#otp: they were eternity

[ayilings]

ouran host club (idol tamaki au?)

#ohshc #ouran #ouran high school host club #kyoya ootori #tamaki suoh #hikaru hitachiin #haruhi fujioka #ouran fanart #ouran hshc #guilty beauty love oursold ur favs #i love drawing i can make whatever self-indulgent thing i want REAL #id draw more of them but grad school takes all my time. sighs #if i were to flesh this out id want idol kyoya and idol tamaki au with endgame tamakyo bc ur middle school otps are eternal <3! #with the last kyoya drawing here i had this thought of idol him performing on stage with tamaki as a collab or smth #and its cool n all but then he sees tamaki singing his heart out backlit beautifully sincere and passionate #and he has his italicized oh moment GBDHDJSS #what can i say i love music i love cheesiness i love being moved by genuine artistry etc etc #hskmeows

[userlaylivia]

BUT CAN WE TALK ABOUT HOW EVERYTHING JESS BECAME LATER ON IS BECAUSE RORY INSPIRED HIM???? SHE TOLD HIM HE COULD BE AND DO ANYTHING HE WANTED TO AND HE BECAME A BETTER PERSON BECAUSE OF HER!!!!! I AM SOBBING HONESTLY!!!!! HE WROTE A BOOK ALL BECAUSE OF HER INFLUENCE AND BELIEF IN HIM!!!!!

#yes he was a messed up kid but he shouldn't be condemned for all eternity because of that!! #he grew and changed and became an amazing person because of her!! #unlike logan who changed her she dropped out of school stole a boat and etc!! #not to mention cheating on her several times!! yet people say he was better for her??? nope!! #amy called logan her christopher which isn't a good thing btw it's actually terrible!! #and she called jess her luke he'd wait forever for her but they'd be together eventually like l&l were!! #I have otp feels nobody touch me!!!! #rory gilmore #jess mariano #rory x jess #literati #otp: 22.8 miles #gilmore girls #sara rewatches gilmore girls #2x17 #that's the episode I'm on just to clarify lol

[kimsgoeun]

Slightly angstier ship meme for anyone!

@humangods​

Alisha/Wren

who is more likely to get injured doing small tasks: Alisha, maybe? She probably doesn’t notice when she does get hurt anyway, so it’d be up to Wren to point it out and make Alisha disinfect it and grab a band-aid for it. 

who worries more about the other: Wren. Alisha does worry about Wren to some extent, but Wren is the one that worries the most since Alisha refuses to take care of herself. 

who is more afraid about the other leaving them: Wren, maybe. Alisha has kind of set her mind on being alone/dying alone, so having an attachment to Wren scares her. 

who is more likely to leave (for any reason): Alisha. Once she gets worse, she would consider leaving so Wren doesn’t have to see her like that or feel obligated to take care of her. She’d also consider leaving just for the sake of Wren and it’d be her dumb way of showing she cares for Wren. 

who is more likely to drunkenly confess: Hmm, maybe either? I could at least see Alisha doing so because she tends to be a little more honest and forthcoming when she’s drunk. They both seem to try and hold their feelings close to their chest though, so it might be easier for them to say how they feel inebriated. 

who is more likely to push the other away (for any reason): Wren. Because Alisha keeps so many secrets and doesn’t want to tell Wren (under the guise of trying to care about her), it could easily build a lot of tension/resentment between them. Alisha wouldn’t actively try to push Wren away, but her actions do tend to show Wren that she isn’t doing all she can to make Wren feel closer to her either. 

who picks fights more often: Wren. She probably doesn’t mean to, but it’d be understandable since Alisha is so stubborn and doesn’t want to share with her. 

who usually apologizes first: Alisha. A lot of the time she just wants to keep the peace, so while her apologies would be genuine, she often says it. 

who is more likely to withhold their feelings for the other: Wren or both. Under the circumstances it’s probably hard for either of them to want to admit things once more truths are revealed. 

who is more likely to lash out at the other: Maybe neither. They might get into arguments, but I’m not sure how heated they’d be. That or neither of them really want to try and get the other upset on purpose.  

who gets more jealous: They might both for different reasons, but Alisha probably. Alisha would more so be jealous that Wren has the rest of her life ahead of her and doesn’t have a “death sentence” hanging over her head. 

who is more likely to support the other in a relationship with someone else “as long as they’re happy”: Alisha. She would want to know that Wren has someone, especially since she doesn’t think she would be able to make Wren happy in the long run.

Anele/Jenna

who is more likely to get injured doing small tasks: Jenna. Anele makes fun of her and tells her it’s because she’s a silly human. 

who worries more about the other: Anele, even though she hates to admit to it. The fact that Jenna is human, once Anele starts to feel something towards her, makes her even more worried. 

who is more afraid about the other leaving them: Jenna. Anele taking away Jenna’s pain before she leaves is part of it, but the fact that Anele is some deity that doesn’t necessarily care for humanity makes it obvious she could be up and leave anytime she wanted to. 

who is more likely to leave (for any reason): Anele. Mostly it’s out of boredom. At some point it’s because she doesn’t like that she’s starting to care about Jenna. 

who is more likely to drunkenly confess: Jenna? Or neither. Anele doesn’t really get drunk, but would have fun watching Jenna get tipsy. 

who is more likely to push the other away (for any reason): Both. Jenna due to knowing she is going to die soon and “hating” Anele for this exchange they’ve made. Anele because she wants to believe she is better than the human she’s “working for” and then later because she realizes this exchange is going to hurt her in the end. 

who picks fights more often: Anele. She just finds it amusing to make Jenna upset. 

who usually apologizes first: Jenna or neither. Anele is annoying and will just try to make a nice gesture rather than saying “I’m sorry” to Jenna’s face. She’d try to work on it later though when they become closer. 

who is more likely to withhold their feelings for the other: Both? Even though Jenna wants to make Anele fall for her so that Anele can be the one that “dies,” admitting to actually falling for her would be embarrassing. And then Anele, while interested to see how it goes, would be in shock when she realizes she might actually be falling for her. 

who is more likely to lash out at the other: Both. Anele can take it, so she’d welcome Jenna getting that mad. Anele wouldn’t lash out at Jenna, but she’d probably do something just as destructive around them to prove she’s mad. 

who gets more jealous: Anele. Once she gets back some human emotions outside of anger, she’d feel them full force. She’s probably threaten to get rid of whoever is even trying to make a move on Jenna. Sorry, Jenna 😔

who is more likely to support the other in a relationship with someone else “as long as they’re happy”: Anele. In the end, when feelings occur and she wants Jenna to get rid of her so Jenna can live without destroying the world, Anele would just want Jenna to be happy and live the rest of her life.

Avery/Skylar

who is more likely to get injured doing small tasks: Avery. She probably doesn’t notice them too often either since she’s busy worrying about her kids and her job. 

who worries more about the other: Skylar. She’d see Avery working herself to death to make everything perfect for her family. 

who is more afraid about the other leaving them: Skylar? Just in the sense that Avery could fire her and tell her to leave her and her family alone. 

who is more likely to leave (for any reason): Avery. She’d struggle with trying to figure out if she’s doing the right thing, if she’s taking advantage, or if this will all blow up in her face like her marriage. 

who is more likely to drunkenly confess: Skylar, but I could see Avery doing it too if she had a particularly stressful day and only Skylar was able to save the day. 

who is more likely to push the other away (for any reason): Avery. Again because she’s thinking of her kids so she doesn’t want to complicate her life more. 

who picks fights more often: Hmm... Skylar, maybe? Depends on how vocal she’d be on wanting to label their relationship or how she fits into Avery’s life in general. 

who usually apologizes first: Avery. Especially if they do argue and then Skylar does a stellar job of keeping everything else in order or if she’s being wonderful with the kids, it just makes Avery feel awful for being short with her. 

who is more likely to withhold their feelings for the other: Avery. And then Avery will make a pros and cons list and write a diary entry about it and just overthink the whole thing. 

who is more likely to lash out at the other: Avery. She wouldn’t mean to, but the stress gets to her and having to figure out things with Skylar sometimes makes it worse.

who gets more jealous: Skylar? Both? It might not necessarily be due to romantic things, though Avery might fall into that category more, but it might be more about what the other has going on in their life? 

who is more likely to support the other in a relationship with someone else “as long as they’re happy”: Avery. A lot of the time she’s going to feel like she’s burdening Skylar with too much, and thinks she deserves a more normal and simple relationship that doesn’t involve a divorcee and two children under ten. 

Chess/Carmen

who is more likely to get injured doing small tasks: Chess. She’d be reckless with what she’s doing and gets herself into a number of scuffles due to it. 

who worries more about the other: Carmen because Chess is a dummy and will just do things on a whim. 

who is more afraid about the other leaving them: Neither of them possibly. For Chess, she’d be understanding if Carmen had to or wanted to leave for whatever reason. They’re both independent enough to be okay with the other leaving, even if they’d be sad about it individually. 

who is more likely to leave (for any reason): Both. Not that it would be personal or caused by the other, but both have their own lives and things going on that they would take care of on their own. They’d more than likely still come back to each other if given the choice. 

who is more likely to drunkenly confess: Chess. Not that she wouldn’t have confessed while sober, but she’s probably way more affectionate once she has had a few drinks. 

who is more likely to push the other away (for any reason): Carmen, maybe. Though maybe that’d be more in the beginning than once they’re fully committed to being involved with each other. Chess can be pushy and annoying, so it would make sense if Carmen doesn’t appreciate that at the start. 

who picks fights more often: Neither unless it’s more on the playful side. I feel like both of them are pretty good with communication (even when Chess is being ridiculous), so they wouldn’t necessarily get into fights. 

who usually apologizes first: Both, maybe. Chess at least doesn’t like conflict or being in arguments with Carmen. If anything she’d be a cat to try and approach her and then shift back and apologize immediately. 

who is more likely to withhold their feelings for the other: Carmen. Chess would have had no problem with admitting to her feelings once she begins feeling them towards Carmen. 

who is more likely to lash out at the other: Carmen or neither. More so at the beginning, but even later on it probably isn’t horrible. But Chess can be annoying and rash and then cause Carmen to have to come bail her out and/or rescue her. 

who gets more jealous: Carmen or neither. Chess is very affectionate to everyone, but would more so be trying to push people’s button rather than actually be interested in them. If Chess saw Carmen being interested in other people, she’d probably lean into it and make fun of Carmen for it. 

who is more likely to support the other in a relationship with someone else “as long as they’re happy”: Chess or both tbh. If Carmen did ever want to be with someone else, Chess would be sad but she wouldn’t be offended by it. She’d want Carmen to be happy and hope Carmen would feel the same way back. 

Florence/Valdis

who is more likely to get injured doing small tasks: Valdis maybe. Florence doesn’t tend to get her hands dirty too often and usually delegates business to other people to do for her. 

who worries more about the other: Both. Florence would be worried about Valdis fitting in to the group. Valdis would be worried about her original intentions towards Flora and how that’s going to go. 

who is more afraid about the other leaving them: Valdis? Flora could probably disappear from Valdis’s life really easily with her connections if she wanted, or at least make it really difficult for Valdis to get into contact with her if she decided to leave. 

who is more likely to leave (for any reason): Valdis. More so in the beginning of things since she’s playing double agent and all. 

who is more likely to drunkenly confess: Flora. She can be a little more vulnerable/open when she’s drinking. 

who is more likely to push the other away (for any reason): Flora. It’s hard for her to trust anyone in a romantic sense, so having feelings for Valdis would make her worry that she’s setting herself up for trouble. 

who picks fights more often: Valdis or neither. Flora wouldn’t start a fight, but she would try to end it. 

who usually apologizes first: Flora if she is in the wrong. It does take her some time to cool down though, but once she has, she’d try to have a rational conversation and apologize for her behavior. 

who is more likely to withhold their feelings for the other: Both. Their work dynamic being a factor and them both having trust issues due to who they are (especially in regards to their jobs). 

who is more likely to lash out at the other: Flora. Only when really mad though. Most people know not to piss her off because she will go nuclear and start a war. 

who gets more jealous: Both? Flora? Flora is very “possessive” once attached (but not in a toxic way, more in a protective way if that makes sense?), which is why she tries to avoid romantic entanglements for the most part. 

who is more likely to support the other in a relationship with someone else “as long as they’re happy”: Valdis or neither. Flora would never pretend to be happy about Valdis moving on if it came to that. 

Hanna/Apsara

who is more likely to get injured doing small tasks: Apsara? Hanna doesn’t do much that would get her accidentally injured. 

who worries more about the other: Hanna. She just always sees Apsara making dumb choices and since she can’t really do anything about it, she’s forced to watch Apsara do that. 

who is more afraid about the other leaving them: Apsara. A lot of the time the excuse behind it is that she isn’t ready for the fake relationship to be over since she still wants to prove something to her ex. 

who is more likely to leave (for any reason): Hanna. She’s really only staying since Apsara asks, but with every new ask, she constantly considers just up and leaving. Though the feeling to leave only increases once she starts to think she’s enjoying their fake relationship too much. 

who is more likely to drunkenly confess: Apsara or neither. Hanna wouldn’t take it as her being honest even if she did though. 

who is more likely to push the other away (for any reason): Hanna. She isn’t great with affectionate or relationships to begin with, so this all takes a lot for her to get used to. Even if she knows Apsara so well, that added level just makes her feel awkward. 

who picks fights more often: Hanna. She isn’t afraid to point out something wrong or tell Apsara that she isn’t being smart/fair about something. 

who usually apologizes first: Hanna. She ends up feeling bad and figures she went too far when they were arguing. 

who is more likely to withhold their feelings for the other: Both. For Hanna, she’d be in denial for a long time that this means anything to her. 

who is more likely to lash out at the other: Hanna. She’d be abrasive enough to do so if she got that upset with Apsara. 

who gets more jealous: Apsara. She’d probably be surprised about it. Though it wouldn’t be as if Hanna intentionally does anything to make her jealous either. 

who is more likely to support the other in a relationship with someone else “as long as they’re happy”: Hanna. She just doesn’t want Apsara to be with another jerk. 

Hui/Enzo

who is more likely to get injured doing small tasks: Hui or neither. Hui would on purpose just so she could have Enzo fawning over her to be honest. 

who worries more about the other: They probably both do for different reasons and then never share with the other that they’re worried. 

who is more afraid about the other leaving them: Both, but more so Hui once Enzo figures out her agenda. Of course when he does, she might mostly be worried about not having the nice luxuries at first rather than the idea of him wanting away from her. 

who is more likely to leave (for any reason): Hui. For so long in their “relationship” she’d leave if she didn��t see a financial benefit of their being together for herself. Or if she decided things were more trouble than necessary. 

who is more likely to drunkenly confess: Enzo, maybe? Hui learned early on how to keep her wits about herself while drinking, and would intentionally make sure not to go over her limit so she didn’t slip up with all her lies. 

who is more likely to push the other away (for any reason): Hui in the beginning. Enzo later on? The two of them have very bad timing lol. 

who picks fights more often: Enzo? Maybe more so once Hui is figured out and he’s hurt. Hui wouldn’t have tried to pick fights because she’d worry one of them would end up causing him to out her to his family/kick her out. 

who usually apologizes first: Hui. Enzo probably doesn’t believe her, but she’d try anyway. Especially once she realizes and admits to having feelings for him. 

who is more likely to withhold their feelings for the other: Hui. She was never looking for love, so developing any actual feelings would freak her out. 

who is more likely to lash out at the other: Enzo. Rightfully so. 

who gets more jealous: Both probably, but at different times in their “relationship.” Hui wouldn’t try to get him jealous later on though, since she’d realize that’d only further piss him off considering all the crap she’s pulled. 

who is more likely to support the other in a relationship with someone else “as long as they’re happy”: Hui. She’d realize she lost her chance for something real and try to get over it/be happy for him since she knows she treated him horribly. 

Romi/Larissa

who is more likely to get injured doing small tasks: Larissa. Maybe on purpose just because Romi would be so annoyed if Larissa got herself hurt again and now how to take care of it. 

who worries more about the other: Romi, but she hates to admit it. She does in her own horrible way feel responsible for Larissa, so she chalks it up to an unfortunate “it comes with the territory” kind of thing. 

who is more afraid about the other leaving them: Larissa? Neither? They both like to say that they’d want the other out of their life, maybe Larissa more so though, but neither of them ever really do anything to leave. So for Romi, she just wouldn’t expect Larissa to ever really leave. 

who is more likely to leave (for any reason): Romi. Probably due to guilt and not being able to handle things properly. 

who is more likely to drunkenly confess: Larissa? But I would assume it would be an angry, drunken confession rather than anything sappy or sweet. 

who is more likely to push the other away (for any reason): Larissa. Rightfully so since she has a lot of anger/resentment due to what Romi did to her. Them both getting flashes of a past life together only makes it more confusing/unsettling. 

who picks fights more often: Larissa. Just to make Romi’s life harder than it already is. 

who usually apologizes first: Romi will, but half the time it’s in exasperation and she’s hoping it’ll calm Larissa enough to get her to stop doing whatever it is she is doing. 

who is more likely to withhold their feelings for the other: Both. They’ll just both keep it bottled up until they explode probably. 

who is more likely to lash out at the other: Larissa. Being a newer vampire doesn’t help, but that’s Romi’s fault. 

who gets more jealous: Romi. Secretly. She tries to make it just seem like she’s irritated because she doesn’t want to see someone be all affectionate, but she really only has an issue with it if Larissa is involved. 

who is more likely to support the other in a relationship with someone else “as long as they’re happy”: Neither? Romi maybe? Or at least Romi would say she is even if she isn’t. 

Rose/Elina

who is more likely to get injured doing small tasks: Rose. She gets injured a lot trying to get good shots of things for her job. 

who worries more about the other: Both do. Rose would be concerned that Elina is doing something stupid that puts her in danger, and Elina would be worried about getting Rose stuck in the crossfire of things. 

who is more afraid about the other leaving them: Elina. It took forever to admit to having feelings and nothing had happened to them prior to it, so it’s just a lot of careful treading for them. 

who is more likely to leave (for any reason): Rose. Job aside, she just doesn’t think things would work out between them since there’s so many other external obstacles they’d have to face.

who is more likely to drunkenly confess: Elina. Even though she already has, being drunk just makes it easier to say it again but maybe more sincere or something. All in the hopes that Rose takes her seriously that time around. 

who is more likely to push the other away (for any reason): Rose. She already has these preconceived notions in regards to Elina, so it’s just easier for her to push her away if any little thing confirms her issues in regards to her/them. 

who picks fights more often: Elina, but maybe not in a mean-fight type of way? Like I just imagine if Elina is trying to prove she does have feelings and Rose is kind of brushing it off, it would get frustrating for her.

who usually apologizes first: Elina? Rose just gets a little childish when she’s actually upset and will avoid until she’s in better control of herself.

who is more likely to withhold their feelings for the other: Rose. She doesn’t necessarily trust Elina’s feelings towards her and it lowkey scares her since that changes a lot of things between them that Rose isn’t prepared for yet. 

who is more likely to lash out at the other: Rose. When push comes to shove, she’d have a lot of things to say and it would be difficult for her to stop until she’s ready to be done being upset. 

who gets more jealous: Elina. Rose would most likely compartmentalize and pretend she hadn’t seen it if she saw something that made her jealous in regards to Elina. 

who is more likely to support the other in a relationship with someone else “as long as they’re happy”: Elina, maybe? Just because she would most likely think that it’s a safer choice for Rose. 

Xiomara/Daniella

who is more likely to get injured doing small tasks: Hmm. Xio might? Only because she likes to be hands on with her tasks. 

who worries more about the other: Xiomara. After initially taking care of her, she’s probably just worried that something like that will happen again and next time it’ll be way worse.

who is more afraid about the other leaving them: Both most likely, although maybe Daniella more. Just because they both know they have different loyalties in terms of their family’s businesses. They probably both figure that the other will have to turn their back on the other when it comes down to it. But Daniella might be more so since she isn’t exactly keen on taking over her family’s vineyard. 

who is more likely to leave (for any reason): Daniella maybe. If she decides to opt out of taking over then Xio would just assume they don’t have a reason to be around each other anymore. 

who is more likely to drunkenly confess: Both or Xio. When they have their weird moment after tending to Daniella’s wounds, I feel like Xio just ends up thinking about it a lot. And then she’s just more aware of her, so it eventually turns into something on her end lol. 

who is more likely to push the other away (for any reason): Xio might since she’s in denial and because she does want her family’s business. 

who picks fights more often: Daniella. Xio probably tries to avoid rather than make those confronting arguments. 

who usually apologizes first: Hmm. Daniella or neither? Not that Xio wouldn’t if she knew she was in the wrong, but again, she’d just avoid Daniella when upset/mad until she got over it by herself. 

who is more likely to withhold their feelings for the other: Both. I just see them both trying to actively deny it for as long as possible regardless of them having moments and/or having done anything together. Both chalk it up to just like “hate” tension like dummies. 

who is more likely to lash out at the other: Daniella or neither. 

who gets more jealous: They probably both do once something has happened between them. Xio might be a little more obvious with her jealousy though. She can’t really hide it from her face. 

who is more likely to support the other in a relationship with someone else “as long as they’re happy”: Xio. She wouldn’t be happy about it, but she’d try to see it as things working out for the best. 

#humangods #hc: alisha murphy #otp: even memories fade #hc: anele jacobs #otp: let's live in misery for all eternity together #hc: avery bonham #otp: i'm a bad idea crawling into your bed #hc: chester mao #otp: always with riddled smiles #hc: florence fitzgerald #otp: if i was bound for hell let it be hell #hc: hanna bok #otp: you were never really mine #hc: hui liyang #otp: slow dancing in a burning room #hc: romi messer #otp: my heart beats in the syllables of your name #hc: rosemary salinas #otp: even our intimacies are rigged with terror #hc: xiomara navarro #otp: fire purges and purifies

[too-deviant]

jackie and wilson.

previous | next masterlist.

pairing: luke castellan x unclaimed!reader

summary: you haven't been given a quest, but you have made it your personal mission to make luke castellan smile

word count: 6.2k

content: very juicy chapter. is all im gonnna say.

notes: i cant stay mad at my otps i fear

PART IV — better yet, she wouldn’t care 

“If I have to hear one more handjob joke, I’m gonna lose it. So please tell me you have good news.” 

Lee Fletcher’s dark blue eyes flitted up to yours, his lashes tickling just under his eyebrow when he did. His hands were fiddling with the bandage that wrapped around your hand, but they slowed when you spoke, “Bare with me, newbie.”

You sighed deeply, fighting the urge to fall back onto the cot that you were sitting on — you’d had the stupid bandage wrapped around your hand and wrist for what felt like eternity, but was really only five days. You should be thankful, really, since the last time you’d broken your wrist you’d been walking around with a thick blue cast on for a month, but you couldn’t help but be a little peeved. Capture the flag was today, and you hadn’t trained nearly as much as the others had due to your injury — when you probably should’ve been training twice as much, only because you were new and unfamiliar with the game. 

It was their fault for hyping it up; if they had just shut up about it, you wouldn’t have been as excited about taking part, broken wrist or not. But alas, demigods were barbarians — barbarians who thirsted to beat each other up in a controlled battle. Barbarians who didn’t have any regard for the new camper when they were climbing all over each other to see the freshly posted team setup, and trampled all over their perfectly good wrist. 

“Maybe you shouldn’t have been standing right in front of the notice board.” Luke had been saying all week. 

“Maybe you shouldn’t have asked me to accompany you there, then.” You replied every time. 

Lee narrowed his gaze, flipping your hand around carefully in his, kneading at curtain parts of your skin while checking you for reactions. When you showcased nothing but annoyance at your own shit luck, he leaned back with a cheeky smile, “Well, it’s looking good. I don’t think you need this anymore.” 

He lifted up the knot of bandage he’d removed from your hand and threw it with perfect precision into the trash can on the other side of the room, before turning and grinning at you. You couldn’t help but grin back, “You’re the best.” 

“I’m told.” He shrugged, feigning a humble demeanour. You stood, and he did so with you, looking at you pointedly, “But you should still take it easy today. It’s your first game, and you’ve been here for a week. Nobody is gonna judge you for stepping back today.” 

You scoffed, rolling your newly healed wrist around with a small smile, “I’m not stepping back for shit, Fletcher. I’m beating the hell out of Chris Rodriguez.”

“He’s on your team.” 

“I don’t care.” You rebutted. Lee rolled his eyes, but ultimately let you off with a wave. “See you later!” 

The past five days had been fairly tame. When the team setup was posted on Sunday afternoon, everyone went immediately into prep mode for the game. You knew they took it seriously, but you didn’t realise how seriously they did until you found yourself being pulled out of your sleeping bag at five in the morning so you could get a headstart on training with Luke. Although you didn’t see the relevance — after you’d broken your wrist, the boy hadn’t even let you look at a spear, so you woke up at the asscrack of dawn to…sit around and watch him train. 

Thankfully, Hermes had paired up with Ares for once, and Clarisse wasn’t letting you off easily. Whenever she could, she was dragging you to the arena and teaching you how to fight one-handed. So you were more than ready, skipping down the infirmary steps with an easy smile. 

“I think I see you here more than I see you anywhere else.” 

You paused, looking up and spotting Evan, leaning gently on the porch railing. You rounded the steps and stopped in front of him, “Hey. I’ve only been here twice.”

“In…” He checked his imaginary watch, “One week. That’s gotta be a record.”

You narrowed your eyes jokingly, “Okay. I’m still learning, leave me alone.” 

“We’ll see how much you’ve learnt later today.” He quipped, running a hand through his hair. He smirked at you, “Good luck.” 

“Thanks.” You slid out, sarcasm evident in your tone. He laughed, and you smiled, rolling your eyes. 

“Come on, clumsy. Let’s get to training.” He began to walk off, and you followed, presumably to where the Hermes team were gathering for last minute preparations. 

For this game, they’d paired up with Ares and Athena, Apollo taking lead for the blue team with Hephaestus and Aphrodite. Red team also had Demeter, and the boys of cabin twelve were on the blue team. It seemed like a pretty good split; or at least you thought it was, judging by the reactions of everyone when they read the pamphlet. You might have been reading it wrong, though. After all, you were crying out in pain and cradling a shattered wrist when it happened. 

Athena was always a good cabin to pair up with, was what Evie had told you when she was taking your measurements for armour. You presumed so, goddess of war and all. But you were a little wary about the Cabin Ten girls — Aphrodite was also a warrior goddess, after all. 

Evan led you around the back of the pegasi stables and through a mudded path. The only reason you hadn’t taken off running in fear that he was leading you to your imminent death was because the wood nymphs were out and about, milling around like bodyguards. They eyed you up at first, but a few of them recognised you from your impromptu baseball session with Luke last week and told them to back off. 

“Here she is, the woman of the hour!” Clarisse exclaimed when she saw you break through the trees. A few people glanced back and smiled at you politely, a sentiment you returned as Evan led you to the front of the crowd where she stood. 

Luke was beside her, and only nodded at you. You nodded back, a glimmer in your eyes that made his hands twitch. 

“Okay, now that our whole team is in attendance, we can begin.” The Ares girl said, conviction prominent in her voice. She was made to lead, that much was obvious. “You all know the deal. I won’t repeat it, not with the blue team so close by, but…” She sent a meaningful look around the whole crew, “You know where to go. We’ve been practising this, and in a couple of hours it’ll be time to bring home yet another win.”

“It’s pretty much all in the cards for us.” Luke cropped himself into the speech, “Cabin Nine have their special machinery but we’ve got wit, power and numbers. We’ll be fine.” 

“Speaking of cabin nine.” Clarisse hopped down from the wooden crate she was standing on, “I grabbed this from them just before the teams went up. Had to make sure they didn’t sabotage it.”

She pulled a long spear out from behind some other boxes, and let it shimmer in the light. It was beautiful, and you couldn’t keep your eyes away from it. Despite it being made from celestial bronze, the forger had clearly done something to make it shine a mesmerising silver. You could see your reflection in it as it glistened under the sun. It was double ended and if you squinted, you could see tiny spikes coiling around the first ten or so inches of each end. The shaft was smooth and engraved with something you could only make out when she walked over and handed it to you. 

“Wait.” You took it out of instinct, weighing it in both hands but giving a shocked look to Clarisse, “This is mine?” 

“You’re damn right.” She smirked, “Jake was having a field day making that thing, couldn’t stop talking about it. Especially when he added these,” She poked one of the spikes that coiled around the shaft and rubbed the tips of her fingers together with a wince, “They’re lethal. You’ll be unbeatable out there with this thing.” 

“Cool.” You gave it an experimental swing, and everyone in your vicinity took a long step back. You shrugged, smiling anyway, “Whoops.” 

You felt very powerful with your new weapon, and now that you had it in your hands, you could marvel at the engravings. They were images, battles fought — a lot of them recognisable. There was Perseus killing Phineus and Polydectes with Medusa’s head, Heracles and the Nemean Lion. There was even an engraving of Tantalus stealing the ambrosia and nectar from Olympus, for some reason. You’d have to ask Jake about that later. 

“We have two hours until we need to gather at the pavilion, so we won’t bore you with details.” A young girl who you’d seen around camp before stood up and addressed the crowd. She was very little, but she exuded authority even at her young age. “But if I see you lazing around, I’ll put my dagger through your foot.”

There was a chorus of nods and murmured agreement, so the little girl stepped back and nodded at Luke, who told them all to go get ready. The crowd dispersed, but you stayed firmly put as the boy made his way over to you, the little girl following behind him. 

“Sunny.” He tried not to smile, but you saw his lips twitch. He gestured to the girl beside him, “This is my little sister Annabeth. Newly appointed Counselor of Athena.”

You raised a brow, impressed, before looking down at the girl with a smile, “Hey, Annabeth.” You introduced yourself, trying not to show her how kind of scared you were for her to not like you. 

Luckily she nodded, “Hi. You better be good with that spear.”

“I’d like to think I am.” You joked. She didn’t laugh, simply telling Luke she was going to brainstorm and left you both alone in the clearing you’d been gathered in. You raised your brows at him, “I think she gets her stoic indifference from you.” 

He cracked a smile then, grabbing your spear from you and weighing it in his own hands, “Yeah. She’s a firecracker.” He looked at you firmly, “Think you’ll be good for this game? It’s not too late to back out.”

You snatched the weapon right back from him, rubbing his finger prints from the shaft with your sleeve and sending him a half-glare, “You just want an excuse to use this instead of me. I’m fine, JoJo.”

He raised a single brow, “Fine. But if you end up back in the infirmary, I’m not gonna kiss your wounds better.”

You smirked, backing away and pointing your free finger at him daringly, “You wouldn’t be able to hold back.”

He laughed, hand on heart, “Right.” 

You were quick to retreat to the Arena where you knew Clarisse was waiting for you. A good chance to break in the new armoury and swing a spear around that wasn’t made of styrofoam or rotten wood. You caught yourself a good sweat in an hour and a half, and Clarisse was covered in bloody dots from those spikes. Even if you were injured, they still didn’t stand a chance against those. It was a comforting thought. 

You would’ve practised the whole time had it not started raining — something that confused you greatly since the camp had a controlled climate. Clarisse just rolled her eyes, though, claiming that Chiron was upping the dramatics for the game. You were unsure that the centaur could just…make it rain, but you went along with it. You’d only been a demigod for a week after all. 

Not wanting to be completely soaked by the time the game started, you retreated back to the Hermes cabin, shortening your spear down with a click and tucking it into your belt loop before you sat down. You were still on the floor, still next to the six year-old who almost always rolled on top of you in the night — you had now perfected your rollover technique to get him off you without waking him up. 

You were re-lacing your combat boots when two shadows loomed over either side of you. Without so much as a glance away from your foot, you said plainly, “Stolls. What do you want?”

A twin pair of scoffs sounded and you just rolled your eyes. The one on the left spoke first, and you thought it might have been Travis, “Bold to assume we want anything.” 

“I mean, we do.” Connor added from your right, and the indisputable sound of a hard slap came right after. “Ow! Asshole.”

“Cut to it.” You moved onto your other shoe now that the left one was wound tight. You were always pretty speedy at tying laces, a fairly random skill but a skill nonetheless. 

“Well…” Connor started. 

“Luke put us on second offence.” Travis continued. 

“But we sorta hate doing second offence.” 

“Yeah, it’s way too much work.”

Connor leaned over your shoulder so his stupid grin was visible in your peripheral vision, “And we heard that you are on side offence. Which has a much lower maiming risk.”

“So you wanna swap spots?” You deducted, looking up from your feet and giving them a blank glance. They nodded, and you sighed, “Ok, first of all, there’s two of you and one of me. You’ll have to find someone else to swap with too.”

“Already done.” Travis nodded, “Sabine loves second offence.”

“Second of all,” You sent them firm looks, “Luke isn’t going to let you change the layout right before the game. Neither is Clarisse and neither is Annabeth.”

“Which is why we aren’t telling them.” Connor said like it was obvious, holding out his hands like he’d presented you with the best idea ever conjured, “Luke and Clarisse are on first offence and Annabeth is on last defence, right by the flag. No one will know.”

“Plus,” Travis sang, wiggling his eyebrows, “This is a perfect opportunity to prove to everyone how badass you are.”

“Yeah, Luke’s had you on a leash since you hurt your wrist.” Connor raised a teasing brow, “Why not show him what you’re made of?” 

You looked between them, and the silence that stretched seemed to serve as an answer because they were smirking at you and pushing themselves up and out of the door before you could utter a word. 

The rain hadn’t settled — Chiron and his dramatics, although it appeared Mr D wasn’t too much of a fan. God or not, he still got wet with the rest of them. You stood between Luke and Clarisse, the former shielding both your heads with his black jacket — Annabeth ended up squeezing between the two of you when she couldn’t keep up with her I’m too good to hide from the rain facade. You took it as a win, she was warming up to you! 

“Welcome to our first capture the flag of the summer!” Chiron bellowed, pausing for the cheers that resounded. “The usual rules are enforced. Magic weapons are permitted, the flag must be prominently presented with no more than two guards no less than ten yards from the flag! No killing or maiming, and no gagging or bounding of prisoners. Let the games begin!” 

There was a loud echo of cheers and battle cries as the first conch sounded — they only had twenty minutes to get into position and then they would be permitted to cross the creek into enemy territory. Annabeth was quick to gather up the flag guards and send them off to their agreed location with nothing but a sharp eye before she was pulling together the defensive lines and sending them off too.

“Hey.” Just before you could walk off, Luke grabbed your attention, levelling his eyes with yours as best as he could from under his helmet. He adjusted yours and patted your shoulders, “You got this, Sunny.”

You nodded, “Damn right I do.” 

It was hard to navigate the woods in the rain, which was still pouring almost torrentially over them. The forest floor had grown slippery and wet with the new downpour, but the campers traipsed through it roughly, boots squelching as they moved. You followed the side defence through mud and grass, dodging branches and puddles until you couldn’t hear the chatter of Luke and Clarisse from behind you. Then you stopped, and just ahead of you, Sabine did the same. 

It wasn’t long before Connor and Travis were pushing through the trees and greeting the pair of you with wide grins. Sabine rolled her eyes, “Shove off, punks.”

Then she was storming in the direction they came from, and you had no choice but to follow. It was hard to keep up with her long strides, but whenever you lost her in the fog you just followed the sound of her annoyed mutters. 

“Stupid kids. Can’t be trusted on last offence let alone second. It’s not fair. I punch one kid for cheating and Luke sends me to side defence. Side! Stupid punk has been out of it for too long, needs a reality check.”

You didn’t bother responding — whether you were going to agree or come to Luke’s defence, you had no idea. You just followed her to the edge where the second offence was lined up just past the edge of the shore. Evie and Evan gave you the same confused look. 

“Those Stoll fuckers wanted an easy out.” Sabine spat, pushing a stray curl back under her helmet and heaving her giant club over her shoulder. 

The twins didn’t question or fight the decision, simply shrugging and going back to where they were tracing their own tic tac toe game into the wet sand. You stood idly, hands fiddling with your belt buckle before the second conch sounded. Almost immediately did the first and side offences cross the creek and disappear into the woods, while you pulled your spear from the ground and followed the twins and Sabine across the water moments after they were gone. 

Then it was a waiting game. 

“Fuck Apollo, Marry Athena and Kill Hermes.” 

Evie scoffed, shaking her head, “No. No way. Athena would be way controlling as a wife, you gotta bag Apollo.” 

Sabine hummed, “No. I think Athena and I would be unstoppable together.”

You looked up from your shoes and between the three that stood before you. It had been two hours and the most action you had was seeing one of your own teammates get flung right back over the creek by some cabin nine contraption that you were not too keen on meeting. Your spear rested across the back of your shoulders, your arms swung around the shaft at either side as you contemplated your own answer. 

“No, see —“ You huffed, “I couldn’t marry Athena, but only because she conjures babies with her brain. I could never win an argument, I know that for sure.”

“But we all agree on killing Hermes, right?” Evan butted in with a laugh that was immediately shared by the rest of them. He settled down and squinted for a moment, “Ok. Fuck, Marry, Kill. Iris, Nemesis and…Hypnos.” 

There was immediate discourse, everyone speaking up at once with their own opinions. Sabine thought Hypnos would be a terrible lay — He’d fall asleep halfway through! — but Iris would be overbearing as a wife. Evie said Nemesis would be the best wife, she’d never let anyone hurt you, and you were just about to add on that Iris could let you eavesdrop on other people’s conversations whenever you were bored when a loud crack echoed through the trees. 

Then it was quiet. You all shared silent looks, baring your weapons and facing the enemy side. 

Another crack, a snap of a twig. Then a crash, like something being dropped onto a pile of leaves. 

A scream, and a manic son of Aphrodite breaking through the trees and aiming a large Kopis at Evan, who was quick to defend with his dual wielding swords. His teammates followed, and the rest of you jumped into action — you were only slightly panicked when you realised your opponent was a Hephaestus kid who was nearly double your height. 

You’d seen him around sometimes, he was only a year or so younger than you. Same age as Clarisse, and definitely the same level of skill in battle. What made him even scarier was that he fought with nunchucks…fucking nunchucks! And he was good with them, too. 

But you had been taught well. You were quick to defend your body and use both ends of your spear to deflect each nunchuck from making contact. At one point, he clipped your arm pretty hard, and that was when you realised they were ribbed along the edges making for a harder hit. You bounced back though, swinging every which way and not letting him touch you again. 

Briefly, you could hear your peers’ own battles. There weren’t any shouts of pain, or cries for help, so you put all your focus on the boy before you. He had a height advantage, and swung his weapon down on you fairly often, which left your torso open when you held your spear over your head. But your reflexes were like lightning, and no matter how hard he tried he just couldn’t land that second hit. 

Fuelled by his own frustration, he lunged forward and tried to wrap the chain of his chucks around the shaft of your spear. He attempted to no avail a couple of times, but then he clicked a button on one of the shafts and released a crackle of energy along it. You were shocked momentarily by the reveal of his electric nunchucks that you faltered in your defence and he managed to wrangle your weapon in his own on the third try. You pulled back hard, trying to regain control and prevent his disarm, but he just pressed that damn button again and this time the volts ran through his chain and up the entire length of your spear. 

The crack that resounded was huge. Too huge to have come from those tiny nunchucks.  

Where you were expecting a sudden and painful shock through your hand and arms you instead felt a massive give. You stumbled back, shocked, but regained your footing before you could fall onto the wet ground. Your spear was in your hands, and the nunchucks were still wrapped tightly around the middle. You looked up from them to see their owner crumbled in a heap on the ground, nursing his painfully red hands while the rainfall soaked his clothes even more. 

You’d completely forgotten you weren’t alone until one of his teammates dropped their shield and ran to his aid. You looked up, expecting to meet the dumbstruck eyes of Evie and Evan, only to see their gazes fixed elsewhere. You turned your head. 

There in the grass was a giant streak of black, stretching along the shore for nearly five metres. It took a second for you to realise that it was embers — the ground had been burnt completely from where you stood to where it ended. And standing just before it was Luke and Clarisse — the blue team's flag in hand. They weren’t moving, they were staring at the burn in the floor, at you.

Your chin wobbled a little until the echo of the other team reached your ears. You looked at the pair urgently, “Move!”

And they did. Even when the blue team kids you’d been fighting  before tried to stop them, they were held back and Luke and Clarisse led your team to an easy victory. 

They cheered, and the conch sounded. Chiron emerged through the wood and smiled at them in congratulations — the whole spark debacle was nearly forgotten, campers too busy either cheering or groaning to notice the burn streak on the floor. Chiron did, though, and soon though the short lived celebration quieted down as he asked about it. 

Eyes turned to you. You shrugged, “I don’t…I don’t know what happened, it just —“

But then there were gasps. All around you. And suddenly Chiron wasn’t looking at you, he was looking at the space above your head. And then so was everyone else. 

When you looked up, squinting past the rain, and your eyes fixated on that glowing lighting bolt that floated above your head, the world went quiet. A week of hearing everything about the glory of being claimed — how at ease you would be, how reassured you would end up. None of it was true. Because for some reason, the symbol that hung above your head sent nothing but trepidation running through you. 

You almost missed Chiron's next words,  

“Zeus. Law Maker. Striker of Lightning. King of Olympus. All hail.” He shouted your name, but it didn’t feel right in your ears, “Daughter of the Sky God.”

When you couldn’t stand the sight of it — when it started to make you feel sick, when the picturesque summer camp you were finally finding yourself in started to feel tight and uncomfortable, you looked down. Everyone was kneeling, eyes on the ground. It was comforting that they weren’t staring at you anymore, but when you searched the crowd for those baby brows that held you down, they were fixated firmly on the mud. 

After your claiming, Chiron dismissed everyone sharply. They left, all talk about the capture the flag win long left behind and replaced by canards about you and your family. Your lineage. You were very prepared to stand frozen on the other side of the creek for the rest of the day but the centaur ushered you into his office in the big house just as the rain stopped. 

The next hour was a muffled blur. You felt as if you had just been plunged underwater and all you could hear was your heartbeat in your ears — you vaguely registered Chiron and Mr. D asking you a load of questions about your childhood and whether there were any signs of your parentage along the way. You couldn’t answer that. 

They Iris-Messaged your mother — who was in her office and jumped up startled when the call came through. You might have been in a hazy funk, but you could tell the surprise on her face when Chiron informed her of your claiming was genuine. She’d had no idea. That, out of all things, angered you the most. 

“This new information will have caused quite a stir in Olympus.” Was one of the last things he said, “But you should be fine, since you’re seventeen.”

“Why does me being seventeen mean anything?” 

Zeus’ Cabin was subpar to say the least. Alright if you’re only going in there to worship the guy, not so alright if you’re planning on living there. There weren’t any beds, but there were alcoves lining the walls that you tucked your sleeping bag into so you didn’t have to look at the giant statue of Zeus that stood at the end of the room. For good measure, you chucked a spare blanket over its head — he could smite you for it, you didn’t really care anymore. 

You zoned back into reality when a knock sounded on your door, and you realised it was nightfall. Dinner time. You stood from your perch on one of the many benches that sat in the room — you thought they’d have better use in the pavilion, where Hermes kids were practically falling off the benches there were so little of them — and headed over to the huge double doors, heaving one open and breathing deep at the workout it took just to see who was at the door. 

It was Evie, and for some reason that made a pit of disappointment form in your gut. You sent her a weak smile nonetheless, “Hi.”

She smiled back, full of pity, “Hey. Just thought I’d come check on you, we haven’t seen you in hours.”

“I didn’t like them staring at me.” You said plainly, stepping out into the open air. The rain had stopped now, the sky clear, and you fought the urge to roll your eyes. 

“Yeah, I get that.” Was her heartfelt reply. You felt bad for being so plain with her, but there was really only one person you wanted to see, “But, um, it’s dinner right about now. Wanna…come with?”

You didn’t really wanna, but you were starving and almost certain that nobody would be bringing you any food, so you shrugged, “Sure.” 

The large door shut on its own when you stepped away from it, and Evie jumped at the sound. You folded your arms and walked alongside her in silence until you were forced to part at the pavilion. She tried to say something — maybe a goodbye, a good luck. Maybe a we can’t be friends anymore because you’re forbidden. You didn’t stick around to check, walking over to the empty Zeus table where you unfortunately belonged. 

You filled your plate, hungry from the workout of capture the flag and exhaustion from the day, but your appetite was ruined when you saw Luke walk in and avoid your eyes completely in favour of sitting at his usual spot at the Hermes table. You hadn’t seen him all day, he hadn’t seen you, and yet here he was; ignoring your existence like he used to. It sort of hurt. 

So you dropped your fork, leaned your elbows on the untouched wood and stared at nothing. Only hours earlier were you at the top of your game, happy and ready to use your skills in capture the flag, show your friends what you could do. Now? You were completely alone, completely miserable, and completely ready to go back to Vermont. 

You wanted nothing more than to climb into your bed and cry. 

People started to stand. Heading in the direction of the campfire that you were definitely going to skip. Some Hermes kids stood, Luke included, and started a slow stroll down there too, past your table and down the hill. Chris was talking animatedly to his friends on either side of him, but Luke didn’t look very happy with whatever it was he was saying. Before you could build up the courage to call out for him, beg him to look you in the eyes and still stay your friend, he was shoving Chris roughly, the boy falling into your table with a grunt. 

“What the hell, man?” He sneered, brushing himself off. Luke just glared. He scoffed, “You’ve changed, bro. And not for the better.”

Then he was walking off in a huff, and his friends were following him. Luke met your eyes for half a second before storming off in the opposite direction — and with the influence of the tug on your heart, you followed. 

He was halfway to the Hermes cabin when you caught him, and you were thrown back to the time he got into that…thing with Dean from Ares and you chased him all the way up the hill. This time, it was down, and you were a lot less out of breath when you reached out and tugged on his elbow. 

He turned to you, “What?”

You paused, hand falling to your side. You swallowed, shrugged, “I…uh…”

Luke tightened his jaw, eyes flicking above your head like if he looked at you any longer his facade would break. He took in a deep breath and met your gaze once more, “Go to the campfire.”

“What —?”

“Go to the campfire.” He was backing away, “Entertain your fans, give out autographs. Conjure some more lighting. I don’t know. Do something, but don’t do it here.” 

You weren’t having that. Your gaze hardened, “Hey. You’re not allowed to say that to me after you ignored me all day.”

“I —“ He went for a rebuttal, but came up short, licking his lips in frustration. “You disappeared.”

“I was in the Big House, being interrogated.” You explained, annoyance clear in your tone, “I would’ve liked it if my best friend was waiting for me when I got out but unfortunately he decided he hated me like everyone else and I had to cry alone in my cabin.” 

He paused then, taking slow steps back towards you and meeting your saddened gaze. His brows furrowed, “I’m your best friend?” 

You cracked a tiny smile, “Of course you are, idiot.” 

His nod was barely there, but you saw it. You also saw his smile, small like yours and gone in a flash. “I don’t hate you.” He said, “I don’t care that Zeus is your dad. It’s just…”

“He forgot about me.” 

“What?”

You shrugged, folding your arms. There, standing in the middle of the cabins and staring at Luke Castellan, you admitted out loud what you’d been avoiding since you left the Big House, “Zeus. He forgot about me. That's why I never got attacked by monsters, because my deadbeat father was so busy turning his kid into a tree that he forgot he had another one.” 

Even under the tears brimming in your lids and through the lump on your throat, you saw Luke flinch. A minute movement, but you caught it like you caught all of his other details. The freckle on his eyebrow, the scar on his forehead that other people missed because they were too busy staring at his big one. The flinch when you brought up the tree. Thalia Grace, is what Chiron had called her. 

“I’m sorry for avoiding you.” He said in a low murmur. “Thalia was a friend of mine and Annabeth’s. Brought back some rough memories.” 

“Oh.” You breathed, “Oh, gods. I’m so sorry.” 

You stepped forward and wrapped your arms around his torso before you could think about it. Big bad Luke definitely didn’t like hugs, but there you were; hugging him and staining his camp shirt with your salty tears. You couldn’t help it — you were so full of emotions that a single hug that he hadn't even reciprocated was bringing you to tears. 

Then he hugged you back, and you started bawling. 

Bawling like a baby into his chest while he stood there and held you. Crying about your dad who forgot about you, your sister who died while you lived a happy life, your nonexistent purpose in life because you were over sixteen now and there was nothing for you. Maybe being a forbidden kid was enough, but not really. You weren’t forbidden enough for them, apparently. 

“Sorry for shoving Chris.” He spoke into your hair. You pulled your head back enough to meet his eyes, “He was saying shit about you and Thalia and it pissed me off. I know that you want me to be better, happier or whatever, and I am trying but…”

“I don’t care.”

His lips shut with a smack, “What?”

You let out a sad chuckle, “Be miserable. I don’t care, I like you for who you are. Plus, I get it. Y’know? This isn’t the happiest life.” 

Luke looked at you with an expression so genuine and heavy that it sort of scared you, but you let it burn you. You’d let him burn you forever more. Then he let out a breath, tinged with relief, and relaxed his forehead onto your own. You stayed like that, heads pressed together and arms wrapped around one another, until footsteps bled into your ears. 

You pulled away from each other and spotted Annabeth, who was making her way over very quickly, trudging through the grass that was still wet from earlier. 

“Anna Banana.” Luke squinted, his new way of smiling, “What are ya’ doing over here?”

The girl stopped between the two of you and ignored her brother in favour of looking at you, “So, you’re Zeus’ kid.”

“Yup.”

“I knew your sister. She was my sister, too, for a bit.” She said, and you thought it sounded sad, but the girl hid her emotions well. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” You shrugged — it wasn’t anyone’s fault but Zeus’. You sent her a kind smile. 

She returned it, glancing at Luke then, “Don’t call me that.” 

He chucked, patting her on the head and yanking on one of her braids. She huffed and smacked his hand away, but smiled nonetheless. Then she looked back at you, “You were good with that spear today. Maybe Athena could pair up with Zeus for the next game.”

“Maybe they could.” You nodded. 

She nodded back, before announcing her departure and heading off. You looked at Luke with a proud grin, “She likes me.” 

He smiled fully, amused, “She does.”

“You like me.”

A little sheepish, “I do.”

“So who cares if daddy dearest doesn’t?” You settled on, tilting your head, “We got each other.” 

Luke nodded, and you admired the way he looked. He was handsome, that you knew, but he seemed particularly beautiful under the moon, alone with you.

🏷️ @katherines-imagines @lovingjasontoddmakemewanttocry @jennapancake @cobaltskiez @loveryoushouldcomeoverr @m00ng4z3r @ma1dita @woodlandwrites @tsireyasgf @theo-notts-doll @iammightsadyall @fennecswife @csifandom @evilwrongdoer @blueberryjune @dancing-inasnowglobe @acidaciruela @solshaven @rosieandthethorns @sofiacblair @obxstiles @lukecastellanirl (comment to be removed/added!) (also sorry if some of these didn’t work idk what’s going on)

#sunny!verse #who gasped #guys tell me this is good #luke castellan #luke castellan x reader #@lia’s works #luke castellan x you #thanks to the anon who gave me the idea for her godly parent

[libraryofgage]

Prompt 31 of this OTP prompt list! I've got ideas for quite a few of them, but if there's one you're particularly eager to see, just lemme know ^_^ I wanna try to write a little Steddie everyday, whether that's a ficlet here or working on the Modern Steve in 80s Hawkins WIP lol

Prompt: “Why’d you— why’d you do that?” “B-Because I promised you I’d do anything to keep you safe.” 

---

When Steve had realized they were really going after Vecna this time, about to walk into his lair and fuck him up, he'd made a promise to himself. He was going to do everything in his power to keep everyone safe, especially Eddie and Dustin, especially when their final plan made those two the demobat distraction.

Steve has also learned over his past few Upside Down adventures to trust his gut. Going through some life-threatening scenarios tends to strengthen his intuition for danger and general Bad Events. So, when he's following Nancy and Robin to the Creel house and feels a horrible stirring in his stomach (something beyond anxiety and fear and stale bread sitting wrong), he stops.

"I'm going back," he says.

"What?" Nancy asks, spinning on her heel.

Robin, meanwhile, meets his gaze. A silent conversation passes between them through looks and half-gestures and a singular grunt from Robin at the end. Their entire conversation can be boiled down to, simply, "I've got a bad feeling."

Interestingly, going through Russian torture together makes people trust each other's bad feelings.

"Okay," Robin says, nodding once before looking at Nancy. "It's not like we need him anyway. I think we're pretty kick-ass on our own."

"But the plan," Nancy protests, her brows furrowing as Steve realizes she's more upset over the change in plan than she is his leaving them.

Steve places a hand on her shoulder, smiles reassuringly, and says, "Don't worry, Nance. You'll kick Creel's ass, I'll make sure Thing One and Thing Two don't get themselves killed, and we'll all go out for pizza when this is over."

Nancy stares at him for a few seconds before sighing. "Okay. Don't die."

"Wasn't planning on it."

Steve can see the trailer before he gets to it, and he can see the demobats creating a fucked up storm cloud as they stream off in one direction, and he can't hear any of the music that should be playing. The demobats seem determined to reach something that's running away, and Steve gets a sinking feeling in his chest.

He knows it isn't Dustin. Eddie wouldn't let Dustin put himself in danger like that unless it was over his dead body, and there's no way Dustin would let Eddie die unless he happened to be out of sight. Which it seems he is now, and Steve knows things must have Gone Bad to get to this point.

Steve shoots across the Upside Down, racing to reach the demobat swarm. Their screeching fills his ears, echoing and bouncing around his head as he gets closer, and he can start to hear Eddie screaming, too. The words are muffled and covered by the demobats, but he has no doubt Eddie is calling them some insulting name and embracing his Ozzie Moment.

When he's a few feet away from the edge of the swarm, Steve starts swinging with reckless abandon. He takes out demobats as quickly as he can, trying to ignore the grime and viscera that layers on top of itself and his skin as he goes. The demobats get more than a few bites in, and more than a few tails lash at his ankles and wrists and whatever else they can find, but Eddie's screams that grow increasingly more terrified spur Steve on.

After an eternity of faceless bats and black blood and his arms screaming from the exertion of constantly swinging his bat, Steve finally gets to the center of the storm. In the eye, he finds Eddie on the ground, a tail wrapped around his neck and demobats descending on his sides, and Steve sees red.

He doesn't actually process any of his actions. He only knows that one second he's watching Eddie become a demobat main course, and the next he's standing over Eddie, decapitating demobats, yanking them away, slamming them into the ground, swinging his bat at the ones that dare to get closer.

Adrenaline and desperation are the only things keeping Steve going for what could be seconds or hours or days; he really can't tell. His focus has tunneled to only allow his brain to think about protecting Eddie and killing flying demon rats. Even when he hears Eddie screaming his name and grabbing his leg, Steve can't spare a moment to think about him beyond "Eddie would be easier to protect if he didn't move around."

Steve doesn't kill the entire swarm. There are too many, and he's only one man. But he does hold them off until...until something calls them away. One second he's feeling overwhelmed--his heart beating out of his chest and his vision blurring red from the blood dripping down his forehead--and the next, the demobats are screeching one last time before shooting off into the sky.

He would pay attention to where they go, but Steve can only take long enough to confirm that they're gone before he's collapsing. He doesn't hit the ground. Instead, Steve hits Eddie, who had stood up at some point only to fall to his ass once more from Steve's unexpected weight.

Holy fuck, Steve just wants to nap. And he's halfway to closing his eyes and slipping into sweet, sweet oblivion when he hears Eddie, his voice absolutely wrecked from screaming and brimming with some emotion Steve can't place right now, ask him, "Why'd you---why'd you do that?! You could have died!"

"So could you," Steve manages, forcing his eyes to focus long enough on Eddie to realize he's literally being cradled in the guy's arms right now. It's surprisingly comfortable, and he can hear Eddie's rapid heartbeat from this position. "Besides, I promised to keep you safe."

"No, you didn't!" Eddie squawks, and Steve makes a mental note to mock him for it later. "I would've remembered that, Steve!"

Steve huffs a weak laugh, stifles a yawn, and lets his head fall onto Eddie's shoulder. He'll think about Eddie not calling him by some ridiculous nickname later. "To myself. Promised to keep everyone safe. 'specially you, Eds," he says, flashing a faint smile that's probably only more worrying because of the blood staining his teeth.

Eddie looks ready to say more, but Steve weakly and clumsily covers his mouth. "Just so you know, I'm passing out now," he says, his body and brain finally calling it a day once he gets the warning out.

Later, when he wakes up in the hospital, Steve will have to deal with several lectures from several people about how he shouldn't have been so reckless. He'll get to turn it around later by pointing out that Eddie would have definitely died without him.

Steve will also have to deal with Eddie staying behind and shooting him the saddest puppy-eye pout he's ever seen. It will devolve into an argument about how Steve would do it again, how Eddie didn't enjoy thinking he was dead, and how they both think the other is incredibly stupid. That argument will end with a spur-of-the-moment and intense kiss that's interrupted by Steve's heart monitor going out of control, leaving them both blushing and overwhelmed as a nurse rushes in and...and holding hands with tiny, amazed smiles as they stare at each other after the nurse leaves.

But that's all in the future. For now, Steve lets his eyes slip shut, comfortable in Eddie's arms and reasonably assured that Eddie won't go risking his life when he has to make sure Steve gets out safe.

#Steddie #Steddie fic #Steve Harrington #Eddie Munson #Stranger Things #Robin Buckley #Nancy Wheeler #My writing #this was so much longer than I intended hfjdks #one day i'll be able to write something short #not fucking today tho I guess #prompt list

[khepiari]

LawLu Nation: THE WATTPAD PLAGIARIST IS GONE!

Thank you to all of you! Thank you so much for helping us report and take down this account. Each story is our precious baby and it was so scary and hurtful to find out that our work were being stolen and passed around without credit. This was a breech of trust and extremely disrespectful to all the labour we put into our stories.

And this is also a reminder to all creatives, that we need our communities. It would’ve been impossible for me or my friends alone to take down this account. If fellow fans and writers had not informed us about this we wouldn’t have known. The account had been stealing stories from various fandoms and OTPs since 2022 in broad daylight, and we had no idea.

So thankful that all of our fandom friends helped us out. Eternally grateful to you all.

PS: Here is a Doc compiled by @jinx13gxa2 containing list of all the work stolen with their original author names and authentic links. Please support us authors and show us appreciation by reading the fics in their respective homes.

#one piece #lawlu #lulaw #lawluffy #one piece lawlu #lawlu fanfic #lawlu fanart #monkey d. luffy #trafalgar law #luffy #one piece luffy #law #one piece law #law x luffy #luffy x law #one piece fanfiction #one piece fandom #one piece fan #plagarism #wattpad #fanfic #stop stealing #stop plagiarism

[punkeropercyjackson]

I hate........how sexualizing teenage superheroes is the norm in the superheroes fandom at large.Forgive me for traumadumping ig but i have really strong feelings on this as an autistic adult with a special interest in superheroes at large themselves and itself as a genre

My first hero spin was Big Hero 6.By the time it came out,i was 13 so i was allowed internet access no problem and naturally i went looking all over for content of literally everything about it but my favorite character was Hiro so he was what i searched for the most and he was LUDICRIOUSLY objectified and fetishized for his wasian heritage and when the series came out,he got an official love interest named Karmi who's 16 to his 14 and she got tons of hate from Hiro x Gogo and Hiro x Honey shippers despite them not only being college aged to his again,FOURTEEN years but we got explicit ages for them in season 2 when the Nerd Gang minus him gratuated from SFIT so they're canonically TWENTY ONE(i feel it's an important sidenote that Karmi's brownskin with a hooked nose and her VA is indonesian/chinese mixed so her heritage is obvious and as to how it contributed to her reception vs easian Gogo and blonde light-eyed Honey)

My second one was Bnha and there's been tons of discussion about the base's problem with the UA students and Himiko and i thank everyone who's posted about it deeply but my specific one is that my otp of the series was and will always be Shouto and Momo aka Todomomo even if i'm not nearly as into Bnha as i used to be because they were the first ship i actively made content for and it lasted years and that combined with me headcanoning them as bi4bi,t4t and autistic4autistic helped my egg crack and realize my own autism big time so their relathionship eternally has a big place in my heart

This means i've witnessed grown ass people saying Shouto almost touched Momo's boobs in that cap where he stopped her during their Aizawa fight(and his hand didn't even land on her chest)as a running thing and same for him acting as a macho man who rules over her body so she can't wear what she wants or exist near other men,including BAKUGOU who Momo HATES IN-TEXT,or have conflict with him because he'll just 'put her in her place as his woman' and Momo who's thee 'silk hiding steel' character and has adultification trauma that triggers her anxiety as the plot of the Todomomo starter 'Yaoyorozu Rising' with Shouto helping her with words of affirmation,healthy communication and good boundries on both sides that became the foundation of their dynamic throught the whole franchise,manga and extras,is reduced down the 'the class mom to Iida's class dad' as if she's ever even looked in his general direction and when she's rightfully earned her place as Shouto's best friend alongside Izuku himself and that is INSANELY imppressive taking into account her limited screentime.All i wanted was them being goth bf x pastel gf and getting to heal their inner child together and what i got was a nsfw Todomomo week on twitter and a certain artist drawing Momo/Dabi as an 'April Fool's' joke MULTIPLE YEARS in a row because he's also a Todoroki so it's also Todomomo lololol and i also did her with Natsuo and Fuyumi,i'm so funny!The only good thing to come out of that i started spite headcanoning Momo and Dabi as found siblings and platonic soulmates and realized i was actually on point

Then i watched Batman:Under The Red Hood when i was 19 and Jason became a character i selfship with romantically so i did the logical thing and started reading comics,starting with his.Did you know it's canon that while he dosen't exactly hunt them down specifically,he hates pedophiles and incesters so he once targeted a teacher because he was csa'ing one of his student's and expressed disgust at the thought of kissing any of his brothers based off them being brothers?You wouldn't know either of these things off fanon alone,you'd think he was creepy older guy who seeks out younger people on purpose when he dosen't seek anybody out period and that's his canon relathionships coping mechanism and it's also canon he couldn't talk to girls and pushed a guy off a roof for running a sex ring as Robin.As ROBIN,a fucking 11-15 year old Jason had that much of a moral backbone and willingness to take action in it yet everyone thinks he'd date a CHILD,even HIS OWN UNDERAGED SIBLINGS,with taking advantage of them as the appeal

I absolutely loved Into The Spiderverse as an afrolatino like Miles who was a troubled kid like he is too and i thought Gwen was super good too and Peter B's another character i selfship with romantically so naturally i was hyped for Across and the first thing the fandom did when the trailer dropped?Make a hyperpopular meme where that sweet,soft,wholesome scene where Gwen gets cheeky and looks through Miles' sketchbook and sees he's so in love with her he dedicated it's entierty to her just existing as herself into him seeing her as nothing but a sexual object with degrading features she does not have and it was a sick joke on Gwen because the boy she loves just wants her for sex and not even for what she actually looks and that just makes it even worse!!!Then there's the equally pure implied thing they did of her either stealing Hobie's sweaters because he makes her feel safe after her abusive dad kicked her out for being trans or him giving them to her to borrow as affection that ALSO got twisted into Gwen being nothing but a sex object,by people who see Hobie's age interpretation not even as a minor but in his 20s unlike how actual Ghostpunks do!!!!!!!,and don't think i haven't seen the Margo shit calling her 'thicc' and turning the girls into Miles' 'harem'

And the thing that made realize this is that it's always been like this is when i went looking for Teen Titans screenshots,first Starfire and Blackfire for me and my little sister and then ones of the animated Titans in general for my little brother because he did an edit-redraw of our DC self-inserts together using one so i got excited at how good it was and decided to ask for a few more since we have friends who have DC ocs too and we're all doing a canon rewrite fixit with them but the first results were fucking incest softcore porn and TOO DAMN MUCH horny Bbrae fanart.One of the friend's in question is like another brother to me and he's 17 and he thought there was nothing wrong with Jason/The Fenton Siblings because when i said find it triggering just in general,he tried to explain that i was 'making the wrong assumption' because a lot of people age up Danny and Jazz and he'd learned that from older DPDC fans.They literally groomed him and i'm so glad i met him and helped him unlearn that shit before he could get hurt

That's not normal.NONE of that is normal to involve children even if fictional because they're meant to be exactly like REAL kids mentally and physically and you get upset at the real ones for being upset by you doing this to them and even harrass them for it and i've had to directly defend another one of my little sibling's from harrasment from 'fandom elders' because he dared to have an opinion that 'dosen't follow the rules'.I'm sick of this,i can't stand this,this needs to DIE.There's no exaggaration over ten times the adult superheroes than they're are kid ones and you fucking ship them with eachother instead just sticking to the adults for smut.Batman and Robin were seen as a couple in ye olden times by a group of gay people not because Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson harbord secret romantic feelings for eachother since conception or intended to later on but because that specific gay people were irl pedophiles who used being gay as a defense

I don't care if i sound childish or if nobody who this is aimed at cares,i hate all of you for this.I hate you for tarnishing my special interest,i hate you for violating the history of superheroes and the creation of sidekicks and kid heroes as role models and escapism fantasies for real kids,i hate you for beyond disrespecting that superheroes as a WHOLE were created by jewish folks and that Clark Kent,the FIRST superhero,is the protector of all innocents with a deep love for children and gets especially angry when they're hurt and is a fundemental trait he has to have or he's NOT Superman or Clark Kent Kal-El or Superdad,i hate that the sexualization of underaged supers and them being abused as 'romance' by their fucking pseudo-parents is a long running punchline.I hate you with my entire heart and soul and actual comics reading knowledge

#man.man.man.maaaaaaaaan.augh okay i need comfort i'm gonna go look at cute shit and drink soda and maybe make the video i've been wanting to #comics #cp cw #pedophillia tw #children's rights #siblings tag #hiro hamada #gogo tomago #honey lemon #karmi #karmiro #todoroki shouto #momo yaoyorozu #dabi #s'mores siblings #group:freezerburn wonder woman and jason todd #t4t todomomo #jason todd #jaysumm #anti batcest #ghostflower #ghostpunk #flowerbyte #miles morales #gwen stacy #hobie brown #margo kess #teen titans #anti bakugou #summerposting

[basu-shokikita]

Kloktober 2023 Day 1

Favorite character or OTP

I decided to do both, so here goes this sickeningly fluffy Skwistok drabble from Toki's POV, because he's my favorite and Skwistok is my OTP.

This is my first time participating in this event 🥳 I'll try to do as much days as I can 💪

Golden locks swaying with the wind, dressed in all white like an ethereal being, floating in the skies with a smile that shone like the sun, almost rendering Toki blind.

But, most importantly, the guitar. Playing melodies that had struck Toki’s heart like cupid’s arrow, eternally binding him to the man that seemed more God than mortal. 

And then, sapphire eyes bore into him and Toki could’ve sworn he had found his purpose, then and there. He found himself complete for the first time in his life, finally understood, finally seen. 

Toki smiled, an unfamiliar joy flooding through his body. Pumping like the blood in his veins, spreading through every muscle and reaching his fingertips, bestowing them with magic. 

He never wanted it to end. He wanted to stay there, forever.

With him.

“Toki!” Skwisgaar yelled, waking him from his reverie. “Ams you listkenings?” His guitar was, as ever, resting on his lap.

“Oh!” Toki nodded frantically, almost on instinct. “Yeah, really goods!”

Skwisgaar crossed his arms over his chest, a deep frown marking his features. “I asked if you doughts it was goods enough to be turnsked into a songs.” 

“Oh…” Toki repeated, this time deflated as he looked down with shame. “Sorries…I gots distracteds.”

“No shits.” Skwisgaar gave him a judgemental stare as he fiddled with his guitar some more. After a few seconds, he let go of the strings. “Eugh, guess I gots my answers.” He laid his back against the couch, glaring at the ceiling with resentment. “Dildos.”

“What?” Toki got up from his couch to sit on his legs next to Skwisgaar. “No ways, it ams reallies good!”

Skwisgaar didn’t move,  only side-eyed Toki with disbelief. “You excpeckts me to believes dat, when you couldn’ts even pays attenskions while I was playings it?” 

“Because it gots me thinking about stuffs!” Toki said. “Goods stuff!” When Skwisgaar didn’t seem convinced, he added. “It gots me thinking abouts…us.” 

“Heugh.” Skwisgaar snorted. “Whats?”

Toki smiled. “Ours first meetings.” He clasped one of Skwisgaar’s hands between his, delighting in the way his expression contorted with flusteredness. They were a thing but Skwisgaar still wasn’t used to the physical affection part. “You weres soes amazing…” His fingers laced with Skwisgaar’s softly. “I probablies fells in love with yous back den.”

“Eugh.” Skwisgaar grimaced, feigning disgust even when Toki could clearly see his flushed cheeks. “Toki, dat ams so gays.” Awkwardly, he started fiddling with the guitar again, his blonde hair hiding his face.

Toki pulled away and settled in to watch him go. Amused by the reaction, he thought about how far away the days where he thought Skwisgaar was this sort of untouchable God were. 

Not that any of it made Toki love him any less.

#kloktober2023 #kloktober #toki wartooth #skwisgaar skwigelf #skwistok #metalocalypse #no beta we die like men etc #my writing

[almacambiondaughterofsaleos]

It Was Mistake Making Stolas Not A Fallen Angel And Paiman His Father

I am going to say this plainly it has bugged me how young Vivziepop made Stolas, especially in the real world he’s been know for hundreds of years so depending on whatever the heck those hell years translates to he’s way younger than what is originally depicted. Seriously, they did this to give him a way of first meeting Blitzo and make it into some childhood friends turned lovers which in my opinion becomes even more contrived way to make them the otp. I prefer the idea that maybe due to his long age and the fact that has to deal with the fact he had to endure the consequences of being the losing side of a conflict. It could have been fun to see him just give up on idealism until meeting Blitzo especially if he felt trapped in an obliged marriage that first started in heaven and now he has to deal with her in an eternity in hell. It could have been better than just sad bird forced by so many cliches. 

Also making Paimon his father was a mistake in my book, especially not depicting him as the fabulous twink he was in his original illustrations. I also again think it should have him and the Ars Goetia be brother in spirits like it seems to be with the 7 Sins. It would make things less confusing how all this hierarchy works.  Also I would prefer seeing him as a brother in arms who was androgynous and a extreme Lucifer loyalist who often sings his praises. Seriously, I do think Vivziepop wasted him just being his father and not implying he like Stolas were fallen angels who have known each other since heaven. And again it could give more perspective on what heaven is like and how they could miss it or maybe deny they are in a worse place. 

#helluva boss #helluva boss critical #helluva boss criticism #helluva boss critique #paimon #stolas #ars goetia #vivziepop critical #vivziepop criticism

[lurkingshan]

SHIPPER TAG GAME

Tagged by @negrowhat to give away all my fandom secrets. I came up in the US, so most of these will be Western shows. Also be aware that I'm old and been around in fandoms for decades, some of you youths might not even recognize these ships.

1. What ship were you completely obsessed with when you were a teenager, but now you don't care anymore?

Felicity and Noel. I was very into them (and very anti-Ben) when I was first watching this show at the tender age of 14, but then I rewatched it as an adult, realized Noel was a classic Nice Guy with some clear warning flags, and settled into Team Ben.

2. Which ship would you consider your first one?

Hmm maybe Elizabeth Wakefield and Todd Wilkins? I think I started reading Sweet Valley High at, like, age 8. For TV, I was a sitcom kid and I was obsessed with Dwayne Wayne and his flip-up glasses as a child. I loved him and Whitley. Damn now I want to rewatch.

3. Your first fanfic belonged to which couple?

The first I read? I am pretty sure the honor goes to Buffy and Spike.

They were the first ship I remember having that classic fanfic brainrot combo of 1) captivating me entirely with their dynamic and 2) canon leaving me unsatisfied. I lost months of my life over at Elysian Fields.

In terms of the first fanfic I wrote, the honor goes to Ian and Mickey.

I was big into Shameless for its first four seasons. But then the show went way off the rails, the fandom went with it, and I quit watching and scrubbed all my fandom activity off the internet.

4. Do you remember the first couple you saw a fanart over?

I honestly have no idea. Probably something Buffy, I was doing a lot of internet dwelling for that show.

5. Did you ever get into ship discourse?

Getting into discourse is my whole entire thing LOL. I have survived many, many ship wars and let me tell ya you haven't seen unhinged until you've been knee deep in the tags in a long-term fandom with multiple ships for the protagonist. One of the things I love about BL and nearly all Asian dramas is that we go into every show knowing who the main pairing is, so we don't have to fight about ships.

6. Did you used to have any no-otp or have it currently?

Hmm I was a big Buffy/Angel anti and that was before Spuffy was even a twinkle in my eye. I never liked that man in a romance until he got hooked up with Cordelia in his own show (but then they ruined it ugh). I was also very anti-Harry/Hermione back in the OG HP days (let characters have meaningful platonic relationships!).

7. Who were the couple in the last fanfic you read?

I've been on a Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian kick of late.

8. Currently, do you have any OTPs?

OTPs are eternal! Like I said above, since I mostly watch Asian drama now, they're baked in. My fav of my current watches is Ten and Prem.

9. Is there any couple that, to this day, you are extremely mad about not getting together?

YES I AM STILL MAD ABOUT ROBIN AND BARNEY.

You show me two characters who are clearly uniquely compatible, you give me a brief taste of their extremely fun and non-traditional relationship, and then you break them up and stick her with the milquetoast Nice Guy protagonist in a total betrayal of your entire narrative premise? Fuck off forever, HIMYM, I will see you in hell.

10. Is there any ship you used to dislike but now you think they are kind of interesting?

Hmm nothing comes to mind. If I decided to hate a pair in the past I am pretty likely to still be hating.

11. Do you have any ship that, in the past, was considered normal but now you would be cancelled over?

I would like to see you try to cancel me!! I'll echo Eboni here and say Brian and Justin, though of course there were people who hated them because of the age gap back in ye olden times, too. Fandom spaces are mostly women and women in queer fandom spaces often struggle to account for the totally different culture and power dynamics between m/m pairings.

12. What was your favorite crack ship?

I don't really do crack ships, I am a canon pairing girlie.

13. Who is the couple you read more fanfics of?

I don't know who the ultimate winner is, but I think it's probably a neck and neck competition between Spuffy and Wangxian as my most read pairing.

14. What most of your ships usually have in common?

There's actually a lot of variety in them in terms of personalities, appearance, and tropes. I think what makes me really click into a ship is the feeling that the two people are uniquely suited to each other and well matched to go through life together.

15. What do you absolutely hate in a ship?

When I don't believe they can actually make it.

Tagging @my-rose-tinted-glasses @twig-tea @imminentinertia @shortpplfedup @stuffnonsenseandotherthings @littleragondin.

#phew i made it #tag game #shan shouts into the void

[deepestuniversallove]

My brother Adrian just told me that after 15 YEARS finally Yubel from Yugioh GX will get more cards!! And I absolutely ADORE that the new cards tell that Judai's and Yubel's romantic relationship has matured!!

Yubel, having three previous forms that are kind of sad (I mean, they were named "the abominable Knight" and "Ultimate Nightmare" after all) now gains a final fourth form titled "the eternally loving Protector", thus concluding the love story between Judai and Yubel 🥹😭🥰 I AM SO HAPPY FOR THEM!

And then there are the iconic cards that are being released that kind of celebrate the two. And the most ICONIC SCENE that used to make me and my brother SWOON back in the year of the Lord 2008. (Back then we only had dial-up internet and needed HOURS to load the episode, only to he rewarded with their tearful reunion)

THE LOVING HUG AFTER THEY FUSED THEIR SOULS 😭😭😭

I remember my hyperfixation on the two, two days before my Abitur (high school diploma exam in the German school system). They were my OTP back in the day, so this new set is PURE NOSTALGIA.

I need ALL of these new cards, just to complete my old Yubel deck!! I never played much Yugioh, and will never be good in competitive tournaments like my brother is, but I still have my deck from back then. One of the few possessions of mine that survived the house fire. And all three Yubel forms were a precious birthday gift from my brother.

I might be trying to draw my old OTP again soon!

#not art #monika rants #yubel #judai yuki #jaden yuki #soulshipping

[saintsenara]

hyped by the @hprecfest, because it's always nice to have an excuse to squeal about the amazing writing in this fandom. and the time i've spent reading it...

day one: favourite fics under 5k words

the ballad of judas iscariot by eldritcher severus snape/lord voldemort mature | 2.9k words

why i recommend it:

because it's the perfect characterisation of my ultimate otp - a brave, feral snape whose betrayal of voldemort [weighed down by the long shadow of catholic guilt, which is relatable of him...] actually means something - told in spare, beautiful prose:

it was unlikely that lucius could contribute any advice to my problem. i was planning to betray a madman who wanted to kill a newborn babe. that i happened to fiercely love said madman contributed complexity to the case.

beautiful enough for the both of us by dirgewithoutmusic lavender brown/parvati patil general | 2.2k words

why i recommend it:

because it's an exquisite demonstration of what love actually is - not the grand sacrifices to save the world which harry gets up to in canon, but the bittersweet tenderness of choosing each other despite everything.

lavender didn’t remember, because she never remembered– she didn’t recall the cellar door unlocking and opening after ten minutes of post-moonrise silence. she didn’t recall parvati wingardium leviosa-ing a comfy chair down the stairs, or her sitting down and pulling out a stack of witch weeklys, nor did she remember curling up on parvati’s fuzzy button slippers and going to sleep.

but she did remember waking up in the morning, her cheek pressed into a soft pillow. she was tattered under a thick blanket, but she was human and looking upward at parvati’s slack, sleeping face. her dark plaits tumbled, curling, over the soft pink polka dots of her pajamas.

mortal coil by mckay the bloody baron/severus snape teen | 3.6k words

why i recommend it:

because what life must be like for the hogwarts ghosts - year after year stretching out before them - is something i love seeing explored in fics, and this does a remarkable job of linking the monotony of the bloody baron's existence to the loneliness and grief of snape's own. plus, it is, in its own little way, a story of true love:

"why weren't you afraid of me?" he asked, gathering that boy in his arms. he really would have to remember to start using his name; he couldn't very well call him "that boy" for the rest of eternity.

"you know why."

"yes, i suppose i do."

for everything a season by @broomsticks marge dursley/dolores umbridge general | 300 words

why i recommend it:

because i love to see middle-aged butch representation:

summer had seen marge growl “i’m never getting married — ever —” and drop the top of her convertible and floor the accelerator. dolores, who’d always loathed quidditch, had thrown her face up to the scorching sun, let the wind whip through her hair.

in the arms of the ocean by writcraft sirius black/james potter mature | 2.1k words

why i recommend it:

because i love prongsfoot and its inherent tragedy, and the growing horror as you realise where this piece is going - even in so few words - is visceral:

even on a cold autumn morning, everything about james reminds me of summertime. he’s tanned, warm and restless. he uses shampoo which smells like coconuts. it reminds me of that time in brighton, when the pebbles were hot with sunshine and smooth and hard beneath our feet. we ran into the sea while the waves crashed over us. i pushed him, and he pushed me back until we were both laughing like we’d never stop, and his kisses tasted like ocean spray.

#hp rec fest #asenora fic recs #severus snape #lord voldemort #lavender brown #parvati patil #the bloody baron #marge dursley #dolores umbridge #sirius black #james potter

[winepresswrath]

I do gotta say tho, even tho I’m mad at aziraphale because he’s being a terrible boyfriend like what you said about the “I forgive you like” because WHAT. But also I really like the way the show really demonstrates the underlying cruelty of heaven and it’s angels. Really shows the hypocrisy of a group of beings who are supposed to do good, especially aziraphale who really buys into the heaven propaganda, who hurts people, particularly the person who means the most to him. Because like you said he fully just takes advantage of that devotion Crowley has for him. Insane, this shwo makes me INSANE

I missed this anon and yeah! The angels were one of my favourite parts of the season, and I think the strongest element aside from Neil Gaiman deciding he's just a simple man who wants to put his otp in situations. They are deeply awful and I kind of love them. They are the exact kind of moralizing hypocrites who are callous and cruel precisely because they think being on team good means everything they do is justified and it's actually impossible for them to be in the wrong (they're angels! is it even possible for them to do the wrong thing?).

but!! To me, they also seem like they're basically kids? Obviously they're not literally children, but there is this very consistent reoccurring joke about how childish/sheltered/immature they are. Muriel is the most obvious example, but the archangels come off like bratty twelve year olds to her sweet little kid.

Gabriel is basically teenager in love flipping off his family as he runs away with his backstreet guy. Uriel is constantly picking at Michael, Michael is playing at being in charge like it's a game, and it's ridiculously easy for both Aziraphale and Crowely to trick them obvious half assed lies. They're not allowed to ask questions! The Metatron treats them like badly behaved kids out past their curfew. At any point an old man with a beard may pop up to scold them and send them home, and they're all scared of doing something wrong by his standards and getting in trouble with this guy who is pointedly not God but who lines up exactly with the pop-culture idea of god the father, and who offers Aziraphale, among other things, a respite from the hard work of figuring out what the right thing to do is for himself. It's fine! You don't have to question the belief system you were born into or make a painful break with everything you've ever known! Aziraphale has had six thousand years on earth to grow up, but the other angels have been sitting in a sterile white box playing "i'm not touching you" games with each other and filing paperwork.

And I think that's extra interesting because this season also really emphasizes:

Heaven has Institutional Problems

Aziraphale isn't the only angel who's unhappy in heaven. Gabriel and Muriel were both completely miserable. They just didn't understand that they were unhappy because they'd never experienced anything else.

Angels who aren't Aziraphale can change and grow! There's very explicitly Gabriel being changed by love and Muriel growing up a bit on earth, and from a more fan-theory angle there's also Jimbriel, who I think is probably basically Gabriel minus the war and six thousand years of playing referee for Michael and Uriel while unleashing an assortment of plague and calamities on earth because that's God's will! Buck up champ.

We also get Gabriel and Beezelebub talking about how their underlings basically live for Armageddon, "if you can call that living." This is so bleak. They've all been on a six thousand year time out just dreaming of the day they get to beat the shit out of each other until they feel better, but it won't work because eternity is just more of the box.

Anyway I think it's going in a distinctly eden adjacent direction. Aziraphale is going to tempt those angels with knowledge and the capacity for change. I have veered so far from your ask anon i'm sorry you're right heaven really went all out on sucking this season & while Crowley and Aziraphale are both fucking it up Crowley refrains from being spectacularly cruel to Aziraphale about it and Aziraphale should learn to return the favour. I forgive you!! I forGIVE you. I forgive YOU. "you can be an angel again" is actually a worse thing to say than "you're a demon. i don't even like you." when he finally picks crowley over heaven i'm going to lose my mind.

#good omens spoilers #good omens season two spoilers #idk it makes me sad that i didn't like the humans very much this season because i think ideally they're central to this whole how to be #a person question i also hope we get to see more of hell next season because i do think they're stuck in basically the same place #with a different aesthetic! and the stick being #thrown into a torture pit instead of thrown into hell #or like. mindwiped and locked in an office for all eternity #gabriel broke my heart which is embarrassing but when he goes from not even understanding what music is to experiencing #the simple pleasure of sharing a song with someone for the very first time and almost immediately hits repeat for eternity... baby. baby bo #i would also like more crowley! this was very much the season of aziraphale #which is fine but i missed him yelling questions at god and the bits where it seemed he really wanted aziraphale's opinion instead of just #wanting aziraphale to develop better opinions #next season had better be crowley wrestles with the universe i am telling you!!! #remember three months ago when i was like eh... another good omens season #i bet it'll be cute but i'm content with my book #i don't go here i said strapping on my clown shoes #seriously though i do think crowley is scared to admit to wanting to be good both because god rejected him and he doesn't want #to be a sucker for her (he is only interested in being a sucker for aziraphale) #and like. chase after something he's barred from and has already been told isn't for him. #and that's why it's so hard for him to admit even to himself that he too would be unhappy ditching earth #in ways that parallel aziraphale's unwillingness to let go of heaven as a source of moral authority and goodness #but the way aziraphale goes oh no! i cannot trust my own judgement and desires. They are suspect! #my judgement is that crowley is good and also funny and sexy. my desires are for his company and also his body #therefore the source of these desires is also maybe bad. i mean he's a demon. he's got to be bad #right??? but no. but i saw him do a good thing. but maybe i didn't? I should probably take a stance on this. #and he makes this crowley's problem until the apocalypse but then the second he gets the chance to cram crowley and his feelings for him #back in a heaven approved box he jumps at it in a way that requires just being WILDLY insensitive and dismissive of crowley's feelings #he's not just being a dick about their relationship he is being a dick about crowley as a person. and he should know better but is choosing #not to because he wants the easy out so badly. anyway i love him he was my favourite character all season no notes #good omens

[grishaverse-chaos]

The Darkling

why I like them: could have been SO GOOD in theory okay? I will never shut up about this because "character who everyone thinks is evil is actually just the victim of a smear campaign and some really bigoted propaganda" is SUCH a good character concept and I wish darkling fans were right about him because it would be so fucking cool and aesthetic

why I don't: he uh. he isn't that. he could have been so fucking iconic and instead he was just a vicious murderer. who grooms teenage girls.

favourite episode/scene: LOVE the bit where alina stabs his hand in s1e8. tbf that's more of a fav alina moment than anything else lmao, let me think... okay fr I love the "fine. make me your villain" scene bc it just really showcases who he is as a character and how he sees himself (hint: those two things are not the same)

favourite season/movie: imo he's better written in s1 of the show than in s2, idk though. and I do love his story in the kos duology lmao

favourite line: that one bit in rule of wolves where he says "everything I have done has been for ravka" because it's so clearly Not True and yet.... he clearly thinks it is.... so where does intent stop and impact begin...... it's deep okay

favourite outfit: purely for shits and giggles I'm going to say his black kefta in s2 where there's bits of gold bc I loveeee people being haunted by those they've wronged and I think alina haunting him really fits into that theme

otp: no thank you! in all honesty he prob could have been Fixed™ if he'd had a genuine relationship at an earlier age but he didn't so I refuse to inflict him on any other character. darkolai is interesting to consider though bc I feel like the ways they see themselves clash so heavily.... it's about self image and it's about villainy and law and justice and power and and and. they would Not be a good relationship but I think they should interact more for the Narrative

brotp: his sister ulla! they'd have such a fun sibling dynamic lmao I think it'd be sweet

headcanon: tbh I don't tend to think about him much beyond the big narrative stuff so I'm struggling to think of something that fits the genre of "headcanon".... but let's humanise him a little! I bet he reads really literary fiction and gets ever-so-slightly pretentious about it lmao

unpopular opinion: is it unpopular to say that despite his original good intentions he's a bit of a dickhead and not as smart as he thinks he is? in some corners of the fandom it totally is but idk

a wish: at this point there's not much more that could be done with his character beyond what's already been set up (him being mercy killed so he's not suffering in the thorn wood for all eternity) so I'm going to say that I hope his stans get better reading comprehension bc dear GOD some of the takes I see (posted in the alina tag btw I'm not deliberately seeking them out) are absolutely horrendous. is that too salty? perhaps. idc though it's my blog and darkling stans are free to block me if they don't like my takes

an oh-god-please-don't-ever-happen: I swear if he goes NEAR alina genya or zoya again I will reach through the fourth wall to kill him myself. only half joking btw I'd be so pissed. imo they've all had the closure they need narratively and for him to seek them out again would be a dick move of the highest degree

5 words to best describe them: used to have good intentions. that might be cheating but idk if I can pick 5 random adjectives lmao

my nickname for them: I call him darkles sometimes (bc it's funny and also I think it'd piss him off if people called him that in-universe) also a lot of less positive nicknames ("that prick", "shithead" etc) but idk if that counts

#anyways sorry this took FOREVER it's been sitting in my drafts for weeks #but this was fun to think about! he's not my fav character as a person but holy shit is he interesting to analyse #anti darkling #<- just to be on the safe side #mayhem.txt #answered

[asmallmoon333]

Near for the ask game 👁️👁️ And also Lawlight ✨

Hi Grim!! :3

Near! :D

How I feel about this character: Like him, but tbh no real deep or passionate feelings. I haven't poked his brain enough to get interested. I will say I started liking him more in the A-Kira one-shot, and not only cause his long hair was awesome, but cause I wanted to know more about WHY he was like that, what he felt all those years later about the Kira Case, how his life had gone as the new 'L'.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Mello in a childhood rival-turned-enemy-turned-lover way; Light a very messed-up 'mutual substitutes' way; and Minoru Tanaka cause I think they should have at least met and picked each others' brains!

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Also Mello actually, sometimes I just want them to understand each other and come to like...not a moment of peace, so much as a moment of actually talking about what their childhood at Wammys did to them and their relationship as a consequence of it.

My unpopular opinion about this character: Anime Near really was boring and I had no interest in watching him. Manga Near is more interesting, but they still needed to make him more goofy. (I saw two alternate panel translations of 'Serious Near' vs 'Goofy Near' and I loved the second one.)

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: Near meeting Minoru Tanaka!!! What a freaking loss of opportunity. Also, I'm a fan of the "Near wrote Mikami's Name" theory and I'd like that confirmed or denied in canon.

My OTP: I don't have one, I don't know him well enough tbh, even the ones I do ship, it's kinda with ambivalent feelings.

My cross over ship: Dont have one, sorry :3

A headcanon fact: He didn't grow his hair out cause he's too lazy to cut it or too depressed to bother, he just genuinely likes the way it looks and feels.

Lawlight! :D

When I started shipping it if I did: In December 2022 when I started writing for them! Altho tbh I'm not sure if I so much as shipped them, or if I just really liked the challenge of writing about them getting and being together.

My thoughts: Love them when they're just eternally messed with and messing with each other. I like them both individually as characters so having them together is really fun.

What makes me happy about them: Their symmetry. They just GET each other. And I love picking at their brains and poking them with a stick, and putting them in Situations together. I think their reactions are really fun.

What makes me sad about them: That in canon they were (or maybe mostly just Light, cause we never got to pick L's brain about it) too dumb to see what they'd be bored as hell without the other. That they never got the chance to actually be honest with each other before it was too late. (Altho in the anime L did try.)

Things done in fanfic that annoys me: For L, my pet peeve is the idea that his whole personality was an 'act.' I've never heard a good argument for why he'd bother. From a character standpoint, this would mean we never knew anything about him, which makes me sad. As for Light, when someone gives him too many "good" or too many "bad" traits, for whatever reason. It no longer feels like Light at some point.

Things I look for in fanfic: Mind Games :3

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: I don't think they're capable of it lol, sometimes I don't even think they're capable of ending up with each other. But for the sake of it, I wanted to see more of Light and Kiyomi. and as for L, Matsuda could take care of him.

My happily ever after for them: Mind Games, but forever! :D

Who is the big spoon/little spoon: Light is usually the little spoon cause L clings like an octopus, and Light needs to breathe so he faces the other way. L becomes the little spoon if Light wakes up in the middle of the night and L's asleep but not clinging to him.

What is their favorite non-sexual activity: Dang, I can't say Mind Games again. Or arguing. Or discussing a book cause it would be to one-up each other. So I think--sharing a meal. Just the two of them quietly enjoying their food together, and even giving little bits off their plates that they think (hope) the other might enjoy. A small sign that they want the other to live, and be happy.

[sapphic-lottienat]

hiii so I saw this on someone else's acc and I rlly wanted to do this!! I am obsessed with Buffy so here we go~

The first character I first fell in love with: Willow Rosenberg!! I mean, is it really a surprise? I think I saw myself in her throughout the show; we're both awkward unconfident gingers who are desperate to feel needed. I had a huge crush on Willow at the start, and I loved seeing her character arc and all of her romantic partners!! She'll always have a special place in my heart <3

The character I never expected to love as much as I do now: Probably Giles, honestly. I was young-ish when I started watching Buffy, and I didn't really understand or like his character very much. In the first season, he's just so stuffy and librarian-y. But seeing his character develop and change into someone a lot cooler than his season one self was so amazing. Love Giles <3

The character everyone else loves that I don’t: Please, does anyone even like Xander? Like I get that he can be funny sometimes but I just didn't see the point in a lot of decisions that the writers made for him. He was often misogynistic and inappropriate, and that behavior was almost rewarded by giving him love interests WAY out of his league. I never understood how Cordy, Willow, and Anya could have low enough standards to date that man.

The character I love that everyone else hates: Kennedy!!! She gets so much hate just for not being Tara, and I did love Tara so much, but I don't hate Kennedy because of that. Kennedy helped Willow mature into a self-assured adult. She was always respectful of Willow's past relationship with Tara, especially in 'The Killer In Me'. Aahhh I just love her so much, she deserves none of the hate she gets.

The character I used to love but don’t any longer: Not really anyone, I love them all!

The character I’d want to be like: Who in their right mind wouldn't want to be like Tara?? She's forever my favorite character, and in season 6, is the glue that holds the Scoobies together. She's so sweet and maternal and loving <3

The character I’d slap:Were he still alive (which I think he might possibly be in the comics??), Warren

A pairing that I love: Omg I love so many pairings in this show, but I think romantically it has to be Willow and Tara all the way <3 They're forever my otp in any show ever. Platonically, it's pretty much a tie between Spike/Dawn or Tara/Dawn. Dawn went through so much and is so overhated by the fandom. Even her own sister (although she was struggling with her mother's death too) didn't properly recognise her sister's pain the way that Tara and Spike did. They also both related heavily to Dawn; Spike had that whole conversation with Dawn about not being able to be good, and although it wasn't really shown on-screen, Tara related to discovering that things she had thought about herself were not true (Tara thinking she was a demon, Dawn discovering she was the key)

A pairing that I despise: Willow and Xander is eternally the worst romantic ship of all time. As I said earlier, Willow was WAY out of Xander's league. Also, with Oz, Tara, and Kennedy, Willow had the most impeccable taste. How in the world did she fall for Xander??

#willow x kennedy #willow x tara #dawn summers #tara maclay #anya jenkins #xander harris #rupert giles #willow rosenberg #btvs #buffy the vampire slayer #oz osbourne #willow x oz #spike btvs