#( interaction ☆ ┊ Rose & Luke ❞ )

[ace-with--a-mace]

weather is starting to feel like i need to rewatch jatp

[thetimelordbatgirl]

Feel like the one pro of thinking up Companions AU, aka OC's if they were in Doctor Who, is knowing this is the one AU where Malachi and Hyacinth interact with each other one point.

[swan2swan]

watching the Rebuild the Galaxy special and I feel Seen

[misteriios]

late closed starter / luke & rose ( @macaric )

❝ i have met people in the city who doesn't like music ❞ his eyes widened ❝ how can you not like it? and why come into a store there you can only buy almost everything related to music? and ask 'what do you sell here' come on! do they not read signs ❞ luke knew his words were confusing. he tends to do that, talk a lot and change the topics very fast ❝ people will never stop to surprise me, or wonder if they have brain cells ❞

[witchofthemidlands]

thank you for showing me that deleted scene i can't believe i'd never come across it before 🥹

Ya'll we need to talk more about the S2 deleted scene where the Doctor and Rose are holding hands, chatting and walking to the Powell Estate, it's such a beautiful moment of casual intimacy, domesticity, and really shows how close they were- not to mention how happy he was :(

I wish there was a way to find a complete script with that scene in it, they're obviously talking about someone specific

Rose says "we get on really well" to which the Doctor responds "oh she really wants to see you again"...maybe Sarah Jane??

🤔🤔🤔

[borkunlimited]

Take Your Time, Miss Deer (Sylus x Reader) - Ch. 3

In a tailor shop tucked in the calmer side of the N109 zone is a little room where all clothes of many different designs come together under the delicate hands of an unassuming deer living in the den of all sorts of beasts and sitting on them is the dragon who wears your clothes.

Your many interactions with Skye, Mr. Sylus’ messenger or-

-Sylus is waiting for you to finally figure out he is playing his own messenger.

A Deer Hybrid! Reader x Dragon Hybrid! Sylus Fic

Tags: Sylus x Reader, Hybrid AU, Suggestive Themes, Fluff, Predator/Prey

AO3

Ch. 1 / Ch. 2 / Ch. 3 / Ch. 4 / Ch. 5 / Ch. 6 / Ch. 7 / Ch. 8 / Ch. 9 / Ch. 10 / Side A / Side B

3: My Dearest, Playful

Perhaps it started with the little notes.

When Sylus gradually shifted from his previous tailor to you, it was supposed to be a simple business transaction. A seamless transition as you become his lead tailor. A trade where he will pay and he will receive the clothes in return.

Your father was very confident with your skills and one look at the samples your father has laid out in front of him is enough for Sylus to know you have unparalleled talent when it comes to design and sewing.

He didn’t question what you and your father are doing here in the N109 zone even if your kind should not be here at all. There is already a fair share of artisans and any brilliant minds for that matter like you who chose to settle here for various reasons. 

Debt. 

Crime. 

Humans.

The list goes long.

When his first request from you arrived, he was more than pleased. Inside the dark cardboard box laced with red tissue paper was the business attire he had commissioned from you. From the embroidery, the fabric, and the measurements, you were able to capture everything just as he imagined it.

But what tops everything is the little note at the bottom of the box. 

“Thank you, Mr. Sylus.”

Neat handwriting. A simple thanks signed with your first name and a cute drawing of a smiling deer.

He didn’t write a response to that message and instead sent a bouquet of roses after that. Afterall, he knows when to acknowledge effort when he sees it.

Then it became a game. At least for him. A back and forth.

Every time you send over a box, he will always find these little notes at the bottom, always a note of gratitude.

“Thank you for the flowers, Mr. Sylus.”

“The hairpin is very lovely.”

“Father and I had a wonderful night.”

Oh, he remembered that night quite well. It was the night where he finally laid eyes on his shy and elusive tailor that he only saw before through the optics of Mephisto.

So many well-dressed people that evening. The opera has a good ensemble of music and a capable orchestra but his gaze was only trained at you the entire time.

Who would have known?

You are much lovelier in person. Even if you are a good distance away from him. 

Now, he gets to appreciate that beauty up close.

“Skye, what brings you here?”, you asked him, tilting your head slightly at him. You had your hair up and Sylus’ gaze lingered on your neck and in the skin not covered by the collar of your blouse, beads of sweat trickling down.

As usual, Mephisto is here (Again) and currently perched at your antlers while you carry boxes of clothes for delivery from your studio to the receiving area. The bird really does love your company so much.

“Just wanted to check on my boss’ favorite tailor,” Sylus replied, a hint of amusement in his voice towards the fact it is becoming too easy to switch on this new persona around you as time passed by. “Where’s your father, sweetie?”

Of course, Sylus knows the answer to that already even before he stepped inside your shop, fully aware that your father had left you by your lonesome today to go to the nearby hospital for his check-up.

Sure, he always had Luke and Kieran watch over you despite being fully aware none of your clients will do anything stupid when inside your shop but he isn’t going to take his chances today.

Besides, this is the perfect chance to spend time with you without having to deal with your father’s subtle fearful gaze.

The fear is understandable, he supposed. A deer and a dragon together in one room? That usually spells disaster if you and him are outside the N109 zone.

A disaster that usually ends in the front page of the newspaper.

“Oh, he went to the hospital for a check-up, Skye,” you smiled at him and you were about to pick up another box when he beat you to it, his hands gently covering yours and then carrying it himself.

“You don’t have to-”

“Let me, sweetheart.”

“Mr. Sylus might think I am turning you into my errand boy.”

“Don’t worry, darling, consider it as me being a gentleman,” he answered, his tail wrapping around your waist while you walked back with him to the receiving area.

He would do anything you ask without complaint. 

Lovesick. Utterly smitten. He should have talked to you long ago, to relish being accepted by you who worries over his being than over the possibility of being mauled to death by him.

His response is rewarded with a smile from you. They aren’t as bad as your fellow hybrids and even humans claim they are. 

Dragon hybrids. 

Wolf hybrids. 

Or any hybrids that take into the traits of any carnivore. 

If anything, Skye, the twins, and the other residents here in the N109 zone have been very accommodating to you so far despite your differences. Perhaps it is possible, all of you hybrids living in solidarity.

“How can I make it up to you, Skye?”, you asked, watching him set down the box with the others. Simon, the canine hybrid delivery boy, should be here any minute now to pick them up and bring them to your clients.

“Is a kiss too much to ask?”

Sylus meant it as a joke, to tease you, just so he can see your adorable blush but a part of him secretly hopes you will give it to him just like how you give it freely to Mephisto and the twins.

You tilt your head at him, as if surprised with his request that was immediately replaced with a soft smile.

What are you doing?

He looked down at you, slightly confused (and perhaps, amused) when he saw you cock your head slightly upwards with your eyes closed.

You are waiting for him to do something.

Is this what he thinks it is?

“And what is this for, sweetie?”, he asked, his breath hitching upon realizing your position.

You are going to let him take a kiss.

You tapped on your forehead, “Here. This spot.”

It was good you specified where at least but even if you don’t, he has half a mind that there are things he shouldn’t take without your permission.

These are one of the rare occasions where Sylus’ self-control slips for a fraction and he has to remind himself he is supposed to be playing the role of ‘Skye’. One of Mr. Sylus’ henchmen as you said. 

He studied your face briefly, looking for any signs of doubt but there is none. Are you teasing him back? No, it doesn’t look like it. 

You are actually letting him do it.

He inhaled sharply and his tail wrapped around you tightened briefly before leaning closer then gently placing a kiss on your forehead, a content and quiet sigh escaping his lips as he waited for your reaction.

He wants to do it again. To shower you with such gestures.

“I hope that is enough to make it up for helping me here today, Skye,” you said, a satisfied expression on your face.

How sweet can you get, Miss Deer? Giving these freely when asked nicely.

“Consider it paid in full, sweetie,” Sylus chuckled softly. You are so unpredictable sometimes that he made a mental note that he should be more clear next time.

But it isn’t so bad.

The sharp ringing of the telephone cut through the quietness of the receiving area and Sylus watched you walk towards it to pick it up, his tail letting go of you.

He listened idly to your quiet conversation to the other person on the line and his attention went from the small smile on your face then downwards, his gaze shifting on your tail swaying side to side.

Cute, fluffy, well-groomed and-

-oh-so-inviting.

How would it feel against his fingertips or perhaps, tangled against his own?

“I understand,” you nodded, a worried look on your face, “Get well soon, Simon.”

You put down the phone and looked at the boxes for delivery. Should you return them back to your studio and ask your clients to pick it up? But then again, they requested it for delivery and you sighed heavily.

It isn’t the delivery boy’s fault if he caught the flu. It was a miracle he even managed to call you based on the state of his voice.

“It looks like I had to the delivery today, Skye,” you told him, walking towards the entrance of the shop to flip the sign from ‘Open’ to ‘Closed’.

“I am coming with you, sweetie.”

“But how?”

“With my car, miss seamstress.”

“Mr. Sylus wouldn’t mind? He might be looking for you now,” you replied, slightly worried. He already helped you around moving the boxes and now he is driving you around as well?

Oh, who do you think I am?

“He can afford a few hours without me,” he answered dismissively, already picking up boxes to load on his car. There is no way he will let you walk and use the public transportation especially not in the N109 zone.

“It looks like I owe you again, Skye,” you smiled at him, following him to his car with your clipboard.

This is clearly an expensive car.

He said it was his car, right? You are sure you didn’t misheard. Does Mr. Sylus pays his people well? Maybe the rumors were actually true when it comes to his wealth or maybe it is hazard pay? There is word that Mr. Sylus and his people deal with hybrids and humans alike on their line of work.

“Consider it as my gratitude for your little reward earlier, sweetheart.”

Your subtle surprised reaction did not escape his notice and he had to stifle his chuckle on your reaction, his tail flicking in amusement as he opened the car door for you, his hand on the small of your back.

He should take you to joyrides every now and then.

In fact, now that he thinks about it, that isn’t enough at all in his dictionary when it comes to spoiling you.

────────────────────

All of his business associates were stunned.

It was no secret at this point that Sylus is visiting you frequently and becoming more watchful over you. They know this because when a shootout happened right in  front of your shop, Sylus was immediately there, royally pissed at the perpetrators and a new rule was added that there should be no violence at all within the 500 meters of your shop.

Did everyone get the message? Oh, they certainly did especially when the warehouses of the perpetrators were conveniently burned down the morning after.

The message is very loud and clear.

They all agreed you and him make an unlikely pair. It wasn’t uncommon between hybrids of different species to find attraction towards each other but in your case? They actually all prayed (Which is the most unusual) that their beloved tailor will be safe.

Surely, Sylus has enough self-restraint to not mistake you for prey, right? That he isn’t a wild animal wearing well-tailored clothes to mingle among the turbulent crowd of hybrids and humans.

There was a certain expectation that his demeanor will be softened at least slightly when he is around you yet seeing you together for the first time? By goodness, he looked more terrifying even when you were standing beside him, greeting them all cheerfully and explaining why you are doing the delivery today.

You frowned upon seeing your client shake. This is the third time your clients looked at you as if they wanted to be anywhere but here and you know precisely why.

You didn’t expect Skye to be that scary to other people but he actually is. Does that come with working with Mr. Sylus? Luke and Kieran do not look menacing at all but they did mention they do the dirty work so that only means Skye is most likely sent to do the same as well.

Maybe their images change depending on the situation.

“Oh, please don’t be scared,” you tried your best to assure your client who is clearly trembling in the appearance of your companion, “Skye’s not on duty today. He is just tagging along.”

Sylus just smirked at the man in front of you who was looking at him in sheer terror. He badly wanted to laugh but chose not to, not wanting to break his facade.

It is not often you find the leader of Onychinus himself standing on your doorstep especially when you just woke up and in your pajamas.

Skye?

Why are you calling Sylus using a different name? Or maybe that is a nickname? The word going about is he is pursuing you but are you two that far in your relationship already?

Your client, an older lion hybrid, kept his eyes at you, not daring to look at Sylus.

“Yes, my apologies,” your client nodded slowly and he is careful not to even brush his hands against yours as you handed him the box of suit you tailored for him, “Not so often you see, um-, Sy-”

He froze when Sylus glared at him, a silent warning, daring him to finish that sentence, his tail flicking in subtle annoyance.

The older lion is even more confused but chose not to prod further. Work with Sylus long enough and you will see signs when he doesn’t want to continue the conversation any further. To leave the subject as it is, choose a new topic, and hope that would placate him.

You caught the silent exchange between them and it even made you slightly frustrated that Skye is unintentionally being scary. You do believe it isn’t his fault since he did not get to choose what kind of hybrid he would be when he was born.

“Skye, stop scaring him,” you gently chided him and the lion hybrid watched in surprise at how fast Sylus switched his expression, holding a subtle fondness when he gazed at you.

“I’m not scary, sweetie.”

“You’re not to me but to them, I think you are.”

“Oh, am I?”

“You were just glaring at him awhile ago,” you pointed out, and even then, your scolding is quite gentle, as if reprimanding a child who is bullying someone younger than him.

Perhaps you need to work with him on making sure he doesn’t scare people during his off time.

“I am really sorry, sir,”, you bowed politely to the still stunned lion hybrid, “We need to get going but please be assured we are going to work on his customer service.”

Your client just nodded slowly, mumbling a small thanks, watching as you and Sylus walked back towards the car, the dragon hybrid’s tail wrapped loosely around your waist and even then, he could still pick up the dragon hybrid teasing you.

“Are you going to teach me how to behave, sweetie?”

“If you don’t mind, Skye.”

.

.

.

What on earth just happened?

────────────────────

It was certainly exhausting delivering all of those boxes.

Sylus watched you in amusement, taking a sip of his coffee while you rested your head on your arms on the table. He mostly let you do the talking even when you attempted to let him take the lead so he could work on his ‘customer service’ only for him to fail. (Mostly because the moment your clients opened the door they almost had a heart attack so you had to take over.)

“Maybe we need to work on your smile,” you mumbled, your groan of frustration sounding louder because of how quiet the cafe was.

“And how do you suggest we work on that, miss seamstress?”, he asked, his hand resting on his chin as you looked at him, studying his face.

Up close, Skye actually looks quite.. good looking, a faint blush tinting your cheeks at the thought and you shook your head.

You find these feelings very confusing. On one hand you have Mr. Sylus, still shrouded in mystery as ever but now you confirmed he is almost the same age as you and now every time he asks Skye to deliver his gifts, your crush slight admiration for him grows despite being aware you don’t even know him but you appreciate his shy attempts on making a connection with you.

Yet, you don’t even know what he looks like. What kind of hybrid is he even?

Then, you have Skye, a recent character, who keeps you company even when he just had to drop off the gift and go. Every time he hands you Mr. Sylus’ presents, you often see that it is from him instead.

It is all frustrating but you have to come into terms that dragon hybrids should be with their kind and the same goes to you and Mr. Sylus.

“Let me think,” you said, your brows slightly furrowed.

Back to the topic. The plan. Maybe his fangs slightly poking out might be the problem and smirking seemed to be his default expression.

“Take your time, sweetie, I’m in no rush,” he replied, his gaze more fixed at your little pout and he raised his brow when you switched seats, sitting beside him. “What’s this?”

“I am fixing your smile.”

Oh, this is good. 

Very good. 

He relished the warmth of your hands on his face while you try to correct his smirk, making his fangs slightly hidden. A very surprising turn of events but a favorable one. Who knows accompanying you for delivery would lead to your delicate hands touching him like this.

It didn’t help how close you are, the scent of cotton and wildflowers at full force.

Little deer forgets she is in the company of a predator it seems.

How amusing how you never cower even when the rest of the beasts you have met with him did.

“Is this your way of fixing my smile then?”, he asked, his voice slightly muffled and he noticed the slight tremble on your touch.

Perhaps the deer instincts are still there.

“I just want to see if I can.”

You nodded but there was a subtle hint of fear in your gaze when you noticed how sharp those canines are up close before it was immediately replaced by the determination you have earlier.

Sure, Skye and you are polar opposites when it comes to species but no, he wouldn’t jump on you-

-He wouldn’t jump on you and eat you.

“You’re trembling, miss seamstress” he said quietly, holding one of your wrists.

“I am just hungry,” you immediately replied, your other hand resting on your lap.

Your ears drooped slightly, guilty and ashamed for letting your natural instincts dictate your reactions. No one has harmed you so far in this place. It isn’t fair for you to look at him in fear when Skye has been kind to you. Who had every chance to pounce on you while both of you are alone on your studio but did not.

Sylus knows it is an excuse but chose to let it slide, letting go of your wrist. He doesn’t want to ruin this little impromptu date (It is a date, you just don’t know.)

“Our orders should be here any minute now, sweetheart,” he replied.

He didn’t push any further but his tail wrapped around you gently and he hoped despite you being so naive, so oblivious, you will take this as a sign that he is grateful.

Grateful that you didn’t stand up and flee.

Your tail wagged slightly when you saw your strawberry shortcake set in front of you together with his lemon tart.

“This looks very delicious,” you said, studying the treat in front of you.

“You’re more excited at the cake than finishing the delivery earlier, Miss Deer” he commented, poking your cheek.

Of course you are, especially when the strawberries on top look very fresh partnered with a pink macaron.

“The macaron looked so cute.”

“It does, but not as cute as you, darling deer.”

“Liar.”

What was it exactly? 

Your playful tease? 

The sense of foreboding that he is indeed a liar, that he is lying to you about his identity? 

Or maybe it was the white cream on your fingers?  Or perhaps the tip of your tongue darting slightly on your bottom lip to clean the crumbs of the pink pastry? 

Or was it because he wanted to be the one to lick that little mess himself?

No, it is what comes after.

It is what comes after that would bother him for the next few days and bear that irrational anger that comes with pining over the deer gazing back at him from her hidden grove, waiting for him to reveal himself from the darkness of the woods that surround your little paradise.

It is what comes after that when he can hear his heartbeats against his chest, his breath hitching, his eyes widening, and his lips parting slightly.

It was when-

It was when you made that sound with your oh-so-inviting lips.

Pop.

“Oh, it is as tasty as it looks!”, you exclaimed.

The trance breaks.

He blinked, immediately taking a deep breath to collect himself.

“Let me have a taste,” he said playfully, slightly strained while he try to calm the beating of his heart.

“Can you let me try yours as well, Skye?”, you asked.

Maybe he bit more than he can chew for today but he himself won’t admit that.

────────────────────

Sylus wouldn't deny how far his imagination goes when it comes to you.

They are usually domestic most of the time, little wishes of resting his chin on your shoulder while watching you work but there are cases it goes beyond that.

It was natural, he supposed, especially when he is already a lovestruck fool at this point. 

A lovestruck fool for you, at least.

But they were proof to him. 

That this attraction is not because he wants to devour you like those lunatics who lost their minds on the haze on being unable to discern the difference between love and obsession.

His affections for you are real. His intentions are without a doubt, pure.

He acted as if he never saw the rest of his business associates earlier that day and no one dared to bring up why he is accompanying you on a delivery run.

Despite that, things do not go smoothly.

Not because people are being stubborn, no, they are very cooperative for once.

It was because every now and then, he remembers that sound. 

That sound you made earlier.

Pop.

It was enough to distract him every now and then. How his hold on the firearm faltered just slightly when he was inspecting it, how his grip on the cards during the poker game tightened and he is glad that his schedule isn't tight tonight because he would like to have some time for himself, to clear his head.

"What are we going to do if there are any incoming calls for you, boss?", Luke asked.

“Just say I am busy for tonight,” he sighed then added.

“And no interruptions unless it’s urgent.”

Luke and Kieran looked at each other, perplexed. Usually, the boss would be in his best mood after visiting you but he looked grumpy tonight.

Did you guys fight? No way. They had spent enough time with you to know you don’t get ticked off so easily.

“Is Miss Deer okay?”, Kieran asked quietly.

“She’s fine,” he answered and gave them a dismissive wave.

The two just nodded, making a mental note to swing by tomorrow to check on you as well or maybe tonight. What if you are crying because the boss said something? Oh, they really hope you aren’t.

Perhaps they should bring along a box of sweets just in case and tell you it was from the boss.

Because if they need to be a mediator between you and the boss, then so be it.

The twins closed the door behind them and Sylus ran a hand through his hair, deep in thought and it did not help that his pants are tighter than usual.

Terribly unfair how he had to deal with this while you are back at your shop, most likely hard at work even during the evenings.

Perhaps a long and cold shower should help him and for good measure, he will down a bottle of whisky too because for once, he hopes that you will not appear in his dreams tonight, fully aware what kind of dream it will be.

Oh, how wrong he was.

────────────────────

AO3

Ch. 1 / Ch. 2 / Ch. 3 / Ch. 4 / Ch. 5 / Ch. 6 / Ch. 7 / Ch. 8 / Ch. 9 / Ch. 10 / Side A / Side B

[blue-mint-winter]

Luke Skywalker - the Rebel soldier (ESB novellization)

Luke's characterization in ESB differs from ANH due to passage of time. Three years passed since he's destroyed the Death Star. He's not the same dreaming, inexperienced farmboy, but instead became an experienced soldier and a Rebel commander. I think that change in Luke is often overlooked, because of his friendly attitude towards other Rebels in the movie, but the novellization makes it very clear.

Luke was well-known on the base and, although barely twenty-three years old, he was addressed as Commander Skywalker by other Rebel warriors. The title made him feel a bit uncomfortable. Nonetheless, he was already in the position of giving orders to a band of seasoned soldiers. So much had happened to Luke and he had changed a great deal. Luke, himself, found it hard to believe that only three years ago he was a wide-eyed farm boy on his home world of Tatooine.

Luke is respected and has authority in the Rebellion now. The difference between the old and new Luke is further shown by his interaction with Dack.

Luke turned and hurried over to his snowspeeder. When he reached it, Dack, his fresh-faced young gunner, was standing outside the ship waiting for him. “How are you feeling, sir?” Dack asked enthusiastically. “Like new, Dack. How about you?” Dack beamed. “Right now I feel like I could take on the whole Empire myself.” “Yeah,” Luke said quietly, “I know what you mean.” Though there were only a few years between them, at that moment Luke felt centuries older.

Dack is the greenhorn here, enthusiastic to fight the Empire, feeling invincible. He is exactly like Luke was in ANH. In comparison, the current Luke feels "centuries older" because of his experience. He was at war for 3 years, he's dedicated to the cause but he's not so rose-coloured as before.

Luke saw the explosion of his squadron’s first casualty as he looked from his cockpit window. Angrily, Luke fired his ship’s guns at a walker, only to receive a hail of Imperial fire power that shook his speeder in a barrage of flak.

I like how the novellization is so explicit about Luke's dark emotions. He reacts like a normal person in these situations. He's a soldier fighting a war and so he quite often feels anger and fear. Yoda is completely right when he hesitates to train Luke because of his strong negative feelings. Luke isn't a cinnamon roll that never gets angry. He has plenty of reasons to feel that way.

As Luke soared up and away from the walker, he looked back. “That armor is too strong for blasters,” he thought. “There must be some other way of attacking these horrors; something other than fire power.” For a moment Luke thought of some of the simple tactics a farm boy might employ against a wild beast. Then, turning his snowspeeder for yet another run against the walkers, he made a decision. “Rogue group,” he called into his comlink, “use your harpoons and tow cables. Go for the legs. It’s our only hope of stopping them. Hobbie, are you still with me?”

Luke is actually a really good, effective commander in battle. I like how he can think outside of the box here and quickly find a way to fight the walkers. He takes inspiration from his past experiences as a farmboy. That's a very neat continuity in his characterization.

Luke saw the disintegration and was sickened by the loss of yet another friend. But he couldn’t let himself dwell on his grief, especially now when so many other lives depended on his steady leadership.

Luke feels responsibility as a commander. Other Rebels depend on him. He has to master his emotions, like grief, so he could fulfill his duty as a leader. I say he already has makings of a Jedi in this aspect. This also ties with his portrayal in the movie. He doesn't show these negative emotions, because he needs to be an effective leader and keep up the morale. His subordinates rely on him, so he can't lose it in front of them.

Luke had not realized just how enormous these four-legged horrors were until, unprotected by the shelter of his craft, he saw one up close. Then he remembered Dack and returned to try and pull his friend’s lifeless form from the wrecked speeder. But Luke had to give up. The body was too tightly wedged in the cockpit, and the walker was now almost upon him. Braving the flames, Luke reached into his speeder and grabbed the harpoon gun.

Luke barely knew Dack but he still regarded him as a friend and went back for his dead body despite the danger. The symbolism of Dack as someone who was just like younger Luke, but died in his first battle can't be understated. This could have been Luke at anytime. The battles are chaotic and he's just a guy without any Jedi training. He survives thanks to skill, some luck and his friends' help.

There's also some nice contrast between Luke and Vader. Luke cares about his rebel friends, trusts them and is trusted in return (no one questions his orders), protects them and is willing to sacrifice himself for them. Vader is the opposite - he doesn't have friends, only underlings he doesn't care about, he kills them for failure, rules them through fear and isn't trusted by them (Ozzel questions him outloud and Piett in his thoughts). Luke going back for Dack's body reminds me that he acted similarly in ROTJ when he didn't leave Anakin's body behind. Luke dragged his father to the shuttle and after his death took him to the planet and gave him a funeral.

He gazed at the advancing mechanical behemoth and suddenly had an idea. He reached back inside the cockpit of the speeder and groped for a land mine attached to the ship’s interior. With a great effort he stretched his fingers and firmly grasped the mine. Luke leaped away from his vehicle just as the towering machine lifted a massive foot and planted it firmly on the snowspeeder, crushing it flat. [...] He climbed up to the machine’s hull where he had observed a small hatch. Quickly cutting it open with his laser sword, Luke pulled open the hatch, threw in the land mine, and made a rapid descent along the cable. As he reached the end, Luke dropped hard onto the snow and became unconscious; his inert body was nearly crushed by one of the walker’s hind feet.

Luke's insane, almost suicidal actions to destroy the walker with a landmine show even more about him. He knows the danger, he sees other Rebels dying around him, but that doesn't stop him. The way he jumps into action here makes me think that he's been doing life-threatening stunts like that regularly as a Rebel. He doesn't even think about self-preservation. Frankly, I don't think he ever fears death, based on this and ROTJ. When the ultimatum is "join or die", he chooses death. He fears losing his friends more which motivates him to go to Bespin or attack Vader on the Death Star II when Leia is threatened.

All in all, I think Luke's characterization in ESB as a Rebel soldier seems like a natural progression from who he was in ANH. Han still calls him "kid" as a nickname, but that naive farmboy is gone. Luke went to war, gained experience and became a respected commander. At the same time, he didn't forget his roots and is upholding his principles that made him a Rebel and would later guide him on his path as a Jedi.

[minswriting]

NAVIGATION

min, she/her, 22, libra, college student, also @coryosmin. this is a side blog, not my main btw.

hate brings you nowhere in life. remember to love those around you and if you have nothing nice to say, don’t say it at all. let’s all remember that this is a fandom space and things are never that serious to warrant pathetic hate comments.

my AO3

rules

this blog is multifandom and therefore, you may see fandoms that you don’t interact with. just ignore it! i write for criminal minds, doctor who, and other fandoms.

minors do not interact: this is an 18+ blog only!

please be specific with your requests

if i don’t answer your ask, don’t take it personally!

i will not write anything to do with throwing up or female receiving anal

i will only write female reader!

i write fluff, smut, angst, etc. but my specialty is smut lol

feel free to chat with me! i promise im nice.

i do not and will not ever use AI for writing. anyone that uses AI to write is not welcome on my page!

what i write

i write for

criminal minds (aaron hotchner, emily prentiss, spencer reid, derek morgan, luke alvez)

doctor who (eleventh doctor, tenth doctor, rose tyler)

house of the dragon (daemon targaryen)

open: none at the moment

closed: all requests are currently closed

MASTERLISTS

my anons

criminal minds

doctor who

kinktober 2024

writer recommendations

one shots masterlist

MOST RECENT FICS

have you ever tried this one? - spencer reid

nsfw alphabet - 11th doctor

[smoulderingocean]

As I've sat with the third episode more, I've come to better appreciate the raw honesty behind Nick and June's interaction at the waterpark.

At first glance, June's "I'm here" feels like a shallow platitude to comfort a man in a great deal of emotional anguish without her having to emotionally open herself up to how impossible their situation is and how agonizing their forced separation has been. But upon further reflection, I think June's earlier statement of "I had you" does a lot of explanation for why "I'm here" is her response after Nick opens himself up to her.

After the meeting at the school in season 5, June believes that she has lost Nick to Rose forever because she is pregnant and Nick has detached himself from the family unit he shared with June; that he has fully moved on and that he said that she should too. She didn't realize then that Nick didn't believe those words at all, but was saying them because he believed them to be the right words; he believed that June had returned to her old life and that Nicole was well taken care of in a stable family unit, and he did not want to disturb that as their safety and happiness is all that matters to him. With that he prioritized looking after his Gilead family as they are vulnerable and depending upon him despite the fact that this was not what he truly wanted.

In addition, since first learning about his marriage, June has had no idea how bad things have become with Rose. She assumed that Rose was a part of Nick in a way that Luke is for her, an easy assumption to make as Nick told June that she would like Rose and he did not tell her about their increasing strife. But with Nick's impassioned confession of June being the only person he feels is a part of him and that he can't lose really struck June because it told her that no, Rose is not like that for him, he doesn't love her, she doesn't have him, and she is not a part of him in any manner. Nick effectively told June that he totally, completely, and entirely belongs to her and her alone.

June's "I'm here" doesn't mean that she's there for Nick in a supportive capacity (this is an area of unbalance in their relationship where she just isn't there enough), but rather her declaration means that she has him and he has her, and they're forever a part of each other and that that cannot be lost no matter what happens.

They both thought that they'd lost the other to their respective spouses, but in reality June is with Luke out of obligation, fear of being alone, and an inability to finally admit to herself that it is over, and Nick is with Rose out of duty to their child and to her. June's "I'm here" is an affirmation that she is still there for him to have as a part of himself and that she recognizes that he is a part of her too.

This episode wasn't just them declaring their love for the other as they have many times before, it was them declaring that they are irrevocably in love with the other and eternally devoted to each other. And that itself is a really beautiful thing to say in a place like Gilead that tries to control love so tightly. Nick and June's eternal love is an ultimate form of resistance.

[cyberhughes]

— 𝐈𝐍𝐅𝐑𝐔𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐈 ⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪ jack hughes

chapter 8: infrunami.

last chapter | next chapter

*:･✧* 𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆: jack hughes x fem!oc

*:･✧* 𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒: swearing, casual drinking

𝓐𝓾𝓽𝓱𝓸𝓻𝓼 𝓝𝓸𝓽𝓮: CAN YOU COME BACK TO MEEEEE CAUSE I WAS BLIND TO SEEEEE THAT YOU WERE RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME. ok sorry here’s the make up chapter…lowkey feels all over the place to me but i didn’t want to have to write 5 separate chapters just for them to get together like guys just HOP TO IT????

series masterlist + character intros

jack groaned as he woke up, body slightly sore and head pouding. he rubbed his eyes before turning over and grabbing his phone to immediately check his notifications. the first thought in his mind the second his eyes opened was to check if naomi had replied.

she hadn’t.

he ran a hand over his face, and got up from the bed heading over to the washroom. his mind had been in constant battle since last night, he didn’t know what he was supposed to do. he splashed his face with cold water to refresh his mind.

he walked out to the kitchen to see luke and quinn making breakfast.

“morning, asshole.” luke said, cracking an egg into a pan. jack rolled his eyes, “don’t even start.” he sat down at the counter and played with his fingers.

“you gonna talk to her?” quinn didn’t look at his brother when he asked his question, eyes focused on the meal he was preparing.

“i don’t know… i tried texting and calling her last night but she didn’t answer.” he shurgged and quinn whipped his head to look at him.

“hold on, what the fuck did you text her?” he walked over to his brother that was now pulling out his phone. jack opened the messages and re read them, letting out a groan at his stupidity.

“i swear to god…” quinn mumbled as he read over the drunk messages, cringing at the typos and pleads. “quinn what do i do?” jack whined as quinn shook his head.

“you have to explain to her in person, texting her this bullshit isn’t gonna do anything. she already feels terrible, so receiving drunk texts probably made it worse.” quinn explained as jack nodded, formulating a plan in his head to go see her today.

“and get her flowers, i think girls like that.” luke added, pointing a wooden spoon and jack, earning an eye roll from him.

“you better not fuck anything up more than you already have.” quinn added, giving his brother a soft look. “but i swear to fuck every time you guys interact it takes ten years off of my life.” he finished, rolling his eyes before going back to cooking and letting his brother think on things.

₊˚ ‿︵‿︵‿︵୨୧ · · ♡ · · ୨୧‿︵‿︵‿︵ ˚₊

the sound of jack knocking on naomi’s door echoed throughout the house as he stood on her front steps, a bouquet of roses in his hands as per his brothers suggestion.

his palms started to sweat and stomach churned as he waited for the door to open. he had spent the entire drive to her house rehearsing his apology but it suddenly flew right out of his brain.

his eyes widened when the door creaked open, but instead of naomi it was her mother.

“hi mrs hill…is naomi home?” his eyes looked past her into the house to see if he could spot her.

“she’s in her room…” she said hesitantly, looking at the flowers in his hand and then sighing, a faint smile on her face. “you can go see her.” she opened the door wide enough for him to enter and he thanked her.

as he took his shoes off, naomi’s mother spoke, “jack i don’t know what happened, what she did or what you did, but…all i know is that girl loves you, okay? so go on and fix it.” she placed and hand on his shoulder and his heart melted, nodding. “i promise.” he placed a hand on the one that rested over his shoulder before quietly heading upstairs.

her door was closed, and he probably stood there for a good two minutes with his heart racing before he knocked lightly.

he heard a disgruntled “yes?” and twisted open the door open with sweaty palms. naomi was in her bed, her cushions and comforters practically engulfing her. she had a grey hoodie on with he laptop rested on her lap, watching a show.

“what the hell are you doing here?” her eyes widened as she saw the boy standing at her door. she couldn’t believe it, how did he have the guts to even stand in her room after what happened last night.

everything that he had rehearsed had flew right out the window and his face turned red. “i…i came to apologize.” he said, lifting his hand the held the flowers to show her. she cocked a brow, not yet impressed.

“apologize for what? wasn’t it all my fault anyways?” she looked back to her laptop, not necessarily focusing on the screen but rather just avoiding the eye contact with him.

“no, you didn’t do anything wrong.” he bit his lip as he tried to formulate the right words, not wanting to make things worse. “i was an asshole.” he placed the flowers on her dresser and walked towards her, taking a seat on the corner of her bed.

“i was jealous, and i was such an asshole.” he ran a hand through his hair as he looked at her, but her eyes didn’t budge from the screen.

“yeah, you were.” she mumbled before pursing her lips, recalling the events that went down. the way he looked at her, the hate that spilled out of his mouth. “you know, the whole time during that kiss, i was just thinking about you. and then i went to tell you, and you just yelled at me.” she finally looked up, tears welling in her eyes. “you should have seen the look in your eyes, jack.”

jack could feel his heart drop as he watched the girl in front of him. “i know… i know…” he reached a hand over to wipe a single tear that fell down her cheek, and she didn’t know whether to turn her head away, or lean into his touch.

“naomi i don’t ever want you to feel like you did anything wrong. it was all me, okay? i never should have yelled at you like that, i was just…” he breathed out as he mentally prepared himself for what he was about to confess. “i was really jealous that you were kissing james and i took it way too far, i took it out on you. i know i get angry easily, but it never should have been directed towards you like that.”

“naomi, i’m so, so sorry.” he grabbed her hands and stroked his thumbs soothingly over the back of them. another tear fell from her eyes and she looked back up at him. “i know.” was all that she whispered before she scooted to the side slightly, signalling for him to join beside her.

he moved beside her, wrapping an arm around her as she rested her head onto his shoulder. the two had fallen into a comfortable silence, just soaking in the comfort of eachother’s presence.

it was an odd feeling for naomi, seeking comfort from the one who had hurt her. but she knew deep down that he was truly sorry. and while she would give him hell later for what he did, she was glad that he had come to fight for her rather than to never speak to her again.

she could feel her eyes get heavy as she felt the soothing touch of jacks fingers drawing on the back of her hand, and she’d soon fall asleep in his arms.

while their situation hadn’t been completely resolved, it was a step forward. and that was all they needed right now.

₊˚ ‿︵‿︵‿︵୨୧ · · ♡ · · ୨୧‿︵‿︵‿︵ ˚₊

two weeks had passed by, and naomi and jack had returned to their normal selves. no matter what happened to them, they’d always find their way back. they were each others person, and everyone knew it.

the group was currently having a bonfire at naomi’s house, chatting and having a drink or two. naomi and yasmin had ran to the kitchen to grab some marshmallows and chocolate for smores while the guys stayed sitting by the fire.

“so… you and jack are what now?” yasmin sat on top of the counter, taking a marshmallow from the bag and eating as she watched naomi search for the chocolate and crackers. the moment feeling somewhat reminiscent of their moment in the bathroom at the club that one night.

“i…i don’t know. friends still?” naomi shook her head, avoiding eye contact as she dug through the cabinet, mumbling something about her dad probably eating the chocolate. “come on naomi.” yasmin groaned as she hopped off the counter. she couldn’t believe that after two weeks and their heartfelt moment that they hadn’t just started dating. “what?” naomi finally looked up, furrowing her eyebrows.

“now i still slightly hate jack for what he did,” yasmin prefaced, biting another marshmallow. “but it’s so clear that you guys love eachother. i mean shit, you look at him like he’s dessert and you’re telling me you don’t want him?” she quirked a brow, awaiting an answer.

naomi felt her face flush at her best friends words. of course she wanted jack, she just didn’t know how to go about the situation. she knew that he liked her as more than a friend now, but he hadn’t brought that up so she felt like she couldn’t either. “girl you better let him know before he pulls some bullshit again.” yasmin shook her head, leaving naomi in the kitchen alone to think.

naomi frowned, maybe she should say something, after all she was going to confess to jack that night, so why was she holding back now?

₊˚ ‿︵‿︵‿︵୨୧ · · ♡ · · ୨୧‿︵‿︵‿︵ ˚₊

trevor eyed the way jack stared at naomi through the kitchen window, nudging cole.

“what?” cole whispered to trevor, turning his attention to look at jack. “what’s up with them?” trevor asked and cole shrugged. “jack and naomi?” he asked for confirmation and trevor nodded. “most sus thing I’ve ever seen, i don’t know what going on with them now.” was all he said before leaning back into his seat, taking a sip of his drink.

“can you two just like, fuck already?” trevor spoke out loud nonchalantly and jack whipped his head around “what?” his eyes went wide.

luke and quinn had burst into a fit of laughs at trevor’s comment and jack glared and them.

“i mean like, this tension is really weird. i thought you guys would be official by now.” trevor raised a brow, confused at jack’s ignorance. “dude shut your mouth.” jack retorted, slumping into his chair.

of course he though they’d be official by now, but naomi hadn’t brought it up since he went over so he didn’t want to make her feel like she was rushing into anything.

he never actually responded to trevor, but just stared into the fire as he thought about naomi, he didn’t want to hurt her again. he couldn’t risk tearing apart the relationship they had just mended.

₊˚ ‿︵‿︵‿︵୨୧ · · ♡ · · ୨୧‿︵‿︵‿︵ ˚₊

it was 1:30 am, and everyone was starting to head home. jack being the last to leave of course. he was leaning against the front door, arms crossed as him and naomi chatted. if he was being honest, he wasn’t really paying attention to the words that were coming out of her mouth, but rather the way her lips moved and the way her eyes lit up.

“jack?” she noticed his dazed expression and waved a hand in front of his face. “what’s on your mind?”

you. he wanted to say.

his thoughts flicked back to what trevor had said during their bonfire. his heart beat quickened as he tried to sum up the courage to talk about their relationship.

“naomi what are we doing?” was what he breathed out and her eyes widened at his sudden question. “uh, what do you mean?” she responded.

jack was terrible at formulating his thoughts, as most could tell. he rubbed a hand on the back of his neck and his cheeks turned slightly pink. “i mean…friends don’t do what we do right? so, i guess i’m asking what are we?” naomi had to suppress a giggle as she watch jack become flustered.

she took a step closer to him, “and what is it that we do that friends don’t?” she teased and watched his cheeks grow redder. “i— well— like you know…” he fumbled with his words, not expecting her to be upfront like that.

“i don’t think friends want each other the way i want you.” she said, voice barely above a whisper and jacks eyes went wide at her confidence, mind lagging as he tried to process what she had just said.

“you…i…well so then—“ she rolled her eyes and cut off his rambling. “kiss me?” she tilted her head to the side and batted her eyelashes. jack felt as if he couldn’t move, the words that he was dying to say wouldn’t come out of his mouth. “you want me to…kiss you? for real? you’re not joking?” he felt like he was in a dream.

she sighed and was starting to get impatient. he was always so cocky and flirtatious but now that she was the one initiating it he went speechless. “you’re so insufferable sometimes. i said kiss me.”

this time, he didn’t have to be told twice before he grabbed the side of her face, pulling her in and locking their lips. she wrapped her arms around his neck and he kept one on her jaw, one on her waist.

the tension from their years of friendship had finally exploded, and as cheesy as it sounds, they could feel the fireworks were all around them.

here they were, just the two of them. finally indulging in their wishes and pushing past the barrier of friendship.

naomi pulled away, jack slightly chasing her lips but she rested her forehead onto his, staring into his eyes. “it was always you, jack.”

“you were right in front of me.”

©cyberhughes; do not copy, translate or repost my work without permission.

[hockeyluvrr]

stars ⭐︎ lh43

where luke hughes is in dire need of help with his physics class and phoebe cooper is the perfect person to help him out

⭐︎ info

⇨ Phoebe Rose Cooper

⇨ Phoebe & Luke

⭐︎ thoughts and asks

⇨ how did they first meet?

⭐︎ fics and blurbs

⇨ The Moment It All Began

⇨ Meeting the family

⇨ The first “I Love You” (coming soon)

this is an interactive au! so any thoughts or questions about Pheebs and Luke are welcome :)

[neptunes-cunt]

I didn’t engage with any THT content until I fully finished the show to avoid spoilers but holy fuck, I understand how so many women end up with shitty, awful, white supremacist men because it was such a shock to see how obsessed the fandom is with Nick. Yes, June and Nick’s relationship was passionate and I was absolutely blushing at my TV during the first 2-3 seasons, but before any characters even uttered the word, I knew that man was a Nazi. Serena confirmed he played an instrumental role in rounding people up and establishing Gilead’s power, hence his original role as an Eye. During one of Nick and June’s conversations, we learn he felt he had no purpose or direction in life which led him to join the Crusade. That conversation really reminded me of how many men talk about the reason they join the military or become police officers, and both of those institutions notoriously take advantage of young men, grooming them by assuring them they have meaning and will reap the rewards of participating in that meaningfulness and servitude. And maybe that’s what happened to Nick, but we don’t get much more insight than Serena telling June about Nick’s service and Nick telling June about his vague motivations. Young men recruited into Hitler Youth were done so using the exact same tactics and we don’t give them a pass for it, for just following orders, because that kills people. It kills non-white people, it kills ethnic minorities, it kills queer people, it kills disabled people, it kills women, and if it doesn’t kill them first, it exploits and tortures them and strips them of their humanness. It’s unfortunate we never really got to see Nick truly operating as an Eye other than in interactions involving June, but considering his actions as a Commander, and the fact that he even rose through the ranks to become a Commander, Nick was not saying no. He was not disobeying orders, he was not turning away from killing those who tried to flee or broke Gilead law. If he had, he’d probably be dead. And it’s very human to not want to die. But we can’t pretend our actions in avoidance of death have no moral weight or consequences. Nick tried to help June escape, but did he ever try to help any other women escape? Did he care about Nichole/Holly after she stopped being something that brought June back to him over and over again (read: Nick suddenly bringing her up in s6e9 so June would run away with him—particularly in a way that made it seem like Nichole’s presence would mostly be for June’s benefit—after seemingly forgetting she existed)? Every good action we have seen from Nick has at its root been in favor of himself and his protection from the reality he helped bring about. Nick loved himself far more than he ever loved June, because real love would’ve made him risk his life to free June and her daughters with any and all power he had (like Luke did). “I should’ve run away with you when I had the chance,” mhm, yeah, you should have, but you chose to stay, not out of fear, but out of love, not for June, but for power.

[jo-speaks]

more ways than one

in which...

luke shows up to fem! reader's college soccer game.

Luke scanned his ticket, walking into the stadium. He had a really big test coming up, but the second Mark, Ethan, and Dylan invited him to watch the girl’s soccer team take on Michigan State, he dropped everything and headed towards the stadium.

“I heard that Y/N girl is really good.” Ethan said, leading the group of boys to their seats. 

Mark hummed, “Is that the girl who absolutely destroyed you at beer pong last week?” Mark’s comment caused the boys to laugh, and Ethan to grimace. 

“Yeah.”

“Well if her soccer skills are anything like her beer pong skills, I’d say that what you heard is right.” Luke stated, getting a few more jabs at Ethan.

Dylan chirped in, “She’s only a sophomore and she’s captain and she’s leading the whole NCAA in goals. I mean, why do you think her friends called her the ‘sophomore sniper’ when they introduced her at the party?” 

Mark laughed at Dylan’s slight rant, “Sounds like someone has a little crush.”

“I do not! I just did my research before coming here.” Dylan retorted. “If anything Luke’s the one with the crush. He told us he had a huge test coming up, but the second we mention girls soccer, he drops everything. A little suspicious, no?” 

A warm feeling rose to Luke’s face. Knowing Dylan was right, he just laughed it off and stayed quiet. 

Luke had approached you at said party because the second he laid eyes on you the boy was smitten. The two of you talked the whole night, but by the end of it you were both too drunk to remember to exchange numbers. Sure, he could’ve asked around the fraternity, but he wasn’t sure if you remembered your interaction at all. So he saw this game as a perfect opportunity to get your number. 

You could hear the laughter approaching close to the field. It was familiar, but you didn’t care enough to turn around as you were on your 47th juggle. 

“No way you get 70!” Your teammate, Jules, exclaimed. 

You laughed, “Not if you keep talking!”

She chuckled as she watched you closely. Soon enough, you had passed seventy, nearing ninety. You hit 86, wanting to go for more but your coach called out your name, telling you to go meet with the refs to decide which side you wanted. Settling the ball with a groan, Jules grabbed your hand and pulled you to the midfield with a slight tug. 

You greeted the refs and the opposing team’s captains with a slight smile. When you went to shake one of the girls’ hands, they both side-eyed each other, looking you and Jules up and down, then refusing your hand. 

Furrowing your brows, you let out a small scoff at their attitudes, but let it go as you picked ‘tails’ for the coin flip. 

It was heads, and they picked having the right side of the field, meaning you’d have the ball first. As you walked away, heading back to the rest of your team, Jules’s laughter filled your ears. 

“Oh my god! The attitude they had?” She laughed. 

You gave her a smile, “I know! On our field too.”

The closer you got to the sidelines, your eyes couldn’t help but take a glance at the group of boys who had sat down laughing. The second you could make out their features, a smile grew on your face. Luke was sitting there, along with three other boys which you quickly realized as his hockey teammates. You had been trying to get his number ever since the interaction you had at the party, but never found the right time to. In your head, you promised yourself you’d get it tonight. 

You decided to snap out of your thoughts and nudged Jules, “Look. Your boy toy is here.” 

Jules’s eyes widened as she followed your eyes, “What the hell are they doing here?” She walked over to the fence to say something you couldn’t quite hear, but figured she called Ethan over as he walked down a few steps to talk to her. 

Not caring enough to eavesdrop, you walked towards the rest of your team, letting them know you’d have ball first. They nodded, going back to their warm up. You took a glance up at the scoreboard which had the clock displayed on it. There was around five minutes left, and you wanted to do some long passing. 

“Jules!” You called out, bringing her attention back to you. 

She said something to Ethan before jogging back towards you. “Sorry. Long passes?” You nodded, “What was that about?

“They invited us to get some food after the game. You down?”

“Is Luke gonna be there?” You asked. 

Jules smirked at your question, “Yeah. Why?” 

You left her question unanswered, smiling as you walked away from her with a ball at your feet.

Five minutes went by quickly, as you heard the whistles blowing, telling you that the game was about to start. You jogged towards your team, listening to a quick pep talk before getting ready to hear the starting line up and National Anthem. 

You blanked out during the whole process, too focused on the game ahead of you. By the time you knew it, the whistle blew and you passed the ball to one of your teammates. 

Knowing exactly what play you were running, the second you saw the ball get to Jules, who was playing at the left wing, you made a diagonal run towards the goal. It was a high cross, but you managed to settle it at your feet before taking a shot from the 20 yard line. You watched as the ball soared towards the top corner of the net, making its way past the keeper’s gloves. 

You ran towards Jules, who was waiting for you at the corner flag. The two of you did the handshake you did every single time one of you assisted the other's goal, before hugging each other, then the rest of you teammates. 

As you ran back down the field to restart, you couldn’t help but take a glance up at the stands. They were decently packed, but your eyes quickly found the ones you were looking for.

You saw Luke sit back down from his standing position and to no one’s surprise he was looking right at you. You pointed at him with a smile and he quickly returned the action. 

While you focused back on the game, Luke was getting teased by his friends. 

“Ooo! Lukey’s got game!” Ethan exclaimed, shaking his friend by the shoulders. 

Luke laughed, “Shut up.”

~✩~

The game ended an hour or so later, the final score being 4-2. You had scored three of those four goals, earning you a post-game interview with some reporters who had shown up at the game. 

They had decided to interview you on the sidelines. This meant you were close enough to be near your team, but also close enough so Luke and the other guys could hear what you were saying. 

“Y/N, amazing performance out there tonight! What would you say is the biggest factor in your training that makes you such a valuable player out there?” The interviewer asked, bringing a mic close to your face. 

“The conditioning, for sure. I mean, we’re making a lot of long back and forth runs out there and we’re able to do so consistently because of that conditioning.” You answered, smiling slightly to take away the nerves you were feeling.

The interviewer nodded, “You pointed to someone after that first goal. Was it a family member, a friend, or…?” 

You let out a soft laugh, “Um, no. It was a good friend of mine that I'm meeting up with after this."

Luke heard your words, as did his friends. His eyes widened at your statement, specifically the part where you said you were hoping to meet up with him. 

“Oh shit!” Mark exclaimed, “Bro, she's talking about you!" He shook his head, “We don’t even know if she’s talking about me. She could’ve been pointing at one of you.” The boys laughed at his statement.

“I’m talking to her best friend, Mark’s taken, and Dylan’s not her type.” Ethan said.

“What’s wrong with me?” Dylan asked jokingly, yet seriously. 

Mark shrugged, “She said she was into tall guys. As in, guys over six feet.” 

Laughing at Mark’s words, the group of boys made their way down to the field to wait for Jules and hopefully, you.

Jules made her way over the boys, sliding her hand into Ethan’s. “What’s Luke all red for?”

“Y/N mentioned him in her interview just now.” Ethan told her casually.

Her eyes widened, “Seriously?”

Luke quickly shook his head, “We don’t know for sure it was about me.”

Before Jules could question it any more, you were walking over. You gave everyone a quick greeting which they happily returned. As you were all about to make your way towards the exit, you decided now was a better moment than ever. 

“Hey Luke? Can I talk to you for a second?” You asked, trying to ignore all the stupid grins on everyone else's faces. 

He smiled and turned around, “Yeah.”

The two of you stepped away from the group towards an area on the sidelines where people couldn’t hear you. 

“Great game tonight.” He said, trying to dissolve some of the awkwardness that was beginning to build. 

You smiled, “Thanks. I appreciate you coming.” “Yeah, anything for a good friend of mine.” He smirked, quoting your previous words. 

You looked away and laughed, now knowing he heard that part of your interview. “Funny. Anyway, I had a really good time talking with you last week and I was hoping to maybe get your number?” Luke’s face turned slightly red yet again as he smiled and nodded as you pulled out your phone so he could type in his information. “I was hoping you’d ask.” 

After he handed you your phone back, the two of you made your way back to your friends.

Jules pulled you back slightly, letting the boys walk ahead, “Looks like you scored in more ways than one, huh?”

“I definitely did.”

[cynthiav06]

Thoughts on Thalia? Because I've come across a part of the fandom who deems her a 'class traitor' and I want to see what you think about that?

That is a very tough question. Because there are quite a lot of inconsistencies in Thalia's behavior and what we are told her feelings were. And while they could have been addressed better, she is certainly not a class traitor. I am going to need a bit more context on this if possible because while I see what rudimentary actions might lead to such speculation, surely there aren't enough instances of it to actually bring her anywhere near to deserving such a label.

Alright, so by this definition of a class traitor , everyone in Camp Half Blood would qualify for it. Because the only context I am getting from this is her not joining Luke as the basis for this label which is absurd. Unless it's meant to allude to her thrusting the prophecy on Percy and joining the Hunters to remove herself from Kronos's target line; then that just barely qualifies but in the end it's self preservation and it cannot be called traitorous.

The first thing is that I believe Thalia had some level of semi-sentience in her years of being trapped within the tree. So imagine the first realization after properly waking up and coming back to life is that someone who used to be her best friend or possibly more had poisoned HER tree and endangered the entire camp and all the demigods there. (I know I know his plan was to use the fleece to revive her later on and get her to join Kronos, but that's still an insane risk to take against the last remaining piece of someone you love.) A camp she had died defending and a camp that was meant to be a safe place for people like them; something the three of them had spent forever spent searching for.

Then, if you remember, Luke was positively awful to Annabeth and Percy. Just in TLT, he tried to have Percy openly murdered thrice, and in SoM, he even manipulated and tortured Annabeth, someone who is supposedly very dear to him. Yes, yes, I know everyone remembers all of his torment towards Percy, but there was quite a lot towards Annabeth as well:

“Traveling with a Cyclops,” Luke chided. “Talk about dishonoring Thalia’s memory! I’m surprised at you, Annabeth. You of all people-“ “Stop it!” she shouted (…) I didn’t know what Luke was talking about, but Annabeth buried her head in her hands like she was about to cry. (The Sea of Monsters, Chapter 9)

“Percy,” Luke said calmly, “tell your giant to back down, or I’ll have Oreius bash your friends’ heads together.” Oreius grinned and raised Annabeth and Grover off the ground, kicking and screaming. (The Sea of Monsters, Chapter 17)

He (Luke) advanced slowly, smiling. The edge of his sword was tinged with red. “One thing I want you to watch before you die, Percy.” He looked at the bear-man Oreius, who was still holding Annabeth and Grover by the necks. “You can eat your dinner now, Oreius. Bon appetit.” (The Sea of Monsters, Chapter 18)

He rose unsteadily. "I knew I could count on you." He began to walk away as the trembling blackness threatened to crush Annabeth. "HELP ME!" she pleaded, "Oh, don't worry," Luke said. "Your help is on the way. It's all part of the plan. In the meantime, try not to die." The ceiling of darkness began to crumble again, pushing Annabeth against the ground. (Titan’s Curse, Chapter 5)

These are interactions between Luke and Annabeth just before Thalia wakes or a few days after the Titan’s Curse begins. This is supposed to be from someone who promised he would protect her, made promises about family, and was her mentor/guardian at some point. Not to mention the awful things that he does after.

And while Annabeth dislikes being vulnerable it is unlikely that she kept this from Thalia, her long time best friend. And if she did, Percy certainly didn't. So all this coming from Annabeth or Percy about Luke who was once extremely dear to her and with whom she had promised to take care of Annabeth with doing these things to demigods, to Annabeth must have convinced her beyond all doubt what Luke had become.

We are also led to believe Thalia had a few troubling demigod dreams of her own and was torn over the choice she had to make the entirety of the quest even before.

Another thing to note is that while Annabeth jad very rose tinted glasses on when it came to Luke even after his subsequent betrayals, Thalia did not. In the demigod diaries there's a section where Thalia quotes that Luke was becoming more and more angry, cursing gods, getting into more and more fights for the sake of fighting and endangering all of them. So she might have already expected her death to have terrible impact on him but I don't think Thalia could truly fathom how much until she learned of Percy and Annabeth's experiences.

The fucking problem here is these are all conjectures. If only there was a concrete way of knowing what Thalia thought of Luke, if only we had ONE decent Thalia Luke interaction that you know wasn't the decisive battle at the end then we might actually have confirmed the authenticity of both their claims of loving each other. There should have been a bit more drawn out interaction between them even at the end. When Thalia pushes Luke of the cliff she does seem to feel both guilt and grief and it is implied that it is partly the reason why she joins Hunters of Artemis and swears off of men completely because of the pain she went through with Luke. It seems to be half canon, too, but I am not certain how much I believe that.

Also, class traitor implies Thalia is siding against the benefits of her own people, the demigods, and speaking in favor of the Gods, correct? But this all implies that Luke is doing what's best for demigods, and Thalia is opposing is which is bullshit. Because again everyone siding with CHB will automatically be considered class traitors which is inherently wrong because Luke doesn't give two fucks about demigods. He was ready to send a 12 year old to Tartarus, he was ready to torture Annabeth and Grover, he poisoned the tree to leave the Camp and the demigods vulnerable and even defenseless in case of larger monster attacks which he was planning to sic on the Camp. Which he did sic on the Camp later on in the series. And this is all from the guy who wants to instill Kronos in charge of things. You know hacked his father to pieces, abuse his wife, oppress his kin, eat his children Kronos. Sure most Olympians give zero fucks about their children but Kronos wouldn't even have given negative fucks. The worst of all the Olympians combined wouldn't even come close to Kronos's level. I need people to understand that Luke was all for genocide since Book 1. I am not saying it, Luke is.

"Kronos will rise. You’ve only delayed his plans. He will cast the Olympians into Tartarus and drive humanity back to their caves. All except the strongest—the ones who serve him.”

So no Thalia or Annabeth or anyone else for that matter were NEVER going to join Luke no matter how much they loved him or pitied or empathize with this anger against the gods. Because you are trading a lesser evil for a clearly greater evil and even more gruesome fate. After all some gods cared about their children, rather openly too but Titans? They know no such thing. It would have been slaughter upon slaughter. So no it does not make Thalia or anyone else who sided against Luke a class traitor. In fact Luke is more or less a traitor, a deserter and an active malicious force against the demigods than the Gods were throughout the books.

In fact Thalia is the first to point out how condescending the Hunters behavior is towards the demigods.

She is also seen volunteering to go search for new demigods immediately after her revival.

Despite her history with Luke she sides with the Camp and resists the urge to pursue more power in the face of more power; despite her fatal flaw being Ambition no less all because she wants to fight for demigods and uphold her promise to Annabeth even at the cost of losing Luke.

Even after her initial dislike of the Hunters, she joins them anyway to keep herself out of Kronos's reach and to avoid harming anyone else by falling prey to his whispers.

She neither blames Grover nor Chiron for not being able to protect her. Isn't even bitter towards the camp and is generally seen to take protection of demigods seriously, so I am not sure what reasons are presented to call Thalia a class traitor.

But if you were implying Thalia is a class traitor for giving Percy the prophecy, then well, I am not sure how to refute that per se.

The only thing I can think of is, Thalia knew how much the Luke and the Ophiotaurus thing swayed her and how she might not be able to make the right choice a second time as opposed to someone like Percy who inherently cares more than most people do. She must have believed that Percy would do a much better job than her at keeping the demigods safe and saving the world.

The thing I dislike about Thalia's behavior is how after she wakes up the Camp hero worships her and ostracizes Percy even more despite him saving them numerous times and saving Thalia herself by returning the fleece but she shows little to no acknowledgement or gratitude and let's the Camp keep behaving that way.

She also doesn't come with Percy to give Nico the news when it was also her responsibility now given that she was Lieutenant of the Hunters and Bianca left under Hunters protection.

Thalia also doesn't confide in Percy about her decision to not be the prophecy child before or after her decision considering she does owe Percy that much.

She also seems to not help Percy as much later on with Luke and the things he has been doing even after her promise to do so. (I can only assume that she does so behind the scenes but it should have been mentioned)

Yet another thing I dislike is Thalia not being there for Annabeth later on. She should have explained Luke's changes and how the path he is going down on is so disastrous that neither she nor Annabeth can follow him. Perhaps if she confided a bit more in Annabeth about Luke's situation, Annabeth wouldn't have been so easily susceptible to Luke's manipulations. And given how easily Annabeth dismisses any warnings coming from Percy, she would perhaps be more receptive to ones coming from Thalia.

Don't even get me started on the lack of Thalia's role in HoO. She is a child of the big three. There's only so many of them; she should have had major involvement. This is a criticism of Rick, of course, not of Thalia. Considering he sidelined her afterwards.

Thalia Grace is the most underused pjo character of all time. It's not even close. She should have definitely been one of the Seven and Nico, too. You are telling me it's the greatest threat both the Greeks and the Romans have ever faced and the Greeks sent two demigods who only just realized they were demigods and Annabeth who has no powers to help her if things got awful? Plus, Hazel is a child of big three despite her inexperience, and Frank has the most unique extra ability under his belt, so those two can somehow be justified. So it should have been Percy, Thalia, Nico from the Greeks and Hazel, Frank, Jason from the Romans with Reyna and Annabeth leading armies of respective camps against other monsters and threats elsewhere but that's just our luck with Rick.

[squgs]

The general assumption around Criston and Alicent's relationship is that it's some toxic, unhealthy thing that they both settle for because they have no one else to turn to. This is an interesting reading of them, but based on the few scenes of them together that we have they seem to be the healthiest partnership in the show.

Of all the partnerships between men and women, Criston and Alicent's is the only one with a genuine balance of power. In every other pairing the man is in control and does not allow their woman to make decisions for the pair or for herself. We see Corlys ignore Rhaenys's input and wish's about betrothing Laenor and Rhaenyra and about disinheriting Baela and we can assume from her discomfort that she rose similar ignored objections about pushing Viserys to marry Laena. We see Viserys abuse both his wives and ignore their wishes for bodily autonomy. We see Daemon murder one wife, ignore the wishes of another and then belittle and assault his third wife until she complies with his wishes.

In sharp contrast to those dynamics, Alicent is clearly the one in charge in her relationship with Criston. However Alicent is not overbearing and controlling with Criston. On driftmark he is able to tell her no. He decides what he is willing to do for her and seemingly does not fear any retaliation for his decisions. The exact reasoning behind Criston's decision not to try to take Luke's eye are up for interpretation, but we don't really see any other partnership on the show where the subservient party's refusal is respected.

The only maybe comparable relationship is Rhaenyra's relationship with Laenor and Harwin. We see so little of the three of them that its hard to draw conclusions, but Rhaenyra does seem to be in charge. However she's clearly frustrated with Laenor's failures as a husband and is unable to get him to perform his duties. It's fairly clear that the planned partnership they had in episode 5 has failed, to the point that Rhaenyra gets rid of him in episode 7. Alicent and Criston's partnership on the other hand seems to be going strong after over 15 years.

There are a variety of ways that people say that the Alicent Criston dynamic is toxic. The most common is the view that Criston holds Alicent on a pedestal and doesn't actually know or see the real her only an idolized view of the Madonna in contrast to Rhaenyra the whore. I don't think that reading fits with what we see of their interactions. Criston is unflinchingly at Alicent's side in her ugliest moments. Alicent is willing to rant about Rhaenyra's bastards to him, showing her neuroticism and anxiety and anger. She shows no fear of being judged for what she says and I think we're meant to assume such venting sessions are a common occurrence for them. Alicent's behavior in that scene does not in anyway resemble an idolized divine image of the mother and yet Criston is not at all surprised or resentful or disturbed, in fact he's comfortable enough with Alicent being like that that he gets similarly petty (and misogynistic). Again on driftmark Criston sees Alicent at her lowest, most human and angry. While he is unwilling or unable to take Luke's eye he rushes to her side the moment she goes to attack Rhaenyra. Again this is Alicent at her least stereotypically motherly, least divine, most violent and angry and we don't see Criston be bothered by her not fitting into the image of her that he's created. The idea of Alicent needing to play the role of divine mother to maintain support is very interesting, but it doesn't really fit with her behavior around Criston. Playing that part is extremely difficult, it's literally an impossible standard that women are held to, and it takes constant effort. If Alicent was doing that with Criston we would see that effort and her fear at the moments when her facade slips, but instead we see Alicent trusting Criston with her most vulnerable and human moments.

Another way people say Alicent and Criston are toxic is to say that Alicent is afraid of Criston and only keeping him around because she can weaponize his hatred of Rhaenyra and point it at her enemies. Their is certainly some truth to Criston having a violent streak that he struggles to control. However in episode 9 it is very clear that Alicent doesn't need to fear him or manipulate him, and that his loyalty to her has nothing to do with hating Rhaenyra. Criston shows his loyalty two notable times in the episode. The first is after he kills Beesbury (which to be clear was bad. Murder is wrong), when Westerling and Criston are facing off. Alicent tells him to lower his sword and he does so. When one of the only comparably skilled swordsmen in the world has his blade at Criston's throat and Alicent tells him to lower his sword he does so without question. He unflinchingly trusts Alicent's judgement with his life. There is every possibility that Westerling will just kill him there, but he doesn't hesitate or complain or do anything but obey his queen, trusting her attempt to deescalate the situation. The second time is when Alicent asks Criston to find Aegon for her. Criston was at the council meeting, and since he's not an idiot he understands that the stakes of the search for Aegon is Rhaenyra's life. He is actively choosing to do something that he knows will save Rhaenyra's life because Alicent asks him to. That completely destroys the idea that his loyalty and relationship to Alicent has anything to do with hating Rhaenyra. In fact if he was motivated by hatred of Rhaenyra he would be the obvious choice to lead the assassination trip to dragonstone. Otto would obviously know that, but he still thought he had a better chance asking Westerling who has been protecting Rhaenyra since she was a child than he did asking Criston.

(Side note: the whole idea of Otto asking a knight who is loyal to Rhaenyra to do an assassin's job is absolutely ridiculous. Given that Otto is competent at his job and has known this would be happening he should absolutely have actual assassins lined up to do what they're best at. However I'm ignoring that for this analysis to view the episode as written.)

A final way that people say Alicent and Criston is toxic is that they enable each other with the delusion that they are good people because they follow the rules of society. While I do think that they enable each other in some ways. It's not that they let each other pretend that they're good people, they let each other be good people, by being good to each other. Alicent protects someone she barely knows, in a way that is actively detrimental to her political goals, simply because Criston does not deserve to be scandalized, have his family's name ruined and then be tortured to death. Criston serves an honorable queen, being a father to her children and respecting her when seemingly no one else does. The lie that they enable isn't that they're good, it's that being good means anything. They can convince each other that 'in the end honor and decency will prevail' even when they are each others only evidence of that fact.

Now with all that said, I'm not arguing that Alicent and Criston's relationship should only be viewed as wholesome and healthy and lovely (though it can be). They are both traumatized as fuck and are products of their terrible society that they can't escape, and may not even understand well enough to want to escape. There is so much stuff to dig into without resorting to a simplistic terrible version of their relationship, especially when thinking about them attempting to have a romantic or sexual relationship.

So yeah people should view alicole as more than just terrible Alicent's punishment for not defeating the patriarchy and being liberated like Rhaenyra.

[romance-rambles]

concept: in an alternate universe where the three princes arrive in rhodolite after emma leaves, five years after chevalier's coronation, silvio ricci—"mr. secretly a caring brother"—decides to take a stroll around the capital to clear his mind.

he's been trying to find valerio for ages, and he'd briefly thought that maybe his brother is still in rhodolite, but for whatever reason, he can't seem to get any leads. after making the questionable decision to drink, he ends up wandering into the bustling markets of the city.

a pair of brothers catches his gaze. the older one is buying the younger one a treat—and really, they can't be too old. silvio has had little interaction with kids, but he'd guess them to be around the early teens. and it makes him think of how he was never able to do anything like that for valerio.

naturally, in the middle of cursing his brother out, he happens to hear a vaguely familiar voice professing his love for some woman named emma. he has to rub his eyes to make sure he's seeing things right and—

yup, blonde hair, blue eyes. an earring. the face of a man he loathes, though not as much as his mother.

and in front of his kneeling self—

a clearly pregnant woman who looks on, with amusement glittering in her brown eyes as she gracefully accepts the offered rose. silvio thinks he might be going insane.

"emma" then proceeds to pull him up and the lady selling flowers giggles about how wonderful it is that they're so in love. the guy from the stall next door hollers about how, since it's rio, it's to be expected.

they leave and silvio does not follow them.

what silvio does do is go back to his room in the castle and punch the wall, unable to figure out how he should feel about the fact that valerio is married with a kid on the way. one thing's for sure though:

emidio must not know.

so, silvio packs up and leaves for benitoite, and in about two years, even those in rhodolite whisper about how the second prince attempted to commit treason—and admitted, in a fit of rage, that he was the one who sent valerio to die.

(for this, the king begrudgingly thanks silvio and offers to make him king. but silvio pretends he hasn't already found valerio and vows to find him.)

then, silvio returns to rhodolite.

and finds out that the child valerio's wife was carrying was their second child, after a brat who happens to be the splitting image of valerio overhears asking about "rio" and "emma".

this kid is nothing less than a blabbermouth. within thirty minutes, silvio's aware of his history and "rio"'s too. he knows that valerio's second born is a girl, that he's disappointed that neither of his two children look like his wife, and that they'll probably not stop at two kids. he knows that the kid's name is elliott, that he's named to match the first letter of his mom's name—it's the same for his sister, who is named rhys, after his dad.

and yet, despite the fact that being armed with this seemingly useless knowledge comorts him, he's too much of a coward to try and approach valerio. after all, emidio's dead. valerio seems happier than he ever was in the benitoite's court. isn't it selfish to drag valerio back solely for silvio's pride?

(a part of him is also jealous of elliot's long list of uncles, who he suspects to be rhodolite's princes—most frequent are nokto, yves, leon, clavis, and luke. sometimes, jin and licht. chevalier, surprisingly, does ask after him and rhys, but never visits. sariel keeps tabs on them, just in case)

so he runs before his sister-in-law arrives to take elliot home.

and rinse and repeat. days bleed into weeks and he's not keen about letting them bleed into months, even if he views elliott as a "second chance."

but he doesn't have to.

valerio comes to him.

apparently, he's seen silvio hanging around his son. his wife is delighted that elliott's made a friend, even if he is older than she'd hoped for, and also a bit concerned about silvio's identity, so she wanted to invite him to dinner.

unfortunately, elliott told rio about how silvio once told him to cherish and protect his sister. he said that he couldn't protect his brother from getting hurt, and that he hopes valerio is happy.

the names are what tipped rio off.

there was other identifying information too, but rio already had his memories. the names were all he needed.

you see, he'd started having an inkling of his identity when emma was belle. he'd been pouring over some texts about benitoite and he thought some of it felt strangely familiar. but he kept those thoughts hidden because he was afraid of letting emma know. it was when emidio was arrested that his memoried fully started coming back.

[we now take a brief intermission to talk about how rio married the love of his life:

emma, whilst fretting over her uncontrollable feelings, is looking at the "engagement ring". rio comes in, and for a moment, they simply stare at each other.

then rio correctly guesses that this is something he had on him before. emma confides in him that she thinks it's an engagement ring, which causes rio to realize why she would push him away.

he tells her that he has no interest in returning home. he wanted to die, after all. it's likely nothing was waiting for him. and, if it is an engagement ring, he probably bought it because he knew he'd be meeting the love of his life soon (this makes her hit him on the shoulder). rio thinks he likely wasn't engaged at all.

this causes emma to decide that she wants to be selfish, even if it means living with that kind of guilt.

the rest is history.]

rio: "i really don't want you to meet emma...what if you fall in love with her? she's so pretty, i can see it happening."

silvio: "huh? why would—"

rio: "...but i need someone to testify that i wasn't engaged before i lost my memories. i didn't have a lover either. my wife's been holding onto this misconception, so i want to clear it up immediately."

silvio takes it for the olive branch it is. everyone and their grandmothers know that he's been searching for valerio. it's really no surprise that rio would realize his intentions.

the next night, he joins rio and his family for dinner. silvio brings flowers for emma and gifts for each of the munchkins, and for rio, he shoves a bottle of wine at him. his reddened ears don't have the luxury of returning to normal because elliott starts pointing out how his ears are super red. they have an enjoyable dinner, after which emma reintroduces herself as his sister-in-law and they confirm that they'll hold off on telling elliott, like silvio wants them to.

silvio is a coward though, so he tells elliott on literally the last day of his stay in rhodolite. elliott makes him promise to come back soon, and rio and emma, who are there to pick elliott up, reveal that they might go visit silvio instead.

[this is because someone manages to spill silvio's secret to the king. which means rio would need to establish himself to better protect his family.]