#give me the dark!percy storyline

[percyjacksonfan3]

Okay I will admit I was nervous going into Chalice of the Gods but I did love it

[dipperscavern]

okay so to start, hades being the god of the underworld feels very parallel to cregan being lord of winterfell. i loooove winterfell, but its predominant feature is the snow. snow and winter both have a pretty prevalent media connection with death — which we actually see in asoiaf with how heavily the starks are connected to death (i.e. every stark's storyline being associated with death, either their own or someone elses.) so, if snow/winter mean death then winterfell becomes the underworld! hades governs all aspects of death and afterlife, like cregan 'warden of the north' governs all of the north. hades two symbols are his weapon, the bident, and cerberus; cregan is pretty heavily associated with his weapon, ice, and the symbol of the direwolf for house stark. also, hades is described as being 'not sevil but stern and impartial', which is similar to cregan's description as 'stern and formidable.' (i'm so locked into exams i almost cited my sources for this)

but as far as a hades and persephone thing goes, being cregan's silly little southern wife :3 trying to grow pretty flowers in the desolate frozen courtyard of winterfell. i don't think cregan would abduct his lady, but maybe! maybe he has some weird kind of twisted moral reason! uhh but i just want to be his cutie sunshine wife to contrast his brooding nature. i need to bear his children WHO SAID THAT

also, in my research i came across this picture which is very cregan i fear (but maybe not. maybe its 2010s fairy goth cringe) https://pin.it/2O69SMtru

- chiron anon 🏛️ (i've never watched or read percy jackson, fun fact :3)

you explained everything so well omfg it makes so much sense?!?! ALSO YOU ALMSOT CITING YOUR SOURCES LMAOOO IM GONE U NEED A BREAK

“snow and winter both have a pretty prevalent media connection with death - which we actually see in asoiaf with how heavily the starks are connected to death (i.e. every stark's storyline being associated with death, either their own or someone elses.)”

this is so… oh my god. allow me to nerd out a bit but i can also see the death connection being the others !! the starks have guarded the wall, made of ice (ice & snow go together like mac and cheese), for hundreds of years; have guarded it from death. and, in the asioaf universe, winter a lot of the time is heavily associated with & does mean certain death for those who aren’t prepared for it.

i know we’re talking about hotd rn but on the subject of the starks, their storylines are SO connected to death, ur so right!!! the first scene in the books that we read of the starks is literally them coming across a dead direwolf mother (impaled by. a stag antler) (ok foreshadowing). jon serving in the nights watch and his connection with the others — robb having stories told about him and his killer direwolf, then later dying himself — lady stoneheart — arya calling herself the ghost of harrenhal & her braavos storyline — theon (figuratively) dying and becoming reek, becoming the ghost of winterfell; i could go on but oh god i’ve already said so much forgive me

being cregans silly southern wife :3 you’re maybe even tyrell, coming from highgarden — you love flowers. and uh…. you took my mind to a dark place there with twisted morals cregan. i shan’t. (i also need to give him children) (who said that) (breed me) (WHO IS SPEAKING)

[ladychandraofthemoone]

6️⃣SUDRIANVERSE:HAPPY LATE 6/6 DAY!!6️⃣

Have:

Percy Avonside

Lord Harry Patrick Barrane Andreas Roldan Guerrero Hidalgo Hunslet I legit thought he was number 6 until I went back to his series and it’s actually 2 welp I’m dumb so here’s he’s msr #6 xD

Duncan Barclay (I’m so very sorry sweetie I didn’t finished you)

rambling time:

alright I knew I wanted my percy to be inspired by raggedy Ann dolls specifically the hairstyle and the overalls, I gave him a scarf 🧣 to represent “a scarf for Percy” episode and of course they’re little hat with the sodor mail logo and her mailbag with their whistle and lucky bell as keychains (I forgot to to draw them but say it’s behind her back) 🔔 I was gotta decorate her boots more but I it slipped out my mind and I was originally gotta make them red. Of course they have their pins on their bag a bear pin for “wooly bear” a butterfly 🦋 for aeg (I know I know people still don’t like it please don’t come after me) and their gender-fluid and pan pride pin.

Patrick or Harry was the easiest to be honest like nearly all of my cfr designs was mainly inspired by glowynviator except I added some minor changes like an orange scarf 🧣 his boots and pants color change and design and he got classy pristine gloves and earrings and of course a pompadour which is fitting for his nature (I know it’s looks like wally darling xD that’s the idea 💡)

long rant on stuff cause it gets dark on some parts and cause Duncan and Andreas’s storyline takes place

Andreas I was originally searching up Argentinan fashion for him cause he’s afro Argentinan in my human au cause his basis was sent there but it was formal dress wear so I went with that along with fancy British style cause my Andreas comes from old money an wealthy family and he totally shows off like Gordon he’s also got a cape jacket like him but I couldn’t decide which one cause I did so many of them I’ll post them later and maybe do a poll on it even though knowing me I’ll use all of them haha

(Gordon 🤝 Andreas they r besties they gossip have coffee and Gordon was the first standard guage driver to visit Andreas in the hospital 🏥 after the accident this does apply for Alfred as well but he’s was a prick and he and Andreas got into arguments) and also like Gordon has his own fair share of toxic dysfunctional relationships ridiculously high standards and the pressure to be perfect though unlike Gordon Andreas was originally engaged through an arranged marriage by his family mainly his abuelo which secretly stressed about it for he had no feelings for her and if he was honest never felt attracted towards girls even though he was well liked and known and popular and that his stomach often churns at the thought the same goes with more intimate activities that he doesn’t really wish to have children at least not yet and gosh-

Like y’all  (his main inspiration was Encanto Isabela and her family I guess you can say he’s a genderbent version as despite his own emotions thoughts and fears he was determined to not frightened of disappointing his family and being the golden child and the oldest (he’s meant to be a foil to Gordon and Alfred who are meant to be parallels to one another’s it’s complicated) he’s very grateful he managed to convince his abuelo to let him have the opportunity to work on sodor under the excuse it would be good to have more connections the railway needs assistance and this would be great experience in an effort to put the marriage on hold among o th her things (cause he did fight in the war with his engine but his family mainly his abuelo was too worried of losing him and practically begged him to return back home even giving money 💰 to Andreas superiors and Andreas ends up returning early like less than a few months athough the marriage was cancelled after his family found out after his accident later on still wondering if some of his family members move to sodor which Andreas deliberately put off and revelations are revealed which leads to huge arguments and Andreas is no longer welcomed into the family not officially disowned but it’s was more of a like until he got his act together to him and it stung cause they couldn’t tell it to his face yet at the same so relieve cause he felt like he couldn’t handle so many people in the room overall it’s extremely messy but he still feels thankful that he got a support system on sodor and he got out of a rather toxic and kinda forced heteronormative environment 

Duncan has so many outfits and hairstyles  that I’m drawing out cause my guy goes through the wringer he’s got so much character development going on but I went with one of a more healing style he wearing something’s that’s causal yet comfortable (of course I drew him with a guitar he finds comfort in music and yeah he’s in his pride colors) he’s not pretending to be this overly happy guy in an effort to please others as his way to cope with the situation but ge wrote his red outfit I’m leaning towards boilersuit/jumpsuit (which he ends up burning and throwing away cause well it’s kindave stained while he was doing his hardest to recuse Andreas like he accidentally injured himself in the attempt to free Andreas think suletta and her hands but he was freaking out in full panic not thinking and now every time he looks at it looks st himself his stomach turns to kits he stays seating he’s shaking cause it reminded him so much of what was Andreas when he was recused and how he was almost…killed… BY HIM…he was severely injured and barely alive but still somehow breathing 

First time you see him he’s got a Mohawk, it’s messy but cool looking but to others on a outsiders views he appears not to care about appearance which does rub (mostly Andreas who’s obsessed with making perfect appearances and self-importance) leads to them butting heads a lot like it’s kinda an isa and Mira situation where they’re both envious of one another where Duncan is jealous over how between the two numbers 6’s here it’s appears that a majority of folks prefers Andreas while Andreas even though he’s in an environment where he can express more freedom and won’t be punished for it he still can’t downright be more vocal towards authority (at least till the hours of the incident where he argued with the  supervisor but it was more on the lines of safety and not recklessness)  treatment or say everything on his mind with vulgar languages  and he is a bit impressed on that but wishes Duncan had common sense and not just complain about everything and anything

So yeah they rubbed one another all the wrong ways and Duncan calls him “mister perfect” Andreas retorts to him being a hypocrite yet didn’t hesitate to put his life on the line and recuse him and Duncan just felt excruciating amount of guilt and also reeling from that situation since it’s also traumatic for him like he was right there when Andreas getting crushed and unfortunately the first actually see how bad lead injuries were on Andrea’s and it ran and it wasn’t a pretty sight and I will let you guys fill in the head. It’s but for Duncan, his mental health was taking a toll on him 

A majority of his colleagues (the msr the ones who knew  Andreas was he longest they held him responsible some even  right blaming him (like I wrote that Andreas family were gotta sue him as well as the railway but that was stoped by Andreas but that didn’t do well for Duncan emotionally) for everything others not speaking or or even acknowledging him like he’s existence leave it like glares they’re grieving they’re dealing with this situation and it doesn’t excuse their actions or their treatment of Duncan but it explains it it’s still not right but it’s like all sadnes all around. Even though Duncan has  the support and comfort of the Skr members he still feels like he’s responsible and begins to overwork himself like bag eyes despite his smiling attitude like his hair outgrew the passing couple of months and he’s putting it in a  braid or ponytail he’s wearing less red (I got an idea on his that looks like) yet he neglecting his own health then he comes back after his run in with the scientists where he was knocked unconscious and he’s wearing yellow like he  dyed his hair he subconsciously changes to match Andreas ponytail and a more fitting attire and ugh my heart

[howhow326]

Camp Halfblood video game concept

Name: Camp Halfblood Legacy (I feel like a short but simple name would be best, and its not like theirs another game that uses this naming scheme although if there is then that game probably sucks)

Genre: Single player Action game with RPG elements. I think a much easier version of something like Dark Souls/Elden Ring or something like that would work best for the setting.

Setting: This game would take place about 5 to 20 years before Percy first came to camp. So no Camp Jupiter (but there could be lots of references to them) or children of the big three (there are going to be substitutes, don't shoot me). The Hub is Camp HalfBlood, but the storyline would bring you probably all around the east coast of the U.S.; depending on when the game takes place, it could have either an 80s or 90s aesthetic.

Customization: The game would has a wide range of customization that includes: Age (10 to 17), unlimited facial features, unlimited skintone options, hair options, headwear accessories that includes glasses and hijabs for muslim players, legware options, and shoes! The shirt option would be permalocked to the Camp T-shirt, sorry.

Gameplay: During character creation, you get the option to choose your Divine Parentage. Divine Parentage options includes the Anemoi (Zeus substitute), Triton (Poseidon substitute), Demeter, Ares, Athena, Apollo, Hephestus, Aphrodite, Hermes, Dionysus, Hecate (doubles as a Hades substitute), and Unclaimed. Each Divine Parentage option gives the player a skill tree of passive abilities that helps them during combat (Ares gives skills that increase damage, Apollo gives archey and music skills, etc.). Unclaimed can get skills from all of the Divine Parentage skill trees, which is a lot less powerful than it sounds because limited skill points. Divine Parentage decides which cabin your character goes to, and for the Anemoi, Triton, and Hecate kids that cabin is the Hermes cabin. For actual combat, the player character uses a weapon that you pick out from the Armory. Weapon options includes Swords, Spears, and Axes as strength based weapons; Daggers and Bows as dexterity based weapons; and magic skills that are not a weapon type but like a secret third thing and I didn't know where else to put that. Magic in this game would mostly be a support and utility thing with offensive spells being rare (exclusive depending on those skill trees).

Story: The main character is an orphaned Halfblood that gets rescued by a satyr from [insert monster here] during the tutorial. At Camp Halfblood, you get introduced to most of the games systems and blah blah. After the tutorial stuff is finished, the player receives a prophecy from the Oracle and goes on a quest with two friends to retrieve [insert macguffin here] from a horrible, terrible location... Florida. Along the way, you bump into rogue halfbloods that are not so secretly working for the Titan Army (and maybe some Camp Jupiter spies idk). However, each time you bump into a titan army solider, they explain their reasons and why it's important for the Olympians to go down. When you finnaly reach Florida, a group of rogue Halfbloids are already there and you get a choice: kill them and retrieve [insert macguffin here], or side with them... and kill your friends! Instead of calling it a bad ending, it's called "The Traitor Ending" and it's up to the player to decide how bad it is. Either way, you go back to Camp halfblood when the storyline is complete, but you can revisit any location you went to along your journey.

So, what do you think? I really hope im not jynxing myself.

[silvertws]

Mh yes, I could have been obsessed over I don't know... mythology, dinosaurs, maybe some more known media like Percy Jackson.

But no.

I got obsessed, over Minecraft steves.

You've read that right.

FUCKING MINECRAFT STEVES.

CURSE YOU YOUTUBE FOR YOU PAGE.

I could have been watching maybe good quality Rps.

But no.

One video, and I was already hooked.

Goddamn it.

You know how many different series I've watched up until now?

Let me show you.

First video was episode 118 of "The Legends of the Balancers" back when it just came out, then I kept watching from there and after I finished that I decided to watch it from the start.

And you may think "surely 100+ episodes of a Minecraft Steve saga satisfied their needs" right...?

WRONG.

I.kept.going.

Bedrock Rising, Ruined Reality, Steve Saga (no, not Sabre's one, I tried that one but uh... I couldn't bring myself to enjoy it, I do love his newest series tho!), Ore Quest prime, A dark soul, Crimson Life Origins, and AT LEAST another one that I can't remember the name of- ToT it even was a log one I'm pretty sure. AHHHHHH

Oh and yes.

This all happened in less than a month.

I have a problem.

But it's fine :}

THIS IS MAKING ME WANT TO MAKE A FANON OC- WHY- WHY DO I EVEN HAVE A STORYLINE IN MIND- WHY AM I LIKE THIS.

AND. I STILL DON'T KNOW HOW TO DRAW THEM MFS-

LIKE WHAT.

like sure, I have head canons, I have made some sketches, BUT HOW.

Like, take FUCKING TIME STEVE-

IS IT A MASK? IS IT A FLOATING CLOCK HEAD? IS IT A CLOCK FUSED WITH HIS FACE?

I don't know.

It just exist.

oh and let's talk about THE FACT THAT THEY ALL WEAR THE SAME FUCKING SHIT-

MY MANS, I AM HORRIBLE AT DESIGNING OUTFITS, GIVE ME SOMETHING TO WORK WITH PLEASE.

I am going insane.

I am now attached to all of these characters.

Yes.

All of them.

I cannot help myself.

I have low standards I know, I'm well aware-

Anyway.

Someone should really make a Bingo for those series like:

"Naive AF mc, Darkness Go brr, Fought a God, Got mind controlled, has multiple people in their head, is in the WRONG DIMENSION, uses a crystal of some sort, L i g h t, music is loud AF and I cannot hear what you're saying, puberty hit during the series so the voice just changed, Sabre (which, I can exuse cuz yk, it's Sabre), got created by an all powerful being, is supposedly very powerful but somehow loses pretty often ngl (sorry <3), amnesia..." and so.much.more.

Which isn't bad, cause they're all unique in their own way <3

I mostly find that funny :3 they are all based off the same thing after all, so it makes sense.

I swear I am a responsible and serious adult.

I just uh... Like funky stuff ig-

Don't come at me please :'}

I feel like you can see my road trip to madness here.

Don't worry, this happens everytime I hyperfixate on anything.

Well, anything that I can't really talk about with any of my friends because they don't know and I don't want to bother them because if I start talking about the lore...

I won't stop.

You will have to stop me, knock me out or something.

I know my friend will read this, so *hi* :}

[doublegoblin]

This or That

Thank ya @gummybugg for the tag !

It's been a while since I've done one of these and there are some different questions so I'll be answering for myself on this one.

As far as who else to tag, @asterhaze @randomstupidchaos @princessw0lf @angie-j-kay and anyone else whom'st've the desire to join in the fun!

historical or futuristic

Between the two I enjoy the aesthetic more. When it comes to futuristic I feel that sometimes the descriptions and setting can get a bit muddy and bloated with stuff. Idk just vibes too.

the opening or closing chapter

I can't really recall what I put last time and I am too lazy to double check. But, as I've been working more and more on longer WIPS I've come to really enjoy the concept of that final chapter. Putting everything in its place and tying it off with a happy little bow. Carrot on a stick kind of mentality.

light+fluffy or dark+gritty

Despite the content that I typically write, I don't typically like to engage with bummer stuff. Also in my experience, dark and gritty is usually just a shorthand for making everyone bastards. Real big oh ho ho we people are just a bad day away from tribalism like bro, gtfo with that shit. Not to say it isn't valid, just not what I want to engage with.

animal companion or found family

Both are equally good, but, just vibes?

horror or romance

Despite what I said two questions up, I do enjoy me a good spoopin'. Not too much like blood and gore, but like, the tingle at the back of your neck kind of horror. Don't put a bomb under a table and have the viscera go everywhere, tell me a bomb is under the table and then nothing else. Plus, I'm an edgy bitch who enjoys edgy monsters.

hard magic system or soft magic system

I'm a nerd who enjoys rules and regulating things. Maybe there is some neurospicyness to it, idk. Hard magic lets you have a problem and find fun ways to use those same problems and maybe come up with a unique solution. Or better yet, find some loops holes that still make it "technically" correct.

standalone or series

This was a toughy, but just once again comes down to vibes. What it came down to was me splitting some hairs. If a work follows the same storyline but just over multiple iterations (i.e. the original Percy Jackson series) I still consider it a standalone. A series takes place in the same universe but different stories are told in that same universe (think more spin offs or side stories, once again Percy Jackson). Does this actually make sense? Not really. But, these are my vibes.

one project at a time or always juggling 2+

I want it to be this way, but my WIPs disagree with me. Though I tend to only focus heavily on one for an extended time before jumping to the other (usually a chapter or so).

one award winner or one bestseller

You could make the argument that a bestseller is also an award winner, but, when it comes down to it I'd rather have my stuff reach the most amount of people who want to engage with it on its own merits rather than because it has a fancy qualifier.

For stuff I engage with, I truly don't give a shit about either. I am a slop enjoyer.

fantasy or sci-fi

Same kind of answer as the first question.

Unrelated I do have strong feelings and opinions on the color use in sci-fi. Technology with a Black/Green color scheme is NOT the same as Black/Red and I will die on this arbitrary hill.

character description or setting description

I hate writing character descriptions.

first draft or final draft

It is that primordial marble block, just begging to be sculpted into something. And with every sculpture, you don't start off with smooth features, you have to beat the rough shape out and then gentle shape it. I really enjoy the hammering.

love triangle in everything or no romantic arcs

Between the two, give me nothing. Also with a love triangle (which is hardly ever an actual triangle more of a horseshoe of conflict) you will always, and I mean ALWAYS, have people adamant the wrong choice was made.

Also another quick aside (and I know this isn't the case in every situation but I can only engage with so much media) the choices for the "triangle" are just like pallete swaps of each other. Also it seems that no matter who the center object picks, there doesn't seem to be any bad blood or long term consequences, the unpicked option usually gets a "runner up" prize anway.

constant sandstorm or rainstorm

In a perfect world where the weather doesn't matter, this 100%. Like have you seen the vibetastic photos of inside a sandstorm? The auburn hues, the occasional static discharges, the dim but still useful light? Pure vibes.

Maybe it's also because I live in an area that gets plenty of rain, and the idea of something new is exciting.

[embrace-your-inner-kid]

I'm going to let the story play out some more before I start going overboard with doom and gloom. It feels pointless to spiral over a story that is incomplete. This is not the first time a player has explored a darker entity having influence over their character, and probably won't be the last.

Seeing some of the crazy reactions (generalization - not directed at OP) to a dark entity having a hold on a character and an influence on their actions makes me wonder how fandom treated Percy when he was struggling with Orthax. Ultimately, Vex had to beg him to fight it instead of giving in. Percy is very beloved by fans, but I wasn't around to watch campaign 1 live, so I'm curious if he had the same level of scrutiny and vitriol to something having a hold of him or if most people actually let the story play out. I know from general fandom experience over the years that male characters get more grace with their storylines and redemption arcs (not saying they don't get any hate, it's just noticeably less, and with more support to drown out the rest).

Anyway, no matter the answer to that, it seems like a good call to let a story play out and see what a character ultimately does after reaching rock bottom in their personal journey. We've just finally had Delilah's influence come to a head with inter-party conflict started due to her influence. There's still much to play out. I want to see how Laudna reacts now that her issues are affecting the group and Imogen more directly. I want to see if she starts to see Delilah's manipulation more clearly and tries to fight it instead of letting herself spiral once she can look back on her actions with a clearer mind.

Laudna has communicated that she doesn't know what's her and what's Delilah. Marisha's explained in and out of character that it's not Laudna always making the decisions. This is why I've understood when Marisha says Laudna's not lying. There's what Laudna wants, and there's what Delilah wants. She even highlights sentiments we know are Delilah's influence (or at least those of us that know Delilah realize this). Marisha did a great job choosing words that relayed a message that is Delilah while Matt played up the voice and visage of Delilah surrounding Laudna during her last conversation with Imogen. Truly amazing collaborative improv and roleplay by everyone by the way.

It's supposed to be uncomfortable, Delilah is f-ed up, and Laudna has been f-ed up by her with no escape. Sometimes even taken over. She's playing a character with 2 souls and staying true to that. Unfortunately, Love alone isn't going to magically remove Delilah's soul from leeching off Laudna (she ultimately will still have to roll to make saves mechanically), BUT... love might be able to harden her resolve to not spiral and give up fighting. The one thing that got Delilah's visage to start disappearing was when Laudna and Imogen were vocalizing their love for each other, even through the hurt. So love could be enough to stop Laudna from feeling like Delilah's the only thing she can fall back on to keep her most loved safe, especially if she realizes or Imogen shares how much it hurts her to see Laudna use that power source.

Laudna has been spiraling since her memories and trauma were reawakened in Whitestone, and oddly enough, the group therapy session might have made it worse. I know some people think Imogen sharing that Delilah always being there disgusts her should make Laudna fight Delilah harder, but you're completely ignoring how low Laudna already was when she heard that and how that would be interpreted and internalized by the person who already knows Delilah is always waiting and has reiterated how helpless she's felt to fight it. Laudna literally told Imogen while the group was fighting Delilah for Laudna's soul during her resurrection: "I haven't been able to fight her for 30 odd years" then she also went on to call herself a dead end to Imogen in the bowels of Whitestone castle after Delilah made her presence known to the 3 witches. I don't think it's crazy for Laudna to have internalized using the power to at least try and keep Imogen safe because no matter what, from her perspective, she knows Delilah isn't going anywhere. In her currently f-ed up mind, she can't fix what Imogen finds digusting and probably never will (dead end as she's self-proclaimed), so she may as well use the power to try and fight for a better future for Imogen, that might not include her. She's proclaimed for Imogen to move on and find happiness once she's gone, both jokingly and seriously. This is consistent characterization.

So, while it may seem logical from an outside audience perspective to demand Laudna not use Delilah's powers, once delving into the character's headspace knowing that she just opened up past trauma and spent a night in the woods alone with Delilah taking full advantage of her poor mental and emotional state, it sure makes what's happening make sense.

There's no fault to Imogen for sharing her feelings either. Her and Laudna need to stop putting off the difficult conversation they need to have. They have both tip toed around the fear they have of the other getting lost to the darker influences pulling at them. Probably because they agreed "together either way" when they talked about harnessing their power or fighting it before they got together. So I'm curious to see if this finally gets them to revisit that conversation now that their dynamic has changed to more than friendship. I also completely understand Imogen not knowing what to do with her love right now. Laudna has been dealing with this for decades and has accepted there's no current escape, but Imogen is just starting to truly understand the magnitude of Delilah's presence compared to her just being an annoying voice Laudna would hear sometimes in the past. It's a lot to take in, especially when you feel completely hopeless in helping a person you love break free from it. Love alone isn't going to get rid of Delilah.

Imodna weirdness

Anyone else feeling like the trajectory of Laudna and Imogen is heading into very... unhealthy waters? I know a lot of people will jump down my throat for this but I feel like their relationship might be the first one in CR to fall apart on screen. They seem to be forces ripped in different directions and with this last bit of drama, I think Imogen is really starting to see the cracks.

Laudna is not well and I have very very high doubts of her survival through the campaign. If Laudna wins, will she die without Delilah? If Delilah takes over, how long before someone takes her head off (look at the entire De Rolo bloodline for that one) or even the Bells themselves have to take her out.

The relationship has felt very strained and, forced isn't the right word, but held together with very thin threads. I wonder when enough of those threads will snap to make the whole thing unravel.

Sometimes love isn't enough.

[chasingpj]

𝐔𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐑𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐳𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐬

"I might spread a rumor about you and Percy rendezvousing at midnight. The Aphrodite cabin will have a hoot with that one."

pairing: percy jackson x child of hecate!reader

words: 4,931

warnings: none

timeline: post sea of monsters

if you want to be tagged every time I update this story, click here

a/n: hi hi! this is part one of a self-insert series I'm working on. in this story, y/n is a child of hecate, and this storyline follows the books. the current timeline here is post sea of monsters and will continue through the Heroes of Olympus books. though it follows the original plot, y/n has her own storyline and quests. i tried to make y/n gender-neutral but as I continued to work on the timeline for this project, i had decided that this fic is for a fem reader. guys, this is really just me projecting my fantasy into fanfiction lol. i feel like this is a slow start?? and there is a lot of info dumped in this so bear with me. it'll get better and I'll be working to improve my writing as the series continues. I was on a writing hiatus for a really long time and I'm out of practice so this is my way to get back and hopefully, exceed the skills I had when I was a consistent writer. anyways, if you have any feedback, let me know! I'd love to hear what you think. as i get deeper into the series, i might ask for some suggestions on what to do with the fic. anyways, i'll stop rambling and i hope you like it!

Part One Part Two

You ignore the aching in your neck as your focus is fixed on the herbology book in front of you. You’ve been seated at your desk for Zeus knows how long reading and taking notes in your Book of Shadows, determined to finish reading it as fast as possible. Your half-brother, Alabaster, insisted that you need to memorize all the herbs and their properties before he can properly teach you how to use them in potions. Even though you understand its importance, you hated introductory work. You are itching to get to the real stuff, resulting in you glued to your chair, studying through the night as your cabin mates were fast asleep in their beds. But as determined as you are, Ambrose, your familiar, wasn’t much help. Ambrose whines as he rubs his head against your legs like a needy kitten, making it difficult to ignore him.

“What is it, Ambrose?” You whisper, sitting back in your chair in defeat. You take a second to massage the back of your sore neck before turning to face the translucent hound sitting attentively at your side. His tail sweeps the floor as it wags excitedly, and a short huff leaves his snout as if he was proud to have finally gotten your attention.

Your eyes meet his, racking your mind to figure out what Ambrose needs to tell you. At first, you thought he wanted to play, but you didn’t have time for that, so you decided to ignore him. Usually, after being ignored for a while, Ambrose will give up, finding something else to occupy him. But tonight, he was particularly persistent, and he’s only like this when he needs to tell you something.

Before you can ask what he wanted again, Ambrose gets up from his seated position, running over to the small table that stands beside your bed. You furrow your eyebrows, the first thing you notice when you walk over are your crystals neatly placed in front of your spell books as usual. Seeing them made you suddenly remember what you had planned to do.

You had told Ambrose to remind you to charge your crystals and collect water from the lake since there is a full moon tonight and of course, Ambrose being your loyal companion, did exactly that. Before looking down at the hound, who now is breathing heavily, his tail somehow wagging faster than before, you smile to yourself.

“I told you to remind me earlier, didn’t I?” Ambrose snorts and runs around your feet enthusiastically. You couldn’t help but giggle at his excitement as you reached down to pat his head. “Good boy. What would I do without you?” You continue to praise him, grabbing a black pouch and carefully placing the crystals in it. You put your index finger to your lips, signaling Ambrose to be a little quieter despite his excitement. If he accidentally wakes anyone up, then you definitely weren’t going to be able to fulfill your plans.

You bite your bottom lip as you tiptoe out of the aisle between the bunks. You look around the notoriously cramped Hermes Cabin to make sure your assumption that everyone was asleep by now was correct. It wasn’t hard to make out the faces of your cabin mates since seeing clearly in the dark was one of your many gifts, so you carefully walked along the bunks, being as quiet as you could. You are especially cautious as you approach the front where your cabin leaders, the Stoll brothers, slept. You study them for a second, knowing for sure Travis was asleep since he was snoring and loudly at that. Before you can check if Connor is asleep, you hear him shifting in his bed. You stand frozen in your spot, hesitantly looking over and you were expecting to be met with the usual mischievous grin. Instead, his back was towards you now. You have a feeling in your gut that he wasn't asleep, the timing of his moving was much too convenient. You really didn't want to wait any longer though so you decide that you might as well leave before he could stop you.

You turn on your heels, walking over to the window before you push it open. You cringe softly as the hinges creak, and you look back at the cabin to double-check if anyone has woken up from the sound. You sigh in relief when you see no one has moved, and you turn back to the window, carefully crawling out of it. This wasn’t unusual for you. You’ve done this so many times that using windows as a mode of exiting and entering a room was as natural to you as walking in and out of a door, and soon you were hopping down onto the grass. Your back is pressed against the cabin as you walk the side of it. You look up at the trees and the sky, eyes scoping around for any harpies hanging around. After deeming that you were alone, you begin making your way to the lake, Ambrose walking by your side attentively and cautiously to make sure you are safe.

The night was clear; the stars and especially the moon shone brightly in the sky. You sigh softly, taking in the stillness of the night, admiring the glistening lake reflecting the full moon placed above it. You’ve always enjoyed how quiet and cool the nights were, preferring it more than the daytime.

Unfortunately, you couldn’t avoid it as much as you wish to. Most of your siblings can agree with you that they’d prefer to sleep in most days so that they can study and practice their magic at night. However, that wasn’t the schedule of the Hermes Cabin. It was pretty impossible to sleep in since the mornings were always hectic. In fact, the cabin was just hectic, period. There was always something going on, whether it was an elaborate prank or the guys arguing over who gets to shower first after coming back from training which usually resulted in an intense game of rock, paper, scissors. You can’t say that you didn’t like it; at least you were entertained.

You also always had someone to talk to, and because there were often new campers coming in and out of there, you have easily familiarized yourself with a lot of the kids at camp. However, like your mother, you did enjoy and yearn for the occasional periods of solitude. As fun as living with the Hermes kids was, you and your siblings did find yourselves getting a little irritable at their shenanigans. It was at those times, you did wish that your mother, Hecate, had a designated cabin.

You and your siblings had always said if they ever got a cabin of their own, they would make sure everyone had separate rooms and would have designated spaces to socialize and practice their magic so that it was quiet for the most part. Alabaster, especially, was really passionate about this topic. He complained how it didn’t make sense that your mother wasn't recognized since you and your siblings were a powerful little bunch. You all needed a space to practice your magic and practice preferably at night since you were the most powerful at that time of day; you were also less prone to making mistakes in your spell casting at night. You agreed with him and would get upset about it sometimes, but the Hermes Cabin was a place you considered to be a second home. The communal feel of the space was something you enjoyed, it was one of the few places where you felt fully accepted which was rare to find being a demi-god with abilities like yours. In return to the Hermes Cabin welcoming you with open arms, you accept the inconveniently loud environment as an admirable quirk and went on with your days.

Then to compensate for the lack of silence and solitude, you would often stay up late, taking advantage of the quiet to focus on your studies. Even if you had to sacrifice the amount of sleep you got, you felt like it was worth it.

It doesn’t take you long to arrive at the dock, sitting down close to the end with your legs folded under you. You first collect lake water in a jar before carefully taking out the pouch's crystals. Assuming you had only a few left in the pouch after laying most of them on the dock, you tilt it with your hand under it, only for the crystals to come out all at once. You fumble, hands trying to bring them to your chest, but with your luck, one of your crystals falls right into the water with a plop.

“Dammit!” You peer over the edge and groan, Ambrose whining at your misfortune as he stands beside you. You look down at the water, noticing Ambrose’s and your dim reflection in it. There was no way you could get that crystal now because you didn't know how to swim, and you consider that maybe tomorrow you can convince your twin brother, Atticus, to look for it or Alabaster if Atticus refused, which you were expecting him to.

Your breath hitches at the back of your throat, jumping back as a head of dark hair abruptly pops up from right where you were staring. Ambrose barks loudly next to you, equally as startled, and your eyes widen. You stand up hastily at the realization that Ambrose's loud barks in the dead of night will catch the attention of the harpies, and right now, that was more important to you than the mysterious person that just sprouted up in the water like a zombie coming out of a grave.

“Shush! Ambrose, quiet!” Your frantic command was enough to make him stop with a whine, and you sigh shakily, turning towards the camp to check if there were any harpies.

“I think you dropped something.” Ambrose moves in front of you protectively, a low growl coming from his chest as he cautiously studies the person. You look back where the voice came from and to your surprise and your relief, you find that the mysterious person in the lake was no other than Percy Jackson. You never had a conversation with him before, but you definitely knew about him. It was kind of hard not to know who he is since he’s been the talk of the camp since he’s arrived. Your thoughts about him weren’t any different from most of the camp. You’ve seen him fight and use his powers during capture the flag, and you were just as impressed as everyone else. You did have to admit that you found him to be pretty cute too. His eyes were gorgeous, clear, and bright like a shallow, cyanic sea. You also found it adorable how his hair always looked a little disheveled.

Your (e/c) eyes met Percy’s green ones before looking at your rose quartz in his hand. You smile sheepishly, noticing the amused look on his face.

“Ah, yeah, that’s mine.” You walk over to him, but as you get closer, so does Ambrose, and his growls get louder. "Ambrose, heel. It's okay," you say softly, and he stops in his place, but his stance is still at alert, his eyes watching Percy cautiously. You pat Ambrose's head before walking past him and over to Percy. "Thanks," you smile, taking your rose quartz from his hand.

"No problem… I don't think your ghost dog likes me," Percy jokes, moving to look past your legs at Ambrose, who’s standing tall on your left side.

"Yeah, well, you kinda scared the crap out of us," you point out, amused. You take in Percy's goofy smile as he pulls himself up from the water, and you notice that he’s completely dry as he settles on the edge before turning his body to look at you.

“It’s y/n, right?” He asks, and you nod, figuring he’s probably heard about you in passing from Connor and Travis since he was friends with them too. “What are you doing out here so late?"

"I could ask you the same thing," you retort playfully, making him smile. You move to sit down where you were standing. You spread the crystals neatly on the wood, making a mental note to get them before you go to bed.

"I couldn't sleep, so I came out here to hang out, but then a hippocampus swam up. One of its friends got stuck in a fisher's net not too far from here, so I went to help," he explains, and you nod. "I told you my excuse, so what's yours?"

You hum, "It's a full moon out tonight, so I thought I should take my crystals out. I also needed moon water for a potion, so I collected some for that," you point over at the big mason jar full of lake water. "It’s not as cool as your excuse,” you say playfully.

A short laugh comes from Percy, and when you look up from your crystals, you notice he was looking at Ambrose again, who was still in his tense stance. Ambrose was especially protective of you and Atticus, and it wasn’t unusual for him to be cautious of the new people you come across. You assumed that Ambrose was particularly tense with Percy since he had successfully caught you both by surprise.

"Ambrose, relax.” You pat the top of his head to soothe him. "Lay down." Ambrose whines, licking your hand affectionately for a little, and you can tell he was still uneasy about the other. He was hesitant, but he follows your command anyway, laying down with his head on your lap.

"You can touch him?" Percy asks, his eyes wide and curious as he watches you pet Ambrose.

"Yeah, I can touch ghosts in general. My mother is Hecate, goddess of necromancy, along with magic, the night and the moon," you tell him. "This is Ambrose. My mother gifted him to me to be my familiar, kinda like a guardian." You look down at the hound, smiling softly as you scratch behind his ear softly.

Ambrose is a burly Molossian Hound who lived in the time of Alexander The Great. From what your father told you, his breed was well valued in Ancient Greek and Roman times and was often used in war. It is easy to understand why the breed was used in war. Ambrose is huge and muscular, about 6 feet tall when he stands on his hind legs, and he weighs around 200 pounds. At first, Ambrose can come off as a little intimidating. You remember how your siblings had avoided him when you first arrived at camp before they realized that he was the clearest definition of a gentle giant. Even though he was trained to fight when he was alive, he was still as gentle as a well-trained house dog unless he was given a reason not to be.

"When did you get him?" Percy asks, his eyes focusing on Ambrose’s translucent body that looked like it is made up of this gray swirling vapor. He couldn’t exactly wrap his head around how Ambrose’s head was comfortably propped up on your thigh.

"We met on the night I was on my way to Camp so about 2 years ago. Without him, my brother and I probably would have never made it to the borders.” You look up at Percy, meeting his eyes again; you watch as his face softens as he shifts to lean back on his hand.

"Really?" You hum and nod, ready to drop the conversation there, thinking you shouldn’t bore him with the details. You didn’t really like talking about it much, but the way he was looking at you made you feel like he was inviting you to continue talking.

"We got separated from our father at the gas station a couple of miles away from here. He went inside the convenience store to get us snacks, and while he was in there, a cyclops had found us, tried to grab us out of his car. We jumped out and ran into the woods nearby," you explain as you look out at the dark horizon.

You remember the sound of your father yelling after you and Atticus and how it broke your heart hearing, for the first time, such despair in his voice. You knew your dad didn’t want to bring you guys to camp, but he knew it was in Atticus’s and your best interest to come here and be with other people like you guys.

When you and Atticus started developing your powers, your father had simply told you guys that you were special and to refrain from using your telekinesis anywhere else but home. He didn’t say anything more until one night, you and Atticus had gotten in a screaming match about a reason you don’t even remember. However, in your screaming match, the both of you were so angry that a green aura had formed around you both, and books, magazines, even cutlery were being flown across the room because of the sheer energy you were admitting as a unit. It was then your father had decided to take you and Atticus to the camp to control and learn about your powers before you guys destroyed the house over a dumb argument like who’s turn is it to have the TV remote.

"We were more concerned about the monster hurting our dad, so we decided on a whim to run in the forest. My brother and I have telekinesis powers, and I aimed well enough to send a rock right at the cyclops eye. We lost him a little after that, but we didn't know where we were. We made too many twists and turns; we had no idea what direction we came from. And then, this buddy appeared out of nowhere from a distance. I saw him glowing from far away and couldn’t make out what he was, but I felt that I had to follow him. So we did, and he got us to camp with no detours for any other monsters. He's been with me ever since," you say, and a low whine comes from Ambrose’s mouth as he nuzzles the side of his face on your thigh contentedly.

Percy nods, and he huffs softly, "You guys got lucky. How old were you and your brother when you got to camp?"

"12, we're twins. We actually got here a couple of weeks after you did,” you mention. You watch Percy’s mouth curve into a half-smirk.

“Wow," he says, amused, and shakes his head. “So you have a twin and a dead dog, no fair," he jokes. You giggle, rolling your eyes playfully,

"Oh please, and you have crazy water powers. You’re completely dry after swimming! I think that's pretty envy-worthy."

"Hey-,” he shrugs, taking a second as if to form a protest. “I guess you're right,” he admits and laughs. You laugh with him, opening your mouth to say something else but unfortunately, you were interrupted by a screech echoing in the distance.

Both you and Percy stand up quickly, trying to figure out which direction it came from. “The harpies,” you both mutter in unison. You bend down to grab your things, and you look at Ambrose.

"Go distract them, bud," you tell him, and Ambrose jumps up to his feet, and you watch as he runs away, barking to get their attention. Just then, you see the wings of the Harpies coming up from the trees of the forest. You turn to Percy, grabbing his hand quick,

“Incantare: Transpectus!" You exclaim confidently, closing your eyes to envision you and Percy becoming transparent on the dock. You've never tried doing this spell before, but you've gotten better at visualizing and setting intentions, so you had some hope in yourself. You open your eyes, not feeling any different, and you hoped that you just didn't make a fool of yourself in front of Percy. But when you look down at your hand hesitantly and notice it was hard to make out since you were see-through like glass, you sigh in relief. You smile to yourself, more than satisfied that you were able to pull that off.

"Woah, are we invisible?" You look over at Percy, able to see him just fine since he was under the spell with you. Percy looks down at himself, eyes widened as he processes he can’t see his body anymore. You observe him for a second, finding it cute how he looked surprised and obviously entertained at the fact that he was completely see-through. You feel yourself growing a little flustered, trying not to focus too much on the fact that you were holding hands with him.

"Something like that. C'mon, it won’t last too long," you whisper, and your grip around his hand tightens as you guys begin running to his cabin. You hear the harpies screeching in frustration as they swoop down to try and grab Ambrose, only for their claws to go right through him. While the harpies were growing more annoyed, Ambrose, on the other hand, was having way too much fun, running in circles and barking at them as if he’s teasing.

"Man, I wish I had a ghost dog," you hear Percy mutter behind you as you arrive at the steps of his cabin.

"Yeah, Ambrose is pretty great," you admit, watching him play with the harpies before shifting your gaze over to Percy. "Thanks for getting the crystal for me." As much as you wanted to stay talking to him, you knew you couldn't stay too long. You were still eager to finish studying, and Ambrose can only hold off the harpies for so long.

"It was no problem. It was on my way up anyways," he shrugs, and you smile, trying to ignore the fluttering feeling in your stomach. You look down, the two of you still holding hands even though the spell wore off already. You awkwardly let go of his hand, shifting on your feet.

"Well, I'll see you around," you say sheepishly, fiddling with your fingers.

"Yeah, I'll see you.” His hand comes up in an awkward wave. You nod, returning the wave. Your eyes meet Percy’s green ones one more time before turning on your heels and walking down the steps of his cabin. You notice that Ambrose is now long gone into the forest, taking the harpies with him to give you time to rush to the other side where your cabin is.

As you hurry back to your cabin, you couldn’t help but smile to yourself as you replayed the interaction you just had with Percy, and you couldn't help but wonder when would be the next time you could talk to him.

You carefully hoist yourself up, climb back into the cabin through the window, sighing softly once you get in. You slowly close the window, your face scrunching at the creaking sound, but you successfully get it closed before turning around, only to be faced with Connor Stoll standing a few feet away with his arms crossed over his chest. You gasp loudly, almost dropping the mason jar in your hand, being startled for the second time tonight.

“Oh, look who’s back,” he says, his lips pulled in his usual mischievous smirk, his right eyebrow raised as if he's suspicious of you. You shift, giggling nervously under his graze,

"Hey, Con.” Shit. You knew he wasn’t asleep, and a part of you wasn’t surprised that he had caught you sneaking out again. You weren’t too worried since Connor wasn’t one to be strict or easily angered, neither was Travis, but you can understand if he did get a little upset with you since the cabin could also get in trouble, and he worried about you getting hurt.

"You leave so often, I'm starting to think you're seeing someone," he teases, and you furrow your eyebrows, not really sure what he was trying to get at.

"I'm not seeing anyone. You know what I do when I sneak out," you tell him, putting your hand out to show him the jar full of water. After being caught the first couple of times, you had explained to Connor why you occasionally needed to head out at night. He was understanding of your reasons, telling you to try and not sneak out as often. When he did catch you, he always kept your outings secret. It came with a price, though. You were sometimes stuck doing extra chores, especially anything that had to do with cleaning, since he hated doing anything that had to do with mopping or sweeping.

"So that wasn't you and Percy on the dock?" Your eyes widen, and you feel your face get hot again. You shake your head, stumbling over your words for a second.

"Uh… n- that was a coincidence!" You hear him snort, laughing quietly as if he didn't believe you. Even though he couldn't see your facial expression very well in this lighting, he can still tell how flustered you were at his sudden question.

"Yeah, sure," he says sarcastically, and he hums, "Anyways, what are you going to do for me so that I don't tell on you?" He asks, and your mouth drops open. Usually, he wasn't so forward, and he never threatened to tell on you. "I might spread a rumor about you and Percy rendezvousing at midnight. The Aphrodite cabin will have a hoot with that one."

You gasp, "Connor, are you blackmailing me right now?" You narrow your eyes at him, and he shrugs,

"I guess you can say I am." You shake your head, walking over to your desk to put down your moon water before turning toward him and crossing your arms in front of your chest.

"... what do you want?" You ask, expecting him to make you take up one of his chores. But from the way he was smiling at you, you can tell that there was something more he wanted, and you were beginning to worry.

"Help me turn the Ares Cabin into bunnies," he says, and you shake your head frantically,

"No way! Clarisse will kill me," you whisper. Connor smiles,

"No, she won't. She can't kill you if she's a bunny," he points out, and your face falls flat,

"They're not gonna stay bunnies forever," you say, and you fiddle with your fingers nervously at the idea of the outrage you'd get from the Ares Cabin after shifting back from being bunnies. "I don't know, Con. I don't even know if I can turn all of them into bunnies at once."

Connor waves his hand at you, dismissing your concern. "I don't care for the logistics now. We can work on that later, but you have to agree to at least help me," he says. "Or I'm telling everyone I saw you smooching Percy on the dock."

"What!? We didn't even kiss. We talked for like 5 minutes!" You whisper-yell, your reactions much too entertaining for him, and he was having a hard time holding in his laugh.

"Your decision, y/n."

You sigh, throwing your head back. You look at the ceiling for a second as you consider your two choices. And you decide that getting your head potentially put on a stick by Clarisse was better than the burning embarrassment of Percy thinking you're spreading rumors about kissing him. "Fine, whatever. I'll help you do the bunny thing," you mumble, your shoulders slouched.

Connor nods with a proud smile on his face for trapping you into helping him. "Good choice. I will be going back to sleep now. Good night… again," he announces, turning on his heels and walking over to his bed. You frown a little as you walk back to your desk to study. Plopping down onto your chair, you decide that you’ll worry about Connor’s little plan later so you can focus on your studying. After a while, Ambrose comes trotting in, joining you by the desk as usual. You smile at him, praising the other for distracting the harpies for you before he lays down, his head laying on your foot.

As you study, you find that you couldn’t help your mind drifting back to Percy once and a while. You deem that there was no way that you could have a crush on him since you guys have only spoken once. In the midst of your internal debate to decide what you felt for him, you suddenly remember the crystal that was retrieved for you. You remember how Percy presented it to you, holding it out for you with his fingertips. It was your rose quartz. What a coincidence. You smile, rolling your eyes as you tell yourself that you’re thinking too much into it. You look over, noticing the dim illuminating light of the beginning sunrise shining through the curtains. You sigh, deciding that you should probably get to sleep and take advantage of the maybe, four hours of sleep you’ll get tonight. You close your herbology book before making your way to your bed, and with a soft sigh, you retreat under the covers, and finally, you surrender to your drowsiness.

masterlist

[phantaloon-books]

Things about Tower of Nero that I want to highlight to remember them forever:

Lu being an absolute badass woman, I just love her too much

Piper McClean being canon wlw, she was actually kissing another girl, we really fell in love in october

Chaos being canonically female (just chaos being mentioned as a deity rather than what's below tartarus)

nobody DIED, like no one on the good side at least?? yes plenty of beings have died throughout TOA, but nobody died in TON?? so many died in TLO and BOO, I expected to mourn someone and I didn't have too??! it made me so happy

solangelo. that's it. solangelo makes me happy.

will being incredibly supportive of nico, and instead of stopping him, going with him on dangerous adventures because he doesn't want to leave him alone. also them treating Nico's PTSD for what it is

WILL SOLACE CANONICALLY GLOWS IN THE DARK. HE'S A GLOWSTICK BABY.

also will just appearing at the gates of the throne room, glowing in rage because someone touched his boyfriend (and tried to kill his dad), and him just marching through everyone (everyone else letting him), just to pick up his hurt precious boyfriend and take care of him.

meg McCaffrey got her happy ending. she's baby, she deserves her family and her happy ending. also Lu being the mother and the 12 children being siblings?? that's one hell of a way to tell nero to fuck off and right his mistakes. we love meg.

dionysus being the best olympian after apollo. the duo content we needed, and now will never get

nico mentioning bob and how he wants to go look for him, because he can still be in tartarus

rachel still being a Total badass and hitting people in the eye with her blue hairbrush thus being iconic

meg acting as lester's anchor and only reason why he didn't let go of the ledge, not falling into chaos, is top tier 'reasons why I cried reading', because if you think about it, Meg is the first ever friend apollo ever had, and them being best friends is everything to me

also apollo choosing to go looking as lester rather than apollo because lester feels like home is on top tier 'reasons why I cried reading' too

again, the only thing apollo did in the end (once he was god again) that could be described as 'godly' was be in several places at once, fly his chariot, and get meg her unicorn

but apollo shooting fucking fire out of his hands is crazy asf, it was so cool. he really got amazing godly powers this book.

rick being bold enough to showcase abusive parenting knowing that a huge porcentage of his readers are minors, helping many realize that they could be in abusive households, and giving them a tool to reach out for help

apollo defeating nero was so satisfactory, because you realize in the end, that nero wasn't really a monster, he was monstrous, but still very much human (if only with some godly power), and pretty useless once he couldn't hide behind props and weapons, his being wasn't powerful, he was just under layers of protection

the jackson/blofis scene was so warm and loving, they really are willing to put their family in danger, baby estelle in danger, to help 'percy's friends' even tho she knew percy didn't like apollo, but she still takes in everyone who needs help, and paul being a loving and accepting husband

sally working on her SECOND novel, she really is having her best life

none of the big heroes from other series having protagonism, besides nico and will, instead giving the other kids from camp halfblood their chance to show they're just as worthy as the "heroes of olympus"

(still I would have loved to see a scene with everyone else, like the heroes of olympus guys, fighting together one last time, just for nostalgia's sake - I legit hoped to see percy and annabeth arriving with chiron in triumvirate tower, but yeah)

the arrow of dodona may have been a dumb, cringey, and slightly ridiculous thing at first, and I personally rolled my eyes everytime it said anything, but it knew what would happen from the start, and without its sacrifice, apollo would have achieved nothing. we stan one arrow

nico wearing a white cowboy hat. idky but it makes my heart swell with joy. he a gay cowboy

y'all know I love Apollo's arch, and I just gotta point this out. his trials, his time as lester, started with him falling to earth, and ended with him getting up after purposely throwing himself off the earth, towards tartarus, almost falling to chaos. that's really clever writing.

the olympians watching over him, and some actually being concerned for him rather than his progress.

poseidon not really giving a fuck about the world or council meetings anymore because percy's not there anymore

athena being the only one apart from artemis who trusted apollo could do it makes me warm fsr

lester deciding that the best way to retell his adventures is by singing is hilarious to me, he really thinks it'll solve everything

Grover not telling percy and annabeth jason died seems so funny to me, he really said "nah it doesn't matter much, field trip, yes"

"hey man" my heart broke in twenty million pieces. like I don't know where I expected to see jason. but that wasn't it. and it hurt me as much as it hurt apollo man.

(also I kinda hoped we would see nico summon his spirit or smth, but I'm actually happy nico realized that jason went by his own choice, and he was in peace, so he decided not to summon him, because it was alright. that hurt too)

kinda love how lester passes out after literally every battle. it reminds you that even tho he's apollo, his body isn't. I'm sure we all would pass out too if we did a quarter of what lester did in the span of 4 days. his body isn't made to endure that, it doesn't even have a halfblood endurance, it's a weak mortal body

the trogs were fucking hilarious. their screeches and grrs, idk there's something ridiculous and so childish about them, it's so fun

really happy that apollo never had a /real/ love interest (reyna doesn't count), cause that wasn't what his story was about. instead he got to make so many friends, and have quality time with them and his children, it's amazing

apollo being thankful people were telling him he'd grown, and was more human, because he realized that was the best thing he could have learned from his time as a mortal

also him saying fuck you man to zeus and his speech, like "no asshole dad, I did learn, I'm not going to see this as punishment, it was a great time in which bad things happened but I enjoyed it." yes, we love apollo not letting zeus win

getting to see what everyone will do now. nico and will figuring out rachel's prophecy, probs saving bob. rachel living her best life away from her parents. leo doing what leo does, always helping those who have no one else. the hunters' open storyline about this fox, possibly hinting at content? piper settling down in a quiet life is what she deserves tbh, she's earned quiet life with a cute gf, wish her the best. Frank and hazel being the best praetors, and I bet they will continue to be so. And annabeth and percy, who chose their happiness over all, at last

kinda wish we got to see someone still really miss jason after apollo becomes god again tho lmao like apollo missed jason more than the others, nico and piper being the exception. I mean, leo is fine and dandy, hazel and frank are okay, percy and annabeth are done mourning... I just we got to see any of them really mourning, rather than reading they mourned. it would have made it feel more emotional

the last conversation and the last words in general. "the sun always comes back" and "we're friends now. call on me. I'll be there for you" that shit got me sobbing my heart out. rick really managed to do right by the books and end it like he should have, unlike BOO. he took what made TLO good and used a similar formula. it's very different from "and for once I didn't look back", but it still fills you with warmth and the feeling that even though it's over, it's okay.

I'm just really emotional, this is all I can think about, but you bet I'm gonna add more when I remember

[willowbirds]

A Review of The Legend of Vox Machina by a Critter that hasn’t watched Campaign 1

Obviously to get it out of the way, yes. I have not watched Campaign 1 of Critical Role. I know the plot, some of the arcs, and some important moments. So when I found out that Critical Role was making a show for the first campaign, I was really excited to finally get to know the characters everybody loves.

I am going to try to keep this review as spoiler free as possible because it is honestly a really fun show and I believe everyone should get a chance to watch it blind.

Also please remember that this is my opinion. Everyone’s experience with the show will be different and you are entitled to your own opinion. I am simply one person who hasn’t watched the stream and enjoys this show.

With that out of the way, lets start the review!

First things first, the characters. Only knowing the basics about the members of Vox Machina it was awesome to finally get to know them. Keyleth is simultaneously funny and sincerer and is probably my favourite, Vex and Vax are badasses that only care about each other and eventually the rest of the party, Percy has the appropriate amount of angst and is just trying to survive the tomfoolery the party gets him into, Pike and Grog are both pure sweethearts that can also smash your face in, and Scanlan is both the comic relief and the perfect person to cause chaos. Needless to say I now understand why people love these characters. I love them too now! The voice actors are amazing at what they do and the character interactions are everything.

Now what about the story? Well the majority of the season follows the Briarwood story arc, where Vox Machina travel to Percy’s home in an attempt to free its people from the hands of an evil Necromancer. The first two episodes however follow a storyline that happened before the stream. Those episodes mainly act as the introduction to Vox Machina, eventually an introduction to the main plot, and are not as interesting as the rest of the season, but are still fun. There is an amazing fight scene that gives me chills every time I watch it. The story of the Briarwood’s and the De Rolo’s is dark and unnerving. Innocent or not, people die. And they die in gruesome ways. Although this show is inspired by DnD, this show is not family friendly, and it’s awesome. It’s gory, violent, Scanlan makes many innuendos, and it’s an overall great time.

What about the animation? It is so heckin pretty! The fight scenes are really well done and the score fits it so well. Although people will probably have different opinions on the 3D monsters I feel like they do a good job blending the styles together. The 3D monsters actually reminded me of the animation style of The Dragon Prince. If The Dragon Prince was a bloody, gruesome show for Teens and Adults. Overall, great animation.

How does the show compare to the stream? As mentioned before, I have not watched the campaign 1 stream, but there are a lot of fun references. Campaign 1 references, campaign 2 references, and some overall DnD references. The show is obviously different from the stream. After all, the stream is improvised while the show is scripted to better fit the format. The stream episodes are hours long while the show episode are around 30 minutes. Things have changed from stream to show, but I think they work fairly well. And obviously there are some iconic lines and moments that just couldn’t be left out.

Do I need to know anything about Critical Role to understand what’s happening? Short answer, no you absolutely don’t. I was watching the show with two other people, one is a casual DnD fan and the other is a huge DnD fan, but is not a Critter. Both had a really fun time watching the show, so it’s safe to say you don’t need much knowledge of DnD or Critical Role to enjoy the show. Sure you won’t get some of the references, but other than that you should be fine.

To close this review, although the show started a little rocky, the season only got better as it went on and it seems like season 2 is going to intense. Super excited to see where the show goes, what references there are, what they change, and what iconic lines and moments they include.

Score: 9/10

Exited for more to come!

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

A hphm character tier list please!! Bonus point if added reasoning/ explanation!

Have a great day :3

I doubt there are any placements on this list that would truly surprise anyone, but let's go through the different rankings. I didn't name them, by the way. Those were the categories that were already offered. I could have renamed or recolored them I suppose, but I didn't wind up doing so. Let's go in ascending order.

"Avada Kedavra." Self explanatory. Three of these characters are absolutely evil and irredeemable pieces of trash. And then there's Lockhart. He's just here because he pisses me off. Granted, so does Rita Skeeter, but she doesn't ruin an entire dating quest. At least when she shows up, it's because it's a quest about her. Fenrir Greyback purposefully infects children and describes them as "delicious" so...yeah. I'd put him even lower if I could. Albus Dumbledore's placement is also not a surprise if you know me. I hate him with all of my hate. Patricia Rakepick is also here and I doubt I need to explain why.

"Send to Azkaban." They don't bother me as much as "Avada Kedavra" but I am still not a fan. The Volde-clown Boggart is personally annoying in presentation but also as a plot device. For Peeves, there is the Prank storyline of Year 5. Enough said. The Weird Sisters creep me out, Filch and Mundugus are generally annoying, I discussed Rita, and the Dementor literally calls Azkaban home. That leaves Wormtail. I don't passionately hate him but he's not exactly a good person either.

"Kinda Sus" This is where I placed all of the characters who I, for whatever reason, do not trust or otherwise find shady, the ones who give me a bad feeling. This doesn't have to be plot related either, for cases like Ethan Parkin or Madam Hooch, it might just mean that their behavior is sometimes questionable. Of course, this is also something of a joke, like putting the Red Cloak on the list. For someone like Moody, it's more obvious - everyone knows I don't trust him. Characters like Bilton and Madam Villanelle are technically on our side, but they could be spies. If a character is a known villain, but their agenda and the depth of their evil is unclear, like The Dark Witch and the White-Robed Wizard, they also go here. Jacob and MC being placed here is somewhat of a joke, but it's also somewhat meta. Jacob is like Moody, his intentions are still unclear to me. And the game keeps teasing the idea that MC may fall to the Dark Side.

"Do you even go here?" Wow, do you ever stop to notice how many characters HPHM actually has? And this tier list included all of them, even the ones I would never have thought of. I literally just used this category to place all of the characters who do not technically attend Hogwarts school, though in a few of those cases like Aurelie, it definitely came off as more amusing. Additionally, I used this ranking for all of the characters who could be considered forgettable. Either by the fandom or the game itself, such as the prefects and poor Elora Dunn. Look, if the tier list has to actually list their name in the picture so that I can remember who they are, maybe they don't need to make the list, that's all I'm saying.

"Don't care." Mostly interchangeable with "Do you even go here." Again, the cast is so huge, that I'm not going to go through every character that I placed here. These past two rankings can mostly act as a summation for the majority of the characters for whom I don't particularly like or dislike. Emily Tyler hasn't returned or been developed as an antagonist in a while, so I don't care. Trelawney giving another prophecy is boring and conflicts with canon, so I don't care. Cedric Diggory is one of the most in-your-face examples of fanservice I've ever seen, so I don't care. But again, not all of these are negative. I think the Red Cap is funny, even if his storyline is brief. I love seeing Dobby, Arthur and Molly. I always love seeing them. I could go on.

"Ok." For the characters who, when I look at them, my immediate reaction is a generally positive one. I could probably get interested in a fanwork about these guys. For many of them, there is great potential to be explored but it just hasn't happened very much. Diego would not have been this high a year ago, but he's been fleshed out. Characters like Andre, Duncan, and Tonks...whenever they're in the spotlight and get genuine development, I'm interested. It just happens so rarely. The same goes for the Weasley boys, for Badeea. Other characters go here because I personally like them, even if they aren't that relevant. People like Aberforth and Percy. But two people can wind up here despite being very different and my having completely separate feelings about both of them, like Alanza and Ben.

"Like." Everyone that I would probably write a fanwork about someday, if I could actually motivate myself to finish my current WIP. Talbott, Chiara, and Jae are genuinely interesting and compelling. They might not make my top five, but they would make my top ten. I will always love Flitwick and what HPHM has done for him, I don't even care. Keep in mind, this doesn't mean I condone everything that the character has done...Ismelda has a lot to answer for, but it doesn't mean she's not interesting. And Penny can be very interesting too, but usually only when she's put under intense stress. As heartless as it is to say. You may also be surprised to see Myrtle here, but similar to Flitwick, I just love what this game did with her. Some of these could rise or drop a ranking pretty easily too. Like in hindsight, maybe I should have switched Duncan and Myrtle. It's not a big deal either way, I guess.

"Must be protected at all costs." Self explanatory. For the most part, these are all my favorite characters in the game, and the ones who I would lay down on railroad tracks for. Another character who climbed higher over time is Skye. If it wasn't for how much people message me about her, I may not have gotten quite as invested. My love for Orion is well documented, Rowan is the reason I started playing this game, Beatrice was the breakout character of Year 6, and Tulip x Merula is my OTP for this game. I could gush about any one of these kids for six paragraphs but the bottom line is that they are my favorite characters. It is at this point that we have entered "top five" territory.

"GOD TIER ~ ALWAYS" Characters who reign supreme and are factually flawless. It's not surprising to see characters like Dennis and Fang up here because critters are, generally speaking, leagues above humans simply by default. We can also see her majesty Queen Bean ruling from the sky, guarded by her champion, the arbiter known as Erika Rath. You are entitled to your wrong opinion if you fail to see the divinity of these characters.

[apollosgirl9]

Rating The riordanverse books that I’ve read

Note: please don’t get mad, this is my opinion, you can comment yours, but no hate please.

Note number 2: there’s heavy spoilers for all riordanverse, so if you haven’t read some, I suggest you stop reading once you see a name of a book you’ve never read.

Lightning thief: 7/10 pretty good book but honestly it wasn’t for me. Sure it was sweet with the whole Percy saving sally and stuff but I just wasn’t a fan

Sea of monsters: 6/10 so many love this book so imma get hate but I want a big fan of it honestly. It was a good book but not this kinda book I would stay up till 3 am reading.

Titans curse: 10/10 LOVED IT! It was amazing, definitely one of my favourites. Di angelos were in it along with Queen Zoë, Thalia and my gal Rachel. The whole concept of Percy getting annabeth was cute yet cringy but all in all, amazing book.

Battle of the Labyrinth: 9/10 this one was pretty good ngl. It wasn’t my favourite but it was still pretty good.

Last Olympian: ok so there’s something wrong with me and the last book of the series is ALWAYS my favourite (unless we’re talking red Queen but that’s a different story). So obviously I’m giving this one and infinity/10 mainly cuz I’m a sucker for romance AND it was a genuinely good book. So yeah I loved it.

All the in between books such as demigod chronicles and the guide to chb deserve a solid 10/10 all really good, I’m not gonna specify cuz I wanna fit this in one post so if there was any side books I’ve read, the get 10/10

Lost hero: ok so usually, I would give this like an 8/10 but they went to Canada, bumping it up to 9/10. It was a pretty good book, but I think it’s a tad bit overrated. The trio was an amazing trio so yeah.

Son of Neptune: 10/10 amazing book, really underrated but honestly really funny. They went to Canada, so as a Canadian, gets more points. Frank and Hazel were such a cute couple, and Percy just made a great third wheel (not as good as broski Grover tho).

Mark of Athena: 7/10 it was pretty good but let’s be honest, it was sorta over hyped. Sure, it was a pretty good book but I think people love it to much.

House of Hades: 2/10. Now before you get mad at me, it wasn’t for me. I never actually read it front to back because it didn’t seem Interesting.

Blood of Olympus: 9/10. The beginning of solangelo (*insert weird squeal thing*) which obviously made me happy. Plus, we got to see more of Queen Reyna and that was amazing. Also, Octavian=dead in this book so that’s a plus. Once again, last book so obviously my favourite in the series.

The Hidden oracle: 9/10 All of the TOA books are amazing plus this one we got to meet solangelo while they were dating. We also met Meg aka the whole ass mood.

The Dark Prophecy: 7/10 there was caleo which was the first real time we met them. Not to mention the old lesbian couple (I forgot their names rn)

The Burning Maze: 6/10 good storyline but he killed Jason so lost like 3 points for that. I don’t need to explain more.

The Tyrants tomb: 9/10 ok so I was SO ready to ship Lester and Reyna but then when she rejected us I was sorta sad. They would’ve been so cute but the fact that she laughed in his face was awesome.

Tower of Nero: 10/10 amazing book, plot, and character development. I’m not gonna give spoilers cuz it’s fairly new so I know their are ton that haven’t read it so I’ll leave it like that.

Sword of Summer: 10/10 I loved all mcga books are are amazing and this one was so refreshing with the new characters

Hammer of Thor: 8/10 this one was pretty good but it wasn’t my favourite so therefore only got an 8. Also, Alex was in it which made me happier.

Ship of the Dead: ♾/10 literally the best book in the world and I don’t need to talk any more.

Red Pyramid: ok so I’m gonna explain myself before I tell you my rating. I couldn’t get into it. I am not a fan of Egyptian mythology. It wasn’t a good book in my opinion. I never finished the series cuz I didn’t like it. I don’t mean to offend anyone so please no hate. I don’t mind you telling me your opinion but please no hate. It’s my opinion. 1/10

Thank you for reading this. Feel free to share your opinion in the comments.

[annabethy]

idk about the prompts i was lazy to read them but i humbly request you percabeth + childhood friends to lovers if you could 💞

Childhood friends to lover is hard in 1k so if you’re looking for a true storyline, here’s 40k I already wrote on this! If not, here’s another short friends to lovers storyline. #26/#32 “I love you, but you need to shut up”/“Don’t touch me while I’m trying to fall asleep.”

Annabeth stared at the ceiling fan, hypnotized by the spinning blades, hoping it would lull her to sleep. She stayed that way for what felt for hours, laying on her back with one arm strewn across her stomach.

At some point, she turned her head to the side to look at her best friend, whose bed she was currently laying in. He seemed to be fast asleep, his face towards her on the pillow, eyes shut and air blowing through his slightly parted lips.

She took a moment to appreciate him. She didn’t do that enough. He was her best friend for longer than she could remember, and he was always by her side, and she was more than slightly in love with this boy who was too pure for a world like this. Percy always put others before himself, especially her, and he was just so loyal.

With a smile, one hand reached out to graze his face, tracing lightly over his cheekbones and jaw, moving up to feel his long eyelashes against the tips of her fingers — a reminder that he was right there.

She turned onto her side so that they were facing each other, faces inches away, and she settled her arm on his side so her hand could gently brush the small of his back.

He looked so peaceful right now, and it warmed her heart. She really loved this man so much, and she was so glad that she decided to stay in New York after high school. She couldn’t imagine missing this moment, laying in Percy’s bed in the darkness of his apartment, nothing but the sound of his breathing.

Annabeth was falling for him — hard. It was the first time in a while that both of them were single too, and so she’d been working up the courage to tell him how she felt, but he was just too important to her, and—

“Don’t touch me while I’m trying to fall asleep.”

Annabeth’s hand snapped back to herself, startled by his words that had been muffled against the pillow. “Oh, I’m sorry.”

Percy just hummed sleepily, stretching his legs beneath their shared blanket. “S’okay.”

They fall back into silence, and Annabeth was forced to look back into the darkness of the room at anything that wasn’t Percy, because if she didn’t, she might not be able to resist touching his face, or running her fingers through his soft hair, or…

She couldn’t resist him.

“Are you okay?” Percy breathed against the pillow, his eyes still shut so it looked like he never spoke at all.

“I’m fine.”

“Why are you staring at the ceiling?”

Annabeth chuckled, looking back at him. His eyes were open now. “Can’t sleep.”

Percy wordlessly opened his arms for her, and she gratefully scooted closer to him so that he could embrace her. The heat of his body made her feel warm and safe. His chin settled on the top of her head, and from where she lay, she could hear his steady heartbeat.

“What’s going on in that beautiful mind of yours?” he asked softly.

“I thought you were tired,” she said, trying to distract him. “Don’t let me keep you awake.”

“I’m exhausted,” he said, yawning conveniently. “But I know you are too, so what’s up?”

She smiled into his chest, tucking her socked feet between his own. From any outsider, it would look like they were a couple. She would think the same thing if she didn’t know any better.

“Nothing,” she insisted. “I was just thinking about how much I love you.”

And that was their friendship. They could say how much they loved each other, and it wouldn’t be weird. She had always been grateful to be able to do that because not many people could, but as of late, it just caused problems. How was she meant to communicate that she loved him if he would assume she just meant that she loved him platonically?

“I love you more,” he said, and she could tell he was drifting off to sleep, so she was surprised when he continued with, “More than you know.”

Annabeth felt a familiar heat flood her neck and travel down her back. “I don’t think that’s possible.”

“Is too,” he argued quietly. “You wouldn’t be allowed in my bed at night if I didn’t love you.”

“You didn’t love Calypso, and she was definitely in your bed,” she said, trying to ignore the stab of pain at the thought. “A lot of times, actually.”

“And Luke was in yours, so we’re even.”

Annabeth breathed out a soft laugh, tilting her head so her chin was on his stomach and she was looking up at his face. “Are you implying that I’m the equivalent of one of your college hookups?”

“You’re nothing like them,” he said. “I didn’t love them like I love you.”

She didn’t respond, instead poking at his throat until he choked lightly. His eyes snapped open to find hers in the dark, and she noticed his eyes were filled with humor at her actions, so she did it again.

Percy caught her hand in the dark, curling it in his fist and holding on snugly. He made no move to let go, so she gave up twisting out of his grip. He squeezed her hand in his until she met his gaze again, and there was something… different about it.

“I love you so much,” he said. “I know we’re joking around, but I really do love you more than I love anything.”

“I know,” she admitted. “I mean it too.”

“Yeah, but…” Percy shifted their position slightly, pausing to readjust the blanket over their bodies. “I mean I love you.”

Annabeth’s stomach jumped, but she tried not to let herself get her hopes up. “I— I love you too.”

She could hear his heart start to speed up. “I don’t think you understand.”

“I think I do,” she whispered. If she was misinterpreting this, if he wasn’t actually saying what she thought he was, then she was going to be in some deep trouble, but he promised to stay by her side no matter what, and she just had to trust him enough to have meant it. “We’ve been friends since diapers, and now you’re twenty and I’m nineteen, and you love me.”

“And you love me,” he said, but it sounded more of a question. She doesn’t know how he could possibly question if she loved him. She loved him more than was healthy. Her love for him took over every inch of her skin, every vein, every thought, every particle of her being, and her heart pangs knowing that he was terrified out of his mind right now that he might lose everything.

“I’m in love with you,” she told him, her voice barely audible.

Percy’s fingers tilted her chin up, and a moment later, his lips were against hers. He kissed her gentle and sweet, the composition of their friendship. He showed her that he loved her in a place no one could see but them, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. This moment was for the two of them, and it was in a place where time stopped, and they could just be with one another.

When Percy pulled away, she longed for the delicate feeling of his lips on hers again.

“A lot has happened recently,” Percy said. “Everything’s confusing, and no one knows what’s going on, but the one thing I know for sure is that I want to be with you. You’re my tie to the world, and you keep me grounded.”

“Percy,” she said quietly.

“Stay with me,” he offered. “Please.”

Hearing the plea in his voice, she couldn’t resist giving him another kiss. This one was longer, but no less loving.

“How did I get so lucky?” she muttered against his lips.

“How did I get so lucky?” he said back, unable to help the grin. Their teeth clashed together painfully, but she still couldn’t bring herself to stop.

“I love you,” she breathed, “but you need to shut up so I can kiss you.”

Percy dutifully shut up, pulling her body onto his, and she kissed him like she had all the time in the world, because now, she did.

[valerie-jean-louise]

The Ethan and Samuel of it All: My Thoughts on the Little Voice Love Triangle

Disclaimer: This is SUPER LONG (in my opinion.) Sorry about that. This is also my first time writing out my opinion about a show on tumblr. I’m a tumblr consumer not a creator, but I had the time to sit and write, so I thought “what the hell?” Okay, here it goes…

First off, Ethan. I’m hearing that people think Ethan is “toxic” or “unhealthy”. I don’t really think he’s toxic, he’s just not in the right place to be starting a new relationship with anyone at the moment. What bugs me is that he let things develop with Bess without being upfront with her about being in a very serious relationship. At first you can tell that Bess pursues him more, but then after bonding a bit during that first evening I can tell that his attitude changes and it goes from just not getting around to telling Bess about Laila to hiding it from her. He then appears to have a change of heart and invites Laila to see Bess perform, although he arrives alone and seems to be coming on to Bess before Laila gets there, then surprise! Here’s my live-in girlfriend who I’ve known for like a decade and who moved to another country to be with me.

Ethan is such a nice guy that he can’t handle hurting Laila and I know he doesn’t want to hurt Bess too, but his inability to deal with the situation that he’s helped build up is just hurting all of them. He is unintentionally playing mind games with Bess and probably Laila too. From what I can tell of his character he is most likely acting strange and pulling away from Laila without her knowing why. Bess is also at fault here. At first she pursued Ethan, thinking that he was single,  but once she knew he had a girlfriend she should have backed away. They made their “friend oath” in episode 2, but by the end of the night they both seemed a bit unsure about it. After working on the music video Bess still didn’t want to stick to the “friends” deal but Ethan should have stepped up and either spelled it out for Bess that he really can’t give her anything else but friendship or have broken up with Laila right away. Instead he makes a promise to Bess, giving her hope for a future relationship, then trails her along. It did seem like Ethan was back on track with being friends until he watched Bess and Samuel dance. His whole demeanor changed after that. It’s the usual I’m cool with us not actually being together, but you can’t be with anyone else but me situation. Which is kinda a jerk move when he has a girlfriend.

I feel like there is a connection between them, but it’s also a bit on the surface and isolated from their real lives. Ethan is infatuated with Bess and her music, almost putting her on a pedestal. He hasn’t seen Bess at her worst and I don’t think Bess has shared too much about the hardships in her life. Bess is Ethan’s new beautiful and mysterious and creative infatuation compared to the familiarity of nice Laila (who is also beautiful) and her amazing cookies. Ethan has become Bess’ new form of escapism from dealing with the many responsibilities and issues she has in her life. I just don’t know if it would last in the real world when all the issues and demons are exposed.

Now for my dear Samuel. I feel that if Bess hadn’t met Ethan first, things would be a bit different between her and Samuel. You can tell in episode 1 that they are a little intrigued by each other and in episode 2 when they run into each other at the bar they both give each other looks that screams “interested”, especially when Samuel complements Bess’ music. But that was when Bess barely knew Ethan and then found out that he had a girlfriend, so she seemed more open to other possibilities. That changes after episode 3 when her and Ethan fail at their “friend pact” within hours of making it. So Samuel gets friend zoned.

Samuel is also a really nice guy, observant, truthful, he tells it as it is, has integrity, and would go the extra mile for any of his friends which I feel makes it hard for someone like Bess to realize that he has feelings for her. He can straight talk about everything except for the fact that he has feelings for Bess (luckily Prisha spells that one out for her.) It’s not until Bess starts acting out and pushes Samuel away when he tries to be there for her that he can’t help but burst out that he “f*cking cares” about her. Which I see as him saying he not only cares as a friend but as more than that because it’s followed up with him saying that she’s seeking out Ethan because she doesn’t believe she deserves to be cared about, that’s why she is pursuing someone that can’t care for her the way she might want. (Although Samuel has only observed the looks Bess and Ethan shared during the filming and doesn’t know that Ethan’s been making and breaking promises to Bess, which makes that scene even more heartbreaking.)

Once Bess had time to look at the destruction and pain she caused to the people in her life and came out of the dark place that was heartbreak over Ethan’s betrayal, her and Samuel were able to get back to some sense of normalcy. I’m assuming that she kept her distance from the storage space while her, Samuel, and Benny bonded during the auditions week. From the very beginning you could tell that Samuel had already forgiven Bess and was back to caring and supporting her as much as he can, while Bess was definitely feeling ashamed for how she acted toward him and wanted to take things back.

At the end of episode 7 Samuel was so proud of Bess. She put her and her music out there to be analyzed and criticized and then she told off Jeremy. (I love Luke Kirby btw. It sucks that he plays a skeezball in this.) After leaving the last audition they must have made plans to hangout. They were adorable. Making each other laugh, flirting, and constantly bumping arms even though they had an entire sidewalk. Things were looking up for them and their relationship, but Bess’ life is complicated and they run into Percy. The trauma of the event could send Bess spiraling way out of control and Samuel knows this. He’s so observant and sees all the little cracks in Bess so he knows if she pushes him away again that this could end really badly so he stands his ground to be there for her. I think since the last spiral Bess has learned that she needs to let Samuel in and puts down her walls to let him care for her in her time of need because he has been there supporting her this whole time even if she wasn’t paying attention.

A little extra thoughts about Bess (and Samuel):

Bess reacts to how people react to her music, because she is her music. So she falls for Ethan who fawns over her music and just keeps saying that it’s great and he loves it. But Samuel is a musician himself and will tell her that he loves a song, but also gives her his notes on something that might make it even better. You can tell by how she reacts to Samuel that she’s not used to feedback and criticism. This mirrors their actual relationships. Bess has Ethan in her dreamland relationship, while Samuel is there when the real world shit hits the fan. It’s fairy tale vs. reality.

Bess is also a very serious person. I mean, the girl has a lot on her plate, which can be super stressful and really bog a person down. You can hear it in her first songs we hear. As Samuel says “it’s got a lot of feeling.” Samuel helps lighten up her life and brings some fun into it. He helps her overcome her performance anxiety (Benny & Prisha too!) He lifts her spirits like when he comes out and plays with her in the park. In her mind this was just another job for her to make money, but Samuel makes it fun. It’s the film trope of a young person stressed out with too much responsibility on their shoulders that they don’t know the last time they just let go and had a good time until someone comes into their life and shows them a way.

Bess also has some demons that only Samuel (and sometimes Prisha) seems to be noticing. His expression when she started drinking at his apartment. The way he questioned her why she was suddenly doubting herself and the music video. Noticing right away that Jeremy was a creep. (The one OOC thing he did was leaving the bar when Bess was drunk, but the writers obviously did that to create that storyline. I mean, what musician leaves a gig without his equipment?) Samuel doesn’t want to just be the fun friend and musical collaborator, he wants to be partners with Bess which means taking on the hardships with all the good.

My thoughts on the end of the season and what could be next????

So if you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m Team Samuel. I feel like they could be endgame if the show runners get to properly conclude the show. Or Bess will end up being single in the end with Samuel as her friend and bandmate, still leaving the possibility for them open. I wrote this a couple days after episode 7 so the big question for this week is how will Bess feel when the dust settles and she runs into Ethan. Will Ethan have gotten the courage to break things off with Laila and is so could it be too little too late? Will Bess use Samuel as practice for letting someone in and turn and run back to Ethan? Will Bess realize that Samuel is actually the guy she is supposed to be with? Will she say f*ck it and friend zone them both? Will Bess pick Ethan, but then have him hurt her again? Or will they leave it all on a cliffhanger and hope for a second season to play it out more?

In my fantasy world she’ll just wake up in the morning next to Samuel and realize that he is the one she’s supposed to be with, but realistically it looks like things are about to get crazy. I could see her spiraling out of control again and making a move on Ethan in a moment of weakness, Ethan allowing it to happen (probably not really knowing what is going on with Bess) and so in Bess’ mind they have chosen each other. I feel like Samuel has to find out somehow, hurting the poor guy. But it turns out Ethan still can’t get the nerve up to break things off with Laila and Bess is hurt again. She tries to hide the pain of more heartbreak by Ethan from Samuel, but he’s a smart guy and figures out what is going on. The season ends on a cliffhanger: will Samuel forgive Bess and will Bess actually move on from Ethan? Or will Samuel not be able to forgive Bess? Could Ethan finally break things off with Laila and come running to Bess? Would she go back to him then? With only 2 episodes left I could totally see a cliffhanger in our futures.

[justgottafinishthischapter]

Deciding on a POV

There are many ways to tell a story, and each one comes with a benefit or a downside. Still, I figured it’s worth going over the different ways each can be effective.

First Person

Reliable Narrator: A story with a reliable First Person narrator is one of the most common narrative styles. What this means is that the reader can trust what the narrator is telling them is the truth as it actually happened. Think Percy Jackson in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series.The reliable narrator is far more common than the unreliable variety. The benefit of this narrative style is that it mirrors how we tell stories verbally. If something happened to me, and I tell my friend what happened, I am going to use First Person narration to explain the events that transpired. Thus, this can feel like the most organic option. It also allows for total access to the POV character’s thoughts, allowing readers to see how they reached a conclusion, or why they’re acting a certain way. However, this can come with the problem of not being able to get inside the head of anyone except for the narrator. Now, while it’s standard for the First Person narrator to be the main character, it isn’t always the case. If the narrator is some sort of omniscient, bystander, or divine presence, whether they interact with the characters or not, it technically falls under First Person if they voice their opinion using I statements. The figure of Death in The Book Thief is a good example of this, as Death uses I and me in the narrative of the story. Because the story is set in Germany during World War II, the narrator of Death sees the protagonist, Liesel, frequently, and thus we’re able to get a narrator who is observing a protagonist from outside of her immediate story.

Unreliable Narrator: An Unreliable narrator is going to be the exact opposite. They tell the story, but take their story with a grain of salt. Whether their perception of reality is distorted, they’re using metaphors and symbolic imagery to tell the story, or they’re telling the story from a very narrow viewpoint, the unreliable narrator can be a good choice to get the reader to engage with the story and think critically about the work. Rugrats is a good example of this type of storytelling, as the main characters are babies, and therefore often mistake things for something else, making them unreliable narrators. This type works well if you want to tell a more abstract story. For instance, an entire story is about a boy chasing after a red balloon, but that red balloon itself represents accepting his mother’s death. Suddenly everything experienced becomes unreliable, leaving the reader wondering if the foes he defeated or the desert he crossed was literal, and he went on an actual journey to come to terms with his mother’s death, or was everything figurative, and the journey was more symbolic and allegorical? An unreliable narrator can play with these questions, blur the lines between reality and fiction, and leave their readers asking questions.

Third Person

Omniscient: Lemony Snicket is a perfect example of a great omniscient narrator. Mr. Snicket knows everything about every character, knows what’s going to happen before it happens, and comments on everything. Lemony Snicket himself is not a character in the story. Rather he recounts the story much like the First Person style, but from an outside perspective. Instead of being part of the story, Lemony Snicket is telling us about the Baudelaire children through the lens of the all-knowing and opinionated narrator. It’s not entirely uncommon for this type of narrator to be some supernatural force, a wise old sage, or someone who lived through an experience recounting the tale many years later. In fact it could be rather fun to play with this last one, having the story almost be told like a myth or legend, but having the narrator constantly side track to discuss how historians know and gathered the information for this story, only to reveal the narrator isn’t some omniscient being, but just a docent in a museum giving a tour and explaining an old myth to the patrons.

Limited: With a Limited POV, the reader learns things as the narrator does. Even though the narrator is the one telling the story, their information is only up to date with whatever is currently happening on the page. This and First Person are the two POV types most likely to appear in a mystery novel, or any novel where a mystery or unanswered questions drives the plot. Harry Potter is a series written in Limited Third Person. The story follows Harry, and the reader only learns information as Harry does. And every year, Harry is faced with the recurring mystery element of figuring out what’s going on, and stopping whatever their plan was. However, because the narrator only knows what the protagonist knows, this can allow you to play around with giving the narrator a personality, and having them comment or react to things as they happen, perhaps even mirroring the way you hope the readers are responding.

Objective: Think of Objective Point of View as watching a tv show. Anyone who’s into shipping has to read into objective romantic coding. Two characters held eye contact for five seconds? You the reader have to interpret that as you will. Objective is strangely both the most human and the most robotic point of view. At its most human, Objective treats the narration like a normal person. They can’t read the thoughts of other characters, they don’t know more than the hero or reader, and you’re effectively just a bystander in the crowd watching things happen with no context clues about what’s happening inside a character’s head. On the opposite end, it can also be the most robotic because it is the most lacking in human connection, as it leaves the reader detached from the characters themselves. However, a liberating or perhaps crippling aspect of this POV style is that it frees the author of show don’t tell because this type of POV can’t enter anyone’s minds or go on a rant about a character’s feelings about someone else. You just have to take what you get at face value and all information has to be conveyed through your characters and story, whether directly through dialogue, or subtly through background details.

Switching POVs

Most stories tend to stick with a single narrator. Stories can be complicated when one person is giving an opinion, but when multiple people are talking, it can be hard to find a voice and plot for each of them. And if you’re planning on writing a series, you may run into the problem of some characters having meatier plots than others. It’s for this reason that when it comes to watching Game of Thrones, I always groan internally whenver the story cuts back to Bran or Jon at the Wall. It’s a scene or two of people standing around being cold or talking about being cold and something something three-eyed raven and then we finally get back to the part I’m more interested in: the political games of manipulation and intrigue. But that’s also a strength of changing POVs. With something like Game of Thrones, you might not necessarily like every storyline happening, but you’re more likely to enjoy one. In a sense, Game of Thrones is like 11 novels stitched together, and because each is so different, you’re more likely to find something in the series that speaks to you. Conversely, when there’s multiple POVs experiencing the same thing, such as with the Heroes of Olympus series, having shifting POVs can be a good way of exploring each character. In The Lost Hero, Piper knows more about the giant waiting to fight them than either Jason or Leo, and because we have shifting POVs, we the reader get access to this otherwise Limited Third Person information from the character who already knows it, thus building dramatic tension of when the others will find out. Another benefit to this is giving unique encounters to the characters. Percy has already met Aphrodite in the past, but through Piper, Aphrodite’s daughter, we’re able to see a different side of this goddess, the goddess as a mother to someone else. This could also manifest in differing opinions of the same things. This is also part of why it works so well in Game of Thrones. Game of Thrones is a civil war story with multiple sides all vying for the same end goal. Because there are so many sides and players in the game, having so many different points of view is valueable to the story being told. If Eddard Stark was the sole protagonist, the only thing that we would know is whatever he knows. Everything Danny is doing across the narrow sea would need to be told to Ned for it to matter. And the same with Jon at the Wall. And if Jon or Danny was the sole narrator, the reader would miss out on everything happening in King’s Landing because neither Danny nor Jon are connected to that part of the plot. An entire element to the story is lost when a major POV character is dropped, which goes to show how strong George RR Martin’s writing really is. Something I like doing with multiple POVs is describing the same character in two different ways from two characters who would see them in a drastically different way. One description might paint a character as dark, alluring, and attractive, while another person might describe them as a rat-faced shifty-eyed snake that stinks of booze and dead fish. It’s the same character, but two different people see that character in entirely different ways. However, this also comes with a major backlash. It can be an absolute nightmare juggling not only so many plots, but trying to make them fit together nicely. You’ll notice this a lot with shows that emphasize drama and interconnecting storylines. They’ll be really strong in their earlier seasons, then peter out once they’ve hit the creative brick wall. It happened to Once Upon a Time and to a lesser extent, Glee. Both shows had tightly knit and compelling drama in season 1, but by season 4, both shows felt like they were just going through the motions and had lost the edge that made them interesting. Even with something as well-written as Game of Thrones, it’s still possible to have someone’s story be weaker than everyone else’s. Arya Stark for instance spent the first couple of seasons focused on learning to sword fighting, then once the Hound died, she went to Braavos, but it always kind of felt more like a detour than really what Arya’s story was supposed to be about. She was a little girl out for vengeance, she went to Braavos for a season or two, didn’t really learn much, and then she came back to Westeros and pretty much went right back to exactly who she was before going to Braavos. Now granted, I’m going by the TV show, but it always felt to me at least that Arya’s vacation in Braavos was just kind of George not knowing what to do with her as he built up to the big climactic battle. So if you’re going to use shifting POVs, it’s important to weigh the pros and the cons carefully.

[prettywordsyouleft]

Down By The Lake - Part 2

Summary: It was only meant to be a stolen moment between you and your lover Daehyun and ended with him framed for murdering your best friend. With the assistance of your aloof friend Inspector Bang, could you find the real culprit called The Pauper, in time to clear Daehyun’s name?

Pairing: Jung Daehyun x reader ft. Bang Yongguk

Genre: murder mystery / periodic au / horror-ish

Warnings: murder / death / dark content given the nature of the storyline

Down By The Lake will be shared daily at 10am NZST.

Preview | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

It didn’t take long for the scene to turn into complete chaos.

Your scream had alerted those within earshot and before you could ask Daehyun to help you remove Lucy from the lake, there were multiple people before you shouting different commands. You were grabbed suddenly and you struggled within their grip, reaching out for Daehyun who was being dragged off in the opposite direction.

“Wait, no! What are you doing?!”

“Calm down, my Lady!”

“How did you get into this state?!”

“You’re safe now!”

“I was safe a moment ago!” you stated, shivering with the cold seeping into your undergarments. “Let him go! He was with me!”

“Precisely and we need to protect you from him!”

“No, I mean! Oh, this is ridiculous, let me go and listen!” you exclaimed, shoving a man off of you roughly and dashing out of the water after Daehyun struggling against his four captors. “Let him go this instance! That is an order!”

“Y/N!” a voice called sternly and you whipped about, bursting into another wave of emotions. Rushing to your father’s side, you took his hand and shook it rapidly. “Father, they are taking away an innocent man!”

“Where are your clothes?!” he breathed, looking around at all the men who quickly darted their attention to the ground. “Find my daughter something to cover up with!”

“Father!”

“Y/N, are you hurt? Come with me, this is a dangerous place!”

“WHY WILL YOU NOT LISTEN?!”

“Now, my dear, you are growing hysterical. Someone, fetch a doctor! My daughter has fallen ill!”

Despite the apparent shiver coursing throughout your body, you grew desperate to be heard. “Please Daddy, Daehyun and I overheard the—and Lucy struggled and—”

You choked on your distraught sobs, clasping a hand to your mouth in hopes to settle them, only noticing the blood upon your skin when you pulled away. It all became too much for you and you stumbled, unseeing from that moment as everything turned dark.    

“Daehyun!”

You sat up with a start, blinking rapidly as your private chambers came into focus. Looking to the right where you heard movement, you groaned when your lady maid rushed to your side. “Oh no, my Lady. Please lie back down, you are awfully pale.”

“I am perfectly well, Clare,” you corrected, gently pushing her encouraging hand away. “I need to get ready at once.”

“Your father insists you rest until the doctor is back later today. It’s only been three days since-”                                                                                        

“Three days?!” you echoed in horror, throwing the blankets aside and ignoring Clare’s whimpering protests. “Why have I been in here for so long?! I need to go to the station immediately! What have you of the stable hand that was with me that night?”

“I fear I have no information to give you, my Lady. Investigators have been here every day, eager for you to wake up.”

“Send word that I am now alert and ready to communicate,” you instructed, approaching the mirror across the room and stared at your reflection. You folded your arms across your bosom, determined to rectify the situation immediately.

However, it appeared no one was ready to listen to you seriously. Investigator Moore nodded apathetically in your direction once you were done explaining what happened that evening.

“Yes, about the young man you were found with, how long have you been acquainted?”

You frowned. “Well, some weeks. I believe he arrived here just before spring.”

“And how long has he courted you?”

Your father gasped into a handkerchief. “Investigator!”

“Apologies, my Lord, it must be spoken of. Your daughter just admitted to grave connections with the man. I fear he may have corrupted her.”

“Honestly!” you remarked, shaking your head incredulously at the pair. “Corrupted?!”

“Has he taken from your body?”

“Sir,” the companying officer breathed and the older man nodded gruffly. “Just answer the question.”

“I approached him!” you confessed, trying not to look in the direction of your father now heaving visibly. “It was I, not him, who made the first move.”

“Y/N, enough. She is not of the right mind-”

“I am perfectly sane right now. I demand to see Daehyun at once.”

“Afraid not, my Lady, he’s not in an area where visitations are allowed.”

“You have convicted him of a crime he has not done!”

“He is the only suspect we have. This is the fourth killing this year of young women from the upper-class society. Surely, you have suspicions.”

“Yes, that there is a killer who walked right by Daehyun and I. He was with me at the time! I heard it all! Did you not listen when I expressed this the first time?!”

Investigator Moore nodded once more, mumbling to himself. “Perhaps she’s right.”

“I am!”

“If you heard it then, why did you do nothing to help the poor girl? Why, you could be an accomplice!”

“I am nothing of the sort! I went to and then…”

“And then?” your father prompted as you stilled, trying to wrap your mind around it.

“And Daehyun held me back. I believe for my safety!”

“So you could have stopped the killer from murdering your best friend, could you have not?”

You gripped at your skirt, blinking rapidly to replay the scene. Daehyun had definitely looked troubled as he held you back. But why? You were certain it was to protect you, to keep you from seeing something so ghastly in person. Not that seeing Lucy after had been any easier on your wits but at least, you hadn’t been put at risk either.

Your life wasn’t any more valuable than hers and had you known, you would have leapt in front to save her. Was Daehyun aware of this and that was why he stopped you?

Or could he have seen what was happening and… chosen to allow it to continue?

You struggled with this new thought process, tears welling in your round eyes. You had believed him to be honest, hard-working, humble and much more fun than the boring over-exaggerative Viscounts and Earls you were used to spending time with.

But could he have been more dangerous than a simple stable hand? Your hand rose to your mouth as you began to tremble.

Investigator Moore grinned. “Well, my Lady, that will be all for today, don’t you think?”

You were now seen as the living victim of Lucy’s murder. You went from being someone people talked about with envy to that of the girl they pitied, and rumours began to mill around. Most pointing that you would be next to meet The Pauper. It should have filled you with chills and have you barricaded within your house until he was captured.

And yet, the fact that you had too many questions and not enough answers had you knocking on the door of an aloof inspector’s house desperately until an old man swung it open midway, clearing his throat disapprovingly. “It is Sunday, madam.”

“I am aware of the day; however, I am in need of speaking with Inspector Bang today if it is alright. Please, I sent word ahead of my visit.”

“And surely you would have received notice if he had been inclined to an intrusion today.”

“It is quite alright, Percy,” a deep voice called from within and you smiled with relief. The owner of the house stepped into view and gave you a half-smile. “Y/N will never leave us be unless we let her in. Come, I am sure you have much to inform me of.”

“Have you seen him by chance?” you asked when you were done explaining all you knew to Yongguk, his expression unreadable. You took a distracted sip from the teacup you had held onto as if your life depended on it this entire time. Yongguk remained unmoving and you placed it down with a jostle, tea sloshing over into the saucer. “Stop with this silence! I know if there is anyone in this world who will listen to me right now, it is you. Everyone else sees me as a mere woman who has gone particularly mad after seeing a dead body.”

He finally smirked. “Anyone who knows you personally will understand you have been mad for much longer.”

“I am not here for your amusement, dearest,” you muttered though it did relieve your nerves having Yongguk respond like that. It meant he was listening and taking what you said seriously.

Unlike everyone else.

“He is alive. For how long, I do not know. The commissioner wants to label Daehyun as The Pauper. He fits the bill. He is a mere stable hand. The weapon used by the killer is a tool found in most stables. And so far all he has done is attack daughters of the elite. Being found with one of the most influential unwedded young women in our county makes it even more suspicious.”

“Except, if he was the killer why am I still alive and who murdered Lucy whilst I was with him?” you questioned and Yongguk smiled.

“He could have lured you and hired an accomplice for the evening so he could kill you next. Or there’s a copycat and you were always the main prey.”

“Perhaps we could also consider Daehyun as innocent!” you demanded and Yongguk nodded easily.

“Yes, yes, innocent until proven guilty. However, how many of the lower class gets that privilege? He’ll have a week left at most.”

“A week?! Surely we can find proof in the meantime! Please, Yongguk, I swear to you, I know he is innocent. I had my suspicions for only a moment and I simply cannot believe someone I got to know intimately could be a killer!”

Yongguk’s eyes popped and he coughed a couple of times, your gaze darting to your lap at how he had taken your words. With cheeks blazing, you shook your head. “I am not meaning in that manner!”

“No, I would expect nothing of the sort,” he responded, strained with embarrassment.

“I have already been labelled as tainted and yet no one believes me for the words I speak that are truthful, just those that lead them to think I have sullied my family name all because I was found in my undergarments.”

“I believe in you, Y/N,” Yongguk announced sincerely, leaning forward in his chair to catch your gaze. He smiled determinedly. “I want to catch the killer myself as well, so shall we join hands in solving this case together?”

You nodded, holding out your hand in agreement. “I will assist in any way I can so long as we can clear Daehyun’s name.”

_________________

Part 3

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