theory).

Arlecchino... her silver hairclip was awfully pretty. Surely she wouldn't miss it? She didn't like the Regrator much anyways, so—

"Dear."

"Oh. Um." They cleared their throat, embarrassedly looking anywhere but at him. They tried their best not to pick at the threads of their sleeves. "Sorry. Force of habit."

He hummed, gloved hand raising up to rub reassuring circles on their back. The bubbling anxiety and discomfort in their chest subsided slightly.

"Come along. There is nothing to be afraid of, and please... do not take anything off of anyone. Leave the Knave and the other Harbingers be."

Of course, upon passing Arlecchino, they did end up stealing her hairclip regardless.

Though annoyed, she said nothing of it, because even though their audacity to steal something from a Harbinger at an event such as that one agitated her beyond belief...

It seemed to make them happy, and she didn't see them take anything from anyone else the entire night. She decided that she would let it slide just this one time.

(She also took it upon herself to secure it in their hair—which had grown longer and healthier ever since the Ninth took them in—after the event, claiming that it was a gift from her...

...And that, if they knew what was good for them, they would not dare to pull another foolish stunt like that ever again.)

v. achilles heel.

"What is it that plagues your mind?"

"Huh?" They blinked, sitting up a little straighter in their place on one of the soft sofas in the Ninth's personal library. Most of their time was spent in there, absorbing all the knowledge that they didn't have access to earlier on in their life. "What do you mean?"

"You've been withdrawn lately," Pantalone said, approaching them slowly as if they were some kind of skittish animal. He tenderly caressed their cheek upon seeing no signs of discomfort. "Have I done something to drive you away?"

"...No," they admitted quietly, looking outside of the large window and watching the snow fall. It looked... peaceful, but they knew from experience what it was really like out there. They gnawed on their lower lip, searching for a way to word their concerns without sounding ungrateful. "I just... ugh, it's nothing. I don't know. I don't know how to say it without it sounding... bad."

He raised an eyebrow. His hand moved away from their face, now stroking their hair calmingly. "You speak to me so freely all the time. Why the sudden change of heart, hm?"

He did have a point there. They never once thought twice about the way they spoke to him up until that point.

A sigh left their lips, and they shifted their gaze to meet his.

The way their eyes glistened with the sheen of unshed, frustrated tears made Pantalone feel a sort of fatherly protectiveness that he wasn't sure he should have been able to feel, and yet... their expression flipped some kind of switch in him.

"Why did you take me in?"

"I—"

"Wait, I'm not done," they interrupted. He went quiet. "What benefit do I provide to you? What kind of rich guy sees a random orphaned thief and decides to take them in? Who does that? No rich person I've met before you, that's for sure. People like you don't care about those of us barely scraping by in poor conditions, so why—"

If it were anyone else Pantalone was speaking to, his tone would have been harsh and commanding, but... that was how it always had been with them. They could get away with things that others could not. They were always shown a side of him that others were not. Perhaps that made them the Regrator's one single Achilles heel, and if that were the case? So be it.

"Stop. Listen."

His tone came out very gently. It was more akin to a comforting hush than a demand. He kneeled down to their height—never once had they seen him voluntarily get so close to the ground. Most nobles didn't, and yet, here he was. With his ungloved knuckles, he wiped away the tears that they hadn't even noticed were beginning to fall.

"I was you once, little one."

"I don't believe you," they sniffled.

"You should. I was not born into this life. My bloodline is not noble and my birth name holds no significance," he mused, tucking a stray strand of hair behind their ear. "I also used to steal from people, you know."

Their hair fell over their shoulders, to which they quickly raised a hand to the back of their head. The clip—once belonging to Arlecchino—was gone, now settled in their caretaker's open palm.

"H— huh?!"

"Admittedly, I haven't done so in quite some time, so what you saw just then was moreso the skills I've learned as a Harbinger than my thievery skills."

He kindly secured their hair back once again.

"Ah... I never would have guessed."

"That is the point." He nodded, going on to tease: "You do very much remind me of the younger version of myself... you have quite the awful amount of attitude, though. I was never so difficult."

They huffed, patting their face dry with their palms, to which he chuckled.

"Hmph, I doubt that. I'll bet you were worse than I am."

"Whatever you say, dearest."

He was, but he had no plans of telling them that, of course.

vi. enrollment.

"My orphans seem to like you, [Name]."

They smiled up at Arlecchino from their place on the ground, one of the much younger children sleeping against their thigh. Their hand absently toyed with the child's hair in a manner that seemed akin to that of a loving older sibling. "I like to think they do. They're lucky, then, because I happen to quite like them, too!"

The ghost of a smile graced her lips at that.

"You know," she mused calmly, placing a firm hand on their head. They squeaked slightly at the force behind her display of affection. "You are publicly viewed as the Regrator's child."

"What?!" they gasped, a mix between shocked and embarrassed. That wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but... "Wait, people are saying that? Actually?"

"They are," she confirmed, "but I mention this for one very particular reason: do you know how to defend yourself, [Name]?"

"Somewhat, but not entirely," they admitted. "I learned a lot in my time... um, wandering, shall we call it..? Anyway. I can defend myself, but not really well. Not at all well enough for the place I've found myself in, I think."

She nodded in understanding at that.

"Have you considered enrolling in the House of Hearth?"

"I've thought about it. Would I even qualify, though..? I'm technically not an orphan..."

"No, but consider it a favor from me. You would get an education of equal rigor to Snezhnayan private schools, as well as learning how to protect yourself."

"...You would do that for me, Arle?"

Her cheeks tinted red at that, and she groaned, lightly pushing them away by the head. They giggled at her annoyance.

"Don't call me that"—she coughed into her fist, trying her best to mask the good-natured embarrassment such a nickname caused her—"but... I would. You need to learn how to handle yourself."

She then got on one knee, meeting their gaze with intensity that made them a bit nervous. Both her hands sat firmly on their shoulders.

"What you need to understand, however, is that you will automatically be drafted into the Fatui at your graduation. I do not believe that the Regrator would let you out of his sight at your young age, so you needn't worry about being separated from him, but... you will be exposed to wicked things."

"...But I need to do this for my safety, right?"

"You don't 'need' to do anything," she clarified. "I would advise it, though. You are an annoying little brat, but I—as well as the Ninth—would loathe to see anything happen to you."

"Well... I don't mind enrolling."

"Oh?"

"I really don't mind," they repeated, offering her a pensive smile. "I've already seen pretty rough things, and, I mean... I know what you all do for a living. I'm not oblivious, Arlecchino. Any kid born and raised in Snezhnaya would know."

"I didn't think so," she assured. "No, I never once believed you to be oblivious... that much, I agree with. Childhood innocence does not thrive in this nation."

"You're right. It doesn't."

A comfortable silence settled for a moment. Arlecchino's battle-hardened hands were a calming force upon their shoulders.

"...Soo, how exactly are we planning on convincing Pantalone to let this happen?"

"Ah." She went quiet. "...That is the question."

please consider reblogging, it helps me out quite a lot! taglist: @m1shapanda, @kaichuuu, @zeldadou, @aroacenezha (aka the beloved moot who inspired this fic. say "thank you maji" everyone 🫶🫶🫶🫶 /hj /lh)

#aphelion writes 🌸#favoniuslibrary #astronetwrk #platonic genshin x reader #platonic genshin impact #platonic genshin impact x reader #genshin x reader #genshin impact x reader #pantalone x reader #arlecchino x reader #platonic fatui harbingers x reader #fatui harbingers x reader

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cosmosofthoughts · 2 years

Text

words i wish were written for me

Including book quotes, poetry, song lyrics and everything in between, these are some of the words that make my soul wish someone cared about me so much they would write this.

“Because you are the only person I can talk with about the shade of a cloud, about the song of a thought — and about how, when I went out to work today and looked a tall sunflower in the face, it smiled at me with all of its seeds.”

– Vladimir Nabokov, Letters to Vera

“My mouth hasn't shut up about you since you kissed it. The idea that you may kiss it again is stuck in my brain, which hasn't stopped thinking about you since, well, before any kiss. And now the prospect of those kisses seems to wind me like when you slip on the stairs and one of the steps hits you in the middle of the back. The notion of them continuing for what is traditionally terrifying forever excites me to an unfamiliar degree.”

– Alex Turner’s Letter to Alexa Chung

“And I'd give up forever to touch you / 'Cause I know that you feel me somehow / You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be / And I don't want to go home right now.”

– From the song “Iris” by The Goo Goo Dolls

“I’m not a religious person, but I do sometimes think God made you for me.”

– Sally Rooney, Normal People

“It is late now, I am a bit tired; the sky is irritated by stars. And I love you, I love you, I love you – and perhaps this is how the whole enormous world, shining all over, can be created – out of five vowels and three consonants.”

– Vladimir Nabokov, Letters to Vera

“I could recognize him by touch alone, by smell; I would know him blind, by the way his breaths came and his feet struck the earth. I would know him in death, at the end of the world.”

– Madeline Miller, The Song of Achilles

“If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be; and if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the universe would turn to a mighty stranger.”

– Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights

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pellucid-constellations · 7 months

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Hey!!! I just finished reading song of Achilles and I have been crying for the better part of the last hour while reading, hence in serious need of some Bucky comfort. So how about college or lumberjack Bucky (cuz they’re my favorites) who don’t really understand the whole fuzz over books but still holding his girl while she sobs her chest out out about a book (you can change the book of you want), hot tears down her face, ugly crying yknow?

It’s okay if you don’t want to :)) Have a great day 💕💕💕

Pairing: lumberjack!bucky x reader (can be read separately from undisclosed, but also a little reference to it)

A/n: Okay sooo this was so sweet and I had to write a drabble for it!! All this angst I've been writing needs some comfort! :)

~~~

He hears the crying first.

It’s a terrible sound that constricts his chest each time it meets his ears. Bucky would like to consider himself partially responsible for your tears becoming a rare occurrence, so when he hears them, he experiences an array of emotions—fear, panic, a twisted sort of heartbreak.

At the front door of his home, Bucky strains his ears to confirm what he’s already dreading. Because maybe you weren’t crying. Maybe you were sick? That wasn’t much better, but at least it was a more concrete issue.

When he hears the tissue box and the loud meow from Alpine—the closest thing to concern he’d ever heard from a cat—Bucky doesn’t even take his coat off before he’s barreling into your bedroom.

You startle, puffy eyes darting up to him as he takes up space in the small room.

And he’s devastated. You hadn’t looked like that in a long time, all tear-stained cheeks and frazzled hair. Bucky considers the multitude of reasons you could be so upset, but then decides it doesn't matter. Not when you’re looking at him like that.

“Oh, honey,” he coos. His socks make soft sounds on the carpet as he walks over to you, but the action only sends more tears down your face. Bucky could collapse. “Sweetheart, what happened?”

You don’t say much at first, opting to bury your face into his chest the second he makes contact with the bed. It’s too warm in here for the amount of clothes he’s wearing. Bucky doesn’t really care. You keep crying—Bucky keeps running his fingers through your hair.

Each sob that leaves your lips sounds more broken than the last, breaking Bucky down bit by bit. He wants to fix this, make it better, but Bucky has never been good with words. He’d been trying, for you. He will try now.

“Tell me what happened, sweet girl?” he mumbles into the skin of your temple, lips hesitant to leave your skin. He was always better with physical communication. He was also the best at loving you like this.

Your breathing gets choppy as you try to calm down. Shallow puffs of air meet the stitching of his sweater, and he rocks you as a way to coax a more steady pattern into your lungs. Even though he was wrought with panic, you were okay. Bucky had you, so you were okay.

“He—he died, Buck,” you eventually choke out. “He died and then there was no—there was nothing—” your words cut off again as more tears soak his chest.

“Who?” he stresses, although his tone doesn’t give that away. “Who, honey? Someone you know?”

“No,” you sob. The sound knocks the air from Bucky’s lungs.

Taking inventory in his head, that means all of his friends are safe, all of your friends. It means your awful family is alive as well, and while that doesn't matter much to him, at least he knows it isn’t the source of your strife. But the pain in your voice, the way you were limp against him and fighting for air.

Bucky couldn’t understand.

“Tell me who. What has you so sad, hm?” he tries, voice dropping into an even gentler tone.

You dig your fingers into Bucky’s jacket, pulling away after a moment. Bucky reaches for you, trying to chase your figure because he wasn’t done trying to make this better, he needs to make you better. But then you slap something into his lap and he’s confused again.

“Them,” you all but sob, turning back into the material of his jacket.

Bucky wraps an arm around your shoulders as he inspects the book on his thighs. He’s still lost, but your crying has morphed into sniffles so he asks, “What was that, sweet girl?”

He’s packing it on with the endearments, but seeing you like this is brutal.

“In the book,” you explain. “They were so in love. And then he died. And afterwards—Bucky it was awful.”

Oh.

A book.

This is manageable, to Bucky. You’re not in pain and he can handle this.

He hauls you closer into his chest. You shuffle until your frame is enclosed by his. Bucky’s size had always been something he found inconvenient until you came into his life. Because after that, he found it was good at making you feel safe. A way to protect you from anything.

Even… a book?

Surely a book.

“Hey, it’s alright, I got you,” he hums.

“Never die,” you whisper, and Bucky's mouth twists uncomfortably.

“I won’t.”

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky x reader #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes drabble #bucky barnes fluff #bucky barnes #lumberjack!bucky #undisclosed #asks

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jgracie · 3 days

Text

SUMMERTIME, AND THE LIVIN'S EASY

masterlist | rules

❝ Can you please write an image with Percy where he’s dating Thetis(Achilles mom)daughter and he’s helping her with her water powers?And they kiss underwater?🥺🥺 ❞ — anon

in which percy teaches you how to use your powers (but you just really want to kiss him)

pairing percy jackson x thetis!reader

warnings none!!

When you first showed up at camp, Percy couldn’t help but feel a little competitive. Water was his thing. Whenever you needed any help with any sort of body of water, he was your guy! Your only guy! Because no one else at camp was as efficient with water as he is, since it is his father’s domain

Until you came along - a daughter of Thetis, the Goddess of water. Immediately, everyone was enamoured by you and your charms, telling you all about Greek mythology, with the first story you heard being of your half-brother Achilles. No one had cared to educate Percy that much. It didn’t help that you could talk to sea animals too. Everyday, whenever Percy would go to the beach, all the turtles and fish and hippocampi would tell him stories of your kindness. My lord, she helped us fix our cove today! My lord, she healed my broken fin! Percy was sick of it all

Secretly, however, he was intrigued by you too. You carried an ethereal aura wherever you went and your voice was reminiscent of the feeling of gentle waves rolling over Percy’s body on one of his late afternoon swims, the beach empty save for him and the sea creatures, who knew better than to disrupt him during his moment of peace

Besides, he did kind of want someone to talk to who was as connected to the ocean as he is. So he put his one-sided rivalry aside and decided to speak to you, quickly discovering that you actually weren’t very good at using your water powers. You could use them, of course, but it was never controlled and drained you quickly. So naturally, being the kind guy he is, Percy offered to help you hone your powers. Totally because he’s nice and not because you’re the most beautiful girl he’s ever met and he would rather die than pass up an opportunity to be around you

The two of you would meet at the beach when all the activities of the day were over and Percy would teach you about the water and all it has to offer. During one of your first lessons, Percy discovered you could will your legs to join and turn into a tail - making you a mermaid. He’d never seen something more bewitching in his life. He was also a little jealous, since he couldn’t turn into a merman, but watching you glimmer under the golden sun as you swam around with your tail had him forgetting all about that

Eventually, the two of you realised you felt the same about each other and began to date. The lessons never stopped, of course, but now you could say the cute boy who was training you’s your boyfriend and not just your friend

“Okay baby, this is the goal for today,” Percy said as he lifted a giant ball of water from the sea and made it hover in the air, letting you observe for a second before letting go of it. You nodded, biting your lip as you made your way over to him. Usually, you were pretty focused during your lessons. You could kiss Percy whenever you wanted, so it could wait until after you’d learnt a new skill, right?

Today was different. Something about how his toned body moved effortlessly through the water, as if he were a part of it himself, made your face turn incredibly hot, the veins coursing through his arms - accentuated by the strain he was putting on his body - doing nothing to cool you down

You started off by making smaller balls of water float - something you’d recently become very good at. When Percy cheered you on, placing a kiss on your forehead and mumbling about how proud he was of you, you couldn’t help but wish he’d move his lips just a little lower as you licked yours

Making space for you, Percy waded through the water backwards as he said, “you’ve got this! Don’t be afraid to stop or let me know if it’s too much!” He grinned, and your heartbeat got faster and faster at how caring he was. No one was more thoughtful than your lovely, sweet boyfriend who you desperately wanted to shower with an insane amount of affection right now

In theory, the task was easy. You knew you’d be able to do it if you just weren’t distracted. You were no longer the girl who’d have to fight the urge to pass out after using her powers once, your body now being able to withstand much more, but your heart just wasn’t in what you were doing

Percy noticed this. At first, he thought something was wrong. Did something happen today to dampen your mood? Just as he was about to ask, he noticed it. The way your eyes would linger on his arms, moving up to his chest and finally to his lips. He smirked once he realised, your adoration for him quickly inflating his ego

He was going to let you wait a little longer, curious to see if you’d say something or just tough it out, but after catching your cute, desperate stare a fifth time in a row, your tail glittering as it swished under the water, he knew he was a goner

“Hey, Y/N, do you know how to breathe underwater?” He asked, catching you off guard. You made a face between confusion and offence, your brows clearly screaming ‘of course I do, you idiot’

“I mean, yeah, obviously. Why?” You asked, inching closer and closer to him, craving nothing more than his saccharine touch - always as sticky as honey, his hands never failed to linger, making sure you knew you were appreciated. They did that now, their warmth making its way to your soul as Percy gently caressed your arms

Then, he pulled you underwater. He gave the nosy sea animals glares that sent them away, making the seabed yours for the time being. He cradled the back of your head and pulled you closer and closer, your hands pressed to his chest and your mouth parted, the anticipation nearly killing you

There was about a centimetre of space between you now

“Consider this revision, kay?” He whispered before finally locking his lips with yours

#percy jackson x reader #percy jackson x you #percy jackson x y/n #percy jackson #percy jackson x fem reader #pjo #pjo x reader #percy jackson fanfic #percy jackson drabble #cynwrites

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lace-coffin · 4 months

Note

hello! Could you do something about Asa after he spends like, a good your looking for his newest member of the collection, and when he finds them, their just, surrounded by diff bugs?

Theres like, crickets in their hair, moths and butterfly all over their arms a few spiders crawling around their legs and their holding a praying mantis in their hands and staring at in awe. Their also babying talking it and cooing at it, when they look up and realize Asa is staring at them, they raise their cupped hands a show him the giant mantis resting their, saying with a cherry yet soft voice and smile "I named her Apple!"

I would appreciate it very much if you wrote something about this :)

But you don't have to, for any reason really.

Have a lovely night/day! Be sure to drink water and eat 💕

How would Asa Emory react to finding his new pet coddling his bugs?

Asa Emory/gn!Reader

Tw for bugs and power dynamics

Requests are open!

Asa moved through the halls of the hotel with efficiency, he knew them like the back of his hand, however that apparently wasn’t helping since he’d managed to...misplace his new pet.

You were supposed to be in your room, you were lucky you had even been granted the luxury of not just being crumpled into one of the boxes, but here Asa is, speeding down the halls and jumping/swerving around his traps like some kind of sick ballet in order to find you. You absolutely won’t be getting out of this without some serious punishment.

Asa curses at himself under his breath for making his place of operations so huge, it seemed like a good idea when he set up here and it was but damn if it wasn’t his Achilles heel in this situation.

Fifteen minutes of searching later his heart is picking up in an unfamiliar way, usually he’s not one to care about others or a stray victim but something in him can’t help but worry about loosing his newest subject already. Whether it’s because he cares for you or because he hates not being in control is anyone’s guess. (He’s soft for you and won’t admit it)

Finally as he’s cracking open a door at the end of the hallway he hears a sweet laugh echoing from further along. Bingo. You’re so dead when he finds you. As he’s about to slam the door open he realises this is infact where he keeps his enclosures for his specimens, he sighs and opts to open the door slowly and quietly as not to startle the bugs.

You don’t even notice Asa enter the room, currently too enthralled in cooing sweet words to the giant mantis in your hands.

Before Asa can demand to know where you’ve been and why, his breath hitches in his throat. There you are, sat on your knees next to the enclosure cases, covered from head to toe in his beloved bugs. The calm careful way you handle them and talk to them like they can understand tugs at his heart, his face softens at the sight, anger long forgotten and replaced by a feeling of fondness, the same one he felt when he was originally scouting you to join his collection.

The crickets cling to your stands of hair, a little messy since you had left your room before Asa got to around to brushing it but he’ll fix that later, sitting contently like they’d never been disturbed in the first place.

Moths and butterflies tap their tiny feet along your arms, fluttering their delicate wings, taking off and landing back with you when they please.

Asa takes in the scene breathlessly, if he hadn’t already been weak for you then he definitely is now. As he approaches by a few steps some thick hairy legs come into view, creeping slowly over your thighs and onto your lap. Tarantulas, two of them, using you as a lap cushion without a care in the world. You really are something special. In the back of his mind Asa makes another note to keep approaching slowly, despite you needing a punishment he’s not exactly wanting his eight legged pets to kick hairs at you in fright.

After a few minutes of blissfully observing one of the tarantulas unhurriedly totters off your leg and begins to move across the room. “Oh, where are you off to little guy? I need you over here with me, I’m already probably in big trouble with sir” you sigh. “I don’t want to loose you and make it worse, besides, I don’t think I could forgive myself if something happened to you under my watch”

In a strange way you suppose you understood Asa’s need to keep you under wraps right now, not wanting this beautiful specimen to disappear from your sight, much like Asa with you.

You swivel on your knees to coax the spider back into your palms, nudging its abdomen for encouragement and letting it waddle back into your hands. From your new position you catch a glimpse of heavy black boots in your peripheral. Oh.

You turn your attention fully to the man above you, heart racing at the idea of what’s about to come, however as you reach his eyes they aren’t filled with the rage or disappointment you were expecting. The black orbs are filled with softness, fondness, almost something sweet you can’t decipher.

Without thinking you present the giant mantis to Asa, still on your knees. “I named her apple!” A beat passes and an array of emotions flutter through Asa’s steely heart, his blank face still giving nothing away. After what feels like an eternity he crouches down in front of you, cupping his hands under your own, assisting in holding the mantis. “A fine name for her, pet. Do you know what species Apple is by chance?” He says in his firm but calm, leading voice, slipping into the tone he uses when teaching his lectures without even realising it.

“Uh-no, no I don’t sir…tell me?” You say, wincing a little at the stumble at the beginning, hoping asking him to tell you didn’t come off as rude or undermining his authority. Asa smiles, not letting anything on.

“She is a Giant Asian Mantis, or Hierodula membranacea, If you want to get technical. These are the most commonly kept mantis as house pets and come in an array of colours, but as you can see, apple is mostly light green. I think your name fits her nicely.” Asa explains matter of factly, hands still cupped under yours for Apple to totter onto.

“Woah” you say without thinking, watching Apple move to Asa’s palms and taking in the information. Asa exhales from his nose in a small chuckle. “Woah indeed, however I think it’s time we get you and Apple back to your respective rooms” Asa says with a quirked eyebrow, giving away that your not going to get away with this unpunished just because he finds you endearing.

Asa helps you round up the specimens and places them back in their individual tanks. After making sure you both wash your hands thoroughly he takes your now clean hand and walks you back to your room, letting you ask him more bug questions as you walk.

Despite how lovely this has been you’ll still be given a stern talking to once you return, Asa can’t bring himself to punish you for your little adventure and entomology lesson but isn’t one to let you off the hook without some kind of consequence, after all he expects your complete submission and obedience and won’t settle for any less. But for now that convocation can wait, and Asa can get you comfy on your knees infront of him, manoeuvring your head via the ring on your collar and finally working the comb through the snags in your hair with care.

I hope you enjoy this! Your rq was super fun to do and the idea was really cool! Thank you so much and feel free to send me more < 3

#slashers #slasher x reader #slasher headcanons #asa emory #asa emory x reader #the collection #the collector #the collector x reader #writing #my writing

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astraystayyh · 8 months

Text

You and I

In which you wrongly lash out at Hyunjin and have to mend it back. Human character who makes mistakes and apologizes for them.

You've always envied the people who seek others' warmth when they are feeling down. They seem to become almost translucent, allowing their sadness to seep away from them as their loved one comforts them- as their words and touch wrap around them, leaving no room for sadness or anger to exist anymore.

You, however, are quite the opposite.

Whenever an emotion overwhelms you, you instantly withdraw yourself, refusing for anyone to approach you. You can't let anyone touch you or talk to you, not when the feel of your clothes against your skin irritates you, and you swear you can hear the sound of each blood droplet rushing through your veins, unbearably loud.

Hyunjin doesn't know this.

How could he know? How do you tell someone you've been dating for one month that something as simple as regulating your emotions drains you? That you need to hide, for a couple of hours, sometimes days, just to feel a semblance of normalcy again.

So, you kept it hidden, trying your best to still your feelings; akin to the surface of an undisturbed river. It was easy to do so when being with Hyunjin brought you immense joy. It almost lulled you into thinking that you'd stay this way forever- happy, content. But you are human, and you can't escape the very essence of it- emotions in their rawest form.

You wish you could have told him- that you'd prefer being alone and that you'd talk to him when you're feeling well again. But it isn't time for regrets now. Not when the thoughts in your head swirl chaotically, making the world around you blur. You're overwhelmed, by your studies and a voice in your head that never truly quits down. And you can feel Hyunjin looking at you from the corner of your eye.

He's been worried about you all night, asking you if you were okay and if there was something he could do to help. But every question seemed to drive you over the edge, pushing you closer and closer to the brink of exploding.

"Baby, are you sure there is nothing I can do?" he asks for the umpteenth time, placing a hand on your shoulder. His concern is evident, stemming from a genuine place of care. And you want to slap a hand on your mouth to stop the words from tumbling out, but you don't.

"You know what I need Hyunjin? For you to leave me alone. Is that so hard to understand for you?" you question, looking straight ahead. You sense him physically recoil at your words, hand swiftly retracting back near his side. "I already told you what to do, and you're just making it worse. I can't deal with this right now."

A low chuckle emanates from him, it sounds cold and distant- nothing like you've ever heard from Hyunjin.

"Deal with this? You mean, deal with me?" he stands up abruptly, hand running angrily through his hair. "You know what? You've made it abundantly clear what you needed from me. I'm just fucking stupid for being worried." He grabs his jacket, as his words pierce you like a bow shot by Achilles himself.

Really now? You brought this on yourself and now you're feeling sad? Did you expect him to apologize, beg for you? The voice in your head taunts you and your own gets caught in your throat. 'Im sorry, stay, I didn't mean to lash out' You want to plead, but you remain silent as if someone's robbed you of your ability to speak.

"I'm sorry for making it worse for you, you don't have to worry about it ever again," he sounds angry, but you can sense the underlying sadness in his words. Your eyes meet his and the look on his face tears you apart. You've never seen him so... stricken, so severely affected; by your own doing none the less.

Hyunjin slams the door behind him, as an ugly sob escapes your lips. You've hurt him, badly, you aren't sure how to fix it when you can't even fix yourself.

....

Two days have passed. Forty-eight hours of trying to sort out your thoughts, only to have them tangled even further. The reason why you were overwhelmed in the first place fades into the back of your mind. The only thing you could think of was Hyunjin.

He hadn't called or texted, not that you expected him to. He said you didn't have to worry about it anymore, so he's giving you space, lots of space at that. Isn't that what you wanted? It was, but not like this. Not at the expense of hurting him.

You look absolutely disheveled as you knock on Hyunjin's door. It's 5:47 pm, an odd time for reconciliation, at least that's what you hope will happen as Hyunjin opens the door.

He's seemingly taken aback at the sight of you. His eyes swiftly narrow, and you take an unconscious step back at the animosity in his gaze. "What do you want?"

"Can we talk, please?"

Hyunjin scrutinizes you for a moment, his expression guarded. He looks far better than you, but there are newfound dark circles under his eyes. You hope you aren't the cause behind him.

"Come in," he steps away and you enter, uncertainty hanging over the both of you like a heavy fog.

Hyunjin settles on the couch but you remain standing, pacing back and forth as you try to organize your thoughts. Everything you wanted to say seemingly vanished you when you needed it most.

"Sit down. You're making me dizzy," he finally says, rubbing his eyes tiredly. You oblige quickly, heels now tapping furiously on the ground.

"Would you like some water?" he asks after a while, and there is a timid softness in his words, one you clung to so you'd be able to breathe again.

"No, thank you." You lick your lips nervously. "Hyunjin, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have talked to you that way. I was mean and rude and I understand that I had hurt you. But it wasn't my intention. It's never ever my intention to hurt you. I care about you too much for that."

"People you care about shouldn't make things worse for you," he points out, refusing to meet your gaze.

"You aren't... I mean, it's not you. It's me."

"Really?" he arches an eyebrow at the stereotypical sentence and you groan, frustrated at your inability to articulate your regret properly.

"Look, I got overwhelmed and when I'm like this, I need to stay alone. It has nothing to do with you, or how I feel for you. And I feel for you a lot, and I'm so scared I'll lose you and I can't seem to speak well-" tears trail down your cheek and you wipe them away angrily. You brought this on yourself, you shouldn't cry on top of it.

"I'm so sorry, immensely sorry, Hyunjin. if you still want me, I promise you I will never do this again. I won't lash out at you, you don't deserve that and it was uncalled for. I'm really sorry."

His silence is deafening as you nervously pick at your cuticles, scratching them over and over in your anxiousness. Why isn't he saying anything?

"Okay, um..." you chuckle nervously, as the bulge in your throat threatens to swallow you whole. "I'll let you think of it. I'm so sorry again. And I'm sorry for coming before asking you if you were busy. I'm sorry to bother you and I'm- I'm sorry I'm this way." You hurriedly stand up, heading towards the door when a warm hand wraps around your wrist, stopping you in your tracks.

Hyunjin's arms circle your waist, his chin resting on your shoulder, anchoring you in place.

"When I'm sad or angry, being near you makes me feel better. It really does. I thought I could do the same for you. That's why I insisted on staying. But I shouldn't have. You and I are different, doesn't mean it's bad," he mumbles onto your neck, tightening his hold on you.

"You've hurt me a lot, but I forgive you because I want us to do better next time. No yelling. No harsh words, okay?"

"Okay. I'll do better. I'm so sorry. So sorry, Hyunjin, you have no idea."

"It's okay. We're good now."

"Really?" you turn around, clutching his arms tightly. "I'm so sorry."

"I forgive you, stop apologizing," he giggles softly, wiping away the tears trailing down your face.

"I'm sorry, I swear I won't do it again," you apologize again, burying your face in his chest. your tears dampen his shirt but you can't move away. Not that you could in the first place, since his hold on you only tightens further.

"I believe you. Stop crying, please."

"Okay, I'm sorry. God, I'm sorry for saying sorry."

"Shh, baby. No more crying. I missed you," Hyunjin admits softly, placing a gentle kiss on the top of your head.

"I missed you so much more. More than you know."

"Maybe we should start telling each other exactly how much, hm? Not leave it up to imagination."

"Okay, I will. I want to work on this with you. If you want."

"I want to. Couldn't sleep without you."

"I'm so sorry," it slips from your mouth before you can stop it, guilt overflowing from you in waves.

"I thought I told you to stop apologizing, hm?" he questions as he picks you up and spins you around, as a laugh escapes your lips, morphing into full-blown giggles. It is only when a genuine smile graces your lips that Hyunjin puts you down once again.

#stray kids x reader #skz x reader #stray kids imagine #stray kids imagines #skz imagines #hwang hyunjin x you #hyunjin x reader #hwang hyunjin angst #hyunjin angst #skz angst #stray kids angst #stray kids reactions #skz scenarios #skz au #hyunjin scenarios #hwang hyunjin x reader #this one personally hurt me guys

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iceandpeaches · 1 month

Text

mess it up; luke castellan

pairing: luke castellan x ares kid!reader

a/n: i didn’t want to make the stereotypical ares kid… inspired by the mess it up

luke had no idea how your relationship had took a turn for the worse. luke was doing all he could to save your relationship, but it seemed like you didn’t care. every time he tried fixing things, you’d dismiss his requests and struggle out of his grip. it’s not like you were miserable, he’s seen you laugh and smile amongst your siblings. why were you shutting him out? what was he doing wrong? why was he the exception? luke had had enough of it, but he loved you. he wanted to only love you, you were his achilles heel. he didn’t know what he’d do without you.

he finally brought himself to confess how he felt. he knocked at the door of the ares cabin, revealing one of your siblings behind it. you heard your name being called, so you made your way to the entrance.

“luke! uh, can i help you?”

“y/n. we need to talk.”

there were ‘oooh’s heard all over the interior of the cabin, which caused luke’s insecurity to sky rocket. did every single of her siblings know about this? he hated himself for even showing up at your cabin to come find you. he heard you click your tongue, a habit of yours when you were annoyed. he let his chest rise and fall deeply, gathering his thoughts so he’d be able to confront you. you sat by the lake, luke fidgeting with the gravel that surrounded you both.

“how can i fix us?”

“fix.. us?”

“our relationship, y/n. why aren’t you talking to me? why do you make it seem like i don’t exist? why do you laugh with others and not with me? what’s so sickening about me that you hate so much?”

“stop messing things up, luke.”

your tone sent shivers down luke’s spine, his eyes welled up with tears. he chewed on the inside of his lip, desperately wondering why you were treating you this way. did he not deserve you? was he the problem?

“mess things up?”

‘“you’re too.. clingy. you do too much. everytime you come too close, you just mess things up. it’s embarrassing. you look for me everywhere, even after i told you i wanted to keep things secret. you’re out of line.”

“for calling you? asking you how you’ve been? i ask because i actually love you, y/n.”

“luke, no.”

“y/n..”

he gently reaches out for your arm, you moving yours away. you got up from where you were seated, starting to walk away hearing him plead for you to stay. he wanted answers, he wanted to know what in tartarus he was doing wrong.

“no luke.”

”let me back in, y/n. please take me back. i can make it better, i promise.”

“and what.. break every habit?”

luke was getting frustrated and anxious, watching as you quickened your pace to get away from him. after he finally caught up to you he grabbed your arm, you forcefully pulling off from him.

“get away from me! we’re done.”

you yelled, towering over luke who had just landed back first into the gravel. his hands stung, maybe due to the fact the gravel scraped his palms. campers around them watched as the golden boy of camp sat in the gravel looking distraught, with the angry ares girl dominating over him. it was embarrassing for him, more embarrassing for you.

you stormed off, knocking in everyone in your way. your temper was through the roof, your fists clenched due to the rage that filled your body. a common trait for ares kids.

luke was left sitting in the gravel, his eyes filled with tears. there was no use in trying anymore. everytime he had claimed to be alright, he was lying. how could he think that all he gave would’ve been enough for you? because in the end, everytime he got close, he just messed things up.

#luke castellan #luke castellan x reader #luke castellan x you #percy jackson #luke castellan pjo #luke castellan imagine #luke castellan oneshot #luke castellan angst #charlie bushnell #peach's fics

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steve-hen-grant · 2 months

Text

Pas de deux (Jake Lockley x reader ) 🌙🩰

A/N: So! Kinda my first fic? Trying to exercise my writing skills. (You won’t believe how many times I had to just write “excersize” for autocorrect to save me.) So I hope y’all can enjoy the product of my practice!

In a previous post, I mentioned Jake crying while watching ballet. But what I meant to say was I had already developed a fic to this very concept. Needed the confidence to post it- which the reception to the first post got! It said Swan Lake, but for the plot’s conflict it’s Nutcracker.

Warnings: Fluff, mild comfort, reference to MK lore but you can pretend it isn’t, reference to Tchaikovsky mourning his sister, No use of Y/N, may be read as the POV of Layla, or yourself, mentions of Marc and Steven, no direct use of Spanish but reference to Jake speaking it, Reader may or may not know Spanish, it’s ambiguous this way for a self insert!, and again, my first full fan fiction. That is a warning. Surprisingly unserious. implied that narrator and the moon guys are visiting the US for this show.

Gender Neutral reader, but with uncomfortable formal shoes because they plague us all no matter

Word count: the word counter website broke so let me know when you get down there kk

You and Jake go to the Opera house in downtown Chicago. However, the loyal servant of the Moon God reacts unexpectedly…

Hours earlier, Jake struggled with his tie while I mulled over walking into the opera house together. His dark mustache furled as I helped arrange the black fabric and romanticized the pair of us strolling down the Chicago street: dressed to the nines, my arm in his, with the Christmas lights illuminating our path to the theater. Jake refused, mumbling something about how he didn’t want to make me walk longer in formal shoes than I had to. Knowing how I wouldn’t say anything, refusing to complain or burden the evening, until my Achilles tendons were shot by the time we got back to the hotel.

Among the three of them, Jake’s love language was having foresight to make life as accommodated and comfortable. But he forgets that he has a place in it.

Right now, in the brisk December evening, I trotted towards the warmly lit-refuge of the Civic Opera House. Jake dropped me off directly in front, rolling away to park his sleek Rolls Royce Phantom somewhere secure.

The exterior was like that of most concrete high-riser buildings. Though at ground level, in stark contrast, a sculpted arc entrance stood on the corner of the street. A light snow casted over the figures shaped into the stone. Tall preview posters displayed the principal dancer for the evening: the sugar plum fairy.

My pace towards the ticket booth was quick in the biting cold. The Opera house clerk smiled.

“Reservations under… Spector?”

“No- wait, yes. Yes.”

At my hesitation, I was rightfully earned a disconcerted expression. Marc must have booked the tickets. Before the words left her mouth, Jake appeared to save the day. Showing his- or Marc’s- ID. The clerk was satisfied and gave us two red tickets for entree. Jake took my arm in his, like a Highschool couple in a 50s movie. Between the regal opera house, the way he supports my arm, and opens the car door- truly old fashioned.

“Thanks, Marc,” I teased. He nudged me with his arm.

“Oh please, he made Steven book them,” Jake took off his gloves and stuffed them into his pocket. We handed our tickets off, and at last, we were on our way through marble floors and high ceilings to find seating.

Maybe that’s why we both enjoyed viewings in this specific opera house. It was completed in 1929, yet shined as brightly as ever. Velvet red fabrics and amber blown lights. If you weren’t careful, you could become easily motivated to write a romanticized novel.

In a world of my own, I don’t notice Jake looking over my face. But he wasn’t appreciating the interior of the architecture. Maybe the exterior of me.

Some hors d’oeuvres later, we situated in a balcony, closest to the stage. Jake insisted this would be ‘the best spot in the house’. From the balcony overview, patterns in the snow droplet’s sequence could be figured into the shape of snowflakes. Once again, Jake’s love language would make the evening special, by meticulous design. Jake’s prior knowledge of ballet was limited, yet his relationship to the music goes back.

No one would assume that, from what meets the eye. Even if you knew of his nightly servitude to Khonshu- there was less reason to believe he keeps a special mix of Tchaikovsky’s Greatest in his car’s dash. His work isn’t easy, and who doesn’t wind down to music? An avatar to the god of the moon is no exception.

Live orchestra has become a small thing for us. One that Marc chuffs at and Steven… would probably like to be apart of.

The elevated booth was tailored to the best view possible of the tilted stage. Below, forms of people moved to their seats, shed overcoats, and checked the time. Soon, the red curtains would pull apart to reveal the iconic home of the Stahlbaum’s, and delicate Clara center stage. It was a matter of time, and based on Jake’s mild leg bounce, not soon enough. I place a hand over his palm, steadying his nervous habit to a somber sway.

INTERMISSION

We returned to our secluded seats from the main area. Maybe or maybe not, pocketing some cheese squares and fancy crackers in napkins. Jake put his arm over the back of my seat and smirked, “You think I could do that?”

“Do what?”

“The dancing,” He grinned like a ferret. I pause for a moment to process the idea literally. You know what? Maybe. I’ve stayed in the car while Marc or Steven took care of their missions. From what I’ve seen, Moonknight is pretty agile. Mr. Knight is comparably a Gymnast. Making- often unnecessary- flips and turns over bullets and blades.

“Try asking Khonshu when you can take classes- conveniently between delivering justice.”

To which, Jake snickers. He takes his contraband-horderve from the lobby and speaks, “Oh yeah, it will happen. I’ll just borrow Steven’s tutu.” Jake looks aloft and grins, for a moment, it’s like I can hear his alter too.

“THOSE CLASSES WERE A ONE-OFF TIME!”

The second act. Clara and the Nutcracker prince have crossed the forest into a world of her childlike creation. Her and the prince are welcomed by flowers, candy, and snow. It seems like the defeat of the rat king would be the last of the room’s worries. Except for me.

Nearing a majestic finale, the nutcracker prince shares a dance with her majesty, the sugar plum fairy. He takes her hand and holds it, as her powder pink leg ascends. But this isn’t what Jake is thinking about. His eyes are hardly on the scene below, but he is paying attention to the music. The Nutcracker, Op. 71, Act II: No. 14a, Pas de deux. He holds his breath for a moment. A small gesture I might have missed if he didn’t drop my hand when he does so. I glanced at him, not wanting to disturb his fixation to the show.

And maybe I didn’t want to disturb the way his locks messily fell on his forehead and ears. He’s a gentleman, so he wouldn’t wear his hat into the event. But by removing it, the bunched hair underneath fell loosely. Marc and Steven were supposedly relentless about on the way downtown, if his passive looks to the rear view mirror meant anything.

Does a family of birds live in your hat, mate?

Cmon, Jake, everytime I get the body I have to run a comb through it.

After Jake lowered his hands from applause, he took mine in his again. As if he six whole minutes without it was too much. I press my thumb into his knuckles. He pulls my hand closer to him, holding it totally casually to his heart.

The Finale had wrapped up in a roar of an audience. The evening’s dancers made their bows and the orchestra had begun to pack up their bows and sheet music. Neither me nor Jake were one for crowds, but fortunately, the box seats were close enough to a flight of stairs that crew members likely took. We stood and peeked down the flight that turned around the ivory painted walls.

Jake held my arm and smirked, “Do you want to take a shortcut?”

I gave him a puzzled look. “That way? Are you sure there is an exit? We might get a meet and greet with the rat king,” I half-joke. Jake grins and his eyes light up at that risk.

My eyes narrow,

“You want to meet the rat king don’t y-“

“Yes.”

It’s Christmas. Might as well give Jake the gift of following through one of his mischievous schemes- together. Jake is laughing and throughly unserious as we move closer to the landing of the stairwell. I slide my hand down the glossy railing, “If we find this rat thing-“

“When. When we find the rat thing,” Jake interrupts.

I pause and continue, “Yes, my apologies. When we find the rat, are you going to valiantly slay it, and save me?”

Jake thinks for a moment, stopping on the stairs. He responds, “I’ve fought weirder.” I nod agreeably as we continue hand in hand. But he mumbled something I couldn’t hear, perhaps some Spanish intonations, but too low to react to.

But I had a pretty good idea what he meant to say out loud. Jake will show his affection in careful planning, a car ride anywhere, but not typically his words. In those tender instances where he has to resort to sweet nothings, he expresses it in Spanish. The words flow so naturally that they aren’t being filtered by a process of translation. Just his feelings, as they are.

I smile, and pull him into my arm tighter. It was more than likely he was protectively, lovingly ranting about how well he would protect me. How he would welcome the chance to prove it. In the dimly lit corridor we found ourselves in, we located an exit door and push it. I recall the December air and hold his arm closer.

Jake holds up his keys and presses down on his buttons. Immediately after leaving the back door, we are greeted by the flashing headlights of his car in a neighboring lot. Jake looks at my face of surprise and laughs, “You thought I was going to let you walk so far in those shoes?”

While in the car, on the way back to the flat, Swan Lake plays over the radio. I clutch my coat in the warm embrace of the car’s heating system. Jake is tapping his finger along while letting cars through, but he stops as the piece ends and the next begins. The Pas de deux. This time, I don’t miss my chance to ask. My hand grazes his leather coated arm, “You alright?” Jake keeps a deadpan look through the droplets on the windshield, blinking several times. I lean in a touch closer, “Jake?”

“Uhm, I just read where, you know, what’s-his-face, wrote this piece for his sister who passed. It uhm…” Jake, agitated by the way his mouth wants to curl into a grimace in front of me, lays his arm down in a finalizing gesture. He was done talking about it, not without losing clear vision while driving. I hold his gloved hand, and without thinking, hold it to his chest. His shoulders finally lowered. The light turned green. The music filling the gentle silence.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~🌙~~~~~~~~~~~~

#moon knight #jake lockley #steven grant #marc spector #jake lockely x reader #fluff #steven grant x reader #marc spector x reader

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supervisionx · 1 month

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I keep seeing posts that Hannibal is queerbait (not necessarily on Tumblr but it's really prevalent on Twitter and tiktok) so I'm going to break down how it is NOT queerbait under 'keep reading' (long ass rant ahead)

I'm going to use Supernatural and Sherlock as an example because they are both pretty infamous for queerbaiting, but this isn't to make fun of those shows altogether.

In both Supernatural and Sherlock, the main 'ships' are between Sherlock Holmes / John Watson and Castiel / Dean Winchester. In their respective shows, there is almost nothing stopping them from getting together. In both cases, they are friends, have good chemistry, spend a frequent amount of time together, and do not have any significant others. The only thing stopping them from being in a relationship is that one or both of them are presumably straight or are simply not in love with each other.

In Hannibal, however, one is an FBI agent, and the other is a serial killer. There is an in-show reason that would stop (especially Will Graham) from wanting to be in a relationship with the other despite personal feelings. Even in earlier seasons, when Will Graham did not know Hannibal was a serial killer, Hannibal was still his therapist.

Next, what makes the queerbait stand out especially in Sherlock and Supernatural, is that every time anything is suggested between the two popular ships, it is often played off as a joke.

Think of the scene in Sherlock where John fumbles asking Sherlock if he has a boyfriend. The scene where Sherlock is about to kiss Moriarty is presented as a flashback by a crazy fan (making fun of the viewer for thinking Sherlock could be in a male/male relationship)

In Supernatural, there is a scene where castiel is alluded to being teleported naked on top of Dean's car, dialog such as "Get out of my ass" "I was never in your..." and an awkward pause. These are all one-off jokes, scenes, etc. Meant to allude to queerness without having to actually commit to it.

In Hannibal, however, no scene that alludes to queerness is played as a joke. Hannibal is genuine when he says he cares for Will, when he is worried the other man has died, the constant touches, and where he compares their relationship to Achilles and Patroclus. (Do I even have to mention the "Is Hannibal... In love with me?" Scene?)

"But Hannibal and Will never kissed / never had a relationship!"

Okay, it's fair to be upset that the pair never kissed or had a full relationship established, but you have to remember Hannibal was canceled. Sherlock and Supernatural both came to their conclusions naturally and decided to continue never establishing a proper relationship between their queerbaited characters.

(I'm not counting that scene where castiel says "I love you" to Dean and gets sent to Super Hell as a relationship. You could argue that this makes Castiel explicitly queer and therefore not queerbait, but it still feels more like executives doing the same thing as the joke part of this argument; not wanting to commit to making him queer and throwing in a one-off line. Plus, this does not excuse baiting Dean as queer and baiting the relationship between Dean and Castiel as more than friendship)

However, Hannibal never got to reach its natural conclusion. More seasons were planned, in which the creator of the show explicitly stated he wanted to explore the relationship between Hannibal and Will more in those seasons before being canceled. Being upset that they never kissed / had a relationship does NOT mean the show was queerbait.

#hannibal #supernatural #bbc sherlock #queerbaiting #hannibal fandom #hannibal lecter #nbc hannibal #will graham #long reads #long post

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lvckyyz · 2 months

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mission accomplished | victorious

three demigods and one mission

the mission was given by hephaestus, god of blacksmiths and fire. he was robbed by two rebel cyclops who stole achilles’ battle equipment from his work place.

at the time hephaestus was working in a big project for the olympus and didn’t have time to search for his former employees, but thetis wouldn’t let him do anything before her son’s equipment was back at it’s place. the best solution he could think about was sending a mission to camp half blood and waiting until some demigods solve his problems.

» mission for a son of zeus, a daughter of athena and a daughter of nike

no one expected these three to be on the same team, but it was a special request from thetis (achilles’ mother) who thought they’d make the perfect team to bring back her son’s equipment.

poor daughter of athena found out she was going on a mission and got anxious, waking up at five in the morning to get ready and make sure everything would work according to the plan (a plan that neither zeus’ son nor nike’s daughter were aware of).

the daughter of nike wished she could have slept a little longer, but her siblings had another idea. it wasn’t even 4a.m when everyone cabin 17 were awake to start a kind of ritual to make sure she would be successful in her mission.

meanwhile cabin 6 and 17 were getting ready to go, the son of zeus didn’t look worried at all. maybe at this point he was already used to the gods asking him to do their work for them. he was taking so much time to get ready that the two girls considered leaving him behind (chiron wouldn’t let them though).

anyway, the first argument they’d have started before they even left the camp, and would only end when they came back. “who’s the leader?”, they never came to a conclusion… 🤷‍♀️

this team would have a lot of communication issues and would constantly try to outshine each other when it all started.

cabin 1, 6 and 17 are known for their leadership and fighting skills but we can say they have very different strategies that could cause some arguments from time to time.

the athena’s child would be the first to notice that they would die if they kept acting like that. she tried to make the other two behave but they didn’t pay attention to it, well…until they almost were killed by a minotaur, them they started considering that maybe she was right.

athena and nike almost set off fireworks from the olympus when their daughters cooperated with each other.

and the two girls became friends after some days, and just like their mothers, they made great fighting partners. the son of zeus was a bit more individualist and thought that a mission was supposed to be something serious, and not a “friendly adventure” like he said.

but he eventually opened up to the girls about his life as well

okay, NOW they are the perfect team. their abilities worked really well together, every monster or mythological creature that crossed their path was easily defeated.

the cyclops though weren’t that easy.

the team found them hiding in a gas station in the middle of nowhere with another one of them and two harpies.

nike’s daughter used her wings to get the harpies’ attention and flew away with them behind her to a place where the other two were waiting.

they killed them first and them went to the gas station to confront the cyclops.

they managed to kill two of them but at some point the son of zeus and the daughter of athena got hurt and they decided to just get what was stolen and go back to the camp.

success! the daughter of athena got achilles’ battle equipment while nike’s daughter was flying around with zeus’ son to distract the monster.

nike’s daughter ended up having to carry the other two until they found a bus that was going to Long Island.

back at camp half blood, they were welcomed by their siblings and chiron. they took the injured ones to the infirmary, where the apollo’s kids took care of them.

mr d. got into an argument with the nike’s daughter because she wouldn’t give the equipment to him until her new friends were feeling better.

she waited for the athena’s daughter and zeus’ son to fully recover so the three of them could complete their mission together.

thetis went to the camp herself to get her son’s equipment back and thank the demigods for their help.

there’s a big chance they kept being friends after the end of this quest.

⤷ author’s note:

yes, i’m pretending that i don’t have any request to write just so i can post this thing here☺️

just kidding, i will finish all the requests soon i promise! i’m sorry it’s taking so long, school is ruining everything😭but don’t worry, i think i’ll be able to finish some request this week!

also thank you for 200 followers!!💞

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blooming-water-roses · 9 months

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Uchihas and How They Experience Deep Love

Shameless headcanons bc we all know that no one loves like an Uchiha. (Exploration of how the deep, Uchiha-type love manifests for each individual).

(Read below cut)

Sasuke - Naruto

He begins to love him when they’re both children, when he senses that kinship between them that they’re both completely alone.

Naruto doesn’t see him pitifully like the rest of the village does. He just sees him as a rival, and Sasuke appreciates that. He gets to just be Sasuke, the talented, stuck-up genin with Naruto, not Sasuke, the lone survivor of the Uchiha Massacre.

Naruto pulls him out of his toxic need for vengeance from the time the Haku/Zabuza arc happens to when he sees Itachi again when he tries kidnapping Naruto. He works alongside Naruto as his comrade and friend, and believes that maybe he can be happy just like this in the village.

Then Itachi reminds him of his avenger goal and he’s fold he needs to kill Naruto to obtain new power, the way Itachi allegedly did to Shisui.

He leaves the village in search of new power because yes, he wants to beat Itachi but no, he doesn’t want to kill Naruto. He thinks he can get stronger another way.

This truly shows how deeply he loves Naruto—he’s willing to put him above his ultimate goal to kill Itachi by refusing to gain power by killing him.

And when he gets the opportunity to kill him, he doesn’t. Naruto is open and unconscious and he doesn’t kill him.

To Sasuke, Naruto is his biggest weakness, his Achilles heel, the one who he just can’t get rid of no matter how hard he tries.

Itachi - Sasuke & Sasuke - Itachi

Uchiha-love-ception

Because they’re both Uchiha & love each other insanely strongly I imagine their connection as an endless vortex of undying love

Itachi tried to die when he was around five years old because he couldn’t cope with the world’s darkness.

He didn’t understand what the point of anything was if one day everyone dies.

Until Sasuke was born.

Now, to Itachi, the world isn’t just death; it’s also birth.

Sasuke saved Itachi, and gave him something to fight for.

He wanted the world to be a better place so that Sasuke would never see what he had to see as a child of war.

And everything Itachi ever did (though many actions were questionable), was for Sasuke.

Sasuke was the only one he couldn’t kill on the night of the massacre, so he instead made his brother hate him to make him stronger.

He lived for eight years with declining health just so that Sasuke could get revenge and become a hero.

Even after death he tried protecting him from Madara/Tobi.

And Sasuke always held a degree of admiration for his brother, even if the memories were tainted.

He still loved Itachi to the very end, because killing him gave him the Mangekyō.

If he truly hated Itachi, killing him would have meant nothing.

He was just acting out of a broken heart, the pieces all still holding affection for his brother even despite himself.

The inner turmoil is what made him angrier. He hated Itachi but more than that, still loved him.

When he found out the truth, he made it his life’s mission to defend Itachi’s honor and protect the village as his dying wish.

He devotes his life to him even now.

Itachi - Shisui & Shisui - Itachi

Uchiha-love-ception pt 2

They are my Bonnie & Clyde

Itachi saved Shisui by giving him someone to care for and nurture

Shisui saved Itachi by showing him someone understands the complexity of his thoughts & feelings and shares them too

Itachi felt so alienated his whole life and then in comes Shisui who finally finally understands him just inherently

Idk about you but I long for someone to understand me that well, without ever needing to explain myself

I think Shisui understood Itachi better than Itachi understood himself

And for that, Shisui was Itachi’s home

Itachi looked up to him for all things; skills, technique, morals, and aspirations.

Whenever Shisui said anything, Itachi took it as the law.

There was no one he held as much respect for. Shisui made the impossible seem possible to Itachi. For him, he could do no wrong.

When he lost Shisui, he lost his North Star. This is evident in his awakening of the Mangekyō—there was no greater pain at that point in his life.

He made Shisui’s will his guiding force.

Shisui showed him that a true shinobi sacrifices, and he himself adopted that attitude.

“You must always remain calm. A worried expression just doesn’t suit you” — some of Shisui’s last words to Itachi, and from then on, Itachi hardly ever let his calm facade drop from his face. That was the law.

Itachi was just adorable to Shisui.

Everything he did, his thoughts, his determination, his will to get better—he admired it so much.

He wanted to keep Itachi away from the clan and village feud, which is why he tried using his powers without Itachi’s help.

He died with a smile on his face because he trusted Itachi implicitly, and knew he’d make the right choice.

He probably knew where things were headed, and was at peace with it.

Because he knew Itachi’s strength and will better than his own.

But it did break his heart to put Itachi through witnessing his death.

Obito - Kakashi & Rin

Loving Rin made Obito insane

Loving Kakashi made Obito hang onto his last shreds of sanity

Rin always believed in Obito when he himself didn’t. She was his pillar. For that he formed an unhealthy codependency on her.

So when he lost her, he lost his mind. He believed he couldn’t be anything worthwhile without her, and spiraled into something unrecognizable in her absence.

She became limerence to him, an unattainable dream.

Kakashi was the only one who remained constant in his life.

Kakashi brought out the last shreds of his former self.

Once Minato told Obito about Kakashi’s father, he understood immediately the cause of his actions.

He reached deep into Kakashi’s heart and told him what he needed to hear, that his father was truly a hero. Someone everyone else thought of as a disgrace, a sentiment Obito fearlessly challenged.

Because Obito never cared for his reputation. Sakumo cared too much. This difference is what drew Kakashi to Obito subconsciously.

While recuperating in Madara’s hideout, he thought equally of returning to Rin and Kakashi. Because, before they parted, he and Kakashi finally became friends.

Kakashi was in his dreams as well as Rin. They were both equally important to him.

Despite watching Rin die by Kakashi’s hand, when he went on his rampage, Obito didn’t lay a finger on Kakashi.

And he watched Kakashi live on by his grave all the time. He followed him around. He just couldn’t let go of him.

Because he wanted to be there for Kakashi through his suffering in some form.

And when they met again, Obito never ever days he hates Kakashi. He tries to entice him to support project Tsuki no Me, telling him that it’s okay, he doesn’t need to suffer anymore.

This shows Obito’s real motive for Infinite Tsukuyomi. Not to see Rin again, because the caster can’t be inside the jutsu.

But to give Kakashi an end to his suffering. To end all suffering, at his own expense.

He became Kakashi’s hero. Kakashi never gave up on him, and Obito never gave up on Kakashi either.

For him, love meant suffering greatly for the one he loves, going to great lengths to make them happy, even when the ends don’t justify the means.

He would happily become the villain in order to give his love peace.

Madara - Hashirama

Though he lost three brothers to war, when Madara met Hashirama he immediately trusted him, disregarding that he was a stranger.

They shared the same dream, just as Itachi and Shisui did. This brought them together, and this showed Madara that there was hope.

Turning his back on Hashirama awoke his Sharingan. He didn’t get them when any of his siblings died, but when he had to sever his friendship with the Senju. It put him through that much strife.

He never truly wanted to kill Hashirama. If he wanted to, he would have. Much like Sasuke couldn’t kill Naruto.

The peaceful time in the village together were his happiest days.

He named the Leaf village, and Hashirama kept the name despite its simplicity.

They would ignore responsibility to talk and be with each other. This annoyed Tobirama.

Madara’s heart broke when after being told he’d become Hokage, he overheard Hashirama accept a vote instead. He felt Hashirama hadn’t fought for his honor enough. He felt betrayed.

He showed Hashirama the stone tablet though no outsiders had ever seen it, and left because he wanted Hashirama to hurt as much as he did.

His love was so strong it turned into a deep hatred.

But not so deep that he could kill Hashirama.

Even when Hashirama killed him.

The only time he ever felt alive was when Hashirama was unleashing all of his fury onto him.

Because Madara equated love to hate, and feeling Hashirama’s animosity was the same as feeling his love.

Kagami - Tobirama

Admiration turned into unconditional love

Kagami being treated special by Tobirama probably went to his head a little

“I’m his favorite Uchiha and he makes exceptions for me what does that mean”

The second he got an inkling that Tobirama may feel some type of way for him he got tipped off the edge and fell hard

He awakened his Mangekyō when Tobirama sacrificed himself to the Kinkaku unit

Changed the way Tobirama thought about the Uchiha by proving not all fall victim to the Curse of Hatred (oh boy would I love to see how Tobirama acknowledges this play out)

I hc it as he probably was put in a situation between clan and village and chose the village in front of Tobirama (not as serious as Shisui & Itachi’s case but political of some sort maybe)

Tobirama then went “hmm this one is different”

Maybe Kagami saved Tobirama somehow?? And that’s what warranted his trust? Ugh I wanna know

Tobirama hand-picked Kagami and trusted him with his life, so it made Kagami feel important

Overwhelming protectiveness and responsibility constituted Kagami’s love for Tobirama

And since he had nothing left to protect after Tobirama (in his eyes), his spirit was broken, and a year later he succumbed to the war

Tobirama was his heart’s fire.

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recentlylocal · 8 months

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Showing up three years late to Trials of Apollo (with meta/fanfiction) but Jason's death makes so much sense in the meta-narrative of the Riordanverse as a whole. He and Percy were alike in so many ways, but while Percy's harmatia was loyalty to a fault, Jason's was always duty.

In the narrative, the people who survive find a way to channel their fatal flaw. When Thalia became an immortal huntress, she could no longer be tempted by individual power or glory. Annabeth channeled her hubris, her desire to "fix" the world, into re-building for a better future instead of trying to tear down the past.

Percy retired. That seems like such a silly way to put it, but in the world of Greek mythology?? That's huge. He made the choice Achilles couldn't – he chose a quiet life taking care of the people he loved, and he left the rest of the world to it's own fate. World ending crisis are still happening — Percy is just choosing not to get involved.

Jason has no way to channel his flaw. He never learned to be an individual not defined by his duties! He never had the chance! He was a child solider, abducted from his family before he really knew them. He was a leader, unable to show weakness. Then Hera stole all his memories, and!! It's unclear if he ever really got them back like Percy did!! Like the man is walking around during HOO relying on everyone else to tell him who he is!! He has no innate sense of self, and no clear path to even learn how to develop one.

He saves the world, he finishes his quest, and then what? He and Piper break up because they don't know how to be together when the world isn't ending. He thought his one other close friend was dead. His relationship with Reyna was shit-canned even before the amnesia. I have no doubt he and Thalia love each other in the way only siblings can, but after more than a decade apart, they're practically strangers. What does he have left to form an identity around? He has always defined himself by the people around him, and now he's alone for the first time in his LIFE with a bunch of mortals and absolutely no greater purpose in life.

In Tyrant's Tomb so far, there's so little shock about this death! People keep saying he made his choice and it's so true!! If it hadn't been Roman emperors, it would have been something else! Somewhere, eventually he would have found a sword to fall on somewhere.

Because it was the only goddamn thing he was ever taught how to do.

#pjo #trials of apollo #jason grace #fic writing #hoo #hey do you think I should be studying right now or....

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darlingpoppet · 4 months

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Fave Fics of 2023!

A list of some of my favorite fics I read in 2023, though note not all of them are from this year. I feel like I didn’t get to do as much reading as I would’ve liked but I guess at least I was still able to put together a decent list! This isn’t a ranking, I listed everything in alphabetical order.

a bit of earth by @elemmacil (patrochilles)

Character study of Hadesgame Achilles & his time in the house of hades, pre-canon. Also, Zagreus takes care of a plant & it’s so wholesome. Lovely, atmospheric, and fueled by vibes, I adore the secret garden inspiration which slots into the hadesgame-verse sooo perfectly. This is great for the sad girlies like me who recently re-watched the movie from the 90s and thought “what if the whole movie was just us watching lord craven being a sad, pining dilf the whole time?” *clicks tongue* noice.

A Reasonable Explanation by stygius (pza)

I already read On The Ropes by red_smear last year so it doesn’t get to be on this list but I did go into 2023 continuing to seek out some of the “old classics” for this ship (yanno how reading fics that were published before joining the fandom sometimes feels like consuming media that existed before you were born? lol) this one is fun for the subversion on the “relaying messages” trope and taking god worshipping to literal (sexyy) extremes… I think if you wanted a good pza introductory fic this would be a good place to start!

Debased by youcouldbeagod (patrochilles)

Found this on a whim one day while clicking through the tags, as it is pretty much the only dedicated Troilus & Cressida Patrochilles fic on AO3 and it is ＢＲＩＬＬＩＡＮＴ！ The story is simply that Thersites stumbles upon Achilles & Patroclus having sex in their tent and he provides his usual witty and scathing commentary throughout. It truly reads like Shakespeare in prose form, I could easily imagine it being staged, it’s like a deleted scene from the play! The ending is also pitch perfect and still lives in my head rent-free. If you’re familiar with Shakespeare’s version of the characters definitely give it a read.

isn’t it romantic by infinitesle (dillydallybutterfly) (pza)

I was going to recommend a patrochilles fic by infinitesle that I love which is you are the currents that are pulling me onward but I’m pretty sure I read it in 2022 so it doesn’t count, sadge. So instead I’ll recommend another lovely morsel, a pza fic set in the jazz age au that a bunch of us in the pza channel of the hades lounge discord collectively came up with. Idk this might be a “you had to be there” kind of story but I think it still paints a pretty picture and if it inspires anyone else to contribute to the AU I wouldn’t complain. I’ll make my own proper contribution eventually, mark my words!

not the desperate type by @baejax-the-great (patrochilles, side hector/patroclus)

Baejax is well-known for their long fics which are all bangers ofc but personally my favorite piece of theirs this year was actually this oneshot in which Patroclus is engaged to Hector and then cheats on him with his ex, Achilles. They get caught in the act and the results are… predictable, lol. I love that it hews close to the tone of the Iliad where it’s no good/bad guys, just flawed humans making flawed choices and the AITA version of this story would totally be given an Everyone Sucks Here verdict, I’m sure. I’m STILL thinking about the ending even months & months later. Oh and of course, the sex is chef’s kiss!

One Night Of Chaos by Luddleston (pza)

This was technically a Dec 2022 read but I’m making an exception for it because I feel like it’s the flavor of pza I had been craving all along when I was reading through some of the older classics for this ship and it was key in helping fuel the inspiration for my own pza fics this year. There’s just something about Zag being invited into Patrochilles’ little world to watch their charming rapport with one another & being disgustingly in love that’s PEAK CONTENT for me and I loved this spin where he gets to meet them while they’re still alive, pre-heartbreak. Basically everything about it is my personal ur-pza text so if you’ve liked any of my own pza I’m sure you would like this one too. The sequel is also fun and was properly a 2023 read for me so I’ll mention it too haha.

Presentation by @sonderlivra (eruri)

Judging by the time stamp of my comment, I started my 2023 off right by reading this fic by one of my all-time favorite eruri authors! This is an omegaverse fic with a twist, it is well-written, hilarious, and had me guessing up until the very end. I would literally recommend anything this author writes (including the asscreed fics she & other beloved friend @zorthania have been writing this year… I don’t go here but these are my blorbo in-laws and I care them uwu)

sacramentum by fresco_k (eruri)

I didn’t take the time to read many other eruri fics this year unfortunately but I did get to beta some fics for this year’s eruri matchmaking event and this was one of them: a gladiator AU set in Ancient Rome and it was so serendipitous that I got to help with something so close to my current hyperfixation! The premise is very intriguing and it’s off to a lovely start… not to mention the author is a sweetie who knows & has a lot of passion for the time period… so check it out!

the slow mending by meikuree (pikuhan)

I finally got to dip my toes into some pikuhan fics this year and luckily my first one was a real banger! This was such a lovely little canon-compliant Hanji character study along with an exploration of their relationship with Pieck representing the two sides coming together and it was so beautifully written. It feels like the perfect introductory fic for the ship just in general because it really highlights everything that’s attractive about it! Love it!

tight fit by naxtique (zagchilles)

naxtique’s fics pretty much all scratch that itch for hadesgame dead dove of the dub/non-con variety, oftentimes laced with angst. Their particular flavor of Zagchilles with slave-to-his-passion, guilt-stricken Achilles is so compelling it always makes me stare at the wall thinking about it. And this is my favorite one, in which Achilles gets sex-pollen’d and ends up in a compromising position with Zagreus. Another one where the ending haunts my dreams (in a good way). Not for everyone obviously but if this sort of thing is up your alley, it’s great.

you’re a walking disaster, and yet— by @johaerys-writes (patrochilles)

Another patrochilles GOAT well-known for their serial longfics, and this year I’ve been enjoying their modern AU Patrochilles where the two of them grow up together in rural Greece. This one has probably my favorite ever synthesis of takes on Achilles’ character I’ve read so far—brilliant, autistic, and gender fluid. It’s definitely an extreme slow burn and gets pretty angsty & messy at times but it’s also devastatingly realistic & relatable and speaks to me a whole lot :> currently ongoing, definitely worth diving into!

#fic recs #patrochilles #pza #eruri #pikuhan #zagchilles #the only thing missing from this list is a dedicated patzag fic #gotta rectify that

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rukia-writes · 11 months

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I saw the Sif!reader x Thor and remembered an old post asking about Frigg with Odin, and had a request idea when you have the time! Like maybe she proportioned very well (Aphrodite would be jealous) but she’s sweet, and very flirty with her husband! But thinks that due to her being older she’s no longer appealing to Odin! How would Odin fix this? Could we have a Figg!reader x Odin please?

Odin! My Achilles heel! Anon, this has to be one of the greatest requests ever. ♥️

Frigg! Reader x Odin

“Calling the meeting order!”

Zeus called the meeting to order as he clanged his small mallet down on the table as it echoed throughout god’s council. Many gods and goddesses attended, while many had different ranks there were two particular people attending that caught their attention.

Odin and (Name).

Married. Happily married.

Some wondered how Odin, a god of few words managed to marry the beautiful goddess beside him. Total opposites if placed side by side, Odin a god of few words while his wife was flirty yet sweet. Odin, a well built older man while she a well proportioned younger looking goddess.

Yet, appearances can be deceiving.

In truth, (Name), Odin’s beloved wife and queen, was older than Odin. While her beauty was on par with Aphrodite herself her age would trouble her from time to time. Not that the goddess would had time dwell on such things as her husband showered her with gifts throughout the many years.

Speaking of which.

“Before we end the meeting…I just wanted to congratulate Odin and (Name) on their anniversary! They’ve been together for since the Big Bang! Maybe longer!”

Zeus excitedly announced to the gods in council as the many gods and goddess clapped their hands together and congratulated the two. Odin found Zeus’ announcement unnecessary, Hugninn and Mugninn were shy as they rubbed their wings on their heads while muttering “Damn, that Zeus!” “Putting us on the spot like this.”

“Aww, don’t let him get to you. I think it’s sweet.”

Quickly kissing Odin’s cheek, infront of the entire council, the two birds squawked and hid themselves in Odin’s long black hair as Odin made a “Hm” noise and yet he didn’t budge or scold her.

In truth, Odin never scolded his wife.

The gods and goddess made awe at the sight knowing the only goddess that could get away such things was (Name). Zeus dismissed the council and the gods left in good spirits and while Odin and (Name) walked out together they were stopped by Aphrodite.

“Congratulations! You look as lovely as the day I met you, (Name). You’re a little older now, but still beautiful.”

Odin watched as Aphrodite hugged his wife noticing (Name)’s quick little frown proceeding with a polite smile, Odin noticed everything as it was; more so when it came to his wife. Smiling Aphrodite gently tapped (Name)’s nose kindly surprising her.

“And when you’re ready you can come down to my beauty salon. We take care of everything.”

Teasing, Aphrodite pointed to the corner of her eye making (Name) frown again as she quickly touched the corner of her eye thinking about “crows feet”.

“I meant eye lashes.”

A little chuckle left Aphrodite as she saw (Name) become flustered at misunderstanding the goddess of love and beauty. Aphrodite smiled and congratulated Odin, even petting the two ravens making them turn bashful.

Making (Name) pout a little.

“You can also come by Odin, I’ll wash your hair myself if you’d like.”

Again, Aphrodite teased before she left and as she did (Name) noticed Odin looking at her Aphrodite as she left. Hugninn and Mugninn started talking how they found Aphrodite’s teasing in bad taste, However Odin silenced them by saying “Enough.” And as the married couple left together (Name) had a few thoughts about Odin and Aphrodite.

The thoughts only became worse when over the next few days, thinking to herself how Aphrodite was younger than herself and how she noticed Odin looking at her. Even when she kindly flirted with her husband she noticed Odin wouldn’t get as flustered as he did, at least not like he did in the beginning of their relationship.

Thinking to herself perhaps she was losing her touch, her appeal to Odin because she was older now even if she did look relatively the same as the day the two met. A few days later, while walking in the gardens (Name) over heard two familiar voices talking in the gardens.

Peeking around the tall bush she saw Loki and Thor talking to one another as Thor cleaned off Mjölnir with a cloth as Loki floated about lazily.

“Isn’t the old lady and old man’s anniversary soon?”

(Name) knew Loki could be “playful” but he didn’t know the weight of his words by calling her a “old lady.” Pouting (Name) wished Loki could have called her something else.

“It’s tomorrow actually.”

Thor, like his father was a man of few words and paid more attention to cleaning Mjölnir than talking.

“What did you get the old lady and the old man?”

“I didn’t get father anything. But I got (Name) a basket of fruit.”

“…That’s it?! Fruit?!”

“…she likes fruits.”

Thor dryly responded back to a surprised Loki, Thor also commented that it was (Name) who taught him how to grow fruits. Loki found that information interesting.

“Also, (Name) is older than father.”

“…How do you know this?!”

“Father told me.”

Loki found that information very interesting as he knew appearances could be deceiving being a trickster god, but his uncle being younger than his wife yet older in appearance made the god laugh.

“And just what are you doing?”

A Calm yet authoritative voice spoke up from behind (Name) scaring her as she gave a little yell, getting Thor and Loki’s attention. There Odin stood, his presence ever authoritative as ever.

“Uncle Odin! Auntie (Name)! We were just talking about you!”

Loki cheerfully spoke as he floated over to Odin and (Name), Thor didn’t move from his spot as he kept cleaning Mjölnir.

“And just what we’re you talking about?!”

“Yeah, it had better not be you plotting!”

Huginn & Muninn “interrogated” Loki who wasn’t phased by their behavior, instead the trickster god looked at (Name) then Odin.

“I know it’s your anniversary and I’m happy you two have lived such long lives. I was just informed that Auntie (Name) is older than you Uncle Odin, how did that happen?”

Huginn & Muninn were taken back by Loki question and began to scold him which Loki didn’t flinch at as he rolled his eyes until Odin spoke up.

“I found her interesting and beautiful.”

Everyone seemed to be taken back by Odin’s words, even Thor stopped what he was doing to listen in. Not satisfied Loki smiled and floated near Odin as (Name) was happy by her husbands words so far.

“Expand on that uncle Odin. I’m curious.”

“We may be opposites but we are the same. Shes very good with her words and actions. I don’t care that she’s older than me.”

Loki didn’t expect an answer much less an detailed answer from the all father as Loki nodded his head content with a little smile, Thor wasn’t expecting that answer but he didn’t mind, and (Name) found Odin’s words comforting as she hugged his arm and rested her head against his arm as the two ravens shielded their eyes with their wing.

“..The hell do you mean by actions?”

Thor asked curiously to his father as he finally decided to acknowledge his father by facing him, Now Loki was curious as he watched the couple closely for any clues.

“..Another day, another time. For now, (Name) and I have to prepare for our anniversary.”

Odin told Thor as he walked away from his nephew and son with (Name) still clinging to his arm. Loki whispered to Thor with teasing smile.

“I’m telling you, they are some kind of kinky.”

Thor made a “hm” sound and went back to get Mjölnir.

“I was going to wait until tomorrow, but I’ll just give you your gift now…”

Still in the gardens, the married couple walked together side by side. Odin had told the two ravens to be off for awhile as he wanted some alone time with his wife and of course the two ravens did as they were told. Before finding (Name) in the gardens Odin had suspected something was troubling his wife and when he pieced together that (Name) troubled by the age from Aphrodite and Loki he decided the best course was to give her the anniversary gift ahead of time. Odin would have comforted with gifts and letters filled with poetry even if it wasn’t their anniversary.

Odin, didn’t count on Loki asking him about his wife. Nonetheless, it all worked out as he had no problem saying how he felt as he truly did love her.

“..I’m aware of your little trouble. I can assure you, you haven’t lost your appeal.”

Odin handed his wife a golden apple, a golden apple inscribed on it were the words,

ᛒᛖᚨᚢᛏᛁᚠᚢᛚ ᚾᛟᚹ ᚨᚾᛞ ᚠᛟᚱᛖᚡᛖᚱ.

Beautiful now and forever.

(Name) was now assured, her beloved husband loved her more than anything. Giving her the symbol of marriage with a confirmation that her age didn’t matter to him, she was loved as much the day they met. Smiling, (Name) held the gift with one hand and gave her thoughtful husband a kiss on the lips. After the two shared a kiss, wrapping her arms around Odin’s while holding to her anniversary gift (Name) sweetly talked to her husband.

“You’re still charming and sweet as ever I see. Would you like to charm me elsewhere?”

Sweet yet flirty, Odin could tell what his beloved wife meant after many years together he knew it was one of the reasons he loved her. A little smirk came to his face as he agreed to do so, knowing his wife would never lose her appeal and if she ever felt like she wasn’t he would be there to remind her with gifts and love.

🎀Rukia-Writes🎀

#ror x reader #odin record of ragnarok x reader #shuumatsu no valkyrie x reader

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