#PERIODS ARE APPARENTLY FOR BOYS WHO ARE DYING

[transsexualhamlet]

me on my 8th ibuprofen of the day: hello my greatest enemy if you don't stop this now things are going to get drastic

my body: eight more and maybe I'll start behaving .

my liver: FOR THE LOVE OF GOD I CANT TAKE MUCH MORE

[n3ptun3e]

—SUNSHINE BOY!

shisui uchiha x reader + headcanons

how shisui would eventually fall in love with you!

notes: listen, i’m no writer and my english is kind of shit, but desperate times call for desperate measures and i’m starving for cute shisui content with no inc3st in it, so this was born!! please enjoy it!

honestly? i just did this because it’s too fun to decorate the posts

You two became friends in the short period he was in the academy speed running through classes. He was pretty popular just like any other clan kid with the prodigy title, and since the whole “ostracize the uchiha clan” didn’t happen yet, at least not as obvious as it was in the series, the both of you would train or just spend lunch together, probably invites you to his house. Training in a secluded part of the forest and having deep talks would be one of his favorite activities to do with you. He loves loves to delve into the depths of other people’s minds and try to figure them out, what makes you act this way, your thought process, how does your mind works? he wants to know this because he wants to know the real you, to understand the puzzle that you are, it’s his way to show that he cares, otherwise he wouldn’t keep you as close as you are. He probably doesn’t even realize his thoughts are way more…technical? for scientific purposes only☝🏻 than your average person, because he’s a prodigy and all that, so he can come off as a little bit blunt (though as he grows up he’s much more suave and smooth when sharing his thoughts. Clan meetings and political bullshit does that to someone) but he has the bestest intentions in mind being the altruist that he is. He’s a curious and smart boy!!!

Either way, he likes to spend time with you, you saw the real him, not shisui the prodigy, shunshin no shisui, or the “weird and show off guy”, but him. If he had any other friends besides you, they would be gone once the kyuubi attack happens. Konoha doesn’t have the best education, so the kids would just follow what their parents told them and some adults already didn’t like him, so there really wasn’t anyone else around. It’s around this time that he met Itachi, seeing a glimpse of him and his long dead friend on the child, he decides to take him under his wing.

I’m not sure if it’s canon, but it’s stated in some places that he unlocked his mangekyõ because of his teammate, his friend that was more powerful than him, shisui was envious, jealous even. one day on a mission his friend got hurt and needed assistance, but shisui as team captain decided to follow through with the mission and his friend ended up dying. and THAT’S the crucial moment where he’s going to need someone the most. He’s a uchiha, they have big hearts and just feel more, much more than your average person, the blame crushes him, he’s already a gentle soul who is forced to kill others for his own village, and to make matters worse they are in war times, you saw how obito and naruto turned out very different because of it right? that, plus the start of the apparent hate and suspicion of the village towards his clan, makes way for rumors, “he’s an Uchiha, what else would we expect from him…? you should be careful, they are not to be trusted”. I imagine his clan would push and pressure him to become more powerful, to “Bring pride into the clan” moving him up in the ranks, making him enter anbu as a child even if he’s already a jõnin.

He just breaks, childish glint in his eyes gone, so he comes to you, “i didn’t know where else to go…” he breaks down in your arms, silent tears falling from his eyes as he clings onto you, his grip tight as if you would disappear at any moment, his only friend that didn’t left him. All the tension and adrenaline from battle would eventually leave his body as he relaxes, letting out all his frustrations away, feeling so fucking tired, body getting out of survival mode, his thoughts and feelings finally getting to him, you hug him tight and strokes his unruly dark curls, soothing hand on his back and whispering calming and reassuring words in his ear, his tears in your shirt slowly turn red, and when you pull away to dry his tears you gasp as you see the intricate pattern on his bleeding red eyes.

THAT’S when you two become even more close. Shisui was always caring and protective of you, but now as you two have grown up he gets even worse, always having a hand on you, arm around your shoulder as he teases you, giving you a little wink before flicking off existence. god, when he finally perfects the body flicker he becomes a menace, appearing out of nowhere inches away from your face, blowing out a puff of air into the back of your neck as you almost rips him in half thinking it was a enemy ninja, cheeks burning red. Though it’s undeniable how your heart beats quicker and smile warms up as he leaves, he’s always there to cheer you up and support you, he’s loyal okay? you have been there for him and now he’s going to follow you for the rest of your life, you feel like safety to him, a light in the dark, he trusts you with his life. he would never EVER left you behind (only if you asked him to, but duh why would you dummy), especially on missions, he will bring you back alive even if he has to sacrifice himself for it.

i know it’s obvious but PHYSICAL TOUCH!!!! it’s his way of communicating affection alright? hugging, ruffling your hair after training, THE UCHIHA POKE, you name it, he especially likes to put a arm around your shoulders and lean close to you, teasing you about whatsoever, whispering in your ear about the random guy on your right hitting on the lady next to him, chuckling and laughing to yourselves, you don’t even notice when he has a hand around you anymore because it just feels natural at this point, it gives him a excuse to be so close to you. Also looves to spend time with you, it’s kind of hard since the both are you are busy with missions but he would always use shunshin to see you, especially during breaks on the uchiha military police forces, asking you to have lunch with him, his treat! he’s a gentleman okay? Sometimes he would appear and gently put a kanzashi 簪 (hair ornaments used in traditional Japanese hairstyles) in your hair, saying it reminded him of the color of your eyes, he would always do that, giving you thoughtful gifts he would find along his missions, smiling at you as he says “i knew it would suit you” it means you look pretty in it.

His touch starts to linger more than necessary, appearing out of nowhere always with a warm hand on you. God he always runs so hot? maybe it’s because he’s a uchiha but his body temperature is high. Shuffling closer to him when you both go on a mission in the middle of winter, a teasing smile on his face as he asks “what was that?” a eyebrow raised in amusement, though he quickly chuckles and opens his arms, hugging you close, making jokes so you don’t feel awkward. He’s just so gentle and soft with you, stroking your hair as you both fall asleep. Always blushing if you reciprocate his barely hidden affections. He’s shy on these matters okay? i imagine him being just like minato but with the determination and sense of humor of naruto. so he can be all serious and in mission mode but if you pass him by and gives him a smile he’s all smiley and red cheeks, sheepishly expression on his face with a hand scratching the back of his head, snsksuzysowb cute. Sometimes he would look at Itachi and Sasuke interacting, imagining how it would be like if one day he ends up building a family with you, it’s one of his favorite daydreams jakajansja definitely a family guy. Yearning for the feeling of coming back home after a long mission and sink into your arms, sighing as he feels how soft, warm and alive you feel, he would do anything to keep you that way, even if he’s not the one you love, being able to be by your side is enough, at least that’s what he tells himself.

It would take a while for a confession tbh, he doesn’t want to lose you or ruin the friendship you both have, would probably talk about it with Itachi, sighing and telling him for the hundredth time if he should tell you or not. itachi’s already tired from this bullshit, staring at his cousin with a deadpan expression “i do believe it would be for the best if you finally told her how you feel” he would repeat, for the millionth time.

I doubt he would like or even look at somebody else in the same way he looks at you, he’s a uchiha and they feel deep, so when he falls, he falls hard, he’s a racional, loyal and busy guy, he wouldn’t even have time for romance outside of his barely there free time that he spends with you >:) so i really don’t think he’s the type to get with someone just because of their appearance or frivolous things like that, he needs the connection, heart, love and trust, so it takes time.

HE’S A JELLY GUY, not overly so, and would never seriously harm someone because of it, BUT HE IS he may not look like it, but if he sees a guy getting too close to comfort with you he’ll pop out of nowhere between you and the man, hugging you from the back and talking with the both of you, hands stroking your sides gently, or just pulling his arm around your shoulders, acting all friendly. You probably don’t even notice he’s actually jealous because he’s too smooth about it (and because you are trying to hide your blush from him).

By the way, you and itachi are friends! he’s a cute kiddo that follows shisui around, and he also has a little shadow following him (lil sasuke) it’s the cutest thing to see Shisui waving at you with a big grin on his face, eyes crinkling with happiness, a little shadow behind him, and a even more tiny figure following behind just like little ducks following their mother lolol.

Eventually shisui would have the guts to finally tell you how he feels, but only after a long while, probably when the whole uchiha fiasco ends (AND IT ENDS WITH EVERYBODY ALIVE) he would be so relieved and happy that his family and the village now are all safe and in peace that he would decide to finally take a step forward and be honest with you, he’d plan everything too, choosing your favorite place and all kinds of things that make you smile awww it would be perfect. You would blush, having at least a suspicion with the way he acts around you, not being able to contain your smile, putting your hands on his cheeks, gently caressing them, his ridiculously long eyelashes brushing against your thumbs as his eyes flutter at your touch, his own cheeks red. When you say “i love you” back, he would be so happy and excited he wouldn’t stop grinning, cheeks almost hurting from how happy he felt, taking you by the waist and spinning you around, the both of you laughing as he does so, just like when you were children, it feels like being home. Time seems to stop as you two gaze at each other, him staring at you with the softest eyes, carefully putting you down on the ground, running his fingers through your hair and saying one more time, “i love you” before his hand travels to your jaw, caressing and tracing the skin there, slowly inching his face closer until you feel his warm breath on your face, brushing his lips lightly against yours, leaving you breathless, fluttering your eyes close, he presses his lips harder against yours as you don’t pull away, sighing and pulling you impossibly close, one hand on your waist softly stroking your skin, the other on the back of your neck, playing with your hair as he finally gets to taste the lips of the girl he longed for all those years.

notes: oh wow that took much longer than i thought it would? what the hell i started to write this at night and now it’s MORNING ughhh i hope you guys like it, we need to keep the shisui simps people alive! happy new years for all of you!

reviews, likes and reblogs are much appreciated! thank you very much!

[atlabeth]

(they all say that) it gets better | luke castellan

bleedin' me dry for context (this is that reader's origin story!!)

summary: a look into your unclaimed year.

a/n: does it still count as fluff if you already know it doesn’t end well? idk but i’m having fun writing for this pair so it’s okay. i hope you guys are enjoying reading them!! this ended up becoming a hell of a lot longer than i thought it would be but these kind of one shots are my faves to write lol

title from teenage dream by olivia rodrigo bc apparently guts teenage angst works very well for a demigod who feels like they're worthless and unwanted for a good period of time!! shoutout to the gods

wc: 11.4k JESUS

warning(s): fem!child of demeter reader. typical anger at the gods, but luke is actually pretty sweet! crazy. mostly hurt/comfort, reader is going through it at the beginning (mentions of injuries and almost dying), honestly she's going through it the whole time but luke is very nice to her lol. barely proofread bc proofing 34 pages is a nightmare !!

It was your first day as a demigod and you were already off to a bad start. 

You didn’t remember much, obviously. There was a lot of stumbling, barely held up by your satyr as you crossed the border, and then full on collapsing. Somehow you managed to stay conscious all the way to the infirmary, enough to hear shocked murmurs from the people-like blobs around you and terrified, whispered affirmations from your satyr as he ran along with whoever was carrying you. 

You didn’t remember much. But you do remember thinking what a shameful existence it would be to die at fourteen. 

And now you were sitting in an uncomfortable cot, staring at the wall and counting divots. The first half of your visit was only there in flashes as you drifted in and out of consciousness, but now, unfortunately, you were fully awake. You belatedly wondered how many other kids began their camp life with a stay at the infirmary. 

The thought was dashed from your head as you jolted and cried out in sudden pain, and you shot daggers with your glare at the boy next to you.  

“Sorry.” The boy fixing you up was about your age, and he almost seemed to glow from within. “You dislocated your shoulder—I was popping it back into place.”

“You could have warned me,” you seethed.

“I did,” he said, and when he placed his hands on your shoulder they actually did glow. “You just weren’t listening.”

“...Sorry,” you said after a moment. “I’m having a rough day.” 

He shook his head with a slight smile. “It’s expected.” 

“It’ll be okay,” your satyr said, and some of the tension left your shoulders as you looked over at Tate. He’d been by your side for the past two weeks of disasters, and you’d saved each other’s lives more times than you could count. You were just thankful he didn’t have to watch you die. “Jace is one of camp’s best healers. You’re in good hands.” 

You nodded, not wanting to cause any more problems, so you bit your lip and bit your tongue and let him heal the rest of your injuries in silence. He was done soon enough, and you could feel both their eyes on you as you rifled through your backpack. Thankfully, Tate brought it in as you were dying. Your own blood stained the nylon. 

“How do you feel?” Tate asked anxiously. 

“Better,” you said, tearing your eyes away from it as you continued making sure all your belongings were still there. “A lot better. Not like there’s much competition.”

Tate chuckled, and Jace picked up a small bag from the bedside table and handed it to you—it looked like there were little pieces of fudge inside. “Here.” 

“What’s this?” you asked as you took it. 

“Ambrosia,” he said. “Wait a few hours before you have a piece, and only have a little if you feel a lot of pain. I already gave you nectar while you were out, and the last thing we need is you burning up.” 

You looked at Tate with raised eyebrows and he smiled a bit. “Ambrosia and nectar are the food of the gods. It heals demigods in small portions, but take too much and you’ll get a fever. Worst case scenario, you’ll literally burn up from the inside.” 

“Oh,” you said, and you stuffed the bag into your pack before zipping it up. “I’ll… I’ll wait.” 

“Probably a good idea,” Jace said, and he looked over at your satyr as he stood up. “I’ve gotta get back to my sword-fighting lessons. Can you give her a tour?” 

He shook his head. “I have to debrief with Chiron and Mr. D. There were some… rough things on the road.” Tate looked at you. “I’ll be back in thirty minutes— are you sure you’ll be okay?” 

“It’s fine,” you said with a smile. “Do your thing. I’ll look around some, then we’ll find each other later.” 

Tate nodded thankfully and went through an open door opposite your bed, and Jace gave you a tight smile as he started to put away all the medical supplies he used on you. You sighed, slung your bag over your shoulder, and walked out. 

You shut the door behind you and blinked rapidly as you tried to adjust to the sunlight. Then, you heard someone sigh. 

“Thank the gods you’re okay.” 

You turned to see a boy standing up from the wall. Dark curls hung just above his eyes, a contrast to his tanned skin, slightly red from exertion. He was wearing the same bright orange shirt that your healer was—Camp Halfblood, it said in curved text. He was far too pretty for his own good. 

“I’m the one who carried you in,” he said, and you realized you were frowning. “Wanted to make sure you were okay.” 

“Oh,” you said. “That’s… that’s nice of you.” 

“It’s been a while since we’ve gotten someone new,” he said. “Even longer since they’ve had such a dramatic entrance.” 

You shrugged. You didn’t exactly know what to say to this boy. “Sorry.” 

He paused for a moment, and then he nodded. “Not one for conversation. That’s fine.” 

“I did almost just die,” you said wryly. “I’m fresh out of icebreakers at the moment.” 

“Maybe I can help with that.” He held out his hand. “Luke Castellan. Head Counselor of the Hermes cabin, and apparent rescuer of damsels.” 

You huffed a laugh as you stared at him. “I’m a damsel?” 

“I’d say you were in as much distress as someone could be back there,” he said with a shrug. “I practically saved your life. I think that deserves a handshake.” 

The slightest bit of tension dissolved from your shoulders and you shook his hand. His smile grew. 

“How are you feeling?” he asked, dropping his hand. “You were pretty rough when I found you.” 

“Better,” you said, though you grimaced a bit as you tested your shoulder, and you decided to switch your pack to your other side. “Whoever that guy in the infirmary is, he’s good.” 

Luke nodded. “Son of Apollo—they’ve got healing abilities. Very useful when we’re all constantly getting injured.” 

Your brows knit together. “So it really is all real.” 

“You were nearly dead on our doorstep, and from those claw marks I’m guessing it wasn’t just a bad fall.” Luke offered a wry smile. “I’m sure you’ve known it’s all real for a while.” 

“Of course,” you said. “It’s just weird to really know that it’s all real. To see all of you, really. Just knowing I’m not alone.” 

He nodded. “That’s the best thing about it, knowing you’re not alone.” He looked around at your surroundings—various campers chatting as they walked with each other (some glancing at you as they went by), distant shouts and cheers, and a perfectly blue sky matching the perfectly blue house you just left. 

“I’d say the worst thing about it is feeling like I still have no idea what’s going on,” you said. “Unless the gods exist just to be deadbeats. That’d be disappointing.” 

Luke actually laughed at that, his eyes crinkling at the corners, and you found yourself smiling a bit. “I can tell we’re gonna get along.” 

Your own smile returned—it was like his joy was infectious. “You think so?” 

“I know so,” he nodded. “Just… try not to throw the gods’ names around like that. They don’t like to be talked about unless they’re being revered.” 

You huffed. “Sounds like an interesting place.” 

“Camp Halfblood,” he provided, and he gestured around you with his hand. “Keeping young heroes safe for over three millennia.” 

“What,” you said wryly, “are you their PR guy?” 

Luke laughed and shook his head. “It’s something Chiron likes to say.”

“You’re the second person to mention Chiron,” you said. “Who exactly is he?” 

“You haven’t gotten a tour yet?” 

You gave him a look. “Come on. You carried me in. You think I could have gotten a tour between then and now?” 

“Fair,” he admitted, and he tilted his head. “I can give you one, if you’re so inclined.” 

“I said I would wait for Tate,” you said. “He’s my satyr— I figure I owe it to him.” 

“C’mon,” Luke said. “He’s meeting Chiron and Mr. D—that’ll take long enough on its own, and if we don’t get out of here soon enough, you’re gonna get dragged into a whole other conversation with them. At least this way, you can get a little bit of downtime before all the lore of this place is dropped on you.” 

You bit your lip, and then you sighed and nodded. “Fine. But it can’t take too long.” 

Luke smiled and held up three fingers. “Halfblood’s honor.” 

-

You didn’t know where to start.

There were far more people than you expected, not nearly enough beds for all of them, and half were talking and a quarter were fighting and the others were just completely unfazed. All you could do when you walked in was stare.

“You get used to it,” Luke said, glancing over at you. “Everyone’s nice, I promise—just keep a hand on your pockets.” 

You frowned. “Why?” 

He gave you a crooked smile. “Hermes is the god of thieves. We learn by experience in this cabin.” 

Your hands instinctively reached back to the pockets of your jeans, despite the fact that you hardly had anything to your name. “Why do they put the new, naive kids in here again?” 

“God of travellers, too—all are welcome.” Luke saw your hand shoot to your pocket and laughed. “Don’t worry. I won’t let anyone mess with you too much—for now, at least.” 

“Oh, good,” you said lightly. “The hazing doesn’t start until later.” 

Luke smiled as he continued to guide you through the cabin, nodding to and greeting campers with equal parts names and handshakes as he walked past them. You got just as many stares as Luke did hellos, and your skin crawled at the attention. 

“Why are they all looking at me?” you whispered to him. 

“Like I said, you’re the first new camper in a while.” Luke glanced at you. “News spreads fast, especially in this wreck of a place.” 

“It’s not that bad,” you said , but your grip tightened on your backpack strap. “Just very busy.”

“That’s what happens when they shove everyone in here,” Luke said. “All are welcome means all are welcome—Hermes kids, unclaimed kids, and kids of minor gods.”

You frowned. “Minor gods don’t have cabins?” 

“This place is as much for us as it is in honor of the gods,” he said. “Twelve cabins for twelve Olympians. They don’t see it as a problem, therefore we can’t see it as a problem.” 

You decided to bite your tongue, but you couldn’t hide your sigh. “I guess I’m gonna be here for the time being.” 

He looked you up and down, and all you could think was that you must look like an absolute disaster. “I’m guessing you fall into the unclaimed.”

Your lips pressed into a thin line, a sad attempt at a smile. “Yeah, but I just got here—I bet my mom doesn’t even know it yet. Gods are busy.”

“They’re also omniscient,” Luke said wryly. “I’m sure she could have claimed you the second you crossed the border. Your parent could’ve given you a little divine intervention and kept you from nearly dying on the hill.”

“Well, I’m here for now,” you said with a bit too much force, and your nails dug into your palms. “So do you mind showing me around?” 

Luke stared at you for a moment before he smiled. “‘Course not. I can also give you a quick tour of camp too, if you haven’t already gotten one.”

You shook your head. “Only the infirmary.”

“If it makes you feel any better,” he said, “you heal up well.”

“I don’t think that’s a credit to me,” you said. “I think it’s whatever magical drink that healer gave me while he was trying to bring me back. Tasted like pecan pie.”

“Nectar,” he said as he started walking, and you followed behind him. “Drink  of the gods that heals demigods in small portions. It tastes like your favorite food—same as ambrosia.” He stopped in an empty corner and looked at you. “You like pecans?”

You shrugged, suddenly self conscious. “My dad makes it the best.”

“I hope you’ll be able to get the real thing soon,” he said, and then he gestured with a flourish at the same empty corner. “Welcome to your new home.”

You stared at him. “This is the floor.”

“We’re a little overbooked,” Luke said sheepishly. “If it makes you feel better, we’ve got sleeping bags. And this is a top tier corner. Quieter than the others.”

“…Great,” you said. “I feel very welcome.”

“I’m sorry.” To his credit, he sounded like he meant it. “Bunch of unclaimed kids, couple kids of minor gods, couple Hermes kids—it all kinda adds up to a mess.”

“...It’ll be better than camping,” you said, though mostly to yourself as you took your bag off your shoulder and let it thud to the ground. 

“Hey,” Luke said, and his voice was softer, “it’ll be okay. With any luck, your parent’ll notice you now that you’re at camp, and you’ll be claimed before you know it.” 

“I hope so,” you murmured. 

“Luke, who’s the new girl?” 

A boy with curls just as good as Luke’s walked up and clapped him on the back, smiling at you in a way that instantly set you at ease. He also wore the orange camp shirt, with long tan sleeves below that he’d pushed up to his forearms. He had kind eyes. 

Luke said your name, his own smirk on his lips as he looked back at you. “You’ve probably heard about her dramatic entrance by now, but she’s the newest resident of the Hermes cabin.”

“Unclaimed or your sibling?” he asked. 

“...Unclaimed,” you said yourself. You hadn’t even been here for more than two hours and it already felt like your own brand of shame.  

He repeated your name with a nod and held out his hand. “I’m Chris,” he said. “Fellow unclaimed kid.”

A little bit less of a scarlet letter, at least. You swallowed your budding insecurity and shook his hand. “Sounds like a shitty club to be in.”

He snorted. “You’re telling me.”

“How— how long has it been?” you asked hesitantly, almost afraid to know the answer. 

His lips pressed into a tight smile. “Couple years.” 

“Gods,” you murmured. You didn’t know if you’d be able to wait that long. It had been hard enough already growing up without one—if your mother was just out of reach after all this time, you would surely lose your mind. 

“Don’t worry,” Chris said, his expression softening a bit. “It won’t take that long for you. I can tell.” 

“That’s what Luke said,” you responded wryly. “Do I give off a vibe that says ‘I’m unwanted, but not for too long’?” 

Luke laughed and shook his head. “I promise, it’s all gonna be okay. I’ve been the counselor here for a couple months—kids get claimed all the time. I bet you’re next on the list.” 

“Maybe,” you said. You didn’t believe it as much as they did—if they did at all. 

You heard the door open and your head automatically turned to the noise, and you felt the heat rush to your cheeks in embarrassment as Tate came through, slightly out of breath. You stared at Luke—he said thirty minutes at least. He just shrugged. 

“I figured you would be here,” Tate said, his chest rising and falling just so as he walked—trotted?—inside. “You didn’t exactly wait.” 

You opened your mouth to speak up, but Luke beat you, already putting on a charming smile. “Sorry. We got to talking, and then I offered to show her around the Hermes cabin. Just so she  could put her things down, y’know.” 

“‘Course,” Tate nodded. “That— that was probably a good idea. Would have been bad if you got lost or something.” 

“I’m sorry,” you said, and you went to pick your bag up. “Luke said you would be talking for a lot longer— I was going to come back after I was done with this.”

Tate shook his head. That nervous energy from the worst parts of the road was back, and you wondered how badly the talk with Chiron and Mr. D went. “No, it was a good idea. Better than you getting lost around camp or caught up with some troublemakers. Thanks, Luke.” 

“‘Course,” he said. 

“Not sure she’s in much better hands with Luke,” Chris said wryly. “He’s head troublemaker in the cabin of troublemakers.” 

Luke just chuckled and shook his head. “It’s her first day. I wouldn’t let anything happen to her.” 

You were only able to glance at Luke for a moment before your attention was drawn back to Tate as he gestured outside with his head. “Chiron’s waiting outside. He wants to talk to you some before the tour.” 

And now you had to deal with it too. “...Great,” you said. You set your bag back on the ground, in your newly coveted corner.  

“It’ll be fine,” Tate promised. “You already went through Hades to get here— he’s not gonna pile on you more. That’s why Mr. D is back at the Big House.” 

This time, you did look at Luke. Thankfully, he understood. 

“Dionysus,” he explained. “He’s our camp director.” 

You blinked. “The god?” 

“Yep,” he nodded. “Punishment from Zeus. Not the worst gig, but he’s… interesting.” 

“Great,” you repeated, because you didn’t feel like processing that at the moment, and you looked back at Tate. “You’ll be with me, right?” 

He nodded. “Not for the talk, but for the tour.” 

You let out a loose breath, because it was going to be fine. He was just the authority figure of the one safe place in the world for you, and you were just an annoying kid that had no idea what the hell was going on. 

“Great,” you said for the third time. You looked back at Luke. “I’ll see you around?” 

He smiled and bowed his head. “Definitely. You do kinda live here indefinitely now.” 

You nodded, more relieved than you wanted to show, and you started following Tate out.

You heard Chris mutter something to Luke, and you turned your head in time to see Luke jab him in the side. His head perked up when you laughed, and his whole expression changed as his smile returned and he did a little wave. 

You couldn’t help but smile back as you did the same, and you left the cabin with a little pep in your step. 

—

“You promise you’ll be safe.” 

“Yes, Tate,” you said with a slight laugh. “The worst is already over—you got me here, and we’re both alive. I’m gonna be fine.” 

“I know,” he said, and he managed his own smile. “I’m just worried about you. You don’t spend two weeks on the road fighting for your life with someone and not get a little attached.” 

“You’ll be back here, right?” you asked. “I know your whole thing as a Protector, but you’ve gotta drop the demigods off too, right?” 

“Of course I’ll be back,” he promised. “It… just might be a while. You’re the third demigod I’ve gotten to camp safely, now—Chiron’s trusting me with a bigger mission. It might be a couple months, but I’ll be back.” 

“And you’re telling me to be safe,” you said wryly. 

“I’ve been doing this for a while,” he said. “You just got here.” 

“I know,” you said, and you pulled him into a hug. “Just don’t get killed out there.” 

Tate laughed and patted you on the back before he pulled away. “So long as you don’t killed out here.” 

“Thanks for everything,” you said with a nod. 

“Thank you,” he said, and he gestured at the pavilion with his head. “Now get over there and make some friends. I’ll see you around.” 

You hugged him one last time before you reluctantly went off, and you looked back to wave him goodbye before you really started on your way. 

Your head still spun with all the information Chiron and Tate had imparted on you—so much about Greek mythology (and how it was all real), ADHD and dyslexia (and how they weren’t just there to make your life harder), your godly parent (who would hopefully claim you within the month) and so much more that you knew you would forget in an hour or two. 

And Chiron’s talk. God, it felt more like you were in the principal’s office than anything, even though he was nothing but kind. You couldn’t help but be overwhelmed from it all, and though the talk was probably meant to stave some of that anxiety off, it really didn’t. 

But you’d always felt out of place all your life. And now you were finally where you were meant to belong—that had to count for something. 

Tate had dropped you off at the pavilion—nearly dying had taken a lot out of you, and it just happened to be lunch—and just as you neared the tables and realized you had no idea where to sit, your eyes were drawn to a boy raising his hand and calling your name. 

You looked over and saw that it was Luke, the counselor from earlier, and you couldn’t help but smile. True to his word. 

You weaved your way through various campers and around tables full of kids to finally stop next to Luke’s table—Chris, the guy from earlier, sat across from him, and they both smiled at you. 

“How’d the tour go?” he asked. 

“Fine,” you said with a nod. “A little overwhelming, but better than I thought.” You pulled at your new camp shirt, the fabric noticeably brighter than a majority of those around you. “I match now, at least.”

“Orange suits you,” Luke remarked, and he patted the open spot next to him. “Sit down—stay for a while.”

You chuckled as you sat down. You still felt out of place, but at least they weren’t going to hang you out to dry. “Bright orange seems like an odd choice when we’re trying to stay hidden.”

“Probably so Chiron doesn’t lose us,” he joked. “This place is huge, and there’s a lot of us. When the newest camper gets turned around in the woods during capture the flag and nearly dies to a monster, it’s easier to find them.”

You frowned, and you must’ve not been very good at hiding your panic because Chris shook his head.

“Luke, you’re scaring her. She’s already been through enough.” 

“Don’t worry,” Luke said, patting you on the shoulder. “Just a little halfblood humor. You’re gonna be fine, I promise.”

“It doesn’t feel that way,” you said wryly. “It feels like I nearly died four hours ago and now I have no idea who anyone is or what to do.”

“Not true,” Chris spoke up, and he smiled. “You know us.”

“I’ll look out for you,” Luke promised. “And pretty soon, you’re gonna be good enough to look out for me.”

You let out a long lasting sigh. “God, I hope so.” 

—

“You’re not holding it right.” 

You adjusted your hold on the hilt, resisting the urge to wipe away the bead of sweat dripping down your forehead and the even stronger urge to hit him. 

“You’re still not holding it right.” 

Your teeth grinded together as you turned to look at Luke. “Are you gonna actually help me, or just stand there judgmentally?” 

“I dunno,” he said. “The weather’s pretty good over here.” 

You groaned and moved your non-dominant hand closer to the pommel, shifting your other down as well. “Is this worthy of your approval, Your Majesty?” 

Luke chuckled as he walked over to you, and you could feel the calluses on his hands as he adjusted your form with slight touches to your arms. “It is acceptable, my lady, but your posture is not.” 

“I don’t know how so many people at this camp like you,” you grumbled. “This is awful, and so are you.” 

He smiled. “You’ve been here for two weeks. Give yourself some grace.” 

“I’ve spent one of those trying and failing at the most basic basics of sword-fighting,” you said. “I spent the past hour losing to an Ares kid who I’m pretty sure actually wanted to kill me.” You looked over at Luke. “Thanks for that, by the way.” 

“Trial by fire,” he supplied. “You’re still alive, so obviously you’re doing something right.” 

“Yeah, probably because you’re here,” you said. “You can’t just kill someone when their counselor’s standing right next to them. It’s bad publicity.” 

Luke huffed a laugh and shook his head as he crossed his arms. “Stop talking down on yourself. You managed to make it here with a couple monster attacks on the way—what’d you use then?” 

“I started off with a screwdriver I stole from the garage before Tate and I left,” you said. “And then I stole a hunting knife from some outdoor store. Not exactly top-tier.” 

“Lotta stealing,” Luke chuckled. “Maybe you are a Hermes kid.” 

“They nearly caught me,” you said. “Definitely not.” 

“Regardless of thievery, you still survived,” he continued. “You’re not a bonafide swordsman, that’s fine. But you’re resourceful, creative—scrappy in a fight is just what we need sometimes.” 

“Great,” you mumbled. “I’m ‘scrappy’.” 

“It’s a compliment,” he promised. “If we were all sword-fighters, we wouldn’t get far. Someone like you is gonna do us a lot of good.” 

“If I don’t die before I even get out to the battlefield.” You knocked the helmet off of one of the straw dummies with your sword and sighed as it clattered to the ground. “This is the only enemy I stand a chance against.”

“You’re thinking too much about it all,” Luke said. “You’re literally wired for battle—didn’t you feel it during your fights on the way to camp?”

You shrugged. You guess you did—you remember not even taking the time to analyze the situation, just knowing your lives were in danger and finally feeling the ever-present jitters in your bones settle for the first time. 

“It was rough,” you finally said. “But… it did feel like I knew what I was doing. Like my body understood it all even when my mind was still a couple steps behind.”

“And that was without training, and with,” Luke huffed an incredulous laugh, “a screwdriver. Just imagine what you’ll be able to do with actual Celestial bronze and actual training.” 

“…I think I remember why people like you,” you said reluctantly. “And why I liked you.” 

Luke grinned as he stood up. “That’s the spirit.” He picked up the fallen helmet and placed it back on the dummy, then looked at you. “I think I’ve put you through enough suffering. Let’s get lunch.”

“So a compliment was all it took for me to get out of this?” you asked in exasperation, gesturing with your sword as you worked to undo the ties on your armor with your other hand. 

“Exactly,” he mused, and he took the sword from you to store it away. “I don’t get nearly enough compliments these days, y’know. Sometimes you end up taking that out on campers that don’t know how to swordfight.” 

“Luke Castellan,” you grumbled as you finally got your breastplate off, “you are a piece of work.” 

He winked. “Thank you.” 

—

You didn’t think you were built for this life. 

It was the only thought running through your head as you sat at a crowded Hermes table, absentmindedly picking at fruit with your fork as you stared off into the distance.

You’d been at Camp Halfblood for a month now, but it had already felt like a lifetime. 

You’d managed to make a few friends—a Demeter girl who grew you a bouquet of your favorite flowers as a consolation prize for fighting dirty during training; an Athena boy who told you whatever interesting fact popped into his head first every time you ran into each other; the Hebe girl who had the misfortune to have the corner opposite you in the Hermes cabin and showed you skincare tips once in a while. 

Throw in a smattering of Hermes and unclaimed kids and a counselor that seemed determined to make you smile, and you weren’t as lonely as you thought you’d be. 

You were learning how to fight in your own way. Luke was right—you weren’t a swordsman, but you were damn good up close and personal. He’d taken you to the camp armory, you found a Celestial bronze dagger that spoke to you, and from then on you’d actually been doing well in training.

Your corner of the Hermes cabin didn’t feel as sad anymore, either. Luke took you to the camp store for retail therapy after you nearly burned your jeans off on the climbing wall, so now you had an AC/DC poster (courtesy of the little money you had) and an I ❤️ NY keychain to attach to your backpack (courtesy of Luke’s idle hands).

You were starting to come into your own, sure. You were doing better in training and making friends in the cabin you were stuck in and starting to get used to burning part of every meal, but the most glaring issue of all still hadn’t been resolved.

You still hadn’t been claimed. 

And maybe it shouldn’t have been such an issue for you, but how could you not feel shitty? How could you see all the different tables and all the different kids talking and smiling and joking with each other that had parents who cared enough to at least claim them, and not feel unworthy?

Because you did. You felt unworthy, and it didn’t matter how many times you took your sparring partner down or bested the climbing wall or actually hit the bullseye at archery practice—your mother didn’t think you were good enough, so neither did you. 

“How’re you doin’, Berkeley?” 

You frowned. You didn’t have to look up to know it was Luke as he sat down next to you. “What?”

“Did you not hear me?” he asked, but you were already shaking your head.

“Berkeley,” you repeated, finally glancing at him. “That’s not my name.”

Luke shrugged. “I dunno what to tell you. You’re unclaimed. UC. University of California—first one I think of for you is Berkeley.”

You were staring now. “You can’t be serious.”

“Oh, I’ve got tons of UCs. I’ve gotta keep track of them all somehow,” Luke said, and he pointed at campers both at your table and walking around as he talked. “That’s LA, Irvine, Davis—the others aren’t here, but you get the gist.” He looked back at you. “Been savin’ Berkeley for someone special.”

“Oh gods,” you said, horrified. “I’ve got to get claimed.”

One of the girls at the table—Irvine?—rolled her eyes as she stood up and flicked Luke on the head. “Be nice,” she said before walking away. All he did was smile.

“Maybe give it to someone else,” you said. “I don’t feel special.”

Luke’s brows creased. “If you don’t like it—”

“It’s fine,” you said. “The name doesn’t bother me. The reason I have it does.”

His eyes softened as he said your actual name. “It’s only been a month. You’ve still got plenty of time.”

You looked across at the Hebe girl you’d become friends with—Marisol, if you remembered right—and hoped that your eyes didn’t show the desperation you felt. “How long did it take for you?” 

She offered a sympathetic smile. “Six months. But it probably won’t be that long for you.” 

“That’s what everyone keeps saying,” you mumbled. But it had been a month, and you hadn’t gotten a single sign. 

“Because it’s true,” Luke urged. “Whoever your mom is will notice you—you’ve been killing it lately.” 

“Really,” you said flatly, “I’ve been killing it.” 

“Yes,” he said. “You don’t know it because you’ve only got your own experience—you went from nearly dead on our doorstep to taking down most of your opponents.” 

“In training,” you said. 

“That still counts!” Luke exclaimed. “Y’know, you’re holding yourself back. You’re incredible, but you’re the only one that seems to not notice it.” 

“And my—” 

“Do not say your mom,” he said, pointing a finger at you. “We’re not talking about the gods right now, we’re talking about you. And you, Bee, are killing it.” 

That gave you pause. “Bee?” 

“I’m trying to get you back up and you focus on the nickname?” Luke asked wryly. 

“Just explain it,” you said. 

“Bee shortened from Berkeley,” he said. “Not fully unclaimed, but still something special.”

God, you hated him. You’d been feeling shitty for a majority of your month here, but he always managed to make you smile.  

“Sure,” you said. 

“And a little annoying,” he added, earning himself a jab in the side as he laughed, “with a bit of a sting.”

“Aren’t you just so clever?” you mused, though you couldn’t help your smile widening.

“It’s in my genes,” he said proudly.

For the rest of a less than exciting lunch, Luke kept you occupied. Whether it was stories of his life before camp, or the couple of months that earned him counselor before you got here, or getting the other campers at the Hermes table to talk about themselves, he made sure you didn’t get a chance to spiral. 

By the end, your face hurt from smiling

As you finished cleaning up, Marisol turned to you.  “Me and a couple other girls were gonna go play volleyball—do you wanna come with us?” 

“Yeah,” you said, and your smile grew. “Yeah, I’d love to. Thanks.” 

“‘Course!” she exclaimed, and she linked arms with you. “I’d be a fool not to get you on my team after you took down Liam yesterday.” 

She continued to talk as she pulled you along, and you looked back at Luke. He chuckled and gave you a thumbs up. “Go get ‘em, Bee!” 

You gave him one back, and as you turned back to Marisol, you found that you couldn’t stop smiling. 

—

It was two in the morning and you couldn’t stop crying.

You finally had a mattress against your back, and however stiff it was, it was better than the floor. A decent amount of kids got claimed over the past month, and half the cabin left after the summer was over, so you finally had the privilege of a bunk—thankfully, Marisol did too, and she was below you. 

At least, until the summer-only campers that all the Hermes kids liked more than you returned. Then it was back to the floor.

Unless you got claimed before then. But that was less likely than being able to muster some good will from your cabin mates. 

Because it was embarrassing, truly. You’d been at camp for four months now, and you hadn’t even gotten a single goddamn peep from whoever your mother might be. You just woke up every day on the floor, moseyed about a camp that still didn’t feel like home, burned offerings to a god that didn't want you, and went back to sleep on the floor. 

And now you were crying in a bed that was barely even yours and it was two in the morning and you were wondering if it would have just been better for you to die on the road to camp the first time, because at least then your mother might have actually paid attention to you. 

“Hey.” 

And now you were really wishing you’d died because you’d woken someone up and they’re just gonna hate you more— 

“Are you okay?” 

You finally turned your head from where it had been buried in a pillow, a laissez-faire attempt to suffocate yourself or maybe just muffle the noise, and you saw Luke Castellan. Counselor of a cabin of thieves, vagabonds, and rejects, and maybe the only person that you didn’t want to see you like this. All that good will, the unearned faith you’d accumulated—this was the easiest way to lose it. His eyebrows were creased, and his whisper held what sounded like concern, but he was required to be concerned. 

You nodded, still not moving, still not speaking. Tears rolled down your cheeks and stained the bed sheet. 

“You’re gonna have to be a little more believable than that, Bee,” Luke murmured. 

“No, I don’t,” you whispered back. 

You got the tiniest huff of a laugh out of him, and he gestured towards the closed door with his head. “Wanna take a second?” 

“It’s past curfew,” you mumbled. 

“And you’re miserable,” Luke said. “You can’t feel any worse getting eaten by harpies than you do now.” 

Still, you stared at him. 

“It’ll be okay,” he promised. “Right outside the cabin. Harpies won’t even know.” 

You rubbed a hand across your face, coming away wet with tears, and you realized that he wasn’t just going to leave you like this. So you got up as quietly as you could, careful not to disturb your bunkmates, and followed Luke. He pushed the door open and shut so quietly you wondered how many times he’s snuck out. 

The cold air was sobering, and you wiped away more tears before wrapping your arms around yourself. Camp Half-Blood was always supposed to have perfect weather, but you guess not even they were immune to November nights. 

“So,” Luke started, and in your peripherals you could see him leaning against the side of the cabin. You could feel his gaze on you, and you just stared off into the distance. 

“So,” you repeated. 

“You wanna tell me why you’re crying in the middle of the night?” he asked. 

“Not really,” you said, because it felt ridiculous that a boy your age was acting like he’s ten years your elder. 

Luke chuckled and tipped his head. “Fair. You want to say anything at all?” 

“I’m sorry for waking you up.” 

He shook his head. “I was already up. I’m a light sleeper.” 

“Seems rough in a cabin like this,” you said. 

“I’ve gotten used to it,” he said. “Did you have a nightmare?”

You frowned, because now it really felt like he was babying you. Luke must have caught on, because he laughed a bit and shook his head.

“Demigods have… extremely vivid dreams,” he said. “Typically horrific nightmares. Sometimes prophetic.”

Your frown deepened. “That’s awful.”

Luke shrugged. “It’s just the way it is. The gods can’t interfere in mortal affairs, so I guess it’s their way of letting us know what’s wrong.”

You shook your head with a sigh. “No nightmares, thankfully. Just… feeling overwhelmed.”

“About what?” he asked. “I told you you’ve been doing great.” 

“It doesn’t matter how many times you say it,” you said wryly. “It doesn’t mean I believe it.” 

“There’s no reason you shouldn’t,” he asserted. 

You huffed a laugh. “It’s been four months, Luke. Four months since I got here after nearly dying in five different states, and I don’t even know who’s responsible for it.” 

“Ah,” Luke said. “The unclaimed thing.” 

“Yeah,” you said wryly. “I guess you could call it that.”

“Sorry,” he said, and he shook his head. “It’s a bigger deal than that, I know.” 

“Maybe it isn’t,” you said. “There’s at least six other kids in there dealing with the same thing as I am, and none of them are waking up their counselor in the middle of the night with their tears.”

“Don’t talk about yourself like that,” Luke said with surprising conviction. “Like your feelings aren’t valid. Because they are.” 

You crossed your arms. “Doesn’t seem like it.” 

“They are,” he insisted. “A— and you’re not bothering me. We’re friends, and we help each other. I care about you, y’know.” 

“I never said I was bothering you,” you said wryly. 

“You thought it,” Luke said. “I know you did.” 

“...Maybe.” You sighed and shook your head as you looked out at the stars. They really were beautiful here. “I just can’t help but be bitter about all this, and I feel so shitty about it.” 

“Would it make you feel better to know you’re not the only one that thinks that?” he asked. 

“A little, yeah.” You glanced at him. “No one else seems too bothered that their parents are never around.” 

“Most of them have accepted that it’s just the way it is,” he said. “Doesn’t mean you have to.” 

“Have you?” 

Luke sighed after a moment of reluctance. “I… I have a complicated relationship with my dad because he was around. It was almost… worse to know him, and then to have him leave.” 

“It’s better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all,” you quoted. 

“I don’t know about that,” Luke murmured. “But it certainly helps to talk about it.” 

You glanced over to see him gazing off into the distance, a look in his eye that you couldn’t quite place. This was the most he’d ever talked about his past to you, you realized—and it still wasn’t much. 

“When were you claimed?” you asked after a moment of contemplation.

Luke shrugged. “I never really had to be. Hermes stayed with my mom for a year after I was born, and she told me who he was when I was a little older. I’ve known basically my whole life—he had no reason not to claim me as soon as I got to camp.”

“So you’re saying my dad could be keeping secrets from me too,” you said. 

“He might not know,” Luke said. “A lot of times, they don’t talk about it. Sometimes, we don’t find out until a monster’s trying to kill us on a field trip.” 

You huffed. “What a great existence we’ve been blessed with.” 

Luke smiled, though it was tighter than usual. He let out a deep breath, then fully turned to you. 

“Do you have your dagger with you?”

You frowned. “It’s under my pillow. Why?” 

“Under your—” Luke stared for a moment before he laughed and shook his head. “A little paranoid?” 

You shrugged. “You said it yourself. You’re a cabin of thieves.” 

“True,” he admitted. “How’d you like to get some of this emotion out?” 

“We’re sneaking out even more?” 

“It’ll be fine,” Luke promised. 

“You always say that,” you said. “Eventually, it’s not gonna be true.” 

He laughed and gestured at the door. “Get your dagger. We’re gonna make this a very bad night for some mannequins.” 

-

“Maybe this wasn’t a good idea.” 

You huffed as you ripped your dagger out of the dummy, a few strands of straw coming out of the new hole you’d torn in its forehead, and wiped the sweat off your forehead. “Are you kidding? This was a great idea.” 

“Not this part,” he said. “The ‘being alone with you during a rage’ part.” 

“I’m not in a rage,” you muttered as you slashed at the breastplate, “I’m blowing off steam.” 

Luke hummed. “And you thought you weren’t a good fighter.” 

You stabbed at the armor again then rammed your fist into its head, and you took a step back as the mannequin thudded to the ground. “I guess I just need to think about my mom before I go into battle.” 

“Y’know, Bee,” Luke said, “you scare me sometimes.” 

You shook your head, wiping your blade on your night shirt to get any debris off as you turned around. “You’re really gonna stick with that?” 

“I told you I’d stop if you didn’t like it.” 

“It’s not that. I just…” You sighed and shook your head again. “It doesn’t matter.” 

“Of course it does.” Luke crossed his arms. “Everything you have to say matters.” 

“Not if I say it doesn’t,” you countered, and you looked at him. “Who do you think it could be?” 

“Your parent?” he asked. You nodded. 

“Definitely not Apollo,” Luke said. “You’re way too dreary to be a kid of the god of the sun.”

“Gee,” you said dryly, “thanks.” 

Luke shrugged. “You asked.” 

“Well— who else?” You picked the dummy back up and dusted the armor off. “Athena, maybe? I’m smart.” 

“Not smart enough to not be out past curfew with me,” he said. 

“You suggested this,” you scoffed. “And I definitely needed it. If we get caught, I’m blaming you.” 

“And why do you think that would work?” he asked, amused. 

“You’re the camp’s golden boy,” you said. “I doubt you’d get in much trouble.” 

“Sure, sure,” he said, nodding. “Or you just think I’m good enough to talk my way out of it.” 

You tilted your head. “That too.”

“I never thought Ares before,” Luke chuckled, “but after all this, I think you might have it in you.” 

“God, I hope not. Priya hates me.” 

“She doesn’t hate you,” Luke said. “She just tried to kill you that one time.” 

“And that other time during capture the flag,” you said. “She’s out for blood, Luke.” 

He chuckled and shook his head. “She always is. She’s probably already moved onto her next victim.” 

“I hope so.” 

“Maybe Aphrodite?” he suggested. “You’re awfully pretty.” 

You rolled your eyes. “Flattery will get you nowhere.”

“It’s not flattery if it’s true,” Luke corrected. 

You huffed a laugh but couldn’t help the slightest smile as you shook your head. “It’s not Tyche, at least. I have the worst luck.” 

“Maybe you’re a Big Three kid,” he said. “How do you feel about the sky?” 

“I like it,” you said. 

“The ocean?” 

“Not so much.” 

“And the darkness?” 

You huffed a dry laugh. “I’m not a Big Three kid, Luke. Even I know that.” 

“No, you don’t,” he said. “You can never know for sure until you’re claimed.” 

“If I was, I would be the biggest disappointment,” you said, looking at your reflection in your dagger. “Breaking their pact for a kid that can barely fight.” 

“Why do you always do that?” 

Luke’s voice had lost the joking edge from before, and when you glanced over at him, he was frowning.

“Do what?” 

“You always put yourself down,” he said. “You don’t even give yourself a chance to believe that you’ll be great, or that you’ll succeed—you’re just a coward, or a failure, or worthless at the first bump in the road.” 

“Luke—” 

“No,” he said, shaking his head. “I need you to understand that you are so, so much more than whatever that shitty voice in your head says.”

You went silent. Any words you could have even said stuck in your throat. 

“This is not an easy life,” Luke asserted. “We’re thrown into an ocean before we know how to swim, and we have to find the shore all on our own or die trying. We—” he laughed, but there was no heart in it— “we’ve got our parents above us that could guide us, could save us, but most of the time they refuse to even acknowledge us. And we’ve got every single goddamn obstacle in the way trying to kill us.”

He inclined his head towards you. “But in spite of all that, you’re alive. You’re still here. You’re pushing through everything in your path, and you are still fucking here. Do you get that?”

“…I’m still here,” you repeated, and your hands clenched into fists. It had never felt more right to have your dagger in your hand. 

Luke nodded resolutely. “And you’ve got a couple lifeboats to help along the way.”

“You mean it?” Your voice came out softer than you thought, in stark contrast to the stiffness of your bones, but you felt like a kid all over again. 

“With all my heart,” he promised. “For as long as you’re here, I’ll be here.” 

Your throat tightened, and the telltale beginnings of tears pricked behind your eyes. This time, when you spoke, your voice was little more than a whisper. “Thank you.”

“Always,” he said. “And I mean that.”

You nodded, maybe a few too many times, and cleared your throat as you looked back at your dagger. “It’s late. We should get back before we actually get in trouble.”

Luke nodded too, and he helped you move the dummy back into place. You hated how your heart jumped into your throat when your hands brushed for the barest moment, but thankfully, he didn’t seem to notice. 

“Thank you for this.” You played with your hands as Luke finished putting everything else away—extra insurance to make sure no one knew you were here—and only managed to make eye contact just as he looked at you. “It… it really helped.” More than he knew, you were sure. 

Luke smiled, and he offered you his arm. “Always.”

You took it, ignoring the heat in your cheeks. “Just… don’t tell anyone about the crying.”

He chuckled as you started walking together. “After the way you’ve been handling that dagger? I’d be a fool.“

-

“Luke,” you groaned, “this is awful.” 

“You were the one who said you wanted to spend time with me,” he said, giving you a crooked smile. “Spending time with me after the worst cabin inspection ever means cleaning the place head to toe for our next one.” 

“Is skipping dinner really worth it though?” you asked as you scooped up a pile of dirty clothes and tossed it into the basket between you two. 

“It’s the only time this place is completely empty,” he said. “I told you I could handle it alone—you’re the one that insisted on helping.” 

“Maybe I do want to be a Big Three kid,” you grumbled. “At least I’d only be cleaning up my own mess.” 

“You’d also have the wrath of the gods and every monster in the world to deal with,” he said. 

You shook your head. “A small price to pay for a clean cabin.” 

“And then you wouldn’t get to see me when you wake up every day,” he mused. “A much bigger price to pay.” 

You huffed as you dropped to your knees, reaching under a bed to grab a stray camp tee. “Keep talking, pretty boy. It won’t clean the floors.” 

Luke grinned. “You think I’m pretty?” 

“I think you’ve got the messiest cabin in the world,” you said. “We’ve gotten the lowest rating every day for the past two weeks. I’ve been here for seven months now, and I don’t think we’ve ever gotten a full five.” 

“Which is why you’re helping me!” he said. “Because you’re as sick of scrubbing the pegasi stables as I am.” 

“You’re the counselor here!” you exclaimed. “You’ve gotta whip your siblings into shape.” 

Luke gestured at you. “You’re basically my co-counselor. It’s just as much your responsibility.” 

“And just what makes you think that?” you marveled. 

“You’re the person in the cabin I like the most,” he said, “and we spend a lot of time together. That’s enough to make you my partner.” 

“My stuff is always clean,” you said. “It’s you and the rest of the Hermes kids that’ve gotten us stuck in the stables and the kitchens every afternoon. Not me.”

You started remaking the unmade bed—would it kill any of the Hermes kids to make theirs right after they got up?—and shook your head. “It’s just not fair. Aphrodite’s cabin is basically Barbie’s Dreamhouse, and Demeter kids can grow plants to make it all pretty. We’ve just got a cabin of slobs.” 

“Yeah, yeah,” he said, but when you glanced at him, you saw he was smiling. “It’ll all be fine.” 

“You always say that.” You got the fitted sheet into all the corners then looked at him full-on. “Even when it’s not about something as stupid as laundry. How do you know?” 

Luke shrugged as he nudged a ladder to a top bunk back into place. “I don’t. I just hope for the best.” 

“How do you do that?” you asked. “How does anyone here do that? I feel like I’m the most pessimistic person here.” 

“Every single one of us is an anomaly,” Luke said. “Freaks of nature. By all accounts of logic, we shouldn’t exist. But we do. All of mythology does. And when we have to literally fight for our lives for every single day, it doesn’t do much good to sweat the small stuff.”

“All I do is sweat the small stuff,” you grumbled, and you stretched your back out before you continued. “D’you think they’ll get annoyed that we just pooled all their laundry together again?” 

“Nah,” Luke said. “If they didn’t want to have to pick all their stuff out after we so graciously do the laundry for them, they would keep their things clean in the first place.” 

You chuckled and shook your head as you finished laying out the sorry excuse for a comforter—it would end up on the floor five seconds into the night, but Sisyphus and the boulder and all that—and sat down on the fruits of your labor. “I think this mess is the one thing I won’t miss when I get claimed.” 

“You’re not as down about that as you used to be,” Luke noted.

“You know how they say a watched pot never boils?” 

He actually laughed at that as he leaned against a bed post. “If you don’t care, you’ll get claimed faster?” 

You shrugged. “Nothing else has worked. And like you said—don’t sweat the small stuff, right?” 

“Like you said— all you do is sweat the small stuff.” 

“Maybe I’m gonna try and turn over a new leaf,” you mused.

“I think that would be good for you,” he said. “You’ve been happier lately. It’s good to see you happy.” 

“You’ve been watching?” you asked wryly. 

Luke smiled. “You know I always am.” 

You ignored the warmth stirring in your chest as you shrugged. “I’ve spent way too much time this year being sad over things I can’t control. Might as well start focusing on the things I can.” 

“And to think,” he mused, “this is the same girl that wanted nothing to do with me when we first talked.” 

“Oh, please,” you said dryly, “I’ve always wanted something to do with you.” 

“And you still understand that flattery gets you everywhere,” Luke said with a grin. He pushed himself up and held out his hand. “C’mon—this place is clean enough. I think if we run, we can still make dinner.” 

“Think we’ll get in trouble for partially skipping?” you asked as you stood up and took his hand, swinging your intertwined hands a bit as you walked together. 

Luke chuckled as he pushed the door open and you walked out. “After the work we did here? We should be hailed as saints.”  

-

“Luke,” you whispered. 

His eyes shot wide open as he jolted up, and you had to stifle your laugh at his bewildered expression before he realized it was you. 

He said your name groggily, rubbing his eyes as he kept himself propped up with his other arm. “What d’you need?” 

“The stars,” you said. “They’re beautiful tonight.” 

“So are you,” he mumbled. “You don’t see me waking you up in the middle of the night to tell you that.” 

“Luke,” you said, but you couldn’t help your smile. “On topic.” 

“The stars,” he said, barely nodding in his addled state. “Good for them. I’m going back to sleep now.” 

“No, Luke—” you laughed softly and took his hand. “Come stargazing with me.” 

He closed his eyes, but he didn’t take his hand away. “You’re insane.” 

“Please,” you said. “I could never see the stars at home, not like this. They’re brighter than I’ve ever seen.” 

“It’s so late,” he complained. “Can we do it in the morning?” 

“Do you know what stargazing is?” you asked, amused. 

“Hey, lovebirds.” The annoyed, tired voice of a camper rang out as they hit the wall. “Take it outside so we can sleep.” 

Again, you had to bite back a laugh. Luke looked like he was holding back a groan, but he got up anyway, rubbing the grogginess out of his eyes. You moved to the door as quietly as possible, and you waited until he joined you on the small porch. 

“Thank you,” you said, hearing the door close, “and sorry.” 

“Yeah, yeah.” Luke covered up his yawn as he held a jacket out for you. “Put this on. I’m not gonna be responsible for you getting a cold because you want to stargaze in February.” 

Your eyebrows rose as you took it. “Is this yours?” 

“Don’t think too much into it,” he said, but he had the slightest smile on his lips. “You wanna see the stars, right? Let’s see ‘em.” 

“Not here,” you said, shaking your head as you zipped up the maroon hoodie. You held out your hand once you finished. “Do you trust me?” 

“Oh, gods,” he muttered, running a hand through his messy hair. “We’re doing a trust exercise too?” 

“I’ll take that as a yes,” you remarked. You took his hand and started dragging him along, a clear spot in mind. 

“You’re kidding me,” he said in exasperation. “I thought we were just gonna look at the sky for a couple minutes— you’re taking me to a second destination?”  

“Hey,” you said, “don’t sweat the small stuff.” 

“Oh, I can’t wait to use that on the harpies when they catch us and eat us,” Luke said offhandedly. “‘I’m sorry, ma’am—we’re really trying not to sweat the small stuff.’” 

You laughed as you continued on your way, and out of the corner of your eye you could see Luke smiling too, despite himself. Suddenly, though, his grip tightened on your hand and he pulled you behind one of the thicker columns of the pavilion. 

“Wh—” 

He shook his head then gestured with it to the other side of the pavilion. One of the harpies—Aello, if you remembered correctly from Chris’s rant the past week about cleaning dishes—was walking past, muttering things to herself. 

“Speak of the devil,” you marveled. You definitely weren’t a child of Tyche. 

Luke gave you a look that quite clearly said be quiet, and for some reason that only made you want to laugh more. He must have seen that glint in your eye that he’d grown used to, because he placed his hand over your mouth right before the dam was about to burst. 

You squeezed his hand tight as you tried to keep yourself from blowing your cover while Luke occupied himself with actually watching to make sure your path would clear. You were pressed right up against each other, and even through the jacket, even in the cold, you could feel his body warmth. He did say he ran hot.

Eventually, Luke let out a labored sigh and let his hand drop, and you wheezed, nearly doubling over. 

“There is something wrong with you,” he said. He was barely able to hold back his own amusement.  

“Oh my god,” you breathed, “that was awful.” 

“That was your fault!” he exclaimed. 

“How was it my fault?” you argued. “You’re the counselor here—you’re meant to be the responsible one!” 

“I was being responsible!” Luke laughed again as he ran his hand through his hair then used it to gesture at you. “You were the one that nearly got us caught—you were the one who wanted to be out here in the first place!”

 “Right,” you said, pointing your finger, “we gotta get to the beach.” 

“Stargazing on the beach,” Luke marveled. “Definitely worth nearly getting eaten.” 

“Oh, shut up,” you said as you continued to pull him along. “You could’ve said no.” 

He squeezed your hand for a moment. “We both know I can never say no to you.” 

Once you got to the beach you let go of his hand and laid down, taking care not to get sand in your sneakers. Luke sat down next to you but stayed up, watching the tide go in and out. 

At night, without a hundred campers running around making all the noise they can, you actually felt like you could breathe. 

“It’s nice, isn’t it?” It almost felt wrong to break the sacred silence, to insert yourself in the ambiance of nature working together in all its glory. 

“Yeah.” Luke’s voice was softer than usual, that rough edge you’d grown used to absent in the face of calmer seas. “Yeah. It’s…” 

“Serene,” you suggested. 

“Beautiful,” he said. When you glanced at him, he was already looking at you. 

“Very smooth,” you said wryly. “Now stop flirting and look at the stars.” 

Luke chuckled lightly as he let himself fall back. His hand bumped yours as he adjusted his position, and your breath caught in your throat for the barest moment. You moved it away. 

The two of you laid there together in silence gazing at the stars for what felt like forever. The gentle waves coming to shore then leaving, the scattering of sand from quiet winds, and not a single angry car horn or police siren. 

You missed home, the city. You were headstrong in your belief that Detroit was better than New York. But gods—sometimes, you just couldn’t beat camp. 

You didn’t know what possessed you to break the silence. But something had been tugging at you since the moment you laid down on the beach, and so you did. 

“Can I tell you a secret?” 

Luke didn’t miss a beat. “Always.” 

“I…” you trailed off for a moment, but you bolstered yourself. “I’m scared of what comes next.” 

You heard Luke shift in the sand and felt his eyes on you. “What do you mean?” 

“After this,” you said. “The honeymoon phase of being a demigod.” 

He huffed a laugh. “I wouldn’t say we have a honeymoon phase.” 

“You know what I mean.” A shiver went down your spine and you put your arms on your chest. Like a coffin. “I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop.” 

“I think you need to stop getting up in the middle of the night,” he said. “It seems you have all your existential crises then.” 

You exhaled out your nose, a sorry excuse for a laugh. “I’ve heard about quests—how they can happen for no reason except a god’s will, to— to prove that you’re worthy. And all I can think about is that my mother will never claim me until I prove I’m worthy or die trying.” 

Luke was silent. You could feel your throat closing up, the threatened onslaught of tears. You blinked them back. 

“All my life, I have never felt seen,” you murmured. “And I’m terrified that the only way I will be seen is when I die.”

“Look at me.” 

You turned your head—Luke’s eyes were piercing in the moonlight. 

“I don’t care what anyone says, especially that voice in your head—you’re worth everything and more,” he said. “And you are worth so much more than becoming a martyr for a god’s approval.” 

“I wish you could tell my mom that,” you mumbled. 

“I would march right up to Olympus and say it to her face,” he said. “And if it bothers her that much, she can smite me right now.” 

That got a breathy laugh out of you from the pure absurdity. Luke’s eyes flicked to the sky as he waited, and when he didn’t instantly die a horrific death, his gaze went back to you. 

“I see you,” Luke promised, his voice low. “And I’ll make everyone see you the way I do. I swear it.” 

You were starstruck. You couldn’t look away from him, from the determination etched into each detail of his face, the softness in his eyes directed wholly at you—the fact that he was here at all in the first place at an unholy hour just because you asked. 

Oh gods. You were in trouble. 

“It’s late.” You finally managed to break the spell that held you under. “We should go.” 

“Yeah.” Luke made no motion to move, still focused wholly on you. 

“Luke,” you whispered. 

You could have sworn his eyes moved down to your lips, but he was sitting up so quickly that you knew you must have imagined it. You cleared your throat as you followed suit, brushing the sand off your—his— jacket. 

“This was nice,” he said after a moment. “...Thanks for waking me up.” 

“Of course,” you said. “There’s… there’s no one else I would’ve wanted to share it with.” 

Luke smiled, and you didn’t think he’d ever looked more beautiful than he did now, awash in the silver moonlight. If you were braver, you would have taken his hand again. You would’ve done what the voice in your head desperately wanted to do—had wanted to do for the past two months.  

But you didn’t. 

“I guess it was worth nearly getting eaten, huh?”

“Yeah,” he said, and he shrugged. “But most things are worth it when it comes to you.” 

You nearly melted right there, and it was a credit to your strength that you didn’t say anything horrifically stupid. Instead, you put on a smile, hoped he couldn’t see how much he was killing you, and started back up on the path. 

“C’mon,” you said. “Before we end up having to clean the entire camp for breaking curfew.” 

“Whatever you say,” he mused. 

-

You groaned as you slumped into your usual spot at the Hermes table. You heard Luke laugh, and you felt his eyes on you as you put your head in your arms.

“What’s got you so down?”

“I’ve been fifteen for three days and I already feel like an old woman,” you said. “Everything still hurts.”

“Capture the flag was meant to be a birthday gift,” Luke said wryly. “And we did win.”

“That doesn’t mean anything,” you grumbled. “I swear, some people went after me on purpose just because it was my birthday. I’ve got bruises all over.”

“You know, we have an infirmary for a reason.” 

“They’re battle wounds,” you said. You picked up your head just to take your goblet. “Lemonade. Actually, pink lemonade.” You took a sip, but even that didn’t make you feel better. You buried your head back in your arms with a rough sigh. “Signs of our victory.”

Luke huffed a laugh. “Sometimes I really don’t…”

He trailed off suddenly, and you heard a collective gasp go up at the table.

“What?” you asked halfheartedly. 

“You— you’re—” 

You didn’t know why he couldn’t finish his sentence. You picked your head up to see Luke’s face awash in golden light, his eyes wide. Everyone else at the Hermes cabin was just as awestruck, and Marisol fumbled around in her purse until she pulled out her compact. She opened her foundation, the mirror pointing at you, and you realized why.

A glowing, golden, translucent sickle with a few sheaths of wheat floated above your head. You frowned.

Before you had the chance to say anything, Luke was yelling your name and tackling you in a hug. You let out a grunt of surprise as you barely managed to brace yourself, and when he pulled away he was smiling wider than you’d ever seen.

“You’re claimed!” he exclaimed, his hands gripping your shoulders. “You— you’re finally claimed!”

“Demeter,” you said, almost absentmindedly. It still hadn’t quite hit you. 

“Demeter,” he repeated, nodding rapidly, that gigantic smile seeming like a permanent feature at this point. “I told you everyone would see you— I told you we would make them see you the way I do!”

The rest of the table was chattering away, and you could feel Chris patting you on the back and saying words that went in one ear and out the other. The rest of the pavilion was starting to catch word, and you could see a couple kids from a table on the opposite end standing up and craning to see. Maybe your new siblings. 

(You should be happy.)

Your new siblings. 

…Your new cabin.

You could still barely think, like there was static in your brain. Luke’s hands on your shoulders were the only thing grounding you. 

(You should be ecstatic.)

A year of tears, silent prayers, and apathetic resolution had finally come to a close, just days after your fifteenth. 

(Why are you not smiling?)

You’d been claimed. But you didn’t think you’d ever felt more lost. 

[morallygreyyn]

Hey!! Could you do some hcs for the hxh boys having hanahaki disease for the reader? You can decide whether they get a happy end where they confess and the reader realizes feelings for them or no :p

hanahaki disease with the hxh boys (hisoka, kurapika, illumi headcanons)

authors note: omgggg i've always been obsessed with this myth but i completely forgot about it until you reminded me anon! i'm so happy i got a request for this! i chose happy endings bc who doesn't want a happy ending with our favourite boys?

the surgery to remove the disease doesn’t exist in these headcanons bc i couldn’t be arsed to write about it

live or die by the disease bitch there is no other option

warnings: mentions of death, blood

read part two here!

requests are open!

hisoka had known you for a long time

you were close confidants, and dare i say it, best friends

he admired your strength, how you never failed to join in on his chaos, and fire back at him whenever he made a quip

with how well you two got along, it was only a matter of time before he coughed up the first petal

he knew immediately what was happening, he was a man cultured in myths and legends after all

he was more shocked at the realisation that he loved you more than the fact that he just coughed up a flower petal

and you didn't love him back

he couldn't blame you, even though you liked to fool around with each other, you had never been serious with your flings and it was strictly no strings attached

well now it was apparent that there were strings

the magician couldn't pinpoint the moment he had fallen for you, he supposed it was a gradual thing

but one thing was for absolute certain, he was in love

and he was dying because of it

hisoka is a man of mystery and many secrets but this...

this he would probably tell you about after a while of mulling it over

during this period, his coughing got worse until eventually he couldn't take it anymore

he would go straight to you, letting himself into your house as he usually did

hisoka could feel the pain in his lungs when you looked at him and smiled

he would suppress the coughs as best as he could while he figured out a way to tell you

i feel like his confession would go one of two ways

either he would be outright and serious for once

or he'd make a performance out of his dying body

let's explore the serious option first

you, having caught onto the fact that something was very wrong, took your friend’s hand which only made his coughing worse. "what's going on hisoka? you never get sick."

he laughed dryly. "it would appear that I'm in love with you."

you didn't believe him of course. "you're joking."

hisoka coughs into his hand, revealing petals tainted with blood. "does this look like a joke to you?"

OR the performance option

"it would appear I'm in love with you." he coughed into his hand and threw the contents in the air, several flower petals soaked in blood rained down on your head. "surprise."

it doesn't matter which option he chooses, you're still frozen in shock

"i thought it was just a myth." you stared at the bloody petals in horror

"me too."

the room fell silent, hisoka wondering what his fate would be based on your response

i can’t see him as a person who cares whether he lives or whether he dies

i can see him just sitting there on your couch, staring with bored fascination at your living room while he waited for you to drop the guillotine over his head

his lungs and throat were writhing in pain, but hisoka was never one to be put off by this

what he didn’t expect was for you to then turn to him, grinning

“i love you too.”

his face drops

“yeah, i love you too hisoka.”

hisoka would’ve been amused by how quickly the weight on his chest dissipated if it weren’t for his shock

however it didn’t take long from him to recover from this and he swoops you into an embrace

which of course leads to more

and oh boy hisoka was never happier to be alive

would 100% not tell you

the second the first petal fell from his lips, he knew immediately that it was you

he also knew that he could never tell you

you didn’t love him back and he didn’t want to make you feel bad about that fact

how could he not love you though? you were his biggest source of joy and the one he cared for most in this world

his would hide the disease from you for as long as possible, smothering his coughs with great effort

the longer he did this, the worse it got

he knew he was going to die and he accepted that fact

he didn’t want to die, but he knew he could never tell you 

kurapika would try and avoid you towards the end

dodging your calls and skipping on meeting up with you until eventually he stopped contact altogether

you, extremely worried about your friend, went to go visit him unannounced

letting yourself inside, your heart dropped in horror at seeing him 

kurapika looked like a ghost

his face was hollow, lips chapped and stained red

he would insist he was fine, even though he clearly he wasn’t

eventually he wouldn’t be able to hide it anymore, launching into an extreme coughing fit, him throwing up petals, whole flowers and blood 

having heard of the disease before, you could only ask who he loved and who didn’t love him back

this time, he looked you directly in the eyes. “you.”

cue your shock and horror

kurapika had to avert his gaze, he didn’t want to see your disappointment in his final moments

he hated himself enough for having these feelings but he didn’t want to see you hate him too

his lungs were more branches and flowers than tissue at this point

the kurta was just about to get up and leave when your voice stopped him

“wait.”

he waits

“you have this disease because you love me and you think it’s unrequited, correct?”

“yes.” he didn’t want to add that he didn’t just think it was unrequited

“what if it wasn’t unrequited?”

“then i wouldn’t be dying.”

“then i don’t understand.” you shook your head, suppressing a smile. “because i love you too.”

he stops

kurapika literally stops working

his brain shuts down and his body comes to a complete standstill and he just stares at you in shock

you feel the need to confirm it for him. “i love you too kurapika.”

he couldn’t hold himself back anymore

regardless of his sick body, he rushes to you and pulls you into the tightest hug

his chest clears, feeling light and unrestrained

he kisses you and kurapika can finally breathe again

this boy is so damn confused when coughs, and then even more confused when he sees a petal in his hand

what on earth is happening to him?

doesn’t even realise he’s in love

it takes him a couple of days and a couple more instances of coughing up flowers for him to realise something was wrong with him

a quick internet search yields the results he was looking for 

cue more confusion

unrequited love was the cause?

would think long and hard about who in his life he could have these impossible feelings for

then his thoughts eventually arrived on you

and when they did, he couldn’t stop thinking about you

so he loved you? why? what was the reason? when did this happen?

many many questions were circulating through that beautiful head of his

reading further about the disease, he realised that the disease would only go away if you loved him too

if not, he would die

not one to be scared by death, he decided on not telling you

why would he? it was pointless anyway if he was going to die

doesn’t even consider the chance that you might love him back

takes the unrequited part as fact and sticks with it

illumi is a tough boy so it takes ages for him to finally be run down by the disease

is a master at hiding his coughs

he has a reputation to uphold after all

he even keeps it from his family, determined to take his shame to his grave

would honestly have to be on the brink of dying for him to show that he’s suffering with the hanahaki disease

luckily you like to meet up with illumi very frequently and you had become quite attuine to his stoic attitude and personality

to the point where you could pick up the most minuscule of differences in his behaviour

it didn’t take you long to realise something was wrong with your friend but no matter how hard you pushed, he would shoot you down

cue you becoming the best investigator the world has ever seen

it started when, after illumi had left the bar, there was a single bloodied petal sitting in his place

you took the petal back home and began researching

it took you a while but you eventually found out about the hanahaki disease though you couldn’t believe that this was what illumi was struggling with so you kept searching

however your search was in vein and all you had to go on was a myth about unrequited love

so the next time you met up with illumi, you kept an even closer eye on him

watching the subtle ways in which he would suppress what would normally be very painful coughs

the way his lips seemed a bit more chapped and red than normal

the way his already pale skin became more translucent

you had to face the facts, illumi was suffering with unrequited love

and it was killing him

you couldn’t bear the thought of losing illumi

but who on earth was he in love with? and how could you convince them to save his life?

realistically you knew there wasn’t much you could do

but out of desperation, you confronted him about it

“when were you going to tell me about your hanahaki disease?”

“i wasn’t.”

“have you told anyone?”

“no.”

you weren’t one to be easily frustrated, but for some reason you couldn’t watch him throw away his life so easily

in a fit of despair, you blurted. “please find some way to fix it, i can’t bear the thought of losing you.”

“why?”

you didn’t think about your words before you said them. “because i love you.”

he froze

you kept going, putting your own feelings to the side in an effort to save the man stock-still before you. “and it’s because i love you that i’m scared of you dying, so please just find whoever it is and confess to them. i’m sure they like you back if they’ve got the great illumi zoldyck dying for them.”

it was then that you noticed his expression

you would almost say he looked relieved? but surely you had seen wrong

it was illumi after all

“ah, it’s gone now.” he somehow sounded much better than a couple of minutes ago

“gone? how can it be gone whe-” it didn’t take you long for you to realise what had happened

illumi looked at you expectantly

“you love me?” you asked in a small voice, afraid that this was a bad joke even though you knew illumi was practically incapable of making them

“evidently.”

needless to say that that was the start of a wonderful relationship that even illumi couldn’t have imagined happening

but he wasn’t complaining

not in the slightest

[dontbesoweirdkira]

Vito going from annoyed to loving your stay in his apartement and starting treating you with his wife, his obsessive tendency on the first few was very subtle toward you but it's getting more apparent by holding your hand when going out and beat up punk that disrespected you. One of his most fearful moment is for one day you just go back to your own timeline leaving him all alone

A/N: Ugh your minddddd!! Sorry this took a few days, I got a little busy. Using a prompt from the Yandere prompt list hehehe

44. “Leaving me and going back home is all you think about, isn’t it? Always dreaming about it, always thinking about it?”

Warnings: abuse, manipulation, being held hostage,violence, slight SA and happy sunshine rainbows!!

Requests: Open 24/7

Masterlist

As much flack as Vito had originally given you, he’s so attached to you now.

Vito definitely is the kind of Yandere who pretends like he’s not completely obsessed with you but is actually dying for your attention.

Tsundere I believe it’s called? Yeah. That’s him.

It’s been nice having you around the house. You make him meals, help out with laundry, cleaning, and even patch him up when he comes home hurt. Not to mention very caring and understanding. You check off all the boxes his mama told him to look for in a wife, why would he ever let you go?

Besides, ever since you told him that he’d end up old and alone, he’s been on the hunt to find his perfect wife.

Apparently that perfect someone is you.

Now you were simply doing all of these things as an exchange for him letting you stay while you worked on a plan to get back home. Not because you were trying out to be his housewife.

Vito is from another time period, for him, if you're basically functioning like a married couple then you are one.

All you need now is a ring and his last name.

You didn’t pay attention to his little gestures at first. Him opening the door for you, paying for you and being protective were all chivalrous gestures most men in the 50’s would’ve done anyways. He never made it a big deal or overstepped a boundary so it didn’t really rub you wrong.

Of course Joe would tease you about Vito being completely smitten over you but it never really appeared so. Also who really pays that man any attention???

It wasn’t until Vito started becoming bolder that you started taking him seriously.

Vito would start to get visibly upset if you decided to sit across from him and not directly next to him at restaurants.

He disliked when you interacted with any man other than him. Even to the point where he would start to question your feelings for Joe, slightly accusing you of flirting.

He became a lot more physical, insisting that you’d hold his hand or have at least one of his arms around your waist at all times.

You tried to protest about how this made you feel extremely uncomfortable since this was a very intimate gesture but the man wasn’t having it. It was like arguing with a wall.

“Y/N, I know we’re only friends but I’m doing this for your protection. If other men around think you’re with me, they won’t dare lay a finger on you. Everyone knows I’m with Falcone.”

To your dismay, you dropped it. What he said kind of made sense. Women and children are off limits, especially if they belong to a family. Maybe he knew something you didn’t.

The physical contact continued but only got worse. To the point he’ll just pull you onto his lap, adjust your clothes and move your hair out of the way so he can rest his head on your neck.

“Trust me Y/N, I’m not into you. You’re not even really my type. Like I said, I just want to protect you. I need people to believe it.”

Why are you lying so hard Vito??

This soldier doesn't like it when a man disrespects a woman period!! Like y’all remember this man holding everything in him back so he wouldn’t kill the guy that hit his sister.

Mama’s boy™️

Can you imagine what happened to the man who decided it was a good idea to not only catcall you but to smack your ass???

You tried to tell Vito to forget it and that it wasn’t that big of a deal…

You spent hours trying to get the blood stains out of Vito’s bomber jacket as well as the sounds of his fists slamming that poor punk into the ground out of your head.

As much as he tried so hard to hide his one sided relationship from you, it was so obvious by this point.

Vito felt strongly about you, even if it was platonic. It was getting out of hand and causing you to look for an out.

Maybe speaking to Vito about this would help? Maybe this was all a misunderstanding and maybe this time he’d actually listen to you?

Yeah….no.

He’s a stubborn fuck that refuses to accept reality.

“Okay…since you can’t respect my wishes and this isn’t enjoyable anymore. I’m thinking about leaving and going back home. I mean that was always the plan but-“

What? You’re leaving? No no no. How could you leave your husband?

“No. You’re not going.”

Haha that’s funny…

“Um, Vito, I didn't ask you. I’m telling you. I’ll be leaving soon. Did you really think I was going to stay here forever?”

Yes. He really did. You were meant to be a part of this decade, here with him. What is so great about the future if he’s not going to be there to spend it with you?

He’s not happy, this isn’t right. Something in his brain snapped and he’s not letting you leave.

“Leaving me and going back home is all you think about, isn’t it? Always dreaming about it, always thinking about it?”

“Vito-“

“Do you think it’s funny that I have to spend my life alone…no one to love or take care of me while you go back to your life like it’s nothing??”

“P-please calm down-“

“Oh please fuck off Y/N. There’s someone else isn't there?? Huh? You have some pretty boy waiting at home for you right now? I can make more money for you-”

“Vito! There isn’t anyone else. I’m just not supposed to be here. We weren’t ever supposed to meet. This was all a huge mistake and I’m sorry for interrupting your life. I wish I just never came here. I-I wish we never met.”

Seriously? Did you mean that? Are you going to go back and undo all of this? Can you even do that? You can’t do that, he can’t live without you. You’re meant to be together.

Taking a second to breathe and lower his tone, he spoke calmly.

“Look, I’m sorry. I gained a little crush on you and it’s admittedly gotten a bit weird. You are right and I’ll let it go. If you feel like going back home will make you happy then I will learn to live with it.”

“It’s okay Vito. Let’s just get some rest and then we can discuss this over breakfast. We’ve had a long day.”

Yeah he’ll never learn to live with it. That was his best attempt at setting down the situation. He needed alone time to think and most importantly for you to go to sleep.

It’s wrong…he can almost see the frown on his late mother’s face as he thinks up this sick plan. But he didn’t ever think about you leaving before and now he’s terrified of you doing just that.

He’d only be locking you up for a few days, that’s enough for him to break you…make you change your mind…

He’s been tought exactly how to fuck with someone in the army, how to make his enemy crumble into doing whatever he wants.

Vito could do that with you. It’ll be okay and you’ll learn to forgive him once he gives you a new fur coat or something.

“This is for the best, Y/N. It’s for our future.” He loves you and the ropes tied around your ankles are tied with care. ;)

[somegrumpynerd]

please please please please just hear me out-

Nightmare, like one day he senses some weird negativity abd is like "Uhhhh, panic?"

And anyways he goes downstairs to find the following:

Killer freaking the F out, pointing to a blood spot on the couch.

Dust scrubbing said blood spot, trying to get it out.

Cross is panicking and thinking how to explain this to nightmare

And Horror is gone.

Now, NM thinks it's pretty weird hus boys sergeants are panicking over a little blood, so he goes up to them and is like, "What is all this?"

And Dust and Criss go dead silent, abd killer breaks first and starts sobbing and talking about how horror is dying-

Nope

After some mild explanation, it clicks for Nightmare. Horror (a trans guy) lost his period since he hadn't eaten well in like, forever.

But now that he's actually a healthy weight again, and eating well and resting, his period just popped up one day. And nobody knew Horror was trans because he didn't tell anyone.

Anywho, then Nightmare sighs and goes finds horrir—Gets him and like, just holds him

Pfffffff I love that the immediate - and only - explanation is that Horror is Dying. Like Killer and Dust have so many murders under their belts but the panic of Friend Is Bleeding makes them forget about dusting completely.

Also the fact that Horror apparently got up, presumably to go deal with it, and just left them all to freak out about it lol

I bet Cross feels especially silly after they get it all figured out since he's the only one who grew up with a girl (assuming all monster periods would work the same, since he'd probably be at least somewhat aware when Alphys got hers, if not actively trying to help).

Although alternatively maybe Nightmare tells Horror he doesn't have to come out if he doesn't want to, just make up an excuse and Nightmare will back him up. It isn't until after Horror tells them all "I have a disease where if people are mean to me and don't bring me snacks I start bleeding to death" that he should have specified a reasonable excuse.

[respectthepetty]

I need to stress something somewhere. And I know you will be able to help or even help be observe but, I have a haunting feeling that in the clips we have of Mork reading to Day, is in the future and….Mork isn’t actually there anymore . … many reasons with the scenes set up but the main things for me is the fish. There is only one in the rank now in that scene. And the book marks in the book. 1 fish bookmark, the other an avocado? And their legs are covered with a blanket. So no 2 slippers of fish is shown……am I creating narrative things that are not there or seeing things wrong? it just feels almost a melancholy scene set up in front of the tank…… and I’m scared!!

What are your thoughts pretty please?!

Anon, I'm choosing violence first, then I'll be kind.

On Spanish TikTok, or as I like to call it Tea Talk, someone stated they saw the book's ending, and it ended with Mork dying and donating his eyes to Day.

The people of Tea Talk ripped that video to shreds. The comments section was not pleased with the mentiras (lies), and Indonesian TikTok even showed up in the fray with the actual book to prove the original poster was "Livin' La Vida Loca."

I don't know how this cookie will crumble, but let me remind you of two things:

#1 - This is GMMTV.

It gave us The Shipper in 2020 at the height of the pandemic, and I think it has been correcting that wrong since.

And it gave us Only Friends in 2023.

I wanted murder and mayhem. Instead it gave everyone happy endings except the slut because apparently he had too many "happy endings" and *morality* or some bullshit.

If you are watching Playboyy, it's what Only Friends could have been if Disney BL hadn't produced it.

I might sound salty (because I am), but I'm really just trying to emphasize that GMMTV wouldn't. Period. Full stop. GMMTV wouldn't give us a sad ending to a branded pair. It will kill a mom quick, but sad times for a branded pair? ¡Nunca! For example, how did we all know Palm x Nueng were gonna be safe and sound in Never Let Me Go? Our Skyy 2. Can't have Our Skyy 3 if it kills a ship now can it?

#2 - This is Aof

The director, producer, and screenwriter extraordinaire shot Pat (Ohm) on Christmas Eve.

He killed Papang!

Hell, he killed Singto before the series even started!

Mork (NOT GAWIN, NO!) got beat up and was hospitalized!

And yet, we got a happy ending each time.

The man wants to make use cry, but he has never ended with queer trauma to do so.

Which is why there are still two fish in that tank.

And I think the avocado is a shout out to Jimmy's love of them (because who doesn't love avocados, am I right?).

So as much as I do not think the reading scenes we keep getting are set in the present,

I don't think they are setting us up for a sad future, especially because Korea already did this trick.

If you watched To My Star 2: Our Untold Stories last year, you know that shit hurt, every, single, episode,

and because it hurt, we were too blinded by the pain to notice the happiness sprinkled throughout.

The happiness we were seeing wasn't flashbacks of their past relationship or even snippets of their current one.

THEY WERE GLIMPSES OF THEIR HAPPY FUTURE!

Korea gave us The Eighth Sense and Strongberry's Choco Milk Shake, both which had the perfect premises to fuck us over, and yet my only complaint was NO POLY!

If Korea can delivery happy endings, Disney BL can too (but not the kind it punished Boston for. Never those kind). It isn't Taiwan, and it certainly isn't Japan who is ALWAYS itching to give maximum pain. This is "soft power" Thailand, GMMTV, Aof, and a branded pair. If GMMTV brought out Gawin to get Krist and Joss back to kiss a homie, I greatly doubt it would tank the JimmySea ship for a sad ending (did you get the pun?). If there is one thing I can count on GMMTV for, it's to secure the bag. Sell merch. Sell novels. Sell a special box edition of the series. Sell the ship. That won't happen if this is sad.

Also, color-coded boys in love get happy endings.

It's science.

[seneon]

SENATION LORE PART 3: BATTLE OF LEGENDS.

📍 set in heian period ( year 794 to 1185 )

LONG LONG TIME AGO... born a baby who from birth, already seemed to be a blessing to his family and to the world. this baby... his name is sen, a soon-to-be samurai whose name will be imprinted in history.

"waaa waaa!" baby sen cries out.

soon, the baby grew up. as per told by the priests that this child would be the answer to the future, lil baby sen grew up to be a smart, strong, and super sugoi samurai. now, known as a samurai, whom is a freelance warrior going around all of japan to save the world. he journeys all over just to take down unearthly forces.

samurai sen led an adventurous life... often defeating giant monsters (like gashadokuro and that fish looking ahh) that cannot be seen by a normal soul. it seems he has a mission to defeat these creatures of the night. and truly, even as he is a youngin, his journey never ends. until...

he met a beautiful girl.

her name is lady @seumyo , a woman of a noble family. samurai sen knew he had no chance with a woman of nobility... they both knew it is wrong for a commoner and an almost princess... but regardless... they... they... k k k k k k k kissed... under the sunset 😱😱😱

that is truly taboo!

one of lady seumyo's servants saw them kissing and went home to report to seumyo's father. he was enraged, and stormed right to the forbidden temple. mans wanted revenge, so bro made a pact with devils to destroy and end the samurai's life..

completely unaware of this devious and unfathomable evil, samurai sen did not think that this was his last time that he will be drinking with his buddies. he laughed with them, sharing drinks with them, and spending their last moments together as bros.

"we are sworn brothers!" samurai sen held up a toast. "sworn brothers!" "#4liferz!" "broskis forever!" "we'll die together!!" the others also toasted before sipping their last drink.

DUM DUM DUM!

the sounds of thunder cracked through the sky as lighting flickered throughout the dark heavens. the samurai knew it was a calling to settle this raging night, so he set out with his sword alone to face the issue.

oh my days! raijin kami (the thunder god) is present!

"you dare disrupt peace between the worlds, you mortal!" @heartkaji said, striking a drum as a strike of lighting shoot at samurai sen. "whaattt! but i didn't do anything!" he deflected the lighting with his super cool stainless steel samurai katana.

"SILENCE MORTAL! THE DEVILS R OUT TO HUNT AND THEY HAVE SAID IT WAS YOU WHO FREED THEM!"

the samurai scratched his cheeks with the hilt of his sword. "uhm, I don't understand, but looks like I have to fight you, raijin-sama!"

the legendary battle commenced with a mortal human and an eternal god. it was a long battle, samurai sen's resolve and determination never ending as he felt himself dying. "i... i don't wanna die... i still haven't seen seumyo's elbows..."

"fear not, dearest..." a woman on a majestic white dragon swooped down and helped sen. "for you are the chosen one by the heavens. raijin! go back to your timeout! you've been naughty lately!" the beautiful goddess demanded the thunder god as he groaned in annoyance and disappeared into the heavens.

apparently, samurai sen is a gift from the heavens. the next new being to become a new god. in truth, he is already dead. he is only fighting with the thunder god to pass the god test, except his true examiner is @white-poppie.

how did samurai sen died...? well, one of the demons that seumyo's daddy made a pact with ate him at the boys night out LOL. now it is his time to take revenge on all the devil's that were let loose. this time, as a newly reborn courageous god.

𝐿𝑂𝑁𝐺 𝐿𝐼𝑉𝐸 𝑇𝐻𝐸 𝐺𝑂𝐷 𝑂𝐹 𝐶𝑂𝑈𝑅𝐴𝐺𝐸, 𝑆𝐸𝑁 !

STARRING. @satelitis @dazaisluver @angeliicheartt @seumyo @jaysgirlx @mqshido @skullvgirl @ivyppoison @heartkaji @white-poppie @hyoismbbg @saewako

note. thank you to @hyoismbbg who gave me the heian era idea 😭 also i spun the wheel to assign each usernames to each picture characters btw don't kill me pls i love yall

PART ONE (medieval era) PART TWO (ice kingdom) PART FOUR (salem witch trials)

[kaeyx]

OMG CAT( + FOX KOYLAI) BOYS ON UR PERIOD AAAAA

Cat!Fedya is Like… weirdly really really sweet?? He’s not outright affectionate but he’s sitting by you more often and puts his cold hand on your lower stomach.. if you have bad cramps he won’t let you leave your bed because he’s worried!!!! What if you just… fell off…(he’s trying his best…) He definitely wants to snuggle under ashit ton of blankets but he isn’t gonna tell you!

Cat!Zai is.. horny like always but he doesn’t want to see you in pain :(( will offer to eat you out!!! And will try to take your mind off ur cramps by meekly pawing/messaging your stomach/chest.. He’s extremely clingy!! If your getting up to do stuff he’s gonna be following everywhere he goes!! He doesn’t want you moving around a lot so he’ll try to get you stuff.. the problem is he doesn’t ask what you were trying to get so he comes back with randomly stuff!!! Still a very good boy!!

Cat!sushi is panicking cuz the poor boy thought you were dying…(don’t make fun of him, hes trying!!) he will basically be ontop of you for your entire period, pawing at you to cuddle with him and basically working as a human heating pad!!! He will offer to help you take your mind off your cramps in whatever way but he’s scared he’ll somehow hurt you!!! Definitely thinks you could randomly pass out from the blood loss.. he’s… trying..

Fox!Koylai is sneaky!! Definitely will tease you!! Pokes at your lower stomach and is alittle bit of a sadist cuz he gets hard if you make a whimper/ sound of discomfort…. Will try to have period sex no matter what and will get whiny if you say no!! Honestly he’s alittle sad your not more cuddly and needy…. But he does atleast try to help you alittle…. Another one to message your stomach!!!

(sorry this is abit long was wondering if I could be 🕸️ anon pretty please >_< )

Ooooo I agree with all! Plus this comes at the perfect time bc apparently my period is still here despite my getting a higher T dose....smh is anyone synced up at least?

I'm going to add Catchuu who makes biscuits on your lower stomach because he knows it'll help with cramps and watches you walk around the house trying to figure out what it is you're craving. Would probably guess it in one go too, and be super happy it earns him a kiss and a cuddle. Also delighted to sit on you and purr like a jet engine if it soothes you, and he's another one that offers to eat you out. It'll take your mind off cramps sure but he's also curious to know what it tastes like.

[slytherinqueen123]

fix her.

“wow. what is wrong with you’s?” mattheo dumps his books down on a table and drags a chair towards us.

“we were up all night,” hermione says, her hand shaking as she takes a slug of the coffee she’s been manhandling. theo’s eyes widen a bit as he takes in messy hermione. “correction. you where up all night. i crashed at 3am because i care more about my sleep than my grades.” i say, rolling my eyes.

theo leans over and grins. “that’s my girl.” he ruffles my hair affectionately. i raise an eyebrow but don’t push him away. “are you sure you’re not the one who didn’t get any sleep, lover boy?” he crinkles his nose at me and turns around as the teacher walks in.

• • •

“mione. hermione. wake up.”

i gently shove her in the arm, which only results in slightly wobbling her hunched over, sleeping figure. mattheo gives me a look.

“just wake her up already, y/n. i want to go.” he whines. “gosh, your such a child. what’s going on thats making you need to leave so desperately? we have a free period.” i ask, still trying to get hermione up.

“blaise said it’s gonna be colin creevey-“

“ew, that mangy gryffindor kid?”

“-yeah, he’s always dying for potters autograph. anywho, apparently it’s him verse one of goyles third year minions. kid stole creeveys camera. hysterical.” he laughs a little. i frown.

“fine. then you wake her up.” i step back and gesture to hermione.

“maybe i will.”

“go ahead then”

mattheo flashes me a smirk and walks over to her.

“please, i’ve already tried that. your lame, riddle.”

he scowls. “betcha haven’t tried this, though.”

he leans down to her and gives her another gentle shove.

“puh-lease. i’m outta her if that’s your best attempt.” i grab my bag and make for the door. “i bet you can’t fix her, riddle-”

“HERMIONE JEAN GRANGER WAKE THE HELL UP NOW!” he screams. i whip around.

“what the actual hell, mattheo? that’s barbaric!” i whisper-scream. he shakes his head at me.

“y/n, i thought we covered this. you can’t say what the actual hell. it’s not grammatically correct.” a sleepy voice mumbles.

“i forgive you then, riddle.” i say sweetly. “get up hermione. let’s go watch this fight.”

[backatitagainatichirakus]

Honestly Kakashi did his best with what he had lmao.

For starters, he DID teach team 7 useful jutsu, he taught them chakra control, every single genjutsu Sakura knew before she went to Tsunade was taught by Kakashi. Who do you think taught Naruto how to hide underground, a jutsu that was crucial when fighting Neji, Jiraiya? PLEASE. No need to mention Sasuke's Chidori.

He also taught them the fundamentals of teamwork, to never leave someone behind. That they were not expendable, and that they needed to rely on people. (What a fucking hypocrite. But isn't hypocrisy an important part of parenting/mentoring/big brothering or whatever the hell Minato was trying to do when he got saddled with Kakashi ?)

He never wanted to be a teacher, it was imposed onto him, he had zero experience, and he'd never had to try too hard to understand anything, so he definitely would not know what to do if someone didn't get things on the first try.

He did what he could while he could. The damn Plot was working against him.

He was a traumatized, depressed 26 year old man who probably never believed would live past 17, but there he was! In charge of the two most traumatized orphans in the entirety of Traumatized Orphans Village, and a girl who was NOT taking this shit seriously.

Ah, but they had time. There was no war brewing, no need to torture these kids to forge them into dead-eyed deadly weapons. They could go at their own pace! Also apparently the academy curriculum had changed to MAXIMIZE the child mortality rate! Why teach them tree walking when, truly, flower arrangement was a far more important skill? That's a girls only class though! Let the boys run around meanwhile they don't need to learn flower stuff. Ah, the blond one can't pronounce Chakra? fuck that kid srsly, his vibes are TOO rancid... demonic even (WHO SAID THAT?!)

And then? Their first C-rank mission? Turned into an A rank and left him out of commission for a week! But it was okay, it was fine, he could handle it. If he didn't die when he tried to kill himself in his ANBU days then it was unlikely he would now! Though he had to depend on three newly minted genin to protect themselves and their lying bastard of a client haha, but he was being so chill about it Kakashi was such a chill man haha. When was the last time someone he cared about died? Years! He was definetly not cursed or anything.

And then at the end of that week he had to fight the assassin of Assassin Village that had put him out of commission on the first place, and he also had to push through at least two of his triggers and afterwards explain the literal embodiment of two other triggers how Shinobi actually work! It's not about saving princesses, boy! It's about dying :).

They go back, and he decides that the kids handled themselves well enough, and the chunnin exams are being hosted by Orphans Village this year! What a great opportunity for the children to learn about Shinobi life in a controlled environment! Even back during Ninja War III they went through the chunnin exams and nobody even died. They're gonna be just fine!

Unfortunately, turns out The Banished Local Crazy Scientist of Traumatized Orphans Village had his eyes on one of his students (the one that he unwittingly projects on) and now! Triggering Orphan #2 is cursed!

AND THEN. The village gets attacked! The president/major dies! Kakashi gets sent into a torture coma in which he gets the Pincushion Jesus treatment for what literally feels like months! Hosted by the utmost expert on genjutsu torture to ever come out of their beloved Orphans Village!

Then he wakes up, turns out he wasn't tortured non stop for three months! It was just a dream, silly. And! since the Village is short staffed he immediately gets sent on mission after mission! Sorry Kakashi, we don't believe in convalescence periods when the only thing injured was your mind. And then, when he comes back from his many missions, their new alcoholic major/president tells him Orphan #2 defected. But don't worry! she sent Orphan #1 after him accompanied by a group of meddling kids and a dog!

So, Kakashi goes after them. Finds and picks up an unconscious Orphan #1, Orphan #2 is long gone. He goes back to the village, thankfully some meddling sand kids helped the meddling leaf kids. Then, Orphan #1 announces he's going out of the village on a road trip with The World's Worst Godfather to train! He's so lucky he can turn into a hot lady so that old man will train him if he just let's him look a little.

Then unserious girl turns serious, ditches him for their newly crowned (hatted?) president/mayor/president who despite being an alcoholic with a crippling gambling addiction is leagues better than their old president/mayor, who had a crippling addiction to Danzo's pussy and a penchant for letting pre-teens lead assassin squads just because they were such a delight to have in class!

Kakashi did his fucking best and, like ALWAYS, it was not enough.

At least he got to rekindle his old flame with Maito Gai.

[imaginespazzi]

Finallyyyyy, chapter 7. I was dying waiting for it and now I'm already dying waiting for the next so I guess this week will be filled with rereading and rereading the whole fic until chapter 8 comes. Anyways here we go, thoughts on this one:

-Drew. Oh boy. I'm assuming we won't see him in chapter 8 since it'll probably be composed mostly of the day at the bar. The morning, then the bar itself, who ends up in whose bed; and you'll most likely add a lil flashback to something somehow relevant since you've done that for every chapter except 4. But so reunion in chapter 9? or 10? I don't know but I wanna see him reunite with Azzi and meet Stephie. Apparently he was irritated at Paige's decision to go to the GSV, the Drew from 6 years ago probably would've loved and encouraged the idea, if he hadn't come up with it himself. I feel like the fact it irritated him instead shows he's learnt to live without Azzi and the Fudds now, but like Paige wonders if he has, might've still not fully forgiven her and Azzi for taking that away from him. As in, I think it took him a lot of time to adapt and if he's angry at Azzi, it's really only cause he spent so much time missing her, if that makes sense. So if/when we get their reunion scene, I'm expecting him to first be angry, maybe throwing certain questions at Azzi before breaking down. I wonder if Stephie knows who Drew is? That picture is on the stairwell clearly, but maybe she's never really noticed him. If not, I'm really excited to see her reaction to a boy she has no clue about, hugging and possibly crying in the arms of the woman who's probably a sort of sister/mother to him, her mother. Basically, I really want some Drew, Paige and Azzi scenes and Stephie's reaction to the dynamic of the 3; and some Drew and Stephie scenes.

-"But she doesn’t quite know this place, couldn’t tell you where to find the sugar or where the utensils were kept" this was just written beautifully in my opinion idk, just wanted to show some appreciation for it.

-"“They’ve all missed you, you know,” Tallulah says softly, “they try not to do it too much around Azzi but it’s always ‘oh Paige would’ve loved this’ or ‘did you catch that bucket Paige made last night’." They try not to do it too much around Azzi. I just wanted to add this because I think it sorta confirms my suspicions that they might however do it around Stephie. The first time I sent in some of my thoughts on this fic I mentioned how I don't think it's a coincidence Paige and Stephie share so much in common. Though I did say it's Azzi probably passing Paige-like things onto her daughter, I think Stephie's simply grown up in environments that scream "Paige". I think it's beautiful how much her and Azzi have affected everyone around them, not just eachother. But it's also scary because it is about the 2 of them at the end of the day and if they start living separate lives they take away a person important in others' lives too, as we see with Drew, or the Fudds like Tallulah pointed out. I just hope Stephie doesn't have to lose Paige, I know we're guaranteed a happy ending (or maybe that's what you want us to think) but I hope there's never even a small period of time where Stephie thinks she's lost Miss Buecks.

-"“you’re thinking about her mother huh?”" "“your daughter has you wrapped around her little finger huh?”" I'm just a bit shocked that Ruthie guessed she was thinking about the girl's mother, not father. I feel like people's first assumption is that you're straight, the majority of the world is, does Ruthie know Azzi and Stephie? Or does she know Paige? Was just wondering, I don't know, maybe her gaydar's just on point.

-"“No,” Azzi says at the same time as a profound “yes” leaves Paige’s mouth." Ok so nvm my past predictions Paige is still pulling and Azzi is still slightly pushing.

-"Olivia’s livid at Paige and Paige is livid at the stupid #Clézzi tag on tiktok." If they ended up breaking up but confirmed they were a thing you bet your ass you could never get me to use some other ship's #. "until suddenly she stumbles on a video captioned 'and at the end of the day she’ll still always be looking at her'." that's my video, future me posted that.

-"And she knows that if it was Azzi -she hates herself for even thinking this way- she wouldn’t walk away." it's giving me the same vibes as when she was telling Azzi how whilst on her date she kept thinking how Azzi wouldn't order what the girl ordered off the menu, how she would swat her hand away when she tried stealing something from her plate and end up giving it to her anyways, how they'd get yelled at at the movies for giggling too much, and how at the end she would've kissed her. Unfortunately for everyone else, I just think no one stands a chance, she's wrapped around Azzi's finger.

-"even if they were barely a shadow of what they used to be, it's only right that Azzi is still here." but it surprises me that on every flashback after their breakup they still seemed on completely good terms all these years, like why did they break up??? Just cause Azzi wasn't ready for marriage? I feel like something else happened in between but maybe not.

-"“we’re gonna do it together next time okay. You and me, we’re gonna be golden together.”" soo 2032 Olympics? Did they do it??? A year ago from the "present day" I feel like you plan on showing us a flashback in a future chapter but I'm dying to know!!!

Okk that's it thank you for blessing us with another amazing chapter as always and see how quick I was this time? -🪐

Please don't die friend I'd miss you :)

-Drew appearance soon but I'm not fully sure exactly when because idk if y'all have caught onto this yet, but I actually don't outline the whole story beyond just the beginning - middle - end, everything else is just ideas that I fit in when it feels right. The Drew from 6 years ago was a little boy who still held onto hope for his favorite love story. But with time, hope turned into irritation and missing Azzi turned into being angry at Azzi because sometimes that's the only way to deal with the hate. I'm very excited to write both Azzi-Drew and ofc Stephie-Drew.

-I remember that ask! Paige is so entwined into the Fudd's and Azzi's life that even 8 years later, you can still see the remnants of her in their life and that's what Stephie has grown up seeing so really it's not surprising that some of that imprinted onto her as she has a little bit of Paige in her.

-See this is my lovely fantasy world where straight isn't just the normal and I have no other explanation for it. Ruthie does not know Stephie or Azzi lol. I'd like to think 2033 we can avoid straight as the default lol

-I'm never shipping them with other people but as evidenced by some tweets in the last few days, I think other people absolute would ship clézzi lmao but pazzi truthers are still alive in 2033 despite the break up lol

-Unfortunately for everyone else, I just think no one stands a chance, she's wrapped around Azzi's finger. - yep exactly!

-I do love my flashbacks!

I'm very proud of you for how quick you were lmao!

[lover-of-mine]

Boy what a day and it’s still going!

Things are not sunshine and daisies on the other side of the fandom line in my little corner. A lot of anger geared toward Ryan for being “an attention seeker” today. Trying to focus on the personal attacks against Ryan again and turn everyone against him because of the issues from the past. It’s like their go to at this point. It never works but they keep trying. But they are absolutely fuming he’s getting so much attention and love from everyone right now. They have spent so many weeks trying to paint him as this horrible person both in and out of show and it’s like a personal vendetta as everyone proves them wrong.

Also furious over the Ryan and JLH photo. It was supposed to be Lou and her after all. They just knew it would be happening. Why wouldn’t she have a photo with her on screen brothers boyfriend but then she had one with Ryan instead. (I think this has the added insult because everyone knows Lou was at the set for filming so not being shown still is not a good sign)

They are as I’m sure you’re aware trying to be positive about saying the over shirt Oliver had on for his Buck fit, is apparently an Italian material made flight jacket. Or that’s what’s being spread around anyway. And Making big emphasis on the Italian portion because Lou’s Italian and that means it’s meant to be. I suppose when you don’t have much to go with you fixate on the strangest things lol.

Which brings us to that whole ABC video. I’m not sure how it is in the groups the others are in but the few I’m in it’s a lot of just pretend it didn’t happen. The loud ones made such a stink the other day over the comment being pinned and re throwing in our faces that kiss video ABC shared and how it all proves endgame that now ABC making this video with Oliver and not showing Lou has them wanting to bring as little attention to it as possible since again those few loud ones are making them all look stupid. Because the same logic would essentially apply here. Only the buddie side would have more weight behind it since there has been so much buddie promo already for season 8 with the show, the cast, the crew, even the journalists and absolutely nothing from Lou/Tommy besides a couple random likes on instagram (where he still isn’t responding to anyone)

TikTok side the creator who made that video issued a formal apology video today. She basically blamed it on being in an unmedicated hypomanic state but says it’s not an excuse. She’s lost a lot of followers due to her video. She was almost at 18k when she originally posted the Tommy video and now she’s at 16.8k. She does mention she will be taking a step back from the fandom for a while and doesn’t know if she’ll be back and if she if it’ll be awhile and just sticking to recap videos. I’m not going to personally say if I believe it’s genuine or not but it’s out there for people to see if they want and make their own decisions. I do know that some of the more vocal BT fans are trying to use her apology videos as a “omg look what the bobs are doing now. Attacking this creator for making a video” and just removing all context surrounding the issue of course.

I will end this update by saying the more stuff we’ve gotten today the quieter they have gotten. Which to me is kinda unnerving but also kinda tracks. It’s hard to keep trying to launch a delusion narrative when you keep essentially getting whacked in the face by all the official channels repeatedly in such a short time period. I also think it’s starting to really sink in for at least some of the people that they can be as mad as they want but it’s not going to change the reality of the situation.

Hope things are calm for you, and personally hoping for some LW or GG insight. I’m dying to know what some of the others experienced from this wild day.

~🅰️

Hi darling ❤️

This was a RIDE. It just keeps going, oh my god lol I don't even know what to say tbh. The insistence on hating on Ryan that keeps continuously backfiring is actually so entertaining, it's like the more they hate on him, the more powerful he gets lately. I will say I did laugh hysterically for about 5 minutes when I saw the picture of Ryan and Jen because I remember the way they were saying Lou was gonna show up in a selfie with her and it was too funny. And the way that they chose not to use a picture with him when all the pics were from the medal ceremony was a choice....... I did look into the jacket, it is an Italian flight jacket but it's a green jacket and green on Buck is never a good sign, so I'm not worried on that front lol. The fact that some of them are just ignoring the video when they were rubbing the kisscam on everyone's face is embarrassing. The tiktoker is just... I don't even know what to say there. But honestly, it must be hard to hold on to this delusion in the current state of affairs, getting mad is not going to change anything.

[story-weavr]

A Reconciliation?

In reference to a previous post of mine:

This is sort of a mix of the previous chapter + Silver Age + Smallville + Modern versions of Lex Luthor

I still blame @andyboops

After the accident that blew up his lab and made him permanently bald, young Lex Luthor was even angrier at the world.

He pushed away his only friend and did everything he could to leave and never return to Smallville.

**********

Years later, Lex Luthor, one of the most powerful & influential men in the world, met his one-time friend again.

Clark Kent, once a boy whose intelligence rivaled that of Lex, was now a mere reporter. One who quietly trailed behind Lois Lane as she confidently interviews Luthor.

Lex pretends not to know this reminder of the most painful and pathetic period of his life.

Clark, not completely hopeless, followed his lead. That, however, did not stop him from asking questions as well.

Nor would it stop him in the future from sticking his nose where it didn't belong.

Clark Kent was categorized as an annoying reminder at best. At worst, he was Lois's attachment. One whose only independent work mainly stemmed from in-depth interviews of the individuals related to Superman cases.

... and then The Incident happened.

***********

One of his (now-former) employees decided to attempt an assassination on Lex disguised as a hostage/ terrorist attack.

And, even though he never leaves his home without some form of bulletproof attire, he ends up getting tackled.

Not by a member of the security staff at the event. Oh no, they are far too busy dealing with the obvious attackers and panicked guests to notice what seemed to be a guest taking out a gun.

Not by one of those vigilantes. The one who actually showed up was dealing with a meta and some thugs wielding rather impressive weapons.

Not by his hidden bodyguards. No, they got cut off or silenced at the beginning of the attack.

No, no, Lex Luthor got pushed away, onto the floor, by a person famous in his circles for his dumb luck at getting out of dangerous situations.

Dumb luck that had apparently run out for Clark Kent judging by the amount of blood coming out of the hole in his chest.

Lex barely noticed as the gunman went down to fire from security.

Surrounded by his remaining private security (who would receive pay cuts, at best), Lex could hear them urging him to move to a defensible position. Instead, Lex ordered them to cover him.

Lex found himself next to a pale Clark, pushing his custom-ordered Armani coat into the wound.

Despite all the noise, he could somehow hear his one-time friend:

"Lex? S-sorry... lo- I love-"

The slowed-down world suddenly sped back up when Lex was literally wrenched away from Clark.

In half a second, the man could only stare dumbfoundedly at the blood puddle where Clark Kent lay dying.

***************

The billionaire later learned that Supergirl had rushed the wounded to various medical institutions. Apparently, the extent of the reporter's injury was severe enough to warrant treatment at STAR Lab's medical research labs.

Due to the nature of the lab, visitors beyond family were not allowed. Law enforcement had to interview Kent via a telephone call which was barely allowed by the doctors.

Two. Very. Long. Weeks later:

Clark Kent left STAR Labs and returned to his apartment. Despite the Daily Planet's generous employee package, the barely recovered man still opted to return to work, albeit mostly sticking to his senior reporter office shared with Lois Lane.

Not missing an opportunity, Lex had his PR office arrange a private interview with Kent.

****************

In one of his private offices, Lex Luthor, for the first time in what seems a lifetime, faced Clark Kent one-on-one. With no one else but them.

At first, Clark, polite smile only slightly marred by pain and exhaustion, stuck to professionalism: asking questions about one of his transportation businesses that from Lois Lane would have been biting.

Eventually, the billionaire found a moment to ask the question that was bothering him: "Why did you save me?"

Clark, solemn and looking him straight in the eye, simply stated that it was the right thing to do.

Lex angrily asked, "Then what the hell was that about? What you said before?"

Clark calmly stated, "It's irrelevant."

Lex's eyes narrowed, "Excuse me?"

Clark sighs. Lex is five seconds from blowing up when Clark says something that startles him.

"I know you set up the attack. The man who organized it, your ‘missing’ employee, saw an opportunity to take you out. But the whole attack was a scheme for several purposes."

Lex could only watch silently as the reporter started calmly listing them.

"A distraction for the superheroes while LexCorp weaponry was smuggled to Santa Prisca for further distribution.

An advertisement for LexCorp's new securities acquisition.

A threat to the mayor to push for rezoning of one of the neighborhoods by Hob's River so that a new LexChem facility can be built which would serve the dual purpose of keeping up with legitimate business and a cover for smuggling.

Those are just a few reasons."

Clark and Lex just looked at each other silently. Lex breaks it first.

"A rather interesting theory. I suppose you have some proof to support that claim."

"I do not. And I do not write what I cannot prove."

Lex crosses his arms, smirking at the other man, "You think that lowly of me?"

"No, I just know you."

Lex's eye twitched. "Finally done pretending?"

"I didn't start it."

"Well then, Clark," Lex leaned forward, a nasty smile in place, "how have you been? I see the years haven't treated you well."

The other man just looks at him, quietly. Lex, irritated, sighed and leaned back in his chair.

"You still haven't answered my question. Why did you save me? Especially considering what you believe of me."

Clark looked sad, "You already know, Lex."

"And what? Are you expecting some type of reward?"

"You being alive is enough for me."

Lex snorted at the sentiment. Clark merely asked, "Are we done? Because I need to get back to the office."

Lex then asked something he himself did not realize he wanted to ask.

"Why did you never try to get back in touch? In all those years?"

Clark looked surprised... and hurt. Looking down, he seemed to be thinking back to their shared childhood. After a moment, he looked up.

"First, answer this question."

Lex looked at him.

"Did you... did you mean it? That you thought that I... that I was the one who set the fire? That I deliberately didn't help you?"

Lex regarded the man, pained quiet desperation on the journalist’s face.

"... No,” Lex answered seriously, “If I really thought that, I would have long since made you pay. No," his tone shifted to flippancy, "I knew it was dear old Dad who ordered the fire. He just didn't know that the arsonist was also hired by one of his senior executives to murder me."

At Clark's pained face, Lex continued, "And I know you couldn't have done anything. The chemical leak caused you to black out. You were lucky enough to be alive, much less without significant injury."

"Yeah, 'lucky'" Clark snorted.

"So," Lex questioned, "was that it? Some survivor's guilt and false accusations by an emotionally immature teenager?"

Clark looked at him. "Something like that."

"Well," Lex continued, "feel free to toss that as I have never truly blamed you for what happened."

"... Thank you."

There was a moment of awkward silence. It was broken by the reporter.

"I... I really do need to go back. Perry's asked me to mentor some of the new interns," the journalist said as he slowly raised himself from the seat.

"Ah, yes," Lex replied.

As the other man went to the door, Lex found himself speaking.

"You know, LexCom is always looking for talent. I'm sure you would be most welcome."

Clark, standing by the door, just stared at the man who wasn't looking at him at all.

".... Lex. I have... never given up hope. That you would become the man you always wanted to be. The man I still believe that you can be."

Lex turns his head to look at him.

"But I refuse to look away," Clark continued, "I'm not going to allow myself to be willfully blind to what you are doing. I know you, Lex. I know that you are better than this. And I pray, that someday. Someday, you'll know that too."

"Goodbye, Lex."

The man, once a farmboy who looked at Lex with shining eyes, softly closed the door behind him.

Lex just stared at the door, lost in memories of what had been... and thoughts of what could have been.

*********

So, where does it go from here?

[beardedmrbean]

A 6-year-old Michigan boy was stapled to the wall and shot with a BB gun before dying because of “horrific” abuse, prosecutors say.

New charges were announced last week against Elaina Rose Jennings, 25, and Daniel John Giacchina, 33, by prosecutors in Oakland County, according to WDIV. They now both face murder and a host of other charges in connection to the death of Giovanny “Chulo” Jennings.

The mom and her boyfriend now face life in prison if convicted.

On July 30, police in Madison Heights, Michigan, responded to a mobile home for a report of the child not breathing. When they arrived, officers found the boy unconscious and suffering injuries all over his body.

He was rushed to the hospital and died the next day, according to the report.

Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald revealed that the boy had suffered abuse and had been confined for an extended period.

“Chulo had pervasive bruising to his abdomen, which was also bloated and distended,” McDonald said, according to the report. “He had an apparent BB wound to his shin. First responders and emergency room personnel noted extensive external injuries, as well.”

Investigators found over 100 hours of videos and photos to go with text messages discussing what happened to the boy, prosecutors said.

The boy was confined to a pen in the bedroom and was beaten in front of his siblings, WDIV reported. The parents watched him in the pen where he would “misbehave” - which was described as him urinating, drinking and trying to leave.

At one point, prosecutors said, Giacchina stapled the 6-year-old to the wall to keep him confined and facing the corner, prosecutors revealed. A photo showed the shoulders of the child’s shirt with staples against the wall.

“Both Jennings and Giacchina laughed about the photo and Giacchina’s use of the staple gun to solve ‘the problem.’ According to the text, Chulo was being punished in this manner for looking out the window in the pen area,’ prosecutors said.

When authorities searched the home they found marks in the wall that matched a staple gun. They also found a BB gun and CO2 cartridges in the residence.

“As we carefully sifted through the evidence, what we found can only be described as horrific,” McDonald said.

The Independent is the world’s most free-thinking news brand, providing global news, commentary and analysis for the independently-minded. We have grown a huge, global readership of independently minded individuals, who value our trusted voice and commitment to positive change. Our mission, making change happen, has never been as important as it is today.

[velvetvexations]

Action Comics #1

The first in my series going over every pre-war issue of Action Comics is under the cut!

The origin reads as rather rushed by modern standards, but we nonetheless see here art and writing that's well above most other comics at the time, including Detective Comics #27, which I'm comfortable calling pretty bad even for the time.

When I first started talking about early Action, I said that even though Superman's power level was treated as narratively infinite, explicit limits were placed that served only to ground him in an extra sense of realism. That first part isn't quite true; while Superman will rarely if ever meet a challenge that ultimately proves beyond his abilities and forces a different approach, you'll see him take several panels to accomplish a task that any later version of Superman could have done in two, with the narration at least giving the impression he could fail. It's very exciting in spite of the fact that he never does.

The cold open after the origin is cool as hell, of course. Other Golden Age comics were not this inventive, this thrillingly written, or this well-drawn. Right from the start you're plunged into excitment.

Later, this story would be reprinted in "Superman #1" with some added scenes. It's...not very good.

While yes, the origin was rushed in Action #1, the elaborations don't really add anything except to make it more complicated. The Kents are given their first appearance and though Superman's childhood is of interest it's never really given any attention for a long time after this, with his parents dying by the end of the next page.

Then, rather than a cold open, it shows Superman going to the Daily Star (so-called at the time) to get a job and hearing about a lynching. He goes and saves the guy, who tells him that not only is he innocent but so is the girl being executed for it that night. Superman goes to find the girl who did, apparently, do the crime, and despite having no evidence whatsoever she immediately confesses.

Then...

Oh, boy, I really hate this.

Let me get something straight: I don't necessarily mind heroes that kill. Furthermore, I don't necessarily mind Superman killing. Using Kryptonite to end the parallel Zod in Byrne's run was fine by me, because it was an extreme case that pushed Clark to the edge.

Furthermore, possibly my favorite Superman story ever (it's really more my favorite Joker story ever lmao) is The Sound of One Hand Clapping, where Superman not-so-subtly threatens to murder the Joker.

But telling a random murderess to cope and seeth when she panics about getting the death penalty is...not it. Not from Superman.

Of course, early Superman is very different, but even in these early issues both the stories and the backmatter takes pains to position him as a role model. He's not quite the symbol of truth and justice and peace and humanity he would become when idolized by millions over a period of decades, yet he's nonetheless a voice of empathy more often than not. It's unfortunate that the first reprint of his first story would lessen that.

Anyway. Continuing with Action #1.

There's a lot of emphasis early on that no one is totally sure Superman is real, with many completely disbelieving in him. It's kinna odd that Clark doesn't want any attention at all, yet dresses like a circus strongman complete with an attention diverting cape...

Interestingly, that's not how it is in Detective #27 - "the Bat-Man" is accepted as being completely real.

I know the point of being a reporter was to hear about things faster, but did people in the 1930s call the newspaper when they heard domestic abuse? What the hell?

We wrap up on the first part of Superman dealing with a plot to get the US "embroiled with Europe". You have to hope that in-universe these guys were trying to get us embroiled on the side of the Axis or something. As much as this may have badly aged, though, as we get nearer and nearer to America's entry into WWII we'll start to see a reoccurring them of an unidentified evil country trying to destroy America. Yessiree, a totally unidentified evil country with agents named things like "Baron Munsdorf".

And just like that, it's over. We'll pick up next time in Action Comics #2!