#Luke won't say no because he loves his son

[humanpurposes]

Thoughts about Aemond in episode 2 and the Greens as a dysfunctional family (spoilers).

Preemptive apologies because I feel like this is a very ranty post. At the end of the day, none of this is real, it's not that deep, but I have a lot of thoughts. I actually really liked this episode overall, it was a huge improvement from last week for me! :)

There’s something unnerving and uncomfortable about the childlike state Aemond reverts to in the brothel, the way he's curled up in the woman's lap, the way he's trying to brag that Daemon sees him as a threat. The addition of the warm milk was a bit too on the nose for me, yikes.

As we've seen with Aegon and Helaena, Aemond doesn’t get a lot of emotional support from Alicent, especially with the tensions between them after he killed Luke. She obviously cares about her children and wants to protect them. She's the only one who defended Aemond on Driftmark, she tries repeatedly to comfort Helaena, she put herself between Aegon and Meleys, but as we can clearly see, the Green faction fundamentally struggles to connect with each other. Alicent’s failure to offer emotional support to her children has trickled into their relationships with each other. That scene of her walking out on Aegon crying as a mirror of Aegon and Helaena hardly able to speak a word to each other on the staircase… pain.

Just as Otto used Alicent as a pawn for his own political advancement, Alicent's children take on their own roles, Aegon as the heir (now the King), Helaena as his Queen, Aemond as the second son, the fighter.

There's a lack of connection with his family, even with Criston Cole, the only other person Aemond seems close with, he can't fully let go of this facade, which is actually why I love his insane little smile when he talks about Alicent usurping the throne, it's like he slips into saying what he truly thinks but he's still holding back.

What we're seeing in the brothel scene is Aemond seeking intimacy in the only way he thinks he can. It's not sexual, he doesn't seem to desire this woman. He wants to voice his inner thoughts to someone who won't hold it against him.

I do question why the showrunners chose to portray Aemond's vulnerability in such an... awkward way. There are plenty of viewers who already sympathise with Aemond having seen his trauma as a child, just as there are plenty of viewers who despise him for the things he does, so what purpose does this scene really serve?

I wonder if this is an attempt on the part of the showrunners to expose the Greens as hypocrites. Aemond has his "decent men for no taste for depravity" line in 1.9, then PLOT TWIST he likes to be babied by his favourite prostitute. Aemond is my favourite fictional boy, I support him being an edgelord, twink, war criminal, but I can't take this character seriously when his nephew has just been murdered, his sister is traumatised and he's like "omg Daemon wanted to slay me in my beddd 🥰 he's so scared of me 😌😈" Actually, I find it interesting that Aemond doesn't have many moments with his family, even when Jaehaerys has just died, it makes me think that Aemond fundamentally sees himself as an outsider. Maybe he's never brought himself to trust Aegon for bullying him, he has to be protective of himself.

I think I feel a similar way to this scene as I do about every scene with Alicent and Cole. It's not unexpected per se, it seems like a logical progression in their characters and I like the idea in principle, but the execution in both instances hasn't hit the mark for me. Alicent and Cole's sex scenes have cheapened the connection that was clearly there between them in season 1, and the brothel scene to me feels unnecessary.

[onsraas]

𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞

┊luke castellan x daughter of aphrodite!reader — angst-fluff

summary: although the daughter of aphrodite tries, the feeling of love won't come other than from the person who not only seems oblivious, but also lacks the reciprocation of the love she so wildly desires. but, is that right?

warnings: use of y/n, 1st person, like one cuss word, (some poor writing tbh) — not proofread !!

wc: 1.3k

a/n: hello, I'm back with my take on why an "i love you, too." is more important than a bare "i love you." — also, can you notice the big fat crush I have rn through this? lmao.

ps. reblogs helps a whole lot.

photo credits | masterlist | navigation | request

My chest feels empty with the lack of a heart. I can feel it beating in my chest yet somehow the sense of emptiness remains there as I kiss this boy.

I can't remember his name, I don't even remeber if he said it or not, to be honest. But when his hands reach for my waist I try to help myself from gagging. I don't like the feeling of his hands on me.

Not as much as I like Luke's.

He's never touched me romantically, and yet his hand on my thigh trying to calm me down, his shaking hand in mine looking for comfort, his arms wrapped around me, lifting be from the ground after I told him big news, it all comes back to me before I feel a hand tug me backwards, tearing me away from the stranger I'd been kissing, who I now realise is Mark, a son of Ares.

"What is going on in here?" The voice behind me makes me shiver with recognition.

"What does it look like, dude? Leave." Mark says. He attempts to reach for my arm but I snatch it away.

Before either of them can say anything else, I turn to look at the person behind me: Luke. His face is contorted in an angry frown, glaring at Mark as if he'd just killed a kitten.

"What is it, Luke?" I say, my voice sounds annoyed, but although I'm looking at Luke, is not him whom I'm annoyed at. It's me. The fact that I had been imagining Luke kissing me while kissing someone else makes me think I'm stupid enough to not realize the truth: it's never gonna happen.

Luke's gaze softens when he looks at me, but still keeping the look of superiority. "You shouldn't be here. It's dark and you're very deep into the woods." He pauses and looks at me, but whatever he's looking for he doesn't find it. "We should get back."

"Okay," I agree. I think both of them were expecting me to put more of a fight because they look at me in confusion...or anger on Mark's side could be.

I pay Mark's insults no mind as I follow the path that will lead us back to the camp, Luke beside me.

Eventually we stop hearing Mark altogether and Luke finally says something. "Not a good one, huh?"

I shrug. My heart is overwhelmed with the sense of dread and the need to tear it out of my chest becomes more powerful with each step.

Why do I feel like this is my mother is the goddess of love? Why do I feel like this when everyone fights to get the bare minimum from me: a child of Aphrodite?

Could it be because the only person whom I really want looks at me with a shine that lacks of love?

Because every night I go to sleep I think about the stars and how they are my only companion when I see him look at someone else with the look I want all for myself.

I think about the stars whispering in my ear how I'm still dumb enough to not give up on the idea. What they don't realize, though, is that he's the one not letting me go.

He doesn't know my heart is his but still he won't drop it for it to break completely.

"Hey," Luke's hand on my shoulder stops me on my track, making me flinch a little. "What is going on?" His voice makes me want to break down and cry from how soft it is.

He is looking me right in the eye, and I can't help but notice that he's already invading my personal space with his closeness. "Nothing is going on, okay? Can we just...walk in silence?" 

"No, we can't." I don't think he's ever talked to me this serious. "Not until you stop pushing me away." 

I'm dumbfounded. "Wait, what?" My voice sounds weird to my own ears. "What are you talking about? I'm not pushing you away, Luke." 

"Yes, you are, y/n, and you've been for the last year." His eyes reflect nothing but hurt, probably remembering how this last year has gone for both of us. "You think I don't realise? You think I don't realise how you do anything to stay away from me? And my only question is: why?" 

He is closer to me than he's ever been and I can only focus on his intense blue eyes staring back at me. "That is none of your bussiness." I somehow get it out, still my voice sound breathier than normal.

I could get it out now, try to make the damage the least painful as possible, but my selfish heart tells me I can't make it better if a lose him.

"I think it is. Now, either you say it, or I'm going to say it myself." Still, I don't say a word. He leans impossibly closer, and my breath hitches when I feel his hand slightly touching mine, as if waiting for and invitation. 

Fuck it. "You think you know, everything about me, Luke, well you don't. The answer to your question is the only thing you should have noticed and it's yet the only thing you see to have no clue about. The only reason I've been avoiding you, and doing anything to stay away from you is because..." I pause, trying to gather my thoughts. "It is because I love you, Luke. I have loved you from the very moment I met you all those years ago."

Luke looks at me as if a just grew a third head. Yet, somehow, I can for the first time feel my heart. 

"Why were you kissing mark then?" He asks.

I scoff. "None of them matter, I've only ever done it because I wanted to stay away from you, Luke."

"Away from me? Why would you wanna make that?"

Is he serious? "You're just making fun of me at this point." I attempt to leave, but I fail when Luke grabs my arm, keeping me from leaving. 

"I would never make fun of you." His voice is soft as silk. "I truly want to know."

I sigh. "I know you don't feel the same, Luke. That's okay. Just...please, don't become a stranger." 

"I would never." He takes my hand in his, bringing us closer, or noses touching. I could lean a little and our lips would touch, but I won't unless he asks me to. "Can I kiss you now?" 

When people said they felt butterflies I'd never undestood. Sure, I'd felt nervous, yet the feeling of butterflies fluttering in my stomach right now was so strong I wanted to vomit. I decide to nod instead.

His lips are soft in mine. One of my hands is occupied in his, while the other moves to wrap around his neck. 

The kiss is sweet at first, two people showing affection through the art of kissing. But when Luke's tongue gets access inside my mouth I feel like we are both making up for all the times we wanted to do it but couldn't, for all the years of waiting, and for the time we need to catch up.

His hand leaves mine only to get bothe his hands in my waist, tugging me closer to him, closing any possible gap there could be between our bodies. 

His hands are everywhere in my body and when his hands find the bare skin underneath my shirt I break the kiss, searching for his eyes. "Was that too fast?" He asks with pure panic.

I smile and shake my head before I wrap my arms around him, hiding my face in the crook of his neck, while he does the same. 

"I love you, too." He says leaving a soft kiss in my neck. 

And there a realise that the emptiness is long gone.

[potato-frenzy]

I have so much more to say about that AU actually like shit this has been eating my brain for weeks. Have some headcanons

- Rhaenyra calls Aegon her 'special boy' in much the same vein as she calls Luke her 'sweet boy'. Aemond is 'little warrior' even when he passes her in height.

- Aegon actually grows the closest to Laenor out of all the children. He takes his death the hardest.

- Aemond was two when Luke was born and immediately asked if he could have him when introduced.

- Laena doesn't die in this one, so Vhagar stays with her. Rhaenyra takes Aemond to Dragonstone and Vermithor basically goes 'it's about fucking time!'.

- Rhaenyra has a half second consideration of betrothing Aegon and Helaena and she asks him about it. His immediate response is 'please gods no. I love my sister but we'd make each other miserable'.

- Jace and Aegon stay best friends and make it everyone's problem but the only one who knows that Aegon is in love with his adopted brother is Laenor. He buries it in wine when Laenor is gone but not to the same extent as in canon.

- Aegon receives the love he needs to thrive and dedicates himself to one day being Jace's Hand of the King.

- Aemond, ever the ballsy second son, takes what he wants. He and Luke are each other's first everything and no one finds out that they're obsessed with each other until Aemond asks Rhaenyra if the gods of Old Valyria would bless a union between two men. She says yes he can marry a man but he's going to need to keep it a secret because the people of Westeros won't like it. This leads to a massive family meeting between the Targaryens and Velaryons about the fact that Luke and Aemond are determined to get married but they need heirs.

TBC

[pookiebearsnookumsalicent]

B&C and Helaena discourse is on a rise and yall know that's my roman empire so i WILL be giving my two cents (for the thousandth time😼)

First off, B&C

I see a lot of people claiming B&C was the Greens fault, but when you take a second to think you will see that nothing the Greens did as a whole caused B&C. It simply would not have happened if Aemond (1 singular green) had not killed Lucerys for taking his eye. (i believe this excuse comes more from a "well you reap what you sow this is what you get for usurping rhaenyra" mindset rather than thinking ALL the greens are directly to blame for B&C but whatevs) People argue it was Aegon's fault, too, because he celebrated Luke's death with a feast, but that's actually a headcanon. F&B states Aegon celebrated Luke's death, but it skips over any offense it caused Rhaenyra and Daemon. It only says that after learning of Luke's DEATH (not the feast) Daemon sends a letter telling Rhaenyra Luke would be avenged. It was not the feast it was the boy's death that led to B&C.

People also have been saying B&C was necessary and it simply wasn't. Jaehaerys was entirely unrelated to any issue regarding Luke, therefore it wasn't even really avenging him. Luke wasn't actually avenged until Aemond (his killer) died. B&C was not necessary to avenge Luke—it was more of an intimidation tactic on Daemon's behalf.

As for Helaena, people are saying she should've taken her kids, flown to Dragonstone, and bent the knee as per Rhaenyra's peace terms.

That's kind of just dumb lol. Rhaenyra's terms were not individual, she wanted ALL of her siblings to go to her and bend the knee, not just one. If Helaena went to Dragonstone by herself, Aegon would still be Rhaenyra's enemy. Helaena and her children, Aegon's heirs, would become high profile hostages.

Also, Helaena is the queen of the Green Faction. She was crowned by Alicent alongside Aegon. Nothing in F&B implies she's NOT in support of Aegon. If anything, she's passive. She councils him against his stupidity, but that doesn't mean she's a secret supporter of Rhaenyra.

The Greens also happen to be her closest family. Her mom and brothers—people she grew up with. If I remember correctly, she used to visit Alicent in the Tower of the Hand with her children every night. She and Aegon shared a bed until her son was killed. She was described as a happy girl, and if she was miserable, she still clearly held love for her family.

Rhaenyra, however, is a stranger to her. Not just a stranger, but also someone that would mock her mother and her siblings at court.

She had no reason to go to Rhaenyra when the war began.

People are also quite weird about the topic of her suicide, but seeing as suicide is a real issue in a way that usurping, sending assassins after a child, and feeding a boy to a dragon are NOT I won't address that. You are weird if you be laughing about suicide tho ngl.

FINAL PSA: A lot of yall like to go "I love Helaena, she so sweet and gentle and innocent and kind and cute and she's the only green I love BUT..." Yall dont like Helaena and yall CAN admit it. She's a fictional character you dont have to pretend to like her just because you have a moral superiority complex.

[luke-hughes43]

quinn request!! maybe the reader is drafted from the 2020 she was first and the first woman in the nhl bu and she went to a team(you can pick maybe the leafs?) and she did amazing on that team but she didn’t love it and she traded to the cannucks at the end of the 22 season, and quinn just started being a captain so he kidna got closet to her pretty fast especially because she ended up moving into the apartment building he lives in so they started driving together to the arena and basically became really really great friends but quinn definitely has been falling for her and doesn’t want to say anything knowing how tough it is for her to be women in the nhl, maybe during the devils at cannucks game his family notice him smiling at someone and realize he really likes her and she scored a goal and the way quinn congratulated her was more than he does for anyone else, ellen maybe suggested to invite her to dinner after the game with their family, and she gets along with jack and luke so well and jim and ellen just adore her and mayeb that’s what gets quinn the push to finally tell her what he felt

oooo the ideas I have for this!

ok so she goes in the first round to like San Jose (who's historically terrible) but decides to stay in college for the year (say she goes to like minnesota or North Dakota). she signs for the 21-22 season and comes in lighting it up. her, trevor zegras and Moritz seider are the 3 calder finalists and she ultimately loses it to Seider.

she wasn't totally loving being on the sharks. she hated the city and hated that they were getting their asses kicked on a nightly basis. she just was not having a good experience despite producing every night she played.

during the 22-23 season, she asks to get traded. the sharks follow through with it and ended up getting involved in the bo horvat deal and she goes to Vancouver while bo goes to the islanders and the islanders send something to San Jose.

she gets to Vancouver and makes instant friends with Quinn and Petey. they welcome her in with open arms and both offer for her to stay with them. she ends up living with Petey for the rest of the season and even signs an extension with Vancouver for like 7 years.

she heads back to Vancouver a little early at their request because she is going the leadership squad earning an A while Quinn gets the C. that's when Quinn really starts falling for her.

he refuses to do anything about it bc she's the first woman in the NHL and being in the Canadien market is hard enough let alone being the first woman and does not wanna throw dating her captain into the mix.

he definitely spends the most time with her off the ice and ellen takes notice to how often she gets mentioned when she checks in with Quinn.

ellen really notices the lasting glances, lingering touches, and not so hidden feelings from her oldest to his female teammate. she also understands why he won't say anything about it so she doesn't press it. but she does basically force him to invite her out to dinner with them every time they are in town so that ellen can meet her.

as soon as ellen meets her, she understands why her son is falling for her. she's an amazing persona and absolutely stunning.

she doesn't start mentioning anything about it to Quinn to pressing him on it until the all star draft and he made a point to draft her first of the canucks and hugged her for a long time after drafting her.

that's when he realized that maybe it wouldn't be a bad thing to actually say something to her about his feelings.

this is kinda long so I'm gonna stop here and prob do a part 2 if y'all liked this.

[zephyrrr101]

Daemon and Rhaenyra and my summary of their relationship

I think we people really don't understand Daemon and Rhaenyra's dynamics. Specially in the light of the new still and thoughts people have. How deep things and emotions go between them.

Rhaenyra absolutely trusts Daemon.

Let me tell you why.

When Laenor died (either in book or show in whatever way) and Rhaenyra married Daemon, it is not a small thing.

Yes, it is a political move. Daemon is a man both loved and feared through out the Westeros. People admire him for his charm and fear him for his valor and dragon who he shares his temperament with.

But Rhaenyra marries Daemon because she trusts him beyond anything. She loved him just as much so. What's happened before or after in the story doesn't matter here. What matters is their love in the moment.

And Daemon, despite being said to be power hungry and selfish, loves her just as much or if not more.

For the reason behind her marriage to him is based over their shared love and Daemon's ability to protect them comes with the fact that how he really protects them when he doesn't really needs to.

Daemon's children with Rhaenyra come way back in line of succession after Rhaenyra's sons.

As it is known, after Viserys it is Rhaenyra and after her it's Jacaerys and after him it's his eventual children. Aegon III and Viserys II are nowhere near iron throne at this point.

Yes, they do sit it just forget the fact for now and think greatly.

Here is Daemon Targaryen, the man who people believe will kill his brother for his ambition of throne, here he is with his son's with the now heir, his wife.

And the thing is he could get his son's into the line of succession. Yet he doesn't.

Jace, Luke, Joffery both would be in hindrance for him to put his son's his blood on the throne, yet he lives with these boys for six years. Six years of them being together and if we look into books it's even much longer time period since Daemon and Laena return just after one or two year from Pentos after Baela and Rhaena' birth. That long he has spent with these boys. He knows their strength and their weaknesses. Those boys who have possibly squired under him because I, at no point believe that Rhaenyra wouldn't want her boys to learn from the best, and yet, these boys live.

Six years is enough for anything to happen. Anything at all.

Six years are enough for some little boys to be poisoned. Or let's say get a fatal injury during a practice. Or a slow decline in health just like their grandfather. It would just like how people wonder that did Visenya killed Aenys to put Maegor on throne or not. And people will not raise questions against it because they know better than to. It would either be blade of his sword or perhaps how will you blame a Dragon, a creature known for killing and burning people to death.

And Rhaenyra knows it.

And that's why she needs someone who will not only protect her and her children from talks about bastardy but also won't harm them.

Because how do you expect for any man who gets into power and doesn't wants his blood on throne. How does Rhaenyra knows that the next person she gets married to won't kill her boys.

But she knows Daemon.

And she knows Daemon will not kill them for something like that. She trusts Daemon this much to know her boys will be safe with him.

She knows that Daemon will put her and her Jace om throne.

Of course you can't ignore anything that happens later. But you must understand, a war comes ahead. Rhaenyra is grievous, vengeful more than angry. Her thought surround by having the thought of bringing justice to her and her children who she lost to the her enemy even before the war properly started. The children who were taken from her. Snatched right from her hands, under her nose. And she is rightfully angry.

And so is Daemon.

And they need an outlet. Somewhere to find solace.

Rhaenyra does in caring for her children, putting all the love she could have given her lost children to the ones who are there.

And Daemon... Well he does what Daemon does.

Whether Nettles is his lover or not? Of course, cheating is not right. But do you really understand how under pressure and tumultuous emotions he too might feel. At times like these we need an escape. He needs an escape. And Nettles becomes just that. Something out of the world where all he knows is treachery and blood bath. So, for his sanity, he focuses on her. And that is just it. Nettles offer him nothing politically. No gold, no name, nothing. But a distraction from the shit show their life had became and how broken everything is. He could have very well taken Alys River as his mistress for he cared if he thought about anything as such, but no. Nettles, the girl with a dragon who has nothing to with a war other than that fact she has bonded with that mighty creature.

It doesn't mean he doesn't loves Rhaenyra anymore.

He does, that is the reason why he decides to end the biggest threat over her and their side.

Vhagar and Aemond, who had already taken something so much important from him and his wife, a boy he had seen growing up into a sweet chivalrous boy who was supposed to marry his daughter.

But he too can't get Nettles into it for same reason. She is too inexperienced for this. She is disposable if we really look into it. Her death wouldn't cause much, her dragon, but nothing. But she is just a girl. Sure, she has a dragon but Vhagar is Vhagar in itself.

Daemon has seen Vhagar since he could remember. First as his father's mount then his wife's. He knows it will be no easy feat to defeat her specially with how unhinged Aemond becomes by the end.

It would be just utter slyness and intelligence, courage and willingness to die and spirit of sacrifice that can kill her. Something which a teenage girl, who is not built or raised for this, can't be trusted with at this point.

And he does just that. He takes the threat out.

Rhaenyra's anger is justified. She get's angry at the fact not only that the man she had loved and admired since she could understand what the words meant and even before that, could put her aside for some other women. But it is also for a fear that Rhaenyra would loose another person who loves beyond anything to some else.

We must understand the depth of trust between them that even when Rhaenyra wanted to learn how to seduce a man, she goes to Daemon, not because she wants to sleep witn him, but it is a person she literally trusts with anything. ANYTHING. She knows he won't out her to her father and knows will also not do something she doesn't wants him to do. She also knows that he will keep her safe even in this way.

And this is what the base of their relationship is for eachother.

They love and trust for eachother beyond anything.

They are the kind of love you wish to have to the shooting stars or pray to whatever deity you worship.

And that love and war ends up killing them all the same.

[ariesdiary]

rhaenyra anticipates the beginning of a war long before the dance of the dragons. that’s why she proposes aemond’s and lucerys’ betrothal. king viserys allows them to marry, and alicent also approves of this union, seeing it as a benefit to the greens.

rhaenyra prepares luke for his duty.

“charm him, seduce him, make him obsessed with you. he should be on our side if there is a threat to my birthright,” his mother says. lucerys replies that family is above all for aemond and he will never betray it for anyone, especially him. rhaenyra kisses him and simply says, “it won't be a betrayal because you will be his family.”

aemond and luke get married, and luke as a good son follows mother’s plan, clumsily and reluctantly. he makes dozen attempts before he notices a change in aemond’s gaze. eventually, lucerys falls in love first, and in time aemond succumbs to his nephew's charms, too.

rhaenyra’s plan did work, but lucerys hopes it will never come in handy.

[childotkw]

Daemon recognizing Unhinged Targaryen Soulmates when he sees them: ...

Daemon staring into the void: ...

Daemon to Rhaenyra: You realize your father is laughing at us, right?

(Rhaenyra is not impressed.)

Daemon to Lucerys: Look, I'm provisionally supporting this, here's snacks for the road and a knife to stab him if you need to. Aim for the gut this time.

Daemon to Aemond: I won't tell you not to hurt him. I will say that if he dies, or if he ever asks me to, I will ENJOY ripping out your spine and beating your bloodied corpse with it. Be safe, have fun.

A 1000x yes 😂

Daemon is the tentative cheerleader - but he’s fully prepared to murder Aemond if he hurts Lucerys in anyway.

--- -- --- -- ---

He stepped up behind her, hands lightly caressing the bare skin of her back, reverence in the fleeting touch of his fingers.

Daemon noted the tension in her neck, the way she held her head straight and the subtle clench to her jaw. “You’re upset,” he said, tracing the smooth glide of her shoulder blade with his thumb.

Rhaenyra scoffed, twisting just enough to catch his eye. Displeasure stained her delicate features. “Upset?” she echoed, mouth curling down at the corners. “I am far passed that. Just what is he thinking?”

She was more exasperated than angry, though worry still bubbled in her tone. He knew her fears, knew how Lucerys’ recent admissions had sent a stab of anxiety through her gut - because he felt it too.

Still, a part of him - buried deep beneath the biting, ferocious rage that consumed him - could not help but find some spark of amusement at this new revelation.

“I suppose our boy is thinking of what he wants, and how he might take it.”

Rhaenyra turned in his hold, her eyes blazing with motherly indignation.

“And he wants Aemond?” she demanded, sharp as a dragon’s teeth.

There was confusion in her eyes, and hidden carefully in the lines of her face - hurt.

Daemon reached up to gently hold her head between his hands, gazing down at his glorious wife with unconcealed admiration.

He loved her more than anything, but he just couldn’t resist stoking her ire this one time.

“Falling for his uncle…he truly is his mother’s son,” he said with an impish grin.

Rhaenyra smacked her hand against his chest, her pretty mouth pursed in an effort to mask her amusement.

It bled away swiftly though, and she looked down to where her hand now rested on his doublet. “I worry for him,” she confessed quietly. “This…fascination he has with him, the way they circle each other…I fear that one day we will lose him again, permanently. That Aemond will succeed were he didn’t before. That Luke will…”

She swallowed, and Daemon pulled her close, tucking her against his chest. The fact that they had almost lost him once hung heavy over their heads.

“Fret not, love. If anything should happen to Lucerys, if my foolish nephew harms one hair on his precious head, I shall take a knife and flay him alive in payment.”

[royalelusts]

Can I request for headcanons of Obey Me cast (any of your choosing!) with a Teenage M!Reader? (Platonic!!)

Thank you so much in advance, Sam ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶ If you don’t want to write it it’s fine! And I know I rarely ever say this, but I love your works so much 💞

im sorry this took a second. school has taken over my life. also thank you :) im glad you like this. it’s nice to hear every once and awhile <33

✰Luke

:O

ANOTHER CHILD

Just don't call him a chihuahua and you will be inseparable

If he isn't hanging around Simeon he’s by your side

Tries to stand up against demons for you

Key word tries

It usually ends up with you defending him

Constant sleepovers

If you have them at the house of lamentation Mammon or Beel will usually join in

If you want it just to be the two of you the best place is purgatory hall

He often comes to you for advice if he doesn't want to go to anyone else

Bakes you little pastries if he notices you’re feeling down

LOVES to listen to your stories from the human realm

Wants to go on a trip there with you one day

A cute little outing together for him to hold dear :)

When you defended him and Beel from Lucifer he could see that you were shaking

You were terrified but you put your life on the line for them

New level of respected unlocked

Made you stay over at purgatory hall for a few days after

✰Lucifer

Oh.

That’s unfortunate.

He can feel Diavolo’s eyes on him but shakes it off

Cause yeah

You both had a rocky start

Part of it was because of uneasy tension between you two for some reason

The main part was the the fact you called him grandpa

He is not that old!

Sure he was present during the celestial war but come on!

If he makes you mad mid-lecture you’ll call him a name

The first time it happened Mammon grabbed your arm ready to run at any moment

Lucifer stared at you for a second contemplating his life

You got grounded by a centuries year old demon

Congrats!

There was a time he was doing his nightly patrol and he saw you weren't in your room

To say he was annoyed was an understatement

Making his way toward the staircase to the attic he noticed the planetarium door was open

Peeping in he saw you asleep on one of the many couches curled into yourself

He felt himself soften a little much to his dismay (or was it?)

Walking over he scooped you up to bring you back to your room

He’ll take that to his grave though

(You know it was him who brought you back but decided to spare his pride)

Won't say it but you’re his son now

Brings you cut up fruit and tea when you’re studying

Looks out for you in his own little way

Eventually you trust him enough to talk about things that are bothering you with him

He offers his own input but mostly lets you talk

You’re the only one allowed in his room while he’s working or if he’s away

✰Solomon

HA-

The other human was a teenager?

Wants to be concerned for your safety but is mostly amused

As long as Diavolo says it fine then oh well

You kind of drifted towards him due to him being a human as well

Took it upon himself to help him out

…on the condition you became his apprentice

Gotta kill two birds with one stone

Partners in crime now!

(much to everyone's dismay)

He attempted to cook for you once

You took one glance at it and told him it was shit

>:0

Who knew his ego could be hurt by a mere mortal teenage boy

Somehow you ended up eating it (maybe he snuck it in or something)

Your stomach was in KNOTS😭😭

It got so bad you ended up passing out

Once you regained consciousness you gave him the silent treatment for WEEKS

Asked Luke to make you some treats cause he lowkey missed having you around

Another one you call grandpa

Instead of getting annoyed (like one demon we shall not name) he embraces it

Convinced you to change his contact name in your phone to that

You two stress everyone out

Well it’s mostly them worrying about you spending time with Solomon alone

But it’s quite nice when it’s just the two of you alone in his room

He teaches you all the basic little spells and tricks

Has a picture of the first time you did a configuration spell

You had the proudest smile on and he’s glad he got to witness it

He also taught you how to cast fire

Gotta add a little chaos into the mix

[thekatebridgerton]

The thing about Colin...

So I've been seeing a lot of discourse lately about how Polin shippers never seem to care about Colin. And it made me realize I've never actually done a deep dive on why I find his character so interesting. The way I've done with Anthony and sometimes Benedict. So let's have a talk about Colin Bridgerton

I am very much attached to book Colin in the sense that in RMB we get to see something cute Luke hasn't shown yet: the depth behind his smiling face. And pretty much in the same way Hunger games movie viewers don't realize how they become part of the capitol when they reduce Katniss struggle to just her relationship with Peeta and Gale. Colin Bridgerton is the perfect example of how we become part of 'the ton' when we reduce Colin to simply his smiling happy go lucky looking self.

Because Colin is a great friend, I've said it many times, I would love to have a friend like him, he's very loyal, wouldn't abandon someone in need if he could help it, he has a great sense of humor, he is supportive and kind, roots for the people he loves and encourages them to follow their dreams. It makes sense for his favorite sister to be Daphne because, during Daphne's book, the reason she couldn't find a husband was because men got to know her and saw her as such a good friend it didn't register that she was also a woman.

Colin on the outside is in fact the quintessential happy, smiling, friendly gentleman. Penelope thinks that, lady Whistledown writes that. We as readers are fooled into thinking that as well. This is where it gets fun.

Because there's a point in the narrative where Colin shows his dark side and the reader is like 'wait where did that come from? I've never seen him act like that before ' and of course you didn't dear reader, you're the ton, you're the person who only knows him from Lady Whistledown. That's the trick. Because he didn't show his dark side to you! He's never shown it to anyone! He's charming Colin!

And this is where I absolutely love Colin. Because yes, he's funny and charming and a riot to hang out with, he's well read, well traveled and an excellent conversationalist. But behind all that, is a man who feels deeply and loves passionately and gets easily frustrated, what I mean to say is that underneath Charming Colin, is someone completely different who doesn't know how to break out of the label everyone has put on him for so many years and expresses his emotions in a clumsy extravagant way that is so Colin. Also behold, surprise surprise, he has a temper, he's got a responsible streak that's more in line with Anthony's years of conditioning than he would care to admit. And insecurities about his place in the world that lead him to lash out a time or two.

So if you ask me, I like the Colin we get to know underneath the superficial charming Colin thing he's got going on, more than I like the version we get in Lady Whistledown.

And it's funny seeing so many show viewers take his character at face value. Even Polin shippers, write him off as ' cute cuddly wouldn't harm a fly Colin, super friendly, clueless Colin ' when he's actually one of the most deep characters there is, exactly because he's a social chameleon and tailors himself to be what he thinks people expect him to be. As a third son, as a brother and as a friend. Never actually showing anyone his negative side because he thinks people won't like him any more ( and from the comments I see dissing his characterization in RMB that may very well be true)

The man may not have created a whole alter ego to blow off his negative emotions but believe me he has them and he's self aware enough to know he's expected to never show them. Which is actually worse in the long run because he ends up a mess of surpressed dissatisfaction and frustration.

Maybe that's what I find so interesting about him that his character is just as two faced as Penelope. I'm not saying that Colin isn't genuinely nice and funny and friendly. I'm saying he's not like that 24/7 and that he pretends he is just to cover up his insecurities. Because deep down he wants to be liked and doesn't tolerate rejection well.

It takes a lot for him to come to terms with the fact that he wants to be liked for who he truly is and not just for the mask he puts up Infront of the ton and his family. Assimilating both his happy go lucky charming side, with his darker more temperamental and dominant side that he never showed to people before. It's as much of a journey of self discovery for Colin as it is for the reader.

I had hopes that in s3 we actually were led to find out that no Colin isn't actually some clueless himbo all the time, because underneath that he's just as restless and dissatisfied with himself as the rest of his family but he doesn't show it. I would love for s3 to take us behind the scenes of clueless Colin to show us exactly all those sides of him he doesn't share with anyone else. But I don't know, maybe Shondaland will keep him just as friendly and seemingly wonderful as it's been showing him so far.

And that's the tea

[maidragoste]

Please please please say we will get more of your fantastic one queen two kings thing story?

I love that story.

Need to have more dad Aegon and dad Aemond with Queen mom reader.

Has the kids asked about her and their uncle eggs siblings? And what happened to them?

Imagine trying to explain when they ask about readers parents and what happened. Maybe they heard somewhere that Aegon killed Nyra and so they come to see if it is true. That their dad killed their beloved mothers mother. Drama!!!!

But seriously I love this series. Seeing them with the kids. Love to see some cute fluffy moments but as wrote above the fluffy can be after the drama hahah.

I need to see the two dads with twin daughters. How much they would love and spoil them etc. also how protective Aegon would be with all his kids as we saw in the one shot about his oldest daughter that he had with Helena. I imagine he would be so protective of all their future children after what happened to his two sons.

So sorry this is long. Really love your stories. :)🌸⭐️

omg anon I didn't expect this at all, it's been a long time since someone wrote to me about "The Queen and her Husbands". I'M HAPPY THAT YOU ENJOY THAT UNIVERSE SO MUCH 🥰🥰

Honestly I have so many wips and ideas with dad Aegon, dad Aemond and Queen Reader mom but I haven't finished writing them.

This is sad but I don't see the Queen talking to her children (except Aemon) about Rhaenyra and her brothers. The Queen didn't like to think about her mother, she has unresolved problems with Rhaenyra but she also regrets how she treated her, so if she can avoid talking about her the better. But I imagine Egg sometimes talking about Rhaenyra to his nephews, it makes him sad but he knows that it bothers Aegon II that he talks about Rhaenyra so he keeps doing it 🤪

I can see Alyssa going to Aegon after Egg tells her a story about Rhaenyra.

Alyssa: Why did you kill grandmother Rhaenyra? She was great"

Aegon II: She wasn't great! She killed your brother Jaehaerys!

Alyssa: Oh…

Returning to the Queen. She thinks about her brothers every day and she always misses them. But she doesn't talk about them because she knows that would upset Aemond. Just imagine Reader telling how wonderful her siblings were and then Daella saying "I want to marry someone as kind as Uncle Lucerys was", Baelon and Daeron saying "When I grow up I want to be like Uncle Jace" or Baelon and Alyssa going to complain to his father why he murdered his uncle. AEMOND WOULD LOSE HIS SHIT

Now why does the Queen talk to Aemon about her brothers? I have the headcanon that she accompanies her son to the yard for him to train, in that she finds the mark (that mark that Jace shows to Luke in chapter 8) and without thinking she tells Aemon the story of that mark. After that she makes him promise that he won't tell anyone, that it's a secret. Weeks pass and the Queen realizes that Aemon kept the secret so she begins to tell him more stories about Jacaerys, Lucerys and Joffrey. I can see Reader talking to her other children about her siblings but only on specific occasions. For example, Aelor feels self-conscious about being a bastard and she tells him about Jace, how he always pushed himself to reward something that wasn't her fault; Another occasion could be when Baelon is desperate to have his own dragon and Reader is scared that he will do something stupid. "Never think about getting on a dragon that already has a rider. I don't want you to end up like your uncle Joffrey." 😭

About the twin daughters, for now I don't think it will happen because the Queen already has too many children hahaha but I promise you that I will try to finish my wip quickly where Aemond lets his daughter comb his hair I 100% confirm that Aegon is protective of ALL of his children after losing Jaehaerys and Maelor

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR WRITING TO ME ANON, IT REALLY MADE ME VERY HAPPY. IF YOU HAVE MORE THOUGHTS ON THIS SERIES, DON'T HESITATE TO SHARE THEM 🥰🥰💖💖

[anticomedygarden]

can we give ourselves one more chance

Annabeth is having trouble adjusting after the giant war. What better way to attempt to handle her quickly deteriorating mental state than to get a dog?

title from 'under pressure' by queen

small tw: there is a semi-graphic panic attack starting at 'one hour earlier' and ending at the end of that section

also on ao3

this topic is really important to me. i hope y'all like it!

-

They build the shrine at the edge of the woods.

It's a simple design, just a fake stone sword stuck into the ground with the names of the demigods lost to the titan war. A similar one stands a few feet away for the giant war, but for some reason, Annabeth is inexplicably drawn to this one.

Objectively, she knows its placement is simply because it's an easily accessible spot while not being especially obvious; one can find it without searching, but they don't have to pass by it everyday. Emotionally, though, she can't help but see the symbolism. Light vs. dark, humanity vs. nature, society on the brink of unhindered chaos where the only barrier is the shrine. The only barrier is war. The barrier is Luke.

Annabeth isn't sure how she made it back here again, staring at the shrine, barely restraining herself from tracing Luke's name over and over until her fingers bleed with the weight of it. How close had they come to losing it all?

Now, it won't be long until the conch horn sounds, but she's not hungry. Just like yesterday. And the day before. And everyday since Tartarus.

She can't stomach the dining pavilion, anyway, not with Percy unable to eat anything substantial, either, despite the urgings of their friends, or to see the hole in the Hephaestus table where Leo should be. She can't bear to scrape more food into the fire and recite prayers to her mother only to be met with stony silence.

The conch horn sounds, and a warm body drops down next to hers. "Here again?"

It's become somewhat of a ritual at this point, Percy finding Annabeth here.

"I...don't know," she admits. He is the only one who gets to hear her say those words.

Sluggishly, he stretches his legs out in front of him as she leans against his side. "Me either."

They sit in silence for a bit.

Today, there are a few bouquets of flowers scattered around the shrines and some little trinkets. Someone has left a note that reads, We love you, Michael. Apollo cabin, most likely.

Percy asks her the same thing he's asked everyday since the end of the war.

"Any word from your mom?"

As usual, she shakes her head, and tries to ignore the ever present feeling of disappointment in her chest. "Your dad?"

Like the sea, Poseidon is less predictable. Some days - most days, honestly - the sea god doesn't communicate at all with his son. Some days, Percy is granted a whispered mind-to-mind conversation, tucked away in corners from Zeus' prying eyes and ears. Even fewer days, Poseidon comes directly to camp to see his son on the beach to make sure the bags under his eyes have gone down and he's still gaining back weight. More often than not, he is just as disappointed as Annabeth.

No matter what, it is still more than Annabeth has gotten from her mother.

Absolutely nothing.

"Yeah. He asked me how I was doing."

"And?" It is surely a lie.

"I said fine." Bingo. "What am I supposed to say, you know?"

She does know. Nobody wants to hear that the two most powerful demigods of their time are struggling, and the gods don't want to face their failures.

It isn't long before they change the subject.

"Mom thinks she found a school that will take me for senior year," Percy says, tone cautiously optimistic.

She beams. "That's great!" One step closer to NRU together. Now, Annabeth just has to broach the subject of boarding school in New York with her dad, not that she thinks he'd say no. No one really wants her in California.

He smiles sheepishly. "Yeah. It's called 'Alternate High School.' Apparently they specialize in kids with no other options." She almost starts talking about mortals and how stupid they are to not see how amazing he is, but he doesn't seem to care. "Whatever. I'm just happy they'll take me."

She throws an arm around her boyfriend's shoulders and kisses his jaw. "I can't wait."

They sit there for a bit longer, talking about nothing important, before it's time for campfire and then bed where they will both lay silently until morning without sleeping.

-

It starts like this.

Annabeth is dragging herself back to her dorm from Percy's apartment one day when she hears the unmistakable whine of a hellhound. Her fingers go straight for the drakon bone sword at her hip, and, before she knows it, she's turned around and slashed the great beast in half.

Just like that, it's gone. No fanfare; just a small shower of dust that coats the sidewalk, shimmering gold like cornflakes.

The mortals keep going as if nothing happened, and she supposes to them, nothing did happen. She knows she should keep going, too, or she'll miss curfew, but she can't get herself to move.

Instead, her sword tips our of her grasp, falling to the ground with a clatter. She didn't even give the dog a chance to do anything to her, just mercilessly cut it down, sent it down below to ruminate in that monster's body for the gods know how long. The sword may as well be her dagger, her hands Luke's as he kills himself, Percy's hands as he chokes Akhlys.

Annabeth falls to the ground with a sob, one thought circling in her mind.

I don't want to be a killer anymore.

-

Three days later, Annabeth throws her bag down on the Jackson's kitchen table and says, "I want a dog."

Percy pauses, a soapy bowl in his hands. "Okay...?" His eyebrows are furrowed in confusion.

"I already checked, and New York housing requires buildings to accept service animals. If they get picky about it, we can get the dog registered to you, but since I've been listing your apartment as my permanent address, it shouldn't be a problem. There's a Humane Society nearby. They spay and neuter and give all the shots for free-"

"Okay, okay, hold on," Percy interrupts, holding up a wet hand. "Not that I don't think this isn't a great idea, but is there a reason you've suddenly decided we need a dog?"

Annabeth shakes her head, because if she has to think about why, she'll have to think about everything else, and she doesn't want to think about everything else.

Of course, Percy sees right through her, and a second later, dry hands are cupping her face, a thumb tracing a tear she didn't know was there. "'Beth," he starts, "what's going on?"

She suddenly realizes that she's barely been holding it together the last three days, throwing herself into pet research and school work to distract from her fracturing mind, and gods, if one look from Percy doesn't unravel her completely.

"I just-" A sob breaks free from her throat, and several more follow. Tears cascade from her eyes like blood.

Like always, Percy is right there to press her face into his chest, picking up the pieces, staunching the flow, and all the other metaphors that had ever been used to describe a protector, and she could almost believe that neither of their bodies had ever been used to hurt, to kill, or to maim.

When the sobs finally taper off and the tears slow to a trickle, she manages to choke out, "We're supposed to be protectors."

He makes to pull back, but she digs her fingers into his shirt so she doesn't have to see the ever present bags under his eyes, mirrors of her own. With Sally practically force feeding them now that they're back in New York for the school year, she can't feel his ribs through his shirt anymore, but she knows that doesn't mean anything. They may not be living with constant reminders of what they've been through, but all that really means is they've found better distractions.

"What do you mean?"

She sniffles and burrows deeper into his chest. "We're supposed to protect people, but lately it just feels like all we're doing is killing things. I want to feel like I'm doing something good again."

One of Percy's hands comes up to stroke her hair. "You are so good. You do good things all the time, baby."

"I know," she says, though she becomes less sure everyday. "I still want a dog."

-

"Our dogs are in this room on both sides," the shelter worker, a young woman with coiled black hair, says, gesturing to the large open space to the left. "Their information packets should indicate everything you need to know about the dog. If you find one you want to have a one on one with, feel free to come up to the desk and ask."

Annabeth nods, attention already taken over by what can only be described as a warehouse floor of dog enclosures, each containing an adorable dog. She walks right in.

"What exactly are we looking for?" Percy asks as he allows her to pull him from cage to cage.

Annabeth isn't ashamed to admit that she researched dog breeds and took several personality tests to find which breed would best suit their lifestyle: highly trainable, active, protective, apartment friendly, good with young kids and, as they had just found out a few weeks ago, babies. However, she also knows that it's very difficult to predict the temperament of a rescue dog and even more difficult to find a purebred, not that pedigree is particularly important to her. "Ideally, a terrier or shepherd, but the most important things are trainability, activity level, and friendly with kids and babies." They stop in front of the first cage to see a little black and brown dog, not quite Yorkie looking but not really anything else looking either. Must be a mutt.

Percy holds his phone up to the information card to scan it through the translator app into Greek. "Bella. I am a spayed female Yorkshire terrier mix. Staff shelter think I am about 11 months old. I have been here for two weeks." Underneath that is a checklist of compatibility traits, color coded. Thank the gods. Annabeth looks at it while Percy attempts to pet Bella through the bars.

"Aww, babe, look," her boyfriend says, drawing her attention to the floor. Percy had somehow managed to reach the tiny dog who was splayed out on her back enjoying the treatment. "Do you wanna see her one-on-one?"

It absolutely breaks her but- "I don't think she'd be a good fit for us. She wouldn't be able to keep up, and under 'good with kids,' it says 'unsure.'"

Percy pouts a little but nods, and they move onto the next enclosure.

This one is a 2 year old medium sized black mutt, and again, it breaks her heart, but he's listed as bad with kids. Between Camp and Sally being pregnant, they just can't have that in the house.

They pass a few more enclosures, all amazing and adorable but just not right, before they get to a cage in the back corner with a white and brown dog sleeping on a cot. It's hard to tell how big the animal is because they're laying down, but a good estimate is medium to large.

As soon as they get to the cage, the dog stands up and trots over to the bars revealing a triangle shaped face, sickle ears, and a gorgeous off-white coat speckled with light brown that absolutely takes her breath away. Her original size estimate had been correct; the dog comes up to about her lower thigh. The fur is deep but not long; just imagining sinking her fingers into it makes her feel like she's getting a hug from Sally.

She crouches in front of the cage and jams her fingers through the bars, and the dog leans forward to sniff them. She holds her breath, and, a second later, the dog shoves they're face under her hand for pets, and her heart completely melts.

This dog better be good with kids because leaving them behind will break her.

Percy tugs on her shoulder, jarring her from the moment, and says, "Babe, look."

Following his index finger, the dog's bio reads, Luke. I am a neutered male Australian shepherd mix. Shelter staff think I am about 3 years old. I have been here for two months.

Luke.

Luke.

Luke.

Percy presses a kiss to her head before she even realizes she's crying.

She really needs to get a handle on that.

Gods, how did her life come to this? She's having some sort of mental breakdown/religious experience in a fucking animal shelter of all places because a dog has the same name as her dead friend.

Still holding on to her, Percy flags down a shelter worker. "What can you tell us about this dog?"

This shelter worker is another young woman, this time with straight green hair clutching a clipboard. She smiles sadly. "Luke's been with us for a while now. He's very active and is doing wonderfully with his training and is already potty trained." She stops there, fidgeting nervously.

"How did he get here?" Annabeth asks. It all sounds great, but the woman is clearly hiding something. She braces herself.

"Well, Luke is a second chance animal which means he was abandoned by his previous owner. That tends to make potential adopters nervous, but I can assure you that Luke is an amazing dog with a great temperament." She says the last part with conviction as if she's used to people doubting the temperament of second chance animals which, of course, she probably is.

Great. Now Annabeth is self identifying with a dog.

Percy pulls away from her then and reaches down to pet the dog who is staring up at Annabeth with wide brown eyes and a pink tongue lolling out of his mouth, somehow looking even cuter than before. He takes to Percy as fast as he took to Annabeth. "Do you know anything about the previous family?"

Do you know why anyone would do such a heartless thing as leaving their dog alone?

The woman shrugs, but Annabeth can see in her eyes the same anger she's feeling. "Unfortunately, we never actually met the previous owners, but there are a number of reasons people surrender their pets to shelters. Sometimes it's money problems, sometimes divorce, sometimes health issues, sometimes the previous owners die and the family can't take them in. Sometimes when people have kids, the pets don't get along with children or the children develop allergies. Occasionally, puppy mills and illegal breeders are busted, and the animals are sent here. You just never know with rescues what you're getting." It is clear from her words that the woman really cares about what she does, and Annabeth can't help but respect her. She knows from her research that shelter work is challenging and often depressing and discouraging, things Annabeth relates to hard.

A glance at Luke's chart tells her that he meets all their criteria down to activity level and protectiveness.

Percy looks up at her, and she nods. "We'd like to see him one on one if that's alright."

The woman looks absolutely incensed. "That's great!"

-

The one on one session only confirms what they already know, that Luke is the one they want. He runs right to them and climbs into their laps, alternating between licking them all over and demanding pets. His fur is exactly as heavenly as Annabeth imagined, maybe even more so. At some point, Percy steps out to call his mom because they can't adopt a dog when they're under 18.

It is around then that Annabeth learns the feeling of a dog licking peanut butter directly out of her hands is the best feeling in the world. She never wants the moment to end.

An hour later, they're back home at the Jackson's apartment following Luke around as he explores every inch of the place. He's hesitant at first, careful to not leave the general proximity of people but eager to get into places even Annabeth can't. (And won't. No human should have to walk through Percy's maze of dirty clothes.)

Eventually, they make it back into the living room, Paul relaxing on the couch and Sally doing something in the kitchen. He must have come in while they were following Luke around.

"Hey, boy." Paul puts his hand out, and the dog runs over to sniff him. "So this is the new family member?"

Annabeth nods, and she and Percy sit on the floor to get out dog toys. "His name's Luke. He's a 3 year old Australian shepherd mix."

Paul smiles as he scratches Luke's ears. "Well, he's very sweet. I think you two picked a good one."

Annabeth beams, and it is then she realizes that she hasn't thought about Tartarus or her parents or the wars or even school since she first saw Luke. "Me, too."

-

Annabeth never thought a dog could change her life so much, but laying on the ground in Central Park under the stars, a hand trailing through Luke's fur, she knows she could never go back to before.

See, she's laying like this, tracing constellations, technically illegally, because of a goddamn peacock.

One hour earlier

They are just taking a walk. Annabeth is just trying to take her dog on his nighttime walk. Why does she have to ruin everything? Why does she have to insert herself into every moment of their lives? It isn't enough that her actual mother refuses to acknowledge her existence, but Hera has to monitor her like fucking Big Brother?

Annabeth buries her free hand in her hair and tugs, near tears. Of course, senior year has just been too easy, apparently. Nevermind the all nighters and scholarship essays, the bullies and the nights she almost quits because it's too damn much.

Luke whines and pulls on his leash in an attempt to move Annabeth forward, but her eyes refuse to leave the blue and green bird in front of her. Then, the dog gives a particularly hard tug, and she stumbles forward, forced to either keep moving or get trampled in the throngs of people somehow still out at 9:30 at night in New York City.

Her eyes dart around to the people around her, sure that one of them is the marriage goddess in disguise. Why else would there be a peacock here?

Too distracted to notice where Luke is leading her, they somehow end up in Central Park which Annabeth only realizes when there is no one else to pick apart with her eyes. That still doesn't let her off the hook, though. Hera could be hiding as a bug or a bird or a fucking gust of wind for all she knows.

“Where are you?" she screams. "What do you want from me?"

She doesn't care that anyone could find her here, that she could get arrested. If Hera is around, Annabeth might as well be fucking dead. She should've known better than to try and escape the brutality of her world; did she really think a dog could save her?

"I don't want you here!" she yells. Then, falling to the ground, ass smarting in a way she'll certainly feel tomorrow, hands hitting the dirt with a thud, she whispers, "I don't want you here."

I don't want you here I don't want you here I don't want you hereidontwantyouhereidontwantyouhereIDONTWANT-

Something cold and wet presses into her palm, and she draws back involuntarily. It then pushes into her neck, her face, then over and over again it hits her cheeks. Something incredibly soft hits her right hand, and she feels something else wap her in the thigh.

Luke, she thinks, and for once, the name doesn't give her more anxiety. The dog.

Luke continues to lick her face as his tail thumps against her leg. Slowly, very slowly, she comes back to herself. The anxiety is still there, the fear that Hera is spying on her even as there's no one around, but other possibilities trickle in. Maybe it’s someone’s pet, or it’s one of the ones from the zoo that they let wander around. 

And she is cold. Always freezing after a panic attack.

But Luke helps with that, too. He stays in her lap, warming her with his fur and body heat until she gains the strength to pull her phone out of her pocket and text Percy to come get her. She would send an Iris message, but there's no rainbows here at this time.

Suddenly, it hits her. Luke can sense gods. They'd found out after an accidental run in with Demeter. If Hera, or any other mythical being for that matter, were around, Luke would have alerted her.

She snorts, then giggles, and it turns into a full on laughing fit, the kind that makes her stomach hurt and tears fall freely down her face. Maybe the tears are from before. Maybe they never stopped. Maybe she's been crying the whole damn time. It's all so fucking pointless.

She falls backward into the grass, Luke curling next to her, and stares up at the stars as they wait for her boyfriend to come get them because if she moves she'll surely disintegrate like a freshly-slain monster.  

-

The next time she's especially thankful to have a dog in her life is during the summer between senior year and the start of college when she and Percy are staying at Camp.

Some time in the night, Percy startles awake with a shout, pulling Annabeth from her own fitfull slumber. Before she can even sit up, Luke is on top of him and licking his face, whining as he paws at his neck. She watches as the terror on hier boyfriend's face drains into confusion and finally weary anxiety, and he doesn't even have time to reach panic.

When his breathing slows and Luke settles on his chest, Percy turns his head to her and says, "I'm so glad we got a dog."

She smiles. "Me, too."

-

Annabeth winds through the streets of New Rome, black dog leash clutched in one hand. Luke cuts a handsome figure in front of her in his little service dog vest, drawing stares and mournful looks as people realize they can't pet him.

They'd started training him as a psychiatric service animal pretty soon after adopting him, so she is pretty used to it at this point, but it never fails to amuse her.

Finally, they make it to the restaurant, some Italian place Thalia picked out. The dark haired girl spots her quickly and waves her over.

"Hey," Thalia greets. She's seated at one of the outdoor tables with a big green umbrella over it, tipping their whole area into pleasant shade.

"Hey, it's so great to see you," she says, partially unbelieving that those words just came out of her mouth in a truthful manner and not as an overly polite greeting to someone she hopes she'd never have to see again. Like her stepmom, for instance.

"You, too."

Annabeth picks the menu up off the wiry black table, pointedly not wondering how much longer she'll be able to look at her oldest friend without Thalia looking like her youngest friend. "How have you been?"

Thalia swirls her straw in her water. "Pretty good," she answers, and seems to mean it. "We followed a monster all the way up into northern Canada last month and didn't even kill it."

Annabeth laughs. "Really?"

Thalia rolls her eyes. "You know how Lady Artemis is. If it's not hurting anyone or damaging the ecosystem, she says leave it."

After the year Annabeth's had, it's incredibly refreshing to hear, though she can't help but feel a little bitter that Artemis can talk to the hunters but Athena can't say one word to her daughter (the daughter that saved her ass). "So you went up there for nothing?"

Thalia slings a leather clad arm over the back of her chair, metal bracelets clinking. "I wouldn't say nothing. We saw trees older than the gods and thicker than Ares." Annabeth's nose scrunches at the comparison, and Thalia laughs. "We saw millions of stars every night. Do you know what the Milky Way looks like?"

Annabeth shakes her head, knowing only what she's seen in books. Light pollution truly is a bitch.

"Gods, it's so beautiful, you can't even breathe. There's so many colors. It's like staring into the face of - well, not a god, because that kinda sucks, but something amazing." Thalia gestures vaguely, and Annabeth is briefly blinded by the idea. Seeing something greater than the things she has already seen. Standing under a sky unburdened by human defacement and finding something so beautiful the Ancient Greeks made an entire myth for the creation of it. Her heart seizes, and she yearns. "Seriously, I'll show you sometime."

Suddenly, Annabeth isn't in New Rome anymore but a town square somewhere along the Eastern seaboard. 12 year old Thalia is telling her about her cross country travels, little Annabeth hanging onto every word, and Thalia laughs and says, "I'll show you sometime."

Back in the present, Luke the dog rests his head on her thigh and barks, sensing her increased uneasiness. She pets his fuzzy head. "It's alright, bud."

A waiter comes by and takes their orders, Thalia ordering a pizza because her and Percy really are exactly alike, and Annabeth ordering spaghetti because seeing Thalia makes her miss being seven.

Thalia leans in. "So what prompted you to get a dog?"

Annabeth gulps and figures there's really no reason to lie to Thalia. "PTSD. Guilt. Nightmares. Pick a reason, honestly."

Thalia nods in understanding. "Some of the girls have service animals, especially the newer ones. They really do help."

Annabeth assumes by 'have service animals', Thalia doesn't mean legally. "Yeah, it's amazing." Looking down at Luke, she can't believe how much he's helped her, and Percy, too. They rarely wake up screaming anymore, and when they do, he is right there to take care of them. "He can sense when we're panicking now, or even just when anxiety spikes."

She rubs his ears and leans down. "Can't you, boy? Yeah!" His tail thumps against the ground in excitement.

She sits back to see Thalia with a wide grin on her face. "What?"

Thalia points at the dog. "You know, it's kinda like you two adopted a kid together."

Annabeth rolls her eyes. "I highly doubt a kid would be able to help me through a PTSD induced flashback."

"Whatever. You and Jackson have a kid."

Annabeth's retort is lost as the waiter comes by to deposit their food.

As they chew, Thalia looks at Luke again.."What breed did you say he is?"

"The Humane Society said he's an Australian shepherd mix," Annabeth says, twirling a noodle onto her fork.

Thalia snorts. "There is no way in hell there's no pitbull in there."

Annabeth brightens. She'd actually come across this in her research. "Sometimes, shelters don't list traditionally aggressive breeds because they're harder to adopt out, and because if they become banned - which has happened before - the dogs can't be taken away. It's the same principle as big dogs being cheaper than small dogs."

Thalia stares for a moment, then looks furious. "I really hate mortals."

"Yeah, but at least some of them are fighting." It's as good a reason as any to hold onto hope.

They lapse into silence a bit as they eat their food.

"Luke." His head snaps up, and Annabeth feeds him a piece of bread.

Thalia makes some odd kind of aborted snort noise. "You named him Luke?"

Annabeth's eyes widen. She thought for sure she told her friend her dog's name before. "That was his name at the shelter."

"Good." Thalia visibly relaxes. "Wow, that's practically meant to be."

Annabeth isn't ready to brush off her reaction just yet. "Why would it be so bad if I named him Luke?" Obviously, she never would've done it herself, but she wants to know why Thalia is so horrified.

Thalia heaves a sign and sets down her pizza. "During the Titan war, I was constantly worried you were building him up in your head, remembering those two weeks as bigger than they actually were." Annabeth opens her mouth, but Thalia holds up a hand. "You were seven; I wouldn't have blamed you. I was just always afraid you would think of him as this great, amazing guy when in reality, he was...just a guy."

Annabeth's mouth gapes slightly. "Were you afraid I would join his side?"

Thalia's eyes widen. "No, I just didn't want you to start to think of him as a martyr. He was just a guy who fell to the wrong side."

Annabeth doesn't entirely understand what she's getting at, but she nods anyway, and they continue to eat and chat.

When it's time to leave, though, Thalia puts her hands on Annabeth's shoulders and says, "We only spent two weeks together on the run. They were two very important weeks, and you were very young, but please don't make us out to be more than we were." When she sees the dawning pain in Annabeth's eyes, she says, "I love you, and I will always love you, and so would Luke if he were still here. But we made mistakes. We let you down. Don't forget that, okay?"

Annabeth nods, still not entirely what the point is. She doesn't think she's been building them up in her head. Every Greek demigod in the US knows who Luke is and what he did; it would be impossible for her to forget.

But maybe she sometimes forgets what he did to her.

"I love you," Thalia says one last time. "See you soon."

"I love you, too."

-

Two months later, over a year after the giant war, Athena finally decides to speak to her daughter.

The wisdom goddess finds her on the beach of Camp Halfblood snuggled up next to Percy with Luke at their feet. It's winter break, and she couldn't be happier.

'Couldn't' being the key word. She could definitely be more happy now.

"Annabeth," she says. There is no tone, nothing to give a clue as to the reason of her visit. Luke starts barking, warning her that this isn't a nice visit.

"Mother?" she asks. "What are you doing here?"

"Can I not have a nice conversation with my daughter?" She raises a brown eyebrow, and Annabeth, frankly, has had it.

"A year ago, maybe. What do you want?" Next to her, Percy sucks in a breath, and Luke continues to bark.

"I'll let that slide because it's been so long, but you will not speak to me like that again," Athena says, dark brown hair lifting in the sea breeze.

A year ago, Annabeth might have considered listening, but a year ago, she still had hope that one of her parents might love her. "I'll speak to you however I damn please."

Percy grips her arm tighter as if he wouldn't say the exact same thing. "Annabeth, maybe you should-"

"I don't remember asking for your input, sea spawn," Athena hisses. "I came here to have a mature conversation with my daughter, but it seems I came in vain."

The sand tickles Annabeth's bare feet when she stands. "I'm the immature one? You're the one who ignored her daughter for a year after she saved your ass from insanity." Behind her, Percy stands as well, shushing Luke.

"As soon as you're ready to speak with me like an adult, you can have your time with me."

Words surge behind her shut mouth, something about how she was and is still a child despite what Olympus seems to believe, or that her "time with Athena" is about a year too late and she doesn't really care anymore. "Fine."

Athena clasps her hands in front of her. "You must stop this outlandish behaviour."

"What behaviour?"

"Concerning the Castellan boy."

"What-you mean my dog?"

Athena sighs. "I mean your insistence on honoring him in everything you do. I could tolerate it when the war was still recent in mortal terms, but this is getting a bit ridiculous, don't you think?"

Stupidly, Annabeth can still only think of the dog, though she's sure Athena is referencing other instances. "I didn't name him."

The goddess sighs again. "I am not talking about the dog, though that is an unfortunate coincidence. I am talking about the shrine, and the statue you plan to build, and your continued prayers for his swift and easy path through the underworld even two years after the fact."

Annabeth waits for more, but apparently that's it. "The shrine honors all of the demigods who died in the wars, and the statue is a reminder. I'm not sure how you think my prayers are a negative, but it's nice to know you've been getting them all this time."

Athena's eyes flash. "You say the shrine is for everyone, yet you only seem to pay attention to the one name, and I for one, don't need a reminder, not with this one's-" she points to Percy "-demands."

This argument is clearly going nowhere. "Aren't you the goddess of wisdom? Don't you know 'those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it'?"

"Yes, but you are not remembering the past. You are turning your traitor friend into a martyr."

Again, Annabeth might have fallen for her words had it not been for her conversation with Thalia. "You only think that because he pointed out the gods' flaws, flaws you are doing a pretty fucking good job of showing off right now. I know Luke wasn't a martyr, but the more you act like this, the more you make him into one."

Athena steps closer to Annabeth, close enough she can see the goddess' individual eyelashes. "Listen, girl-"

Abruptly, a wave crashes to shore, loud and disruptive, throwing them into ankle deep water. Athena jumps backward. "Stop this! You cannot scare me with water."

Annabeth turns to Percy whose eyes are wide. "That wasn't me!"

Another wave, bigger than the first, hits the sand, and realization dawns on Athena's face alongside horror. She turns to the sea. "Poseidon, you dare put my own daughter under your protection?"

This time, a slower wave climbs up the beach and leaves, revealing a bunch of seashells arranged to spell the word 'YES'. In a flash, the dark haired goddess is replaced by an owl and flaps away, up and up and up until Annabeth can't see her anymore.

She turns to Percy who looks just as bewildered as her.

He clears his throat. "Uh, what the fuck?"

Amnabeth shrugs. " I have no idea."

They sit back down as they had been before Athena dropped in, snuggled together with Luke at their feet.

She should probably be sad and maybe even offended that Athena doesn't believe in her anymore, but she just can't bring herself to care. She had made peace with the fact that she would never have the picture perfect parents that love her, or even really like her, a long time ago. She was building up to the life she deserved, and carving out little pieces of that life in the people she loves was good enough for now. She was only 19; she had a lot of life left, and she still had a lot of healing. This wasn't the end of anything.

Good riddance. She has her family.

And, as night turns into day, they watch the sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean, clutched in each other's arms, ready for whatever comes next.

-

everything in here is extensively researched or i know from my own experiences. adoption and dogs are really close to my heart. i'd link the sources but there's so many that i've gathered for essays, presentations, etc., throughout so many years that it would take me hours. if you spot something i got wrong, please let me know!

edit 11-19-23: I changed all the mentions of Luke being an ESA to a service animal or service animal in training because being an ESA basically just means someone paid for the certification and has a doctor's note, and they are not actually trained for anything. In this case, Luke is a psychiatric service dog trained for things like deep pressure therapy, buffering, room searching, etc., because he helps his owners with PTSD. Check abetternameneeded 's comments on ao3 for more info, and/or these two articles: https://www.ada.gov/topics/service-animals/ https://www.servicedogcertifications.org/psychiatric-service-dog/#psd-tasks

[angrygirlromero]

OCEAN EYES PT. 3

Summary: In which the son of the God of thieves, is head over heels in love with the daughter of the sea God.

Warnings: possible grammar mistakes.

Pairing: Luke x daughter of Poseidon x Little brother Percy.

A/N: I'd just like to just come on here and say I'm sorry if I've offended anyone with my tags, I was most definitely not aware people took it so very seriously and I've learned from my mistakes, so I'd like to kindly ask everyone that if you have any more issues with my tags please just message me and we can figure it out, thank you and I hope you all enjoy. Once again sorry for any grammar mistakes.

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Percy Jackson was never one to be afraid or to overthink things but since hearing the Oracle's words his mind had not stopped racing.

“You shall go west, and face the god who has turned. Make the wrong choices and you shall loose everything. You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend. And you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end.

He now stood next to Chiron with a group of selected camper before him, but the words of the Oracle repeated in his head, he wanted to choose his beloved sister, she was skilled, she could fight they'd make an excellent team for sure, but the prophecy said if he made the wrong choice it could coast him all, Ella was his entire world now she was all he had now, he couldn't take the risk of losing her.

He wanted to choose Luke, the Hermes boy who his sister trusted, he was a skilled fighter and had proved to be an excellent friend. But if he was going on a quest with the intention of saving his mother he needed someone who would be more than willing to sacrifice even him to see his mother's safe return.

Percy's eyes met his sister's as she stood in the middle of everyone else, he couldn't read the look in her eyes, was it fear or worry? Percy didn't know, he had block out Chiron's words a long ways back, he hadn't even noticed he was still explaining, but all Percy knew was that he needed a leader.

"Annabeth" choose Percy, Chiron froze "Customarily, one waits to at least hear a name of two before choosing" said Chiron,"Are you sure?" asked Chiron, "This thing, Zeus's master bolt, we need to get it back, right?"

"Yes"

"And it's gonna be hard to get, right?" asked Percy, "Extraordinarily" answered Chiron "And if the mission required someone to sacrifice me to succeed, You'd want someone who won't hesitate when they do it. And I also choose Grover" said Percy cutting Chrion off, Percy's eyes met Luke's as the Hermes boy simply nodded in approval, as Chiron announced his quest mates.

Percy couldn't meet his sisters stare, "The rest of you campers are dismissed" stated Chiron, Ella turned in silence walking away past Percy, "Ella wait I-" froze Percy as he attempt to call out to his sister as he watched her walk down the path Luke jogging behind her to catch up with her.

"In all honesty I thought you were going to pick her" Said Chiron, to which Percy sighed, "I thought so too" "so why didn't you?" asked Chiron.

Percy finally looked up at him his eyes moving away from the sight of the Hermes boy wrapping his arm around his sister's waist as they walked, "Because of what the Oracle said, about loosing everything and failing to save what matters most, I've only just found Ella I'm scared that if I choose her I could be the reason she doesn't return" muttered Percy under his breath.

"Oh Percy, but are you sure Annabeth an Grover were the right choice?" asked Chiron, "Like I said Annabeth would be more than willing to push me in front of a train if that meant completing this quest, and Grover is my best friend I'm sure I made the right choice as long as Ella is safe and happy" said Percy to which Chiron smiled before nodding.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ella hadn't spoken much to Luke since arriving at her cabin, "Maybe it's for the best princess, besides the moment you step out of camp an entire trail of monsters are gonna be on your tail, even worse than Thalia herself and you know that, and your mom or dad aren't gonna be able to intervene" said Luke as Ella laid back into his harms, her body placed between his leg.

"The trail of monsters doesn't matter Luke, what matters is Percy being safe and completing his quest, he's my father's second Forbidden child Zeus is more than informed about his being by now love, if he can he'll take a shot at him and I won't be there to prevent it" spoke Ella softly.

"I can't loose him Luke, we've only just found each other, I can't stand the thought of harming coming to him" Said the demigod, he voice begging to break, "Hey, hey don't cry, don't get all sad on me pretty girl, Percy's a strong boy, for the gods sake he killed a minotaur on his first night, he's more than capable of protecting not only his self but also Annabeth and Grover" said Luke in attempt of calming his girl.

"I know Percy can take care of himself but that still doesn't stop my worry" trailed off Ella as her eyes watered, "Besides I even started teaching him to sword fight this week, if anything happens Annabeth and Grover are gonna be right there at his side to help and guide him" said Luke ripping soft nothing circles into Ella's hip bone.

As Ella was about to reply but the cabin door creaked open reveling a nervous Percy, "I should get going, I have to go check on the younger kids's training" said Luke as he softly got up from Ella's bed placing a kiss on her forehead, whispering a soft goodbye to her before walking towards the door where Percy stood, "You guys should talk" he suggested before opening the door wider to leave.

And then there were two, Percy made soft steps toward Ella's bed as she stared at him with her brows frowned and watery ocean eyes, "Ella look I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you, I truly wanted to choose you but I can't loose you not now, not ever, if I had chosen you and something happened I couldn't live with myself so please don't hate me, I-" Percy's Rampling was soon cut short by Ella opening her arm for him.

Percy quickly rushed to embrace his sister, she rubbed nothing circles into his back "It's alright little one, I get it I don't think I could live with my self if something happened to you either" said the ocean beauty as tears silently rolled down her cheeks.

Percy held onto his beloved sister, embracing her as if it was the last time he would ever see her.

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Luke Castellan had found himself with a soft spot for the children of Poseidon he wasn't exactly sure how it happened, but he knew from the very first moment he saw little Ella arrive at camp and instantly get claimed, she was to be his.

As for his relationships with her brother Percy was different, Luke knew what was coming, there was no stopping it and he would do anything in his power to make sure his sweet Ella never found out, Percy Jackson was nice boy, Luke had taken his under his wing and guided him taught him how to fly in other words.

He didn't want any harm to come to the boy, because if it did it would mean losing Ella forever if she ever found out, the Hermes boy made his way down the path towards the cabin of the sea God, making his way up to the cabin climbing up the stairs Luke was met with the sight of Percy sitting on the steps of the big fountain packing his things, the cabin door and windows were wind open allowing the blissful breathes to flow through the empty house.

"How much money did they give you?" asked Luke as he stood at the door of the cabin with a gentle smile, Percy looked back at the bag they had given him inspecting it before speaking, "Um, 200 dollars in cash and bag of these" Said the boy, observing the bag of weird looking coins.

"I think they're Canadian, maybe? or from Chuck E. Cheese, I don't know." said Percy causing Luke to chuckle from his stance, "They're golden drachmas" said Luke as he began taking steps towards Percy, "Dollars are for human world, drachmas for mythic world, don't mix them up." explained Luke, standing before Percy.

"I brought you this" said Luke causing Percy to stand to his feet to revive the box, "Um they certainly are interesting" said the son of Poseidon as he sat down to open the box revealing a pair of red shoes.

Luke looked around his attention falling onto Ella's bed as he chuckled at Percy's words, "Where's you sister?" asked Luke randomly, "She left early this morning something about some fish migrating this week, she dived through the fountain" said Percy with a shrug.

Luke laughed at Percy's words, "That girl's something else sometimes, she just starts talking about sea animals that I didn't even know existed, but I love to hear her talk so it's a win, win" sated Luke reaching forward to grab a shoe from the box he had gifted Percy.

"Maia" he called out, and wings spread out from the side of the shoe, "A gift, from my dad." explained Luke. "Do you guys get a lot of gifts from your godly parents?" asked Percy remember Annabeth's hat and his sister's necklace she had shown him.

"Not really only if they think you've earned it" said Luke with a shrug, "Your sister on the other hand, your dad showers her with gifts so she has a bit of everything" said Luke.

"That makes sense" said Percy as Luke called out to the shoe once again causing the wings to disappear once more before retuning it back to it's box.

"Um I haven't asked Ella this yet because I don't want her to feel bad about me not choosing her or anything, but do you know why Poseidon has never sent her on a quest if she's his favorite?" asked Percy, "Chiron and the other kids believe it's because your dad has bigger plans for Ella, I don't know if she's told you this as yet, but Ella was raised to be perfect in every aspect, to fight for her people and to rule, be a perfect little princes and heir. When she first got to camp she had problems finding out who she was without her father or mother's judgment, it took her long while to find her place and eventually she did, and now everyone loves her" said Luke.

"What do you mean by bigger plans? if anything she should be the one to go on this quest to get back the mater bolt, if she's Poseidon's favorite and has the experience" said Percy. "Your quest is meant to prevent war, Ella's entire being was to wage war, she can't be the peace keeper that's your job buddy, If anything her quest will be a war not a quest" said the Hermes boy.

There was a small moment of silence between the two teens before Percy spoke again, "I thought about choosing you before grover, you know" said the son of Poseidon to the son of Hermes.

"Hey, Grover's a lot stronger than people think" said Luke in attempt of calming the boy, "I was afraid. I have a chance to rescue my mom from Hades, I can't let anything stop me or loose anyone while trying, you have no idea how badly I wanted you and Ella at my side but the prophecy said-" Percy was interrupted mid sentence by his sister emerging from the water.

She every so gracefully made her way out of the fountain, taking one step at a time causing Luke to quickly turned around revealing Ella in a pretty blue bikini, Luke quickly stood to his feet his heart beat unsteady.

"You're back just in time" announced Percy shoving the last bit of money into his bag, "thank the gods, I was hopping not to miss you leaving" said Ella in relief dripping water on to the cabin floor, her gaze finally meeting Luke's, she flashed a pretty smile at him before speaking.

"Luke love, would you be a darling and pass me my towel it's by my desk" spoke Ella causing Luke to rush around the room to retrieve her towel quickly passing it to her, as he watched Ella take it to begin to dry her hair.

"So what did I miss?" she asked, Percy opened his mouth to speak but Luke spoke before he had the chance to, "Nothing much Princess, I just came to wish Percy good luck" said the Hermes boy as Ella walked in front of him by her bed to grab her shorts, "That's good darling, I'm guessing you'll be coming with us to bid farewell to sweet Annabeth."

"Of course Princess, where you go I go" Said Luke grabbing his sweater he had gifted Ella a few months back, "Thanks love" she said kissing his cheek, Percy sat there watching them, maybe he had nothing to worry about, maybe Luke and Ella really did belong together, maybe he had really made the right choice, or so he though.

Tag list:

@yummytootybutt 🎀 @mxtokko @poppyflower-22 @starryhiraeth @trashmouthsahra @purplerose291 @iloveneilperry @onlyreadz @mahidahi @stevenknightmarc @loveryoushouldcomeoverr @leopard-skin-pillbox-hat-ok

A/N: Hi everyone sorry this part is so short, but lately I've been getting a bunch of anon hate and they've made me loose a bit of inspiration. But please feel free to comment your thought, my tag list is still opened, thank you sm for reading hope you enjoy! REQUEST ARE STILL OPENED FOR PJO, HOTD, GOT, HUNGER GAMES, OBX, ETC.

[allyriadayne]

what do you think jace thinks of daemon?

oh this is very complex and delicious. to me jace is of two minds when it comes to daemon:

1) he's the man who married his mother just after both of jace's father figures died of mysterious circumstances, therefore making daemon into a unknown entity who is stealing rhaenyra (adding that after a long separation, daemyra was v busy with each other).

and

2) daemon is jace's stepfather. and what is more, daemon is jace's longtime stepfather who makes his mother happy and after those tumultuous and traumatic events during eps 6 & 7, daemon is a stable parental and/or adult figure in jace's life. and most importantly, in whose presence jace implicitly feels safe.

i think for most viewers it's easy to see why jace dislikes daemon and it's the same for jace himself. daemon doesn't make himself likeable or palatable, he has rhaenyra, he has his family, he's safe and doesn't hunger for viserys' love as much. he's free from two half miserable marriages, he's more himself now than he ever was. conversely, jace is growing up in an unstable family context where he feels like he has to perform and prove himself constantly whether it's about his targaryen realness heritage and claim as second in line to the throne or about his role in the family when laenor checked out a long time ago and his other father figure harwin cannot act like one in public. i will be so bold as to say, jace was one of luke's primary caretakers too. this kind of parentified child might feel threatened ( + the obvious resentment jace feels for his parents) when another one comes into the picture.

jace might have felt after the driftmark episode that rhaenyra was alone and that it was his job to step-up so to speak (more or less what happened to aemon during the same scene, another parentified child!) so when daemon comes to the picture and he's planning to stay it clashed with what jace thought their life could be.

i don't think daemon really made any effort to parent the older kids (it's okay jace has bad vibes), but just because he married to rhaenyra he becomes jace's stepfather by default. but jace is so over fathers, he doesn't want another father who will die and leave him alone (and all the feelings of guilt bc maybe if jace hadn't complained and fought aegon better then harwin wouldn't have felt the need to defend him and be sent to harrenhal as punishment. where he died. in a fire. it's all jace's fault). so his best bet is to deny daemon any possible overture, anything that could made him be endeared to jace. he doesn't want the pain of losing anyone else.

and daemon is so easy to hate. easy to hate when he gives rhaenyra the silver haired purple eyed targaryen sons, when he can effortlessly and without bother or prejudice teach luke (and we know luke wants to please people so much, he would embrace daemon as a father) and joffrey how to swordfight, when he's already loved by baela and rhaena.

but the thing is that jace trusts daemon. he doesn't trust him per se in the emotional sense but he trusts that daemon will never hurt rhaenyra or his siblings, that he won't claim baby aegon and viserys are the better heirs over him (i've talked a bit about this subject here). this gets demonstrated in ep 10 where jace takes a more active role as rhaenyra's spokesperson when daemon's "gone to madness. gone to plot his war". while he seems nervous about speaking out, i don't think he's really afraid that daemon will do something to him, instead daemon takes him outside and does a very obvious show of loyalty, one that i don't think jace will dismiss even in his dislike. same thing in ep 8 where daemon cuts down vaemond velaryon for calling rhaenyra a whore and calling into question the birth of her older boys.

this is the man he's seen every day for six years, rhaena and baela's father, the man his mother loves above all. jace is not afraid of that.

tl:dr. jace trusts daemon with their safety but doesn't respect him (i.e. see how he calls him just "daemon" without titles). he purposely shuts him out emotionally because he doesn't want to get hurt again like after laenor's and harwin's death. he resent's daemon's role in the family as a result of being a parentified child in an unstable family context. i think they are fine.

[localqueerappreciator]

OKAY

We GET IT. You want us to die, Uncle Rick. WHY ELSE WOULD YOU MAKE SURE PJO BECOMES SUCH AN AMAZING SHOW. Look I had my doubts. I scowled whenever I noticed a change (however, the everbeautiful Tumblr connected the dots for me to understand why change is sometimes better in scenes I wouldn't change). I WANTED there to be dumb kids shenanigans with auntie M, Crusty and Ares. I wanted to see him blow up cop cars and make it make sense to mortals that Percy is a kidnaped baby so he can scam them for money to go back. But despite that. DESPITE THAT. Rick and EVERYONE. every. Single. Person. That worked on the series in the most miniscule of ways. Did an amazing job, bringing our childhood to life. And I hope it will be a gateway for others to join. Titans know,the Movie That Shan't Be Mentioned was mine.

It's amazing. Backbiter tearing away fabric of space so Luke can be on the run again? A perfect thing for a son of hermes on the run. The way Chiron addressed Percy seeing Luke's point? Flawless. Percy not luring Ares to deep waters and standing on a wave but instead crashing him so he can run up to him, slash his ankle and get it over with? Slay. Lance Reddick as The Man? Lovely performance. Amazing. The pride and power that he displays.. I have clapped twice during the episode out of excitement and once as a paying tribute to his performance. Almost everything was great. Gabe being a shitty guy who gets divorced? Fuck yes. BEING STUPID ENOUGH TO ASK A *LAWYER*, WHOM HE JUST OFFENDED, IF HE KNOWS ABOUT LOCKPICKING? HAH! and stealing that package.. Yes we won't get the Poker Buddy statue that she sells, but it still displays what an asshole he is. STEALING A PACKAGE FROM A KID. HOW DARE YOU.

The only thing that didn't smell right to me was how quickly Percy got to New York from Montauk. He could've taken a taxi or something (I'm sure Tumblr will have a post that'll connect the dots for me again). But the cut just seemed just.. Not handled as best as it could've been but that's such a teeny tiny detail. Anyway. THE OLYMPUS WAS BEAUTIFUL. AND ZEUS IS A BITCHY BIG BROTHER. AS SOMEONE WHO WAS BEATEN UP BY THEIR BROTHER RECENTLY BECAUSE OF HIS PRIDE AND POWER I FEEL THINGS WHEN I WATCH HIM AND POSEIDON. And poseidon giving up instantly to save his SON? Forbidden son like Thalia? (yes I see you, playing to his ego, mwah)

Luke, constantly saying We because he just can't fathom that Percy would say no? Oh my heart. Yes there wasn't the scorpion I hoped for but they made up for it by making the scene amazing without it.

Annabeth being there to see him?? And choose Percy?? AND THE PACT? THE STRING W BEADS AND RING?

AND SALLY TAKING NOTES OF HIS NIGHTMARES W GRANDPA?? SO THEY CAN STUDY THEM AND FIGURE SHIT OUT? I love her. So much.

[jessnotfoundd]

how many kids does the boys want to have? any specific age gaps? i wanna know everything

Dream

He wanted to have two, after Dylan, your son, he begged you to please start with a baby trying so they won't be so different in age, but you decided to wait a year, and then try again because you would be super tired having to take care of Dylan and be pregnant. At least a year to get used to the parenting life. He was okay with a year.

What he didn't expect, after that year, and you got pregnant again, the very big surprise was when at one appointment, the doctor told you both that you were having twins. Istg he almost passes out there.

Sapnap

He wasn't sure how many kids he wanted to have, but after Ashley, he was sure to want another one, but he didn't want to pressure you.

But 3 years later, you tell him, you're pregnant. He's shocked. The happiest man standing on earth.

-Hope this time's a boy, so we can play basketball together.- he jokes and both of you laugh. Ashley sleeping, and you both sitting in the kitchen.

-I'm super lucky to be with you.- I lean my head to rest it on his shoulder.

-Yeah, I'm the reason these kids are gonna be the prettiest at school.- he whispers and he goes again.- We should be tagged as "the hottest people alive"- he left a kiss on your head and drinks his last bit of coke so he could throw the can.

And yes, the baby arrive, and Ashley was obsessed with her little brother. You couldn't happier. You both formed a perfect family.

George

Well, he was so happy to be a father, he wanted a girl so you tried three times, and she finally came. Aaron and Isaac were 6 and 4 when she was born. Madison was the princess of the house, and George was always telling the boys that they have to protect her at all costs. The boys would take this very seriously and would try to be with her all the time. They would be so gentle when playing with her. The British were proud of them.

-So, you're telling me, this- you point at the broken cup- was about to hurt Madison?- the two boys have their eyes on his feet.

-Okay mom, we broke it, and not, he was not gonna hurt madison, we are really sorry.- and it's there when you realized you both did a good job.

-It's okay, I was worried about you two getting hurt with the broken cup, I'm glad you're both safe, go play with your dad.- they run straight to George.

Karl

Only one, a little girl, Sarah Anne Jacobs. He was terminated because he was okay with only one, and the fact that you had a dangerous pregnancy. It was hard for him when the doctor ask him aside when labor started if in any case, who should he save, you or the baby.

He couldn't decide, both were terrible and left him shaking in the waiting area. When he saw both of you he knew it was a miracle, and he didn't want to go through that again.

Quackity

Two girls, Olivia was 4 when Victoria arrived, she was a little jealous, but he made sure to let her go that none of you would love her less just because you were gonna have another baby.

-plus, you'll have someone to dress as a princess- he says smiling.

-Uncle Karl is not gonna dress as a princess with me anymore?- she pouts and you admire how pretty she is, so like Alex.

-You'll be three then.- he pinches her little cheeks and she smirks.

Punz

A girl and a boy, Matthew was 2 when both of you got the news, Luke was happy, but he drive you crazy about he wanted to have a girl.

-If it is not a girl, well keep trying- he has you seated on his lap, Matthew just fall asleep like a minute ago.

-This is the last pregnancy ill go through.- you smirk.

-Fine.- he sounds offended.

When the baby turned out to be a girl, he was all over you, super proud of saying that he manifested it.

-You can't manifest a baby's gender- you insist.

-Then how do you explain?- he looks at you with a smirk and then his eyes are on the road again.

You just rolled your eyes and let him think he manifested the baby's genre.

Foolish

Angela was enough, he was happy with the baby girl and you, so the baby's factory was momentarily closed. Not wanting more kids.

At least for now, she's 5 months old and she's calm basically perfect.

Wilbur

Jessica was 6, Emily was 5, and Lily was 2 when you both settled down and decided to be 5 members of a family. Wilbur was in love with her three girls. Four actually.

Tommy was proud of both of you and he was the funny uncle the girls would run every time you say no to something they asked.