#but will she die or can the hunting training save her

[platinummoonsea]

Supernatural AU - A bigger Family

Fandom: Supernatural

Pairings: SamxJess(established)

Warning: none? Bad writing XD

Description: What if Dean left before Sam, met Adam and Jess found out about Sam being a hunter.

Authors note: Got the idea while rewatching season 1! Just wanted more characters to play with

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The reason for the Winchesters to become hunters stays the same, Mary dies and it causes John to become obsessed with justice.

John Winchester is raising the two siblings through hunting, at 13 and 9 years old the siblings get attacked by a werwolf who wanted revenge on John. Both of them ended up in the hospital. Bobby, who was helping out, finds out and allows the siblings to stay with him from that moment on, while John is busy hunting.

This causes Dean to lash out, he wants to prove himself. He made one mistake by letting the werwolf get to close, it is his duty to finish the job. Bobby tries his best to explain that he is just a child and to let the adults handle it.

Dean doesn't listen, he ends up sneaking out and hunting the werwolf by himself.

His little brother is the first to notice, Sam tells Bobby immediately and he warns John.

They save Dean and John ends punching Dean. This causes the adults to have an argument about the treatment of the children. John takes Dean and Sam by force and continues raising them in motels. The disrespect Dean showed that day was never forgotten.

Dean fears his father and tries to make up for his wrong doing, but gives up at the end and focuses his time protecting Sam.

Two years later, Dean runs again this time not towards a monster but from one.

Dean ends up back at Bobby's place, surprising him, but being accepted with wide arms.

He made another mistake and it caused John to freak out, Dean didn't know what else to do but run to Bobby.

He didn't eat or sleep since driving there, Bobby allowed him to stay on the couch.

John knocks angrily on the door and Bobby opens it with his gun in hand. Promising him to shoot, if he doesn't leave his property. It causes another fight, Dean hears everything.

Bobby shoots a couple warning shoots and John leaves, warning that he would come back. Bobby focuses his time with Dean, trying to sort everything out while Dean pushes him away.

Bobby tells Dean about his own father and that he had to kill him.

Dean is shocked and doesn't know how to react, but Bobby tells him that he doesn't have to. They end up living together since then and growing closer.

The siblings still talk with each other, but it's getting less and less.

Bobby ends up finding out about Adam Milligan through a hunting friend who was told by John. Adam's mother died through a poltergeist and with no known family, he would end up in the system. Bobby forges some papers and Adam is allowed to stay with him.

His fear of being like his own father is being healed by his relationship with Dean. Dean(16 now) mistakenly calling him Dad didn't hurt either. Adam, 5 years old, has to adjust to having a new family and seeing his mother die in front of him. Surprisingly, the two new siblings bonded fast over fast-food and movies.

Time moves and Sam plans to go to Stanford, John feels betrayed and they end up having their fight. Sam goes through the door and doesn't look back. He ends up calling Dean for the first time after a while and finds out about Adam.

He feels replaced and let's his emotions get to him. Not even telling Dean about college.

Sam starts his journey in law school and meets Jessica through their friend Brady. They become a couple fast, him in law and her in medicine.

Sam tries to live his normal life until his nightmares start, he gets spooked by them until he can't ignore them and does his own research to calm himself. It only makes him more nervous and he ends up debating on asking for help, before he can decide Bobby calls him.

He decides to pick up, they want his help on a hunt that they can't ignore and Sam agrees to escape his own thoughts.

Jess who is worried about him and tried her best to calm him, decides to secretly tag along to ensure his safety.

Sam(22) meets Dean(26) and Adam(15) in a library, going over the information they have. Sam is a bit jealous over Adam, while Adam gives the two siblings the space they need. Only stepping in when necessary, Jess meanwhile is finding out for the first time that Sam has siblings.

They are hunting a group of Vampires, Jess gets caught by one of them and gets used as bait. Sam is freaking out and tries everything to get her back, his brothers help.

Together they end up beheading them and saving Jess. She ends up patching the boys up while explaining her reason on being there before it's Sam turn to explain. Sam comes clean about his life and introduces his siblings.

Sam and Jess go back to college, but Jess is unable to focus on becoming a doctor while more important things are happening under people noses. She ends up calling Dean and telling him her issues. They end up talking for hours and keep going over everything multiple times. Jess head tells her no, but her heart already made the decision on becoming a hunter herself.

Sam is angry, because the plan he had for them gets ruined. It gets revealed that Sam wanted to propose to Jess.

Jess admits that she wants to say yes, but that she can't ruin his live and she leaves to learn under Bobby the same way Adam is. Both of them got the chance to choose a normal life, but both want to fight.

Sam isn't able to keep his emotions in check, his worry and nightmares become worse. He finds out that he has telekinesis powers. Sam ignores it, deciding not to tell a soul and focuses his time on finding Jess.

At Bobby's house the five try to talk but get interrupted by a call from another hunter, who request help. Bobby, Sam and Dean go hunting while Adam starts to do research. It's his current main role in the group, while also now teaching Jess. She gets the hang out of it quickly and ends up finding the crucial information to kill the monster. Unfortunately, they aren't able to reach out to the others. Adam ends up leaving to go get them, while leaving Jess at Bobby's place. Handing her a weapon and telling her what to do for her safety.

Adam is allowed to hunt smaller jobs or as extra backup if something needs to be burned while Sam and Dean fight. He is eager to fight more, but is willing to wait because other people lives are at stake.

He ends up taking a day and a half to get to the city only to find Bobby in the hospital with no trace of Sam and Dean. The hunter friend was the one who brought Bobby to the hospital and is now also looking for the two. Adam and the hunter end up finding them tied up and before he frees them, the hunter attacks him from behind. The shapeshifter took the appearance of the friend and has now all the siblings tied up.

He takes the appearance of Adam and goes back to the hospital to deal with Bobby. While there the siblings manage to escape and they try to get there on time to warn Bobby. Bobby was able to knock out the shapeshifter himself after arriving in the motel. The shapeshifter making a small mistake that made Bobby realize the truth. They deal with the corspe and do a funeral for the hunter.

Both parties drive back, Sam with Dean and Bobby with Adam. Sam calls Jess to inform her about how the hunt went.

Jessica keeps reading articles the next morning on her laptop, switching from one tab to the other and cross checking with Bobby's book. The lights begin to flicker and she feels watched and notices that some of Bobby's traps where pampered. Jess tries to act cool, her mind racing on what to do. Holding the knife tighter and being prepared for everything and nothing.

She sees a man standing in one of the rooms before the blond could do anything, in one blink of an eye the being disappeared.

The main door opens later that day and the boys enter tiredly. Jess tells them about what happend, Sam is concerned and angry about not being told immediately after it happened.

Redoing the traps and drawing more protection symbols on. All of them are on the edge, they realize that the monster just wanted to prove that it could do anything if it wanted to, it was toying with them. Sulfur. A demon. The hunt continues.

Dean Singer,

Sam Winchester,

Jessica Lee Moore,

and Adam Milligan

Fighting together and finding their family on the way.

[twistedwonderlandimaginesblog]

Malleus, Vil, Floyd, Jamil and Rook, please! Are waiting outside the building for (their crush) MC so they can walk together. They hear a BOOM and "AHHHHHHHHH" and suddenly they catch MC, who was sent flying out the 2nd story window by a misdirected spell blast. In thanks for catching her, she gives them a sincere and sweet kiss on the cheek? Thank you!!!!!!

Floyd Leech: 

You are incredibly thankful you caught Floyd on a good day, as splatting on the ground would be preferable to landing on an already irritated eel. He tilted his head as he stared at the window you flew out of, asking with a pout why you were having fun without him. Once his questioning is over (he wanted to recreate the experiment gone wrong with his VERY lucky lab partner next period), he asked what his prize was for catching you. You ignore the devious pointed grin to give him a kiss on his cheek, a real mistake as he squeezed you extra tight until he felt he was properly compensated in kisses.

Jamil Viper: 

Jamil thinks, at first, that he should’ve let you fall on your ass but his ‘don’t let the rich idiot die’ training kicked in automatically. He stared at you with a raised eyebrow, his disappointed mother look getting you to confess immediately to what had gone wrong. When you thank him he’s suddenly flustered, telling you not to bring him into your shenanigans unnecessarily as a real ‘thanks’. When you offered up a kiss on the cheek Jamil found himself thrown off balance again, doing his best to glare and cursing himself for only ever finding trouble.

Malleus Draconia: 

Malleus caught you with total ease, looking at you in his arms with an amused smirk on his face. He asked if you were alright, giving you a once over before carefully setting you back on the ground (you don’t think you’ve ever been that high up). Before you’re down though you find yourself wrapped around his neck, your lips pressed hastily against his cheek. Your boldness had always amused him and this was no different, Malleus asking if he could get another if he continued to hold you.

Rook Hunt: 

Rook thought he might’ve smelled trouble in the air then, lo-and-behold — a beautiful specimen was offered from the heavens above, falling directly into his strong arms within the blink of an eye. He is painfully curious on how you managed to get in a situation like that, having to compliment your ability to stay stunning even while wildly flying through the air in a panic. He insisted you invite him next time, even the sweet kiss on the cheek you give not enough as he refused to put you down until you agreed to bring him on your next adventure.

Vil Schoenheit: 

You can’t help but note that, despite his slim, sleek physique, Vil is actually quite strong. He doesn’t have any trouble holding you in his arms, sighing and asking what caused such a scene. He takes it in stride but you can see he wants to give a thorough lecture (and perhaps a much less elegant ass-kicking) to the person who almost caused you harm. Now, if you were the culprit behind your own almost demise you’d be on the receiving side of his withering glare, no kisses able to save you from the scolding he delivered.

[whathorselegs]

I think one of my favourite character journeys in BSD has to be Kunikida learning to be better with kids because you'd expect it to be a fun wholesome character arc. Only, it ends up being heart breaking as it's immediately turned against Kunikida.

Despite the 'Dad status' that the fandom has given Kunikida, he was actually terrible with kids towards the start of the manga.

Take how he treated Atsushi in the first chapter. (Yes, Atsushi is not a little kid, but he was a starving and vulnerable orphan when they met.) When Kunikida and Dazai mention the 'man-eating tiger' Atsushi immediately freaks out and tries to run away.

What does Kunikida do? He grabs Atsushi, slams him to the floor and then threatens to break his arm for information.

It's Dazai of all people who has to reign Kunikida in reminding him "The boss himself warned you that the gathering of intelligence needn't be an interrogation". Dazai was the sweet talker and Kunikida was threat, even to a terrified, starving orphan.

Later with Kyouka, he's not much better. He attempts to intimidate her into giving the agency information. Whilst Atsushi now fulfils the role of the gentle approach. She's a mafia assassin after all, even if he knows she had no choice in it, Kunikida treats her as a threat before he treats her as a child.

Even with Aya, the interaction that gave Kunikida his 'dad status', he started off badly. But, it is here we start to see Kunikida trying to be better, trying to take a softer approach, even if he's clumsy with it.

When he realizes Aya was just handed a bomb, he snatches it from her and gets rid of it. That can't be helped it was a literal ticking time bomb, he then phones the authorities to deal with it. He was planning to leave, it's only because he caught sight of Aya sitting alone did he approach her. It wasn't his first instinct.

If he hadn't seen her in that moment, he might not have gone looking for her at all.

He asks her if she's alright and then she shocks him by wanting to hunt down the culprit. He rightfully tries to dissuade her, but again, he's not good with kids, he's blunt and argumentative with her.

Obviously, that's not going to convince a kid with a hero complex to not chase the bad guy.

However, his turning point, in my opinion, is when he realizes he has to choose between Aya and the people on the train. Now, he had already set off the stun grenade and is putting all his faith in Yosano finding them. He trusts her so he knows they are most likely going to be okay.

But Aya doesn't know that and he can't explain it all in the time they have. He sees a child who thinks she's about to die and is trying to be brave about it. And Kunikida comforts her. He needs her to know that she's not alone, that she's not going to suffer, that he is with her and he hugs her.

There was no need for him to step into that explosion with Aya except to comfort her. He chose to do that. Above his own life, he chose her needs.

And that's where this journey starts to get heartbreaking, because Kunikida hadn't always been like this. He was obviously always going to try and protect children, his ideals state as much, but he also didn't believe himself to be a hero. He doesn't see himself as someone capable or even worthy of that role.

So he built up a barrier around himself that made him harsher and more callous. He called it a professional detachment. He had to, it was to protect himself, to keep his sanity in those moment when they couldn't save everyone. Now it's breaking down and he's showing more and more how much he cares.

And it's immediately used against him.

The very scenario that got him to open up is placed in front of him again. A child with a bomb around their throat. Only this time Yosano isn't there, and this time Fyodor is orchestrating it.

And Kunikida does everything right. He tells Atsushi to leave and carry on the mission so he can stay and help the child. He gets on the child's level, makes himself small and none threatening. He reassures the child in gentle voice that everything will be okay.

And then, it's the line "How about a magic trick?" that really gets me, because he's trying so hard to present himself as someone trustworthy. And a magic trick is exactly what he pulled off with Aya, but it's what goes wrong here.

Because Fyodor planned it this time. He didn't just target children to get at Kunikida, he made a twisted mockery of what happened to Aya. Except she doesn't live this time and Kunikida can't bring this child any comfort or safety because Kunikida is the threat. This child dies alone and afraid because Kunikida was there, just like Fyodor planned.

Fyodor saw Kunikida bare his heart once and immediately reached in his chest and crushed it.

[maidragoste]

Chapter Two: A United Front

The Hunger Games AU

Katniss!Jacaerys x Peeta!Reader

Chapter One Chapter Three

First of all, thank you very much for all the support that the first chapter had! It made me really happy to see every comment and reblog, it really motivated me to continue writing 🥰🥰

Please let me know again what you thought of this chapter in the comments, as always, likes and reblogs are appreciated too 💖💖

My inbox is open so I'm always willing to read your headcanons, opinions and answer your questions.

Disclaimer: English is not my first language so I apologize for any mistakes.

Jacaerys was irritated. Firstly, because it is evident that you had already begun to play in front of the cameras since when you two arrived at the train station you did not bother to hide your tears, you probably thought that perhaps this way you could get a sponsor or else your strategy was to show yourself weak and like an easy prey to later fight in the arena. That's what Sabitha Vypren, from District 7, had done in her games.

The second reason for his irritation was his uncle. Larys hadn't said a word to him since before the Repair or even now that they were on the train heading to the Capitol. This was supposed to be the time for them to prepare strategies together, for Larys to give them advice on surviving the arena, but his uncle seemed more focused on enjoying the pork chops and mashed potatoes. Jacaerys was also eating, he was ready to eat everything he could to gain the most muscle mass before the games started, but now and then he would stop and stare at Larys hoping that at some point his uncle would decide to speak.

“So, what do we have to do for Jacaerys to win?” you asked, breaking the silence and making him choke.

You were the first to react, you quickly got up and started hitting him on the back until he finally spit out the piece of meat. Effie looked at him with disgust.

"Are you okay?" you asked, looking at him with concern and now caressing his back. Jacaerys noticed how his uncle looked at the two of them with interest. He had no idea why, neither of you two had done anything extraordinary, he made a fool of himself by choking and you ran to save him…Well, I had to admit that your action was striking, someone else would have let him die by drowning to have one less competitor in the arena, not only that but you just said that you wanted to help him win. It didn't make sense… Unless it was another strategy to gain his trust only to then stab him in the back in the arena.

"I'm fine," Jacaerys responded, putting his hand on your arm to stop your caresses. You blushed and moved away from him as if you had been burned by his touch. “What do you mean by that you said earlier?” he asked you once you sat back down.

"You have a chance to win, Jacaerys," you declared as if it were obvious. Evidently, he couldn't hide his confusion because you continued talking "You know how to hunt and you have good aim. Every time my father buys you squirrels he says that the arrow always hits the eye, you never ruin the body" the boy felt the heat rise to his face at your words and he was sure he was blushing because suddenly you seemed to be stopping yourself from smiling. "So if either of us has a chance of winning it's you. I'll probably be one of the first to die but I think I can be of help in the interview" you said the last thing looking at Larys.

Jacaerys felt his appetite disappear. It didn't sit well with him to hear you talk as if you were already resigned to dying. "She's got a good right hook," he said, looking at his uncle. He couldn't let Larys give up on you quickly, if you lost his interest then he surely wouldn't bother trying to help you win. "Lucerys told me. She hit a boy who was bothering him and gave that idiot a black eye."

"Jacaerys, I won't be able to win just by hitting people. Besides, there are surely tributes even bigger than that boy, they will attack me before I can even land a hit on him."

For a moment he had the image of an unknown tribute mercilessly attacking you with a sword before you had the chance to defend yourself. His stomach fluttered at the image of your broken body.

"You, on the other hand, can attack from afar with your bow. If you hide well you can have an advantage" you continued and went back to eating without realizing that your companion was looking at you with a frown.

Your attitude was irritating him. You should have been trying to impress Larys by saying what other things you can do but instead, you keep talking about him. It did not make sense. It had to be a strategy or maybe you were thinking it was a lost cause to try to win the games by having him as a district partner and his uncle as his mentor. You probably believed that Larys would choose to put all the chips on him just because he was his nephew. That made him furious.

"She can lift weights. I saw her lifting sacks of flour"

You suddenly dropped the cutlery sharply on the table. "Enough, Jacaerys," the annoyance was evident on your face and in your voice. "Don't try to make me feel good just out of pity, please. I know I'm going to lose. Everyone knows that." "You made a gesture with your hand to let you continue talking when you saw him open his mouth." Do you know what my mother told me when she came to say goodbye to me? There may finally be another winner in 12. She wasn't talking about me" you said looking into his eyes.

Everyone knew that your mother was a witch but Jacaerys never imagined that she would be one with her own daughter. It was cruel to tell you that when perhaps it could be her last talk. She should have faith in you. Or at least give you the benefit of the doubt. He wanted to comfort you but he had no idea what to say. Besides, he didn't think his uncle would be happy if he saw him being nice to you. He would tell her that he was weak and that he didn't come here to make friends.

So Jace settled for looking into your eyes, hoping that you could somehow understand that he didn't want you to give up.

"Oh, darling, that's horrible," Effie said, breaking the tension between the two of you, placing a hand on her heart, she seemed genuinely moved. "I think you should try hard to win and prove your mother wrong."

You didn't say anything, you just gave a sad smile to the district escort. A moment ago Jacaerys felt bad for you but now he can't help but think that maybe you only told your last conversation with your mother to gain Effie's sympathy and get her to talk about you to her friends in the Capitol. He hated analyzing everything you did but he couldn't let his guard down with you if he wanted to go home to his brothers. He was sure that if Lucerys was with him and could see what was going on in her mind he would tell him that he was being paranoid. But maybe it wasn't wrong for him to doubt you, Jace thought when he noticed that Uncle Larys seemed to be evaluating you with his gaze.

“Let's start to see who his competitors are,” Larys finally spoke, ending the dinner.

Jacaerys was relieved to see that your stylist had put you in an outfit just like his, at least if he ended up making a fool of himself at the parade he wouldn't be the only one. You're wearing the same shiny leather boots and the same full-length black leotard with the cloak that flutters in the wind. The only difference between the two of you was that your suit seemed closer to your body, highlighting your curves.

As you are taken to the lower level of the Renewal Center, Portia, your stylist, along with her team can't stop talking excitedly about what a sensation you two will be. Cinna, Jacaerys' stylist who came up with the idea of setting their outfits on fire, seems tired of the congratulations. Jace couldn't help but wonder if perhaps he, too, was nervous that it wouldn't work and would end with them dead. You didn't look nervous, which shouldn't surprise him considering you were probably used to fire since he worked at the bakery.

Once they arrive, they basically find a giant stable. The opening ceremony is about to begin so the stylists are having their tributes ride into carriages pulled by a group of horses. Cinna and Portia lead you and Jacaerys to their carriage, both of them carefully arranging the posture of the two of your bodies and your cloaks before stepping aside to talk something between themselves.

“What do you think of the fire?” Jacaerys asked you in a whisper. He tells himself that he's just talking to you to distract himself from his nerves.

“At least we're not naked,” you replied, shrugging your shoulders. Jacaerys grimaces as he remembers those poor tributes who had to parade naked covered in black dust. It had happened years before his uncle became a victor, the only reason why everyone knew about that incident was because whenever the games approached on television they did a recap of the best kills, the best dressed as well as the worst deaths and the worst dresses. In the latter, those poor tributes always appeared.

“Uncle Larys definitely wouldn't have let that happen. He probably would have hit them with his cane as soon as they told him that idea,” Jace said with a small smile as he imagined his uncle hitting the stylists and scolding them. You must have imagined the same thing too because you started laughing. Your laughter was contagious so he soon joined you, feeling his nerves disappear for a moment as well as the heaviness in his shoulders. Cinna and Portia will probably be upset that you two lost your posture but neither you nor Jacaerys seemed worried about it.

"If something goes wrong I promise to take out your cloak while you take out mine," you said trying to get serious again but from the corner of your lips, it was evident that you wanted to smile.

"Deal," he agreed with a small smile.

Jace's calm demeanor disappeared the moment he saw his uncle. He tensed as he watched him walk towards the carriage, ready to feel his eyes judging him and scolding him for acting like a child. His uncle was right to be angry, now the other tributes would see them as weak and stupid.

"I want you to present yourself as a united front," Larys said, surprising his nephew.

"What?"

"If you want to win then you have to do everything I say" the mentor reminded them "So you will go out, hold hands, and greet the audience" In his tone of voice there was no room for discussion but Jacaerys had many questions. He couldn't do any of them because when started playing the opening music Larys headed for the exit.

"Come on, don't look so upset. It's not like I have scabies," you nudged him. If he hadn't been focused on seeing the tributes from District 1 in his glowing robes then he would have noticed how the sparkle in your eyes seemed to have dimmed.

It's not many minutes before you and Jacaerys are near the doors. As the District 11 tributes leave, Cinna appears with a torch. You and Jace don't have time to back away when the stylist turns on both of your cloaks. The three of them sigh in relief when they see that it worked.

“Remember head up and smile. Oh, don't forget the most important thing, hold hands. They're going to love you!" Cinna quickly tells them before getting out of the carriage.

Jacaerys hesitates before taking your left hand. Unlike him, you don't hesitate to intertwine your fingers with his. You give him one last smile before his carriage enters the city. The crowd seems alarmed at first when they see the fire but then they soon begin shouting both their names. Jace can't help but feel overwhelmed by the feeling of everyone's eyes on him so he focuses on staring at the screen. For a moment he is breathless, the two of you look wonderful, especially you look brilliant as you wave and blow kisses to the crowd. In the low light of twilight, the fire illuminates both of your faces and your cloaks seem to leave a trail of flames behind. Cinna got what he wanted and gave you both a chance, no one would forget about you two, you really made a sensation.

You squeeze Jacaerys's hand and remind him under your breath to “Smile.”

Then he tries his best to give his best smile and starts greeting you. Someone among all these people must have wanted to sponsor him. This was an excellent opportunity to win over the audience and he had to take advantage of it. He remembers the words of his uncle Larys, so he raises their joined hands, making the screams increase even more. When they enter the City Circle they lower their hands but neither you nor Jace try to let go. During President Snow's speech, Jacaerys is distracted by feeling you caress his skin with your thumb, he tries not to think about it too much, he tells himself that you must be nervous and you do it unconsciously. Luckily it doesn't take long for the national anthem to be heard and the carriages travel around the circle for the last time. Jacaerys notices that the screens seem to show you two more than the other tributes.

He finishes confirming that it was not his imagination once you arrive at the Training Center and get off your carriages. As Cinna and Portia remove their cloaks, you and Jacaerys notice the angry glances of the other tributes, especially Royce Baratheon, the burly boy from District 2 who volunteered, and his district partner Agatha Durrandon.

Jace notices that the two of you are still holding hands so he lets you go.

"The flames suit you well and you have a beautiful smile" you declared with a smile making him blush.

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[auspicioustidings]

Do you think Ghost has to talk Soap through killing his family? He had to do it before after all, had to kill Tommy and Beth and Joey. They're actually Canadian citizens now, he laughed his ass off that his brother picked out Archibald as a new name and consistently refers to him as "Baldie" rather than "Archie". The little one isn't so little now, rowdy teen that he knows is doing his parents heads right in with his moody antics. And his beautiful mother, the woman who saved the Riley family of which he is now the last. Eliza now, she kept her name the same but different. On paper she's nobody to him, just an acquaintance he knows through staying at her families little inn when they were doing training exercises with the Canadians. But even if he never says it out loud, she will always be his sister.

It's not forever he tells Soap. One day they'll do the same for him. One day John MacTavish will officially die and he can pick a new name to go be with his family without the risk of being hunted.

[devi1sange1]

If sjm is truly planning on Gwynriel, she dropped the ball because…

“There are plenty of other unspeakable things that could be happening to her, Cassian said, voice thickening, “To Emerie and Gwyn.” The shadows deepened around Azriel, his siphons gleaming like cobalt fire. “You— we trained them well Cassian. Trust in that. It’s all we can do.”

Will NEVER be—

But Azriel asked softly, “What about Elain?”

From the shadows near the entrance to the tent, Azriel said, as if in answer to some unspoken debate, “I’m getting her back.” Nesta slid her gaze to the shadowsinger. Azriel’s eyes glowed golden in the shadows. Nesta said, “Then you will die.” Azriel only repeated, rage glazing that stare, “I’m getting her back.”

I stood. Met Azriel’s wrathful stare.

Azriel was honing Truth-Teller with relentless focus…

Azriel’s shadow hand grasped my own, tugging me closer. His rage rippled off his invisible form.

Azriel gently removed the gag from her mouth, “Are you hurt?” She shook her head, devouring the sight of him as if not quite believing it. “You came for me.” The shadowsinger only inclined his head.

And no, I’m not even talking about the fact that Azriel risked his life to save Elain, because sure, it was illegal to save Gwyn in the rite (it’s not like he’s incredibly defiant and doesn’t gaf about the Illyrians but sure). It’s the complete lack of reaction. A common argument I see is, “Well we don’t have Azriel’s point of view of the BR.” But… we don’t have his pov of the Elain rescue either. You guys know you can still convey a characters feelings without their pov right?

Notice how when Elain was taken, Feyre repeatedly mentions Azriel’s rage, his wrath, his precise focus and determination on rescuing Elain. And she’s not even his supposed mate. You can’t include any of that at all when his supposed mate is kidnapped by the same people that abused and bullied him? Notice how easy it was to include how enraged Azriel was at the idea of Elain being hurt. Do you know how easy it would have been to include similar language when the Valkyries were taken?

Listen I’m no writer, but just spit ballin here (forgive me this feels like a crime):

Azriel said tightly, “My spies got word that Eris has been captured by Briallyn. She sent his remaining soldiers after him while he was out hunting with his hounds. They grabbed him and somehow, they were all winnowed back to her palace. I’m guessing using Koschei’s power.” […] Az said, “We have to get him out.” Cassian drew up short. “We?” Cassian could tell by the look on Azriel’s face, by the cold rage that practically seeped from the shadowsinger like his shadows, that Azriel liked this plan just about as much as he did. The sheer determination that Azriel usually possessed when given a mission gone, his focus, his mind, somewhere else entirely. The spymaster mirrored Cassian’s own feelings right back at him: pain, rage, and something else he couldn’t quite place.

Or…

“There are plenty of other unspeakable things that could be happening to her, Cassian said, voice thickening, “To Emerie and Gwyn.” The shadows deepened around Azriel, his siphons gleaming like cobalt fire. “You— we trained them well Cassian. Trust in that. It’s all we can do.” But Cassian could tell that something was off with his brother, in the way he spoke. He couldn’t tell if Azriel was trying to convince him of this matter, or if he was more trying to convince himself. Azriel’s focus drifted, and Cassian saw it then, the rage in his eyes, in his demeanor… it was the same as his own. And Cassian wondered if Azriel, too, felt like a piece of him was missing, if he understood how this waiting game was gnawing at some primal part of him, a part that was aching to be unleashed.

AND ITS THAT EASY!

Like seriously this is the “mating bond” people fight tooth and nail to defend? Is this truly the couple that SJM is trying to get us to fall in love with in preparation for the next book? Because she honestly did a poor job if that’s the case. So which is it? Are they not endgame/mates or are they another drop in the ‘poorly written by sjm’ bucket?

[book--brackets]

The Liveship Traders by Robin Hobb (1998-2000)

Wizardwood, a sentient wood. The most precious commodity in the world. Like many other legendary wares, it comes only from the Rain River Wilds.

But how can one trade with the Rain Wilders, when only a liveship fashioned from wizardwood can negotiate the perilous waters of the Rain River? Rare and valuable a liveship will quicken only when three members, from successive generations, have died on board. The liveship Vivacia is about to undergo her quickening as Althea Vestrit’s father is carried on deck in his death-throes. Althea waits for the ship that she loves more than anything else in the world to awaken. Only to discover that the Vivacia has been signed away in her father’s will to her brutal brother-in-law, Kyle Haven...

Others plot to win or steal a liveship. The Paragon, known by many as the Pariah, went mad, turned turtle, and drowned his crew. Now he lies blind, lonely, and broken on a deserted beach. But greedy men have designs to restore him, to sail the waters of the Rain Wild River once more.

Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke (1997-2021)

With lonely Ben aboard, brave dragon Firedrake seeks mythical place where silver dragons can live in peace. Over moonlit lands and sparkling seas, they meet fantastic creatures, summon up surprising courage - and cross a ruthless villain with an ancient grudge determined to end their quest. Only a secret destiny can save the dragons and bring them the true meaning of home.

The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow (2020)

In 1893, there's no such thing as witches. There used to be, in the wild, dark days before the burnings began, but now witching is nothing but tidy charms and nursery rhymes. If the modern woman wants any measure of power, she must find it at the ballot box.

But when the Eastwood sisters -- James Juniper, Agnes Amaranth, and Beatrice Belladonna -- join the suffragists of New Salem, they begin to pursue the forgotten words and ways that might turn the women's movement into the witch's movement. Stalked by shadows and sickness, hunted by forces who will not suffer a witch to vote -- and perhaps not even to live -- the sisters will need to delve into the oldest magics, draw new alliances, and heal the bond between them if they want to survive.

There's no such thing as witches. But there will be.

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon (2013-present)

In 2059, Scion has taken over most of the world's cities, promising safety for all the citizens it deems worthy and wiping out clairvoyants wherever it can find them. 

Paige Mahoney, though, is a clairvoyant--and a criminal just for existing. Paige is determined to fight Scion's power, and as part of the Seven Seals, Paige has found a use for her powers: she scouts for information by breaking into others' minds as they dream. 

But when Paige is captured and arrested, she encounters a power more sinister even than Scion. The voyant prison is a separate city, controlled by a powerful, otherworldly race. These creatures, the Rephaim, value the voyants highly--as soldiers in their army. 

Paige is assigned to a Rephaite keeper, Warden, who will be in charge of her care and training. He is her master. Her natural enemy. But if she wants to regain her freedom, Paige will have to learn something of his mind and his own mysterious motives.

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao (2021-present)

The boys of Huaxia dream of pairing up with girls to pilot Chrysalises, giant transforming robots that can battle the mecha aliens that lurk beyond the Great Wall. It doesn’t matter that the girls often die from the mental strain.

When 18-year-old Zetian offers herself up as a concubine-pilot, it’s to assassinate the ace male pilot responsible for her sister’s death. But she gets her vengeance in a way nobody expected—she kills him through the psychic link between pilots and emerges from the cockpit unscathed. She is labeled an Iron Widow, a much-feared and much-silenced kind of female pilot who can sacrifice boys to power up Chrysalises instead.​

To tame her unnerving yet invaluable mental strength, she is paired up with Li Shimin, the strongest and most controversial male pilot in Huaxia​. But now that Zetian has had a taste of power, she will not cower so easily. She will miss no opportunity to leverage their combined might and infamy to survive attempt after attempt on her life, until she can figure out exactly why the pilot system works in its misogynist way—and stop more girls from being sacrificed.

Kushiel's Legacy by Jacqueline Carey (2001-2003)

The land of Terre d'Ange is a place of unsurpassing beauty and grace. It is said that angels found the land and saw it was good...and the ensuing race that rose from the seed of angels and men live by one simple rule: Love as thou wilt.

Phèdre nó Delaunay is a young woman who was born with a scarlet mote in her left eye. Sold into indentured servitude as a child, her bond is purchased by Anafiel Delaunay, a nobleman with very a special mission...and the first one to recognize who and what she is: one pricked by Kushiel's Dart, chosen to forever experience pain and pleasure as one.

Phèdre is trained equally in the courtly arts and the talents of the bedchamber, but, above all, the ability to observe, remember, and analyze. Almost as talented a spy as she is courtesan, Phèdre stumbles upon a plot that threatens the very foundations of her homeland. Treachery sets her on her path; love and honor goad her further. And in the doing, it will take her to the edge of despair...and beyond. Hateful friend, loving enemy, beloved assassin; they can all wear the same glittering mask in this world, and Phèdre will get but one chance to save all that she holds dear.

Beauty by Robin McKinley (1978)

Beauty has never liked her nickname. She is thin and awkward; it is her two sisters who are the beautiful ones. But what she lacks in appearance, she can perhaps make up for in courage. When her father comes home with a tale of an enchanted castle in the forest and the terrible promise he had to make to the Beast who lives there, Beauty knows she must travel to the castle, a prisoner of her own free will. Her father insists that he will not let her go, but she responds, "Cannot a Beast be tamed?"

The Immortals Quartet by Tamora Pierce (1992-1996)

Thirteen-year-old Daine has always had a special connection with animals, but only when she's forced to leave home does she realize it's more than a knack--it's magic. With this wild magic, not only can Daine speak to animals, but she can also make them obey her. Daine takes a job handling horses for the Queen's Riders, where she meets the master mage Numair and becomes his student. 

Under Numair's guidance, Daine explores the scope of her magic. But she encounters other beings, too, who are not so gentle. These terrifying creatures, called Immortals, have been imprisoned in the Divine Realms for the past four hundred years--but now someone has broken the barrier. And it's up to Daine and her friends to defend their world from an Immortal attack.

The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander (1964-1968)

Taran wanted to be a hero, and looking after a pig wasn't exactly heroic, even though Hen Wen was an oracular pig. But the day that Hen Wen vanished, Taran was led into an enchanting and perilous world. With his band of followers, he confronted the Horned King and his terrible Cauldron-Born. These were the forces of evil, and only Hen Wen knew the secret of keeping the kingdom of Prydain safe from them. But who would find her first?

Seven Realms by Cinda Williams Chima (2009-2012)

Times are hard in the mountain city of Fellsmarch. Reformed thief Han Alister will do almost anything to eke out a living for his family. The only thing of value he has is something he can't sell—the thick silver cuffs he's worn since birth. They're clearly magicked—as he grows, they grow, and he's never been able to get them off.

One day, Han and his clan friend, Dancer, confront three young wizards setting fire to the sacred mountain of Hanalea. Han takes an amulet from Micah Bayar, son of the High Wizard, to keep him from using it against them. Soon Han learns that the amulet has an evil history—it once belonged to the Demon King, the wizard who nearly destroyed the world a millennium ago. With a magical piece that powerful at stake, Han knows that the Bayars will stop at nothing to get it back.

Meanwhile, Raisa ana'Marianna, princess heir of the Fells, has her own battles to fight. She's just returned to court after three years of freedom in the mountains—riding, hunting, and working the famous clan markets. Raisa wants to be more than an ornament in a glittering cage. She aspires to be like Hanalea—the legendary warrior queen who killed the Demon King and saved the world. But her mother has other plans for her...

The Seven Realms tremble when the lives of Hans and Raisa collide, fanning the flames of the smoldering war between clans and wizards.

[satansapostle6]

The Man Who Sold The World | Luke Castellan

Spotify Playlist Link

Katherine. She was the one who started it all for Luke Castellan, the reason he did what he did.

Warnings: Mature themes/language. Violence. Sexual content.

Chapter One: Out of the Woods

It was dark, and he was running, but Luke Castellan knew what he saw. He was weak and weary, having been running from a vengeful flock of Stymphilian birds and their venomous droppings. He’d since lost track of exactly how long he’d been running through the woods for, but the sky told him it had been little more than three days.

His legs had gone numb long ago; his only options were simply to keep running, or die. Luke had no choice but to keep running. He would’ve been able to kill the birds days ago, but he’d been left nearly defenseless after a long quest in the midwest.

He’d lost everything but a jagged and cracked Celestial bronze dagger, along with a backpack that was empty except for an empty bottle of water and only half of a granola bar. Luke had nothing to save him, except for his training.

He’d had no time to stop and fashion something to save him. He was without recourse, and completely alone. Or so he thought, until he reached a dead end. Luke was running furiously through the trees in the dead of night, delirious with fatigue and starvation. It had been hours since he’d last had water, and days since he’d eaten. He was finally beginning to fall victim to his exhaustion after three days of fighting for survival.

His feet dragged in the woods, and he feared his body was beginning to shut down. His vision, in the darkness, was next to nothing. He knew that, with his succumbing to fatigue, the birds would be closing in soon, which meant death. He tripped on a rock as he ran, falling to the ground.

“You must go on, my child,” a voice said in his head. “Come to your sovereign, and claim eternal glory.”

Even in his state, Luke was aware the voice wasn’t his father’s. He had fallen onto his stomach, his arms not strong enough to prop him up as he stared at the darkness of the ground, surrounded by sticks, leaves, and rocks. As his eyes slowly fell closed and claws dug into his back, he saw a pair of black boots hit the ground next to him before everything quickly faded away.

*****

Luke woke to sunlight softly shining through a veil of trees in the woods. He slowly sat up, not recalling falling asleep on his back. He was also surprised to wake up not alone, to another face hovering somewhere not too far above his own.

“There he is,” a deep, resonant voice cut through the silence.

Luke frowned, feeling oddly well-rested as he sat up. He was startled to see a young, completely unfamiliar girl sitting across from him. She was the one who had spoken, and immediately, Luke was alerted by her presence.

“You can relax. I’m not gonna kill you,” the girl said calmly, which he found both comforting and off-putting at the same time. “If I wanted to do that, I could’ve done it whenever I wanted within the past two days.”

“Two days?” Luke demanded, refusing to believe that he’d spent two days in the presence of this strange girl.

“Yeah. I found you a couple days ago, about to get pulled apart by a flock of Stymphilian birds,” she said. “You’re welcome for that, by the way.”

“What—Who are you?” Luke questioned, “How did you—How am I alive right now?”

He knew absolutely nothing about her, but purely based on the fact that she had saved him, he figured he could safely assume that she was a demigod.

“One question at a time,” she said flatly.

“Okay, what happened?” Luke asked her.

“I was hunting those birds. I knew they were somewhere around these woods, so I’d been hiding out here for the past four days,” she explained.

It hurt Luke a bit that this girl had not only meant to find the birds he’d been trying to escape from, but she had also taken less time to find and track them than he’d taken to evade them.

“I found them chasing you, so I killed them,” she stated, tossing what looked like a bronze feather at him. “That’s yours, by the way.”

“Okay…” Luke nodded, slowly pocketing the feather. “And, who are you?”

“Katherine ,” she supplied.

“Katherine. Alright,” he adjusted gradually. “And… how did you kill an entire pack of Stymphilian birds?”

“Celestial bronze crossbow bolts,” Katherine stated, as if it were obvious.

“So, you’re a demigod,” he deduced.

She nodded. “I am.”

“Who’s… who’s your godly parent?” Luke wondered.

“Nemesis,” she said softly.

And suddenly, her demeanor made sense. Just meeting Katherine, Luke sensed that her every movement was calculated and precise. She clearly hadn’t saved him from the birds out of pure altruism or kindness; it was some sort of act of survival. How, he didn’t know, but he knew she’d seen something useful in him.

Luke also saw Katherine’s value, and not just because he was aware she’d saved his life. Katherine was clearly a survivor, with a small but efficient utility belt around her waist. The only way Luke Castellan could’ve described her was ‘ready’. She was clearly dressed for her hunt, in clothes that looked like she’d bought them at some sort of army surplus store.

Katherine was an interesting-looking person, with a soft, beautiful face that didn’t necessarily match her clothes. Despite wearing a heavy brown jacket and a thin black tank top, accompanied by a durable pair of jeans and black combat boots Luke had seen when he passed out, he couldn’t deny the beauty of her features.

Katherine had long, straight back hair that she wore down, and wide, almost-black eyes framed by long lashes. She had fair skin and bony features that reflected years of athleticism, which could be found in most demigods.

“Who’s yours?” she wondered. “Apollo? Hermes? Athena, maybe?”

“Uh, Hermes,” Luke replied, not quite proudly. “Hey, Katherine, do you know the way out of these woods?” he asked her.

“Yeah, past the sign, and onto the road,” she said as she opened a crumpled piece of paper he assumed was some sort of map.

“What?”

“I spent the past couple of days getting us through the woods and to the nearest rest stops.”

“How?” Luke exclaimed, not understanding what had even happened.

“I carried you on my back,” she responded nonchalantly.

“Seriously? Like one long piggy back ride?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she said as he realized she also had some sort of training as a demigod. “I considered hiking us up to that motel up the road, but I figured it wouldn’t be such a great look trying to check into a motel with an unconscious guy.”

“Yeah, that makes sense,” he agreed. “Thank you. For that,” he said awkwardly.

Luke stopped for a moment, processing everything he’d just heard.

“I’ve really been out for two days?”

“Yeah. Like I said, if I wanted to kill you, you’d have been dead two days ago,” she frowned.

“Right. How long have we been here?” Luke asked her.

“About a day and a half,” Katherine provided. “I thought I’d let you sleep before we get moving again.”

“‘Get moving’?” he thought aloud.

“Yeah. That’s what I was gonna talk to you about,” she began. “I’m on a new hunt. And, I could… use a spare,” she shrugged.

“A ‘spare’?” Luke echoed. “No, I can’t, I have to get back to Camp.”

“Oh, yeah. I almost forgot most kids end up at that place,” Katherine remarked.

“You’re obviously not a camper,” Luke pointed out, “So… What’s your story?”

“I don’t have one,” Katherine said as she started walking toward the road, not waiting as Luke struggled to throw his backpack over his shoulder and follow along.

“What do you mean, you don’t have one?” Luke persisted. “Everyone has a story.”

“You want my story?” she sighed. “My mother is Nemesis. My father was my nemesis. Now I hunt monsters. There, now come help me find the biggest monster either of us have ever faced.”

“What monster are you trying to hunt that you can’t kill yourself?” he asked. “A dragon? Hydra?”

“No, I’ve killed three,” she said dismissively.

“Then what are you hunting?” he stared at her.

“That’s something between me, and whoever’s gonna help me hunt it.”

“Look,” Luke began, “I probably would, if I didn’t have to get back to Camp…”

“Why? You have a curfew?” she scoffed.

“Well, no,” he considered.

“What, you have to get back? Someone’s gonna die?” Katherine suggested mockingly.

“No.”

“Then what’s the issue?” she stopped, crossing her arms.

“Well,” he contemplated, finding himself more curious about Katherine and her quest than anything. “I guess you can tell me what you’re hunting, and I can see what I can do.”

“So, what,” she challenged him, her alluring eyes locked on his as she looked up at him, “You’re in?”

“Yeah,” Luke decided confidently, accepting the challenge, “Hit me.”

The girl led him down the side of the road to the nearest motel, sparingly offering details.

“A group of demigods I met down south told me about something in the Underworld. Something valuable,” she explained. “And we’re gonna go looking for it.”

“Yeah, I’m gonna need a little more than that,” Luke told her as they trudged down the road.

“Like what?” Katherine asked in turn.

“Um, your last name, maybe,” he proposed.

“Montalvo,” she responded.

“Okay, we’re getting somewhere,” Luke nodded approvingly. “Now, what city are we in?” he asked in confusion.

“Sand Springs,” she supplied.

Luke was quiet throughout the rest of the walk to the motel listed on the road signs, needing an hour or so of silence to process everything that had happened in the past few days. After he and Katherine had checked into a motel room together, he sat down on one of the beds.

“Do you care which bed you take?” he asked politely.

“No. You can have that one,” she said indifferently.

“Alright,” Luke remarked, sitting down comfortably as he thought for a moment. “Hey, I know you saved my life and all, and I’m grateful, but before we get into the whole quest thing, I just have some questions…”

“You didn’t snore, and I’m not a creep.”

“Uh, no, that’s not what I meant,” Luke promised her.

“Then, what do you wanna know?” she asked, sitting down across from him on her bed.

“How, uh… How’d you end up on your own?” he wondered.

“Why do you care?” she asked, her question coming off more genuine than sarcastic.

“I just met you,” he reasoned, “I don’t know anything about you.”

“Okay, fine,” she sighed, thinking for a moment. “I ran away from home when I was twelve.”

“I ran away when I was nine,” Luke said sympathetically.

“Why?” she wondered.

“You first,” he stated.

“My dad… He was an asshole. So, when I was twelve, I left. And like any demigod, monsters started chasing me. They didn’t stop, and I was on my own. So I started finding them first.”

“I’m sorry,” Luke said softly. “That must’ve hard, living on your own all this time.”

“It’s fine. My car’s outside. I get by,” she shrugged.

“You have a car?” he asked.

“Yeah. It’s not far from here, I gotta go get it,” she told him.

“Okay. I’ll come with you.”

“Alright,” she decided, walking out the door as he followed.

“What do you drive?”

“‘67 Camaro,” she responded.

“How old are you?” he asked to clarify.

“Eighteen.”

“Oh. We’re the same age,” he realized.

“Mazel tov,” Katherine said icily.

“How long has it been since you’ve had human contact?” Luke frowned.

“Not long enough,” Katherine sighed, pointedly walking ahead of him.

They walked down the street, not far from a nearby gas station, where the white Camaro was parked.

“The keys are in the car,” she told him, looking through the small crack in the car window that had been left open.

“Oh, shit,” Luke reacted.

“Can you reach your arm through the window?”

“Why?” he questioned, “Your arms are smaller than mine.”

“Are they?” she raised an eyebrow teasingly.

“God, you could use some human interaction,” Luke muttered, “Just get the keys.”

Katherine sighed, carefully sticking her hand through the car window.

“Fuck,” she grunted, unable to reach the car keys on the seat.

Luke looked around for help, trying to find someone who might be able to help them, only seeing a police car down the street.

“Oh, maybe those cops can help.”

“Quick,” Katherine hissed, “Follow my lead.”

“Follow your lead for what?”

Before Luke could think, she leaned in towards him, pulling him in by his shirt. Luke gasped into the sudden kiss, his lips pressed against hers in urgency as the police car passed them by. After a moment, fighting most of his instincts, he pulled away from her in shock, studying her for a moment.

“This car,” Luke exclaimed breathlessly, “It’s not yours. Is it?”

Katherine just shrugged, turning the key in the ignition as they both quickly climbed into the car.

“It is now.”

-

Chapter Two

[momotonescreaming]

I went digging through my fics, and found this. Absolutely no idea when I wrote this, or if I shared it already, but I can't stop thinking about it. Enjoy.

It’s the 1800’s, and Steve is the first born and only son of Richard Harrington, heir to the Harrington fortune. Expectations have been placed upon him since he was born, and it only got worse as he got older. He was too kind, liked flowers, and playing in the mud, and learning about horses and carriages and trains, and sitting with his mother while she put on make up and had her ladies maid do her hair. Then came the lessons from the private tutor (since the Harrington’s were too good for the local school) and Steve wasn’t as book smart as his father wanted him to be.

His father was mean and his mother was scared and so Steve spent a lot of time out in the fields as a young boy, wandering the land his father owned, picking up sticks and pretending to be a sheriff or an adventurer riding a fast horse into the sunset.

So he played until it got dark and Steve still didn’t go back home. Dad would yell and Mom would give him That Look and he didn’t want to change into his fancy dinner clothes. So Steve stays out late and wanders.

There are things living in the woods.

Things with teeth that hunt and kill and make people disappear. But no one tells poor little Steve this. He gets attacked by a wolf that isn’t quite a wolf, and screams so so loud.

Nobody hears him.

One of his father’s farmhands find him in the woods in the early morning. His clothes are ripped and he’s dirty and covered in blood but he doesn’t have any wounds, save for one single wolf bite. The man rushes him back to the Harrington Manor House, and someone calls the doctor. Steve is bathed, and fed, and checked over and the doctor tells his parents that he’s lucky it wasn’t worse. He gets better and goes back to his lessons.

Next month he gets a fever. Steve is sweaty and delirious, and hungry and itchy and restless and nothing quite helps. He blacks out one night and when he wakes up he’s curled up on the hardwood floor and all his furniture has been ripped apart. The servants whisper the word “werewolf” in the halls.

His parents fire half the servants, pay them off to keep their mouth shut, and hire someone who can help. A friendly woman named Mrs Henderson, whose dead ex-husband was a werewolf like Steve. She teaches him what she can while Richard Harrington hires men to build a stone basement underneath a small cottage at the very back of the Harrington Land. Where no one can see.

So Steve grows up, he falls in love, he finds out his sweetheart Nancy doesn’t love him, he befriends Dustin Henderson, and then Robin Buckley - a  dorky local girl who plays the trumpet and works at a store in town. And once a month, he takes himself down to the basement of the cottage, and turns into a werewolf. Mrs Henderson could only help so much, not being a Werewolf herself. His control is better than it was, but he still doesn’t trust himself. So chained in the basement it is.

Then there’s Eddie Munson, the poor son of an outlaw living with his uncle in a tiny house in the town of Hawkins. Grew up learning how to break the law with his father, how to live off the land, how to shoot and hunt and survive. He hated it, little Eddie wanted to learn to play the guitar and read and tell stories. But Pa didn’t give him much of a choice. Until Ma died and Pa spiralled and ended up getting caught and shipped off to prison. So he went to live with his uncle Wayne. And he made friends, and told stories, and started writing.

And then he watched a girl die and got blamed for her murder. So he’s on the run, and he knows how to survive but not when he doesn’t have any supplies. And not in a town where everyone knows his name and his face. So he runs. And he hides. First in his friend Rick's, who’s away in jail or on a job or something. Eddie's not sure and he really doesn't care right now. But he gets close to getting caught again. So he runs again until he finds a barn, semi abandoned in the middle of nowhere.

He’s close to the Harrington’s land, this he knows. But everyone knows they travel for business all the time, so it’s fine.

Except it’s not.

He’s tired and hungry and scared and it’s dark. There’s a light in the distance - lantern. He ducks down, waiting. Except it’s not the Sheriff, or Jason Carver (who took it upon himself to become a bounty hunter, to avenge the death of his sweetheart). It’s Steve Harrington. The semi-estranged, semi-reclusive Harrington heir, who looks grim and angry as he storms across the field. And he doesn’t see Eddie, doesn’t look at the barn, doesn’t even have a horse.

Steve goes into the cottage and Eddie doesn’t know whether to stay put until he leaves in the morning or make a run for it. Eddie is still paralysed with fear and indecision when he notices the full moon in the sky.

He hears a guttural scream, the snap of bone, a howling; and Eddie remembers the stories his Uncle Wayne would tell him of the things that live in the woods.

[lulu2992]

Something I'm still struggling to grasp about the Project at Eden's Gate is their initiation and training process. I guess it's because of how isolated the regions are from each other story-wise.

To keep it short, I can't understand how does "cleanse, confess, atone" mesh with "train, hunt, kill, sacrifice", what is mandatory and what isn't, how does "walk the Path" fit into all of it and how in the world can anybody survive the Leap of Faith without a haystack.

It’s hard because the game doesn’t clearly explain everything and even contradicts itself at times. The story went through several changes too, and it seems that, in early versions of the script, all members of the Project, including those who chose to follow the Father, were abused when, in the game, I believe violence and coercion are only used against those who were captured and have to be converted. Also, the final, current story suggests this only started happening when the Reaping began, but there are still characters who talk about the cult abducting and even killing (even though their goal is to save people, but anyway) Hope County residents long before that, so the lore is confusing…

Story-wise, the three regions are indeed supposed to be way more isolated from one another than they are on the in-game map. People who live in the Holland Valley admit they weren’t aware of what was going on in the Whitetail Mountains, for example. I don’t think the Heralds necessarily like or approve of each others’ methods, but NPCs explain John sends whoever he doesn’t keep to his siblings, that Faith deals with those who said “no” to him, or that Jacob “recruits” soldiers in the Henbane River, so while they each have their own territory and personal (trauma-inspired) ideology, they still work together.

My understanding is that anyone who joins Eden’s Gate must meet John first so they can be purified and rid of their sin. In his letter to Nick, he mentions there are many mothers and children in John’s Gate, so I think families composed of “regular” cultists who joined the cult willingly (or were born into it) and can’t fight just go live there when the Reaping begins to wait for the Collapse. I guess these people don’t do much except be part of the Family and among the 3,000 souls the Voice asked Joseph to save.

Then, I’d say those who want or have the potential to become soldiers can (try to) join Jacob’s army or become Chosen. It seems every candidate has to go through the trials and make a sacrifice. If they do all of that and manage not to die, they’ve proven their strength and devotion and are worthy of being part of the Project’s army; Jacob is confident they will be able to survive in extreme conditions and effectively protect the Family. According to a note, he has a youth training program as well, but there’s only one mention of that so we don’t know much about it or if it’s still a thing.

I think Faith makes Angels of people her brothers can’t convert and who resist them, or members of the Project who are too scared or doubtful and need to be… pacified. If you’re exposed to too much Bliss, because it apparently passes the blood-brain barrier and can never be purged out, it just keeps accumulating and, the more Bliss you come into contact with, the closer you get to ending up “zombified” because of it. Now, that’s if it happens accidentally, but it appears Angels are forcibly made too. A deleted note suggests the first ones were volunteers, but I don’t know if that’s still true. In any case, they’re literally brainwashed and very docile (on top of being able to “resuscitate” because Bliss, especially the liquid form, apparently has the power to do that), so the cult makes them fight and carry out arduous tasks. They’re reportedly fed dog food too, but as weird as it sounds, it seems Faith genuinely “loves” them because of how pure she believes they are.

I don’t know if the Pilgrimage is mandatory for people who join the Project willingly, but like Jacob’s trials, it’s definitely used to attempt to convert those who resist. They’re forced to walk it (sometimes on their knees, say civilians) and either accept the Father’s message, become Angels, or die, whether on the path or after jumping off the statue of Joseph at the end of it. As you pointed out, the leap of faith is not always lethal, but how do people survive it? Well, like Bliss, I suppose it’s just “magic” and only those who are considered worthy and pure will live. It’s also possible they don’t actually jump and just believe they do because it all happens in the Bliss; I’m really not sure because, again, that drug is basically magical and can “explain” a lot of things that seemingly don’t make sense in Far Cry 5.

So yeah, that’s just my evidence-based headcanon of how Eden’s Gate works, but I agree that it’s not always clear, logical, or consistent in the game…

[soullust]

my miscellaneous dps headcanons (including some background characters)

neil

has HORRIBLE eyesight. like wayy worse that meeks but he hates wearing his glasses

loves scavenger hunts

charlie helped him realize he's gay (they made out once to 'check' but never had any actual feelings for eachother)

is diabetic but doesn't know it

todd

is so incredibly competitive it's ridiculous. he'll die before he loses a bet

selectively mute

gets his poetry / writing published at least twice. the first time was even before he turned 18

scrunches his nose when smiling

not a morning person. he's dead until noon

knox

is a huge gossip and his grandma's favorite bc of it

can't lie to save his life

loves horseback riding

can't cook. at all. like he burns water

charlie

loves spicy foods and smells

his parents mostly ignored him and his younger sister during their childhood and basically raised his sister himself

but it also gave him a lot of freedom, especially during holidays and school breaks, since his parents always either pawned him off to family or just didn't care where he was 90% of the time.

like, really, they only care about appearances so they get on his back about being disrespectful every once in a while and ignore him the rest that's one of the reasons he acts out all the time he desperately craves attention he never got

tina INSISTS on doing his make-up everytime they hang out. he likes make-up and she's pretty good, so he just lets her

meeks

like todd, he's very competitive, but, unlike todd, he's not a sore loser

has a huge sweet tooth smells like it

was obsessed with nordic mythology in middleschool

matthew ("spaz") was his childhood bestfriend, but they grew apart over the years

is allergic to bees. somehow never remembers to take his epipen anywhere. it's a miracle he's survived this long

pitts

he's a car guy. wants to be a car mechanic

had a crush on neil in like 6th grade

scared of birds

has a stutter and used to have a lisp

gamer boi

not exactly a hc but yall can we acknowledge how sarcastic and bitchy he is??? he's hilarious

knows how to sew

gives the best hugs

cameron

once got arrested and had to call charlie to bail him out. charlie was so proud he bought him ice cream on their way back

has lexical-gustatory synesthesia

his bio dad is dead and he hates his step-father with a passion

is besties with gloria and she finds him hillarious

other

mr keating used to work as a line cook in his teens. also he was a lot like charlie during his highschool years (chaotic & funny)

chris used to do ballet as a kid, but has moved on to cheerleading and gymnastics. her parents are divorced. she lives with her mother and younger half-brother

ginny really should be wearing glasses but she hates them and her parents refuse to buy her more flattering frames. she can't swim. people always share their secrets with her bc she seems like she can keep them, but she’s actually a huge gossip

stick has a twin sister. he is nonverbal and communicates thru asl

gloria is training to be a hairdresser

tina can’t walk in heels taller than half an inch

hopkins has a huge crush on cameron

matthew is an origami master

mr mcallister knits in his spare time. he married a chinese woman who, when he met her, didn’t know any english

i take headcanon and one-shot requests btw

[thekatebridgerton]

So this is another episode of stories I want to read and I don't have the energy to write because it's 2am and I still can't sleep: real enemies to lovers past life au

And I mean I want a real enemies to lovers Bridgerton au where the Bridgertons straight up killed their love interest in the most Brutal way possible because they were that bad. Maybe its a past life in a fantasy world where the Bridgertons were dark overlords and their enemies were a powerful band heroes trying to defeat them who were killed by them to maintain power. But when the heroes died, the Bridgertons realized that there was nothing woth conquering anymore without an arch enemy and pretty much destroyed the world

But then the reincarnation happens and it's 1800 regency England and the spouses immediately recognize the people who killed them in a past life and go like ' nope, I don't like people who murdered me in my past life 'while the Bridgertons themselves don't know why they feel drawn to these people who keep fighting/avoiding them.

Kate knows Anthony murdered her in her past life, she remembers and he doesn't, in her past life she was a powerful mage who saw her friends die one by one trying to eradicate the Bridgertons and faced off with Anthony in a brutal final battle, in this life she's trying to protect Edwina from the vultures of the ton and he's trying to get close to Kate, for someone unknown reason. she's going to shoot him one of these days and struggles with the knowledge that in this life he's done nothing to deserve it. he's all she ever trained to destroy in her past life, in this one, he's just a foolish man, how can she let go of old grudges if he keeps frustrating her so much and trying to get on her good side

Sophie was a saint with healing powers in her past life, she's a maid in this one, big deal she can get trough this. Her plan is to reach spinster age, hunt down Phillip or Simon and start her own medicine practice. Except that the guy who killed her in her past life somehow found her first, he's offering to help her get a job as a maid in his house ( serving his other 7 muder happy siblings? No thank you) she's trying to avoid him, found work with Lady Danbury, and he thinks they're soulmates just because she nursed him that one time. Seriously if she wasn't honor bound as a healer in her past life she would have left him to die!! Why wont he get away from her.

Penelope was killed in the least violent way, past life Colin was almost gentle when he killed her, so she's always had a soft spot for him. She was willing to let the past life lie and be his friend until he said he'd never court Penelope Featherington!. As if she would want him to! That idiot!. In her past life she was a paladin who never married and had her life cut short by Colin..She's going to save up her LW money, buy herself a husband and move far away from her former executioner... Wait a minute! He should take responsibility for that, she didn't even have a first kiss in her past life because of him! He should give her one! She's determined not to die a virgin in this life and she's going to make it Colin's problem if he keeps sniffing around her business!

[spacedlexi]

Kenny and Violet anon here YES.

Violet is upset because someone she defended against her found family of 8 years let her get taken by brainwashing adults for 2 seconds and everyone flips their lid.

But Kenny refuses to stop a train, and gets into a whole fight with Lee over it (AND REFUSES TO HELP YOU FIND A LOST LITTLE GIRL WHILE YOU’RE FIGHTING OFF AN INFECTION, where as Violet always defends you in Episode 1 regardless of whether you ignored and/or antagonized her or not), and gets mad at an 11 year old for not being able to handle helping someone in labor by herself and everybody’s like “Nah it’s okay, his family died years ago so he gets to do whatever he wants.” as if Violet didn’t witness one of the only consistent family members in her life die in front of her 💀

There’s so many comparisons I could make and one day I’ll make a Venn Diagram about all of their similarities but for now I’m glad someone pointed this out.

there are some things kenny does that have No excuse (like refusing to help bitten lee look for missing clem all because hes mad you didnt side with him enough. leaving lee to singlehandedly save himself in the pharmacy because he got scared. threatening to slap clem for blaming herself for lees death. off the top of my head). but his behavior on the train is annoying yet understandable. he doesnt want to admit his son is dying and he feels like duck dying in the first place is his fault for not saving shawn. you can convince him to stop without things getting physical

the Problem comes in when people can understand and sympathize with kennys annoying/shitty actions, but when it comes to violet (who has the same "my family is dead and its made me bitter and closed off" backstory (and her whole arc is about learning to love and care again)), suddenly all understanding goes out the window. even tho shes not even a FRACTION as annoying and shitty as kenny can get 😭😭

violet is mean to clem for the One scene where youre introduced to her (ignoring your first moment with her in the courtyard where shes smiling at clem so you already know her shitty attitude later is a lie. louis even defends her. wingman lol. and depending on what you say in response to her you can Immediately see the regret on her face LOL). but before the scene even Ends shes complimenting clem and clem loves it. then youre forced to talk to her and tenn about the twins, you have a nice card game where you can joke around with her, then she shows up at the dorm and they have a nice heart to heart about how theyre BOTH struggling with the loss of people theyve loved, and they can sympathize about both being harsher than they intend (THEY GET EACH OTHER CANONICALLY)

and vi not being "a people person" is a huge part of her arc?? she doesnt like that shes like this 😭 but shes also better with people than she gives herself credit for and its why she makes a good leader. (and even if you pick the "came off strong" option clem is OBVIOUSLY teasing about it but vi cant tell and gets defensive ("its not like im trying to be bffs or whatever. sorry" is so "you want to kiss me so bad it makes you look stupid" of her)

and then after this shes never mean to clem again?? (unless you antagonize her but even then its mostly just about her standing her ground and not taking shit she doesnt deserve. which is fair). shes only mean to brody while fishing (and shes mean to brody because deep down she blames HERSELF) and the whole POINT of that scene is to try and mend their broken relationship which immediately makes vi a happier/nicer person if you do (also interesting how louis doesnt get any shit for His behavior while hunting 🤨 no hes just cool and fun). violet also apologizes for being "weird" in the dorms the previous night as well (bby girl why are you afraid that everything you do is weird 😭 she says that word a lot)

violet will Always have clems back (in EP1 and 2!!) No Matter What you do or say to her. i think people take her loyalty for granted. so if you dont save her in EP2 and expect to continue to have her unwavering loyalty in EP3? thats a You problem. she is Fucked Up mentally on that boat by lilly and her not-exactly-ex, and then gets caught in the explosion she didnt want anything to do with. AND THEN SHE APOLOGIZES because she recognizes she was WRONG

(not her literally trying to make a joke about it to ease the tension 😭 people dont give her credit for also having a sense of humor. like louis is the only one who cracks jokes around here) but again when it comes to kenny his actions are understandable and defendable even without an apology 🙄 i literally side with kenny on Everything except the larry thing and if you dont make the right dialogue choice with him? he will not help you look for clem. because of larry 😐 i killed your son for you bro and then took care of his walker doppelganger so you didnt have to. and this isnt even touching his behavior in S2. and yet despite everything he does hes still one of the most beloved characters in the fandom 🤨

i just have to remind myself sometimes that all vi options were made 53-61% and the vi haters are a loud minority. her always being above 50% is so interesting to me because i love when choices are split perfectly 50/50. but the way the fandom talks about her (and the women in general) you wouldnt think shes technically the more popular option (and i Hate playing the popularity card its so annoying, but im only doing it bc people also say shit like "maybe if vi wasnt so mean more people would pick her" they DO pick her!!! you just got mad she was mean for 5 seconds, never payed attention to her again, and used her determinate reaction on the boat as justification for not liking her 😑) (also ignores how mean louis gets in EP2 regardless of choice?? but like kenny His actions are defendable and sympathetic and hers arent 🙄)

[hollyhomburg]

Hmmm... those latest chapters had me wondered if in another universe when she haven't met the pack, the m/c ever happened to meet a seriously really good guy, maybe better than the pack at caring and loving her, would Yoongi gave her up or would he selfishly keep her by his side?

OOOOOOH so this....this actually is gonna get visited in the super angsty alternative bily ending if we ever get around to talking about it. but in short- yoongi would fight like hell. ESPECIALLY if he was still like mated to her- and if that was still a factor.

it's touched on a little at the very beginning of bily but beta mating bites can make both parties behave a little irrationally because they're incredibly strong- mating bites already are a soulbond- but a beta mating bite is straight on dependency and addiction. the m/c has skirted by most of the nastier side effects because she's got geumjae's bite- which yoongi's bite softens and weakens greately- diluting it. but rest assured if they where apart for more than a week yoongi would start to feel some seriously negitive health effects- think along the lines of irritability, tremors, insomnia, paranoia, difficulty keeping food down, like...classic withdrawal symptoms.

but yeah- this question does get delt with eventually in the alternative ending for bily and i guess i've never gone into what happens so! i'll go into it now

tw: psychological conditioning, phsyical and psychological abuse, mentioned suicide attempt, serious angst, beware!

basically, in the angsty alternative ending for bily, the m/c ends up going with moonbyul and staying with her for a period of years until...the m/c is no longer 'fun' for her to play with. think what happened with geumjae x10.

i have thought through the angsty plot of bily almost more than i've thought through the begining part of the series. in my mind- i can picture vividly the night that moonbyul returns the m/c to the pack- that she'd take a picture of some random dumpster behind a bar that the family own and send it to yoongi with the message, "i'd get here quick, the trash comes in the morning. have fun with my scraps"

and of course- the pack would hunt it down- the location- jin and jimin using their training to the best of their abilities, and when they find her- i firmly belive that she'd be near death, broken ribs from being stomped on, hair shaved off because moonbyul wanted to take everything from her before she let her go- i can vividly see namjoon sobbing as he picks her up, thinking she's dead but then her crumpled hand coming up to touch his dimples and everyone scattering, maybe they move to take her to the hospital and she tells them not too but...namjoon cannot make her better. she's beyond repair.

i picture very vividly her in the hospital. namjoon and yoongi standing back against the wall while they fight to save her life- taking in everything, the buuises, the healed cuts- more words that she wrote on her- maybe a tattoo or two- a collapsed lung, dangerously skinny and small because of course moonbyul would have fucked with that too.

i think moonbyul would have systematically psychologically dismantled the m/c, would have pulled some sick dependancy shit, would have made her dependant on the approval of her and the other packmates. to the point where the m/c would not think to do things like eat or fall asleep unless someone ordered her to do it. i do think she'd fight the doctors at the hosptial physically- or at least try too- so unused to being around people that wheren't moonbyul at that point that she'd be paniced.

of course the pack would try to rehabilitate her afterwords with very minimal seucess because at that point, she wouldn't be interested in a relationship or even have any interest in being loved- she's not even a ghost after what moonbyul did to her she's basically just existing because dying would kill yoongi and she doesn't want him to die. thats honestly- the only think i think she even thinks about- is keeping yoongi alive. thats the only thought or want or desire she has anymore.

maybe that was all that kept moonbyul from truly breaking her- just telling herself over and over again that yoongi had to live, that he had to live because if the pack looses both of them they'll never recover.

but just wanting him to live does not mean she wants to be apart of his life or love him or be loved by him, she is past the point of that making her comfortable. i think- being back at the house of course the pack would want to be near her but would be very mindful of stifling her.

i picture the first night she gets home and jin and jungkook would be waiting with a nest they made special- it's all clean, everything is clean because they saw- they know what moonbyul did to her and she passes right by the nest with a blank look and goes downstairs and when yoongi tries to get in the bed with her she doesn't even say anything she just moves to the floor. and he picks her up and places her back in the bed and moves to sit outside the room because it's clear- it's clear she can't be around them- and her moving around too much in her state is actually a little dangerous with her collapsed lung and all.

she doesn't want to do anything but sleep and even then sometimes she doesn't want to do that.

it's brutal and bloody- but after a near suicide attempt in my mind, the pack agree that it's best for her to go into inpatient care... permanently. especially because there where signs that they ignored because they wanted her to get better and where convinced that just a few more days and she'd crack.

keeping in mind that yoongi is going to have to see her at some point because of the mating marks and because he litterally will suffer from mate sickness if they are not at least around each other for a few hours every month. so they find a place thats nice and close, close enough for weekly visits, with a star studded staff that jin vetts, and she gets on medication that may not do everything but at least makes her not violent towards herself.

but then, after a little while the m/c just keeps getting worse and worse. (i can picture one night- when namjoon and jin get a call that she's had another attempt, and they go to see her and she's actually trying to ram her head into the wall while several people hold her down. its a room with a one way mirror and she doesn't know that they can see or here her beg to die and just...i don't think they'd have ever heard her sound like that. i think if yoongi was there- he'd be the one going non-verbal.

i think seeing each other wouldn't be good for yoongi and the m/c at that stage. it would just hurt too much- hurt yoongi because he feels like he's failed her so completely that he can hardly look at her and her because every time they come and see that she's still fucked up- she feels like she's failed them and she wants to stop failing them but getting better isn't possible for her. she's too damaged, too broken.

so yoongi decides to see how long he can go without seeing her- to give them both a time to regroup- namjoon and jin still get the reports from the facility where she is about how she's doing- which are very very detailed because jin and namjoon would only get the best for her. jin approves all of her medication changes and reads every report, hinging on every word for some bit of hope.

The symptoms of mate sickness start slow, but yoongi wouldn't let them get too bad before going to see her, he'd maybe last 6 months. only in my mind- when he goes to the facility, the m/c has already left and disappeared, with not even a note in her place.

and then yoongi would get sicker,

it would take the pack a year or two to track her down again- but i think when they find her again, she's still a ghost- but the beta she works with...looks at her a little too fondly and yoongi sees red.

anyway! if you have any questions about the bily alternative ending! please don't hesitate to ask! i've had lots and lots to think about.

[muffinsin]

I got this angst idea

can you do on how would the dimi sisters react to accidentally killing their fem s/o when they were on a uncontrollable rampage and they couldn’t recognise anything, all they had on their minds was to kill (can be from sucking blood or using their sickle) but then they smell the blood of their partner and that’s when they snap out of it and realise they harmed their partner. The sisters cry, apologise, and beg for their partner to not die

So much angst recently- are y’all okay?👀😳 but I’ll gladly get into it!👀🙌

Masterlist 1

Masterlist 2

Bela

It’s so rare she is in a frenzy. She didn’t think it would ever happen again

Perhaps, if she considered it a possibility, she would have not assured you you’re safe with her

She can’t even remember what happened;

In one moment she tried the new, enhanced version of Sanguis Virginis, in the next she is racing through the castle near foaming at the mouth

She sees red, and nothing else

All her senses are hyper, so much so they seem dull, almost. She can no longer recognize what is going on, all she can think about is blood

She tastes it on her tongue as body after body drops on the floor

She is unstoppable, powerful and fast like she has never been before

Bela is a predator, now more than ever

And sadly, this makes you prey

She does not notice it is you who screams for help as she chases yet another maid through the halls of Castle Dimitrescu

As fast as you attempt to run, however, it is no use

You slam a door shut behind you, and still she easily reappears at the other side

You feel her sickle in you before you can take off again, and she crackles sadistically and hungrily

She practically feels the blood in the air, the scent, yet she can’t place it, not yet

She’s on you within a second, sickle brought down on your chest harshly. You eye the window to your right, considering it the only way to save your life

And still, as you reach for it, and Bela even is too lost to take notice, you find you can’t do it

How can you put her life at risk to save yours?- she often asks herself the opposite later on- how can you not?!

Bela does not notice her antics, not until she digs her teeth into her prey’s skin and blood pours from your neck and overwhelms her

She knows this scent…!

Golden eyes widen when the picture in front of her is finally no longer blurred

You are beneath her, bleeding, unconscious, still

She doesn’t need to check for a heartbeat, she knows no human could survive the gashes and slashes across your skin, the bite that outright would have killed you if you weren’t gone long already

She still checks, hopeful, and a single tear rolls down her face as she stares at you in bewilderment

Then, she grips your shoulders tightly, shaking frantically as she calls out your name

“PLEASE! Wake up! Wake up!”

She screams, loud and pained, and begs you to wake up

For minutes she repeats this, begging and crying until she finds your outstretched hand to the window

She considers it, and in her pain, reaches for its handle

But pain solves no pain, and so she feels herself tugged backwards by strong, gloved sets hands, her sisters by her side as they heard her scream, and desperately pulling to avoid the deathly sting of the cold wind outside

Bela relents, her eyes slipping shut in her exhaustion

In the days, weeks, months to come she cannot come to terms with it. She blames herself, and visits your grave daily to beg for forgiveness

Only when she begs once whether you will forgive her, and flowers bloom, does she start healing

Cassandra

She prides herself on her ability to control herself

Sure, she gets angry, but never would she hurt those she loves

If she had just known what would happen, she would have never taken you on a hunt with her

But it wasn’t something new! She trained you, and you often accompanied her

And all was going normally, until the snowstorm had started

Of course, your primary concern was Cassandra, and you were hers

However, this changed

For when the air became bitingly cold and Cassandra felt flies dropping dead within seconds, her hands and face freezing- her heart slowing…it was pure survival

She needed heat

She needed blood

In one moment she calls for you to ensure your safety, in another she calls out for you to run

She is a hunter, chasing her prey

The cold spurs her on, and it isn’t long until she finds you. You reek of her, after all

With the techniques she has taught you, you at first believe you stand a chance

When she lunges for you, you evade

But truly- there doesn’t seem to be a politics outcome to this if she cannot calm down

Either she does catch up to you, or freezes in the cold, your love lost forever to her greatest weakness

As she screams in agony at the cold biting into her flesh, you hesitate when you should’ve ran

She is on you within seconds and doesn’t hesitate. Sharp claw-like nails dig into your flesh, ripping open your chest as though it was made of rubber

You scream, and she cannot hear it

You suppose, you can be thankful that your death is fast

And still, it pains you to see her fuming and shaking in your last moments

It was never supposed to go this way

With your heart removed, you are unable to stay alive and away as you want to

Cassandra shivers and screams from the cold, yelling and cursing angrily at the pain

Eventually, the storm lets up, and so does her primal instincts to keep warm

However, when she looks down and notices the blood all over her and your gutted body in front of her, she feels sick

Never before has she felt this, but the acid feeling in her throat is only a small warning for her

She swarms away fast as she vomits, staring at your body laying on the snowy ground

She runs to you again, even as the snow has her feel as though her ankles will break any moment

“Please, nononono, no please!”, she begs. She knows she cannot repair what has happened, and no amount of healing can bring you back

Still, she cries and begs you to wake up

She does not move from the spot until she is eventually found by her mother after days, half frozen in place. She doesn’t mind. She is willing to die by your side as you had died by hers

When she is lifted from your dead corpse, she doesn’t object

She doesn’t have any strength left within her, hungry and thirsty, exhausted to the bone and spent after days of nothing but sobbing and throwing up

As months pass, she begins to come to terms with what happened

One thing however, is clear to her more than ever before:

The villagers were right. The maidens were

Cassandra Dimitrescu is a monster, and you lied whenever you told her differently

Daniela

Daniela writhes on the ground, screaming, crying, growling

The bear trap around her leg pains her so much, the snow under her even more so

Where is her family?! It must have been two days of her laying helpless in the snow, through the cold night in which she didn’t dare believe she would make it out of alive, through storm and rain

She’s so hungry, thirsty, cold

Never before has she felt this way, unless maybe right at the beginning of her newborn life

When she hears someone approach, she feels both hope and fear

“Dani!”

Your voice fills her with happiness, relief, then fear. You can’t be here!

She feels herself lose control the closer you get, her starved and pained state to blame

“Nonono! Go! Go!”, she screams when you step close to her

Her warning allows you to take a step back as her hand flings in your direction, attempting to grab your ankle

But- it pains you to see the one you love this way; dried tears on her face, makeup ruined and foot trapped by a bear trap, its metal ends digging into her flesh

She’s in so much pain, you can tell

Daniela watches as you circle her, moving to her leg

“Nonono! NO!”, she screams, helpless, as you kneel down

She doesn’t get the chance to tell you not to open the trap, for the moment you pry it open, she lunges for you beyond her control

She sobs as her body seems to work on its own without her command, her teeth digging into your skin

“msor’y” she sobs against your skin

She feels blood running from your wound, more and more. Too much for her to drink

She feels it soothe her aching throat

Even her leg heals fast with the treatment your blood offers the mutant

Still, she cannot tear herself away, hunger’s grip tight on her, thirst taking over

Daniela feels you attempt to push her off, but in your weakened state you cannot even make her budge

Her skin feels warm the more she feeds, and your skin becomes paler the more the forcefully takes

She cries helplessly, and the tears mix with yours. Her chest heaves as you gasp for breath, and use the one you have remaining in your lungs to beg her to stop

When she finally pulls away, golden eyes meet your tried ones

She calls out your name, hands immediately pressing over your wounds- she didn’t even notice how she must’ve dug her teeth in multiple times

She sobs harder upon noticing you attempt to lift your hand to her cheek

She helps you and presses her face against it, whimpering and begging for forgiveness

“You are not to blame”, is all you manage to force out before you close your mouth again

Daniela can’t move, can barely breathe

The blood coating her is all wrong! It feels sickening on her lips and in her mouth

She stays with you until your eyes close too and your heartbeat falters. She cries, and refuses to leave you

As she carries you back to the castle, your words stick with her

“You are not to blame”- it’s difficult for her to believe. And still, it helps her. This last memory of you

This last piece of love in all the pain

[rose-reveries]

⚠️BEWARE THE EPISODE 4 PJO SPOILERS⚠️

Episode 4: The things I like, the things I don’t, the things I miss but I’m okay with them not being there

The things I liked about the new episode:

I liked the conversation at the beginning in the train. Very reminiscent of the book where we get to learn a little bit more about Annabeth and how she arrived at camp. I found it interesting how here we changed it from Annabeth’s father always resenting her birth to Annabeth’s father considering her “a gift” until her step-mother came along. I don’t mind this change at all and all in all still makes sense as to why Annabeth ran away when she was 7.

“But at least with gods you know the rules” okay Miss Chase your autism is showing (/j)

The flow from seeing the centaurs (which is something I believe only Percy saw in the books) to letting this be how Grover opens up about Pan and why he wants to be a searcher was a nice little combination of scenes to save time. We still understand how Grover feels about humans and their mistreatment of nature but it’s just in a slightly different way than the books and I’m okay with that change.

The BANTER between the trio was SO good this episode. You can really feel the bonds between these characters (especially Percy and Annabeth) forming this episode.

The pacing in this episode finally started to feel a little bit better than the first 3 episodes. I actually do think the change in how they meet Echidna helps with this because it prolongs the hunt whereas in the book the Echidna and Chimera scene IS quite short and fast. Meeting Echidna on the train, having them run and try to heal Percy, Percy gets worse, Percy sacrifices himself to let the other two get away, fight scene, he falls into the river, etc. Just way better pacing than like, for example, episode one where Alecto literally just flies at him and without moving he stabs her and she dies 💀

Okay, my FAVORITE new thing about the episode does have to be making the Arch a temple to Athena. If the gods still rule but have adapted to the west it makes total sense that they still have temples but they’re just modern American landmarks. Super cool and I loved this change.

Also, rather than Annabeth and Grover just heading down in the elevator before learning there’s a monster, I do like Percy stepping in and sacrificing himself to let them get away. It shows his loyalty to his friends, and how he would rather fight a monster than let them die without reason.

Since the Arch is a temple and Athena had to give Echidna permission to enter, and she did so due to Annabeth’s impertinence, this REALLY helps with the shows current message of heroes and monsters and what those terms mean, but also just how the gods are like BAD. I think it’ll help make Luke’s reasoning for turning on the gods make SO much sense for new audience members.

Percy and Annabeth banter?? ADORABLE

TOTALLY CALLED THE WATER REACHING OUT TO REACH PERCY LMAO. I know RR said he had Percy jump into the river because he didn’t realize how far it was from the arch so this is like sort of a retcon but yea, it works. Percy can manipulate water we learned this with how he pushed Nancy into the fountain.

Things I didn’t:

I think Echidna breaking into the train ✨magically✨ was eh. She could have simply just been on the train like how in the book she was just simply in the elevator.

Speaking of Echidna, it would’ve been so cool to see a snake lady :’). They did it with Medusa and Alecto but I guess they spent their whole budget on that because no snake lady to be seen.

I know the Mist would be hiding it from mortals… but even in the book Grover is like wearing pants and a hat. If they spent less cgi on Grover they could’ve animated some other stuff I’m sure.

The choice to keep depicting Kronos as this wraith instead of a voice from a pit is interesting?? We are already not setting up for Kronos reveal (like there was no Kronos exposition in the museum in episode one which I though was weird). Also I’d say that they’re doing this because they want new audience members to believe Hades is the BBG or something, but if they wanted us to think that why not mention the Helm of Darkness? The Helm would definitely help allude to this wraith figure we see I think. Or show us the hellhound. I don’t know. Weird. I think there is a lot of missing information that is IMPORTANT to the story that shouldn’t have been left out.

Things I miss but it’s fine they’re not there

The trio just never lost their stuff, huh? Like…the bus didn’t explode. They didn’t have to return a poodle for money to a train to Denver. I understand this was all probably cut for time and money sake.

Wish we took the time in the arch for Annabeth to talk about wanting to be an architect.

In conclusion, I liked this episode and I am enjoying the series. But this means that the Lightning Thief Musical is still the most book accurate adaptation of Percy Jackson and that makes me lol