#none of you really know about my hyperfixations huh. i don't really talk about it

[thereareeyesinsidethetrees]

hyperfixation is compiling a long list of individual animal species for identification purposes and this is being done because you're bored and not because you're required to

anyway the tags turned into something weird so maybe ignore those. i'm keeping them there so i don't personally forget

[ma1dita]

bedtime stories

a 'partners in crime' installment - luke castellan x dionysus!reader

words: bitch this was supposed to be a blurb. 2.4k

summary: (pre-established relationship) The one where night shift with him runs late, but you don't mind at all. You won’t admit a lot of things to Luke Castellan, but perhaps he knows something you don’t. Luke Castellan x fem!Dionysus!reader

warnings: none, banter and fluff on a night shift

a/n: Introducing luke castellan x trouble!reader… this is just gonna be ongoing blurbs and one shots of an idea in my head (and my latest hyperfixation) reader is essentially reformed unhinged bitch now camp mom and it’s enemies to friends to lovers. Working through reading the pjo series hehe

(posted 1/16/24, beta’ed by the lovely @ttulipwritezz @mrsaluado & @lixzey thank you bunches)

—

Dragging your feet across the dirt of the forest floor, you sigh to yourself in the quiet night air. It’s gonna be another long night and with the beep on your digital watch, you blearily peer at the time and sigh. Almost 11. Swaying slightly, you whistle a familiar tune as your nimble hands straighten out the deck chairs near the firepit, pick up trash to toss into the receptacle, and turn off the lights in the dining hall. All on the way to check Cabin 7, mind you, and the Apollo kids will undoubtedly loop you into singing a song with them before you shut the lights off and close the curtains.

Gods, your dad is definitely gonna hear about this in the morning.

It’s not like Mr. D ever really cares, or listens, more focused on droning on about missing his wife and playing pinochle even when you rattle off his…your to-do list for the week to keep Camp Half-Blood running and the younger demigods in mostly one piece. Honestly, he should be grateful he has you, and even if he is, he’ll never let you hear it.

At least you’re Chiron’s favorite.

A shadow passes your field of view, and before you can rub at your sleepy eyes, strong hands pin you to the side of a tree on the dirt path you were supposed to take across camp.

Sorry, let’s correct that—you’re one of Chiron’s favorites. The other all-star camper stares at you like you’re a three-headed dog under the beam of his flashlight.

“Just me, Castellan,” you grumble, a bit winded as you blink harshly at the bright light. “Still doing checks.”

“You’re losing your touch. You making a habit of going to bed late?” Luke smirks, and it’s actually annoying how he always looks like he knows something you don’t.

“You always pin campers to trees?”

“Just the pretty ones.” His smirk turns into a sly grin that makes you roll your eyes.

“Okay loser, I’ve got cabins to check,” you drone as you push off from the tree. “6 cut into my time after staying there longer than I had to. The little ones kept asking these otherworldly philosophical questions and Annabeth just laughed at me while I tried to not pluck my eyelashes out one by one.”

Your clipboard taps lightly against your hip despite the aggression in your voice and Luke laughs much like his little sister, a burst of sunlight overflowing into the dreary and mundane. Your lips quirk upward before you can stop and remind yourself of who you’re talking to. The tall boy reaches behind him to scratch the nape of his neck and sighs, sucking at his teeth.

“You’re always doing the most, huh?”

“Who else is going to, my dad? He’s probably already out like a light.” Once, you found your dad asleep at his desk after dinner, snoring loudly instead of keeping watch. You started taking more night shifts after that.

“Well, no. You know I’m here to help you, even if you’ll never admit it.” Luke extends a hand to you so it’s easier to navigate the step back onto the dirt-trodden path, but there’s no fun in that, so you hop around him and start walking away. The sound of his footsteps fall and match yours as he follows you, both in tandem like the sound of a steady heartbeat.

“The day you catch me admitting anything about you is the day the Underworld freezes over. You should know that by now.”

“Woooooow, so I don’t get a thank you for singing the Apollo kids to sleep? You should’ve seen the look on their faces when I walked in and not you. They ended the song pretty quickly after I opened my mouth to croak out a chorus,” he says, drawing his bottom lip between his teeth and nudging your side as you both laugh.

He’s a terrible singer, to be honest. Not even the Fates would’ve expected that from someone who otherwise seems like a perfect boy. Sometimes you wonder what he’s done in a past life to have it so easy–to look like he’s been chiseled by Michelangelo, have the athletic prowess of ten Spartan soldiers, and the heart of a hero only legends could get right. He’s probably the closest thing to an actual hero here at camp. You often find yourself looking at him in hopes of finding a crack in the porcelain of his perfection, but any fault of his seems to just build up his endurance in his quest for glory.

Maybe that’s why your dad doesn’t like him, his aspirations for something greater than the camp that’s kept you safe all these years, though the multiple complaints and headaches the both of you have given him as squabbling teenagers must’ve added onto that. Sometimes, though, the way he helps ease your load prods a funny feeling you do your best not to acknowledge in your stomach. Luke walks ahead shining the flashlight onto the dark path so you both don’t trip. It’s there now, at the sight of him offering an arm for you to latch onto to hop over fallen branches.

Mental note: tell the satyrs to move that in the morning.

As you hurdle over the brambles, you let go immediately after you steady your feet, moving his hand that’s holding the flashlight back towards the path with no other words. You are your father’s daughter after all, and he knows this—stubborn and your name have the same face.

Moving further towards your destination, the light reveals a teenage couple entangled within each other’s arms at the base of a tree out there for everyone to see in the moonlight.

“Jeez, guys, alright— pack it up, wrap it up! Could’ve at least found somewhere private… It’s curfew already, if I see you two again it’s a citation.”

The boy blushes and mumbles an apology to you, scurrying back to cabin 7, and you raise an eyebrow at a sheepish son of Hermes who swears they were all in their beds when he was singing to them.

“I don’t wanna go back to my cabin, all the boys are gross…” the girl whines, cheeks flushed from embarrassment as she flutters her eyelashes at you and Luke. You sigh. What has the world come to that young demigods are entrusted to the care of two people who barely consider themselves adults?

“Well, if you’re still in 11 with this one,” you simper, blatantly pointing at Luke, “I can’t blame you. He’s gross. Come by mine tomorrow and I’ll get you privacy curtains, okay? Trust me Yvonne, you don’t think boys are all that gross if you like kissing them.”

She nods, smiling charmingly at the two of you, before brushing past Luke and winking, “See you inside!”

Your head swivels to look at Luke with a coy expression, “There’s no way she’s not an Aphrodite.”

Luke huffs as he clicks his flashlight on and off. His hands are always fidgeting, always searching for something to do. He’s more like his dad than he thinks, carrying the quieter traits of quick fingers and more obvious ones like his constant search for amusement. Talking to you consistently satiates that itch.

“Aphrodite isn’t the only god that attracts attractive people, you know.”

“Oh? Do tell, because if she’s one of you, your cabin’s gonna be extra trouble,” your mouth curves into a smile, and he thinks he likes it more when you’re trying to be mean to him like this because the back and forth between you two is a comfort Luke cherishes. The words have lost their bite over the years, and there are no more cuts and bruises besides an occasional wounded ego, but it’s still entertaining, to say the least. He can’t imagine a day without hearing the teasing lilt of your voice, always easy to prod at and always wanting to have the last word.

“My dad is the god of thieves and messengers. We’re fast, smart, charming, and also good-looking. Do the math.”

“Also apparently the ones with the biggest egos, but okay.” There it is. He shoves you and you trip over your own feet falling fast.

“Hey! Jerk.”

“Definitely a daughter of Dionysus, crazy as always, and clumsy too.” Luke’s nose crinkles at the sight of your crumpled frame.

“Your hand is like the size of my face, what the fuck was I supposed to do with that?”

A fleeting thought in the back of your mind reasons that maybe violence is the answer, but he’s still not finished making fun of you even after he helps you up.

“And vulgar! What a shocker.”

“Ugh. You better hope your dad stops populating because if there’s any more that come here and act like you? I’m quitting.”

Luke watches you gaze at the heavens, probably looking for a fuck to give and he snickers at how easily you give in nowadays. Maybe he’s the one losing his touch—usually you’d put up more of a fight to argue.

“You wouldn’t. You love this job. Camp. S’why you’re not as fun anymore, Trouble.”

A noise of agreement leaves you as you glare at him and the stupid nickname back from when you used to wreak havoc just because you could, a direct juxtaposition to the honorary position you hold today. Finally following him up the front steps of Cabin 11, Luke opens the door and beckons you in, pushing at your hip with his knuckles.

Checking this place last has become a habit with Luke helping you out, and all the kids—Hermes’, minor gods’, and unclaimed, love it when you come to stop by before lights out. They especially loved the later bedtime, but hugs and cool stories from you were a close second.

“Everyone good and ready for bed in here? Sorry it took so long guys,” you say, visually scanning the perimeter and matching faces to bunks, seeing them all settled beneath their sheets, all except for one Luke Castellan. He’s still leaning against the doorframe, breath grazing your shoulder as he hands you a copy of his log from the other cabins he kindly relieved you from.

“What, no bedtime story this time?” He says through hooded eyes, and though he won’t admit it, he adores the sound of your voice. Luke does anything he can to get your attention to hear it more. It almost has a calming effect on him, and maybe it’s the fact that your dad can cause and cure madness, anxiety, and all alike, so something in him believes you do the same, powers or not. One look from him has you sputtering out snarky remarks; different strategies, same results—works every time.

“Castellan…” He grins at the look on your face, and tiny voices pop up from around the cabin, all asking for a bedtime story. Chris even starts a chant from his top bunk, making you want to hurl your clipboard at his head. Hypnos is calling your name at this point, and you’d do anything to crawl into your own safe haven in Cabin 12, but your heartstrings pull at the sight of the little ones pouting, hoping for you to tuck them in with a blanket of comforting words and stories of something more than what these walls meagerly provide. Camp Half-Blood only keeps them safe for so long, and not a lot of them make it out of here alive. You and Luke both know that being two of the oldest at camp, and his smug expression as he settles into his bed is confirmation that you’re about to give in.

“Fine. One quick story, and then everyone goes to sleep okay? Who wants to sit on the floor with me?”

You take your place sitting on the ground next to the foot of Luke’s bunk as he lays upside down on the twin-sized mattress, peering at you through one open eye as the younger children, mostly the unclaimed ones—drag their blankets and form a circle in the middle of the room, waiting patiently for you to start enchanting them with something to occupy their tired minds. Acting— that’s the gift your father had to give you; this time you decide to tell the story of Atalanta and the golden apples, how she ran from love and it still found her in the end, and how some stories can have good endings, despite what’s often found in Greek legend.

Multiple tired eyes droop closed as you finish the story and carry the ones who’ve fallen into Hypnos’ embrace back into their bunks, tucking them in with kisses on their foreheads and it leaves you with a warm feeling that will help you brave the chill on your walk back.

Admittedly, this next part is your favorite part on nights like these. The overflowing cabin of rowdy pranksters and babbling children is as quiet as the secret you hold close to your heart, tiptoeing back towards Luke’s space and draping his blanket over his muscular frame, exhausted from another day of trying to achieve greatness. Your hand brushes a dark curl away from his forehead, fingertips ghosting his pale skin like a kiss you’d never have the guts to give. With everything you have in you, you summon thoughts of serenity and peace, hoping whatever keeps him up at night lets him rest for even a few hours. You don’t pray often, finding yourself spiting your father instead of honoring him on most days, but in the dim light of Cabin 11, you find yourself making time to do so for a pain in your ass called Luke Castellan.

Perhaps he knows something you don’t after all, the crease in his forehead relaxing as you pull your fingertips away.

“Sweet dreams, angelface.”

Mental note: Put his ass to work tomorrow for falling asleep halfway through the story.

It’ll only give him another excuse to ask you to tell it again a few nights later. You find yourself not minding that, a sliver of a smile pulling at your face as you walk towards the door and shut the lights off, a sleeping son of Hermes illuminated by the gentle shine of the moon.

You’d never admit that, though.

—

“you steady me and stir me

all at once.”

-Tanya Wright

ask to be added to luke/general taglist!

luke taglist (some won't let me tag, turn on my post notifs?): @kissingyourgrl @dorcas4meadowes @lorarri @andrewgarfldsgf @noodlesketchbook @10ava01 @poppysrin @ashisabitgay @timhalamet @liv1104 @leeknows-wife @mxtokko @bugcuti3 @luvvfromme @midmourn @2hiigh2cry @yuminako @niktwazny303 @lukecastellandefender @intergalactic-padawan @iliketopgun @annybah @dangelnleif @thegrinningghost @alyssajunelle @obxstiles @m00ng4z3r @visndcaitswhore @b0ok-lover @elegant-face-tree @this-barbie-is-having-breakdowns @amortencjja @idonevenknow1359 @maliaaaa @targaryenluvs @sakyira @dhdjdjjdhsjdiri @number-onekidqueen @nininehaaa @bradynoonswife @stevenknightmarc @hoodedhavok @happy-mushrooms @homebyeleven @anotherblackreader @too-deviant @liviessun @lilacspider @theadventuresofanartist @sucker4seresin @simpforsunwoo @zanzie @starrystormwritings

[the-cat-and-the-birdie]

Canon events aren't bad, Miguel's just projecting his trauma.

One of the things that will always stand out or bother me in this scene are these three lines from Miguel:

Because... Wait what?

SOME OF THEM ARE GOOD??

Miguel admits himself that some canon events can be positive - but he names none, refusing to show any of these instances, instead surrounding Miles with images of loss and grief.

Even he admits that Canon Events aren't inherent tragedies.

They only come off that way, because he's hyperfixated on suffering. Largely, his own.

People have talked about Miguel's background in the past and that's a job for a Spider-man 2099 fan - but in short, Miguel DID NOT have a good life.

If you think about it - it's extremely hard for Miguel to POSITIVELY connect with other Spider-people.

He lacks the spider-bite, has no MJ, Harry, Doctor Octavius, or May. He's never had the experience of happily and excitedly coming into his powers.

The only thing he has, is a lot of tragedy.

Him not having many positive events in his life is just another reminder of how he's othered.

Because he's unable to connect to other Spider-people based on things like biology, love, familial connection to aunt May, the driving lesson that 'with great power comes great responsibility'.

Much of all knows is tragedy.

Because of this he hyperfixates on traumatic Canon Events, using the resulting fear as a source of unity, rather than uniting them all over good, constructive Canon Events.

Idk it just always stood out to me. Cause what do you mean GOOD???

Either Miguel is wrongfully weaponizing 'Bad' Canon Events as a source of authority - protecting his trauma and ignoring the good-

OR he's lying about there being good Canon Events, and that's something he tells them to make them feel better. Which would be fucked up.

OR OR The Canon Events he considers 'good' aren't actually good at all. Marrying your MJ might be a 'good' canon event. But you still have to do it. Even if you aren't into marriage.

Isn't that an arranged marriage?

If I don't wanna marry my MJ, but that's my Canon Event, is Miguel gonna beat my ass over it? 🤨😐

[Yes, that's apart of Dianes lore lol Her MJ Martin is a poseur-punk asshole rich record producer whose bordering misogynistic. He hates Hobie. But uhh oh he's supposed to be a 'good canon event']

But like...

If Jessica Drew's canon event was getting pregnant and the next one is like 'nah I want my tubes tied' Miguel gonna be like 'sorry no can do'?????????

HUH... IS THAT WHAT YOU MEAN BY GOOD??? Compulsory 'positive' events.

BUT NO REALLY what the hell is Miguel talking about???

[inolienkiki]

Yes, I think there are an incredible number of things that humans share, and that the things people have in common should be treasured, but stop claiming solidarity over experiences you don't have? Don't say "yea me too actually" if someone tells you their REAL identity or disability or marginalized characteristic (or, frankly, non-marginalized characteristic!), that you don't share?

[Examples below of how this feels terrible.]

Case in point: I was recently diagnosed with ADHD, and several people I've encountered since- including my mom- respond to this information with the occasional "lol me too". I'll be spending time with someone and they forget to do something and will say "huh, maybe I also have ADHD!" in this half-joking, half-"i'm seriously considering this for the first time"-tone. And? no? None of these people struggle to maintain one task? None of these people can lose time working on something for 5 hours? None of these people hyperfixate on media? I'm so confused. If you're joking about potentially having ADHD over one pretty common neurotypical mistake- and then looking at me like I'm going to treat that as normal- what! If you actually think you have ADHD, you should go get tested, my diagnosis has helped me understand myself a lot better. OTHERWISE, DON'T JOKE ABOUT IT.

Second case in point: a lot of people think I'm smart*, and some of them take the opportunity to try to sympathize with me about "being surrounded by idiots", a feeling which I struggle to believe is either validated by or correlated with intelligence. no? I don't think that? you should probably start gaining more respect for the people around you, or, go to therapy... and if you think I'm going to entertain you bad-mouthing my friends, or classmates, or students, you should think about having more faith in me...

[*For reasons I will not outline here, many false, many relying on assumptions about educational prestige rather than personal experience, and it's a constructed concept anyway]

Third case in point: This one is a bit confusing because I really do not want to disclose the thing which my Student Org President was attempting to claim solidarity over. Said thing is an Alienating Characteristic which has caused a lot of problems for me throughout my life, especially when I was in undergrad. Including: social alienation (obviously), mockery, difficulty earning people's trust, repeated and basic disrespect, quasi-illegal denial of various awards and credentials, and actual exploitation which cost me maybe a thousand dollars and two years of my time. I will not explain Alienating Characteristic further because its memetic alienation ~powers~ can hit you from across the internet. No you don't get to know why you wouldn't like me. But Student Org President did! So, Student Org President decided to reveal my Alienating Characteristic publicly to a full room of EVERYONE ELSE IN THE ORG without asking me first, and I just sat there, with my head in my hands, while everyone stared at me, (immediately after I had just been assigned to peer mentor four people after asking to not have to do that, so I was already in a bad mood). Thanks Student Org President. A little later I got her out of the party she was putting on and sat her down to talk about Thanks, You Should Have Asked 101. To which she responded something to the effect of "yeah, I was so smart nobody liked me either, so I get how you feel", which, what a recovery? You obviously didn't understand the effect or you would not have started blabbing about my personal information to literally everyone. (And of course, it was only then she realized I was talking about Alienating Characteristic and not, uh, the fact that I was in grad school? Everyone knows I'm in grad school, buddy, I'm using a graduate college bag today. You know your friends can read, right?)

(I was reminded to post this because I just got an announcement that some of the events Student Org President is planning for the beginning of the new semester include, yet another of the endless romcom movie night because obviously everybody likes those, a board game night FINALLY that is also pajama dress code for some reason, very comfortable? and an event that I and about half the org are explicitly excluded from. Everyone thank Student Org President for her event planning skills.)

Sorry for my angry rant, guys. Sometimes it's angry rant hour. (I mean, angry rant hours for me, usually...)

[misc-magic]

Quick! Top three favorite characters of all time!

Of all time?!?!

I was like oh well if we're talking Obey Me, the answer is easy, but of all time??

I haven't thought about that before lol. I suspect my opinion changes depending on what I'm into in the moment. I've been into a LOT of stuff and I've read a TON of books and trying to narrow it all down to three is gonna be really hard!

If I say okay, here are the characters who are my faves right now, they'd all be OM characters lol. Barbatos, Solomon, and Mammon are my top three and that's easy.

But I kinda think Barbatos would have to make it onto the top three of all time list. Because I don't think I've ever been quite as obsessed with a character as I have been with him. Er, well, at least a character that wasn't my own creation lol. And I prefer the version of Barb that exists in my head because the game always fails to truly explore the characters the way they deserve.

But if Barbatos doesn't count because he's like... the current hyperfixation, then I think these would be the first three I'd list.

The next character that comes to mind right away is Legolas from Lord of the Rings because I also had an unhealthy obsession with him. Though people might be like, oh that's only because he was pretty, I'm like excuse you have you read the books? Legolas was delightful, he was always singing and just... being an elf, you know? And he built a freakin' boat. And fell in love with a dwarf. I loved book Legolas first. But I won't pretend movie Legolas being pretty didn't help the obsession.

Sailor Uranus is next. I watched Sailor Moon first as an adult rather than as a kid. I don't know how I missed it back in the 90s when it was airing, but somehow that happened. But I kept seeing the characters and being like, I need to experience this. So I watched the whole 90s anime and then the remake because it was all on Hulu at the time. And as soon as Haruka showed up, it was love at first sight. I love all the characters, of course, but Sailor Uranus really left an impression on me.

I kinda think I have to list Puck from A Midsummer Night's Dream as the last one. Wow that makes me sound like such a nerd, huh? At least it wasn't Hamlet. But lil middle schooler me was super into Shakespeare and I read A Midsummer Night's Dream many times because I wanted to be Puck lol.

However, I feel like this is subject to change at any time and I love A LOT of characters, so it is REALLY HARD to narrow it down to only three lol. It's a lot easier to say my top three of like... a specific thing. Like I was obsessed with Supernatural, too, but none of those characters even made the list. I also went through a Harry Potter phase and none of those characters made the list either.

Anyway, sorry if this is a whole book, but that's kinda how I do everything lol!

[flecks-of-stardust]

…Actually, one final thing, genuinely final: what you said about fandoms often going in the opposite direction of something may very well be true l, but I don't know, the only two things where I saw it so hard are Hollow Knight (where I'm always seeing goofy silly posts yet the game itself spunds really dark and nearly every Character either dies or is dead) and Bug Fables (where the game is upbeat and funny most of the time yet so many hyperfixate on the dark 10% and are mad the whole game isn't like that). Funny, because I otherwise don't find those two games nearly as comparable as their fanbases seem to act like they are.

i dunno, i've seen that in pretty much every fandom i've participated in. it's not necessarily how dark things are; i see a lot of rain world fans talking about the iterators, even though we get literally 7 lines of dialogue for some of them, and none for one. (grey wind and sliver of straw fans i see you and i adore you, keep going at it, i am looking so hard <333) and i think people just like to see the two bug worlds collide; i know i do.

i’m not sure why you keep complaining about people getting mad about the lack of dark stuff, because again, i’m not really the right person to talk to about that? i eat that shit up. and for the record, some of my issues with the narrative of bug fables don’t necessarily involve dark themes, i’m just dissatisfied with the extent of how things were explored. vi and jaune’s relationship needed much, much more time to develop and heal than was given in canon, and i focus on them a lot to give them the much needed narrative time they deserved.

and while i haven’t really browsed the tags on ao3, off the top of my head right now i would guess that the angst is around leif and kabbu a lot of the time, and both of them have went through some pretty intense loss. there... isn’t really much getting around that being angsty. it’s hard to find objective positives in active grief, and especially today, with so much going on in the world, i don’t find it surprising people want to explore grief more. there is value in silly stories, of course, but i think canon has explored a lot of the silly already, while it hasn’t for a lot of kabbu’s grief and leif’s immense loss. you can only go so far with what canon hasn’t explored and still keep it light, i think.

then again, i haven’t looked myself, so i wouldn’t really know huh. sometimes you have to be the change you want to see in the world and all.