#WHEN SHE'S SUPPOSED TO BE THE GIRL FROM THE WRONG SIDE OF THE RIVER

[punkrogue]

i’m a 90s rogue hater and a romy disliker and i’m not afraid to say it. also the last like 10ish years of comics for her have been dogshit she’s bland as fuck as totally nonsensical as herself.

[tinkaaabutt]

FOR THE FIRST TIME— Jinx

The hum of city life buzzed faintly beyond your apartment windows, the occasional car horn breaking the rhythm of your quiet sanctuary. The vinyl you’d been spinning crackled softly as “For the First Time” by Mac DeMarco started to play, its dreamy melody filling the space.

Jinx, sprawled across your couch in her usual chaos, was mid-rant about a graffiti project she wanted to try on an old factory wall downtown. Her electric blue braids spilled over the armrest like rivers of rebellion, and her hands gestured wildly, fingers tattooed and perpetually smudged with paint.

“You don’t think I’ll get caught, right?” she asked suddenly, her bright eyes darting to yours.

You looked up from where you sat cross-legged on the floor, moisturizing your legs. The scent of cocoa butter and shea wafted into the air, mixing with the faint tang of paint fumes that always seemed to cling to Jinx.

“Girl, with the way you move? They’ll see you coming a mile away,” you teased, smiling.

Jinx pouted, sitting upright. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means you’re loud,” you said, pointing at her with a raised brow. “Like, loud loud. You’re not exactly subtle.”

She stared at you for a moment before bursting into laughter, throwing her head back. “You’re not wrong,” she admitted. “But that’s why I’ve got you. You’re my quiet one. The stealthy one.”

You smirked, reaching for the bonnet on the table and pulling it over your freshly twisted hair. “Don’t drag me into your mess.”

“Oh, please,” she said, sliding off the couch to sit next to you on the floor. “You love my mess.”

She wasn’t wrong.

Jinx had burst into your life like a hurricane, colorful and chaotic in a way you’d never known before. You were the type to keep your head down, to mind your business and focus on your art, the vibrant canvases scattered around your apartment proof of your creativity. But Jinx? She was the opposite—loud, wild, unapologetically herself.

She’d spotted you at a street art festival a few months back, admiring a massive mural with a skeptical look on your face.

“You don’t like it?” she’d asked, suddenly at your side, a grin tugging at her lips.

You’d blinked, caught off guard. “It’s… fine. Just not my style.”

“Oh, so you’ve got style?” she’d teased, her eyes narrowing playfully.

That was how it started.

Now, she was practically a permanent fixture in your life, crashing on your couch whenever she felt like it and pulling you into her world of chaotic creativity.

“Why do you always put that on before bed?” Jinx asked, motioning toward your bonnet as you leaned back against the couch.

“Because I actually care about my hair,” you replied, rolling your eyes. “Unlike some people.”

Jinx gasped, feigning offense. “I care about my hair! Look at these braids—they’re flawless!”

You gave her a look, your lips quirking into a smile. “Yeah, because I did them for you last week. You were crying about your arms getting tired.”

“Okay, fair,” she said, leaning closer. “But that just means you’re amazing. And you’re, like, totally obsessed with me.”

You snorted. “In your dreams.”

Jinx fell silent for a moment, her teasing smile softening. “Actually… yeah. You kinda are.”

Her voice was quieter now, the usual wild energy in her eyes tempered by something you couldn’t quite place. She reached out, tracing a finger along the edge of one of your small, framed paintings leaning against the wall.

“I’ve never met anyone like you,” she said softly, her eyes still fixed on the painting. “You’re just… different.”

You felt your chest tighten at her words, at the way her voice seemed to hold an unfamiliar vulnerability. “Different how?”

She finally looked at you, her gaze steady in a way that made your heart race. “Like… good different. Like when I’m around you, I don’t feel like I have to be this… crazy version of myself all the time. You don’t look at me like I’m broken or too much. You just… see me.”

Her words lingered in the air, heavy and raw. The song on the record player swirled around you, its dreamy tones a perfect backdrop to the moment.

“Jinx…”

She leaned closer, her blue braids brushing your shoulder. “You feel it too, right?”

Your breath caught. You did feel it—the magnetic pull of her, the way she lit up your world like neon against a dark sky. But you’d been afraid to name it, afraid of what it might mean.

Now, with her so close, her sharp edges softened by the dim light of your apartment, you couldn’t deny it any longer.

“Yeah,” you whispered. “I feel it.”

Her grin returned, softer this time, almost shy. “Good. ‘Cause I’ve been dying to kiss you.”

Before you could respond, she leaned in, her lips brushing yours. It was soft at first, hesitant, like she wasn’t sure you’d let her stay. But when you kissed her back, her hand found your cheek, pulling you closer.

When you finally broke apart, she rested her forehead against yours, a laugh bubbling from her lips. “Damn, I should’ve done that sooner.”

You smiled, your fingers tangling in the fabric of her hoodie. “Yeah, you should’ve.”

Outside, the city continued to hum, but for the first time in a long while, you felt like everything else could wait.

Authors note:-Let me know if you’d like more posts that are modern 😘 oh also if I should create a tag list and start having emoji anons.!

[percyluvr]

hiii !! could you please do percy x apollo reader where she's like this super sunny girl and everyone thought that her and her ex were perfect together but her ex ends up breaking up with her after losing interest. and maybe the breakup kind of splits everyone into sides because it was healthy but also heartbreaking (and percy, without even knowing, is somehow is her #1 advocate to everyone even if they don't know each other / barely ever talked before) and everyone watches as she slowly loses her spark and stops showing up for things, stays in bed all day, stuff like that and percy suddenly feels her absence and has enough of it and helps her pick up the pieces of her heart. he doesn't really pressure her to date or anything he just tries to be there for her by brightening her mood and teasing her and stuff and eventually he helps her move on from her ex. and like maybe a couple months pass of them being friends but also lowkey more than that and she confesses to him after annabeth or her friend makes her realize that she actually like LIKES percy when she loses it in a mad or a sad way at the sight of him with another girl (and she usually has her emotions in control) but yeah thats basically it !! thank u for reading this :)) hope ur having a good dayy

percy jackson x daughter of apollo!reader summary: your boyfriend breaks up with you and percy becomes your #1 defender, falling in love with you in the process wc: 4286

You, along with pretty much everyone else at camp, thought that your relationship was perfect. Being with your boyfriend was like a fairytale to you, but apparently it wasn't for him.

"Hey, so um, thanks for meeting me. I hope this isn't too random, but I just don't think our relationship is working anymore, and I think you feel it too," he says, looking into your eyes. If you weren't so in love with him, you probably would've smacked the crap out of him for this. You'd never been happier in your relationship, and he thought it wasn't working? You weren't quite sure if you were mad or sad in this moment.

"Oh. If that's what you think, then I agree," you reply, sadly smiling at him, trying to pretend that your heart wasn't breaking into a million little pieces.

"Alright, I still really like you and I hope we can be friends still," he says, and you know that he's saying it without malicious intent because he really is a good guy, which makes you even more frustrated.

"Sure, of course we can."

He gives you a hug and tells you to have a good day.

How are you supposed to have a good day when you just got dumped by the love of your life? You genuinely wished you could be mad at him, but he was just such a genuine and nice guy that you couldn't. You know that he only said it out of the good of his heart and because he didn't want the relationship to actually go downhill, but you were still frustrated and sad.

As if your day wasn't bad enough already, news of your breakup had already spread throughout camp, and everyone was looking at you with sympathetic looks. You had hoped to the gods that you could go at least a day before this happened, but of course not.

You got your food and sat down at your table, your siblings immediately crowding around you and asking you questions and trying to comfort you. You could hear people at the other tables talking about the breakup, and from what you could hear, people were taking "sides" in your breakup, even when they thought it was mutual.

"Hey, I heard about what happened. I'm so sorry, but we're all here for you, okay?" You hear one of your sisters say, but it doesn't really register. At this point, you feel numb, and you aren't really hearing anything people are saying anymore.

Later that day, you're sitting by the river, small sniffles being all you can manage to muster up after crying your heart out for the last 45 minutes. You're looking out at the water, thinking about what went wrong, when you hear footsteps approaching.

"Are you okay?" You hear an unfamiliar voice ask.

You don't even bother looking up. It's probably just another person here to tell you how they're on your side.

"No, but it's fine," you reply.

The person sits down next to you, and you finally look over, finding Percy Jackson sitting to your right.

He looks back at you, "hey, I'm Percy. Sorry if I'm interrupting, but I was just coming over to swim and I heard you crying."

"No, it's fine. I don't own the beach," you weakly laugh. "My boyfriend broke up with me today, if you're wondering why I'm crying."

"Yeah, I heard about that. I'm really sorry that happened to you, you seem really sweet."

"Thanks, but it's okay. He wasn't rude about it or anything, just said that he didn't think our relationship was working and that he hoped he could still be friends," you muttered.

He makes a sympathetic sound then says, "that's almost worse. I'd hate to be on the receiving end of that, especially if the person is genuine."

"Yeah, it really broke my heart. He was so genuine about it, and that's what really hurt. He still cares about me but he just doesn't love me anymore," your voice cracks in the middle of your sentence, and you look back at the water.

"Jeez, that seriously sucks. But hey, I'm sure it's not you that was the problem, maybe what he wanted in a relationship just changed?" It sounded like he was going to say more, but you made a sob-like sound and he immediately shut his mouth.

"I'm sorry, I'm really not good at this," he says awkwardly after a moment of silence.

"It's okay. If it helps, I do feel a bit better at least. You're not as bad as you think you are," you look over at him and he's already looking at you.

The two of you talk a bit more, before you excuse yourself to your cabin, not telling him why, but he suspected that you were going to cry more, and it made him sad to see you like this.

The two of you weren't friends, you were barely even acquaintances, but Percy now felt responsible for defending you. Every time he overheard a conversation where people were taking your ex-boyfriend's side, he would walk over there and set them straight, telling them how great you were and how the breakup wasn't your fault at all, and he should've been grateful to have you, even though the breakup wasn't messy at all.

People started to joke that he was the leader of your fan club, which secretly made him feel all weird inside. At the time he didn't know what he was feeling, but when he looked back at it, he knew that this was when he started to fall in love with you.

If, even a month ago, someone would've told Percy that the girl he'd always had a tiny crush on would've been single, and he was now openly defending you like his life depended on it, he would've first told them there's no way you did anything wrong, so what was he even defending you from? And second, he absolutely does not have a crush on you. Lastly, he would ask if you were really single, but not that he was asking for himself, he was definitely asking for a friend.

"Dude, you need to calm down defending her. She's not gonna let you hit just because you're taking her side," some camper makes the mistake of saying to his face.

"What the hell is your problem? Not everyone is trying to get a girl to 'let him hit.' Some of us are just decent human beings defending our friends," Percy says, before promptly soaking the guy in water and walking away.

This incident was just one of many where a camper makes the mistake of talking bad about you. At this point, he was one of the two people at camp that didn't know he was falling for you. You were the other, obviously, because how could you know someone else was in love with you when you were busy wallowing in your sorrows in your cabin?

About a week after you were broken up with, you began to distance yourself from all of the activities at camp, including the ones that once brought you so much joy. You'd never thought of yourself to be someone that would drown in their own sorrows, but then again, you'd never really experienced anything that would've proved yourself otherwise.

So, here you were, cuddled up in bed under about 5 blankets, mascara stains under your eyes, a box of tissues next to you, and another romcom on the TV, when you could've been outside doing archery or in the infirmary gossiping with your siblings like you would've done before the breakup. Your heart was aching so badly that you could barely even wake up in the morning. After your talk with Percy, you thought that it was easing up, even though that was only hours after the breakup actually happened, but you couldn't have been more wrong.

After a few days of this behavior from you, Percy was sick of it. He was sick of not being able to see you, and he was sick of you being sad. He went to the Stoll brothers and asked them to smuggle some ice cream in for him, as well as a stuffed animal and paid them extra to do it as fast as they could.

Every few hours, your siblings and friends would come into the cabin and check up on you, sometimes staying to watch a movie or two with you before leaving again and telling you to come get them if you needed anything. You heard the door to the cabin open again. Thinking it was just another one of your siblings, you ignored it and continued watching your movie. What you didn't expect was for Percy Jackson to be standing in front of you mere seconds later.

"Hey, I'm sorry it took me so long to stop by. I brought some ice cream, I don't know if it'll help or if you even like this flavor, but I thought it might help," he says, an awkward smile on his face, awaiting a response.

"Oh, well, thank you," you say, wiping your face, now slightly embarrassed about the mascara that was staining it.

"Hey, don't worry about the mascara, I get it. Well, I don't get it get it, but y'know what I mean, right?"

You let out a small laugh. "Yes, Percy, I get what you mean."

"Oh! I also brought this teddy-bear. It's the sunshine care bear, 'cause you're an Apollo kid," he smiles.

"Aww, thank you so much, Percy. It means a lot to me. Do you want to stay and watch movies with me?" You ask, desperately hoping he'll say yes.

"Yeah, yeah, sure. I'd love to," he replies.

You scoot over in the bed, patting the spot next to you, signaling Percy to sit down, and he obliges.

"So, what are we watching?" He asks.

"Well, I'm starting to run out of romcoms, so I've started to rewatch some. We're about to watch 10 Things I Hate About You," you say with a smile.

"What's it about?"

You explain the plot, and he listens with genuine interest.

This situation happens a few more times, before he finally asks you if you're ready to come back to camp activities. He doesn't add that he misses you when he's out there, but he desperately wants to. He refrains from any flirting because he doesn't want to pressure you, but it kills him to not be able to tell you how much he already likes you, even after just a few days of hanging out with you.

You tell him yes, and you'll be back to doing your activities tomorrow, to which he's overjoyed. He's never been happier in his life, and the two of you aren't even dating. Even when you are ready to date, if you still don't like him, he realizes that he would be happy just to be your friend.

When you're back to your regular responsibilities at camp, you realize just how much you've missed it. It takes a bit before you get back into the ropes of archery, but one wouldn't say you were bad. As an Apollo kid, you could never really be bad at archery, which you appreciated. Once you'd gotten the hang of it again, you realized how much you missed it. Archery had always been relaxing to you, not just because you were a daughter of Apollo. Even before you'd come to camp, your mother had you in archery lessons, and you'd enjoyed it even then. You were fully concentrating until you heard a familiar voice calling to you.

"Hey, I'm glad you're back out here. It's so good to have you back," Percy says, pulling you into a hug, the very first hug the two of you had ever shared. It was surprising at first, but you quickly melted into it.

"Yeah, I'm so glad to be back out here. I missed it so much. I owe you so much for getting me out of that bed, I was miserable."

He blushes. "Nah, it's fine. I knew you would feel better being out here, you love it too much to stay holed up in there, even if those romcoms were good," he jokes.

"Right? I knew you liked them," you say with a smile. "But yeah, you're right. I love being out here with everyone, and I love archery too much to give it up to cry over a boy."

He solemnly nods. "Yeah, I just can't tell you enough how good it is to see you out here. You look so much better, y'know? Your skin is like, glowing again."

You smile. "Thank you," you're about to say more when you hear a voice, specifically a voice belonging to the last person you wanted to see right now.

"Hey! It's good to see you out here," your ex-boyfriend says casually, as if he didn't rip your heart in two and cause you to become a hermit for 2 weeks straight. Percy gives him the nastiest look you've ever seen in your life, and try your best to contain your laughter, but you end up letting out a weird choked sound which earns you a smile from Percy and a weird look from your ex-boyfriend.

"Sorry, swallowed wrong," you say to him.

"Oh, alright?" He says confusedly, before trying to give you a hug, to which you not-so-accidentally swerve. He raises his eyebrow and you shrug.

"Uh, anyways. Yeah, good to see you too," you say before walking away with Percy, leaving your ex-boyfriend standing there confused. You didn't mean to be so rude, but you really couldn't stand being in the same vicinity as him right now.

The next day, you're in the infirmary, gossiping and laughing with one of your sisters, when Percy walks in, clutching his arm. You immediately get up, speed-walking over to where Percy is now standing.

"Hey, what happened?" You asked him, ushering him over to one of the beds.

"Was just doing some practice sword-fighting with your ex-boyfriend and he stabbed me right in the arm. I would've just gone to the ocean and healed it with the water, but I wasn't sure if it would heal this," he says before moving his hand from the deep gash on his bicep.

"Oh sweet Apollo, that was not an accidental stab. Sit here, put your hand back over it, I'll be back in a second," you say before rushing off to collect some supplies.

When you come back, you see Percy sitting with his eyebrows furrowed, muttering some unsavory things under his breath.

"Here, give me your arm," you request, to which he obliges.

You gently wrap his arm with gauze, noticing how intimate your position was and feeling awkward. You didn't want to mention it, not knowing if Percy felt the tension too. You tried to finish up as quickly as possible, hoping the awkward atmosphere would vanish. Unfortunately, it did not. When you finished, you noticed that Percy was staring at you with a weird look in his eyes.

"Um, I'm done, if it still hurts, I can get you some painkillers," you say, scratching the back of your head awkwardly.

Apparently, this breaks him out of his strange trance, and he nods.

"Yeah, uh, painkillers would be good," he replies, still in a slightly dazed state.

You rush out of the room as quick as you can, trying to avoid his gaze. When you were browsing the painkillers trying to find the best for his situation, you kept replaying the scene in your mind. You were trying not to be delusional, but you swore that when you caught Percy staring at you, he started to blush. You pushed it out of your thoughts and brought the medicine to him.

"Take two to four of these every six hours, and the pain should be gone in about two to three days," you said, handing him the container.

He nodded. "Okay, thank you. Maybe you can prescribe some pills to calm your ex down or something," he joked.

You laughed softly. "I wish we had any that would help. Just try to stay away from him. The breakup was his idea so I really don't get what his problem is," you say.

Percy shrugs, and the conversation ends.

Over the next few weeks, you see Percy in the infirmary more than you've seen him there in the past 4 years combined, which is odd, but you don't really think much of it. The injuries are all very small, and he could definitely heal most, if not all with water, but you don't comment on this, as you've really been enjoying having Percy's company during the day.

A few months pass on, and it's another slow day at the infirmary. You're talking with your sister and drinking lemonade, when something outside catches her attention.

"Hey, do you mind if I leave for today? I saw my man walk past just now. I'm thinking today is the day I confess!" Your sister tells you.

"Yeah, sure. I doubt anyone else will come in today anyway. Go get him, girl!" You encourage.

She basically runs out of the infirmary, making you laugh.

A few minutes later, Percy is back. You weren't expecting him back today, as he'd already been here this morning, but he was always welcome.

"Hey, Percy. What happened now?" You ask.

"Oh, I'm fine. A bunch of other people are going to the beach later, and I was just wondering if you were going to be there," he says shyly.

"Hm, I guess it really wouldn't hurt. When did they say they'd be there?"

"Uh, they said they were planning to go in around 30 minutes, I think," he replies.

"I mean, there's no one else scheduled to be at the infirmary today, but it's pretty slow today, so I guess it'd be fine," you conclude.

"Alright, awesome, cool. I'll see you there then," he said before rushing out. You looked out the window and the sight of him jumping up and down and cheering made you laugh harder than you'd laughed in a long time. He looked back through the window and saw you already looking at him. He gave you a pained look and ran off.

"Wow, I sure choose normal people to be friends with," you mutter to yourself before writing a note and putting it on the infirmary door saying that it'd be empty for the rest of the day. You went to your cabin and began changing into your swimsuit. You put a pair of jean shorts and a yellow tank top on over your swimsuit and grabbed a towel.

You talked to your siblings that were in the cabin for a bit before heading down to the beach. You spotted Percy sitting on his towel, looking at everyone else that was swimming. You put your towel down next to his and sat down.

"Hey waterboy, whatcha lookin' at?" You asked.

"Nothing really, was just waiting for you so we can swim," he says, smiling over at you.

"Alright, let's go then," you say, taking off your shorts and tank top as Percy watches, not noticing how intensely he was staring until you cleared your throat.

"Are you going to just sit there and stare at me, or are you gonna come with me to the water?" You teased, causing him to blush a deep red.

He immediately takes off his shirt, revealing his toned abdomen, which you should've expected, he was a swimmer after all. You were in awe, but he spoke up, "now look who's staring."

He grins at you before grabbing your hand and running to the water. Your shorter legs had a hard time keeping up with him, but you somehow managed.

The two of you splashed and swam until the water began to get cold. You both raced back to the towels, bundling up and sitting on the beach.

"Hey, we're going to have a bonfire, if you guys want to come," Connor Stoll says to you and Percy.

"Yeah, sounds cool," Percy replies for the both of you.

"Alright man, awesome. We're going now, so."

You and Percy grab your stuff and follow Connor to the campfire.

As the sun sets, you're all chatting and roasting marshmallows.

"Hey, Perce. Thanks for inviting me, and thank you for helping me get over my break up. We weren't even really friends before and you still helped me. I don't know what I would've done without you," you confess.

"Yeah, yeah. It's no problem. I mean, you're really sweet, and I'm glad to call you my friend now, too."

You smile, and spend the rest of the night quietly talking to Percy, which catches Annabeth's eye.

The next day, you hear a knock on your cabin door. You open the door to probably the last person you would expect to be there, Annabeth Chase.

"Hey, what's up? Who're you here for?" You ask.

"You," she says, causing your eyebrow to raise.

"It's nothing bad, at least, not for me."

"Uh, okay," you say, stepping out of your cabin and closing the door behind you.

Annabeth sits down on the steps, and you follow.

"So, I noticed you and Percy last night at the bonfire," she says with a small smirk on her face.

She must've seen the confused look that flashed across your face, because she laughs. "You two were all over each other, I swear. You two are so in love it makes me sick. There's no way neither of you have noticed this. I'm not even going to bother bringing it up to Percy because he has seaweed for brains, I swear. But you're smart, so I'm saying this to you. You two like each other, and it's physically paining everyone else at camp to see you two pining over each other like idiots. Please, for the love of the Gods, tell him how you feel, because I guarantee he feels exactly the same. That's all."

If there was any time to take a bow, it would've been after that speech, you think.

"Well, after that I guess I have no other choice," you joke.

This seems to satisfy her, because she gets up and pats you on the shoulder before walking away and wishing you luck.

Later that day, you decide that you're going to tell Percy how you feel, consequences be damned. I mean, if Annabeth Chase is telling you to do something, you better do it.

That night, you're standing in front of the Poseidon Cabin, mustering up all your courage to go inside and confess your feelings to Percy. You open the door, and all your confidence that you had conjured up fizzles right out when you see Percy sat on the floor talking to some girl that you didn't know the name of. His eyes catch yours, and you feel the tears forming. You turn around and run out as fast as you can, not caring how crazy you look running through the camp and crying. When you finally reach the beach, you sit down. You didn't expect Percy to follow you, so when you heard footsteps and heavy breathing, you jump up and scream.

"Hey, woah, you're very fast," Percy says in between heavy breaths.

"What do you want?" You ask, tearing streaming down your face.

"Wait, what's wrong?" He asks, clueless.

The question only makes you cry harder.

"Hey, c'mon, don't leave me in the dark, we're friends, right?"

"Yeah, and I guess that's all we'll ever be," you snap.

"What are you talking about?"

"Percy, please," you say, exasperated.

"I don't know what you're talking about, okay. Please just explain."

"Okay, fine," you say, trying to control your crying. "I was going into your cabin to tell you that I like you. No, I don't just like you, I love you, Percy. That's what I was going to tell you. But then I saw you in there with that girl, and it upset me, but at least now I know you don't like me back, so that's awesome."

"Hey, hey, slow down now. Who ever said that I don't like you back?"

"What?"

"You just said that I don't like you back, but I never said that, okay?"

"But what about that girl?" You ask.

"She's from the Aphrodite Cabin, she was helping me figure out how to tell you that I like you. No, I love you," he says your name, and you feel the blood rush to your cheeks.

"Oh," you say, now feeling extremely stupid.

"Yeah."

"Well, um. I'm sorry for freaking out on you," you manage to squeak out.

"Hey, it's fine, okay? I probably would've done the same thing if I was you, don't worry about it," he says, grabbing your hand in between his two larger ones.

"So, um, what now?" You ask.

"Well, we could always kiss," he jokes, not expecting you to actually say yes.

When he feels your full lips on his, he feels like crying, and he thinks he actually does, if the salty taste in his mouth is any sign.

You kiss for what feels like hours, breaking apart for air.

"So, uh, what would you rate that kiss out of 10?" He jokingly asks, breaking the silence.

"Um, probably a 9. But I could rate more accurately if I got to experience it again," you say, and he immediately takes you up on this, crashing your lips together in a somehow more passionate kiss than before.

a/n: okay so i DEFINITELY went crazy with this, but it was just such a good request so thank you saur much and i hope you like this !! i tried to follow it as closely as possible but i got kinda carried away on some parts,, this is also the longest fic i've ever written on this app so do with that what u will

[constantfragmentation]

It's bugging me...

The inconsistencies and a lack of detail and continuity in S2. S1 was all about the tiniest details.

Don't get me wrong, the animation is gorgeous, BUT --

The underwater scene is where Jinx lets Silco go.

He was RIDDLED with bullets. Yet, not a mark on him?

Why is his damaged eye closed? I thought he didn't have an eyelid. Artistically, I think having his lifeless eyes glazed over would have been more dramatic, considering it's Silco. Nah, he just sinks like Jack to the depths of the Titanic.

How deep IS the Pilt River?? I'm assuming that's where she 'buried' him.

The whole first act is so damn rushed.

No one seems to wonder what happened to Silco? He was only the main person holding the Underground together by the strands of his pomade hair. His death is a BIG deal, yet it's glossed over. No one questioned any of it???

Sevika is just, okay, let's move on like it's another day (granted, Zaunites are probably predisposed to be like that, but that doesn't make for good storytelling if you're not letting the audience in on anything), and chatting it up with Jinx as if they just bonded. I didn't feel that happen. I like that they low-key ripped into him post mortem, because that feels natural but what got them in that room together DOESN'T.

I want to know how these characters FEEL. You got that in spades during S1. But S2 is just expecting you to assume or they would attempt to take the time to use what would be great writing and evolving these characters.

Caitlin is hurting, I get it. But she went full Commando Psycho mode. Girl, everyone has lost parents, siblings, etc... She doesn't even flinch when Vi tells her Enforcers killed BOTH her parents. She's lost a beloved sister... but Cait is affronted when Vi shirks from becoming an Enforcer. Let's just forget what PIltover did to Zaun for generations and to LOADS of people.

Vi? Oh girl. What happened to you?

Jinx is a bit better but not much. I don't buy Silco's death was a zap to the brain to chill her out a bit. She's still my Chaos Queen but unless there is something to explain some shit in the following episodes, I'm going to be really ticked at the lack of care in characterizations with who are the supposed leads in this story.

Jesus Viktor. That's it. That's all I got.

Well, I did LOL when he woke up and gave Jayce the "bye Felicia" in 2.2 seconds.

We don't get to know what Ekko is thinking since all this shit went down? As far as he knows, Jinx is dead and to learn to she bombed Piltover?

The music videos substituting for the plot are REALLY bugging me. It's lazy writing. The music was used well in S1 to ENHANCE the scene (well, except for giving Imagine Dragons an animated cameo). Here, it's used as exposition, but it's not nearly good enough.

Useless characters and side-characters. Poorly executed plot devices. Uninteresting plot devices and trying to use the S1 parallels for characterizations.

S1 took time to introduce and flesh out these characters, even the side-characters.

We only had Vander for 3 episodes but he was a HUGE character. Marcus, Mylo, Claggor, Benzo, Grayson, Finn.... all were interesting and played an important part.

Jayce continues to be blah. So I'm not bothered.

Ambessa looks to be the new villain but it's not hitting with me. Plus, there's zero foreshadowing on some stuff in her arc that would have been useful last season.

I like Mel but I'm waiting to see what happens with her.

Hermydingding going all Mission Impossible. Just stop. Does he not give two furry fucks about what happened to his fellow councilmembers and Piltover?

I feel like RIot is trying to shove way too much into one season and sacrificing good story-telling to do it.

I miss the details.

So far, I'm really underwhelmed with this season.

[ist4rgirlo]

𝐰𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐬𝐨? : 𝐈𝐈𝐈

Summary: Growing up with the Conklins and the Fishers has been a wonderful experience for you; you feel as if you were a part of another family. Your days of stress as a child were over, well at least you thought that was the case not until you had to choose between your two childhood bestfriends, the one who did you wrong and the one who has been waiting his entire life for your decision.

Prev || Steven Conklin x fem!reader || My blog

Warnings: PURE FLUFF (lmk if i missed anything!)

───────────────────────────

Steven’s Pov

It has been a year since Conrad gave me his blessing, a year since he decided to let y/n go. I have been helping y/n a lot and it honestly made our bond so much special. We were literally inseparable and I would not trade it for anything else.

Despite my feelings growing over the years, I have fallen in love with her. It all began when we were young. She had just moved into the neighborhood and became our neighbor. She was my first playmate, she was the first girl that made me feel all tingly.

Whenever we played together back then, mom would always call it a "playdate." it was corny but I loved the thought of it. I realized my love for her when we were seven, when we accidentally kissed, a silly little peck. It was still funny back then. My mother and her mother witnessed the incident, and even captured it on video.

She has been always important to me. Mom has always believed we would be together, not until the Fishers came. When it was supposed to be Steven and Y/n, it became Conrad and Y/n but I never hated Conrad, I never fought with him about it.

They were both my childhood best friends, so I let them be.

───────────────────────────

Your Pov

After a year since the incident with Conrad, Steven has been a great help to me. He has helped me move on and carry on with my life. He was the reason why I’m still here, living and breathing.

During those times when he was helping me, I began to develop feelings for him. But I couldn't tell him - no, it was too fast, I don't want him to think that he is just a rebound.

“Y/n?” Steven tappped me, snapping me out of my thoughts.

I turned to him and smiled. He smiled back, offering a hand — pulling me up from my seat. “You ready?” he asked.

Steven decided to take me out today - it was a friendly date, well that’s what I thought, what I assumed.

I never wanted to make the same mistake again, Steven is a good person — he really is, I know that he’ll never hurt me like that but can you really blame me if i’m just being cautious?

I nodded, following him outside the door. We walked towards his car — he opened the door to his car, guiding me. These were the bare minimum but it sure made my heart flutter.

Steven went around his car and sat at the driver’s seat.

“So.. how’s your day going so far?”

“Steven, we’ve been together all day” I said, throwing my head back — laughing.

“Hey! Is it bad that I’m asking my bestfriend?” Steven frowned before poking me on my side — tickling me.

Yeah “bestfriend” — would lie if I said that it didn’t hurt me a little bit. “Focus on the road!” I giggled — pushing his hands away.

“Sooo.. where are you taking me?”

“You’ll see” Steven said — looking at me, smiling gently.

TIME SKIP

We arrived at the beach, we were in Cousins — the last time I went here was when I got my heart broken.

Steven hopped out of his car and went around it to open my door. I smiled at him as I take his hand as a support.

I took a deep breath and looked at the beach, Cousins has always been beautiful. We both sighed in amazement. He pulled me closer, putting an arm around my waist as we walked towards the shore

“So why exactly did you take me here?” I asked, looking up at him.

He shrugged “Just wanted to make new memories” he looked down at me — smiling.

“Plus I knew how much you love to watch sunsets, and this place was special to you so I decided to take you here” he answered while smiling at me and taking my hand into his

Steven made me feel special in this moment, he always did. He was always the one who remembered the littlest details about me. He always knew how to make me happy. I wonder why I was unaware of it at the beginning.

When we reached the shore, he placed a mat on the sand and sat down — patting the space beside him, telling me to sit down.

I love this place, I always loved Cousins, I always loved the beach house. It was a wonderful escape from the hectic of life to come here and enjoy the breeze of the ocean.

“It’s so beautiful” I whispered — wind blowing against my face. I looked at Steven, smiling gently. He was also admiring the ocean, this is where we grew up, our second home.

Steven turned to me “It is huh? It’s always been beautiful” he smiled — I nodded.

“You know what, let’s put on some music”

I reached for the bag and gave it to Steven, he pulled out the speaker and placed it gently on the mat. He pulled out his phone and started to play our favorite song.

Moon river, wider than a mile

I'm crossing you in style someday (someday, day)

A dream maker (maker)

My heart (you heart) breaker

I smiled at him — he stood up “Come on, I wanna dance with you” he said before offering me a hand, pulling me up.

I giggled — he twirled me before placing both of my hands around his neck, his hands placed on my waist.

Wherever you're goin'

I'm goin' that way (the same, the same)

“This feels nice” I hummed — we both moved in a tiny circle, my head leaning against his chest.

Steven moved his hands away from my waist, putting a small space between us. My heart was pounding so rapidly, I felt like it was going to jump out of my chest.

Steven tucked a piece of my hair behind my ear before saying “You look beautiful” — he smiled gently, his cheeks red.

I slapped his chest gently “Gosh, you’re so corny Conklin” I laughed.

Two drifters off to see the world

There's such a crazy world to see

We're all chasin' after all the same

Chasing after our ends

He chuckled before pulling me close again — now his arms wrapped around my waist, my arms wrapped around his neck. He swayed us side to side, still dancing to the song.

The fact that I am this close to him has only confirmed how much I like him, how much he really means to me.

I pulled away gently, “Stev-“

I felt him pull me closer - he leaned then next thing I knew his lips were against mine. My eyes closed — melting against him. Both of us stayed there for a while before Steven pulled away — rubbing my cheek with his thumb.

I opened my eyes and looked at him. “I- I’m sorry” Steven paused, his voice shaking “I just wanted to do that for so lon-“

My lips pressed against his, cutting him off as he began to melt against me - I could not help but smile against his lips - this answered my question, he likes me too like how much I like him.

I pulled away, catching my breathe — looking at him in the eyes, I smiled gently.

“I like you”

“I like you”

We both said at the same time. We giggled — relieved because we both felt the same. Steven was about to lean towards me again but his phone rung.

I chuckled — he smiled awkwardly before answering his phone, it was his mom.

“Hey mom” he said before kissing my forehead, I pulled him closer and hugged him — he hugged me back using the arm that his other arm — wrapping it around my shoulders.

I left small kisses on his cheek, I felt so inlove — he giggled, his face flushed.

Who knew being in love would feel like heaven - it is absolutely euphoric to know that the man you like, also likes you. His need for me was the same as my need for him, and he wanted me as much as I wanted him.

It feels so nice having this kind of love, it feels so nice having this with Steven.

───────────────────────────

taglist : @joeybandthings @scysuxx @fangirl-kimora @avengershoeee @tasha13-blog2 @lemon-lav

so this is the last chapter for this fic !! i hope everyone likes it - i honestly couldn’t wait and just went and got them together I MEAN THEY BOTH DESERVE TO BE HAPPY SO WHY NOT :))

lmk if you guys have any requests i’ll happily do them !!

[urfictional]

what doesn’t kill you… `𝐁𝐎𝐍𝐔𝐒 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 - 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘤𝘰

Summary: The one where it all started with betrayal. A meeting that later grew into a partnership no one expected. In the end, they both will have their Nation of Zaun. Or will they?

Warnings: Arcane spoilers, drug use, blood, violence, typical Arcane stuff.

Pairing: Silco x f!reader

series masterlist

Dear, Silco.

Before I begin, you should know how difficult it is for me to put my feelings into words. So, please accept my apologies if this letter does not come across as sincere as I had hoped.

I'll most likely be long gone by the time you read this letter. And the most important thing you should know is that it was not your fault. The events of the previous few days had had a profound effect on me. Every day, something happened that made me question my beliefs, feelings, and power that I held.

It all began when we went to see Ren. God, that little girl. She was the one who started it all, and everything went downhill from there. When I saw Marcus's body on the bridge that day, I realized Ren will be alone. And that was something I wanted to change.

Remember how many times have I told you how scared I am of not knowing how to raise a child? Since you brought Jinx with you that day, every day I feared that I might do something wrong. Perhaps this is why she grew up to be your daughter rather than mine. You were always better at this than me.

But with Ren it was different. It was as if all of my fears had vanished, and I knew exactly what I needed to do. Now I'm wondering if it was all meant to be. Perhaps Marcus was meant to die so that I could care for Ren. She changed me. She changed me completely and I am sorry. Believe me when I say that it was never my intention to leave you on purpose. And, as you are aware, we do not have the ability to stop the river from flowing into the sea or stop the sun from setting. The same was with me. This was something I couldn't stop.

I know what you're thinking right now. Why was I so upset that you chose Jinx when I was willing to give up everything for the Sheriff's daughter? Well, accept my sorry. It's just that when I realized you weren't going to hand her over, something in me snapped. I was enraged that you could jeopardize our dreams for the sake of a girl. Only after our argument did I try to put myself in your shoes. And now I understand.

Because I would do it too. I couldn’t give up Ren. Not for anything.

Silco, I hope you can find the strength to forgive me. After all, we both gave up our lives for girls who were left alone in this world. We appear to have more in common than we previously thought.

There is only one thing I need from you. Please do not come looking for me. I'm sure you could find me if you wanted to. Please, don’t. Regardless of how angry, disappointed, or sad, you are.

Zaun is your world, it’s where you’re supposed to be. You fit there, and I don’t.

Someone once told me that when they first saw me, they thought I was a Topsider. I'm not saying I was too good for Zaun; you, of all people, know that's not the case. But maybe this wasn't the right city for me. After all, it has brought me only grief and suffering.

I want you to know that I believe in you, Silco. I never stopped. Continue what we started, there will be plenty of other opportunities. Create the ideal Zaun, just like in our dreams. Meanwhile, I’ll be on the other side, always thinking about you.

And remember,

I love you.

y/n

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

[tinylilacbun]

Hi! Really love your stories. Could you please write something about daddy Steve (or maybe daddies stucky, you choose) when their little keeps on letting some words she should only use when in big space skip? Also, can i have this emoji 🦇?

Shouldn't have said it

Pairing: daddy!stucky x little!reader

Warnings: Age Regression, use of no-no words, fluff, time-out

A/n: Yes, you can have the emoji!

                                   ⭒𖥸⭒

You heard your papa and daddy arguing one day (something you weren't supposed to hear), and you had heard your papa use a no-no word. He used many that day one even rhymed with your daddies name. You had come up with a new nickname for your daddy. Now you just needed one for your papa. Daddy's nickname was Fuck Buck and papa's was penis face.

Papa was away on a run while Daddy was taking care of you. You had just woken from a nap calling out for Bucky using his new nickname, "Fuck Buck I wake," yelled out. Bucky hadn't heard the first part of the nickname, so he came walking towards your bedroom.

"HI Bubba, was your nap good?" Bucky questioned.

"Yes, Daddy! Do you like ya new nickname I make fa you?"

Bucky, not knowing what you meant agreed just to be nice. "Yes, bub, I do! Has a nice ring to it." It sure does

"Come on, Bubba gotta get you ready for the day now. Later, we're going to the park."

Bucky had thrown you into the bath, watching you play with you, duckies and bubbles.

"Fuck Buck an you wash my hair now pwease?"

Bucky looked at you like you were joking he couldn't take you seriously. He couldn't believe what you had just said.

"Bubba, what the hell did you just say."

"Ooo hell!"

"Bubba! Those are naughty words you are using! You are not allowed to use them. You're only allowed to use them when you're big, baby!"

"Do not use them anymore. Do you hear me!?"

You nod your head. "Baby, I need a verbal response to know you understand me. You say them again, and there will be consequences."

"Yes, Daddy."

Bucky hadn't heard it, but you had sniffled a little. "You wied to me."

After your bath, Bucky had gotten you in a green sweater and black overalls paired with a white pair of shoes, so you could go to go to the park soon.

Papa had just gotten home from his run when you ran to him he was sweaty and kind of stank. "Ew, papa, you stink. Needa baf."

"I need to change out of my clothes, and then we can go to the park, ok," papa questioned

"Ok, penis face."

"What the hell did you just say little love?"

"Hell!" You screeched and giggled.

"This is not funny bubba you know what I told you about those words, we're not going to the park anymore, and you get time out. The rest of the punishment will be talked out between me and Papa. Go to your time-out chair in your play room now!" Daddy yelled.

After your time-out, your daddies came back to talk to you. They were going to talk to you about what you did wrong.

"Baby? Are you ready to talk?" Papa asked.

You didn't answer. Your daddy picked you up and sat you on your bed, your daddies sitting on either side of you.

"You wied ta me daddy. You said you wiked my nickname, and den I got in twouble for it. An you yelled at me."

"God baby, I'm so sorry I didn't hear you, and I just wanted to agree to make you happy. Daddy is sorry for that and yelling at you."

"Sokay, Daddy."

"But your daddy did warn you still said the bad words, and you'll have no screen time and going to bed early." Papa said

"OK, Papa, an daddy, I understand, an m sorry fa bein bad."

"You're our good girl," they say at the same time.

                                   ⭒𖥸⭒

Taglist

For everything:

@my-river-lilly @pauntedblacknails @fanfictioniseverything @devilslilbabysblog @buckymydarlingangel @hallecarey1 @daybreakwinter @loveshineslikethesky @wandaslittlewhore @vase-of-lilies @white-wolf1940 @simpingbutch @mischiefsemimanaged @alina02 @teddybearsgrr @doozywoozy @angelbabydoll28 @glxwingrxse @lilymurphy03 @veryvaughnny @lokigirlszendaya @youngstarfishdinosaur @little--baby--bear @minideathgoddess @rach2602 @aagn360 @gh0stgurl @flourishandblotts-inc

For stucky:

@almostcontentcreator @stuckysgirl27

[rpreaperperson]

6: Grumpy Claw

For more : Masterlist

Warning: Mean Ghost...dont he always

Cheeks puffed, eyebrows furrowing, mouth upside down, eyes glaring at certain someone

And that someone ... is the one who push her down the river when they tried to escape from the mercenaries to the river

Her fluffy tail tapping, each time its tapping the person who makes her anger flinch 

“Kitty...c’mon you know he didn’t mean it, he just doesn't want you to get hurt..” Soap coax her to forgive whatever the culprit had done to her

 “psst, what's wrong with her?” Grave whisper at Soap

“uhh well...”.

.

They’re moving on the white building that kept Hassan....well supposed to anyway, all they got a cartel members and no signs of Hassan

But Claw can still smell Hassan around the room as she sniff around the room.

“They must’ve moved him” her ears twitching at the rough voice

“When?”Soap ask

“not long Master, not to mention theres his flag, must I say your intel’s perfect Master Ale” her finger tracing the flag as she glance at Alejandro, nodded in gratidute Alejandro smiled at her

But then a sound of rumbling alert her,and the tense of her body making Ghost alert too

He glancing out the window

“What is it?”

“The army”

“We got reinforments”

“Negative” Claw snapped her head at Alejandro

“They’re enemies?! But..why?! I thought the army –“ Claw shriek ears flatting against her head in fear

“Calm down gatita, These are troops are paid by the cartel. They’re helping the cartel protect Hassan” hearing this making her ease a little bit

“Mutiple vehicles...troop transports. Light armor”

“Hold fire, let them get close” Claw mounting her gun rushing into Soap side, her belly full of adrenaline glancing at each of her Masters

‘So...this is war..although I already feeled one..but why is this one feels different?’

“Weapons free!!”

“Nya?!” She immediately duck when a bullet came through her, annoyed Claw throwing her grenade

“Eat this! KABOOM!”

“Good girl!” Alejandro praise, Clam beamed at the praise

Then the enemy threw a tear gas, yellow gas spread the room hands covering noses and mouths as they started coughing

Especially Claw who was deeply sensitive with her nose, ear flatting she wobbled as Soap grab her back collar, without word he held her close and jumped out the window along with the others 

“Ya okay Lass?” 

“Y-yes Master..” she smile assure him, Soap as usual rubbing her soft hair 

Alejandro who saw Soap’s affection to Claw became a little bit envy of Soap

“Down the hill! We'll lose them in the mountains! Fan out and stay close” following the Colonel order they retreat down to the hill

.

Claw slit eyes scanning around the mountain as she pointed her gun, ear’s twitching wildly 

“Save your ammo Cl-- “her eyes caught something and she lauches her bullet pass one of the soldier head Rodriguez, she shot a sniper who had been aimed them from the ledge

“YEAH! Did you see it? Ma-” Ghost stare stabbed through her skull, a silent scold treatment 

Her ear flopped into her head

“Good shot Claw!” then she beamed at the praises from Alejandro

.

“Ahh so I’ve heard she’s really a good shooter” Grave glance at Claw who still glaring at the person

“And I so proud of her...Anyway” 

.

“You’ve lead us to dead end mate!” nowhere else to go but to jump to the river

“W-we jump from here?” Claw squeked holding her gun close

“Don’t lose your weapon!” Alejandro jumped followed with Rodriguez

“Jump Claw!”

“I-I think -- “

“Bloody Hell .Just.GO!!” Ghost shoved her back, Soap widen his eyes as Claw falling into the river

“NYAAAAAA!!! I HATE YOUUUU MAS--”

Splashh!

.

“Ghost pushed her into the river and she mad at him?”

“more or less, but can’t say he doesn’t deserve it”

“Why?”

“eh..He’s been kinda mean to her today” rubbing under her neck Soap able to making Claw purring in delight

“Master..” the hybrid tugging his shirt

“mm?”

“Am I a bad girl?” eyes went teary as she looked upon his

“Nahhh why you think of that?? LT just havin another grouchy mood, ain’t that right  L.T?!”

“if she could be more obedient then maybe, I will not be this grouchy” Ghost snap at Soap

“W-woah woah hold it there Ghost..calm down” Soap putting his hand up, Grave raising his eyebrow surprised to saw the calm lieutenant be this snappy

“M-master...why did you so meann, I’ll do everything you told me...”

“No!, no you dont..” He pointed his finger at her 

Body trembling irrated , her eyes became teary

“FINE! I HATE YOU MASTER!! I WILL ASK MISS LASWEL TO BE MOVED ANOTHER TEAM!!”

Soap and Ghost stood there in shock 

“.....join me instead?” ask Graves patting her shoulder

“Can I?!

“Yep, ‘sides most of the boys is a cat person sooo..yeah they would be delighted” he smirk as Graves rubbing between her ears

“NO! join me instead Claw! I will give you many snacks as many as you wants!” suddenly Alejandro pop up out of nowhere with Rudy beside him deadpan 

“SNACKS?!” Graves ‘tsk’ing 

“Claw...please you dont have to..” Soaps plead became muted on Claw ears

Her attention completely focused on Alejandro

 then he glared at Ghost 

“....Shit” for the first time Ghost got scolded by Soap

Taglist:  @lilpothoscuttings  @kaoyamamegami

[chroniclesof15]

Ah, romance. I suppose I should be used to it by now, shouldn’t I? All the hearts, all the complicated relationships... It���s a bit like a puzzle, really. Sometimes you think you’ve got it figured out, only for one piece to go missing, or worse—break under the weight of everything that came before. I’ve loved many people in my time, and with each love, there's been this... overwhelming sense of connection. But then, just as quickly as it’s started, it ends.

Take River Song, for example. What a fascinating conundrum she was. A love that existed backwards in time, where we met each other in the most unexpected way. First, I met her at the end, at the start of her life, and somehow, through all of it, we kept finding each other. A relationship with all the twists and turns, and let’s not forget the mind-boggling paradoxes involved. Sometimes, I think I’d give anything to have had more time with her, but that’s the thing about time, isn’t it? You can never predict it.

And then, there’s Rose Tyler. Rose, my dear, brave Rose. The girl who was so much more than she realized. We both had something special, didn’t we? A love so pure, it stretched across universes. There are moments when I still think of her, when I feel the echoes of what could have been. But then I remember -- the universe had other plans.

And as for Rogue... well, there’s a love I didn’t expect. An alien bounty hunter, fighting for the wrong side, and yet, I couldn’t help myself. You know, Rogue and I have this... connection. When we met, there was so much fire, so much chaos. It was like we were both pulled into each other’s orbit in some strange way. And when we... parted, I thought that would be the end. But of course, time has a funny way of throwing things back into your path. We’ll meet again. I can feel it.

But love... love... is it worth it? Sometimes, I think I should’ve stayed away from it, from them all. And then I remember—no, I’m the Doctor. I love. I lose. I live. And that’s what makes it worth it.

[shivunin]

In Confidence

( Arianwen Tabris/Zevran Arainai | 2,392 Words | AO3 Link | CW: Fantasy racism, past parent death, emotional hurt/comfort)

“Where are you taking me?” Zevran asked, keeping pace with his Warden as they scaled the side of a building in the alienage. It was not a difficult task, though the state of the scaffolding they were climbing did give him pause. 

“You’ll see,” she told him, grunting slightly when she caught the board over her head and pulled herself up. 

Only fifteen feet separated them from the top—or so he hoped. Meeting her family had been trial enough on its own. He had not anticipated this sort of exertion afterward or he would have eaten far less at her father’s table. 

“Almost there,” she added, and there was the faintest note of an apology tucked beneath her usual impassive tone. If he had not known her so well, Zevran might not have heard it at all. 

“I am in no particular hurry,” he told her, and she stopped climbing to cast him a skeptical look. 

“Well,” Zevran amended, glancing below. “I must admit this is not how I thought we would be spending our evening.” 

Below, the vhenadahl swayed in the evening air off the Drakon River. People stood in clusters, their voices ringing off the stone, and food peddlers had staked out rival ends of the courtyard. It surprised him even now to see the condition of the alienage; he supposed that it explained something of his Arianwen that she had grown up in such a place. And yet—these people had built something here, among the ruins. He could see the bright hair of Tabris’s cousin bob through the crowd, pausing near one cluster of people and speaking for a time. They opened to her reluctantly, but even from this distance Zevran could see some of them begin to nod. Perhaps they would yet rebuild their community, even after what the slavers had done to them. 

“Are you coming?” Arianwen called down, and he realized that she’d made her way to the top while he’d looked below. Zevran climbed instead of answering, and reached for her hand at the top when she offered it. 

“We used to play here,” she told him, bracing to pull him over the edge and onto a wooden platform. “Shianni and I. Before and after it burned. It was our secret place, just the two of us. Poor Soris was never one for heights. He’d wait until he heard us climb down and then we’d all wander together. When his parents still lived, he’d grown up in the building next door. I used to hear his mother singing while she made dinner, back when I used to wander the streets looking for strays.”

“Ah—I see,” Zevran said, glancing around. 

The two of them stood in the burned shell of a house three stories from the ground. He had thought that they’d reached a platform at the top of the scaffolding, but he saw now that he’d been wrong. They stood on all that was left of a wooden floor, the edges blackened and crumbled away. Arianwen stood to the empty doorway, patting the wall beside it fondly. There was little else to see here—only the remnants of a bed, piles of fabric in the corners of the room that might once have been blankets or clothing, holes in the floor where the structure below had given way. He did not struggle to imagine two young girls finding this place out of curiosity, for he had done much the same when he’d been a boy. 

“Ready?” she asked while he was still considering this. She vanished through the darkness of the doorway before he could answer, so Zevran had little choice but to follow her into the hallway beyond. 

“How did this place burn?” Zevran asked, ducking a fallen beam and testing the floor before he went on down the hall. 

“Humans,” Wen said, and her face was shadowed when she glanced back at him. “It burned the night Soris’s parents died.”

There was a heavy silence then. She stopped long enough for him to catch up and caught his hand in hers. This was still new—Arianwen reaching for him, for comfort. Zevran did not know quite what to make of it yet. 

“She tried to escape the building after they set it aflame. One of them kicked her back inside. The man who—oh, nevermind. You don’t need the details,” she took a sharp breath, her hand squeezing Zevran’s, and went on down the dark hall. “A few days later, my ma was gone all night long. They found his body washed up on the river, cut to ribbons and bloodless. I didn’t realize until far later what that meant.”

“She was a fighter, your mother?” Zevran asked, for it seemed the safer topic of conversation. Tabris dropped his hand to climb under more debris. 

“She taught me everything I know,” she sighed, “I tried to forget it after she died. My body remembered for me. I’m grateful to it. But—here. Look.” 

They’d found the end of the hallway at last. Arianwen pushed the door open and revealed—

A closet. 

Zevran looked at her, brows arched high in question. To his surprise, she laughed. That was new, too—hearing her laugh when they weren’t in the heat of battle. It was a tired laugh, but that mattered very little in the run of things. 

“Watch,” she said, and turned the coat hook on the back wall. The wall fell away at the pressure of her hand, swinging open into the room beyond. 

“However did you find this?” Zevran asked, stepping into the room behind her. This room was lit by the lone window on the far wall, through which moonlight poured. In the cool light, he could see her clearly enough to read her face. Wistful—yes. She seemed wistful. 

“You know—I don’t remember,” she said after a moment. “I don’t know which one of us opened the door, or even when it happened. I only remember it being our place, Shianni’s and mine. Here.”

She lit a candle and held it up to the wall. Messy colors snaked up the crumbling plaster, handprints followed by rough drawings and holes in a familiar shape. 

“Throwing knives?” he asked, making his way to her side. Arianwen nodded silently, her lips parting and pressing tightly together again. 

Zevran knew that look. She was fighting some battle with herself, weighing what she ought to say to him. They would both be better served if he gave her space. 

“May I…?” he asked, gesturing to the room at large. Tabris nodded again, stepping closer to the marks on the wall, and Zevran slipped away. 

The corners held stacks of books here and there, all adventures set in distant lands or histories of Ferelden. He found only two that he supposed must have belonged to his Warden: a book about animal physiology and one about the care and keeping of various household pets. Zevran smiled at the sight of them, leaving a streak in the dust covering each volume, and moved on. 

Most of the wooden walls bore the marks of her blades. Many of the marks had been thrown wide from their fingerpainted targets. He could follow the progress of her skill by those holes, could trace the time spent in this room by the neatness of the circles they fell within. 

When he had met the Wardens on the road all those months ago, he had met a blade of a woman. She was hard and quick and sharp, flashing through the crowd of Crows like light through a fast-running river. There had been nothing of fear or weakness in her. She had seemed—impervious, somehow. As if nothing in the world could touch her, as if she had sprung into existence precisely as he saw her in that moment. 

Zevran knew better now, of course. He had seen her at her most vulnerable in the mornings when she slept, had watched her uncertainty upon seeing her father again. Two days ago, she had wept over Zevran’s body when she’d thought him dead by Taliesen’s hand. Today, standing in the dusty remnants of her childhood, he knew her better than he might have thought possible even a month ago.

Even so—it was surprising and endearing, somehow, to know that she had not leapt from her mother with blades in hand. Once, many years ago, she had learned her craft just as he had. Maker’s teeth, but sometimes Zevran wished they had known each other then, before the softness had been carved from them both. Who had she been? Who might he have been, in that other life that neither of them would ever live? 

“Here—this is what I actually meant to show you,” Arianwen said. 

Zevran blinked and found her beside him, though he had not heard her approach. She slipped her hand into his, lacing their fingers together, and pulled him with her to another door. When she opened it to the night beyond, cool air brushed over his cheeks. They had only been in the room for ten or fifteen minutes, hardly long enough to notice how still the air was. Even so, it was a relief to step into a fresher breeze.

“You can sit,” she told him, but leaned forward against a flimsy railing. 

They’d stepped out onto a narrow balcony of sorts. A broken pulley hung from the wall to their left and an alleyway stretched into the darkness of the alienage beneath them. It was wide enough for two chairs and little else, though the gleam of glass bottles beneath them suggested what this space had been used for most recently. 

“This was—” she sighed, and one fist thudded lightly against the wood of the railing. “I was last here on the night before my…before the wedding.”

Arianwen leaned forward until her shoulders hunched.  Her hands were joined into one fist, knuckles pale against the brown of her skin. Zevran breathed sweet night air and watched her. It was still difficult—to wait, to allow her to unspool whatever she’d been fighting. It would be easier to make some joke. Already, one stood waiting on his tongue. But—no. 

No, he found he rather wanted to know what she’d brought him here to say.

“Shianni was too drunk to climb down. I was too scared to try on my own. We dozed off here and dragged ourselves back home at dawn. I remember thinking that it would be the last time I ever came up here. I knew…I knew I would never want to share this place with a stranger. How could I?” 

Zevran nudged one of the chairs aside, wincing when he heard the bottles beneath tipping against each other. He found a spot beside her at the rail and rested his arms against it. Arianwen did not look at him.

“The night my mother died, I was here. I came home late because I’d argued with my father and I knew he would worry if I was out for too long. I was…punishing him. By the time I came back, she was already gone.”

A breeze brushed small, loose hairs over her forehead. Tabris reached up and pushed them back, frowning slightly. Zevran edged closer and leaned his shoulder against hers. After a moment, she bent to lean her head against his shoulder. 

“I don’t blame myself. It wasn’t my fault. This isn’t about that. This is—ugh.”

Zevran wrapped an arm around her waist, thinking hard, but there was little he could say. He had come to trust her slowly, had given himself over one careful piece at a time before he’d realized that he was doing so. It did not often pain him to tell her the hard things now. For her part, Arianwen had opened her arms to him readily enough once she’d begun to care, but it had taken longer to offer pieces of her heart to him in turn. Even now, he could feel her cutting them free for his perusal. 

“There is nothing that you must tell me. Yes?” he said, resting his shoulder against hers. “It can wait. A different night, some other place.” 

“No,” she said sharply. “I want to say—I’m glad you’re here. You should be here. I love this place and I hate this place and I miss it all the time. It was my secret, but now it’s yours, too. And that’s all.” 

Her eyes flicked up and away again, focusing on the dark alley below. 

“I’m glad you’re here, Zev,” she repeated quietly. “That’s all.” 

What could he say to this? Wen could be harsh and difficult and wore the intensity of her feelings like armor. Even so—she had brought him to this, the most vulnerable of places, the tenderest of wounds. She had brought him here and no other. 

Zevran swallowed around the thickness in his throat and nudged her hip with his. She looked up at him, the moonlight snared in her eyes, and what could he say? 

“Do you suppose any of these bottles still have wine in them? Some wine, a fine whiskey, perhaps?” 

Arianwen snorted, shoulders loosening slightly. 

“None that I’d chance drinking,” she said, but tugged a slim, dented flask from her pocket. “Here—I’ll share. But only because you asked.”

“You have my most sincere thanks, dearest Warden,” Zevran told her, voice smooth and dripping with charm. She snorted again, tapping his chest with the flask, and he took it. It was warm, held tight against her side all this time. He treasured the feeling of it as he unscrewed the cap. 

When they walked back to Eamon’s estate later, all but alone on the street, he sought better words. It was easier when she wasn’t watching him. It was easier when they were away from the place that had hurt and raised her. 

“I am glad I am here, too, mi vida,” he told her, watching the ragged road ahead. “Thank you.” 

Her hand slipped into his, palm warm and rough. Zevran wondered if she knew that the words were meant for more than just tonight. He wondered if she understood how far back the sentiment could stretch, that he was grateful for more than a secret shared and glad for his continued existence in a broader sense than glad could encompass. 

“Thank you,” she echoed quietly, and held on tight.

(For Zevwarden Week Day 2: Secrets, Kept and Told. Thanks @zevraholics for organizing this!)

[thesporkidentity]

an incomplete list of texts i sent as i slowly lost my mind over the second book of rivers of london, because i fully intend to drag at least one more person into this pit with me. come read with me i promise you're gonna feel so good and normal over this book, come closer

wow okay peter remains the absolute horniest bastard ever. is he a tits or an ass man? yes

oh we are just getting the surface levels hints of nightingales MOUNTAIN of unresolved PTSD and i am very 🥺

you ever feel like a character was written specifically to appeal to you? i'm getting so many tantalizing hints and i KNOW he's going to destroy because he's catnip. he is bait specifically designed to hurt my feelings

also his description makes me think of lee pace or like, 90s/00s paul mcgann and that's just Very Good and i'm being deeply not normal about it

also nightingale reads as SO queer to me, and the potential in fic to explore what that means insofar as how he has navigated the changing landscape of queerness from 1900 to present day is so tantalizing. i don't care that the author says he's not, in this case the author is wrong lol

i must say, i do not care for simone. if we absolutely MUST have hetersexual nonsense in this book i would like beverly back please. she was cool and not a cheating homewrecking jazz groupie lol

still not impressed with simone. i mean, far be it from me to judge a woman's grieving process and all, but she doesn't seem very broken up over her within-the-week dead lover. i mean, i LOVE peter and all and he's hot shit, but immediately falling into bed with him? sus

in conclusion bring 👏 bev 👏 back 👏

also peter, buddy, WHAT ARE YOU DOING

he's a disaster so even though i'm screaming DON'T DO THAT i am unsurprised he is being led around by his dick by a beautiful woman throwing herself at him

but i just. i Don't Trust Her. she doesn't make sense, and i can't tell if this is a case of male author writing wish fulfillment and thus not giving the hot girl adequate motivation of her own

or whether i AM supposed to find it suspicious the way she basically doesn't mourn the man she homewrecked who died very suddenly and then IMMEDIATELY jumps into bed with the magic cop investigating his very probable murder

and i REALIZE the only way to find out is to keep reading, it's just frustrating that women are written poorly so often that, even if he's written good women before, i still have to debate with this is a subtle clue or just Male Author Syndrome

oh my god he finally twigs that this may be weird behavior. peter. bud.

at least he got it before trying to sneak her past folly wards?

side note: god lesley really got the short end of the stick. like, her face fell off, her teeth are a fucking mess, and she probably has brain damage. she got royally shafted

peter "i'm totally straight" grant, talking about how he wants to take a muscly guy by the shoulders and kiss his cheeks and making sure to mention how many phone numbers her got while canvasing the gay bar.

hmm sure, jan

look i KNOW peter is Incredibly Horny All The Time when near any attractive woman, but simone appears from NOWHERE half dressed while he's canvassing for the jazz vampire and he just skives off like that? while looking for a potential killer? that doesn't seem like him he's not that irresponsible. that smells like conspiracy and glamour and i don't trust herrrrrrr

like, peter was already horny wanting to motorboat mama thames (lol don't think i didn't catch that pun) last book. but this book has been a whole new level of horny, and peter may be distractible but not THAT distractible surely

another side note. i love molly and nightingale's weird friendship they've developed living basically with just each other for decades.

oh jesus that's fucked up

oh the severed head is talking

oh. oh no. it got worse

peter, darling, beloved, is now REALLY the time to be talking about how hot your boss is? like i appreciate your dedication to the thirst but time and place, bud

oh never mind i forgive you nightingale is so fucking cool, i get it, i love him

he's so good. the most tragic backstory and perfect stiff upper lip old fashioned english gentleman on the outside, and then just below the surface he's a daredevil and a bit of a bitch and he fucking CARES just SO MUCH and have i mentioned how much the casterbrook wall HURTS ME?? this was revealed in the last book but i just remembered it and it stabbed me again

okay i'm done

i feel like peter has miscalculated making a deal with his cousin to teach her if she aces latin. that's gonna come back to bite lol hope you like teaching too smart for their own good teenagers cuz that's gonna be your life now

"but sir, what do we do if you die??!" "well, that doesn't seem like it will be my problem at that point :)" he's such a bitch sometimes and i LOVE him, mother

ohhhhh. oh no. the pale lady looked like molly and now molly is obviously not okay after she died, that resemblance wasn't just coincidence she definitely knew her 😢

and this is the first person peter has killed, no matter how accidentally. and nightingale is back in the hospital with his chest infection. wow everyone is just having a terrible time right now

okay. i realize that as a memory for him this probably isn't a GOOD one, it's from the war and probably much scarier and MUCH more traumatizing than he makes it sound with his dry narration of it. but god. nightingale knocked out two TANKS. by himself. with his mind. fucking sexy lol

oh damn it why can't they just let me be horny about how powerful he is instead of immediately following it with the fact that he was rear guard and making emotional that it means he was the one trusted to watch over and protect the rest of his men while they retreated as that one final shield between them and enemy fire

hhhhhhhholy shit what did simone DO to mama grant???!!!!

she just bitch slapped her!

OH MY GOD SHE TRIED TO HOMEWRECK HIS PARENTS TOO???

she's PLAUSIBLY IMMORTAL???

fuck i was right she was sketchy as hell!!

she's a fucking jazz vampire and she's been glamouring and sucking him dry! buddy, get to dr walid STAT for a brain scan and make sure she's not turning you into cauliflower!

peter don't you make excuses for her you KNOW it's possible, stop lying about your mum and trying to make her feel better you need to take her in she's a m u r d e r e r

i mean, glamour yes i realize but god, frustrating

good lad peter, i see you fighting it 💪🏾

ohhhhhhhh. oh fuck. she didn't KNOW. she didn't know she was from the 40s and killing people. oh this is bad

nightingale, attempting to show concern: "that was not the most intelligent thing you've done" xD 10/10 nailed it buddy

umm, nightingale? this may not be the black and white moral situation you think it is to go in guns blazing...

it's both funny and little sad how militant both molly and dr walid are when nightingale is injured like. i do LOVE when the person who is SUPPOSEDLY in charge gets lovingly bullied, but it hurts because that's also probably the ONLY way to make him take care of himself is if they FORCE him. and peter's not any better, he's gonna need bullying too

i do love when they team up though. molly and nightingale ganging up against peter like. nightingale gets the special treatment and a hot cocoa from molly, but peter gets the dog's leash and smug little "i'm on bedrest :)" or nightingale foisting the rest of his kidney pie on peter while molly is out of the room then grabbing his empty plate back to pretend he ate it all himself when she returns xD

the cases are interesting and all, but i think it's the core characters that are really the standout of the novel and the reason i keep reading even while i'm asking myself things like, but WHY is she killing via vagina dentata instead of literally any other assassination method? i think it's also why simone stood out so much. she HAD no background that we were told (until now) aside from being sexy. which of course i now know was intentional

"this is your brain, which is not only clean and unsullied by thought..." i love dr walid. it probably says something about me that my favorite characters all have to be at least a little bit of a bitch

oh no i'm having feeeeeelings about both nightingale and peter trying to keep the other out of the vampire raid to shield them from the emotional effects of it, just from opposite ends. nightingale doesn't want peter to have the pain of ANOTHER death on his hands, this one purposeful as opposed to the accidental death of the pale lady, so he's trying to just cut him out of it. and then peter ALSO doesn't want NIGHTINGALE to have the weight of more deaths on his soul and wants to protect him from what he sees as the unfortunate necessity of having to off someone who isn't intentionally hurting someone but still may be too dangerous to live. nightingale trying to save peter from his bleeding heart and peter saving nightingale from his practicality overriding his morality 😭 i just love when characters try to take care of each other in mirrored ways

uh...uh oh peter...no i don't think those are the police OR nightingale's paratrooper buddies

okay the audiobook is fucking excellent though, his infomercial voice while extolling the virtues of doc martins is KILLING me

oh this posh wanker. "oh what is feeding on people but another form of exploitation, and we all know there's nothing wrong with exploiting workers, equality is morally bankrupt anyway" god i hate you already you're insufferable

like of COURSE a dining club oxford nose wipe would think that way. he thinks he's sooooo slick and original with his chimeras they're such exciting new COL crimes but it all just boils down the the exact same rich white bullshit mentality

he would hate it if he realized how dull and banal his villainy is once you strip back the shock value of the trappings. just another entitled prick who views people as things, fuck this dude

i'd be tempted to say the faceless man's signare smelling like pork was a dig at david cameron and piggate if i didn't know it was written a few years too early for that lol

peter: oh no nightingale is going to give me SUCH a bollocking nightingale, obviously so relieved he's alive: very much does NOT give him a bollocking and instead tells him how impressive it is that he didn't just immediately die against the faceless man

"for a terrifying moment i thought he was going to huge me, but fortunately we both remembered we were english just in time. still, it was a close call" 🤣🤣🤣

oh ouch peter. just use all his dead friends against him. effective but also, low blow

god he wants so badly for peter to be right, too, that they and HE doesn't have to kill anyone anymore, that how that it's not Just Him ALl Alone they might have the support structure for other options. oh no i want this to work so badly so that hope is validated, but i just know something is gonna go wrong

welp

i didn't like her but i didn't want her fuckin DEAD you know?

and now the ones left standing have to deal with the trauma and the fallout

oh lesley :( they're both trying so hard to be normal about it and they're such good friends 🥺

LESLEY DO MAGIC?

LESLEY JOIN TEAM FOLLY???!!

also don't think you've been sneaky there and that i haven't noticed SOME sort of thematic symmetry of lesley struggling with having lost her face involuntarily from magic, and the faceless man having voluntarily masked himself. involuntary vs voluntary loss of identity. i'm sure there will be more parallels in the next book but like. i see you. i see you setting up face themes with these two

hopefully with lesley regaining her face somehow and thus reclaiming identity while the faceless man is unmasked thus losing the identity he built for himself and revealing the true one he hid. maybe hopefully? i want good things for lesley and bad things for the faceless one.

[conceptalbummultiverse]

In the city of Richmond, Virginia, there's an island called Belle Isle. In the present day, it's a park, used mainly by walkers, cyclists, and folks who like to spend a day at the river without actually swimming in the river (which is not advisable for two reasons- the rough currents, and, in recent years, the consistently-poor water quality). It's also a site of historical significance, having once been a place where prisoners of war were held during the Civil War, and, from the early 1900's to the early 60's, having been the home of a hydroelectric power plant that powered the city. What remains of that power plant is still standing, which makes it a great place to explore and to serve as inspiration for "Fort Spark," the hideout of the Sparks gang where Xyloto lives in my story Strange Fascination: A Love Story. Subsequently, it's also where I imagine the story of the album Mylo Xyloto by Coldplay to be set.

The storyline of Mylo Xyloto is, as far as I'm concerned anyway, a love story between two people- a boy from "the wrong side of the tracks," and a girl from the city, who runs away from home after experiencing personal hardship. She meets up with the boy's gang, and the two develop a relationship, which is cut short when a rival gang attacks. After witnessing the violence, the girl realizes she's not safe and doesn't belong with the gang, and so she leaves, breaking up with the boy in the process. The album ends with him deciding to leave the gang for good and track her down so that they can be together. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it, regardless of what Coldplay and the officially-licensed comics say (the latter of which, mind you, came out the summer after the album's release, after the listener (me) had had plenty of time to form their own interpretation of the album. I haven't read the comics yet (I plan on doing so after finishing SF: ALS), but I have heard that they're drastically different from how I imagined the album to be. For starters, the characters of Mylo and Xyloto are actually one single character named Mylo Xyloto... and the story doesn't take place on Earth, either. Way to be vague with the actual album, Coldplay... of course, it also would have helped if they hadn't straight-up said around the time of the album's release that "Mylo Xyloto is a love story between a boy and a girl named Mylo and Xyloto." [Apparently Mylo was supposed to be the boy and Xyloto was supposed to be the girl, but I switched it around for my interpretation because I was NOT naming a female character "Xyloto," I'm sorry, I don't believe that any name should be gendered but "Mylo" DOES sound more like a feminine name to me and I couldn't ignore that feeling.])

Anyway… When I was deciding how to write out my interpretation of the story (which was integrated into the original version of SF: ALS, Concept Album Extravaganza), I came up with the idea of the gang living together in an abandoned building, where they held dance parties every night, as suggested from the lyrics of “Every Teardrop is a Waterfall" ("And all the kids they dance, all the kids all night, until Monday morning feels another life"). In my original story, this was a house on the outskirts of a town that had been abandoned because of a devastating fire. Instead of repairing and rebuilding, the people moved out of it and never came back. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go down that route when rewriting the story, though, because I wanted Fort Spark to be more secluded, so that leaving it would be more difficult. ("Fort Spark," by the way, is an off-shoot of the gang name, the Sparks, who I named as such because of 1. the lyric “light a fire, a fire, a spark” from the song “Charlie Brown,” 2. the band Sparks being one of my favorite bands, and 3. because in the album’s official storyline, some characters are known as “sparkers.” (The actual “gang” name (it’s more like a resistance movement, apparently) from the official storyline is the Car Kids, and I considered calling the Sparks the Car Kids, but for plot reasons, the Sparks couldn’t have cars, so calling them “the Car Kids” seemed silly. Not to mention that I don't really want to use a canonical name for my non-canonical interpretation of the album, especially when I don't know anything about who the Car Kids really are.)

For a while, I decided to stick with the abandoned house, but move it to the woods or farmland- the type of run-down house you see in the middle of nowhere when you're traveling through rural America. But Mylo Xyloto always had a strong urban element to me due to the graffiti theme- opening song "Hurts Like Heaven" mentions people writing "on every street, every car, every surface a name," and come on, just LOOK at the album cover.

(uuuggggh, it's so fucking beautiful... when this album came out, I actually occasionally carried the CD around with me just so I could look at the art when I felt like I needed it... but anyway)

So I needed a building that wasn't actually in a city- it had to be far away enough from civilization for Floyd, Ziggy, and Rael to reasonably get trapped there, murderous biker gangs out to get them aside- but felt like it should be in a city, with enough space for a group of nine teenagers, plus the aforementioned trio, to live and also paint the hell out of. And I was completely stumped over what that building should look like, and whether it could actually exist. Until by random chance, I happened to visit Belle Isle... and right there on the island was exactly the kind of building I was looking for! Ever since discovering this place, I've been obsessed with it, and it's always hard to explain why I keep listing it among "things that you MUST see in Richmond, Virginia." (Well, to be fair, the park is pretty awesome in itself.)

All photos were taken by me during said visit. I hope to go back there soon!

[starcrossedjedis]

I told you, I'd probably end up compiling a list of my favourite original WIPs and make my problem your problem x'D

No, but it's actually nice to see that out of all my ideas (so, so many ideas on this cursed Google Drive) there are indeed some that are dearer to my heart than others.

As per usual, feel free to let me know which one intrigues you the most (and whatever else you might wanna tell me or ask me about these, don't ever be shy about popping up in my askbox <3)

All her life Eleanor has looked over the river at the bright, shimmering lights of King’s Island; wondering what it would be like to be part of the elite - never worry about the future, never want for anything… There’s always been this whole different world just a short boat ride away, but for someone like Eleanor it might as well have been on another planet.

King’s Island is for royalty, for diplomats and for the filthy rich. Eleanor has been born on the wrong side of the river and she has no reason to doubt that this is where she’s going to die some day.

That is until one day she receives a letter bearing the Royal Seal. A letter that will change her life forever…

“No one was supposed to find our ritual site. Hell, we even cloaked our path. We took every precaution in the book to keep tourists and townies from waltzing in on our dance and exposing our existence to the world. And yet... Here we are. Here you are. I do believe something about Salem has been calling you, Liliana Cooper, but I don’t think it’s a post grad in Women’s Studies…”

There are days when Alice Hawkins feels like suffocating from the lies that dictate her life.

While her father risks much more than just his position as head of a private paramilitary organisation by covering up her healing abilities, she jeopardizes everything by hiding four strangers with special abilities from that exact same organization.

With the whole world against them all they have is each other, but will a dark secret from her troubled past as a spoiled corporate princess ultimately leave Alice cast out of both worlds…?

Athena has been Odysseus’ patron goddess for most of his life, always intervening when he is in danger, always ensuring the cunning young man comes out on top. Yet she has never fully revealed herself to him - only ever guiding him through visions; whispers from beyond the veil that separates her from the mortal realm.

But it’s always been a universal truth that the Olympians envy the human life and desire a taste of the passion and urgency that comes with mortality.

When Athena witnesses Odysseus spare the life of Hector’s infant son, an act so merciful and tender and against everything she’s taught him over the years, she cannot fight this curiosity any longer.

Like countless Gods and Goddesses before her, she takes a leave from her duties on Mount Olympus and joins the young king on his journey to Ithaca under the guise of a Trojan girl named Thea…

When Calleigh Mackinnon unexpectedly inherits her father’s cattle ranch “Miller’s End”, all she wants is to get rid of it as soon as possible. But when she goes there for her father’s funeral, she finds that he has left her a letter, telling his daughter that in order to get full access to her inheritance she has to spend one year on the farm.

Can a year spent with the people closest to her father - and charming foreman Alex - change Calleigh’s feelings for the land she grew up resenting? Where will her heart lead when this year is over?

Prince Damian has been betrothed to Princess Melayna ever since they both were children, growing up together at her court following the assassination of Damian’s parents.

But when he travels to her kingdom years later to finally take her as his wife, he falls in love with Selena; the heiress to the Travelling Court who is serving as a Lady in his betrothed’s court… 

tagged:@acabecca @akabluekat @asirensrage @bravelittleflower @curious-kittens-ocs @darknightfrombeyond @darkwolf76 @drbobbimorse @eddiemunscns @elmunson @emilykaldwen @far-shores @fcundwitch @foxesandmagic @fragilestorm @harleyquinnzelz @if-you-onlyknew @katiekinswrites @kingsmakers @mabonetsamhain @margoshansons @mystic-scripture @ocappreciationtag @sgtbuckyybarnes @stachedocs @susiesamurai @victoriapedrcttis

[xiaochiyo]

jin buyeon being the one true villain in the alchemy of souls universe is quite predictable (and honestly? pretty justified). picture this:

you are supposed to be dead. actually, you were never supposed to be born at all, yet you are pretty much alive and doing just fine thanks to jang gang, your mother, her terrible obsession over a heiress for the jin clan and the power of the ice stone. now, you are a half mass of energy, half human child who lives to fulfill your mom's desire of a perfect daughter and the role of future leader of jiyowon. pretty cool!

since most of your vital energy comes from The Ice Stone™ itself, you also inevitably become the most powerful sorcerer that has ever lived in the country of Daeho. except nobody in said land knows that. because no one has ever... you know... seen you. they have heard of you and your immeasurable faculty, of course, but most can't even prove you exist de facto, in flesh, bones and all. why? because you don't go outside, your crazy mother doesn't let you. to her, you are a treasure! a blessing more than a daughter. you are blind and weak! how could you survive in this cruel world? you are not allowed to have a life, because she fears someone might steal you, kidnap you, kill you or (even worse!) discover the truth about you. so she keeps you in jinyowon, safe, where she can keep an eye on you and control what you can or cannot do with your powers. you have no friends nor life outside jinyowon.

fine, you live with your clinically insane mama, but you're used to it. you have a little sister and a good father. right? right? but oh no, you also have a megalomaniac uncle, jin mu. your father suddendly sides with him and they both go on a mysterious crusade to find the once lost Ice Stone, the same magical stone that gave life to you. the quest is hard and they can't find it anywhere, so they need help. yours, for that matter! who better to find a lost magical stone than the girl that carries the same energy of said stone? you are coerced to go and, eventually, you find it in a river (no surprises, you're just THAT powerful). but your uncle gets way too excited and shoves you down the water in a brief ecstasy at the sight of the ice stone. you drown. your father tries to save you, but it's too late and jin mu doesn't help at all. you're screwed.

happy news! you're saved! a lovely old lady spots you lying unconscious on a beach, takes you home and feeds you. but when she asks you your name, you don't remember it. in fact, you don't remember anything due to the shock and the trauma. you are now powerless. you don't know who you are. you're just a blind girl without a name, a family and a home. you have to start your life from the beginning, and the neighbours at your new place are not nice with blind young ladies. is someone out there looking for you? does anybody, besides that old lady, care about you?

the point is: jin buyeon has a ton of reasons to be a villain, if she even is one. all she ever had was a thoroughly planned life that was given to her by other people and which she had no control over; and out of nowhere, everything she knew was taken from her.

when she met naksu, she saw an opportunity: revenge. buyeon knew what naksu wanted, she wasn't dumb. so she gave her it: a new body and a new, untouched identity. and naksu did have a lot to offer to buyeon too. she had great, although not anywhere comparable to buyeon's, magical power and a good dose of hatred for the people who wronged her in the past (who happened to be the same or related to those who wronged buyeon in the first place). naksu was the perfect pawn, blinded by her own past and too naive to realize why she ended up on a body she didn't choose, and buyeon (then mudeok-i, the poor blind girl) loved that.

i believe, at some point, buyeon did care about naksu. they have, like it or not, a lot in common — dark past, parents that lie non-stop, enemies — plus the swapped body and soul situation. but since buyeon is special and, therefore, her body is special, naksu became useless when buyeon's flesh absorbed most of the energy it needed. the eldest daughter of the jin clan doesn't need a pawn anymore. in fact, keeping naksu (who doesn't remember her past, her original body nor her real name) in a body that isn't hers will only delay buyeon's revenge plans more and more. so, in buyeon's pov, there is no reason to keep naksu/cho yeong alive.

i might be imagining things, but buyeon is a great choice of a possible villain! she is cruel and a well constructed character overall, much as i would love it if the writers gave her more screen time. her relationship with naksu, jinyowon and jang uk is what makes her such a delightful to see manipulating little bitch.

so go girl! gaslight, gatekeep and girlboss the hell out of everyone in daeho!

[befuddled-calico-whump]

Jailbreak

for Angstpril, Day 13: Recovery

cw: adult language, death mention, implied suicide attempt (mentioned)

two weeks prior ///// masterlist ///// next

•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•

"Just calm down and we'll talk—"

"I will burn this building to the fucking ground."

Lex had woken up in a panic. It hurt to move, it hurt to breathe, and his arms were gone. Again. He was in a strange place, with the door closed, locked, again. For a moment, it didn't matter where he was, only that he was trapped.

Then the door opened, and it was Spyglass on the other side. That gave him enough pause to realize he was in a bed, a real bed, and the now-familiar weight of his collar was absent.

But that meant nothing.

She'd locked him up. Taken his arms. Taken his choice, he remembered, recalling how it felt to step off the railing, to crash into the water.

Terrifying. Freeing.

He'd thought it was over, but now he was awake again, and sure, Spyglass always seemed to want to talk his ear off about helping him, and teaming up against Uriah, but if she thought she could keep him captive to make that happen, she had another thing coming.

"You wanna burn this place down?" Spyglass snapped. "Then what's stopping you?"

(Dropping, mopping, sopping.) Nothing. Even as he thought it, he knew the fire wouldn't come, but he couldn't say why. He had no loyalty to the rogues. He'd already risked enough just for the pleasure of leaving them alone.

Spyglass watched him for a moment, as if waiting to see if he'd accept her challenge. When he didn't even move, she let out a heavy sigh. 

"Your collar's gone," she said, and it sounded like she was making an effort to sound calm. "It started malfunctioning when you hit the river, but we got it off."

(Scoff. Cough.) Lex rolled his neck, felt the bandages there, the sore flesh beneath. She was wrong about that one. It wasn't a malfunction, someone had activated his collar as soon as his foot left the ledge. He'd blacked out before he even hit the water.

"Keystone's jailbreaking your arms so Fox can't track you," Spyglass continued. "Soon as he's done, you're free to go."

"Free to go, huh?" He scooted backwards on the bed, until he was leaning against the headboard. "No conditions?"

He was sure she was about to start spouting more bullshit about joining the rogue team and 'making up for his crimes', as if he hadn't paid for them in blood already.

But she shook her head. "No conditions. Just a question." She met his eyes. "What are you gonna do, when you aren't a puppet anymore?"

"I…" What was he supposed to say to that? It seemed like a new tactic. A way to get him angry. Make him swear revenge.

"Don't tell me you'll go crawling back to Uriah anyway."

"No." Never. Uriah probably thought he was dead, and if he had a choice, it'd stay that way.

"That's a start. I'm not trying to make you my friend. But I don't wanna be enemies either." She squeezed her eyes shut. "Just… I don't know. Think about what it is you want."

And then she left, closing the door behind her. He didn't hear it lock.

What I want. What did he want? All he'd wanted for the past year and a half was to get away. From the Tower, from the people who wanted to control him, from Uriah. If everything Spyglass said was true, if he was free, what came next?

He could go back to the Underneath (wreath). Find Chopper. Take new contracts and get back into killing (blood-spilling). He imagined everyone he'd known in Neath thought he was dead too, by now. That's what the headlines had spouted (undoubted), and Lex had never been given a chance to tell them otherwise. (Demise, surprise, surmise, unwise, disguise---)

A knock on the door pulled his attention away from the topic. Another new oddity. When was the last time someone had bothered to knock at all?

The sentiment faded somewhat when the door swung open without waiting for a response.

It was pajama girl. Firebrand. She had two styrofoam cups in her hands, and a vaguely apprehensive look on her face.

"Smoothie?"

It was the last thing he'd expected to hear from the kid who'd launched fireballs at him a few months ago. "What?"

She shrugged. "Me and Celeste just came back from Banana Bash. Figured you might be hungry. You've been asleep for-ever."

Lex eyed the cup. The logo seemed legitimate, but that didn't mean anything. They could have easily mixed in some kind of drug. Maybe 'rescuing' him was a ploy. Maybe they wanted to knock him out and hand him over to Uriah as a peace offering. It'd be the easiest solution to their problems, for sure.

Firebrand rolled her eyes when he didn't answer. "Relax, I'm not trying to poison you." She set one of the cups on the nightstand. "Besides, if we wanted you dead, we would've killed you by now."

Lex almost snorted at the casual way she said it. "Hear that one on TV?"

She scowled. "Maybe I did."

"Think you could?"

"Think I could what?"

"Kill me." How many successful missions had he run by the time he was her age? Young as she was, she'd still had a contract with Titanium.

Firebrand shrugged again. "Maybe not. Bet I could beat you in a fight though."

Lex was struck by a strange urge to laugh. Risked his fucking freedom to save the kid and her team, and now she just wanted to one-up him.

"You think so?" He glanced sideways at the styrofoam cup. He was kinda hungry… "You know I'm fireproof, right?"

"So am I."

"What gives you an edge?"

Firebrand smirked. "Wouldn't you like to know." She took a long drink from her smoothie. "So your name is Cinder, huh?"

"Yes." Lex was unsure where she was going with this. The sudden casual conversation had thrown him off guard. Maybe that's what the group wanted. Maybe they were trying to unbalance him—

"When I first picked my name, I almost picked 'Cinderella'," the kid continued. "So I thought it was funny. Obviously I went with something cooler, but it's funny, right?"

"Sure." Cinderella. She'd better not—

"Maybe you should change yours. It'd be easy. Just add a few letters."

Motherfucker. "Why are you here?" he asked.

"Told you already. I was bringing you a smoothie."

"Why are you still here?"

The shrugging was almost irritating at this point. "Only ever saw you when you broke in that one time. Just wanted to say hi, I guess."

He sighed, leaning back on the headboard. "I attacked your friend, and you 'just wanted to say hi'?" Maybe the smoothie was drugged after all. Maybe she was trying to lull him into a sense of ease, or confuse him, or distract him.

"Don't get me wrong, I was ready to kick your ass back then." She paused, looking down at the cup in her hands. "But when… after y'know, after the other guy left… you just looked kinda sad."

So that's what it all came down to. Another person who felt sorry for him. Seemed that was all Lex could be anymore. A tool to be used, or an object to be pitied. He was sick of it.

"Here's a tip, kid. You can't just feel sorry for every criminal you see who looks sad. You'll lose a lot of fights that way."

"Yeah, whatever. And I didn't say I felt sorry for you." She leaned against the doorframe. "I guess I kinda do, but not because of Uriah Fox or anything." Her hand closed around the doorknob, and she pushed it open, half-stepping into the hall outside.

"It's because you're alone."

וווווווווווווווווווווו×

@whumpacabra @enteredin2eternity @kixngiggles @whumpsday @kiichu @whump-for-all-and-all-for-whump @shywhumpauthor @distinctlywhumpthing

[rosebloodcat]

Crossover AU Idea: Trollhunters and the Kane Chronicles

Had an idea for a crossover and I really need to say/share it with people!

Basically, what if Toby and Jim were Magicians that lived in Arcadia? And not just two random, clueless kids that got sucked into a magical war that had been rumbling away under their feet by random chance. I think it would be cool!

(What would this AU be called? Trolls and Magicians? Magicians and Trolls? House of Trolls? House of Hunters?)

They were part of the recruits Sadie and Carter found before the second book, who were brought in to be taught and to learn about using Divine Magic. Which they did!

Eventually Toby and Jim decided, after finishing their Magician Training, to go back to Arcadia. Both because of homesickness and to finish their normal schooling, and because the Main Threat to them all (the return of Apophis, the Sun Eating Snake Monster) had finally been settled.

(I mean, that’s how it’s “supposed” to go after the Apocalypse has been stopped, right? Everyone just goes back to their normal lives with no ill effects? (They are very wrong but they don’t know that.))

> I haven’t decided on their respective gods yet because there are a LOT of Egyptian gods and I want to pick someone who’ll be a good fit for them and hasn’t already been used for a magician in canon.

I’m clueless for Toby so far, but I’d love if I could tie in his use of a War-hammer or just a Hammer to his patron.

For Jim, I kind of want to play with his name and have his god be a Water/River god. I’m considering using Nephthys, since she’s a powerful goddess in her own right and tends to get overlooked in favor of others. (Plus, it would be fun to expand her character!) That, or a god that could be tied into his knife and/or cooking skills.

> Toby’s therapist is part of the House of Life so that he can fully unload/unpack everything they’ve been through. He keeps trying to convince Jim to go too, but Jim keeps shrugging it off or saying he doesn’t need it.

(He does. He absolutely does, no matter how much he denies it. And stress baking, while delicious, doesn’t help as much as he thinks it does.)

> Neither of them were front-line fighters during the battle in Egypt, but they WERE in the battle at the Brooklyn House.

The two of them hadn’t put a lot of focus on weapon training, focusing more on the magic side of things. That said, Jim’s got a MEAN swing with a sword when it comes down to it.

(Although, since they came back to Arcadia, they’ve become a tad rusty at fighting. Not because they haven’t been practicing, but more because they’ve only been able to train with each other and against Shabtis.)

> SPEAKING OF THE HOUSE OF LIFE!  There is a House in Arcadia, but it’s pretty much empty and unused most of the time. Arcadia does feel very magical/magic saturated to anyone who knows how to tell. But, as far as the Magician’s have been able to tell, there doesn’t really seem to be anything there. The House is more of an Out Post/Watch House than anything else.

Jim and Toby have a Bi-Weekly Sleepover Weekend there to practice their magic and try to keep in shape. It’s also a good place to just... Hang out without the usual problems that crop up.

A safe space to get away from everything and just be themselves.

> After facing the end of the world together, Toby and Jim are really close. They’re also really close to the other kids from the Brooklyn House.

This is part of the reason why they have problems connecting with the kids at school.

They can’t bond with everyone over the things they enjoy, they can’t talk about their experiences, they can’t share the things they learned during those couple years they were outside Arcadia, so they just kind of... Hang back and let everyone else drift by them.

(It’s also another reason why Jim has so much trouble talking with Claire. He has NO IDEA how to talk about Normal Non-Magician Teenager Things and he has no idea how to approach a girl who’s not a magician who helped stop the End of the World.)

> The two of them know A Lot about Egyptology and Egyptian History. Honestly, after everything they’ve been through, it would be weirder if they DIDN’T know about those.

> Barbara and Nana both know that the boys have been through Crazy Shit™ and try to help where/how they can. And despite how long they were separated, both boys still have really strong bonds with their respective guardians.

Things were a little awkward/clumsy when they first came back, but they’ve all settled into a comfortable routine with each other. Home feels like home again.

That said, Jim still suffers from some wanderlust because of everything that happened. It hard to fully settle into normal.

> When Jim and Toby find the Amulet, they are a HELL of a lot more cautious about it. Magic is an old hat for them by now, and talking amulets that know (one of) their names are SUPER SUS and treated with the UPMOST WARINESS.

(Who knows what could be accidentally unleashed if they try messing with it??)

They don’t bother trying to research the amulet at school. (Since it’s Very Obviously a magical artifact.) Instead they vow to look into it at the Arcadia House and to call other magicians if things take a weird/bad turn with it. (Or if they find something worrying about it.)

Plus, it’s not smart to talk about magic around not-magic people. They are smarter than that.

> Jim openly tells him mom he and Toby found a weird, magical-thing in the canal and that (after dropping his stuff off at home) he plans to go to the Arcadia House to have it checked out. There’s no need to hide magic from her in this one since she already knows about it.

Barbara’s okay with that plan, but also gives him explicit instructions to call/text her if anything happens.

>When Blinky and Arrrgh show up in Jim’s basement, things do not go as smoothy as they had been hoping for. Mostly because Jim is a magician who survived the Apocalypse and is armed with a duat locker that has his weapons and a wide array of verbal spells to call on.

Blinky gets magically punched.

Arrrgh gets a few new scars from a Khopesh.

Jim hits his head against something.

Basically, it’s frantic and messy until they manage to get across that they don’t mean any harm. Jim takes the testament with a grain of salt.

I'm not really sure where it would go from there other than this:

Blinky and Arrrgh are impressed by Jim’s skill in a fight.

They learn that the world almost ended and they didn’t notice

There is a new, genuine Pharaoh who can channel Divine Magic and Blinky is excited for the lost magic being regained. He is learning just as much from the boys as they are from him.

Toby is brought up to speed and makes it very clear that Jim’s not going to be doing this by himself. There is a lot of arguing about letting the rest of the House of Life know what’s up.

They get to see the Arcadia House, and learn more about the training Toby and Jim have.

Jim takes to the Amulet better than he thought, but worries about how is might mess with his magic since he doesn’t know what it was made with. Also, plate armor is new and hard to move in.

Jim still fights Draal, but spares him bc of compassion and “How the hell do you expect to take care of everything myself? I need back-up to get shit done, that’s how human’s work.”

Toby points out that “We’re squishy magic users, we need muscle to back us up. Especially if we need to bust out the BIG spells.”

And that’s about it for now. I will probably think of more later, but I’ve been sitting on this idea for long enough.