#I love you Brio

[bluefanstasia]

Vallis Alps - Young

[pointyhatspointyears]

Slay, bestie

[rudesun]

DREW THIS FOR @retr0scum 'S BIRTHDAY HAPPY BIRTHDAY BLASTER I LOVE YOU SM WAHHHHHH ❤️❤️❤️❤️

HERE'S THE ALT GYARU VERSION I SAW OF BIRI IN MY DREAMS TOO BECAUSE

[juuuuunaaaaaooooo]

#Brioficweek2024 is over...

Without the enthousiasm of the fandom, and all the writers and readers, this week could never happened!!!!!!!

It was so fun <3

THANK YOU EVERYONE <33333

[michelleelizabethtanner]

You know what scene always seemed really out of place to me? This one:

Like, it doesn’t make sense here. We had a whole season of angst and anger, and suddenly it’s like we have old Brio back for just this moment. It’s light and comfortable. No animosity, no resentment. Rio tells her he LOVES her new business idea when just the last time he saw her he told her the idea was only good for the “basura.”

Look at her, even she can’t believe it. He’s smiling, walking lightly with a little spring in his step. The man even TWIRLED, he was so happy to be in this empty building with her.

So what suddenly happened to go from this:

To this:

Does Rio seriously need so little from Beth that even at their absolute lowest – before he’s fully healed, before Lucy’s body is fully decomposed, before it would make any sense for him to forgive her… All he needed from her was just a whisper of possibility that she might choose him?

He knew she was skimming. He knew she was cash-heavy. He probably thought the hot tub story was all BS. Hence his swift judgment in calling it trash and laughing at her when she initially brought it to him. But what? He saw she actually got a showroom and it was all real, and he was just so relieved and elated that she wasn’t lying to him that he was ready to throw it all down right then and there?

It’s almost a parallel to what she was doing to Dean. Dean was so desperate to have his wifey back he would believe anything she said. And she told him pretty lies and made him feel “like a man,” making him think she believed in him. When in reality she was setting up a front to keep being shady with her crime husband. Who evidently, like Dean, was so swept up by her commitment to him and his crimey ways, that he got some pep in his step and offered to 🍆 her down in a hot tub. 😂 Even the way they discussed her want for independence was soft and gentle. The way he told her to “next time empty the clip” was almost loving. A little smile on his face. Soft voice, soft eyes. “See you soon, yeah?”

This was also the first time they were really alone together in a vulnerable moment since El Musgo. Rio didn’t bring Mick and we gotta wonder why that is. The only answer is that he wasn’t afraid of her or his feelings for/about her at this moment. He wasn’t afraid to show her a little emotion and he wasn’t worried if she showed him hers. He must have felt chosen here. He must have viewed her new operation as something she set up for them. The same way Dean believed it, Rio believed this to be a fresh start for the two of them.

I keep rewatching this one moment between them and trying to make it make sense. What does everyone else think?

[tinogiehd]

miss tinogie what are your top 3 dnf fics? if you don’t mind me asking

what it is (not) to lose by effervescentwolf, all of you, a verb in perfect view by @findinghomes, and but i was always on my way to him  by @fooshogie

[georgecunt]

In honor of the long-awaited release of UIEUD and Dream using art to express himself, let's celebrate the amazing artists in the community! Shout-out your favorite dtblr artists :)

oh i just woke up this is so hard okay, for artists @gologie @nonoqy @milktea-green @kuwuuji @jun-hug @kelsey-arts @gogciety i love fanartists you are carrying this fandom

and then my fave fic writers @badboyhole @dreamieeehd & @georgieeehd (do not separate), @demonstars @tippyslays @dnfingtons @prettygnf like you guys make me sob and cry im in love

[8golden-harvest8]

Memes of me and my friends keykids that will only be funny to us and no one else 2/5

some oc’s are my friends’ @tryingmybestbutiwannasleep !

[nervouswaltz]

something about wedding singer by modern baseball is calling to me....... the vibes...

👍👍👍 will listen later

[c0smiccom3t]

OK NOW WHY DO I HAVE THE URGE TO MAKE A REIMAGINE OF TAG TEAM RACING??? (it takes place in the current timeline btw. with the current characterizations. hope you guys dont mind if i put ryonna there too...)

[kittycomrade]

My favourite soda is only available to buy in glass bottles which is fine. No problems. I just hate that i cant stop thinking of chewing the glass. It would be horrible yet i want to.

[lilbittymonster]

how would a complete complete beginner get into gpose? like how to make npcs appear and pose my oc with them?

love your blorbos and the triad and your gposes and writing btw. thank you and pls keep creating <333

Hi, anon! Thank you so much, that's so sweet 💜

So, I may have gotten a little carried away, but I wanted to be thorough responding and I thank you for your patience. This is going under a readmore out of courtesy to the dashboard.

To start out you'll need to download some stuff.

Programs

Anamnesis:

Install: download

This is an entirely self-contained program, and you could technically stop here and do all your posing from Anamnesis, I know several people who prefer it. It’s perfect for posing with humanoid models, minions, and mob creatures.

The biggest downside is that if you don’t have a second monitor (or have a really small screen like I do), it’s going to get in the way of a lot of your posing. It gets pretty fiddly having to readjust the camera around the doll and move the screen aside so you can see what you’re doing. So if that’s going to be an issue for you, I would also recommend using….

Ktisis:

Install: download

You will also need to install the FFXIVQuicklauncher, which is linked in the Ktisis instructions. It’s a bit more work to set up, but if you think you’ll want to try out using mods, Penumbra works on the same framework and this will save you a bit of hassle later on.

Ktisis operates within gpose from a little dropdown bar on the side of your screen, and the biggest difference is that it puts the skeleton directly over the models in 3D instead of a flat view. It does still have a flat view option, but I am much more 3D oriented so having the skeleton visible right under my cursor works better for me. It’s also helpful for showing all the special bones on monsters and bosses that Anam doesn’t!

I am also currently using the testing build version of Ktisis as it offers the ability to select multiple bones at a time, which I don’t believe the current public release has. This can be turned on by right clicking on the plugin and selecting “receive plugin testing versions”.

There is a third posing program called Brio, and it requires the same level of install as Ktisis, but I personally don’t like using it. I find the posing interface unwieldy and at a beginner level, it really cannot offer you anything that Anamnesis and Ktisis already don’t. The only thing it would be absolutely necessary for is to spawn in actors through Anamnesis.

So now that we’ve got the programs installed, time to get some actors in here.

Importing Characters

You can get characters into gpose one of two ways. You can rock it old school and load a character file onto a pre-existing model, or you can spawn a new one digitally within gpose.

Old School Method:

Use an overworld model! I’m just going to borrow this Temple Knight real quick-

-and now I have successfully freed Aymeric from his office. Time for a lunch date!

If you don’t have any overworld models to use, like in instanced areas such as dungeons, you can use a carbuncle instead.

Using the powers of arcanima-

-I have now brought Estinien into the realm of the Fuath. And he thought the moogles were bad...

New School Method:

In the Ktisis testing workspace, there’s a little plus icon at the bottom left hand corner.

“Create new actor” will make a clone of your model with all the same gear and physical appearances. You can then load a character file onto that of your choice, or you can customise it from there. “Import actor from file” will skip right ahead to loading in a premade character file you’ve saved as it spawns a new model.

Importing/Exporting Character Files

Character files are how your appearance, gear, and weapons are all stored to be loaded in onto an actor. These will appear in your program save files as a .chara file. Anamnesis and Ktisis should create their own save files and will automatically save character and pose information to those locations. You can also check to see that they saved correctly by opening up your files directory and tracing the file paths.

In the “Character” tab in Anamnesis, select the actor of your choice, hit “Import”, and select your file. The dropdown menu gives you some options for what specific parts of a character file you want to import. There’s also the option to import game NPCs.

In Ktisis, right click the actor and select “Import…” then “Character”.

This will bring up the import screen, where you have the same choice between files saved to your computer or NPCs from the game.

Changing Gear

Changing gear can be done through Anamnesis simply by clicking on the item slot in the appearance tab, and you’ll get a list of everything that can be equipped into that slot. Ktisis will require you to right click on an actor and select “Edit appearance” before giving you a similar menu.

This is one of Anamnesis’ biggest selling points because it has the most robust gear filtering and search system of the three posing programs. You can filter by class, job, race/genderlocked gear, items that are Mogstation purchases, and save favourites to the top of each list.

Ktisis and Brio do not have this feature, so I really recommend doing all of your gear searching through Anamnesis unless you know exactly what the gear piece is called.

If you change your mind mid-pose that you want a different piece of gear, changing the equipment in Ktisis will not break the pose, but trying through Anamnesis will.

Posing

Now that you’ve got your dolls in place, it’s time to actually start posing! Like I said above, Anamnesis is mostly a flat view of the skeleton, and Ktisis has the skeleton visible in 3D on the model, so choose which format works with your brain easiest. (And they both can swap formats as well.)

The red/blue/green gizmo is the same across all three posing programs, and comes in three modes; rotate, position, and scale. Body bones will all be manipulated through rotation. Scaling can be done if you want to change how a body part looks and is especially helpful for fixing elbows. Facial bones, however, will need to be moved in position mode due to the new graphical update. And this is really why I recommend you use Ktisis testing build as this gives you the ability to select multiple bones at once to move in tandem.

The easiest way to start learning to pose is by modifying the existing emotes and actions. Cycle through the various emotes and job actions to find something that gets you close to what you want, and then make minor tweaks from there. It’s not impossible to pose from a base standing idle, but it is a pain and takes a lot longer.

Before you can start repositioning bones, you’ll need to toggle “Posing Mode” on. In Anamnesis, this is in the “Pose” tab, and in Ktisis it’s the red/green toggle at the top. You’ll also need to pause character movement in gpose (freeze character).

If you plan on moving models around in the XYZ coordinates instead of leaving them where they are in gpose (especially since the digital actors will spawn directly on top of you), you will need to freeze positions as well. This is found in the top right corner of the “Action” tab in Anamnesis.

In Ktisis, the "Freeze Positions" button is under the character editor. Right click on your character, choose "Edit appearance", then under the animation tab (third from the left), check "Freeze Positions".

Importing/Exporting Poses

Another place where Ananmesis shines is having all of the vanilla pose variations for all of the races and genders available as pose files to be uploaded. This is in the second file button, underneath the list of your original files.

Note: All default expressions currently in Anamnesis are out of date. Take the time to go through the expressions in gpose and save each face individually to be loaded on separately as expressions.

This is the same process as importing/exporting characters. Poses will be saved as a .pose file to the program of your choice. If you’ve downloaded pre-made poses from someone else, make sure they’re in the program files and not your downloads folder just to keep everything in one place.

Note: Pose files from before Dawntrail will break expressions. These should only be imported on body bones.

Loading Select Bones

You can piece together new poses using bits of old ones, too! In Ananmesis, click and drag to highlight the parts you want to transfer (it can be a little finnicky around the hands/hips.)

And in Ktisis, right click select down the list of bones you want to use.

Expressions will always need to be loaded onto a model as selected bones. Anamnesis has the “Expression” option, which will automatically select all the bones on the head parent.

Ktisis will need to have the “Face” option ticked on the “Import Pose” if you’re importing from the actor’s name. If you’ve clicked the parent you want to apply it to, it will automatically tick “Apply selected bones”.

The ideal order of operations is Load Actors > Load Gear > Posing Mode.

Miscellaneous Tips and Tricks

-Ktisis lets you import reference images now! In the same place as importing a new character, you can import a reference image to be on the screen with you instead of tabbing between the game and browser.

-If you like the pose you get while riding a particular mount and think “wow I wish I could have that as a normal sit pose” you can just fire up your program of choice, freeze motion, and save the bones! My personal fave is the sit from the hippo cart mount.

-Don’t rotate your model from the root bone (the one that’s named after the actor), rotate from the abdomen. This will still move your whole actor without compromising the XYZ alignment. Think of the root bone as the little plastic support stand for an action figure you’d put on a shelf. You can pose the action figure however you want, but the plastic stand still has to stay touching the table.

~

That’s it for what I would consider getting started with. A lot of this is stuff I’ve had to learn myself or piecemeal together from various people, so I hope it’s not too overwhelming, but if I can save someone else the hassle I went through then I will!

My final piece of advice is to remember that this is supposed to be fun. If it’s starting to become not fun, take a break and do something else that isn’t gposing for a bit and come back to it.

Wishing you the best of luck in your gposing journey!

[bunsandstuff]

Thank you for all of the love on my recent Gpose omg ; w ; I really wish I could reply directly to tabs aaaa. But thank you for your comments, they made me so happy to read, I love them. I wanted to share how I did it all and explain my process if anyone is interested ♡

More below the cut!

I got started by actually making the backdrop. I wanted to emulate the scene where the Phantom was taking Christine through the candlelit walkway, so I made a long tunnel to get it as close as I could to the shot.

And here is the result in game :3 I knew with the back I was going to have to rely on an optical illusion to sell that this was a long dark hallway, so I dyed the back wall soot black and turned my interior lighting to 0.

And here the setup is pre pre shaders. I cloned a few actors in using brio and had them draw the archeo kingdom WHM staff and placed them in the wall. I was really lucky that I had a long enough lookalike for the candelabras in the movie. Also, you can see that the illusion isn't being quite sold in the back at the moment, I fixed it using camera angling and having the primary source of light a little further back from the two subjects. And to create an even 3 point lighting I placed a greenish blue light to the back left of Alsene which is the blue you can see on their clothes further down. It is best to try and give yourself 3 point lighting when you gpose, you can even achieve this using the character lighting toggle built into the game itself. :3

Here it is with that light placed like I mentioned before and my shaders turned on. I'm using Candle presets on this one in particular with cinematic DOF turned on and focused in between Alsene and Artoirel. It also helps blend that black wall in the back into the scenery so it isn't as obvious. Also I would like to mention that when I do large shots like this, I take MANY screens in multiple angles to pick from the best shot. In this one in particular I have 30 screens in various angles that I chose from. This ensures that you aren't leaving the pose with a product you aren't happy with. It saves you time in having to pose it again.

I ended up choosing these two shots, and I edited them in clip studio. My process for that was making the arms look more metallic to match the rod by adding highlights to them. And the second thing I did was add a retro bloom to the image to mimic the vibe in the video. And as you know the final result was this :3

In all it was a very time consuming but fun gpose to do! If anyone has any questions about it I will be happy to answer them ♡ Thank you for appreciating what I do ; w ; it was lovely to wake up to.

[michelleelizabethtanner]

Oh nothing, @justalilobsessd, just me watching 19 seconds on a loop at 4am. 😂 I even took something before bed, but my insomnia still knows no end. May as well obsess over Brio moments, right?

So here’s the scene with “the look.” (And excuse my shadow in the background. I had a backlight on and I’m not savvy enough to use technology to make clean video.)

To me, this was a look at someone who’s intruding on a private moment. And I mean, that’s what Mick’s doing. What he’s probably been paid to do. He’s standing guard over Rio who may not feel capable of containing his own emotions with this woman in this moment – whatever this means to him and however he’s worried those emotions will come out. This look happens right after his “you, me, we…” line.

Is it just business, Rio? Do you believe that? You don’t look like you believe that. Couldn’t even look at her when he said it. He lifted his eyes after to make sure it landed, but he looks pained for having said it at all.

And Beth doesn’t believe it, either. The flashbacks she’s having here. Look at the shock and hurt.

The music here. The atmosphere. This isn’t a standoff. This is an intimate, vulnerable, emotional conversation fraught with the hurt they each feel. They aren’t arguing about printing or the risks behind printing. They’re airing the pain they’ve caused each other. So I think this look to Mick coming right as Rio says something so emotional is Beth’s acknowledgment that this moment isn’t business at all.

Look at her. She watches Rio as he slumps back down, sees the feelings on him, then looks up at Mick. It’s almost protective. Like she’s protecting the privacy of what’s shared between just her and Rio. She’s acknowledging that she can’t push him much further because Mick is watching and they’ve already said too much. Knows Rio won’t give her more. But that’s what she needed him here for – to have this emotional discussion and unload the pain of Lucy’s death onto him. Share it with him. And she got what she needed. You can see her look over Rio one more time, understand that he’s hurting too. And now, having affirmed to herself that she and Rio are still in this emotional limbo together and he hasn’t forgotten their history, she sighs a relieved sigh and agrees to print.

Do you think she was worried that killing Lucy would have changed Rio’s feelings for her? Pushed him further away? Made him want to be done with her? It almost seems like she was. Like she needed to see this emotional outburst from him to confirm she still has him. That the game goes on.

[juuuuunaaaaaooooo]

Brio Fic Week 2024 : Fic Rec

Day 1 : Fake Dating

Worth the Risk - ShadowsFiction

Don't Flinch - merelyafigment

Make You Mine - Ronni_Right

Boyfriend - abi1821

A Night to Remember - MichelleElizabethTanner

They thought it was fake... (for only 10 seconds) - Kaaaaarooooo

Day 2 : Surnatural Au

Let's embrace the point of no return - Ronni_Right

Hunger - abi1821

Bergamot and Amber - MichelleElizabethTanner

Blissful Breeze - abi1821

An Immortal Love - Kaaaaarooooo

Day 3 : Write something based on a song or quote that reminds you of them

I Bite (So Do You) - merelyafigment

Fall in You - Kaaaaarooooo

Skin & Bones - abi1821

Dial Tone - ShadowsFiction

SHOTGUN KISSES - badgyalmimi

Day 4 : Brio and each other kids

Picasso - Littleengine

small moments (Chap 6) - Strawmari

Good Reads and Meet Cutes - ShadowsFiction

The joys of being parents-in-law - Kaaaaarooooo

Day 5 : They wear each other's clothes or accessories

Is That My? - ShadowsFiction

Little Thieves - Kaaaaarooooo

Day 6 : They were Neighbors

A new beginning - Kaaaaarooooo

Day 7 :  Movie Or Book Au And Or Activities as a couple

Bring It On - Kaaaaarooooo

We Just Stopped for Cigarettes - JustAnAnon

Day 8 (Bonus Day) : Post Everything You Want

Accidental Phone Sex - Kaaaaarooooo

Second Chances - ShadowsFiction

[captainremmington-13]

𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖉𝖆𝖚𝖌𝖍𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝖔𝖋 𝖉𝖊𝖆𝖙𝖍

𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝖙𝖊𝖓

show!Luke Castellan x daughter of thanatos!reader

DISCLAIMER: I don’t own the image above or any of Rick Riordan’s characters/world-building except for Brio.

⚠️Warnings⚠️: swearing, mentions of scars, death, and pain, injury, kissing, overall angst

A/N: fun fact: the beginning part (which is a dream) is based off a dream i had the other day where i was chasing Luke thru the woods lmaooo

“This isn’t fair!” you yelled, your legs screaming in protest as you picked up your pace.

Luke laughed loudly, also increasing his speed. The dirt trail meant that with each step, he kicked up dust, effectively making your eyes water. 

“I thought you said you could catch me, angel,” he called out tauntingly. “What happened to all your confidence?”

“Fuck you!” you said with a fake angry tone. “You’re going too fast, you know you’re better at running than me, can you at least slow down a little?”

This just made Luke laugh harder, and he glanced over his shoulder to give you a grin. 

Gods, he made you feel so many things.

“What, you can’t handle the challenge and need me to make it easier for you so you can win?” he asked teasingly. 

“No, that’s not what I meant,” you huffed, trying to hide the fact that you were completely winded.

“Sure, whatever you say, baby,” Luke said, clearly not convinced. You rolled your eyes at his sarcasm, but couldn’t prevent yourself from smiling. You really did love playfully bantering with him.

Channeling all of your remaining energy, you charged towards your boyfriend. You leapt onto his back, making him yelp in surprise. 

“What in Hades?” he asked, bewildered. You just smiled, resting your chin on his shoulder as he hooked his arms under your thighs. “Has my lovely girlfriend been possessed by a gremlin or something?” 

You gasped dramatically. “How dare you assume such an awful thing, Castellan?” You slung your arms around his neck, enjoying the feeling of your bare skin on his. 

Luke turned his head to peck you on the cheek. “I know, I know, I’m the worst, aren’t I?”

You giggled, holding onto him tighter. “Yeah, you are.”

He set you down gently, and turned to face you. His cheeks were slightly flushed from being relentlessly chased by you through the woods, but other than that, he didn’t seem tired at all. Perks of being the son of the messenger god, apparently.

You sighed, looking up at him adoringly. “This isn’t fair,” you said once again.

Luke’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“You’ve been running for so long and you still look perfect. In comparison, I probably look about as good as Medusa with a bad case of bead-head.”

Luke scoffed. “That’s so far from true. You look as pretty as ever.”

Before you could protest, he wrapped one of his large hands around the back of your neck gently, connecting his lips with yours. You melted into the kiss, reaching up to grip his strong shoulders. Thankfully, you were deep enough in the woods that it was unlikely that any other campers would see your intimate moment. You never did anything quite this intense while in the presence of others, as you didn’t want to get lectured by Chiron and Mr. D.

You closed your eyes, losing yourself in the moment. You were completely at peace…

Until Luke let out a blood-curling scream.

When you opened your eyes, you saw him being dragged away by Ladon, the dragon’s claws creating gruesome wounds in his skin. 

“No!” you shrieked, immediately flying after him. But before you could get close enough, one of Ladon’s heads opened its mouth and released a gust of fire, setting your body ablaze. 

You plummeted to the ground, helpless as you watched your boyfriend be ripped to pieces by a monster.

You kept falling for what seemed like an eternity, bracing yourself for the bone-shattering impact that you knew was to come. 

When your body finally hit the ground, everything faded all at once.  

.

.

.

“She’s waking up! Someone get Brio or Will, quickly!”

“Keep your voice down, you’re gonna scare her! You know how dangerous startling her can be!“

“You keep your voice down, you’re the one shouting-“

“Everyone, shut up!”

You groaned quietly, the noises surrounding you immediately giving you a headache. As you slowly regained consciousness, a searing pain bloomed in your abdomen, making you cry out. Your eyes snapped open, and you saw Brio Olarei, a son of Apollo, standing over you with bandages in his hand.

“Hey,” he said softly. “I need to lift up your shirt to re-wrap your stomach. You got a pretty nasty cut, and your ribs were cracked.”

“Great,” you muttered. “What else?”

“Well,” Brio began slowly. “You’ve been out for almost four days.”

You blinked. “You’re fucking kidding.”

“No, I’m not,” Brio said, removing the old bandages from your torso. “Teleporting all the way from the west coast to the east drained you enormously.”

You suddenly felt a wave of nausea overtake you, realizing that your encounter with Ladon and the Hesperides hadn’t been a dream. 

You began to sob, not caring that you were in the presence of the others who worked in the infirmary.

You had failed your mission.

But even worse, you had failed Luke.

Brio did his best to calm you down, but nothing really worked. Tears kept spilling down your cheeks, and you didn’t even try to stop them. He applied a salve to your wounds that helped ease the pain, and re-wrapped them quickly. 

“I’ll do anything I can to help you with your recovery,” the healer said warmly. “You’ll need to stay in the infirmary for another few days to make sure your injuries don’t get worse.”

You avoided his gaze, not caring to respond to his words. Instead, you asked,

“Where’s my boyfriend?” 

Brio swallowed. “He’s fine. He was in rough shape when we found you two at the border, but he made a quicker recovery than expected. He got released from the infirmary last night, but he refused to leave. We had to have him forcibly removed because it’s really busy in here, and even then, he still insisted on waiting outside of the building-“

As if on cue, none other than Luke Castellan burst through the wooden doors of the building. Nobody really tried to stop him as he rushed over to you, kneeling at your beside. His pretty brown eyes swarmed with tears, and you could tell he hadn’t been sleeping at all.

But the most startling thing you observed was the angry red scar on the right side of his face. 

“Oh, Luke…” you whispered, reaching out to cup his cheek. Luke cringed slightly, but allowed you to touch him regardless. 

“I’m fine,” he said quickly. “It’ll heal up. But it won’t ever fully fade.”

“Oh, Luke, I am so sorry-“

“It’s not your fault, angel. What’s important is that we’re both okay.”

You took his hand, rubbing circles on his palm with your thumb. “For a moment, I was worried that you…you were dea-“

“I know,” he cut in. “I was worried sick about you too. Fuck, I even prayed to Apollo, begging him to aid you in your recovery.”

You sighed. You knew that if Luke went as far as praying to the gods, he really was concerned. 

“Brio said that I’ll be fine. I just…need more recovery time than you did. Not only did I sustain injuries from the fight, but the teleportation also did quite a number on my body.“

Luke ran a hand through your hair, caressing the top of your head. “I wish it hadn’t affected you so badly, but I’m eternally grateful that you did what you did. You saved our lives.” He stood up, to lean down and place a kiss on your forehead. “You’re my hero.”

You smiled weakly. “You’re more of a hero than I’ll ever be.” 

“Nonsense,” Luke said, shaking his head. “You were so brave, taking on Ladon like that while you were seriously injured.”

“I wouldn’t call it bravery,” you replied. “I’d call it determination to keep you safe.”

He sighed. “Either way, I’m just so relieved you’re gonna be okay.” He took a deep breath, looking down. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if I had lost you…”

You reached up to wipe a stray tear that began running down his cheek. “I have no doubt that you would tear the world apart. You probably would’ve marched down to the Underworld and demanded Hades to give me back, just like Orpheus.”

Luke laughed quietly. “I would’ve moved mountains to reunite with you, my angel.”

You hummed appreciatively, closing your eyes once more. You felt drained, despite only having been awake for a handful of minutes. 

Luke called Brio over, who handed you a bottle of water and a small pill. 

“This will help you sleep,” Brio explained, helping you sit up slowly. You whimpered as your ribs screamed in protest at the movement. Luke squeezed your hand reassuringly, promising that the searing pain would subside soon.

You swallowed the pill and took a few sips of water. The son of Apollo turned to look at Luke.

“If you want to stay at her bedside, that’s fine. Just don’t get in the way of any of the healers and-“

“Yeah, yeah, I get it,” Luke said impatiently. “I won’t cause any trouble, I swear.”

A son of Hermes promising he wouldn’t cause trouble would normally raise some red flags, but in a situation as serious as this, he clearly meant what he’d said.

Brio gave you one last look before walking away, and you swore you could see pity in his eyes. You despised pity, it made you feel weak and stupid, which you knew you weren’t. 

Luke pulled up a chair and sat next to your bed. He immediately laced his fingers with yours. “Is there anything I can get you, angel?” 

You thought for a moment. “Yeah. Can you get me my stuffed bat from Cabin 11?”

Luke smiled. “Of course. I’ll be right back.”

When he returned a couple minutes later, you were barely awake. The medicine had kicked in, and all you wanted was sleep.

Luke placed the stuffie in your arms, and draped the infirmary bed’s comforter over your body. “I’m not leaving your side until you’re fully healed.”

You frowned. “But you have duties as head counselor.”

“Fuck that,” Luke said dismissively. “You’re more important. Chris can take over for me.” 

You sighed. “Where are you gonna sleep?” 

“Right here.”

“Luke-“

“I’m not leaving,” he said firmly. “After what happened at the Garden, I swore to myself that I’d never let you out of my sight ever again.”

Knowing you couldn’t persuade him to change his mind, you nodded. Clutching your stuffed animal to your chest, you let your eyes fall shut. Luke still had a tight hold on your hand. It seemed like he believed if he let go of you, he’d lose you forever.

With your beloved by your side and the medicine in your bloodstream, you were able to drift off into a peaceful state of rest.

________________________________________________

After three long days, Brio finally deemed you recovered. Well, at least recovered enough to leave the infirmary and start sleeping in Cabin 11 again.

You were instructed to take it extremely easy. No sparring, no archery, nothing that was even remotely physically taxing. You were also told to apply a healing salve nightly on the long cut Ladon had given you. You didn’t even remember getting scratched by him, but you figured it had happened right as you teleported away. 

At least the poison hadn’t spread too far throughout your skin. Otherwise, you probably wouldn’t have survived.

The scar, which was still an angry shade of red, went from your left hip across your torso to the right side of your neck. It was ugly and quite gruesome, and every time you looked in a mirror, you almost burst into tears. 

You felt like you’d taken several steps backwards in your progression as a person. You felt depressed and angry, your hatred for the Olympians growing with every day that passed.  

And being so fragile frustrated you greatly. Not being able to participate in the daily camp activities or practice your fighting put you on edge. The pitiful glances the other campers constantly threw your way made it even worse. It became so hard for you to control your temper that at some point, you stopped leaving Cabin 11 except for meals and to shower. Whenever you were out and about, you had to refrain from snapping at every person who tried to talk to you. Even your closer friends, like Chris and Annabeth, seemed nervous around you, not wanting to get on your nerves.

Luke was the only one you let your guard down with. There were even times where you refused to speak to anyone else but him. 

You suspected that you were trauma-bonded to each other. Every time Luke wasn’t by your side, you felt terrified. You worried that he’d suddenly be ripped away from you, and you’d be powerless to stop it, just like the nightmare you’d had just before waking up in the infirmary.

If you thought Luke was protective of you before, you had no words to describe what he was now. 

At times, he felt like your personal bodyguard. If someone even looked at you funny, he’d place a hand on the hilt of his sword and glare at them until they practically ran away. He almost always had a strong arm wrapped around your waist or shoulders, guiding you to wherever you needed or wanted to go. He doted on you as if you were a princess, opening doors for you and taking over any chores you were assigned. 

“Let me handle it, angel,” he would say, giving you an affectionate pat on the head. 

But even though he was sweet and gentle with you, he became more withdrawn with everyone else. 

You always knew he had some anger issues, but had managed to keep them suppressed most of the time. However, ever since he’d been released from the infirmary, it didn’t seem like he cared about keeping them at bay.

Just like you, he was furious at all of the gods, especially Hermes.

He was still polite, but he had adopted a cold, less-than-friendly demeanor. He followed through with his duties as a camp counselor, but was much less patient with the other demigods. His voice always seemed to have a hint of bitterness in it. The scar that ran down the right side of his handsome face made him even more intimidating.

Sometimes, he seemed like a completely different person.

But with you, he was still Luke. Your Luke.

And you hoped more than anything that he’d stay that way.

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The next chapter will take place months after the quest occurred…

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